Polar Quest Read online

  “Yeah. Bad.”

  He nodded. “They said that would be the end result. It should pass pretty soon. They want you to rest, but I told them that there was no way you’d do that.” He frowned. “You want to tell me what happened?”

  Annja looked at him. “Do you know about the other cavern?”

  “Where the other part of the team is? Sure.”

  “You know what they’re doing down there?”

  Zach smiled. “I’ve been kind of busy in our little rat hole. I’ve heard a few things, but nothing much. Why?”

  “I saw them, Zach. They were boring holes and putting explosives into them. I think they want to blow up the mountain.”

  Zach smiled. “I heard they ran into a serious problem with the granite. One of them requested permission to blow an entrance. Apparently, they’ve got some type of scanning equipment that tells them there’s a cavern on the other side of that wall. They want to get through.”

  “But isn’t it dangerous?” Annja asked.

  “Well, sure, they’re explosives, after all. But it’s being controlled. The colonel has some of his guys helping out.”

  Annja took a deep breath. Everything hurt. She was sure she’d hurt other parts of her body, as well as her head. “When are they blasting?”

  “Tomorrow morning, first thing. Before anyone goes down.”

  “Oh.”

  Zach smiled. “Let me guess—you thought it was some grand conspiracy that would end up killing Dave and me?”

  Annja smiled weakly. “Guilty.”

  Zach sighed. “When did you get so conspiracy crazy? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. It’s kind of weird.”

  Annja frowned. “Let’s just say that I’ve run into a lot of people lately who haven’t been what they say they are.”

  “Everyone has secrets,” Zach said. “That doesn’t make them assassins or spooks or some shadowy government outfit bent on world domination.”

  Annja nodded. “You’re right. I’ve been off base.”

  Zach smirked. “Tomorrow should be a good day. Once that blasting is done, we might get a glimpse at something new and exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”

  Annja nodded. “Okay.”

  “Look, I’m going to get some grub. You want me to bring you back something? I hear it’s lasagna night.”

  Annja held up her hand. “Not sure I could stomach it right now. But thanks.”

  “Okay. Dave and I will be back later.” He stood and walked to the door. “Get some rest, okay? I’ll let the colonel know you’re okay.”

  “Why?”

  “He seemed concerned about you earlier when he heard about your fall. Guess he respects you a little bit more after your back-and-forth earlier. I get the feeling he might just show you that report, after all.”

  “Even without the perfume?” Annja smiled.

  “Yeah, even without. Talk to you in a little while.” Zach disappeared outside.

  Annja watched him go. Her head throbbed. After all of this, she thought, and I nearly end up killing myself before I could figure this out. She sighed and closed her eyes.

  There’d be time to deal with Thomson in the morning.

  27

  “You’re quite certain?”

  The sergeant nodded. “We got confirmation midafternoon today of the security compromise.”

  Colonel Thomson frowned. “And you’re certain it involved our communications network?”

  “Without a doubt, sir. The initial hacker intrusion occurred on our Navstar satellite, which, as you know, is in a geosynchronous orbit that takes it into our area of operations throughout the day, except for the blackout periods.”

  Thomson nodded. “How on earth did a hacker know we were even operating down here? It’s not like we advertised our presence.”

  The sergeant shook his head. “I don’t know, sir. It could have come from another source when we moved through McMurdo. That’s the problem with having to filter through there. There are a lot of people around and one of them might have mentioned our presence to someone else who then took it upon themselves to hack into the system.”

  “But it’s not that easy, is it?” the colonel asked.

  The sergeant shrugged. “Sir, nowadays these kids can type a few words into a search engine and come up with our satellite networks, corresponding protocols and all that stuff. Frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

  Thomson glanced at Garin. “Major, what do you make of all of this stuff? Is it a serious compromise? Should I be concerned?”

  Garin shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, sir. I think we need to ascertain the extent of the compromise before we start passing judgments.”

  “Agreed,” Thomson said. He looked back at the sergeant. “So where did the hacker tap into us from?”

  The sergeant looked uncomfortable. “Well, that’s the problem, sir.”

  “Don’t tell me there’s a problem.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but they used a sophisticated routing program that led our intercept teams all over the world. Mumbai, Tokyo, Wellington even.”

  “Wellington? You think it could be a compromise coming from New Zealand?” The colonel frowned. “If that’s the case, it would make for a very bad diplomatic situation.”

  The sergeant shook his head. “I don’t know that I believe it did come from New Zealand, sir. I think the hacker just wanted to make it look that way. But he wasn’t on the line long enough for us to do a trace. He must have known we started the intercept program and at that point, he simply disconnected.”

  Thomson threw his hands in the air. “Great. Just great. So how in the hell am I supposed to accurately judge whether or not this installation is under some sort of threat or if our information has been pilfered?”

  The sergeant handed him a sheet of paper. “We were able to figure out what the hacker was after, sir.”

  Thomson snatched the paper and started reading. After a moment, he glanced at the sergeant. “You’re dismissed. Good work.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The sergeant turned and left the shelter.

  Thomson watched him go and then handed the sheet of paper to Garin. “Well, Major, what do you think of this?”

  Garin read the report and his eyes gleamed. “I would say that it seems like someone has gone through an awful lot of trouble to acquire some of your files.”

  “One in particular,” the colonel said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Thomson nodded. “Very well. If that’s how this is going to play out, at least I know who I’m dealing with now.”

  “We don’t know for a fact it was Miss Creed, sir.”

  “No, we don’t. But I myself have never trusted coincidences. To me, there are none. Just indicators that behavioral patterns are being adhered to.”

  “We should have some more proof before we accuse her, sir. Otherwise she will make it something of a rallying cry and possibly damage your work here,” Garin said.

  The colonel nodded. “Then we’ll need to find some proof, won’t we?”

  “How, sir?”

  “I have some thoughts on that matter. I must admit I’m a bit surprised she pursued it like this.”

  “She’s very resourceful, sir,” Garin said. “And she doesn’t seem like the kind of woman to take no for an answer.”

  “Apparently not,” the colonel muttered. He glanced at his watch. “She should be asleep right now, no doubt sleeping off that mild concussion she acquired earlier this afternoon.”

  “You want me to go and get her?”

  Thomson shook his head. “Not just yet. I want her awake and alert when she has to answer questions.”

  “Very good.”

  “However, I do want to talk to my administrative aide. Bring him to me, would you?”

  Garin nodded and left the shelter. Thomson looked down at the paper and saw the name of the file that had been liberated from his computer. It had to be her, he thought. Who else would want something like
that? Annja Creed had been asking for the report for the past day or so and suddenly the computers were hacked and that exact file copied from his hard drive and presumably accessed.

  No, coincidences didn’t exist except as a convenient excuse for people who weren’t willing to face facts. Thomson had a mole in his camp and he aimed to get rid of her through any means necessary.

  In the morning, he would see exactly what Annja Creed had to say about the hacker intrusion and subsequent file copying.

  The door to his shelter reopened and Garin walked in behind a nervous-looking soldier. The corporal marched to the front of the colonel’s desk and stood at attention.

  “Sir.”

  “Stand at ease, Corporal,” Thomson said.

  Garin cleared his throat. “You want me to go now, sir?”

  The colonel shook his head. “No, actually, I want you to stay and listen to this so we can plan our next move better.” He eyed the corporal. “Do you know why you’re here, son?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Earlier today this base experienced what can best be described as a hacker intrusion into our secure communication networks. Specifically, our computers were hacked. Mine in particular.”

  The corporal looked shocked. “How is that possible, sir?”

  “Well, now, that’s what we want to know. And that’s why you’re here, son. We’ve got a few questions for you, and you just be yourself and answer them honestly and I don’t think we’ll have any trouble. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The colonel nodded. “Excellent. Now, where were you this morning?”

  “After I ate breakfast I reported to work right away. I was sitting in the admin shelter, sir. I had some reports to file and some routine maintenance work to perform, but otherwise, the day was pretty boring, frankly, sir.”

  Thomson glanced at Garin, who was looking at the corporal. “And did you do anything out of the ordinary while you were there?”

  “No, sir.”

  “What about visitors?” Garin asked.

  The colonel nodded. “Yes, did anyone stop by to say hello? Any of your friends who were on duty at the same time?”

  The corporal shrugged. “I don’t have any friends, sir. I only just joined the outfit and haven’t had much of a chance to meet folks yet.”

  Thomson smiled. “Well, I’m sure you’ll fit in here just fine, son. Eventually people will get to know you.”

  “Visitors?” Garin repeated.

  “Just one, sir.”

  “Annja Creed?”

  The corporal nodded. “Yes, sir. She stopped by looking for you, sir.”

  “Me?” The colonel smiled. “And what did she want with me?”

  “Said she needed to talk to you about something. I told her you might be at your shelter and that she could look in on you there.”

  Thomson nodded. “Very good, son. Did she ask about anything else?”

  The corporal frowned. “Well, funny thing was when I got there, she was already there and she’d tried to get on one of the computer terminals. Said she was going to check her e-mail.”

  “E-mail?”

  The corporal nodded. “She said she was lonely and hadn’t heard from anyone back home in some time. I told her she wouldn’t be able to access e-mail while she was here because of our strict comms guidelines and all.”

  “Did she understand that?”

  “Oh, yeah, she took it real well. Seemed concerned that if word got out she was trying to access e-mail on the computers, that she might get in trouble.”

  “Really.” Thomson frowned. “And after that, you said you sent her to see me at my shelter?”

  “Yes, sir. I don’t know if she ever went there or not, of course, because by that time I was already back working on what I needed to be working on.”

  Thomson nodded. “Of course you were. That’s why I brought you in here—because I know what a hard worker you are.”

  “Was that the only visitor you had this morning?” Garin asked.

  The corporal looked at him. “Aside from Miss Creed, there was just you, sir.”

  Thomson glanced at Garin. “You, Major?”

  Garin smiled. “I stopped by to see if you were there. Remember, we were supposed to go down to the dig site together, which we eventually did, once I found you.”

  “Yes, of course.” Thomson looked at the young soldier. “All right, Corporal, you can go now. But make sure you don’t tell anyone about this. What we’ve shared with you here is classified information and we don’t need anyone finding out about it just yet. When the time comes to make judgments, then everyone can know. But for now…”

  “I understand, sir.”

  The corporal turned and marched out of the shelter. Thomson looked at Garin. “So?”

  Garin shrugged. “Seems like a few more dots got connected, sir. It’s not conclusive, by any means, but it’s leaning in that direction.”

  Thomson nodded. “I want more, Major. Find out from the communications people if there have been any calls made from this camp to the outside world.”

  “Phone calls, sir? I wasn’t aware there was cell-phone coverage in this region.”

  “There isn’t. But if someone has a sat phone, they can call out. And if they can call out of here, they can also access the Internet. And that might just lead us to our hacker.”

  Garin smiled. “I’ll get started on it right away, sir.” He turned to leave.

  “Major?”

  Garin turned. “Sir?”

  “Find me something conclusive about this matter. I don’t want to drag her in here tomorrow unless we’re absolutely sure that she was behind the intrusion. The last thing any of us needs is bad publicity. For that matter, any publicity.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  Thomson watched him leave and then leaned back in his seat. The piece of paper on his desk lay there with the file name written in bold letters. How in the world could someone from across the world reach out and get access to the most secure communications networks the United States government could field?

  It seemed impossible. And Thomson wasn’t happy about the idea that a complete nobody could penetrate the secrecy of this mission. Given what was going on, he needed an absolute quarantine on all communications unless he approved them.

  Yes, that was the answer.

  He got up and pulled on his parka and hood before heading out into the snowy night. The wind stung his cheeks and he trudged toward the admin shelter. At the entrance, he pulled the door open and stomped inside.

  The young corporal was still there, typing up a report. He snapped to attention until Colonel Thomson put him at ease.

  “I need you to do something for me, Corporal.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Because of the communications breach earlier today, I’m suspending any communications out of the camp unless they are routed through me first.”

  “Sir?”

  “Yes, Corporal, you’re understanding me correctly. We’re going dark.”

  28

  Annja’s head felt a lot better when she woke up the next morning. Concussions, she’d found, were never the same twice. And after more than her share of them, she was of the opinion that enduring them was probably the least favorite aspect of her life. Sitting up, Annja was prepared for the head rush, but had none. She smiled. Maybe her head was getting harder after all the knocks it had taken.

  She glanced around the shelter, but Dave and Zach were still snoozing away in the dawn darkness.

  Annja rolled out of bed and checked herself over. She felt a little weak, but chalked that up to the fact that she hadn’t had much to eat in the past twenty-four hours. Plus, she suspected she was a little dehydrated from the low humidity in the region. She needed to get herself topped off with food and drink and then she’d be able to face the day.

  She dressed quickly and wandered over to the mess hall. The cook was alone behind the counter and smiled as she came in. “What ca
n I get you?”

  Annja looked around. No one else was up yet apparently. “Am I the first one here?”

  “Early bird catches the worm.” He grinned. “I hear there were some serious talks going on last night into the wee hours. Probably folks are sleeping in a few extra minutes.”

  Annja nodded. “Can I get a ham-and-cheese omelet?”

  “Sure thing. It’s powdered eggs, though. We’re out of fresh until we get a resupply.”

  “That’s fine.” Annja leaned against the makeshift counter. “How often do you get resupplied?”

  “Well, up until the winter started, I would have said every week. But seeing how we only just arrived a few short days ago and the weather’s already making it tough on us, I’d say we have about two more days on what we’ve got before we have to pack up and move on back to McMurdo.”

  “Two days?” Annja couldn’t believe it.

  “Uh-huh.” He stirred the powdered eggs with water and then whisked the mix in a bowl before pouring it into a hot griddle. “You said ham and cheese, right?”

  “Yes.” Annja frowned. Two days wasn’t a lot of time. “Will you all be bunking back in McMurdo until the weather clears, then?”

  The cook shrugged. “Don’t know. I’d imagine so, but you never can tell with the colonel. He’s got this way of planning things out so no one else knows what the deal is but him.”

  “Has he always been like that?”

  “Again, I don’t know. I’ve only been in this unit for a month or so, ever since the last guy put in to get his separation papers. He wanted to start his own restaurant, I think the colonel said. Anyway, he tapped me and said to come on over. He’s a real food lover, the colonel is. It always makes it nicer to be cooking for someone who loves to eat.”

  “I’m sure it does,” Annja said.

  The cook slid a spatula under the cooking mix and then flipped it over before adding the chopped bit of ham and the strands of grated cheese to the egg. Then he carefully folded it in two, and let it cook a few minutes more.

  “You don’t have any orange juice, do you?” Annja asked.

  “Only from concentrate. But it’s the good stuff. Doesn’t taste like freezer burn. It’s over there. I just made a fresh batch a few minutes before you arrived.”