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

by JC Ryan

  Chapter 13 - Eggnog And Foie Gras For Christmas

  Christmas at the South Pole should have been enough of a novelty, Summers thought, to raise morale, at least for the week they were at the base. Disappointingly, it didn't. In the first place, none of the trappings of a North American Christmas were present. No tree, no Christmas feast and no presents. But, that wasn't the real issue. After talking with several of the expedition members, Summers determined that homesickness, exacerbated by the holiday without family, was the real issue.

  Summers went to Cmdr. Anderson to determine if he had any ideas about raising morale, since the man was part of the small year round cadre at the South Pole. Anderson however was no help. His contention was that it took a certain type of person to remain isolated, seeing the same people day after day and no one else. If Summers had failed to select for that trait, it was his problem.

  On Christmas Day, LeClerc surprised Summers. Though no Christmas feast was laid on at the official cafeteria, he had planned all along to provide one for the expedition members. Furthermore, he had secreted a supply of rum, which not even Bart had known about, to make eggnog. Summers could almost think well of the man after this.

  It did create some resentment among their hosts, however. LeClerc had not taken into account that the rest of the population of the base would have appreciated being included in the feast. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late, as there would not have been enough of the special foods to share. It was just as well, then, that Bart had to prepare his meal in the mess tent. It was far from the chestnut-stuffed turkey and traditional thirteen desserts that he would have prepared had he been offered the use of a real kitchen, but everyone made the effort to praise what he was able to create.

  The smoked salmon, foie gras and other delicacies were familiar to no one but LeClerc, but delicious nonetheless. Tinned fruit cake was met with groans from the Americans, which quickly turned to surprised expressions of delight when they realized it was soaked in brandy. The eggnog was the biggest hit of all. After the meal, the group broke up into smaller groups, among which were JR and Misty, who disappeared into their room. How JR had wangled a room shared with Misty, was an object of much curiosity and discussion. But, by now most of the team were used to their shenanigans, even if some still disapproved.

  Alone in their room, JR had a surprise for Misty. For three months, he had carried a pair of tiny diamond-stud earrings with which to surprise her on Christmas. As soon as she saw them, Misty threw her arms around his neck and thanked him profusely. She immediately put them on, remarking that she wished she had an outfit to wear with them that would set them off properly, and dazzle her man. JR had an outfit in mind, and she definitely had it with her. He smiled with a devilish gleam in his eye, and began removing her clothes until he found the outfit he was looking for. JR bore no illusions that Misty was the woman he wanted forever. In the first place, she was too much of an airhead. With his sister-in-law Sarah as the ideal he aspired to, he needed a woman of intelligence and strength as well as beauty. Someone like Rebecca, for example.

  Misty, however would do for the moment. She was willing, inventive and frankly, built like a brick shithouse. As soon as he started undressing her, Misty got the idea, and cooperated eagerly. She hadn't thought to bring a gift for him, but she could think of a few things that he would consider adequate.

  JR couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something niggled at his consciousness every time he made love to Misty. In the throes of passion, she seemed to have an accent. Every time he noticed it, he tried to place it with no success. Today was no different. His attention diverted by the anomaly, it took him longer than usual to complete the act, impressing Misty once again with his prowess.

  With the holiday behind them, only four days remained in their R&R break before Summers would be required to propose a plan for the remainder of the expedition. Reluctantly, he consulted LeClerc, since it was logistics that was the biggest issue. The other issue was whether to send some of the expedition members home, or ask Anderson to indulge them by housing those that had to be left behind each time they went out. LeClerc pointed out that they could accommodate all but four of their members, and the two of them attempted to determine which four they could do without on any given outing. They determined that Roosky was no longer essential, since they had replaced his specialty, along with the geophones, with the drone. However, his size and strength had come in handy both times that a rescue from a crevasse had been necessary.

  Of the others, Antonio seemed to be the most disposable, since they had had no reason at all to employ his biology specialty, at least not yet. Nor was it necessary to bring along two research assistants on each outing. Finally, the anthropologist would not be needed until they found some evidence of human activity or ruins. It remained only to decide whether to send them home, or whether the base could accommodate them while the rest of the expedition finished their mapping projects. Anderson was not pleased, but was still under orders to provide all possible assistance. Therefore, he reluctantly agreed that the four who weren't essential could remain at base, rather than being sent home.

  One remaining hurdle had to be cleared. Which of the two research assistants would be left behind? Summers suspected that if he attempted to leave Misty behind, JR would start a mutiny. On the other hand, attempting to leave Carmen behind would suit Antonio just fine, but Carmen would be angry. It would've been so much simpler with an all-male expedition, Summers thought, quite aware that he could never express it aloud. In the end they determined that the only fair way to do it was to draw straws for the first to be left behind. After that, they'd take turns, and hang the consequences. JR could just live with two weeks of celibacy every other trip. Certainly some of the other men, including Summers himself, were enduring more than that. For that matter, Summers would have left JR himself at the base, if he could have trusted him to behave.

  ~~~

  January passed with results similar to the previous three months. Even Summers was beginning to wonder if they were wasting their time. They had mapped the subduction zone from the west side of the Ross Ice Shelf to the western half of the 90 degree meridian since arriving at the South Pole around the beginning of November. It was still just a tiny fraction of the continent, and they had only two months remaining. As they moved from west to east toward the Prime Meridian, the trips to the mountain range took longer and longer, as it ran more or less parallel to the Prime after the mid-way mark.

  Furthermore, the supernumerary members were bored to the point of rebellion at the base. They wanted to work or go home, and Summers couldn’t blame them. It was all he could do to summon enthusiasm every morning himself. Another problem was the unremitting sun, now almost directly overhead for twenty-four hours a day. There was no escape from the light; even the sleeping masks that LeClerc had laid in for them barely allowed them any respite. Sleeping in their red nylon tents was like sleeping inside the sun, except not as warm. Summers, an experienced expedition leader, was beginning to wonder whether this project would defeat him.

  He’d been sending optimistic reports back to Boulder every time he returned to base, and was satisfied that JR hadn’t been undermining them, as he was still refusing communication with his brother. But, in the second week of January, after the first round-trip to the Transantarctics after Christmas, he decided he’d better come clean before something happened to make a liar of him and ruin his credibility with Daniel. He locked himself inside a guest office at the base and called Boulder.

  “Daniel, we’ve got problems out here. I haven’t wanted to say anything, because I thought we could handle them. But things are deteriorating, and I could use your advice.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. What’s going on?” Daniel sounded cautious, as if he thought maybe JR was the only problem. Summers hastened to dispel that idea.

  “I’d say it’s a cross between stir-craziness and homesickness. I guess we all thought there’d be more to f
ind, and that we’d find it sooner. Now it’s looking like an endless search under less than pleasant conditions, and the team is getting bored and sloppy. I’m worried that there’ll be another accident. To top it all off, we’ve got to leave four of our number behind on each expedition, and there are resentments. The ones who get left resent that they aren’t working, the ones that go resent that they’re not getting paid to sit on their asses like the others. And JR’s mad as hell that one of the people we left behind on the last trip was his girlfriend. Do you have any idea how surly your brother can get when he isn’t getting any?” Summers tried for a humorous tone with his last sentence, but failed.

  “Actually, I do. Why isn’t he hooking up with someone else?”

  “Maybe he’s afraid Misty will cut his balls off, I don’t know. But he doesn’t.”

  “Hmmm, that’s new. Well, the only thing I can think of is to come and see for myself, try to boost morale a bit. Maybe people will air their grievances to me, and we can bring some of them home. Can you hold off on another mapping trip until Sarah and I can get there? Maybe a week?”

  “I guess. But, are you sure you should bring Sarah? How far along is she?”

  “Past the seventh month, but I doubt if I’d get away without bringing her with me. I’ll make sure her doc okays it, though.”

  “It’s a brutal trip, Daniel. Even just getting to McMurdo is two long flights. Try to leave her at home.”

  “We’ll see, but I doubt she’ll let me come by myself. We haven’t been apart for more than a day or two since we got married. Pregnant women are unreasonable creatures, did you know that, Summers?”

  LeClerc used the down time wisely, rearranging the supplies on the two sleds so that one was all they needed now. They were traveling lighter, with some of the foul-weather gear left behind because the high summer weather was less likely to produce bad storms. Also, less food was required since the expedition was down to thirteen members per trip, although extra fuel for the snowmobiles had to be carried.

  Chapter 14 – The Zenith

  A bit over a week later, an excited Daniel and tired but radiant Sarah set foot on the South Pole for the first time. Summers fussed over Sarah, who waved him off saying she felt fine. She looked great, he thought, obviously near term, radiant and smiling from ear to ear. Daniel had chartered a plane for the trip, flying down the coast of Mexico and South America, landing every few hours for Sarah to be able to walk and eat properly, then taking off again. The only really long hop had been from Tierra del Fuego to New Zealand, and they’d rested in Christchurch for two days before continuing. All in all it took a little longer than the week Daniel asked for.

  Cmdr. Andersen was thunderstruck when he saw Sarah. Was it possible that the South Pole would have its first birth? He couldn’t imagine a doctor allowing a woman that far along to travel so far, but of course he couldn’t say anything. Women tended to take offense if you missed your guess about their due date. Rebecca was also concerned, but after Sarah allowed her to perform an examination, was reassured. Sarah was in top condition aside from the pregnancy, and she had weathered the flight well. However, Rebecca wanted her home before her thirty-sixth week. She and Daniel couldn’t stay long.

  Daniel interviewed each member of the expedition privately. He found those with the lowest morale to be those who remained behind on the last mapping trek, except for Roosky, who seemed to find some sort of entertainment wherever he was. Santiago and Stone were disenchanted with the expedition, having become convinced that there were no ruins to be found. They were anxious to get home and resume projects they’d interrupted for the chance to be here, and somewhat bitter at what they considered the waste of time.

  Others whose specialties hadn’t been tapped were Littleton and Cyndi, but Cyndi was content to remain as long as Robert Cartwright did. Littleton had given up his pursuit of her, and was actively campaigning to be relieved of the obligation to stay with the expedition.

  At the end of the week-long visit, Daniel met with Summers and LeClerc to inform them of his decision. It was disheartening, but Summers had to admit that it was both prudent and fair. With his agreement, Daniel called everyone together for an announcement.

  “We’re going to cut this year’s outing short, for a number of reasons. First, we need to arrange for replacement of the second Sno-Cat so that your services can be utilized most efficiently. Second, although we thought we could leave you here until mid-March, long range weather forecasts indicate we need to pull you out by the end of February, at the latest. We can’t risk having you stranded here after the winter shutdown. I know you’ll be disappointed to leave if the next pass finds something, but I think we all have to be realistic in recognizing that it’s unlikely that it will. There are thousands of square miles more to map, so we couldn’t really expect to find what we’re looking for in the first season. That would have been extraordinary luck.”

  “Consequently, we’ll be taking a few people with us when we leave. Dr. Stone, Dr. Littleton and Dr. Santiago will accompany us home. We have room on the helicopter for one more, and those who would like to apply for that seat should see me privately no later than four this afternoon.”

  Several people thought hard about applying, but realized their specialties were mission-critical and they’d no doubt be denied. Angela Brown, the cartographer was one of them. She’d had it with the cold, the privation on the long treks and the lack of attention from the men, most of whom seemed to lust after her friend Cyndi. She’d like to hate Cyndi, but the bubbly girl was impossible to hate. Who ever heard of a fun engineer? It just wasn’t fair.

  JR was also aware that his application would be denied. His pride wouldn’t let him even try. His only hope was that Misty would elect to stay, too. While the others debated what to do and whether their choice would be honored, he sought out Sarah and had a long talk with her.

  “How are you holding up, JR? We’re getting good reports about you from Summers,” she added. She was taking a rest in the lounge, her feet up and her baby bump perched charmingly on her lap. Sarah was a believer in positive reinforcement, so she was laying it on a bit thick, but JR preened under her compliment.

  “Can’t complain,” he said. “Though I’d like to.” The irrepressible grin from six or seven years ago made Sarah’s heart clench. If only they could have their sweet JR back, it would mean everything to Daniel.

  “Tell me about the treks,” she asked, hoping to get more than a few words out of him.

  “They’re actually kind of fun. But don’t tell Summers I said so. We drive out to the mountain range as fast as we safely can, usually takes several days. Then we use that cool drone to map a grid pattern. Have you seen that thing work?”

  “Yes, they demonstrated it for us before sending it on to you. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

  JR gave her a disgusted look. Who would describe a cool piece of electronics as pretty? Even though its color was bright and cheery.

  “I guess. Hey, Sarah, do you guys know what you’re having yet? Am I going to be an aunt or an uncle?”

  Sarah laughed until her sides hurt and she had to wrap her arms around her belly to ease the strain. “You’re going to be an uncle, but we aren’t telling what sex the baby is until it’s here.”

  JR had accomplished his goal. He’d deflected any more questions from Sarah, whom he didn’t want to disappoint by giving her too much information about his social life, and he’d made her laugh. Making Sarah laugh was a goal that he and his older brother shared, and the reward was that her silken skin turned pink and her eyes crinkled up. It made Daniel breathless to see, and delighted JR like nothing else could. If he wasn’t careful, he’d creep her out, in fact.

  JR was smart enough to realize that what he felt for Sarah aside from brotherly love was admiration, but sometimes he thought that Daniel had found the last perfect woman on earth. At least, he’d thought that until the expedition had thrown him together with Rebecca Mendenhall more closely than before. No
w that was a woman he could love. She even looked a bit like Sarah. Not that the looks were the most important thing, but damn, can’t hurt, right? The other person Sarah wanted to have a private conversation with was Rebecca, not only because they were friends, but because she could trust Rebecca to give a professional and honest opinion about JR’s progress. Sarah didn’t know quite what to make of what Rebecca said. As she expected, Rebecca talked of JR’s juvenile behavior and womanizing. But, surprisingly, she had the most to say about his leadership under pressure. Most astonishingly, Rebecca confessed that if he behaved that way all the time, she might even have a crush on him. After all, he was devastatingly good-looking, a real man in every way except his occasional childish spells.

  Sarah’s impression was that Rebecca already had a crush on her handsome brother-in-law, but she kept it to herself. Let Rebecca have her illusions. If it turned into something, it could only be good for JR to have a woman like Rebecca love him.

  ~~~

  It was ironic, Summers thought, that JR had begun to behave like an adult before Daniel's visit. Now that he was here, however, JR was reverting to the juvenile behavior that had marked his demeanor before they all left Boulder. For days, Summers had detected no alcohol use on JR's part. But now, every time he encountered the boy, he appeared intoxicated. Where he was getting the booze, was another question altogether. Summers wished he had the time to search the sleds for what he thought of as LeClerc's stash. But, they’d already lost a week while waiting for Daniel and Sarah's visit. Now it would be touch and go to make their final mapping run before their February 24th deadline. That would leave them only four days to secure what they intended to leave behind, pack and load what they would take with them, and fly out on the last helicopter to McMurdo before winter storms were expected to begin.