Ice Fall by Michael Edelson

Author:Michael Edelson [Edelson, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18 – Command

“God help me! save I take my part

Of danger on the roaring sea,

A devil rises in my heart,

Far worse than any death to me.”

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

“Have you decided?” Dr. Gable asked him as Peter climbed out of the aft hatch into the bright sunlit world above. The rain had not returned, and the temperature had to be above seventy despite the strong wind blowing out of the northeast. An amazing transformation, but perhaps with ominous implications. The warming was a little too sudden for Peter’s liking.

“Yes,” he said. “We’re going to stay.” Last night’s experience had been transformative. His outlook on just about everything had changed. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he was actually happy, despite everything that had happened.

“Marvelous!” Gable said, clapping him on the back. Doctors Foster and Burgoyne were sitting behind Gable, and of the two, only Foster seemed happy that he had accepted. He couldn’t spot Penny at first, but then heard her behind him in the center cockpit, with Brad. He was explaining something technical to her that Peter couldn’t follow.

“Provided,” Peter said, ignoring a flash of jealousy. “That you can accept my terms.”

“Such as?” Burgoyne asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I will not accept responsibility without authority. This is your boat. You people decide where it goes and what it does, but I decide how and when, and I will not be second-guessed. If I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed, and that includes everyone.” He turned his gaze momentarily to Gable, whom he had pegged as the leader. “You’re asking me to take responsibility not only for the safety of this boat, but for all of your lives. I take that responsibility very seriously, and I expect you to take it seriously as well.” He had given this same speech many times, both on his own boat and on others he had been asked to take charge of. It was not something he had ever taken lightly. Every time a boat set sail, lives were at stake.

“Sounds perfectly reasonable,” Dr. Gable said. “I would not expect anything less. I trust there is no opposition?”

Burgoyne frowned, but didn’t say anything. Dr. Foster shook her head.

“One more thing,” Peter said. “If you decide you don’t want me anymore, or once we conclude our business, I will sail the boat back here, to where my jeep is, and I will stay in command until we get here. Is that acceptable?”

Dr. Gable nodded. “It is. I believe that settles it?” He looked around at the others, and each nodded in turn. “In that case,” he continued. “Captain Anderson, the ship is yours.”

“Thank you,” Peter said, and was surprised at how deeply those simple words moved him. “Now then,” he said. “As the first order of business, we have to ferry my supplies from shore, then hide my jeep.”

“Supplies?” Dr. Gable asked. “What sort of supplies?”

“Food, mostly, but also guns, ammunition and other equipment we’re going to need to stay safe out here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.