The Icarus Project (10 page)

My nose itched. I sniffed. Kyle’s eyes widened. I held my breath, trying not to sneeze. Who knows the last time someone had dusted here. The humming stopped. All I could see were large boot toes poking under the table.

The sound of dogs barking drifted into the room. Katsu
hurried from the room, and we heard the door slam behind him.

Kyle and I were in the clear. I let out a gasp.

“They can’t be back yet—it’s too early,” Kyle whispered. “What do you think has happened?”

“I don’t know. They’re supposed to be at the site all day.” Suddenly, panic flooded through me. Digs were dangerous. Anything could have happened. What if Dad was hurt?

“We’ve got to go see,” Kyle said.

Even though we were alone, we tiptoed quietly out of the secret room and then out of the small library and into the hallway.

There was only one sled in the compound. I looked through an ice-crusted window and saw that Dad was already off the sled and running into the building. He disappeared into the changing room.

Kyle and I followed him over to the lab building. The door banged open, bringing a gust of icy air shooting through me like a dozen arrows. Immediately I could tell that it had been a bad day at the dig site.

And I had a feeling it was about to get a lot worse at the station.

The air in the lab was warm and muggy. I coughed,
hoping Dad would turn around and tell me what had happened at the site to bring him back so early. But he just paced around the lab. He was fuming. He yanked off his hat and threw it to the floor. His goggles had left marks around his eyes, making his face look scarred and wild. His face was so red, it was practically a new shade. Red was the color of conflict, heat, and anger. Mars was the red planet, named for the Roman god of war. Zoey had told me the two moons of Mars were named fear and panic, and as I circled my dad, I felt like a small moon.

“I should have known! I should have seen something like this coming. Money must rot the brain—must make people do crazy things.” His eyes roamed the room, unfocused. His fists were balled up. I had never seen Dad this mad.

“What’s wrong?” I eased up beside him. “Did something happen at the site?”

He didn’t answer. It was like I wasn’t even in the room. I could feel the anger radiating off him.

“What’s happened? What happened with the mammoth?” I asked, resting my hand on his sleeve.

When he finally looked at me, his eyes were sad, dark pools. “The worst thing possible.”

The worst thing that I could think of was that the mammoth was rotten, having been exposed to the elements and then thawing. Or that scavengers had torn it to shreds and carried it away. I had heard Dad talk about expeditions where scientists went on grueling treks into the brutal Arctic landscape of Russia, returning home heartbroken, with only a piece of wrinkly gray skin the size of a doormat with a few wiry red mammoth hairs attached, because that was all that was left of the animal. All that work for a scrap of old, stinky flesh. Maybe all that was left of our mammoth was a clump of hair or a pile of bones. I wished he would just tell me.

Soon the other sled returned from the site. Ivan and West stumbled into the room, dragging a huge canvas bag behind them. They hoisted it up and set it on the table and then peeled the tough fabric back, exposing an enormous tusk. I rushed over to get a better look. Kyle came over also and stood next to me, and we both stared at it. His mom had followed Ivan and West into the room.

Looking at the tusk, I told myself that things weren’t
that
bad—at least they had the ivory. Actually, I was surprised to see the tusk had made it back OK; usually that was the first thing to be stolen. Ivory was very valuable
and often scavengers cut it off to sell for money. Randal had said that the tusks remained attached to the beast. He had showed us photographs and film footage at the welcome dinner. So where was the rest of the mammoth?

I ran my finger over the tusk. It was dark brown and mottled with tan and white streaks. I couldn’t believe that I was looking at—and touching—a real mammoth tusk. It was beautiful and foreign, something I had only before seen in pictures, movies, or books.

“Nice, isn’t it?” Dad asked. I felt everyone watching me, hovering closer.

“Yes,” I said, but tentatively. Somehow I knew the question was a setup.

“Look closer.” Dad had an angry smirk on his face.

West turned his back to Dad, avoiding his gaze. My stomach rolled over, and I leaned in closer to the tusk. Ivan handed me a magnifying glass. I held the glass over it and focused my attention. Again I ran my fingers over the smooth surface. The ivory looked good … too good. I realized why Dad was so upset.

“I get it,” I said.

Dad nodded.

Randal hurried into the room at that moment, then stopped and cringed at the sight of the tusk.

“Good,” Dad said, looking directly at him. “The man of the hour … Maya, tell Mr. Clark the problem with his
forgery”

“This tusk is a fake,” I said. “And not a very good one.”

When Randal didn’t respond, Dad slumped.

How could Randal have betrayed the whole expedition? I wondered.

“A fake?” Katsu said. He looked around the room searching our faces, refusing to believe what I was saying. “This can’t be happening!” Spit flew from his mouth.

Kyle moved closer to the table. “How do you know?”

“There aren’t any cracks in the ivory. If it even
is
ivory.” I felt terrible. It was obvious to me, and I don’t even know that much about mammoths. If an amateur like me could spot the fake, then the forgery was pathetic. Randal hadn’t even tried to get a
good
fake.

“I thought that was a good thing. I’ve seen elephant tusks that don’t have cracks, and they’re real,” Kyle said.

“Very smart,” Dad said. “Go on, Maya.”

“Well, that’s because for the most part, elephant tusks grow straight. The elephant uses trees to sharpen its tusks. Mammoth tusks grew curved because they didn’t have trees to rub them against to shorten and sharpen them,” I said. “The cracks are natural, expected.” I knew my tusks.

“Huh,” Kyle said, and he actually looked interested in what I was saying.

“When they grew curved, they had tiny cracks,” I said.

“This
tusk
doesn’t have cracks … and isn’t even real ivory.” Dad pulled the tusk closer, took his penknife out
of his pocket, and dug a chunk out of the tusk with the blade, sending bits crumbling.

Karen reached out her hand and ran the broken pieces through her fingers, leaving white chalky dust behind on her skin.

“It’s made of plaster.” Dad shook his head. He turned to Randal. “Did you really think I was so stupid that I wouldn’t know a fake movie-prop tusk when I saw it? You didn’t even bother to obtain a real tusk. With all your money, that would have been easy.”

Jake was making a wide circle of the room, catching all of the action on film. He had no shame. I wondered if he knew all about the fakes. Dad must have, too, because he looked right into the camera. “Do we have your industrious nephew to thank for the props?”

Jake suddenly stared at the floor, refusing to look at Randal. The grand adventurer had been caught by his own pathetic trap, and I wondered how he planned to charm his way out of this situation. I narrowed my eyes and waited for him to respond. The room grew quiet.

Randal finally spoke. “You exceeded my expectations. I knew that you would find out about the mammoth sooner or later. I thought that we would be further along with the dig and that by then it wouldn’t matter.” He leaned against the table, head held high, confident even in disgrace.

“‘Further along’?” Dad yelled. “‘It wouldn’t matter’?” I could tell he was trying to compose himself, but he blew
up anyway. “There’s no mammoth! How could that not matter? It is the only reason I came here!”

“This is an insult!” Ivan bellowed. “It’s a ruse. You have lied to us, Randal.”

Katsu’s face was pasty. There went his grand plan for the DNA. There was no mammoth, which meant no clone, no need for a laboratory, no Mammoth Park. The mammoths would stay frozen in the past.

“I should have seen it,” Dad went on. “The way the tusks were sticking out of the ice perfectly. Staged like a movie set. Massive ivory curving upward out of the frozen ground.”

“We all wanted to believe it.” Karen rested her hand on his shoulder, but Dad pulled away. He wasn’t done with Randal yet.

“Did Jake get it all on film? All our ooohs and ahhhs? All of our excitement and thrills? You had us fooled. You played us. How could you do this to us?” Dad tapped his chest and then pointed at the others. “We’re scientists. This isn’t a joke. It’s not a rich man’s game to us.”

“That is where you are wrong,” Randal said quietly. “I brought you all here for a reason. This isn’t a game to me, either. And the ice is not empty.” His eyes suddenly sparkled mischievously. “You are correct that there is no mammoth, and I was a fool to think that such revered scientists would fall for such a ruse. But let me assure you that the expedition isn’t over. In fact, the real expedition has just begun.”

“What do you mean, the
real
expedition?” Katsu asked.

“Not me,” said Dad. “I’ve had enough. I’m going home.”

Katsu held up a hand. “Let him speak. I will listen to what you have to say, Randal. One chance.” Katsu made a one sign with his finger.

“Please, Jason. Just listen.” Randal was almost begging. “I am sure I can change your mind about me.”

Dad stopped short of leaving the room, but he didn’t turn around.

“Next to my family, this station is the most important thing to me,” Randal said. He squared his shoulders. “To explore the Arctic wilderness has always been my dream. I read stories of great ships running aground in the icy waters and men struggling to forge through, living and dying to explore the great frozen cap. We’re floating up here, just floating.” His voice now was deep and booming, like an actor’s. He paused for dramatic effect, then cleared his throat. “I believe with all my heart and soul that there is … greatness … under that ice, waiting for us. I found something there at the foot of the mountains.”

“Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?” Dad asked. “It’s a childish dream. You had no right to do what you did. We all have dreams. Yours are no more important than the rest of ours.”

Ouch. Dad was angry. I didn’t agree with Randal’s methods. But we all had the same dream, didn’t we? We all wanted to make a great discovery. Something about that
made me sympathetic toward Randal, even though he had fooled us.

I pulled on Dad’s sleeve, and he looked at me. “Maybe we should hear him out,” I said. “Give him a chance to explain what happened. He did fly us all the way up here.”

“That’s right. I did,” Randal said. He smiled at me, and I felt a little like a traitor. “You have a very bright daughter.”

“She has a big heart,” Dad said, some of his anger melting away. “All right. Go ahead and explain.”

Randal rubbed his palms together. “Last month I did some virtual exploring using ground-penetrating radar, and some interesting data showed up.”

“Cool!” Kyle said. “I’ve heard of that tech. Everyone is using it, from scientists to police.”

“Really?” Dad said, his interest piqued. “What kind of data?”

“A mass. Take a look if you don’t believe me.” Randal pulled a folded-up document out of his jacket and spread it on the table for everyone to see. “It’s right there in the permafrost.”

The scientists crowded around the table and leaned over the document. The data looked like a bunch of charts and graphs with jagged lines. Jake and his camera hovered over the table like an annoying insect.

“That could be anything,” Dad said. “It might not be a mammoth. It might not be organic. It could even be junk.” He had gone cynical again, and who could blame him?
“You want us to believe that there is something there in the ice? Frankly, I don’t trust you.”

Randal leaned his head back. “I haven’t given you any reason to trust me.
I
wouldn’t trust me. But imagine the rewards when we unearth the discovery—the academic credit you have longed for will be yours, Jason. Not to mention the financial freedom to do anything you want—travel the world, fund expeditions. Never write another grant application again. Imagine it.” He was practically pleading with Dad. “You all deserve this kind of success,” he said, looking around the room at each person.

“It’s a fool’s errand. We could find nothing and waste your money and resources.” Dad sighed. But something in his voice had changed.

“Then I am fairly warned and it will be my money to waste. My eyes are wide open. I know the risks.”

Ivan and Katsu walked toward the door and engaged in a rapid, whispered conversation. Ivan shook his head, his brow furrowed. His voice was harsh, but when they were done talking, Katsu stepped forward. Ivan didn’t look happy with the decision.

“We are here, so we will stay,” Katsu said. “Though I agree with Doctor Parson. I am skeptical. But promises have been made.” Katsu narrowed his eyes at Randal. “And promises must be kept.”