variously stared at the flickering gas flame or at their feet, deciding what to do.
Zack spoke first, swallowing, then nodding. ‘I’m in.’
‘Me, too,’ Emma Dawson said uncertainly. ‘Although I’m not much with a gun. I fired one once at my uncle’s ranch.’
‘Don’t worry, honey babe,’ Mother said gently. ‘Give me a couple of minutes with you and you’ll be a kick-ass bitch from Hell, just like me.’
Jeff Hartigan snorted. ‘This is ridiculous. What chance have you got—four Marines and some untrained civilians—against a dug-in military force? Like hell I’m going. I’m staying here and so is Chad.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Chad said quietly. ‘I’ll go.’
‘What?’ His boss whirled.
Schofield turned, too. He hadn’t expected this.
‘I said I’m going.’
‘You will do no such thing,’ Hartigan said. ‘You’ll stay here with me while these others go off and get themselves killed.’
The assistant shook his head. Schofield wondered if he’d ever stood up to his boss before.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Hartigan, but I think we have to do something—’
‘You think we have to do something,’ Hartigan mimicked. ‘Please. Chad, I thought you were smarter than this.’
Chad bowed his head. ‘I’m sorry, sir.’
Schofield said, ‘I’m not. It’s good to have you aboard, Chad.’ He turned to Hartigan. ‘Sir, if everyone else is going, staying here on your own does present certain dangers. Perhaps you’d like to reconsider—’
‘I’ll be perfectly fine, thank you very much, Captain,’ Hartigan said. ‘You are the ones who should rethink your positions. Idiots.’
Schofield just nodded and said no more.
They spent the next half-hour hurriedly preparing for the mission: the Marines field-stripped their weapons, checked their mags; Zack loaded up Bertie with ammunition; and Mother even gave Emma and Chad a quick lesson in marksmanship.
When Schofield saw that Zack was bringing the experimental wristguard, he grabbed it and sent off a message to Dave Fairfax:
SCRW: SOMETHING’S COME UP. GEARING UP FOR BATTLE. CAN YOU LOOK UP A TERRORIST GROUP CALLED THE ‘ARMY OF THIEVES’ FOR ME, PLUS AN OLD SOVIET ARCTIC BASE CALLED ‘DRAGON ISLAND’. ANY INFO WOULD BE APPRECIATED. GOTTA RUN. OUT.
He then ordered everyone, civilians included, to put on drysuits in case they fell into the freezing water. Schofield and his Marines wore new snow-camouflaged drysuits—they looked like regular battle fatigues, only they were made of ultralight watertight material that retained body heat—with their gunbelts and holsters on the outside. On their backs, as always, all the Marines carried their signature weapon, the Armalite MH-12 Maghook, a magnetic grappling hook.
The civilians wore simple grey drysuits with hooded parkas on top for extra warmth; and since they didn’t have combat boots, they just wore their cold-weather Arctic boots, a mixture of heavy-duty Nikes and Salomons.
When everyone was ready, the seven members of the departing team boarded the two assault boats and set off on the long journey south to Dragon Island.
Jeff Hartigan watched them go, remaining at the camp, alone. His last words to Schofield were, ‘You’re a fool, Captain. You must realise that you cannot win this.’
Schofield didn’t reply. He just started his boat and pulled away.
ARCTIC ICE FIELD
4 APRIL, 0840 HOURS
2 HOURS 20 MINUTES TO DEADLINE
Killer whales and extreme cold are two things that the Arctic and the Antarctic have in common, but in many other respects they are actually quite different.
While Antarctica is a vast landmass covered in snow and ice, the Arctic is simply a giant frozen sea. Even the North Pole itself is situated on floating ice. In 1953, a submarine called the USS Nautilus sailed under the Pole; six years later, the USS Skate surfaced at the Pole, bursting up through the ice itself.
Around March every year, as the sun rises for the first time in months, the
Zack spoke first, swallowing, then nodding. ‘I’m in.’
‘Me, too,’ Emma Dawson said uncertainly. ‘Although I’m not much with a gun. I fired one once at my uncle’s ranch.’
‘Don’t worry, honey babe,’ Mother said gently. ‘Give me a couple of minutes with you and you’ll be a kick-ass bitch from Hell, just like me.’
Jeff Hartigan snorted. ‘This is ridiculous. What chance have you got—four Marines and some untrained civilians—against a dug-in military force? Like hell I’m going. I’m staying here and so is Chad.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Chad said quietly. ‘I’ll go.’
‘What?’ His boss whirled.
Schofield turned, too. He hadn’t expected this.
‘I said I’m going.’
‘You will do no such thing,’ Hartigan said. ‘You’ll stay here with me while these others go off and get themselves killed.’
The assistant shook his head. Schofield wondered if he’d ever stood up to his boss before.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Hartigan, but I think we have to do something—’
‘You think we have to do something,’ Hartigan mimicked. ‘Please. Chad, I thought you were smarter than this.’
Chad bowed his head. ‘I’m sorry, sir.’
Schofield said, ‘I’m not. It’s good to have you aboard, Chad.’ He turned to Hartigan. ‘Sir, if everyone else is going, staying here on your own does present certain dangers. Perhaps you’d like to reconsider—’
‘I’ll be perfectly fine, thank you very much, Captain,’ Hartigan said. ‘You are the ones who should rethink your positions. Idiots.’
Schofield just nodded and said no more.
They spent the next half-hour hurriedly preparing for the mission: the Marines field-stripped their weapons, checked their mags; Zack loaded up Bertie with ammunition; and Mother even gave Emma and Chad a quick lesson in marksmanship.
When Schofield saw that Zack was bringing the experimental wristguard, he grabbed it and sent off a message to Dave Fairfax:
SCRW: SOMETHING’S COME UP. GEARING UP FOR BATTLE. CAN YOU LOOK UP A TERRORIST GROUP CALLED THE ‘ARMY OF THIEVES’ FOR ME, PLUS AN OLD SOVIET ARCTIC BASE CALLED ‘DRAGON ISLAND’. ANY INFO WOULD BE APPRECIATED. GOTTA RUN. OUT.
He then ordered everyone, civilians included, to put on drysuits in case they fell into the freezing water. Schofield and his Marines wore new snow-camouflaged drysuits—they looked like regular battle fatigues, only they were made of ultralight watertight material that retained body heat—with their gunbelts and holsters on the outside. On their backs, as always, all the Marines carried their signature weapon, the Armalite MH-12 Maghook, a magnetic grappling hook.
The civilians wore simple grey drysuits with hooded parkas on top for extra warmth; and since they didn’t have combat boots, they just wore their cold-weather Arctic boots, a mixture of heavy-duty Nikes and Salomons.
When everyone was ready, the seven members of the departing team boarded the two assault boats and set off on the long journey south to Dragon Island.
Jeff Hartigan watched them go, remaining at the camp, alone. His last words to Schofield were, ‘You’re a fool, Captain. You must realise that you cannot win this.’
Schofield didn’t reply. He just started his boat and pulled away.
ARCTIC ICE FIELD
4 APRIL, 0840 HOURS
2 HOURS 20 MINUTES TO DEADLINE
Killer whales and extreme cold are two things that the Arctic and the Antarctic have in common, but in many other respects they are actually quite different.
While Antarctica is a vast landmass covered in snow and ice, the Arctic is simply a giant frozen sea. Even the North Pole itself is situated on floating ice. In 1953, a submarine called the USS Nautilus sailed under the Pole; six years later, the USS Skate surfaced at the Pole, bursting up through the ice itself.
Around March every year, as the sun rises for the first time in months, the
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