Colder Than Ice (15 page)

“On
top of that, the hut that will serve as our kitchen and office will move by
air. Weather permitting, this will be flown out tomorrow to our base camp by a
Chinook as an under-slung load. Using the trailer on the sno-traks and a
sixteen ton BOB-trak 5000, we should be able to move the remainder of our
equipment.”

“I’ll
be the bunny. What’s a BOB-trak 5000?” Ewan asked.

Sarah
chuckled. “It’s more commonly known as BOB, which stands for beast of
burden. Think of an enclosed rectangular tractor on tracked wheels, like a
tank. Like the old NODWELL, if you’re familiar with that.” Ewan nodded.
“They’re a very handy piece of transportation for scientific expeditions
because of the heavy loads they can tow.”

Michela
nodded. “Sarah’s right. It will be our workhorse. Unfortunately, because
of the speed of the BOB-trak and my intent to travel as a group, our movement
will be relatively slow. Loaded, the vehicle’s top speed is about
twelve-and-a-half miles an hour in good conditions. Only experienced operators
are allowed to drive these so we’ll off-load our stores and then the driver of
BOB will return to base, accompanied by the driver and the second sno-trak.”

Dianne
stifled a yawn. “That’s fine but where are we sleeping tonight? I’m about
ready for bed.”

“Long
term expeditionary are allocated a room in the building we’re in,” Michela
said. “Because we’re only going to be here for a short while, we’ve been
put in two of the dongas outside. And Michael, before you ask, these are the
living vans. You’d have seen them when you arrived.”

“You’re
not talking about the refrigerated containers outside? God, we’ll freeze,”
Rick declared.

“First
off, you won’t freeze. Each of the vans has a heating unit. And second, get
used to the conditions. On the move to the dig site we’ll be living in tents.
I’m sorry people, but this place doesn’t have a five star rating.”

“I
think we all know that,” Allison interjected. “Why don’t you just
tell us who has what container and we’ll be on our way.”

Michela
pretended to check the papers in front of her instead of reacting to Allison’s
belligerent tones. Deliberately avoiding Allison’s eyes, she replied,
“Because of the number of people here at the moment, we’ve been allocated
two vans of four beds each—one for the men and one for the women. They’re vans
one and two, just down the stairs, off the main building.”

Allison
flung her head back. “Isn’t that snug. I can’t wait.”

“What
are the shower arrangements? I feel like a nice long soak,” Dianne asked.

“Sorry,
Di,” Michela said. “The shower arrangements here are pretty tight. They’re
set to a timer and automatically turn off after five minutes. We’ve been
allowed a shower now and one before we leave, so think of the other people on
the station and use the water sparingly.” She quietly chuckled at the
shocked look on Dianne’s face. “Now, if there’s nothing more, the women
will be in van one and the men in two. Training starts at nine tomorrow
morning, with breakfast at seven-thirty. I’ll see you then.”

She’d
barely finished her final comments and Allison was out the door. She studied
her digital tablet. As the door closed behind the departing group, she growled
in frustration, only to hear Sarah’s laughter.

“I
take it all back. You have the patience of a saint,” Sarah said.

“She’s
driving me crazy. If she’s angry over what she saw then why doesn’t she damned
well come out and say it? I swear to God, she’s the most frustrating woman I’ve
ever met.”

Sarah
patted Michela on the back. “Look at the positives. It’ll be good for your
study.”

ALLISON
PULLED HER beanie from her head, removed her jacket, and sat down in one of the
conference room chairs. She watched as other members of the group also disrobed
as they laughed among themselves.

Derek
Fowler, the second-in-command of Wills Station, cleared his throat to gain the
group’s attention. “It was good to see that so many of you were familiar
with a ski-demon. It doesn’t matter that not all of you managed to master the
art of driving the sno-trak. I assume Rob’ll be doing the bulk of the driving
there and back.

“I
know I gave you a quick brief on the station emergency procedures, but I’d like
to remind you about the emergency huts that are located throughout Antarctica.
If you pull out your maps we’ll go on.” Derek waited until there were at
least two team members to a map.

“These
are a lot like the dongas you slept in last night. They carry emergency rations
and bedding, enough for a group to sit out a blizzard. As you can see, these
are already pre-plotted on your maps. Now, if there are no questions, I’ll run
through the emergency evacuation procedures to be used when recovering a team
member from a remote site back to the base.”

Despite
the importance of the information being presented, Allison’s mind wandered.
Were
all the stores ready for travel yet? Had anything been broken in the move?
She
was dying to get back to checking the equipment.

At
the next break she looked around the room, attempting to locate Michela.
I
really do need to get back to checking those stores. The idea of asking that
woman to be excused riles me no end, but if I have to sit through another
briefing I may commit a murder.
She turned to Rob.

“Where’s
Dr. DeGrasse?”

Rob
shrugged. “Buggered if I know. The last I saw of her she was heading off
with the Wills Station team leader. They were deep in discussion about
something or other.”

Allison
thanked him and turned to the window. Looking over the white landscape,
randomly dotted with a cornucopia of modern and not-so-modern buildings, she
mentally vented her spleen.
That’s all this group needs is a bloody
oversexed woman on it. For Christ sake, can’t she keep her mind on the job at
hand? If she can’t, then one of us will.
She quietly took her leave and
went to the warehouse and the expedition’s stores.

MICHELA
TICKED OFF her task list on her digital tablet.

“I’ve
gone through your two primary means of communication, but unfortunately if we
get solar flare activity you won’t be able to contact us. If this happens you
should re-establish comms at the next available opportunity. You’ve got enough
backup fuel should your solar power unit not work. But in deference to the
environment, I’d prefer you keep fossil fuel use to a minimum.” Maddi
rubbed her hands on the back of her jeans. “That about covers it. Any
questions?”

Michela
shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m sure the occasional issue will come
up, but I’ll deal with those as they come along.”

Maddi
smiled. “Yep. Down here thinking on your feet can be the difference
between success and failure. By the way, what’s the matter with Alli? I said
good morning to her this morning and she gave me a look so scary that it could
convince small children to eat their veggies.”

“I
know what you mean. Apparently, she saw you leave my quarters the other morning
and she’s had a bee up her ass ever since.”

“So,
why should it bother her, what you do with your social time?”

“I
think it’s got more to do with the fact she’s made a wrong assumption,” Michela
replied. “My dealings with her over the past six or so months indicate
she’s a little proud and doesn’t like to be wrong. I mean, you should have seen
the accommodations hut last night. Di and Alli occupied the two beds down one
end, with Sarah and I down the other end. In between was an assortment of
hanging towels, as if Alli was afraid that Sarah and I would spend our time
gawking in her general direction.”

Maddi
patted Michela’s shoulder. “It sounds like you’ve got your work cut out
for you. A word of advice. Clear the air before you leave here. The last thing
you want is dissent at a remote site. And, of course, if there’s a problem with
the sleeping arrangements, you could always bunk with me tonight.”

Michela
grimaced. “Oh, right. That would be a great solution.” They both
laughed. “You’re right about solving things. I wish she could be a little
more adult about it.”

Michela
left Maddi to her work and went to where the rest of the team was training. She
wasn’t surprised that Allison was absent and, guessing Allison’s location,
headed to the warehousing area of the station. Seeing Allison in the far bay,
Michela calmed herself as she searched for a benign way to begin the
conversation. Allison, wearing a less than savory expression, acknowledged her
presence.

Pasting
on a smile, she walked to Allison. “You seem to have your work cut out for
you here. How’s the stores reconciliation going?”

Allison
glanced at Michela. “I’d have thought that was the least of your worries,
given your obvious preoccupation with Maddi.”

All
thoughts of rational discussion left Michela as she fought to retain a calm
appearance around the other people in the bay. Aware of prying ears, she moved
close enough so that only Allison could hear her. “That’s it,” she
uttered through clenched teeth. “Come with me, now.” She turned, not
bothering to see if Allison followed her.

Michela
walked out of the warehouse and into the main building, in search of the
nearest vacant room. When she found one, she waited by the door for Allison to
enter, and then closed it quietly behind her. “Just what is your problem?
You’ve been like a damned bear with a sore head for days now and I’ve just
about had enough.”

“You’ve
had enough? You’re bloody well not the only one. You must think I’m so terribly
gullible buying your story of lost love. I can’t believe I was so stupid to
even believe you. I’ve no doubt you and Maddi had a good laugh on my behalf. I
think the thing that pisses me off the most is that you lied to me.”

Michela
shook her head. “I’ve never lied to you about anything.”

“Bullshit
you haven’t,” Allison replied, hands on hips, legs apart.

“Seeing
as how you think I have, when did I supposedly lie to you?” Michela asked.

Allison
laughed. “At the coffee house of course.”

Michela
squinted as she tried to recall the discussion they’d had that evening. “I
never did. We discussed Sarah’s sexuality and you asked me questions about what
my type was. At no time did you mention gender, not that it’s any of your
damned business anyway.”

Allison
threw her hands up and wheeled around the room. “Isn’t this a fine state
of affairs? Two bloody lesbians in the group. I suppose the two of you will
have a fine time together, keeping each other warm. I hate to think where that
leaves poor Dianne in the sleeping arrangements.”

Michela
could feel the last of her control slide away. “Didn’t you listen to
anything
I said that night regarding choice? I’m not interested in Sarah and I’m
sure as hell not interested in Dianne.”

Allison
closed the distance between them. “Of course you’re not, you’re more
interested in Maddi. It’s a shame she’s not part of the team.”

Michela
looked at the ceiling, her teeth and fists clenched in exasperation.
Woman,
you’ve walked a fine line long enough and you’ve just crossed it.
She
returned Allison’s steely gaze. “Just what is it that really bothers you,
Dr. Shaunessy? That I had great sex or that it wasn’t with you.”

Allison
slapped Michela and the sting caused Michela to take several steps back in
surprise. Allison closed on her. “How dare you! Lady, you certainly have
an unrealistically high opinion of yourself and you must be blind as well. I
prefer men not women and even if I did prefer women, if I woke up with my arm
around you I’d gnaw it off to get away.”

“For
Christ’s sake, what is your problem then?” Michela roared.

The
door opened and Sarah’s head popped in. “I was passing by and thought I
heard world war three starting. What’s going on in here?”

Allison
pushed past Sarah. “Why don’t you ask her? She seems to have all the
answers.”

Sarah
stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She silently watched
Michela run her hands through her hair and rub her neck in an attempt to calm
her emotions. Michela turned to Sarah, the red mark still evident on her face.
“What the hell happened to you?”

Michela
gingerly touched the mark. “She slapped me.”

“She
what?” Sarah carefully checked Michela’s face for any permanent damage.
“I think you need to reassess her position on the team. If this is the way
she responds to authority, then you don’t know how she’ll act out in the middle
of nowhere.”

“No,
I deserved it. I lost my cool and said something entirely inappropriate. It’s a
wonder she didn’t do any further damage.”

Sarah
leant against the door. “What did you say?”

“You
know there’s been tension ever since the incident with Maddi.” Sarah
nodded. “It came to a head this morning and I asked her what her problem
was. Things got a bit out of hand and she started carrying on. I got angry and
asked her what her real problem was. I asked her whether it had to do with the
fact that I had great sex with another woman or the fact that it wasn’t with
her.”