Exit Alpha (43 page)

‘She killed herself — because she had principles. And what she did with you revolted her.’

‘Bull. She was so desperately young she just didn’t give herself time to come to terms with her own . . .’

‘Perverted bitch. She killed herself from shame.’

Rhonda grimaced. ‘You’d never understand.’ She nodded to Cain.

He couldn’t know all that was between them and didn’t much care. He said, ‘This is for Hunt.’ He shot Vanqua cleanly, walked clear.

The squad called the chopper in and the ungainly Sea King landed in his back paddock and shut down. While the troopers unfurled body bags, cleaned the site and loaded the evidence, he sat on the verandah with Rhonda and talked it through. Her expression was almost tragic and she seemed drained by some sadness beyond tears. Eventually, in a low, flat voice, she tried to convince him to return. ‘I’m back running the whole catastrophe. Rebuilding’s the problem. We’ve lost so many people. There’s no Pat any more. I need you, Ray.’

‘I’m thrilled for you. But no.’

‘Please come back. I can’t run the fucking world by myself.’

‘I’ve had it, Ron. Been years in the front line. I’m not a killing machine. Too old and wrecked now. After this last lot, I’m junk.’

‘Things got so grim, there was no way to back you up. As for Karen . . .’

‘You should have seen her. She was fantastic at the end.’

‘Don’t.’ She screwed up her face.

‘We couldn’t have made it without her. And she thought you were wonderful — like all of us do. She cared for you, Ron.’

‘Don’t, love. Please.’ She turned her head away. ‘Been an . . . absolute bugger of a day.’

The troop commander was at the bottom of the steps. ‘Area cleaned. Cleared for departure, ma’am. Your call.’

They stood up but Rhonda didn’t go, immobilised by some inner anguish. She glared at the weathered floor planks, yanked a skirt-fold from her rump, muttered, ‘Most dangerous thing in the world.’

Cain glanced at the puzzled squad commander, turned back to the woman, said gently, ‘Ronnie. Better disappear this outfit before the town arrives.’

A tight-lipped nod.

He took her arm and walked her around the back of the house. Her inner turmoil was so great she let him lead her like a child.

She gave him a ferocious rib-cracking hug, then lumbered toward the waiting chopper.

He called, ‘Dentists forever.’

She waved but didn’t turn around.

C
ain’s health has improved but he still limps. The cache of weapons is unused. He still potters around the property for part of the year, watches the sunset from the verandah, sometimes recalling those who died.

Mostly he travels — expensively, extensively. His relationships come and go.

Rhonda’s brazen smoodging got him back to Beta part-time where he remains stubbornly emeritus and is regarded by the staff as a god. He’s helped arrange several strategic deaths and substitutions in world leaders, has befriended Princess Di, is sad she won’t see her children again. EXIT Alpha has been recommissioned but he hasn’t gone back down.

Rhonda is still cryptic about Stern but Cain suspects the scientist developed a mass-sterilisation virus which the CIA is keeping in reserve.

He’s considered publishing the pope’s manuscript and sending copies to the Vatican. While he frets over what to do with it, he does his best to live as John taught.

Often he remembers the ice — the light, space, solitude, silence — the tumultuous events that are a legend at EXIT now.

His future? Each breath is enough.

An exile only has today.

70 Clifton:
Address of the fortress-like Bhutto family residence in Karachi at the time of the story.

AC plasma:
A high-resolution flat-panel display screen.

AKR:
Carbine version of the Russian AK–47 assault rifle — a stubby sub-machine-gun.

ANARE:
Australian national Antarctic research expeditions.

Anhedonia:
Inability to enjoy oneself.

APU:
Auxiliary power unit. Used to drive aircraft systems when main engines are shut down.

AR–80:
Assault rifle made in Singapore.

ARA:
Airborne radar approach.

ASAP:
As soon as possible.

AVIOX:
Oxygen equipment.

AWAC:
Airborne warning and control system.

Ball:
Aircraft carrier’s optical landing system. The Fresnel lens emits a light-beam that tells the pilot whether his approach is high or low.

BDA9:
Belgian-made automatic pistol.

Bingo:
The predetermined amount of fuel needed to return to the place of origin at the same speed. Exceed that fuel level and there is not enough fuel to return and land at the take-off point. On a carrier, landing may require three passes and fuel budgeting is critical.

Bivvy bag:
An outdoor sleeping bag.

Blizz line:
Hand-lines provided as guidance between buildings or areas in Antarctica, for use during blizzards. A blizzard is classified as a wind greater than 35 knots.

Bolter:
When an aircraft lands on a carrier for the arrested recovery or ‘trap’ it approaches slightly above stall-speed. As the plane hits the deck, the pilot applies full power as he could ‘bolter’ or fail to catch with the tail hook one of four arresting wires stretched across the deck. If these are missed, there is power to get airborne and go around again.

Boron shield:
Light-weight armoured shielding — protects against high explosive or armour-piercing projectiles.

C–2A:
Carrier based greyhound aircraft — same basic airframe as the E–2C but used as a workhorse for transporting spare parts, mail and personnel. A COD.

C–130:
The Hercules medium-range high-wing military transport aircraft — powered by four turboprop engines.

CATCC:
Carrier Air Traffic Control Centre.

Cavitation:
A high-velocity bullet may cause a small entry wound but transfers its momentum to surrounding tissues when in the body. The shock-wave pulsations cause great internal damage — up to 40 times missile diameter. This is the area of cavitation.

CentCom:
President Carter’s Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) later became CentCom or Central Command.

CIS:
Commonwealth of Independent States.

COD:
Carrier on-board delivery. Applied to the greyhound C–2A aircraft.

Comms:
Communications.

Comms op:
A possibly covert communications mission.

COMOPS:
Command operations.

Condition Blue:
Some forces use colours to designate degrees of readiness. Condition Red. Condition Black. And so on.

Condition One:
McMurdo weather classification. Three: normal. Two: caution. One: danger.

Conflag:
A fire station.

CT:
Computerised tomography.

CV:
A conventionally-powered American aircraft carrier.

CVBG:
Carrier battle group.

CVN:
A nuclear-powered carrier.

DOP:
Director of Photography.

E–2C:
The ‘Hawkeye’ carrier-based Grumman early warning aircraft. A mini-AWAC. A large round radar dish mounted on its upper fuselage provides the ‘eye in the sky’ for a carrier battle group (CVBG).

EPIRB:
Emergency position-indicating radar beacon.

F–14:
The Tomcat fighter — a two-seat supersonic interceptor with ‘attack capability’.

Fentanyl:
A drug that can cause muscle rigidity and stop respiration.

Finnified:
Finnified snow is snow crystallised with ice — resembles loose gravel.

FLIR:
Forward-looking infra-red. An aid to night navigation. Can provide a real-time thermal image of approaching terrain.

FOD:
Foreign object debris (and damage) — a constant concern with aircraft. A forgotten spanner, stray washer or nut can disastrously damage aircraft systems.

GCA:
Ground-control approach.

GE:
General Electric.

GIGN:
The Groupe d’Intervention de Gendarmerie Nationale — French special forces.

GPS:
Global positioning system — the satellite-based
navaid.

Guard skin doubler:
A strengthened strip in the C–130 fuselage in line with the prop arc. A broken prop will come through the fuselage as crashes have proved.

Hagglunds:
A Swedish-made tracked all-terrain vehicle used in Antarctica. Twin cabin design.

Hangar queen:
A problem aircraft that spends most of its time out of service. Often gets cannibalised for parts to support flight schedules of other planes.

Hawkeye:
The C–2A aircraft.

HF:
High frequency.

Hornet:
The F/A–18 fighter aircraft (US Navy/Marine Corps designation).

Huffers:
Engine-starting equipment.

Hypnagogic jerk:
A bodily start experienced shortly before going to sleep.

ICU:
Intensive care unit.

Ingram:
A basic but robust submachine-gun.

INS:
Inertial navigation system. Independent of external references.

IR:
Infra-red.

JATO:
Jet-assisted take-off. In fact, rocket-assisted, so a misnomer, and now termed ATO. The C–130 mounted eight JATO bottles, four on each side forward of the jump doors.

Joker:
Joker is the fuel state above Bingo that would allow successful disengagement from an air-combat manoeuvre.

JP8:
Primary fuel used in Antarctica — aviation fuel oil similar to diesel.

Karabiner:
A strong metal oval with a spring-loaded gate in one side. An essential tool for rope work.

Kevlar:
A light, immensely tough carbon fibre fabric used as body armour by special forces. Effective against most bullets including high velocity rounds.

Komitet:
KGB (
Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti
).

Lats:
Bodybuilder’s cant for the
latissimus dorsi
muscle.

Lollywood:
Pakistan’s equivalent to Bollywood.

LSO:
The Landing Signals Officer or ‘air boss’ on a carrier.

M249:
Bipod-mounted 5.56mm Belgian light machine gun. Mag or belt-fed.

M–4:
9mm Spectre submachine-gun.

MDR:
Motion detection radar — detects movement through masonry walls and other non-metal barriers.

Melt bell:
Some polar bases need to make water from ice. A heated metal bell-shaped object lowered into the ice forms a cavern with water at the bottom.

Mossad:
Israel’s central institute for intelligence and security.

MP5:
Reliable and accurate Heckler & Koch sub-machine-gun.

MRI:
Magnetic resonance imaging.

MSA:
Minimum safe altitude.

Myonecrosis:
Death of muscle tissue.

N–1:
Gyro compass used at the time in C–130s. Two were fitted.

NFOs:
The back-end boys in the ‘tube’ of an E–2C. (CICO: Combat Information Centre Officer, ACO: Air Control Officer, RO: Radar Operator.)

Nicad:
Nickel cadmium.

Nip:
Frost nip. A mild version of frostbite.

NM:
Nautical miles.

NSWC:
Naval Special Warfare Center, Coronado, CA.

NVG:
Night vision goggle(s).

OAE:
‘Old Antarctic explorer’. Term for repeat visitors.

Omega:
Long-range hyperbolic radio navigation aid.

Pak One:
The plane in which President Zia of Pakistan and the cream of his military staff died when it inexplicably crashed.

PAR:
Precision approach radar.

Parabellum:
A German term meaning ‘for war’. Used to distinguish 9mm Parabellum cartridges from 9mm short.

PDW:
Personal defence weapon. A conveniently stowed and handled sub-compact used as a subsidiary weapon, for instance by tank crews.