“Let’s hope not, otherwise there’s no chance of getting help anytime soon,” Krista said.
“Eagle Base, are you still receiving? Over.” the man on the radio asked.
“Yes, Blackstone. Standing by. Over.”
“I’ve talked to my commander and she’s willing to discuss a possible trade. Over.”
“His commander?” Summer asked, just as Wicks arrived with Liz.
“What did I miss?” Liz asked.
“We just contacted a base called Blackstone,” Summer said. “And it’s run by a woman. Just like us. How about that?”
“A base? Where?” Liz asked.
“Let’s find out,” Krista said, bringing the mic back to her mouth. “What’s your twenty, Blackstone? Over.”
There was a pause before the frequency came alive again. “I’m sorry, but I can’t divulge that information. Over.”
Krista swung her eyes to Summer. “And I thought we were paranoid.”
Summer shrugged. “Can you blame them? They probably never expected anyone to ever be out here.”
“You’re wasting your breath. They’re never going to tell you,” Lipton said. “Would you?”
“Wanna bet?” Krista said, looking at him for a few beats before bringing the mic back into position. “Blackstone, this is Eagle Base. Can you give us a general idea of your location? Are you in the USA? Over.”
“Roger that, Eagle Base. Pacific Northwest. What’s your twenty? Over.”
Summer put her hand over the microphone and wrapped her fingers around Krista’s. “Wait a minute. Let’s think about this. What if this is some kind of trap? I mean, who calls themselves Blackstone anyway?”
“Probably a black site,” Wicks said, “as in CIA. Don’t trust them.”
“He’s right,” Liz added.
“That’s assuming any part of the government still remains,” Lipton said. “I really doubt the CIA survived what happened out there. It’s not like there’s much of a need anymore.”
Krista brought her eyes around and studied Lipton. The man’s face usually carried a hint of arrogance, as if he knew something that everyone else didn’t. But right now, it looked as though he was forcing his expression to be something different. Like a bad poker player trying to hide his tell.
Lipton must have noticed her noticing him because he turned his head and stared at the empty wall, running his hand over his chin.
That was when Krista saw his fingers twitching. It brought a new idea into her brain. She let the words fly at him, no longer willing to temper her thoughts. “You son of a bitch. I knew it.”
“What?” Summer asked.
Krista looked at Summer. “Think about it. What are the odds that the very last frequency on the list is the one we make contact on?”
Lipton brought his focus back to the group. “It’s called a statistical anomaly. Otherwise known as dumb luck.”
“I doubt that,” Krista said to Summer. “He knew we’d make contact on this one. That’s why he wrote them down in the order he did.”
Krista held the paper up and showed it to Summer, her fingers scanning the list from top to bottom. “Why else would they be out of order like this? If he’s the super brain he says he is, and he memorized them, they’d be in numerical order. Not this mess.”
Summer swung her eyes from Krista to Lipton and back again. “I see your point.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. It’s called random memory recall. Look it up,” Lipton said.
Krista pointed at him. “Look at him, boss. He’s squirming. He knows I’m on to him. He knew they’d be listening; that’s why he put it at the bottom of the list, hoping we’d give up long before we got to it.”
Summer nodded. “And we almost did.”
Krista was surer than ever. “Oh yeah, these are the people he contacted before.”
“That’s your theory?” Lipton asked, shaking his head. “That I’d be dumb enough to include the one frequency actually being monitored, hoping you’d give up long before you ever tried it?”
“Yep. No doubt about it.”
“Look, if I didn’t want you to make contact, all I had to do was leave that one frequency off the list. You never would have known it was missing,” he said to Krista before turning his gaze to Summer. “Tell me you’re not buying her logic. Or lack thereof.”
Summer didn’t answer.
Lipton continued, “She’s just trying to invent a narrative that fits her agenda. One that justifies her hatred of me. And her distrust. This is insanity.”
“Or it’s brilliant,” Krista said in a matter-of-fact way. “Think about it. No matter how it turns out, he’s covered. Either we never make it to the end of the list and give up, or we make contact, at which time he can use this preplanned excuse about not leaving it off the list to cover his ass. He’s playing both ends like the conniving asshole he is.”
Wick stepped forward, raising his rifle at Lipton. “I can put a bullet in him right now, chief. Just give the order.”
Liz stepped in front of Wicks with her hands out. “Okay, I’ve heard enough. Everyone needs to calm down. This is getting out of hand. We have more pressing business to handle right now.”
“She’s right,” Summer said. “We can deal with Lipton later. Let’s get back to the radio. Either way, we need their help.”
Lipton tilted his head, his face showing its usual expression of smugness. “As I said.”
Krista agreed with Summer and Liz, though it was clear her gut was more on fire than theirs. She engaged the mic once again. “Blackstone, this is Eagle Base. You mentioned a trade. What do you have in mind? Over.”
“We need supplies and someone to help with repairs. Over.”
Lipton pointed at the radio. “There you have it. Quid pro quo. A simple proposition.”
Krista held the mic steady. “What kind of repairs? Over.”
“We need someone with a background in science. Advanced physics, preferably. Over.”
Krista whipped her eyes around to Lipton. “That figures.”
Lipton smiled, turning her insides raw as his lips began to flap again. “Good thing you have exactly what you need. As in me.”
Krista held her eye lock on him. Blackstone’s need for a scientist fit her suspicions, proving in her mind that she’d been right all along. They were looking for a geek like Lipton. That’s why they would have worked out a deal with him when he talked to them covertly.
“Ask them about the supplies,” Summer said, breaking Krista’s focus on Lipton.
“What kind of supplies are you looking for, Blackstone? Ours are limited. Over,” Krista said, grabbing a pencil and slip of paper to jot down what she assumed was a long list.
“Equipment mainly. Over.”
“Please explain, over.”
“A Geiger counter if you have one. Plus, a spectrometer would be helpful. And some protective gear. Over.”
Krista looked at Summer, then at Lipton, shooting him a raised eyebrow and a look that told him to explain their needs.
“Do I really have to lay it out for you?” he snarked.
“Humor us,” Krista said, figuring he already knew the answer. Perhaps his words might convince Summer that this was all a ruse, set up long before today.
Lipton pointed at the transmitter. “They have a radiation leak, obviously, and need someone to repair whatever device is causing it.”
“Can you do it?” Summer asked.
“Impossible to know. Not without more specifics.”
Krista turned to Summer. “Do we have a Geiger counter?”
“Yeah, there’s one in the basement, along with a bunch of old suits, but I don’t know if they are the right kind of protective gear.”
“You know it doesn’t matter, right?” Lipton said.
“Which part?” Summer asked.
“The gear. Whatever is going on has already become critical. That’s why they’re reaching out and risking a reveal of their location on an open frequency.”