Primordial

Chapter 13

Excitement on the bridge burst to new heights. Holloway was almost dancing on the spot. Carly moved back to try to get a wide shot of the general euphoria while Aston stayed at the table, leaning on his palms, staring at the readouts. The data was undeniable, but he still could not bring himself to believe it. He glanced up to see Laine looking at him with a subtle frown creasing his brow.

“You unconvinced too, huh?” Aston asked.

Laine shrugged. “I’m not sure what to think.”

“But you want it to be true, don’t you?”

Laine barked a strange laugh. “What I want is irrelevant. There is very little doubt in this town that the creature is real. I’m more concerned about the implications of finding it.”

“What do you mean? The impact on the town?” He supposed in influx of visitors would change Kaarme in perhaps a permanent way.

“That’s part of it.” Laine paused and looked past Aston’s shoulder. Carly had moved in closer to catch their conversation. Laine seemed to rethink what he might have been about to say and instead said, “I just hope it’s not bad for the creature itself, should we actually find anything.”

“But isn’t the fact undeniable now?” Slater asked. “There is something there.”

Aston watched Laine for a moment longer, unsure what was unsettling the man so much, before he turned to stare into the lens. “We scored a sonar hit of something. I can’t think of anything in a lake that would come even close to matching a profile like that.” He gestured at the papers scattered across the table.

Holloway leaned into shot. “Nothing contemporary, maybe!”

Aston sighed. “Correct. Nothing living today matches that data.”

“But something else, from pre-history?” Holloway pushed.

Aston turned to the man, his face set. “Yes, Holloway, a fucking dinosaur would fit the profile. So would a dragon. Maybe even an alien submarine!”

The billionaire laughed. “Why so testy, Mister Aston? Don’t you find the possibilities exciting?”

Aston paused. Why was he so angry? Because the data conflicted with his scientific education and background? Wasn’t science all about responding only to evidence, repeatable evidence, without emotion or personal belief intruding on the facts? Holloway and Laine might be high believers, but Aston himself wasn’t. Yet the results on the table made a mockery of doubt. Repeatable results. That was the heart of science. Empirical evidence, confirmed multiple times. What right did he have to dismiss a theory merely because it conflicted with his prejudices?

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to sound terse. But let’s not get carried away. The simple fact is that we need more data. We also need to test and calibrate the equipment to make sure this hit isn’t an aberration of the hardware or a shadow of something else, something completely inert.”

“You’re joking!” Holloway said with a derisive laugh. “Test the hardware?”

“You brought a scientist along for a reason,” Aston told him. “That reason was scientific rigor. I intend to do my job properly.” He paused. “Think about the scrutiny our work will receive if we conclude there is, in fact, a previously-unknown creature residing here. I want to make sure it holds up.”

Holloway smiled and calmed himself. “Quite right, yes. You make a good point. But all things considered, and hardware glitches ruled out, the fact — the scientific fact! — is that we’ve just got a result here, yes? A result of some huge, unexplained creature in this lake?”

Aston let out a breath and nodded. “Yes, it would seem entirely possible. But let’s get that confirmed.” He turned to Laine. “Maybe you can work with Makkonen. Use the sonar to figure out the direction of travel of that thing and then build a new grid to explore.”

As the day wore on they got no further hits, but did manage to replot their search area for the next day. A new sense of focus, of purpose, gripped the crew. Where excitement for the mission had steadily waned with everyone except Holloway, now a new vitality spurred their activities.

By around four in the afternoon, Aston needed some fresh air and went out on deck. A squally rain was blowing in, bringing with it low, gray skies. The surface of the lake was battered and rippled by the drops, with tiny whiteheads whipped up by a stiffening breeze. Instead of hiding from the weather, Aston embraced the wet chill, turned his face into it and breathed deeply. There was a sense of age and dignity to this place, a different kind of timeworn permanence to the tropical and sub-tropical climes he was used to. He found it invigorating.

Slater stood at the prow, huddled in a red rain jacket, the collar turned up and the hood pulled low over her eyes. It made her sultry and attractive. She talked animatedly into her cell phone.

As Aston approached, he overheard her say, “There’ll be more, of course. And yes, I know the value. Just let me do my work.” She flicked her gaze to him, nodded shortly. “Listen, I gotta go. Yep. Bye.” She hung up and pocketed the phone, threw a weak smile at Aston.

“Who was that?” he asked.

She flapped one hand, then jammed it back into her jacket pocket. “Just business.”

“Sounded a bit… I don’t know, stressful?”

“TV is stressful.” She seemed reluctant to say more. When Aston raised an eyebrow, she said, “I’m busy with a series, specials, other offers. There’s a lot going on for me. Yes, it’s stressful.”

Aston raised his hands. “Okay, sorry! Didn’t mean to pry.”

Slater turned to look out over the water. “Dave still isn’t back.”

Maybe that was part of the reason she was so on edge. Aston nodded out into the squall. “I wouldn’t fancy rowing through this myself.”

“But this has only just started, Sam. Dave’s been gone all day, and yesterday. I’m actually a bit concerned for his safety.”

“Not so mad at him any more?”

Slater snorted. “Oh, I’m still mad as hell at the bastard. But I’m worried too. It’s one thing for him to skip out on us for the evening. Even to be too hungover to come back early. But Dave is used to a few beers. I can’t see how it would lay him low enough to stay away. So either he’s really sick or…”

“Or what?”

“I don’t know. Or something else has happened, I guess. Either way, I’m worried. He has a cell phone and I’ve been calling and messaging all day, but no response.”

Aston nodded, gazing out across the turgid lake. “I don’t know Dave well, but what you say makes sense. We talked before he left about getting some more beer and sneaking it back to the boat. He gave no indication that he intended to desert us.”

“I’m a bit concerned about that policeman, too,” Slater said. “The one who hassled us right before we left?”

“You paid him off, right?”

“Holloway did, yeah. And we sold him on the story that we’re making a nature documentary. But what if he spotted Dave in town and put the hard word on him? Dave’s a pussycat, he wouldn’t cope well with being pressured. He might have let slip something of our real mission.”

Aston frowned. “And why would that stop him coming back?” he asked.

“Maybe that king-shit cop arrested him.”

“I would expect him to motor straight out to us in that case,” Aston mused. “We’re easy enough to find out here, and not that far from town.”

Slater pursed her lips. “I suppose so. But I still don’t like it. Gazsi deserted us, Dave has gone missing. There aren’t that many of us here, Sam! We need to know what’s happening.”

“Go and talk to them?” Aston suggested. “Gazsi, I mean, and the copper.”

Slater shook her head. “I don’t want to talk to the police just yet. If they get wind that we’ve got two men MIA, they’ll shut us down for sure. It’s all the excuse they’ll need. What about we do that trip to the pub for some R and R like you suggested. We can ask casually in the bar about Dave, sniff around a bit.”

“Yeah,” Aston said. “Good idea. I agree with you about keeping a low profile. And if the law found out about that bloody foot we’ve got on ice…”

Slater hissed between her teeth. “I don’t think even Dave would be dumb enough to mention that, but if he’s getting interrogated he might crack.” She paused, turned a slightly haunted gaze on him. “Or maybe something happened on his way back here.”

“Right, you’ve got me concerned now too.” Aston straightened his back. “I want to keep Holloway and Laine out of it though, keep it simple.”

Slater nodded. “Most definitely. Honestly, the less time I have to spend with Holloway the better. The man grates on my nerves.”

“He does that to everyone, I think. Except maybe Joaquin. That guy seems to worship his boss.”

“He’s a sycophant, getting very well-paid. Who knows what all services he really provides?”

Aston laughed and cocked an eyebrow.

Slater grinned back. “Well, I didn’t actually mean that, but you never know!”

“What about Laine?” Aston asked. “He was acting pretty strange when we got that big sonar hit.”

“Alvar Laine is pretty strange in every way.”

“I guess.”

Slater looked up into the heavy clouds, and then scanned the tree line along the shore. “Can you imagine being born and raised here? I think he’s just a little spun out by the expensive gear, the loud Americans, the weird Australian.” She smirked at him.

“Yeah. Okay, I’ll pay that. Maybe you’re right. He’s just a country boy. But I’d still prefer to keep him away. Just you and me, go and snoop around.”

“Are you trying to get me all to yourself, Aston?”

He flushed slightly, hoped it didn’t show. She had hidden depths, this TV personality. She was growing on him. “Just a pleasant by-product of the situation.”

“So you say. But yeah, I don’t want anyone else coming with us.”

Aston nodded, let out a long breath. “Cool. So we’ll tell Holloway we’re taking the tinny back late this afternoon, we’ll have a meal on dry land, couple of drinks, because we need a little space and a change of scene. But mainly, we plan to find Dave and drag him back by his ear. Under that pretense, it’ll be easy enough to pry around a bit.”