Matthew Reilly - Ice Station

Where the hell was she?

Gant saw Montana come back round the ice boulder and catch sight of her.

She was now sitting on the floor in front of the horizontal fissure, clutching at her side with both hands. It had taken all of her strength?and both of her hands?to get to her feet and run back to the left-hand side of the fissure without spilling any more blood before Montana had emerged from the hole. She had actually intended to go back in through the fissure, but she had only managed to get this far.

Montana smiled, walked slowly over to her. He stood in front of her, with his back to the main part of the cavern.

"You're a complete son of a bitch, you know that," Gant said.

Montana shrugged.

"It's not even an alien fucking spaceship, and you're still killing us," Gant said, looking out into the cavern behind Montana.

"It's not just the ship anymore, Gant. It's what you know about the ICG. That's why you can't be allowed to go back."

Gant looked Montana right in the eye. "Do your fucking worst."

Montana raised his gun to fire, but at that moment a bloodcurdling roar echoed across the cavern.

Montana spun just in time to see the big bull elephant seal come charging across the cavern toward him, roaring loudly. The floor shook with its every booming stride.

Gant took the opportunity and rolled quickly back through the horizontal fissure behind her. She fell in a clumsy heap to the floor of the tunnel behind the fissure.

The big seal loped across the cavern at incredible speed, covering the distance between the ship and the fissure in seconds.

Montana raised his gun, fired.

But the animal was too big, too close.

From inside the tunnel, Gant looked up and saw Montana's outline on the other side of the translucent ice wall above her.

And then suddenly? whump !?she saw Montana's body get slammed up against the other side of the translucent ice wall. A grotesque star-shaped explosion of blood flared out from Montana's body as the big seal slammed him against the ice wall with thunderous force.

Slowly, painfully, Gant got to her feet and peered out through the horizontal fissure into the main cavern.

She saw the elephant seal extract his fangs from Montana's belly. The long, blood-slicked teeth came clear of his wet suit and Montana just dropped to the floor. The elephant seal stood over his prone body in triumph.

And then suddenly Gant heard Montana groan.

He was still alive.

Just barely, but?yes?definitely alive. Gant then watched as the big seal bent down over Montana and ripped a large chunk of flesh from his rib cage.

Schofield strode into the radio room on A-deck on the tick of ten o'clock. Renshaw and Kirsty came in behind him. Schofield sat down in front of the radio console, keyed the microphone.

"Attention, McMurdo. Attention, McMurdo. This is the Scarecrow. Do you copy?"

There was no reply.

Schofield repeated his message.

No reply.

And then suddenly: " Scarecrow, this is Romeo; I read you. Give me a Sit-Rep ."

Romeo , Schofield thought. Romeo was the call sign of Captain Harley Roach, the commanding officer of Marine Force Reconnaissance Unit Five. Schofield had met Romeo Roach on a couple of occasions before. He was six years older than Schofield, a good soldier, and a legend with the ladies? hence his call sign, Romeo.

What was more, he was a Marine . Schofield smiled. He had a Marine on the line.

"Romeo," Schofield said, relief sweeping over him. "Situation is as follows: we are in control of the target objective. I repeat, we are in control of the target objective. Heavy losses have been sustained, but the target objective is ours." The target objective, of course, was Wilkes Ice Station. Schofield sighed. "What about you, Romeo? Where are you?"

" Scarecrow, we are currently in hovercrafts, in a holding pattern approximately one mile from the target objective ? "

Schofield's head jerked up.

One mile ....

But that was right outside the front door ....

"?and we are under orders to hold here until further instructed. We have strict instructions not to enter the station."

Schofield couldn't believe it

There were Marines outside Wilkes Ice Station, right outside Wilkes Ice Station. Only one mile out The first thing Schofield wanted to know was?

"Romeo, how long have you been out there?"

" Ah, about thirty-eight minutes now, Scarecrow ," Romeo's voice said.

Thirty-eight minutes , Schofield thought with disbelief. A squad of Recon Marines had been sitting on their asses outside Wilkes for the last half hour.

Suddenly a voice came over Schofield's helmet intercom? not over the radio room's speakers. It was Romeo.

"Scarecrow, I gotta talk to you privately."

Schofield clicked off the station's radio and spoke into his helmet mike. Romeo was using the closed-circuit Marine channel.

"Romeo, what the fuck are you doing?" Schofield said. He couldn't believe it. While he had been inside the station doing battle with Trevor Barnaby, a whole unit of Marines had been arriving at Wilkes Ice Station and waiting outside.

"Scarecrow, it's a fucking circus out here. Marines. Green Berets. Hell, there's a whole goddamn platoon of Army Rangers out here patrolling the one-mile perimeter. National Command and the Joint Chiefs sent every unit they could find to cover this station. But the thing is, once we got here, they ordered us to wait until a Navy SEAL team arrived. Scarecrow, my orders are very clear: if any one of my men moves toward that station before that SEAL team arrives, he is to be fired upon."

Schofield was stunned. For a moment he didn't say anything.

Suddenly the situation became clear to him.

He was in exactly the same position that Andrew Trent had been in in Peru. He had got to the station first He had found something inside it And now they were sending a SEAL team?the most ruthless, most deadly special forces unit the United States possesses?into the station.

A line from Andrew Trent's e-mail suddenly popped into Schofield's head:

USMC PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT HAS YOU LISTED AS DEAD.

Schofield swallowed deeply as the horror of the realization hit him.

They were sending in the SEALs.

They were sending in the SEALs to kill him.

SEVENTH INCURSION

16 June 2200 hours

"Romeo, listen to me," Schofield said quickly. "The ICG planted men in my unit. One of my own men began killing my wounded. That SEAL team they're sending in is going to come in here and kill me. You have to do something."

Schofield felt a chill run down his spine when he realized that he was saying to Romeo exactly the same thing that Andrew Trent had said to him from that temple in Peru.

" What do you want me to do ?" Romeo said.

"Tell them that there's nothing in here," Schofield said. "Tell them there's no spaceship buried in the ice. Tell them it's just an old Air Force black project that got left down here for some reason."

"Uh, Scarecrow, I have no information on what's inside that station. I don't know anything about spaceships buried in the ice or Air Force black projects."

"Well, that's what this is all about, Romeo. Listen to me. I have fought French paratroopers for this station. I have fought Trevor Barnaby and a platoon of SAS commandos for this station. I do not want to be killed by a bunch of my own psycho countrymen after all I've been through, you hear me!"

"Just hold on a second, Scarecrow."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

After a minute, Romeo said, " Scarecrow, I just consulted with the Army Ranger Captain out here ? guy named Brookes, Arlin Brookes ? and he said that he will shoot any of my men who attempt to enter the station before the SEAL team arrives. "