Colder Than Ice (14 page)

“The
movement to Wills Station will be in two phases, with the stores moving by
ground and personnel by helicopter. Despite the fact you’ll be traveling over
pack ice, there’s always the chance the helo may find a break between here and
the station. Because of that, you’ll all be trained in wearing an immersion
suit before you fly out. For those of you unfamiliar with the suit, think of it
as a sort of skintight garment with big boots. It’s not the most comfortable
thing to wear, but it’s better than the alternative. In the unlikely event of a
crash…” He paused as Allison quietly got up and left the room. He met
Michela’s eyes, and she nodded at his unspoken request.

“As
I was saying, in the unlikely event of a crash these will keep you alive in the
water. Without them you’d last for ten minutes. With them you can expect to
last for eight hours. Off-loading will commence tomorrow at six in the morning.
Will the Team Leader for Wills Station and the Team Leader for the Finlayson
expedition ensure there’s someone present to supervise the off-loading of
stores at the other end? The first flights will carry these people.”
Michela made a note of the timings for tomorrow.

As
the meeting broke up Michela walked to the front of the room. “Captain,
I’m sorry that Dr. Shaunessy left. I’m not sure what the problem is, but if you
leave it to me I’ll try to resolve it.”

The
captain smiled. “Not a problem. Just ensure she’s fully aware of the
requirements for tomorrow.”

“Leave
it to me.”

MICHELA
HEADED TOWARD her quarters, knocking on the doors of her group as she went. She
gave them ten minutes to meet her in the mess.

When
everyone had gathered, Michela allocated tasks for the following day.
“There’ll be about a two-hour delay between when the first stores depart
by land and the main body of people depart by air. This will give enough time
for the equipment to be on its way, while also catering for the two-person
advance party to meet the stores at the other end. Alli and Rick, I’d like the
two of you to be on the first chalk made available to us.”

Rick
tilted his head. “What’s a chalk?”

“It’s
just a name given to a list of people who are flying by helicopter from one
point to another. You and Alli can check the stores as they arrive and ensure
they’re placed in a separate bay, away from the others. Di, you and Rob will be
first to leave in the main body, followed by Michael and Ewan and finally Sarah
and myself. I’ve already spoken to the Wills Station team leader and she’s
confirmed we can rendezvous in the station’s conference room once we’ve
arrived. From there we’ll be allocated our quarters for our stay. By eight
tonight I’ll post the flight details. The brief on immersion suits will take
place about a half hour before you fly tomorrow. Any questions?” Michela
hadn’t missed the look on Allison’s face at the reference to Maddi.

“I’d
rather go by road,” Allison said.

Michela
turned to Allison, who stood in the corner, her arms tightly folded across her
chest.
Oh dear, here we go. I’m sure this won’t be the last time we’ll clash
swords over the next couple of months.
She took a calming breath. “I’m
sorry, Alli. I don’t know that we were given any option. The vehicles used to
move stores aren’t people carriers. They’ve space for a driver and that’s all.
If you were to travel in one you’d freeze.”

Allison
shook her head. “I don’t care. I’d rather go by road and freeze. In fact
if it’s only six miles, why can’t I walk?”

The
group curiously watched the argument, and Michela gave Sarah a questioning
look. Sarah quickly shook her head.

Rick
put his arm around Allison’s shoulders and gave them a good-natured shake.
“What’s wrong, Alli? It’s only ten kilometers. It’s not like it’s going to
hurt you know.”

Allison
forcefully shook away his arm. “What would you know? Your first helicopter
ride was only a few days ago.”

“God,
what’s wrong with you? Are you pre-menstrual or something?”

Michela
silently groaned at Rick’s short-sighted nature.
I can’t believe you said
that, you damned Neanderthal. There’s something else bugging her, can’t you see
that?
She caught herself, realizing that she hadn’t initially picked up on
what was now obvious.

“That
wraps it up,” Michela said. “Tomorrow will be busy and I ask you to
follow the directions from the crew. We’ll meet again in the Wills Station
conference room tomorrow night. Now are there any more questions? Fine. The
time’s now your own.” Allison strode out the door. “I guess that
means the meeting’s over.” The remainder of the team filed out, leaving
Michela and Sarah.

Exasperated,
Michela ran her fingers through her hair. “What the hell is going on?
First she walks out on the captain’s briefing and now she walks out on mine.
Obviously you know something I don’t.”

“It
took you a little while to pick up on her body language. And you call yourself
a psychologist.”

Michela
rolled her eyes. “I know. I think I’d prepared myself for a confrontation
and was blind to anything else. What’s the problem?”

“I’m
not sure I should be telling you this, but Alli was in a helicopter that went
down over water. From what she’s mentioned, I think she’s lucky to be alive.
Remember when we went to Macquarie Island and she stayed on board?”
Michela nodded. “That’s when she told me what had happened.”

Michela
mentally kicked herself for being so blind to what, given her profession,
should have been obvious. “You’re right. I should have picked up on her
mood. But it doesn’t change things. She’s still going to have to leave by helo.
Any suggestions on how we achieve this?”

“Short
of tying her up and throwing her on the chopper?” Sarah laughed at
Michela’s outraged expression. “Seriously though, I think if we could talk
her into taking a light dose of a relaxant that should be enough to calm her
for the short journey.”

Michela
nodded. “That sounds like a possible solution if she’ll listen to it. I
can rearrange the chalks so that Rick and Alli fly second last and Di and Rob
go on the advance chalk. Di’s more than capable of supervising the checking of
the equipment. I better go and mend some bridges with Alli.”

MICHELA
QUIETLY KNOCKED on Allison and Rick’s cabin door. As she mulled on how to
broach the topic with Allison, Rick opened the door.

“Michela,
did you forget something?”

“No,
I need to speak with Alli regarding a change to the chalk arrangements
tomorrow.” Michela wondered how much she should tell Rick. “I intend
to fly Alli out in the second last chalk tomorrow to give her a chance to get
used to the idea. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you can fly out with her.”

Rick
smiled. “I understand what you’re saying, but I think this is one of
Alli’s moods. We’re here now and I’m keen to be off this tin can. Can’t you
reorganize it so Di and I fly out first and, say, Rob fly with Alli?”

Michela
was lost for words.
You obviously don’t know about Alli’s fear of flying, do
you? And you couldn’t give a damn over why she feels the way she does. You
selfish prick!
She struggled to rein in her temper. “I’m sure it could
be arranged,” she curtly replied. “In the meantime, do you know where
I can find Alli?”

“She’s
in the cargo hold, doing a final equipment check. I swear the girl can be so
single-minded sometimes that she just lets the rest of the world pass her
by.”

Michela
thanked Rick before heading to the hold.
Sometimes that’s not such a bad
idea. And she’s a damn woman, not a girl you misogynistic creep.

Michela
quietly walked to the bay holding the stores for the Finlayson expedition.
Realizing her presence was still unnoticed, she took the opportunity to watch
Allison work. Her face was a picture of concentration as she ticked off items
from a checklist. Allison curled her hair behind her ear, offering Michela a
view of her high cheekbones and strong features. Michela’s eyes traced a path
up Allison’s compact body, lingering on the tight waist, concealed in jeans and
complemented by a long sleeved woolen skintight top that nicely outlined her
breasts.
Breasts? Back up there a minute, woman. She’s straight, remember?
And what’s more, you’re not exactly on her Christmas card list at this moment.

Michela
cleared her throat. Allison turned around.

“What
do you want?” Allison demanded.

“Good
afternoon to you, too.” Michela bit off any further sarcasm. “I hope
you don’t mind, but Sarah spoke to me after you left the meeting. Why didn’t
you tell me about your dislike of helicopters? We could have worked something
out.”

Allison
shrugged and returned her focus to the tablet in her hands. “I really
didn’t think it was any of your business.”

Michela
took a calming breath. “It is when it concerns one of my team.”

“Don’t
worry.
You
needn’t worry about me. I’m sure you’ve got other more
pressing issues or
people
you need to speak with.”

I
swear she’s baiting me.
Michela
resisted the temptation to be equally sarcastic. Losing her temper would get
her nowhere. “Sometime over the next few days I’d like to sit down and
discuss a few things with you but we don’t have that luxury right now. I’m sorry
about your experience with the helicopter, but it’s the only way we can get you
from here to the station. If you wish, Sarah can give you a mild sedative,
enough to calm you for the journey.” Allison shrugged. “If I could,
I’d move you by land. If you want the sedative please speak with Sarah about
it. If you need to talk with me, I’ll be in my cabin. Feel free to drop
by.”

“Should
I knock first, just in case you’re preoccupied?”

Refusing
to take the bait, Michela left Allison to her work.

MICHELA
RAISED HER head as the door to the Will’s Station conference room opened and
Sarah entered. “First here. I hope you don’t want a gold star. Hey, how
did things go with Alli?”

Sarah
leant against the desk that dominated the room and removed her jacket.
“Things went fine. I was surprised to hear that Rick wasn’t flying with
her. I can’t believe all he wanted to do was to get here. If she was my woman I
wouldn’t let her out of my sight.”

Michela
laughed. “Why does that not surprise me? You’re a softy at heart, aren’t
you?”

“Rick’s,
oh I don’t know, a bloke and a single-minded one at that. I spoke with Rob and
gave him the bare facts about Alli and flying, and he couldn’t have been more
helpful. Now there’s a real softy, even though he doesn’t look or act like it most
of the time. And anyway, Rick got his comeuppance by being in the first
chalk.”

“What
do you mean?”

Sarah
chuckled. “Just before the first flight was due to take off there was an
almighty gust. The Katabatic winds were playing up again. I swear he was green
before he even got on the helo. Thank Christ I wasn’t flying with him.”

They
both laughed. “So, how’s Alli?”

“She’s
fine.”

The
rest of the team filed into the room.

Michela
quickly glanced at Allison, reluctantly thankful that her sullen features indicated
the effects of the sedative had worn off. Rubbing her hands together, Michela
smiled at the group’s expectant faces.

“We’re
finally here,” she said. “Now, Michael, I know you’re not all that
keen on more training, but there’s a little bit more we’ve got to do. This will
involve a quick brief on the Station’s safety procedures, followed by training
on one of our four ski-demons and our sno-trak.”

“What’s
a ski-demon and a sno-trak?” Michael asked.

“A
ski-demon is like a SKIDOO, just a different brand name,” Rob replied.
“A sno-trak, to put it politely, is an all terrain, tracked and heated
washing machine that can fit four to five people per cycle, as well as tow a
payload of about two tons.”

Sarah
laughed at the look on Michael’s face. “Rob’s right. They’re very capable
machines, but riding in them is like being tossed about in all different
directions. For those of you who have read about the equipment in Antarctica,
they’re a lot like the HAGGLUND, which for many years was the vehicle of choice
down here.”

Michela
nodded. “Rob will be the driver for one of the two sno-trak’s traveling
with us to the dig site. The other will carry the rest of the group and will
return to station once we’ve been dropped off.”

Ewan
held up his hand. “What about the rest of the stores?”

“Some
of our equipment has been pre-positioned. The portable solar power plant
organized by the Finlayson Corporation has been put in place and will be
waiting us on our arrival.” Michela held up her hand, waylaying the
outraged response that looked about to erupt from Allison. “Using Sarah’s
coordinates and resonance testing of the ground, they’ve made sure they weren’t
putting it anywhere near the actual historical site. In fact, it’s a good forty
yards from where Sarah took her core sample, Allison. If historical records are
any indication, you’re not going to find a building that big in Antarctica.