"I fear I must apologize for keeping you all waiting so long," he said. "I realize that this is an alarming situation, and I am sorry to have been the cause of any delay — but I had another turn while Major Alfsson and I were talking, and he was kind enough to summon his company's medic and ensure that I was well. Unfortunately this detained him from communicating with his superior officers."
"I have now spoken to them," Alfsson said. "Our primary concern, of course, is to ensure your safety until we can establish contact with Neumayer Station and arrange your transport. But while you are here, my instructions are to ask you to share whatever information you have regarding this place. There are areas that we are still attempting to access and it seems possible that you might be able to help us. We had been working on the door that you opened for some time."
"Might we ask how long you've been here?" Purdue spoke up. "If we are to share information with you, it would be a gesture of good faith if you were to share yours with us."
"I'm sorry, sir," said Alfsson, "but I am not at liberty to disclose that information. All I can tell you is that we had been here long enough to get frustrated by some of the doors — but then, I am not a patient man."
"Then we've got that much in common," Purdue muttered to himself, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms sulkily.
"I have told Major Alfsson the basic details of our mission." Admiral Whitsun's breathing was becoming a little labored, though he remained sitting bolt upright and looking alert. "After a certain amount of negotiation, his superiors were willing to permit us not only to stay until our transport is arranged, but also to allow us to continue our explorations — provided we agree to remain under escort at all times. I trust we are all agreed?"
A ripple of nods ran around the table, punctuated by some relieved sighs as the less optimistic members of the group realized that they were not on the point of being shot after all.
"Great," said Major Alfsson. "Let's make a start."
Chapter 19
The section of the ice station that was occupied by the PMCs was uniformly brighter and a little more modern-looking than the area occupied by Sam and the others. As they marched through the corridors Sam saw a couple of rooms that were clearly dormitories, but apart from the meeting room there was no sign of anything more interesting than living quarters.
Two stories up and along another passageway, they came to the door that had been causing the PMCs so much trouble. It was very similar to the one that they had opened earlier in the day.
"We've been working on this for some time," said Major Alfsson, patting the heavy metal of the door. "It seems to be resistant to more or less everything. We haven't been able to figure out the combination, and it seems to be impossible to wrench the thing open. Our next step is to try explosives, but I would prefer that you take a look at it first rather than risk destabilizing the tunnels."
Purdue stepped forward and examined the dial. He laid his long fingers on it and gently, very gently began to spin it. His face was less than an inch from the steel, his eyes shut, his expression one of rapt concentration. Silently, Sam raised his camera and stole a picture. He had never seen Purdue looking peaceful before. As the first tumbler clicked into place, Purdue smiled in simple joy. It took him less time than the previous door. Sam wondered whether the combination was the same, but he never had a chance to ask. The moment Purdue cracked the lock, a cheer went up from some of the PMCs that drowned out Sam's attempt to speak.
"You next, Nina!" The look of manic excitement was back in Purdue's eyes. "Look at the lock; does it look the same to you as the last one?"
Nina looked back over her shoulder at Sam as Purdue grabbed her by the hand and pulled her forward. "That wasn't really my discovery," she said. "It was Sam who spotted the shape."
"No matter, no matter. Did you bring the key with you, or is it still in the other door?"
"It's here," Nina reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring with its strange, bulbous protrusions. She slotted it into the door and sure enough, the handle sprang forward. "You open this one," she said to Major Alfsson. "We got enough of a surprise with the last one we opened."
"Wow…" Before anyone could stop her, Nina charged into the new corridor. All the way along it were long, narrow windows looking into huge laboratories lined with sinks, gas taps, and burners, microscopes, and pieces of equipment that most of the group did not recognize. "I need a closer look at this." Nina moved toward the door, but Major Alfsson barred her way.
"With respect, Dr. Gould," he said, "we can't let you in there until our men have been in to make sure it's safe. Let's continue."
Nina looked disappointed, but chose not to argue. She rejoined the group members, but as they continued to march she could not resist staring longingly into each window that they passed. "We'd better bring a fresh SD card when we get permission to look around these," she whispered to Sam. "We're going to want to get a record of everything." Sam nodded. Despite his reservations about their safety, he was feeling those old pangs of satisfaction at being the first to see and record things. He remembered the excitement he had once felt when he knew that his camera contained the only evidence of whatever he had been investigating.
Back then, ambition had been a part of his life. He had planned to capitalize on his scoops and his success and become rich enough that he and Trish would be able to do whatever they liked. He had not imagined that he would ever experience even a flicker of that feeling again, but somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach he could sense that little thrill that came from having secret, potentially dangerous information.
At the end of the corridor they came to a set of double doors, which Major Alfsson wrenched open. Beyond the doors lay a vast cylindrical hangar, several stories high, reaching all the way up to what must have been the surface of the ice. Every level consisted of a narrow walkway all the way around the walls, all centered around the massive missile that stood partly constructed, awaiting completion.
There was complete silence in the room. No one had been expecting this, and very few of them had ever seen such a sight before. The missile was breathtaking in its sheer scale and terrifying power, even in its incomplete state. The skeleton of it was fully built, but its covering was not and its mechanisms were exposed in many places. On instinct, Sam lifted his camera and prepared the shot.
"Sir, you need to put the camera down!" Major Alfsson's voice was urgent. "You need to put the camera down now. Everybody turn around and return to the corridor. This room is unsafe for civilian occupation and is off limits until further notice."
As he spoke, his fellow soldiers began rapidly shepherding the expedition party out of the missile hangar. Purdue was extremely reluctant to leave. Only when Major Alfsson stood in front of him and adjusted his gun with unsubtle menace did he finally drag himself away from the railing that separated the walkway from the missile.
Once they were back in the corridor, Major Alfsson ordered two of his men to stand guard at the double doors. "You are welcome to look around the rest of the facility," he said, addressing the expedition party, "provided you do so under escort." He signaled to a couple of soldiers who separated themselves from their platoon and joined Sam and the others. "We will ensure that you are safe at all times. Thank you for your assistance with the locks. Now, I will go and find out whether we've established contact with Neumayer yet."