The Midas Agenda: A Doctor Mills Thriller by Darren Hale

Author:Darren Hale [Hale, Darren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

20

Rothera Station

Antarctica:

Gerra had been surprised when Martha had finally replied to the contacts she’d made. And even more surprised that she’d spoken with her face to face (or so to speak) over a video-conferencing link.

‘So – to what do I owe this pleasure?’ she asked, her irritation an amalgam of frustration and boredom.

‘You sound annoyed,’ Martha observed. ‘With me?’

‘Yes…’ Gerra admitted. ‘No… Maybe…’

‘I’ll take that as a “Yes” then, though I’m not sure why?’

‘You were the only one I told… about my work… And next thing I know, I’m confined to barracks, and all of my research is gone.’

‘Your research?’

‘Steven’s research… But I helped… Anyway, that’s not the point! I sent you the preliminary findings out of professional interest, seeking your comment, and next thing I know, the holiday of a lifetime has turned into the holiday from hell.’

‘To be fair… I wasn’t to know that you’d chosen Antarctica for your “holiday of a lifetime” now was I,’ said Martha reasonably. ‘Your message was rather deficient when it came to certain details…’

It was true. In her original email, Gerra had kept certain information pertaining to her own personal involvement secret while seeking comment in the most general way possibly. As far as she’d determined, the fungus was something new and truly remarkable, and there was at least one academic paper in there, somewhere, to which she could hopefully append her name.

‘So… How did you find out that I was in Antarctica then?’ she asked, her anger thawing slightly. To be honest, Martha had not been entirely responsible for her festering irritation. She’d gone to Kristian seeking an ally and had instead received an even and unimpassioned response that had left her questioning everything she’d believed.

‘Gerra – I’m surprised with you. I thought you were the computer brains,’ she said amiably. ‘The photos were date stamped and geotagged. Given my line of work, when confronted with some new and potentially infectious organism, I’m going to look. It really wasn’t that difficult, though I have to say I was more than a little surprised to find that you’d somehow found yourself at Rothera. How on Earth did you manage that?’

‘Long story…’

‘I’m beginning to think everything with you is “a long story”,’ said Martha, not quite beneath her breath.

Gerra shrugged. ‘What can I say. Life’s interesting…’

‘Yes…’ Martha agreed, becoming momentarily silent. And Gerra could imagine why. The circumstances under which they’d first met had been interesting indeed. ‘So – tell me… Where did your samples of the fungus come from?’

Confounded by the question, Gerra’s lips could only articulate a few meaningless sounds as she struggled to come up with an answer she’d not yet prepared; an inchoate admission of guilt.

‘Gerra – it’s important that I understand where this fungus came from,’ said Martha, pressing her for an answer. ‘I need to understand the pattern of spread. Who might have been affected?’

‘Why…? Is it harmful?’

‘That remains to be seen. But without a better understanding, it’s hard to be sure. I have four dead bodies here and I need to understand the circumstances… What kind of threat we might be dealing with.

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