“Chopper Two has two USB outlets, and I have one of those cords with multiple ends, including USB-C. Why?”
“We’re going to be done in about two minutes. Be ready for us.” I clicked off and looked at Kahurangi. “I already know what we’re going to find at the last installation area, but we have to be sure,” I said.
He nodded. “All right.”
We jogged to the final installation site, where we found two smashed instrument packages. We didn’t even stop, we just confirmed they were smashed and destroyed and immediately went back to the pickup site, where Satie was waiting for us. We jumped in the chopper, and Satie took off, straight up.
He motioned to the console between his seat and the copilot’s one I had strapped in and put on the cockpit headset. “Cord and charger in there,” he said, and glanced over as I produced the phone and plugged it in. “Why do you need to charge your phone so urgently?”
“It’s not my phone,” I said.
“Whose is it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. But I’m betting that whoever its owner was, they were smart enough to have it record whatever was going on at the site. And I hope they were smart enough to do something else.”
“What?”
“Turn off the lock screen.”
* * *
“This isn’t easy to watch or listen to,” I warned everyone in the conference room.
There were nods all around. The earlier group had reassembled and was aware that I had found something, but only Kahurangi and Satie had any idea what I had. I opened my laptop and cast to the wall monitor, and then pulled up the first video file. In the first still image, Tom Stevens was looking into the camera, which he’d already placed into position. An instrument pack sat on the ground by him.
I started the video.
“I don’t think I have much time,” Tom said, into the video. “We landed and started planting instrument packs when we heard a bang and saw the aerostat get hit by something. Almost as quickly, the helicopter got hit. Then we saw what looked like soldiers coming through with equipment, heading toward Bella. They saw us and some of them started firing at us. We all ran. They’re hunting us now. I think they’re going to kill us. I don’t know who they are or where they came from. I have this phone pointing at Bella. I’m going to let it run. Hopefully they don’t find it. Hopefully someone at Tanaka will. I don’t know what else to say. I’m walking away now.”
With that he picked up the instrument pack, stood, and walked purposefully away from the phone and out of frame.
A few seconds later someone else crossed into frame, wearing camo and carrying some variation of a military rifle, yelling at Tom to stop. The soldier crossed out of frame, still yelling. I paused the video.
“At this point the sound is a little difficult to follow so I’m going to have to turn up the volume,” I said. Everyone nodded. I cranked up the volume and then resumed the video.
The ambient noise was much louder, but the voices that came next were barely audible.
First there was Tom. “I’m unarmed.”
There was some not-quite-comprehensible growling on the part of the soldier, followed by Tom. “I came from Tanaka Base. Who are you, and why are you here? Where did you come from?”
More incomprehensible.
“We’re here to do science. What are you here for?” Tom said.
“He’s doing it on purpose,” Niamh said.
“What?” asked MacDonald.
“Talking clearly. Enunciating. He’s trying to make sure what he’s saying gets recorded.”
MacDonald looked ready to respond, but then Tom said something else, which was, “How did you come through? How did you know to come here?”
More growling in response.
“I’m just trying to understand what’s happening here,” Tom said.
There was more muttering from the soldier, like he was having a conversation with himself, and then a more aggressive set of mumbles.
“I can’t take apart the instrument pack,” Tom said. “We seal them up at the base and make them hard to destroy, so we can get data no matter what happens. Why do you want me to take it apart?”
Yelling, and this time, fuck was definitely part of the conversation.
“I’m not trying to argue with you,” Tom said. “I’m just telling you what I can and can’t do.”
More muttering.
“All right, I’m going to put the pack down over here, and then I’m going to step away from it,” Tom said.