Chapter 8 #2
“That’s insane.” She glanced behind her. “Is this kitchen much farther?” While descending wasn’t too bad, it occurred to her she’d have to climb those same steps to return to his suite.
“Almost there.” He stepped onto a landing instead of going down another flight. The space was wide open, unlike some of the previous floors, where she’d only seen closed doors and hallways.
The tile on this level had a lovely pattern, vines twining around fruit and vegetables.
A mosaic of color with beautiful craftsmanship.
To one side of the staircase, a bunch of different-sized round tables were set with chairs grouped in twos and fours.
On the opposite side, a massive table that could have seated a hundred.
“This is quite the dining room,” she remarked.
“It’s not used much these days. Only a handful of warriors live in the tower full time.”
“Why is that?”
“Some have chosen to marry and live amongst the humans for their spouses and children.”
“You’re not married?” She’d never even thought to ask before.
“No, never.” A vehement reply. “You?”
“I was engaged once,” she admitted.
“But didn’t go through with it?”
“He wanted me to quit my career to have children right away, and I wasn’t ready to ditch my years of schooling. Not to mention, I’m not sure about the kid thing.”
“You don’t want a family?”
She shrugged. “Honestly, I was never big on the idea. I like working. I like the freedom to do as I please, to travel, to not have a space cluttered by toys.”
“On that, we agree. I mean kids are cute and all, but I’m more the cool-uncle type than the daddy.”
What an inane conversation to be having. She took them out of personal back to the reason for them having met. “When are you going after the orb?”
“Soon. I need to figure out where they’ve taken it so I can plan how I’m going to get in there and take it back.”
“Cetus only has the one headquarters, located in Maine.”
“How does someone make a business out of getting samples of ice?”
There was no harm in telling him. After all, Cetus had a public website detailing their work.
“Cetus, which studies climate today and in the past, has been around for about two decades. They run on environmental research grants and private donations. And for your information, they don’t just collect glacier samples.
They actually also study other strata. I know they have a team out in the Middle East getting sand samples from the great desert.
Some in Asia studying Kangchenjunga. They even have people in the Rockies. ”
“Looking for what?”
“Not so much looking for something as testing what’s in the layers of some of the oldest mountains and glaciers in the world.
For example, the ice samples can show us the heating and cooling of the planet.
We sometimes find microbes, some of them millions of years old.
The frozen water layers can show environmental contaminants of the time, like remnants of ash or smoke from volcanoes. ”
“And people find that useful?”
“Climate scientists do. It helps us better understand what the planet has gone through.”
“You’re saying this Cetus is essentially a giant lab.”
She pursed her lips. “I guess. I’ve never actually visited the building. A company representative reached out to me via email and came to me for the interview. From the moment I was hired, they made the arrangements that got me to the Antarctic.”
“You didn’t find that odd?”
She shrugged. “Not really.”
“Weren’t you working elsewhere?”
“Teaching classes at a college.” Her nose wrinkled.
“I prefer being out in the field to dealing with students.” The entitlement had grown over the past few years.
Excuses as to why they couldn’t get things done on time.
Why they needed to be able to redo a test. Why they should have a good grade, and sometimes, that reason was simply because the student felt they deserved it without putting in the effort.
“How long were you in the Antarctic before my arrival?”
“Not long. A week.”
“Alone?” At her nod he asked, “What happened to your partner?”
She frowned.
He indicated his clothes. “You said you had one when we first met and I found his duffel of clothes.”
“I lied. It’s only me out here. Those must have been left behind by the previous guy.”
“What happened to him?”
She shrugged. “I was told he didn’t work out.”
“Was he also digging at the ice?”
“I would assume so. Since I’ve arrived, I’ve received daily coordinates on where the company wants me to chip.” Her brow furrowed. “I did think it odd they had me popping from glacier to glacier with no rhyme or reason.”
“They wanted you to find the door,” he mused aloud.
“Seems obvious now,” she replied with a grimace.
“I do wonder why they didn’t just send in a team with a flamethrower to melt the damned things.”
“Because there are rules they have to follow. The Antarctic is a protected place. You can’t just start demolishing glaciers.”
“Ever hear of ruins inside one?”
“Nope. As for rocks embedded in them, while it does happen, it’s usually stray ones picked up by moving glaciers.”
A bell dinged.
“Food’s ready,” he announced, heading for an alcove that showed some domed dishes.
She blinked. “Where did those come from?”
“The kitchen.”
“You have a cook on staff?”
“Yeah. Cleaners too.”
“How are they hired? Do they live here?”
“The tower housekeeper handles all that. We just reap the benefit.” He carried the tray to a table and whipped off the domes to reveal plates filled with a mixture of food. A fresh garden salad with grilled chicken. A pitcher held iced tea.
The food was beyond delicious, the freshness making her happy after a week of MRE rations, the easiest thing to supply and use in the Antarctic.
After the meal, Scorpio rose and said, “I should get started on my research of Cetus.”
“What about me?”
“There’s a game room on the floor below with televisions. A library above.”
“Oh.” Then despite it being pathetic, she asked, “When will I see you again?” because the idea of being alone in this place daunted.
“A few hours. I’ll come find you for dinner.”
With that, he left, and Rebecca sat at the table for a bit, finishing her iced tea, wondering what would happen to her.
And if she would ever be able to leave.