“You’ve spoken to Aimee.”
Hammerson knew it wasn’t a question. And also knew it would be a waste of time trying to poker face the guy. Hammerson nodded. “Yeah, it’s all okay.”
“Something happened to her.” Alex suddenly leaned forward. “Joshua…?”
Hammerson held up a hand. “There was a minor altercation at their home. They’re all fine. We took care of it.”
“I need to see them.” Alex stood.
“Not yet.” Hammerson lowered his brow. “I said they’re fine.”
Alex started to pace. “Need to see them.” He was like a caged beast. “Need to see them now…”
“Sit down!” Hammerson’s voice boomed in the small room, and he got to his feet. “This is not a fucking democracy, son. You want to do your own thing, then go back to wandering the streets at night, dismantling muggers, and living off the land.” He stepped closer. “But if you want to help, want to help Aimee, Joshua, all of us? Then shut up and listen.”
Alex gripped the seat armrests, but didn’t sit. His face contorted and his fists clenched. The air in the room felt like it crackled with tension, and Hammerson tried to remain as still and calm as he could manage. He could see there was a battle taking place inside the man; it raged and tore at itself, warring between logic and insane fury.
Hammerson didn’t blink. “I said Aimee and Joshua are fine. Do you trust me?” He waited for several seconds, and then banged a fist on the desk, making everything jump. “Do — you — trust me!”
Alex crushed his eyes shut, and the muscles in his neck strained like cords on wood. His hands on the armrests gripped until the wood started to make a splintering sound. Finally, he nodded and eased back into the seat. His eyes stayed shut, but the tension in his jaw began to relax and after another moment he exhaled long and slow, opening his eyes to focus on Hammerson.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Hammerson sat down slowly, feeling the perspiration run down under his arms. “Aimee is fine. And you know you can’t see her… yet.”
Alex nodded again. “She still thinks I’m dead.” He looked up. “When?”
“Soon.” Hammerson smiled, keeping his face expressionless. “Listen up; we don’t have much time, and this is critical.”
Alex exhaled and nodded again. Hammerson continued, “The Sea Shadow’s automated distress beacon just triggered, or was finally detected. The kicker is, it’s coming from under the Antarctic ice.”
Alex looked up slowly. “Beneath the ice?”
Hammerson nodded. “We found the signal, and so did the Chinese. They sent a destroyer, the Kunming, down there, and we think they’re going to make a run at it.” He shook his head. “Can’t let them do that.” He clasped his hands in front of himself. “We have the USS Texas onsite, keeping an eye on the Kunming. But in a day or two, there’ll be a lot more military assets down there. One false move, and we’ll be at war with China.” He shrugged. “We’d win, but…” He got up, and went around his desk, picking up a computer tablet and sitting down. He flicked through some screens, stopping on one.
“What we’d end up winning might be a field of ashes.” He handed the device to Alex. “We have a range of imperfect options. Any one of them could work, and any one could blow up in our faces with catastrophic consequences. One thing is for sure, we’ll end up with a bloody nose.”
Alex watched the war game analysis on the small tablet’s screen. It showed the two major continents: the USA and China. Lines emanated from each — red lines from China and blue from America. More lines also emanated from the ocean at differing strategic positions. Most of the red lines stopped halfway.
“If diplomacy fails, and there is a launch, we estimate over a thousand nukes would be in the air within the first hundred seconds,” Hammerson said. “We’d take down eighty percent of their missiles, but the ones that got through would target major infrastructure, military facilities, and significant civilian populations.”
Alex turned to him, and Hammerson went on.
“It’d kill or maim fifty million Americans. On the Chinese side, the losses would be in the hundreds of millions, and push ’em back to the stone age.” He exhaled slowly. “Like I said, we’d win, but we’d be hurt bad. Country would be in turmoil for decades.” He leaned forward onto the desk. “And once the lion goes down onto its knees, then the hyena close in. What then would Russia do, or Iran or even North Korea? Maybe use the chaos to launch their own attack?” Hammerson said.
“One after the other, or all at once.” Alex exhaled slowly. “And that does not have a happy ending,”
Hammerson stood behind his desk. “So, we need to deescalate the situation — fast. We need to remove the original rationale for them being down in the Antarctic. We need to find the Sea Shadow before they do. Recovery or destruction, nothing else.” He looked into Alex’s unblinking eyes. “We also need to defang the dragon that’s already down there.”
“You want me to go?” Alex asked.
Hammerson nodded.
Alex sat stone-still for a few moments. “You said they were already on their way. By the time I get there, they’ll be days ahead.”
Hammerson smiled grimly. “We might have a shortcut. You can call it an express elevator.”
“One-way trip, huh?” Alex’s eyes looked ancient, weary.
“No, we’ll absolutely get you home,” Hammerson replied. “It’ll all be in the full briefing.”
Alex nodded. “You want me to secure the site, and if the Sea Shadow can’t be retrieved, obliterate it.” He looked up. “What happens if the Chinese refuse to leave?”
Hammerson grunted. “The Chinese have disavowed all knowledge of the team — they don’t exist. Send them home, and if they won’t go…” His eyes were lidded.
Alex nodded wearily. “Kill them all.”
Hammerson lifted another report from his desk. “Before you get there, I have one more job…”
He knew this last task was far more delicate — high impact, low mortality. He also knew he made the right call not telling Alex about the Chinese intrusion into Aimee’s house to target Joshua. The last thing he needed was the Arcadian extracting bloody payback where he was about to send him. He handed the report to Alex. “Like I said, first we need to defang that dragon.”
CHAPTER 10
Curious, Shenjung Xing thought. Even from where he stood just outside the door, he smelled the odd odor escape. In the Antarctic, like most frozen climates, the sense of smell was near useless as the cold locked up odors. But the base’s escaping air was warm, and carried with it scents redolent of saltwater, copper, and something like ammonia.
Shenjung Xing, the head scientist, and leader on the team, was the chief mineralogist, and an engineer by trade. His second in command was a small, wiry woman, nearly overwhelmed by all her padded gear. Dr. Soong Chin Ling was a rare earth minerals specialist, and had worked with Shenjung for over a decade. Many times they had shared a bed, and many times he had thought of marriage, to have the idea whipped away by the next project. He turned to her now and raised his eyebrows. She shrugged in return.
In a few minutes, one of the soldiers came to the door, and waved them in. But as Shenjung went to step forward, the other soldiers pushed past. Shenjung bristled, but knew that he was in charge on paper only. Until they determined what happened to Zhang Li, and the other workers and security force, he was to follow Captain Wu Yang’s instructions like everyone else. The man’s face alone didn’t invite disagreement. And he tried hard to ignore that ogre, Mungoi, he had with him.