CHAPTER 40

We spent the night in the igloo.

Sata, Nagojut, and their Inuit traveling companion, Bob, built themselves another ice hut (in like thirty minutes) so us Kidds could spread out inside our very own frozen dome.

Exhausted, I fell asleep fast but had the worst nightmare ever!

I dreamed that the icebreaker turned around and sailed back to Murmansk without us. Viktor Zolin’s oily minions told everybody that we’d slipped on the ice and fallen down a fishing hole.

“And there was nobody around who could hold his breath long enough to save them,” said Nikita, who looked even scarier in my dream.

I was tossing and turning when I heard a very loud, piercing beep that wouldn’t quit. In my dream, I thought it was an alarm for the nuclear reactor on my nightmare’s nuclear-powered icebreaker, which was about to go, well, nuclear and have a meltdown.

Terrified, I woke up with a jolt.

And bumped my head on the igloo roof, which was basically a giant ice cube.

Everybody else in the igloo was also sitting up, wondering who set an alarm for so early in the morning.

It was the satellite phone. A red light was flashing on it.

Someone was calling.

Mom looked to Storm. Nodded.

Storm pushed the answer button. “Da?” she said. “Alyo?”

And then she listened and said “Da” a few more times. Finally, she said, “Spasibo za etu informatsiyu. Do svidaniya,” and hit the off button.

“Who was that?” asked Mom.

“An undercover Russian military operative stationed on board the Fifty Years of Victory checking in with our departed paratrooper friends. He reports that our cruise ship has left the North Pole and that representatives of Zolin Oil told the crew that we had elected to stay at the pole so we could photograph walruses and polar bears.”

So my nightmare had actually come true. The icebreaker was headed back to Russia without us.

We were stranded at the top of the world.

Mom and Tommy went next door and quickly roused our new Inuit friends in their igloo.

“An interesting development,” said Sata, sounding surprisingly mellow, considering the news. Then again, being stuck in the Arctic Circle was no big deal for him. This was his home, after all!

“It’s a bummer, for sure,” said Tommy, making goo-goo eyes at Nagojut. “But on the plus side, I wouldn’t mind spending more time familiarizing myself with your local customs. For instance, dating. How does that work? Do you guys really rub noses instead of kissing? If so, can someone show me how it’s done? Maybe Nagojut?”

Mom cleared her throat.

Tommy knocked it off.

“Gather up your gear,” said Sata. “We will dogsled to the Barneo drifting-ice research station. It is like a small settlement with housing for explorers and special buildings for all kinds of scientific equipment. They will have communications gear as well.”

“Wait a second,” said Storm. “Isn’t the Barneo drifting-ice station run by the Russians?”

“Yes,” said Sata.

“We definitely can’t go there,” I blurted out. “They’re the bad guys!”

“Not all Russians are bad, Bick,” said Mom. “The Russians at the research station will be explorers and scientists. Just like us!”

Tommy raised his hand. “Will your granddaughter be coming with us?” he asked.

“Of course,” said Sata. “She is the best dogsledder in all of the Arctic.”

“Then what are we waiting for, guys?” said Tommy. “Let’s hit the road!”

“There are no roads,” said Storm. “Just ice.”

“Whatever. Come on. We’re heading back to ninety degrees north to see if Nagojut and I can make it even hotter!”