Chapter 10

Shane Cooke and Steven Patmore are taken by submarine to Cape Town, South Africa. From there they are transported to Morhotlong, a city in the country of Lesotho. Being a landlocked country, nearly in the center of South Africa, the country doesn’t give much resistance as the coalition moves in. The two men now sit in a troop transport truck guarded by two Chinese soldiers. The trip to the mines is a bit bumpy and the climate is a drastic change from the one in Russia.

“It is quite an idea you came up with,” Cooke remarks.

“It’s simple really,” the other scientist concurs. “Since currents flow naturally below Antarctica, generators can be placed below the ice and provide unlimited energy.” Patmore is quite proud of himself. He decided it is better to help Winter to the best of his abilities instead of suffering the same fate as Dahlin.

“What do you think about this set up they have going?” Cooke asks, genuinely curious about what the other man thinks.

“Well, something tells me that I’m not their first choice for an energy expert,” Patmore admits. “But it is an interesting concept. They transfer thermal heat from the mines that only need minor blasting to get to that heat source.”

“And of course using the mines are easier to protect,” Cooke adds nodding. “Then they have pipeline running through Duran, on the east coast all the way underwater to their base in Androka in Madagascar. That will be easy to defend since it is on the coast as well.”

“Yes,” the other scientist agrees. “With the Chinese occupying South Africa, the Russians will have protection of their pipelines at no extra effort or cost.”

“Sounds like they have it all figured out,” Cooke says with a laugh. “And as Major Demurer said, cost is no objective.”

“Yeah, and if they manage to do what Dahlin says is impossible, I plan to be on the winning side,” Patmore murmurs.

“I know what you mean,” Cooke acknowledges. “I plan to have a family left when all this is over and if that means helping them, then so be it.”

The truck comes to a slow halt. The two soldiers in the back with the two scientists motion for them to exit the truck.

“Looks like we made it,” Patmore remarks sounding enthusiastic. He is glad to see someone else in the group who sees things in the same light as he does.

A constant vibration on the ground jars Spencer awake. He lies there trying to reorient himself. Where the hell am I? The vibration increases and the rumbling of trucks resound off the cliff walls. It all suddenly comes rushing back to him: the battle with the unknown Goji, the bus crashing over the side and now the pain of his bruised, possibly broken ribs. The man forces himself up and looks around for someplace to hide. He knows that sound and the danger that comes with it. It is the sound of heavy trucks packed with soldiers and this is one place he does not want to be at when they arrive.

The road he is on doesn’t have many options. He can either head in the opposite direction of the noise, which will only delay his capture or he can scale the wall. Thinking of the latter, he laughs out loud. He has one option left and that is to go down, down where the bus now rests. The thoughts of Samantha flood his mind and he nearly falls to his knees in anguish. I failed her. I couldn’t even keep her safe. He faced the same situation not long ago. Delgrious had presented him with the choice of saving Sam or the lives of innocent people. He made the choice to save her, and though it may have seemed selfish, he did it because he loved her. And now it seems to have been in vain, a delaying of the inevitable.

After a moment he shakes his head. “Pull it together, Spencer,” he whispers to himself. “They won’t get away with this unless you give up now.” He pushes all negative thoughts from his head. Quickly, Spencer steps over to the edge. This will be a painful climb, but it is better than the fate that awaits him if he should choose to stay and let the soldiers find him.

He begins his descent just as the first truck comes into view. Spencer has always enjoyed rock climbing at the local gym, but the rock wall there is the limit of his expertise. The real thing isn’t too much different, except for the not having convenient hand and foot holds, and of course there is the hundred foot drop should he slip with the aid of a safety harness. Add to this the ache and throb in his ribs. Lying unconscious didn’t really help either. Each breath he takes or long reach he has to make, sends shocks of pain throughout his chest. A few times the pain is so intense, he nearly loses his grip.

The agent makes it down twenty-five feet or so when the truck starts to come to a halt from where he descended from. Troops unload and begin fanning out looking for their quarry. It will only be a matter of time before one of them gets the idea to look over the edge when he isn’t found. When that happens, Spencer will have nowhere to hide. Think damn it, think! His mind screams for him to move, and just as he feared, a soldier does just and peers over the edge. The soldier’s eyes go wide as he is surprised to see the foreign agent clinging to the side of the cliff. At the same time, Spencer is just as shocked. He knew it was inevitable, but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.