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BERING SEA. 5:00 AM:
It’s Alex’s turn to watch on the Mystic, and he is studying the pictures of the SV1 that Donner had sent. There is no doubt in his mind now. It is one of the devices. According to the report, DAR’s corporate headquarters is on Fidalgo Island, near Anacortes, Washington.
When he hears a soft beep, he stands and studies the return from the transducer on the monitor. The computer is set to notify him if it locates the item programmed into its software, but the Mystic is nearing the end of the last run, and there is no sign of the device. When the grid image slides down the screen, he releases a deep sigh of frustration, pulls back the throttle, and steps out of the cabin into the cool morning air. “Damn!” he growls. It has to be in this area. This was the end of the massive ice sheet.
He stares out across the water toward the sun rising over the Taylor Mountains to the east. A sudden chill blows across his cheek, and he turns to the north. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
He hurries back into the bridge, grabs the microphone for the intercom, and calls Okana’s cabin. “Are you awake?”
“I am now. Am I late to relieve you?”
“No, but we’re searching in the wrong place.”
“I’ll be up in a second. Make sure there’s some coffee for me.”
Alex grabs a small plastic container of ground gourmet coffee from the shelf, puts it in the machine, and sets a mug in place. He turns back to the navigation system and brings up the charts for the Arctic Ocean on the monitor. He enters the coordinates and checks the quickest route to the Arctic from the Bering Sea.
He looks up when Okana comes up the stairs, his hair tousled, and his eyes still swollen from sleep. “Your coffee will be ready in a moment. Take a look at these charts.” When Okana is beside him, he indicates an area on the south end of the Polar Ice Sheet. “In the other timeline, that’s where it started. That’s where we’ll find the device.”
“Could you be a little more accurate? It would take an entire fleet of boats blasting away with ultrasound to cover that much area.”
Alex realizes Okana is right and sits down on the stool. “There has to be another way.”
Okana steps over to the coffeemaker and grabs the mug of steaming dark liquid. “Could you find it with your spaceship?”
Alex chuckles. “It’s not mine anymore, and Donner will never allow it out of the hangar.”
Okana turns to the front window and stares at the sun’s reflection on the smooth surface of the water. “If it’s as dangerous as you say, maybe we’re better off leaving it where it is.”
Alex stands, his eyes bunched together in thought as he types information into the computer. “We need a satellite image of that section of the arctic. The freezing could have occurred up there instead of down here.”
Josh comes up the stairs and sees his friends leaning over the keyboard. “What’s going on?”
Alex looks up at the big man who looks more like a lumberjack than a techno-wiz. “I’m trying to find the latest satellite image of the Arctic Ocean near the ice sheet, but I’m not finding a way to access NASA’s system.”
Josh moves over to join them. “Let me try.” He sits down to be more even with the console, then enters several commands. A moment later, he indicates the screen to Alex. “That’s it. What are you expecting to see?”
“A massive ice cube.” He studies the image, but the surface of the ocean is empty. He looks over at Josh and Okana. “I guess it didn’t activate. I’m sorry I wasted your time searching the wrong area.”
Okana shrugs. “We’ll never be able to find it without your spaceship, so we should just leave it there.”
Alex knows that isn’t an option. “I’ll try to convince Donner to let us try with the ship. Can Okana and I get a helicopter ride back to Seward? We’ll catch up with you later.”
“Not a problem.”
***
DAR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS. ANACORTES, WASHINGTON. 9:00 AM:
Alex looks up through the windshield at a large modern home perched on the solid rock mountaintop. Alex turns to Okana. “From what I read in the report, when it comes to profit, Preston plays hardball.”
Okana smirks. “This should be fun.”
Alex climbs out, and together they go up the stone walkway to a large glass door. The letters D.A.R. are etched into the frosted surface. He rings the doorbell and looks up at the camera and speaker. A moment later, a man answers.
“Hello, Alex. I’ll be right there.”
Alex sees movement on the other side of the glass before a handsome man dressed in pastel colors opens the door.
Preston smiles at his guests. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you and Okana. Come in and we’ll talk.”
Alex leads Okana through the doorway. “Thanks, Mister Preston.”
“Steve is fine. Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you.”
Alex sits in one of two recliners facing a beautiful view of the San Juan Islands.
Okana remains standing, looking around the interior. “Nice place you have here, Stevie. Can I call you Stevie?” He suppresses a grin when Preston’s gaze hardens.
“No, you may not! You can call me Mister Preston.”
Alex grimaces just to keep from grinning at Preston’s reaction. “I must apologize for my friend. Some people don’t care for his sense of humor.”
Okana grins. “Just messing with you Steve. No harm intended.” He sits in the other recliner.
Preston remains standing and turns to his other guest. “What can I do for you, Alex?”
“I’m interested in your SV1. It’s quite a piece of technology. I noticed from the pictures that the main body appears to be a single object, like a torpedo. Would you mind telling me how you acquired it?”
Preston gives him a sly grin, turns to press the intercom button, and speaks. “Why don’t you come down and join us, dear.” He steps back and looks at Alex. “Have you ever heard the term, a woman scorned?”
Alex isn’t sure what he means until Rita walks into the room. His hands clinch into fists on the armrests. He learned what type of person she really is during the Red Energy Operation. She kidnaped his friend, Doctor Heinz, shot down a Coast Guard helicopter, and caused the eruption of the Yellowstone Super volcano, killing Fala, her daughter, and thousands of other people. That was in the original timeline. In this timeline, none of that took place. Even so, he can’t forget what happened in the other one.
Alex remains seated when Okana stands up to greet her, since he dated Rita a few times and only knows her from this timeline.
Okana faces Rita. “How have you been?”
Rita places her hands on her hips and smiles at Okana. “I see you’re still getting lots of sun.” Her smile slips away when she notices the anger in Cave’s eyes, but she locks stares with him as she moves around to face him. “What’s your problem, Cave? Why did you get me kicked off the Mystic without an explanation? I never even met you until you came on board.”
Alex’s fists unclench and his expression softens. He knows if Rita were involved with the SV1, he will need her cooperation. “You’re right, Ms. Harrow, but I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not able to give you an explanation. And for that, I do apologize.”
Rita keeps her hands on her hips. “What do you want?”
Alex takes a moment before responding. The time for playing softball is over, and he stands. “I know you did not design and build that piece of equipment you have floating in space.” He notices the surprise in Preston’s eyes.
Rita crosses her arms and scoffs. “You know nothing, Cave. Steve’s company holds the patent rights. You can check for yourself.”
“That may be, but it’s not yours.” When she smirks, he gets in her face. “Did I say something funny? Because even if you didn’t steal it, you have no idea what kind of fire you’re playing with.”
Preston indicates the door. “I think we’re through here, gentleman. You know the way out.”
Alex glares at Rita and Preston. “I’ll be seeing you two again.” He spins around and shoves the glass door open, hearing Okana’s footsteps right behind him. Once outside, he climbs into the passenger seat of the rented sedan, and stares through the front window while he waits for Okana to get in. He knows he’s right about the device in space, but for the moment, there’s not a damn thing he can do about it.
Okana climbs in and starts the engine. “What’s next?”
“I don’t know. I want to see my family while I’m in the area.” He notices Okana’s pleading eyes and smiles. “Want to come along?”
“You bet I do. I really like your father, and the kids are great.” He backs out of the parking spot and heads down the mountain toward Sparrow Valley, Washington.
***
Rita plops down in the chair. “Cave is going to be a problem.”
“What about his friend?”
“Okana’s okay. At least, he was when we were on the Mystic.”
“I don’t like him.”
She gets up. “I want to run another test on the device this afternoon.”
“I don’t have any cleanup crews available at the moment. We’ll have to wait until I can set up a contract with another company.”
“You won’t need them. It would be too suspicious if you and your equipment suddenly showed up in Cave’s home town.”
“Where is it?”
“An old crater on the western side of Mount Baker. A quaint little place called Sparrow Valley.”
Preston smirks. “A woman scorned all right.”
Rita heads for the door.
***
Alex and Okana sit in comfortable silence for nearly an hour, then the corners of Okana’s lips curl up into a grin. “Rita sure looks good. When we were on the Mystic, I was about to close the deal when you showed up and kicked her off the ship.”
“I did you a favor, my friend. You wouldn’t have liked her once you got to know her.” He reaches over the back seat and grabs a manila envelope, opens the flap, and slides the pictures and a small stack of papers onto his lap. “According to this report, Preston’s research facility is in Eastern Washington. That must be where they’re controlling the space vacuum. Could you be away from the Mystic for a few days?”
“Sure. I told Mike we’ve called off the search, so nothing for me to do until he gets back from the Environmental Conference in Vancouver. I’m ready for a little excitement.”