O-Negative: Extinction (19 page)

He winced at Chad telling him how to sell the clause to the rest of the committee and congress but kept his tone neutral.  “Yes should be fine to utilise that sort of argument Chad.  To be honest I can’t see the clause being a problem unless someone picks up on the ambiguous nature of the language.  I guess at this stage I don’t need to know exactly how you might use this in practice but please make sure you give me a heads up before you do ok?  In the meantime I’ll do what I can to make sure it’s retained in its present form”.

“Good stuff buddy and yes I’ll keep you well briefed if the time ever comes to utilise it.  Best wishes to you and your fiancée”.

In the end the bill, rather unusually, came down to the homeland affairs committee the morning before it was due to be discussed by the full congress in the afternoon.  Though the bill didn’t get much discussion at the committee level the Democrats in congress did raise this procedural anomaly when the bill made it to the floor.  The speaker however overruled any objections noting that ‘9/11 had been 12 years ago and New Orleans 3 years ago - surely Representatives of the house have had enough time to discuss the subject matter this bill relates too’.  Though this prevented the bill being thrown out on a technicality regarding ‘enough consultation time’ there were a number of Democratic members who had concerns.  Enough to make him think that perhaps it wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought to keep the wording in that Chad had instructed him to retain.  Constantine Driver the Democrat Congresswoman from Illinois had repeatedly questioned whether giving individual states “a blank cheque to utilise both state and federal resources located within their borders was entirely sensible”.  Fortunately the appreciative support she was building for her arguments dissipated when she suggested “it could lead to a rogue State taking control of sensitive military installations”.  When she said this he’d looked around the chamber with rather more concern than his colleagues; knowing as he did that Chad already had substantial support for his political agenda within the Southern region military institutions.  Was this what Chad had in mind when he’d asked him to support the bill?  He wasn’t sure but just as he was about to get up to begin an impassioned plea for the bill to be passed by “patriots of both parties” Trip Wyatt stood to speak.  Trip effectively dissipated Constantine’s growing support by highlighting in a sarcastic manner how the Pentagon Generals would react to being told by the Maryland authorities that they were now enacting the Emergency Response law and that they had to follow the orders of the bureaucrats of the Washington municipality.  Amongst numerous guffaws and further ribbing the mood of the room moved back to supporting the bill largely as it was including with the key clause still in place.  The vote an hour or so later was largely a formality.  Chad had another piece of the puzzle he was constructing in place.  He did wonder absently about how many pieces Chad had left to fit in place before he was in a position to initiate whatever it was he was planning.  Given who he’d seen around the table in Houston not too many he thought.  He hoped he wasn’t going to regret supporting tacitly, if not directly, Chad’s ‘Southern heartlands’ group.

As he left the chamber Trip Wyatt approached him and undercover of greeting him warmly quietly but firmly stated “You can tell your sponsor that I’ve done what was required of me, but that if I hear from him again I will do everything in my power to reveal his multitude of interests.  Lobbying has its role in government but when the lobbyists start dictating policy it’s the beginning of the end”.  Trip said nothing more on the subject and went on to congratulate him on his engagement to Megan Lu.  “Congratulations on your engagement David.  I suspect your star is on a rapid upwards trajectory.  Just be careful as you ascend.  Remember that the higher we rise the further we fall if it all comes crashing down”.  The nature of the points being made caused him to briefly wonder what exactly Chad had on the Senior Democrat Congressman, but too be honest he didn’t much care.  It was after all just part of normal everyday politics.

“Err thank you Trip and thank you for your concern.  I’ll do my best to make sure my rise is sustainable.” And then he moved the conversation on to the area in which he was more concerned about. “Err Trip have you heard anything further from Mr Lynch or about the situation in Antarctica?”

“Nothing further David, I suspect Mr Lynch is busily trying to ascertain whether there is anything to all this or whether as I suspect it is simply a few under occupied Generals getting a bit edgy for no reason.”

After the transport plane had touched down at Halley Joe and Dominic made their way towards the wooden building housing both the ‘arrival and departure lounges’.  They’d agreed on the plane that until they’d had chance to report the less said to others the better.  Joe wasn’t so happy about this but acquiesced to Dominic’s desire to keep things close to their chests for the time being.  As they walked across a thin layer of freshly fallen snow Joe saw that unusually there was another plane pulled up to one side of the landing strip.  This plane was considerably sleeker and newer than the transport plane they’d just arrived in.  As well as being painted a smart looking white and silver it had two jet, as opposed to propeller, engines.  The words ‘Cessna Citation Longitude’ were tattooed on its tail but the area where the plane’s registration number normally appeared had been painted over.  When they got to the grey and weather beaten shed Florence was there waiting.  The confidence that she normally exuded seemed somewhat diminished and her face carried a perplexed look.   Standing next to her were an older looking Army officer and what looked like a smartly dressed American.  Joe assumed he was American by the fact that he was wearing dark sunglasses and his jaws were moving up and down in the silent ritual of a habitual gum chewer.     The army officer received a salute from Dominic and introduced himself as Major Sanderson before grabbing Joe in a bear hug.  “Good to see you Joey.  Been too long”.  He released Joe and the American shook hands with him and Dominic introducing himself with an unmistakable American drawl as ‘Lynch’.  Florence was obviously struggling to work out what was going on.

“Joe what’s happened.  Why are there only two of you?  How come you’ve returned so soon?  How do you know Major Sanderson?”

Joe gave Florence a grim smile “Not much I can say at the moment Florence”. 

Major Sanderson then smoothly intervened before Florence could continue to question Joe.  “You boys look shattered.  I think the first order of the day is to get you inside and get you a cup of coffee no?”

Dominic Taylor following Major Sanderson’s lead replied “Major you read my mind”.

“Great ok, would you lead on Professor?”

Florence was obviously frustrated at the lack of forthcoming information but led them towards the main complex some 100 metres or so away.  Major Sanderson walked beside her while the rest of them followed behind. 

“Professor Chapman thank you so much for the hospitality you’ve extended to me and the Royal Marines.  I am certain that this interruption to your important work will be kept to an absolute minimum.  Meanwhile can I be an absolute bore and commandeer your office for a short period of time while Mr Lynch and myself debrief the two gentlemen here?  It really is awfully kind of your Chief Executive to offer us this unprecedented level of assistance……”  He paused for a moment or two to ensure Professor Chapman understood that her bosses had given him pretty much free reign as concerned to the assistance Halley would be providing him.  “I understand the secure terminal is also in your office?”?

Florence’s expression turned slightly frostier than it was already.  She knew where things were at but wasn’t prepared to let Major Sanderson have it all his own way.  “Yes of course Major Sanderson I’d be more than happy for you to use my office but would you mind
awfully
giving me a quick sit rep about what’s going on?  I’m sure my Chief Executive will be expecting a full report on all this and I’d hate to have to provide him with any inaccurate information, such as why my lead geologist also appear to be well known to you.  We are as you know a fully
civilian
research station, as specified under the UN charter, and I wouldn’t want anybody to misinterpret the presence of military personnel here.”  She smiled her most friendly and charming smile, which almost caused Joe to flinch even though he wasn’t the one it was directed towards. 

The Major however appeared entirely unperturbed.  “Professor Chapman I really can’t thank you enough for all the help you’ve provided so far.  When such levels of cooperation exist between military and scientific researchers there is no doubt in my mind that the Government’s funding of the BAS will continue at its previous levels”.

“I note you haven’t answered my question about what’s going on Major”.

Major Sanderson reaching the outer door to the station complex held it open for Florence to step through first noting “I assure you Professor Chapman that I’ll give you a full update once I’ve had chance to speak to Lieutenant Taylor and Captain err Dr Harper”.  As Florence went through the door he spoke softly to Joe and Dominic “Not a word until we’re in her office.” Joe and Dominic nodded.

Florence led them through the corridor linking the various modular working and living units.  Despite plenty of quizzical looks the incoming group said nothing more as they made their way past various staff members.  Joe spotted Ben and Wendy in the computer lab as he went by but only had time to give them a quick nod as they exchanged worried glances with him.  When they got to Florence’s office Florence made a last attempt to enter the office with them but Major Sanderson resting his hand on the door handle made it clear that this wouldn’t be happening.  “Professor Chapman thank you for your time. I’m so sorry to disturb you from your work; we won’t keep you from it any longer.  I assume you’ll be able to log in to one of the computers in the lab we just passed?”

“Of course Major.  I’ll just grab your coffee shall I?”  This last part was laden with heavy sarcasm.

Major Sanderson didn’t blink. “Oh that’s very kind Professor, black two sugars.   Mr Lynch takes his black I believe. Gentlemen same for you I expect?” Without waiting for a reply he breezed into the office followed closely by Mr Lynch while Dominic and Joe tailed in behind.  As Joe passed Florence he was reminded of the expression “if looks could kill”.  He almost said “white no sugar” but was pretty sure Florence would have swung at him if he did so he settled for a sympathetically raised eyebrow and a mouthed “sorry” as he passed her.  Major Sanderson shut the door behind them.

“Ok we’re as secure as we’re ever going to be in this location.  What the fuck’s happened Lieutenant Taylor”.

Joe glanced at the somewhat enigmatic ‘Mr Lynch’.  Major Sanderson acknowledging the look replied.  “Don’t worry Joe; you can speak freely in front of our American ‘friend’ Mr Lynch.  The American’s are just as mystified as we are about what’s happening.  Now where the hell are the rest of your men Lieutenant?  You haven’t left them on the plateaux have you?”

Dominic shook his head before looking the Major in the eye.  “They’re dead.  All of them.  As are the team sent from Rothera.  Dr Harper and I are the only survivors.”

Joe saw the first sign of any reaction from Mr Lynch as a muscle in his cheek twitched ever so slightly at the news that the Royal Marine platoon and the Rothera scientists were dead.

Major Sanderson sat down and indicated to the rest of them to do the same.  “Dead?  What do you mean dead how can they all be dead?  Were they attacked by giant penguins?”

“Sir the Rothera personnel were all dead when we found them by their crashed plane.  Shortly after that we were attacked by an unknown force…”  Dominic hesitated before continuing….”it’s probably better if I show you rather than try to explain this.  We’ve got some footage taken by one of my men before he was killed”.  At that he looked at Joe who took out the mobile phone he taken from Private Martins hands.  Joe placed the phone on the table between Major Sanderson and Mr Lynch and pressed play.  The suddenly silenced screams at the end of the video caused Dominic to shudder slightly on his chair.  Major Sanderson and Mr Lynch both looked pretty thrown.  After a couple of seconds Mr Lynch reached forwards and played the footage again.  Once it was over he looked at Major Sanderson and then took out a slim black phone of his own.  “I just need to make a quick call Major, are you ok with that?”  Major Sanderson nodded.  Mr Lynch then dialled a number and spoke into the phone when it was answered “Nex 4537.”  There was a further pause before he continued.  “Code Red.  SAS.  Footage to follow”.  After ending the call he reached for the original phone looking at the Major “Would you mind if I forwarded the footage on?”  The Major shrugged “Fine but copy it to our people as well”.  Mr Lynch took the phone and plugged it into his own before tapping his screen a couple of times and then forwarded the footage.  After he’d finished he passed the phone back to Major Sanderson who weighed the phone in his hand almost as if he was feeling the weight of the evidence and the associated responsibility for the information it contained.  He turned back to Dominic.  “Ok Lieutenant let’s start at the beginning, from when you took off from Halley.  Don’t leave anything out”.  Joe noticed Bob pressed a button on his non-standard looking phone and pushed it towards Dominic.  He was pretty sure he’d activated some sort of modern version of a Dictaphone.

As Dominic ran through what had happened he kept his tone measured and quiet, only when it came to describing the metallic creatures sweeping up and over him and his men did the emotion show, his voice cracking as he repeated what he’d told Joe about going to meet his maker.  Major Sanderson also seemed calm but the tension in his fingers as he drummed them on the plastic desk was self-evident.  He turned to Joe once Dominic had finished.  “Ok Joe.  Your turn. What did you see?”  Joe replied that he’d pretty much seen what Dominic had seen but in addition he described the way the creatures had cut holes in the glass of the cab and the fact that before he’d lost consciousness he’d felt a sort of pin prick on his neck.  He also outlined what he’d done after waking up and what his decision making process had been after rescuing the hypothermic Lieutenant Taylor.

Major Sanderson stopped drumming his fingers on the desk and stood up to speak.  “Chaps thank you.  You describe a disturbing set of events.  To be honest most of what I’ve just seen and heard seems completely fantastical.  In any other circumstances I’d have dismissed it out of hand - altitude sickness or lack of oxygen or some other form of mental trickery.  However  I do find it hard to believe that a commissioned officer in the Royal Marines and an ex Special Forces Captain, who I’ve known personally for 20 years, would have concocted such a story unless it had some basis in truth.  In addition the fact that we have lost contact with 3 research stations and two planes within a short period of time combined with your testimony is adding up to some serious issues.  Finally I note that Mr Lynch contacting me and offered to fly me down to Halley in his jet, shortly after your last radio transmission, suggests that the Americans also know this is more than some sort of mass hallucination.  As this is somewhat above my pay grade I’ll defer judgement for the time being and report what you’ve told me.  We'll wait for the higher ups to give a steer before deciding whether we need to take any further action.  Mr Lynch any final thoughts from you before I send a report on this back to London?

“Not from me Major.  I’d imagine our respective hierarchies will be on the phone to each other before too long.”

24 hours later Joe was staring at his computer.  He wasn't sure why as he sure as hell wasn't doing any work.  However the pretence of doing something meant that he didn't need to worry about the looks of consternation and nervousness he was getting out in the corridor and recreation area. Colleagues who'd previously thought they knew who he was were as friendly as they’d ever been but there was a reticence behind their smiles and words.  They knew something had gone wrong on the plateaux but despite their best efforts Joe hadn't said anything other than "there’s little I can say".  Of course this only served to increase their wariness.  All the other scientists knew there was still no contact with the central stations and people were definitely worried.  Trips out on to the ice were being kept to a minimum and Florence had put a ban on overnight trips to the experiments located away from Halley. 

Major Sanderson and Mr Lynch had stayed long enough to make their respective reports and then the Major had taken the transport plane back to Rothera while Mr Lynch had flown off wherever he came from - it was never made clear.  Joe didn't want to know. He'd met a Mr Lynch before when he was in Iraq, he knew an alias when he saw one.  Though the two planes were gone the supply ship remained docked at the Halley berth.  The official line was a mechanical failure but Major Sanderson had told Joe the Captain had orders to stay in situ until he received further orders.

The conversation he'd had with Florence in her office after the Major and Mr Lynch had left had been somewhat fraught but actually went better than he’d expected. 

"What happening Joe.  Mystery marks on satellite images, total absence of comms with the central bases, Royal Marines undertaking 'training exercises' where no training exercises have ever taken place before?  To top it all it seems my meek and mild mannered senior geologist is ex-military with friends in high places.  I want answers Joe and I want them now.  That is if Joe is even your real name.  Do you actually have a degree in Geology?"