Chilling Effect: A Global Climate Thriller by R.J. Pineiro

Author:R.J. Pineiro [Pineiro, R.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Auspicious Apparatus Press
Published: 2019-05-16T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Truth

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

—John 8:32

north SLOPE BOROUGH. ALASKA.

july 9, 2029.

The Piper Cub on floats taxied away from shore and pointed its nose into the wind.

Back-dropped by snowy peaks beyond vast fields of bronzed tundra surrounding Shirukak Lake, Natasha watched from the edge of the IARC camp as the yellow and white plane stirred up the smooth surface. The roaring column of fire from the burn-off vent drowned out the Cub’s engine when Mario Escobar applied full power and it sprung forward.

Dressed in a gray and black down parka, thermal pants, and boots, Natasha filled her lungs with the cold air from a passing Arctic front while crossing her arms.

She had dispatched Escobar to Fairbanks to meet up with Malone, scheduled to reach UAF in a couple of hours, courtesy of Colonel Stone, who convinced the White House to contact the embassy in Kenya and get the American ambassador to personally call the Kenyan president.

The late afternoon sun cast a yellow-gold hue across the region, battling the bluish glow from the plume of pure methane burning atop the vent tower. She watched its flickering reflection on the lake’s surface as the Cub climbed into a beautiful Alaska sky.

And for an instant Natasha wished she could have left with Escobar, not just to see Malone but to get the hell away from this time bomb.

But she knew she couldn’t.

The same Army who had pulled every string to rescue Malone and bring him home was now soliciting her help in what Colonel Stone loosely described as a new twist in the battle against climate terrorism.

And besides, the unseasonably cold front had the effect of firming up the permafrost enough to reduce the height of the burn-off plume by nearly half in twenty-four hours, lowering the risk of the monster escaping this year.

The Cub splashed down the lake in a whirl of mist and surf, finally escaping its watery grip, and gaining altitude as Escobar banked to the south.

Toward Fairbanks.

She watched it for a few minutes, until it vanished beyond the mountains to the south as the surface of Shirukak Lake regained its mirror-like gleam.

“Hey, Tash.”

Natasha turned around. Colonel Marcus Stone stood a few feet away dressed in his camouflage fatigues, matching coat, gloves, cap, shiny black boots, and an equally polished black belt from which hung a holstered sidearm.

He paused a moment, sizing her up. Natasha had let her thick blonde hair down and even applied a touch of eye shadow and lipstick. Something about knowing she would be seeing Malone soon had made her spruce up a bit, and she could see the approval in the colonel’s half-embarrassed stare.

“Marcus?”

He cleared his throat and approached her. “Feeling better?”

“Much.”

“You look better, too.”

“Thanks to you,” she said, deciding to reward him with a smile and also a brief hug.

“Glad to be of help,” he replied, smiling, before looking into her eyes and adding, “And now we need yours.”

“You mentioned a new…development?”

“That’s one way to put it.

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