Authors: A. G. Taylor
Alien Storm (34 page)
Helen Brooks walked out of the communications shack to see the unexpected visitors. Winter was coming and the Wolfe Station was preparing to close until spring, so they were the only two researchers left on site. Normally the station, an offshoot of Casey, would have closed weeks before.
But the discovery out on the ice had changed all thatâ¦
“Who are they?” Brooks said.
Jan shook his head. “Beats me. There's no flag or markings on the machines.”
Men wearing the heavy-duty thermal coats, gloves and boots necessary for the harsh Antarctic environment began to pile out of the helicopters. Jan started towards them as the chopper rotors slowed. Three of the men ran to meet him, bent low so their heads wouldn't be taken off by the still-spinning blades. As they straightened up, Jan noted they were all tall, but the man in the middle was a giant, well over two metres. Despite the sub-zero cold, this man pulled back the hood of his coat. Jan was immediately struck by his piercing blue eyes and the scar running down the left side of his face. The crew cut and lack of a beard indicated that the man hadn't spent much time in Antarctica, where facial hair was a must if you wanted to stay warm.
“Hi,” Jan said, glancing over the two men flanking the blue-eyed one. They looked back at him expressionlessly, eyes hidden by mirrored goggles. He noted the automatic rifles slung over their shoulders.
Blue-eyes gave him a smart salute and said, “Dr. Petersen?”
“Yes.”
“My name's Major Bright,” he said with the unplaceable accent of a man who had lived all over the world. “We're here to take over this operation.”
“Take over?” Helen spluttered, always fast to anger. “Why?”
Bright gave her a look like the question was stupid. “Why do you think?”
She began to say something else, but Jan held up a hand for her to be calm. “On whose authority are you doing this, Major?” he asked.
“HIDRA's. I'm sure you've heard of the Hyper Infectious Diseaseâ”
“I've heard of your organization,” Jan interrupted. “You have no authority here. This is a research station run by the Australian governmentâ”
“Not any more. We have reason to believe there's a contamination risk from the object you discovered.”
“You're talking about the fall virus? There's absolutely no reason to believeâ”
“It's a done deal, doctor,” Bright cut him dead. “You're under my authority now. Both of you.”
“We'll see what the guys at Casey Station have to say about that,” Helen said, bristling. “I'm getting them on the radio.”
She started stomping back towards the communications shack before anyone could argue. Bright nodded to his men, both of whom followed. Jan looked after them, taken aback at how quickly things were moving. Major Bright took his arm and began to lead him towards the helicopter.
“Don't worry about your partner, doctor. My men will make sure everything is taken care of. Right now I need you to guide us to the discovery site.” Jan tried to protest, but Major Bright's hand was firm on his arm. “I won't take no for an answer.”
Before the doctor knew what was happening, he'd been bundled into the back of the nearest chopper. Two burly men sat on either side of him, as if worried he might try to jump out. Major Bright took a seat opposite and produced a tablet PC as the helicopter rose swiftly into the air.
“Mark the location of the crater,” Bright shouted above the noise of the rotors.
He handed Jan the tablet, which showed a map of Wilkes Land. Seeing he had little choice, Jan tapped the screen in the area thirty kilometres south of Wolfe Station where the object had been discovered two weeks before. A flashing marker appeared.
“Very good,” Bright said, passing the tablet through to the pilot. “Now, who else knows about the object?”
Jan shrugged. “Well, apart from Helen and I, just a few people at the Casey Station. We kept it as confidential as possible.”
“What about other research stations in the area?”
“There's the Russians at Vostok and the French at Concordia Station. But they have no reason to be looking for anything in that sector.”
Bright smiled thinly. “We'll see.”
“Where did you guys come in from?” Jan asked. “Is your ship close by? Are there HIDRA scientists on board?”
Major Bright gave no response and merely stared at Jan expressionlessly until he looked away. They sat in silence for the rest of the ten-minute trip, Jan feeling more and more uncomfortable sandwiched between the big men. None of the members of Major Bright's group looked or acted like scientists. They were soldiers. HIDRA or not, it was clear the military was moving in to claim the amazing find they'd made on the ice. And all he could do was grin and bear it.
Finally, the crater in the ice appeared through the windows on the right. “That's it,” Jan said, although it was pretty obvious they'd reached their destination â the crater was almost two hundred metres across. The helicopter descended and landed near the edge. The soldiers pushed Jan out after Major Bright and they walked down the snowy incline to the rim of the giant bowl.
“Amazing,” Major Bright said as they looked across the indentation.
Jan nodded in agreement. A meteorite strike on a continent the size of Antarctica was common enough, although the size of the crater was unusual (as was the fact that no one seemed to have picked it up, but given the amount of meteorite activity in the last six months, that was forgivable). No, the truly interesting thing about this crater was under the ice itself. It was as if the meteorite had hit the permafrost and burrowed deep inside. In the centre of the crater the ice had turned the deepest black and it was possible to see a spherical object, like a giant lump of coal far under the surface. From this object spread dark, slender veins, as if the matter at the centre was bleeding material out through the frozen Antarctic ground. It looked like a spider preserved in ice.
The second helicopter landed on the other side of the crater and Jan saw that there was some kind of camp over there. Bright scanned the opposite rim with a pair of binoculars, then handed them to Jan for a look.
“The Russians!” Jan said. “I might have known the Vostok boys would come sniffing around.” He shook his head. “Those sneaky⦔
The unmistakable sound of gunfire echoed across the crater. Jan brought the binoculars back to his face. A scientist he recognized was running along the edge of the crater. One of the soldiers aimed a rifle at his back and fired a burst of rounds. The man's body jerked and went down. Bright's men were shooting the members of the Russian scientific party. Gunning them down in cold blood.
“What is this?'” Jan demanded, hardly believing what he was seeing.
Bright smiled coldly. “Just protecting our find, Dr. Petersen.”
Jan lowered the binoculars and backed along the edge of the crater. “You're not from HIDRA.”
“Duh. You think?”
Jan's legs felt too weak to run. “Helen is calling the Casey Station â you can't get away with this.”
“No one from Casey is going to answer that call, doctor,” Bright said, producing an automatic pistol from the folds of his coat.
Jan stammered, “Wh-why?”
“Because we've already been there.”
Major Bright shot Jan three times in the chest. The scientist staggered back over the edge of the crater and slid down the curved side, leaving a smear of crimson blood on the ice, all the way to the bottom.
A soldier appeared at Major Bright's side. “The Russian team has been neutralized, sir,” he reported. “As has the woman at Wolfe.”
“Very good.”
“Orders, sir?”
Major Bright looked across the crater and surveyed the dark, spider-like infection running through the ice. His gaze focused on the hard, black mass in the centre.
“Dig it up,” he ordered.
To find out what happens next, read
ENEMY
INVASION
Published June 2011
A meteorite has struck earth without warning, unleashing a deadly alien virus. Thousands fall victimâ¦but not Sarah and Robert. Instead they develop strange side effects â psychic abilities. And that makes them a target for HIDRA, a rogue international agency determined to turn them into lab rats, just like the other kids they've already captured â kids who can control fire, create storms and tear steel with their minds. If they work together, these kids might just stand a chance against HIDRAâ¦
Paperback ISBN: 9781409508571
epub ISBN: 9781409531821
Kindle ISBN: 9781409531838
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