Ninth Cycle Antarctica: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 2)

by JC Ryan

  The last piece of the puzzle involved permissions from the Antarctica Treaty nations for scientific exploration and support from the various permanent bases on the continent. Because the expedition intended to travel through sections claimed by several different countries, JR’s first task had been to fill out the applications to do so. The Treaty governed behavior by the signing countries, everything from preserving the natural treasures to the polite fiction that the land mass belonged to no particular country. However, several countries laid unofficial claim to sections of the continent. Great Britain claimed a large slice that included the Antarctic Peninsula and subsumed the section claimed also by Argentina.

  Continuing clockwise around the continent, Norway claimed about one-sixth of the continent, contiguous to Great Britain’s claim on the east and abutting Australia’s claim on the west. Australia claimed about one-third, but a narrow slice claimed by France intersected it. New Zealand claimed just under a sixth, which territory included the Ross Ice Shelf and McMurdo station. McMurdo station itself belonged to the United States though the US made no claim on territory. Just over one-sixth was unclaimed, leading around to the Chilean claim that took in half of Great Britain’s supposed territory and a bit more.

  In addition, thirty or so countries that were signatories to the Antarctica Treaty had planted permanent scientific research stations, mostly on the coastlines. It was a welter of confusing and conflicting political quicksand that had to be carefully negotiated if they wanted to cover the most likely spots for the ruins of a Ninth Cycle city to be found.

  Finally, though Daniel had promised support from his permanent staff to finalize the logistics, delivery of the large equipment had to take place before leading edges of the Ross became unstable with warming temperatures. The plan was to have the two heavy Sno-Cats and their trailers unloaded at McMurdo and to drive them from there up the Transantarctic Highway. A couple of Australian volunteers known to Cartwright were standing by to meet the equipment before the expedition arrived and see it safely stowed on solid ground before the summer temperatures caused the ice shelf to retreat for the season.

  Everything else was well in hand. Staging on a California wharf would begin early in September, and the container ship would steam down the west coast of the Americas toward McMurdo, stopping at various locations to take on the more perishable of the foodstuffs before meeting the group on October first. It seemed both no time at all and a very long time since Summers had made his discovery and proposed the expedition, but it was finally becoming real. The first stage would be a short six weeks of conditioning high in the Andes, followed by the dream of a lifetime: exploring a largely-unexplored continent for ruins that no one had previously suspected existed. For Summers, it was the culmination of a lifetime of reading adventure novels along with his scientific study and dreaming that he’d be the one to find something extraordinary. Better than Jules Verne, better than Clive Cussler; this one was all his.

  ~~~

  Summers was getting anxious about keeping JR out of the loop regarding him joining the expedition. He went to ask Daniel when JR would be told just a few days before embarking for Chile, only to find that the brothers were out to lunch together.

  Daniel had been trying to think of a way to tell JR without causing a blow-up. Sarah’s insistence that it would be a reward seemed the best stance to take, though Daniel knew it was disingenuous of him. JR didn’t like being told where he had to be or what he had to do, and despite this being an adventure that Daniel himself would have loved to join, he doubted that JR would feel the same.

  For his part, JR had sensed that something was up for weeks. Summers was always starting to say something, and then backing off, claiming it was nothing. Daniel watched him as if he were an unexploded grenade, and Sarah kept giving him these looks of half-pride, half-pity that drove him crazy. After they gave their food orders, he waited tensely for Daniel to speak.

  With the expedition leaving, was Daniel about to lay him off from working at the Foundation? Suggest he enroll in graduate school? What? The reality knocked him back a notch.

  “You want me to go with them? Are you crazy?” JR could see no earthly reason why he should go, and he didn’t particularly want to. It stunned him that Daniel was presenting it as an ultimatum. What had he done to deserve that?

  Chapter 8 – The Choice Is Yours

  JR’s penchant for trouble caught up with him even before the team left for Chile. Daniel was summoned to the police station one night after midnight to deal with a drunk and disorderly charge, leaving a furious Sarah in bed. By now, she was nearly five months pregnant, and the couple had announced the happy news about the time she started showing. JR had been ‘celebrating’ every chance he got for the last six weeks, but this was more about digging his heels in and not going on the expedition as Daniel expected.

  Daniel arrived at the jail to find the place in pandemonium. He could hear JR yelling and making a racket with something on the bars of his cell. Familiar faces swam by, officers who’d arrested JR time and time again and then released him into the custody of his famous brother. This time, they weren’t looking very friendly. Daniel tried to ignore the commotion at the back of the building as he spoke to the desk sergeant.

  “Sarge, what’s going on?” he asked. “Do you want me to take him home, or are you going to keep him here until he calms down?”

  “Mr. Rossler, I’m afraid it’s a little more serious this time. One of the patrol officers found him and a young lady in a state of indecent exposure on a park lawn, and attempted to arrest them. The young lady ran and escaped while your brother took a swing at my officer. Unfortunately, he connected. The officer is being treated at the emergency room for a broken nose. He looks like he was in hand-to-hand combat with a freight train. That brother of yours sure packs a punch, even when he’s drunk.”

  “Oh, shit!” was Daniel’s heartfelt response.

  “Yes, sir. I’m afraid that’s what’s hit the fan,” the sergeant said, not without sympathy or humor. “Our guy’s going to be okay, but assaulting an officer is a serious charge. We called you as a courtesy, but your brother is going to have to stay until he’s arraigned. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry, you guys are just doing your job. I’m sorry we can’t seem to keep him under control.”

  “Have you considered getting him into a treatment program, Mr. Rossler?” the sergeant asked.

  “Been there, done that. It doesn’t stick, so I’ve had a better idea.”

  “Oh? What’s that, sir?”

  “I’m sending him to Antarctica.”

  “That ought to cool him off,” the sergeant quipped.

  It would have amused Daniel, too, if he hadn’t been through this routine more than a dozen times since JR’s discharge from the military. The diagnosis was PTSD, but Veteran’s Affairs had been all but useless. Yes, they had treatment programs, but they weren’t effective for everyone. And, unlike many, whose physical wounds were more visible and more treatable than JR’s mental ones, he received less tolerance from almost everyone except his loyal family, precisely because his wounds weren’t visible. Furthermore, his imposing physical presence, at 6’10” and hard-bodied due to his training, was frightening when he was inebriated and in a rage. In a word, he scared people.

  Each time this happened, Daniel went through another mourning process for the happy-go-lucky baby brother who’d grown taller than himself by the age of fourteen, unfortunately having had just enough talent to aspire to but not be acceptable to the NBA. The disastrous love affair in his senior year of college had made him terribly cynical about women, all but Sarah, who he loved as a sister and was more than half in love with as an object of romantic worship. That she was also untouchable, as his brother’s wife, merely added to his torment.

  Daniel knew all of this, and couldn’t find it in his heart to even be angry at JR, not any of the other times and not now. But he did despair about what he could do for him. The kid was adrift
and getting further out to sea. Daniel felt he needed to get JR out of town for a while, and maybe this would be his opportunity to persuade JR that the expedition would be good for him.

  The judge had seen more than enough of this sometimes violent young man, and was not inclined to forgive a charge of assault on a police officer. He remanded JR to the city lockup for ten days and set bail at a quarter of a million dollars pending trial. He would hear motions from the prosecutor and JR’s lawyer regarding speedy trial when JR returned to enter a plea at the end of the ten days. Daniel was stunned. After JR was led away, he asked to see the judge in his chambers.

  “Your Honor, I’m the brother of the young man you just sentenced.”

  “I know who you are. I hold you partially responsible for your brother’s actions. I’m not unaware that the police have given him a pass on quite a bit of misbehavior due to your prominence. What have you done to put a stop to it? Apparently nothing,” the judge said.

  “Your Honor, that’s not entirely true. We’ve sent him to treatment programs, we’ve had medications prescribed. He’s suffering from PTSD because of one too many deployments to Afghanistan. But I’m not here to plead for leniency. I know he has a problem and that he needs to take accountability for it. What I’m here for is to ask you to allow me to do as I’d planned already, and send him to Antarctica as part of an archaeological expedition. He’ll be out of Boulder and out of your hair. But I need him out of jail in a week.”

  Daniel stopped then, aware that less is more when negotiating with an angry judge. He was confident that the idea of getting his problem brother out of the judge’s city would be appealing, but it would require the judge to find a way to save face before he’d let JR out early.

  “Can you put up the bail until he’s gone?” the judge asked suddenly. If you’ll get him out of Boulder and I can get a good report of his behavior on the expedition, I’ll consider letting him out early. If he keeps his nose clean, and the officer agrees, I’ll drop the charges when he gets back. We can consider it probation.”

  Daniel gulped. He could put up that kind of bail, but he wouldn’t without consulting Sarah. That was too much money to gamble, and he wasn’t entirely certain he could count on JR to cooperate. “I’ll have to talk to my wife, sir. But, if I can, do we have a deal?”

  “We have a deal if you can come up with the bail money. Otherwise, no.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  If only he could persuade Sarah, everything would be fine. However, Daniel knew quite well that Sarah was one of the few people who were immune to his powers of persuasion. It would have to make sense to her, and she already disapproved of JR’s inclusion on the expedition team, even though she’d been loyal enough to turn down Summers’ request for help in that regard. It was going to be an uphill battle, made even more dangerous by her fluctuating hormone levels. Daniel went home from court with less confidence than he’d had for years.

  Sarah appeared to be torn. Yes, she thought it was a mistake to send JR on the expedition, simply because he was capable of so much destruction and self-destruction. On the other hand, her beloved husband was at his wits’ end to find a way to get through to JR. Daniel, the beloved husband in question, took full advantage of his puppy-dog face to tell her of JR’s sentence and the judge’s offer of a bargain.

  “A quarter million! Daniel, can you be certain JR won’t skip bail? That’s a lot of money.”

  “I know it, but we could get a bail bondsman to put it up; that would only cost ten percent for now. And it’s only until he gets on the plane to Chile. As soon as I verify that, the judge will release the bail money. Sweetheart, if he misses that plane with the others, I’m not sure I dare send him alone. There are no direct flights; he could disappear in Dallas or Miami and who knows when or how we’d find him.”

  “You have a point. All right, honey, it’s your choice; he’s your brother and I understand your need to help him. I just hope he comes back more responsible. We’ll have our own baby to worry about by then, and I don’t know how tolerant I’ll be if he’s still a screw-up.”

  Daniel took Sarah into his arms to kiss her and thank her for understanding. “Have I told you that you’ve never been more beautiful, sweetheart?”

  “Yes, but tell me again. I’m beginning to feel like a blimp.”

  “You’ve never been more beautiful. And if you feel like a blimp now, wait until you’re nine months and counting the hours.”

  “Way to go, champ, you ruined it,” she laughed, swatting at him to let her go. But the faint flush on her face told him he’d pleased her.

  ~~~

  Daniel hedged his bets a little, waiting to arrange for bail until JR had settled down and had a chance to think about his position. After a few days, he visited for a heart-to-heart talk through the glass of the visiting room.

  “Well, buddy, you stepped in it this time,” he started. JR had the grace to look abashed, but he had nothing to say.

  “Here’s the deal, JR. I’ve talked to the judge. If the charges aren’t dropped, you’re looking at a Class 5 felony, minimum. That’s if the officer agrees that it was a ‘crime of passion’, rather than intentional.”

  JR opened his mouth, but Daniel rode over whatever it was he had to say. “A Class 5 felony has penalties of up to $100,000 in fines, or one to three years’ incarceration, and if he wants to, the judge can impose both. That’s not jail, JR, that’s prison.” He waited for it to sink in. When JR’s defiant body language slumped, he offered the alternative.

  “The judge is willing to drop the charges, assuming the officer you slugged agrees, but there’s a condition. You go to Antarctica, and Summers gives the judge a good report of your behavior while there.”

  “So, you found a way to get rid of me after all,” JR said. It broke Daniel’s heart that the look in JR’s eyes was of despair. But coddling him only made things worse. It was time for tough love.

  “You brought it on yourself, bud, but it’s your choice. I won’t pay your fines for you, so if you think you can do the time and that it would be better than the expedition, it’s your call.”

  “How do I know that the officer will be willing to drop the charges?”

  “For some reason, the cops here have a soft spot for you, you asshole. He’s willing to accept an apology, and will go along with the judge’s decision when you get back. The plane leaves in two days, so I’d suggest you make your decision quickly. If it leaves without you, you’ll go to trial, and with the officer’s partner as a witness, you haven’t got a prayer at a not guilty plea.”

  Daniel rose to go, but JR’s knock on the glass stopped him. After apologizing to the deputy who monitored the visiting room for touching the glass, JR gave Daniel his decision.

  “I’ll take the deal. Shit, at least it won’t be hotter than blue blazes and sandy.”

  “There is that,” Daniel remarked. “I’ll come and get you in a few days.”

  “A few days! Daniel, I’ve been here too long already. Why not today?”

  “Because I’m risking the price of a house to get you out, JR. You’re going straight from here to the plane. Take it or leave it.”

  “Daniel?”

  “What?”

  “I love you, bro.”

  Daniel examined his brother’s face for sarcasm. Finding none, he replied, “I love you, too, JR. See you tomorrow.”

  ~~~

  The next hurdle turned out to be Summers. Daniel thought he’d put Charles’s objection to rest, but it hadn’t been possible to keep the arrest quiet, especially when it turned out that the young lady who’d escaped the night of the incident was none other than Misty Rivers, the research assistant.

  JR’s unfortunate last-minute incarceration couldn’t have come at a worse time, when Summers, already overloaded with responsibility, had to sort out whether JR had received approvals or not. His search of the boy’s desk turned up not only all the approvals, thank goodness, but also a number of highly unsuitable photos of
Misty Rivers that would keep Charles from meeting her eyes for weeks. The girl was a menace, he thought.

  Summers wanted her off the team, too, but unfortunately there was no one to take her place at this late date.

  “Charles, be reasonable. We’ve discussed this, and I’ve already made arrangements with the judge. JR has to go, and that’s all there is to it.”

  “I won’t be responsible for him, Daniel. It’s bad enough that his drinking is out of control. His involvement with this Rivers girl is too much. We’re going to be in an ultra-dangerous environment. Any distraction could cost one of them their lives. At least get me someone to replace Rivers.”

  “I think you’re exaggerating. In any case, we’ve already settled it. JR goes, and that’s final, and I don’t know who we’ve got that we could send in Misty’s place. Jeez, I snort every time I say that name. Sounds like a stripper.”

  “Looks like one, too. Should we get her sterilized before we go, or are you prepared to become an uncle?”

  “Very funny. Look Charles, I’ve got no time for this. I say JR goes.”

  Charles slumped. He’d never known Daniel to be unreasonable before. It seemed that when it came to his family, though, he had blinders on. Charles’s next move stretched their friendship almost to the breaking point.

  “I say he doesn’t, and that’s my final word on it.”

  “Charles, I asked you not to make me do this. I’m sorry, but it’s a condition of your funding.”

  “Do you care to put that to a vote of the Board?”

  “There’s no need. I have full authority to override the Board in certain matters. I can’t spend money by overriding them, but I can and will refuse to spend it. Take it or leave it, Charles, but know that we’ve already spent millions. If you throw it away now, I can’t speak for future funding for your projects.”