8- Everything Starts All Over Again… Again
The old man glanced at his watch. Upstairs, he knew that Maria Rosa would soon get up and go downstairs to the kitchen to turn on the TV before making breakfast, as she was used to doing since they had been living together.
He stood for a moment watching the little hands go round the dial, as if that would allow him to push away and forget for a moment the anxiety that had not left him since the previous evening.
He had spent most of the night tossing and turning here in the small living room with the colourful doilies, unable to get to sleep since he had returned late at night. He was desperately waiting for news of the young Englishwoman, which unfortunately was not forthcoming. And the more he thought about it, the more worried he became. The nerve and determination of this Englishwoman were unparalleled, but her cause was just. She attracted a kind of sympathy. Her quick wit and thirst for discovery were evident, as was her dedication to her loved ones. She obviously knew what she was looking for and what she wanted. But he should never have taken her over there. It was risky. He had wanted to do the right thing, but he realised that it was completely stupid of him to have dragged her to such a place. And the more the hours passed, the more he feared that the young tourist would not come back.
He took his face in his hands, feeling now angry at himself. A little further into the house he heard Maria Rosa's shuffling footsteps as she hurried to the kitchen. As usual, she began to bustle about in a nameless hubbub, slamming pans and other plates together. Usually this would have made the old man smile, but he was in no mood for jokes.
"¡Oy! ¡Dios mios!" He suddenly heard in his back.
His wife had just entered the small living room, still in her nightgown. She looked at her husband with wide, distraught eyes, one hand on her chest in an almost theatrical gesture.
"You gave me a fright, Diego! What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't sleep," the Argentinean stammered awkwardly, his eyes still staring into space.
"You forgot to take your medicine again, I bet. I've told you a hundred times that it would help you sleep."
"It won't. Why don't you stop bothering me with that?"
"For God's sake, you're so stubborn!" the old woman grumbled.
"Stop moaning, Maria Rosa, it's barely eight o'clock in the morning and you're already breaking my ears with your stories..."
"I haven't slept well either. First, you came back late in the night..."
The old man couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"... and on top of that, the foreigner made a lot of noise too when she came back early this morning."
"What do you mean?" the old man asked, suddenly taken aback.
"The young lady from room 5. You dropped her off in town yesterday afternoon, but she didn't come back until 6 or 7 in the morning."
"She's here?" Diego asked again, very surprised.
"Of course, she is," Maria Rosa replied, suspicious.
The old man stood up from his big chair.
"I don't know what she did of her night exactly, but believe me, I don't think this was something good in any case," the old woman told him.
But the old man had already turned his back on her and was no longer listening. She saw him disappear into the corridor without even turning around.
—
He climbed the stairs four by four, and as fast as he could, despite his old hip which was hurting him. Out of breath, he ran straight for the door of room 5, and although slightly anxious, he took the time to knock on the door before entering.
The door opened slowly, revealing a room plunged into semi-darkness. At first he thought the room was empty, although Lara's things were still there. Then, with a start, he discovered that the adventuress was quietly sitting on her bed, papers and documents spread all around her switched-on laptop.
A genuine smile came over her face when she saw him, but it faded as she noticed the old man's surprised expression.
"Why didn't you tell me you were back?" he asked straight away.
"I only got home about an hour ago, I thought you were still in bed after yesterday's journey."
A grimace, halfway between anger and relief, formed on the old man's lips. In a split second the expression on his face changed. Lara smiled gently at him.
"Were you worried about me, Diego?"
"Of course I was," the man grumbled into his moustache. "How did you get back?"
"I told you I would find my way back. And lucky me, people are really helpful around here."
The Englishwoman invited him in. Diego pushed the door shut behind him and pointed to the bandage around his arm.
"What happened over there? What happened to you?"
"A little scratch, nothing serious," Lara answered, trying to convince herself that the pain she felt under the bandage would eventually fade.
"Let me have a look," the man told her as he stepped forward.
The adventuress gave him a surprised look.
"I used to be a doctor when I was in the Navy. Well, that was a long time ago... but I think I can still make sure it's nothing serious at least..."
After a moment's hesitation, Lara pushed some leaves off the bed, and let the old man sit down beside her.
"... after all, I'm the one who did this to you, indirectly."
They exchanged a knowing smile. Lara held out her arm, which the man's warm, calloused hands grasped delicately, almost apprehensively, as if he were afraid of hurting her more. She watched as he deftly undid the thick bandage until the still bright red wound was revealed. The Argentine could not hold back a grimace of disgust.
"What did you see over there? Who did this to you?" he asked.
Lara felt a hint of anger in his voice. The man slowly turned her arm in one direction, then the other, to observe the wound from all angles. The marks of the teeth were clear and visible now that they had stopped bleeding.
The old man's dark eyes met hers, he looked worried.
"It's one of those things, isn't it?"
"You were right, Diego, there was much more hidden in this base than what we suspected. There were still traces of what happened there..."
"Victims of the experiments, I suppose?"
Lara nodded wordlessly.
"My God..."
The Argentine shook his head sharply, his lips pursed tightly. He applied himself to disinfecting the young woman's wound once more. He tried to keep his concentration, but he was visibly disturbed. His hands were shaking.
"... And to think it was right under our noses. We all knew it, but we did nothing."
The Englishwoman suddenly saw the old man's eyes fill with tears. She put her hand on Diego's, and with a gentle pressure, she forced him to let go of the bandage he was trying to put back on.
"The truth about what happened to him may have been hidden there all these years," he said in a whisper. "If I'd known about that base and everything they were doing there a lot sooner..."
He did not finish his sentence. Once again, Lara felt sorry for the man. In the back of her mind, strangely enough, she hoped that Diego's son was one of the creatures she had shot in the base's basement, or at least that the circumstances of his death had been relatively quick so as not to hurt him, no matter how he had been treated.
"There are still a lot of grey areas around Bickenbach and what he did," the adventuress said softly, not knowing what to say to comfort him. "But what I found out there might give us some answers."
The old man's eyes went back to the files on the bed for a moment.
"As you suspected, there is another base, much larger. And still active."
Lara grabbed some sheets to give to Diego. They were various plans, and some notes about infrastructure and scientific facilities.
"It's somewhere in Antarctica," said the adventuress, pointing to some indications on one of the plans.
"So that's where the freighters were going from here."
"Presumably, yes. The proximity to the South American continent, a small town like this one, a region so far away. It was all to their advantage. I thought this base had been destroyed though..."
"Did you know it existed?"
"In a way, yes."
"How could you know about it without knowing what was going on in here?"
"It's more complicated than that, Diego..."
He looked at her insistently. Lara suddenly felt back against a wall, unable to escape the old man's questions any longer.
"I visited the region myself during one of my expeditions, many years ago," she began to explain. "But it wasn't about sordid experiments at the time, although a mad scientist was involved. And I later learned that there was another secret base, but I thought it had been destroyed and forgotten decades ago..."
She took a deep breath before launching into the story. She was apprehensive about the Argentinean's reaction.
"The base settled by Bickenbach in Antarctica served as a scientific cradle for the resurrection of a race of thousand-year-old monsters. Or at least we assume that tests were done there for that, before they were finally abandoned."
"I'm not sure I understand..." the old man whispered, a bit afraid of what the young woman could tell him.
"At the end of the war, a extra powerful man escaped from the prison in which he was locked up in Germany, thanks to the intervention of the Nazis. This man possessed powers and knowledge far beyond the understanding of mere humans, capable of reducing the world to nothing..."
Diego had suddenly frozen, motionless and focused on the adventuress. Leaning forward, he scrutinised her with his piercing eyes as she revealed all this information.
"This man, who was he?"
"His name was Eckhardt, and he was a very powerful alchemist who had been working for centuries to resurrect a race of superior beings who had disappeared from earth. Over the centuries, he surrounded himself with the best scientists and other alchemists in the world to form a secret sectarian group. About three years ago, I crossed paths with them in Paris, and then in Prague, as they were about to carry out their plan..."
"Are you saying that the Nazis and Bickenbach were also planning to revive these monsters?" Diego asked incredulously.
"I'm not sure... actually on that point, I think their idea was rather to use Eckhardt's knowledge for their own misdeeds. The Nazis wanted to achieve the status of superiors and powerful beings, and surely to achieve the longevity that the alchemist had possessed for centuries. I don't think they cared about the Nephili..."
"The Nephili?"
"The thousand-year-old monsters he wanted to resurrect, yes."
Diego seemed lost.
"And you and your husband work for a secret group that fights them?"
"In a way, yes," Lara answered.
"And it's all connected to Valentina?"
Lara shook her head gently.
"Valentina was working with Bickenbach at the time they released Eckhardt. But he eventually escaped, and stayed in hiding for decades, recovering his strength and gathering those who could help him carry out his plan. Henchmen, researchers, scientists among the most gifted and experienced in their field..."
"Like Kristina..." breathed the old man, who seemed to be slowly figuring it all out.
"Kristina Boaz was one of Eckhardt's right-hand people indeed, she was a major part of their sect and everything they implemented to resurrect the Nephili."
"Which explains why she disappeared in Europe..."
Lara nodded again.
"Everything is connected somehow," she concluded in a whisper. "I'm guessing Valentina knew about Eckhardt's powers, before her own daughter worked with him years after…"
"What a story..." the old man beside her muttered.
"Everything's starts all over again... again."
"What do you mean?" Diego suddenly asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
Lara straightened up and let herself fall back against the wooden headboard.
"Eckhardt almost succeeded in resurrecting the Nephili. We stopped him in Prague, but it turned out that his other right-hand man, Karel, was one of those monsters himself... I thought I had killed him too, but he had escaped. We chased him for several months to try to counteract him, all the way to Turkey, where the original cradle of his race was located. We managed to destroy the Nephili temple. Very few of us survived..."
"Was your husband also involved?"
"Yes. I thought him dead for almost a year..."
Lara was silent for a moment, and looked away. Through the small window of her room she saw the first rays of sunlight peeking through the coloured roofs of the city.
"Do you think he's over there?"
"From what I've discovered so far, I think so, yes. I thought everything connected with the Nephilim had been destroyed... but now the question is, what is hidden in Antarctica and what do the Svendsens have in mind?"
"The Svendsens?"
"The ones who kidnapped my husband. Tobias Svendsen is Bickenbach's grandson."
Lara showed the old man a picture of the couple on her computer screen. He raised his eyebrows slightly, even though he could see a bit more clearly now.
"Like you said, it's all connected somehow..." he said cynically.
Lara smiled at him. She got up from the bed and walked over to the window with her arms crossed. Her eyes scanned the sea and the horizon, which she could vaguely see from where she stood. The silhouette of a huge trawler could be seen, moored in the harbour a few kilometres away.
"Have you noticed anything strange happening here in the last few weeks, Diego? Have you seen any trace of these people?"
The Argentinean seemed to think for a moment.
"No, I haven't noticed anything. Or at least nothing stranger than usual. Are you thinking of disappearances like my son's?"
"Yes, indeed. People disappearing, strange phenomena, strangers coming here and asking questions..."
"Strangers like you?"
Lara couldn't help but smile.
"Yes."
The old man fell silent and took a moment to think, looking away. The Englishwoman saw his eyebrows rise and then fall several times. He finally shook his head in denial.
"If you're referring to those Svendsens, no, nobody has seen them here. Foreigners from northern Europe would certainly not go unnoticed here."
The old man sat up, worried.
"You suspect that they've started abducting people again to use them as guinea pigs?"
"It's not impossible. But the only way to find out is to go there. I have to find a way to get there," said the adventuress, more to herself this time.
The young woman suddenly felt a powerful wave of nausea wash over her, which she could not control. She tried to contain herself and put on a brave face for Diego, but her abdomen suddenly contracted, and she found herself almost bent double, gasping for breath. She winced.
It's my turn now, think I'm turning into one of those things...
"Are you all right, Lara?" the man asked, suddenly panicked.
"Yes… yes, I'm just a bit dizzy. The bite, I guess," she replied as she took a deep breath.
She heard Diego get up and disappear into the bathroom for a moment. He returned with a cloth soaked in fresh water, which he handed to her. She grabbed it and placed it on her burning forehead. A new nausea made her head spin violently.
"Does this happen to you often?"
Lara closed her eyes, thinking it would calm her down a bit, but it didn't. The dizziness was even worse. She swallowed with difficulty.
"To be bitten by mutant men?"
Diego couldn't hold back a smile.
"No, I meant your dizziness."
"Quite regularly at the moment, yes."
With a reassuring gesture, the Argentinean accompanied her to the bed so that she could sit down. The adventuress applied the wet cloth to her neck and looked up at the old man. He sat down next to her, busy finishing the bandage. A strange expression appeared on his wrinkled face.
"Your husband must be happy."
Lara looked at him without understanding.
"What do you mean?"
But the old man remained silent, with his smirk frozen on his lips. The little mischievous glint in his eyes reminded her of the one that sometimes shone in Winston's eyes. After a few seconds of silence, and understanding the young woman hadn't seen the point he was getting at, he shook his head and changed subject.
"It's not impossible to get to Antarctica from here, but the connections and cargo ships that go there are much rarer than it used to be some years ago."
"Do you think I can find a ship?" Lara asked, finally starting to recover from her nausea, the wet cloth still pressed against her forehead.
"We're a small fishing town, you'll find plenty of boats here. But you won't get very far."
The young woman shook her head, clearly annoyed.
"What about the trawler that's moored in the harbour?"
"Foreigners who regularly stop here before going on their way."
"Does it go to the Antarctic zone by any chance?"
"I can't tell you."
Lara frowned, like an offended little girl who had been deprived of her toy.
"I know a few people in town. After my military service, I did a few years of fishing. I know some of the guys at the port well. They see a lot of people pass by, so they might have some information. Maybe I can try to go and see them to ask them questions."
A glimmer of hope came back into the young woman's eyes.
"Tha t would be great. I have to find a way to get on a boat. And even if they don't go exactly there, it's not a problem, as long as they get closer to the destination."
"Is that always like this with you?"
"Almost all the time, actually. I have my own little habits."
"I can see that," the Argentine replied mockingly.
They exchanged a knowing smile. The old man got up slowly, numb from sitting on the sagging mattress for so long. He winced slightly, and hobbled a few steps to loosen his hip. Then he headed for the door.
"I should be back by the end of the day," he said, turning the doorknob.
"I'm coming with you, Diego," the young woman interrupted him.
He turned to the Englishwoman, who was already gathering her things and putting on a jacket.
"Lara, this is not reasonable at all in your condition..."
"Do I look like a reasonable person?"
The Argentinian let out a loud sigh, obviously annoyed by the situation. But he could not resist the young woman's mischievous smile. Resigned, he nodded to her. As they walked through the door, he turned to her in a very serious tone this time.
"I will only ask you one thing."
"Tell me," Lara replied, now intrigued.
"Will you promise to let me deal with this and not try anything?"
Lara gave him an amused look.
"What is it that makes you smile like that?" Diego asked, not quite sure how to take the young woman's amused attitude.
She smiled wider.
"That's exactly the kind of thing my... my husband would say."
The old man finally returned her smile under his serious expression. After one last look, he turned around and they went down the stairs.
—
The Chevrolet passed several checkpoints before finally entering the heart of the port area. They parked not far from the control tower and the harbour master's office, which were nothing more than decrepit old buildings with rusty windows.
Before she had time to react, Diego had got out of the car and was driving away. Lara opened the door and was about to protest loudly, but the old man interrupted her with a wave of his hand.
"Stay here, I won't be long," he shouted over the wind that had picked up and was blowing in strong gusts.
Before she had time to answer, he waved again and turned his back on her. After a few moments, Diego disappeared completely behind the building.
—
The old man, clad in his coat, walked around the control tower and straight into the old harbour master's office, hidden between two unloading docks. It was a small room, once an aid station, now converted into crew quarters for visiting sailors and locals.
When he reached the open doorway, he heard voices being raised. He stopped and stood at the door for a moment, thinking. He didn't know exactly what he was going to ask, or how he was going to get any information. It might sound suspicious.
It's no more suspicious than what's happening on the other continent...
He preferred not to think about it and leave it to improvisation. After a second's hesitation, he knocked on the metal door. Footsteps approached and the door opened so suddenly that the old man almost caught it in the nose. A man in his forties, with shaved hair, wrapped in a sailor's parka, appeared before him. His green eyes fell on the old man.
"Diego! It's been a while!" he said in a astonished voice.
"Ah, Javier! Good to see you, kid!"
"A kid who's grown up a lot and who's made his mark, as you can see!" exclaimed the man, spreading his arms.
"Yes, you're right. Sorry..."
The two men laughed together and gave each other a warm embrace.
"Please come inside for a moment," said Javier, who invited him in.
They entered the foyer, which smelled strongly of cigarette smoke and dampness. Diego found the old wooden tables where they used to have lunch when he and his former colleagues returned from fishing. He felt nostalgic for a moment. He greeted the two other men who were sitting opposite and who were obviously concentrating on some Maps and charts that were spread out in front of them.
"What brings you here?" asked the sailor who handed the old Argentine a cup of coffee.
Diego shrugged his shoulders
"Nothing much, I just came to say hello to those who would be there. It's been a while since I've been here, so I thought this would be a good opportunity."
Javier lit a cigarette. Diego took a sip of the strong coffee and grinned.
"How are you, Diego? And how is Maria Rosa?"
"Oh, the usual things, as they say, nothing special. Maria Rosa is still deaf as hell, but she's fine, thank God. And so am I."
Javier laughed.
"And you, Javier, how are you? We haven't seen you around for a while."
"I've been moving around a lot lately. Lots of missions, lots of travelling. But it's interesting."
"Yes, I heard you've been travelling a lot. Are you the one who sails with this cargo ship?" Diego asked, pointing to the huge ship outside.
"Yes, I was made captain not long ago."
"Oh, that's great news! It's a great promotion, you must be really happy!"
"Yes, I'm quite happy, indeed."
A slight unease settled between the two men. They looked each other in the eye, obviously not knowing exactly how to behave with each other.
"So, tell me again, what kind of goods do you and your company transport? You work for big international companies if I remember well?"
"Commercial deliveries, but I can't tell you more, sorry. That's confidential."
"I see," Diego replied with a bitter but sympathetic smile.
Javier stared at him with his big green eyes, suspicious. The old Argentinean suddenly sensed that the young man was a little uncomfortable and he felt that his presence was disturbing.
"So you made a stop here on your way, didn't you?"
"Yes, we did. But we won't be here for long, we're leaving in a few hours."
Diego looked a little surprised.
"That's short indeed."
"An urgent delivery," the young Argentinian justified himself by lifting a shoulder.
Diego nodded slowly, but his mind was already elsewhere. His eyes fell on the two men behind them, one of whom was concentrating on his digital tablet and had his back completely turned to him. As if he had felt the old man's gaze on him, the sailor abruptly turned around. The three men, including Javier, were staring at him. Feeling uneasy, Diego finished his coffee and put the empty cup on the nearest table.
"Well," he said, clearing his throat. "I won't bother you any longer, I imagine you have a lot to do before leaving."
"That was nice to see you, Diego. Say hello to Maria Rosa," Javier answered without holding him back.
"That's nice of you. Say hello to your mother, if you get a chance to see her before you leave."
"You'll probably see her before I do, and more often," the young man ironically said.
"I guess you're right," Diego laughed. "See you soon, Javier."
They exchanged a brief nod before the old man turned and walked out the door, head down. Javier didn't take his eyes off him as he walked away, until he had completely disappeared around the corner of the building.
—
The Englishwoman sat there, trapped in the old car whose body creaked loudly. Diego had only been gone for a few minutes, but she couldn't stand it any longer. She decided to get out of the car. She closed the door without a sound, and turned around to go towards the huge boat moored a few metres away.
The air smelled of salt, but the humidity was unpleasant. The wind was blowing hard, and was all the cooler for being early. The harbour of Puerto Deseado was not very big, but just big enough to accommodate a few big boats like this one. A few fishing boats were bobbing about on the waves a little further out, but the harbour was deserted.
The adventuress walked along the quay, slowly making her way up to the bow and front of the boat. It was an old, rusty cargo ship, its paintwork faded from the water. There were very few portholes, and of the few she saw, all were tarnished by the sea water and the sun, nothing could be seen through them.
The huge hulk creaked a few times, tossed against the concrete of the quay by the big waves coming from the north. Looking up, Lara saw the control cabin above her.
A few feet away from her stood the landing ladder. The metal structure, attached to the dock, allowed direct access to the ship's deck.
Lara glanced around. There was no one on the port. She hesitated for a moment. She had promised Diego to be discreet, and it was better not to attract attention, but this was an opportunity she could not pass up.
She walked briskly up the metal walkway that led to the boat. As she had guessed, she arrived directly on the main deck, which formed a huge, empty, flat space on the surface of the boat. To her right were a few wooden crates, which had obviously just been loaded, still wrapped in their safety nets. Lara approached to have a look, but she found no inscriptions or logos that could give her any clues as to their origin or contents.
She then moved towards the command cabin, which was behind her. She walked up the few steps that lead to the upper floor, glancing around. The cabin was quite big but luckily the door was open and she entered without hesitation. The command post was not very large, and rather messy. It was also in very poor condition, like those of ships that had been sailing for far too long. A few sheets of paper were lying around on the dashboard. The Englishwoman glanced at the logbook, which she flipped through quickly, but found no relevant information. All the ship's recent destinations had been coded, but she noticed that the encryption was always the same.
Always the same route, with the same crossing points
She frowned. On her left, she noticed a small wardrobe, which she went to open. She was surprised to discover several rather thick jackets with fur-lined hoods. She felt the adrenalin suddenly return to her veins.
It can't be a coincidence
She closed the wardrobe door, and headed for the door to leave. She had enough evidence. But as she stepped out, she was surprised to come face to face with a man. She jumped.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Sorry, I..." she stammered. "I was looking for my friend, Diego."
"Diego?"
"Yes, he was supposed to come and see the captain, I thought they'd come up here but..."
"There's no one here, you have nothing to do here," the sailor answered firmly with a strong accent.
"Sorry, I got lost, I think."
"I think so."
The man glared at her. Lara thought she could easily knock him out, but again, this was not the time to draw attention. She just nodded, and looked down, before heading back down the gangway to the dock. She was still on it when she saw Diego coming back to the car. The old man, when he saw her, gave her an incredulous look. Lara hurriedly got out of the boat and hurried to join him.
"I told you to stay there, what were you thinking?"
But the young woman didn't answer and just followed him to the car.
"What were you doing up there?" the old man asked when they finally got into the old Chevrolet.
"I had to come up and have a look while there was nobody on board..."
"How did you know there wasn't someone on the boat?" Diego asked, completely incredulous.
"Actually, I didn't."
"You can't help it..." the old man sighed.
"I told you, I have my little quirks."
"Little quirks that could cost us a lot."
The man gave her a serious and reproving look, a little annoyed by the young woman's attitude. He sighed loudly.
"Did you find something at least?"
"Cold weather clothes. And the boat seems to have been on the same route for a few months. Everything was encrypted, I couldn't find out where it was going and what its destination was unfortunately... Did you see the captain?"
"Yes. But Javier wasn't very talkative. I think he was suspicious of me. He told me about an urgent commercial delivery. They're pulling anchor in a few hours, he wouldn't tell me where they're going..."
Lara sighed. Then she saw the old man take a piece of paper out of one of his pockets, then a pen. He scribbled something on the piece of paper, before handing it to the adventuress.
"... but I think this is their destination."
The young woman took the piece of paper and looked down. She discovered that the Argentinian had written down a whole series of numbers.
-77.791602
-40.853236
"There were men with him, sailors from the freighter no doubt. One of them was looking at something on this sort of mini computer... a tablet they call it, I think..."
She looked at the old man in awe, impressed. But the smile she gave him was genuine.
"How did you manage to remember those GPS coordinates?"
The man shrugged his shoulders in modesty.
"I've always had a good memory for numbers."
The young woman took her phone out of her pocket and started typing on it at high speed. The Argentinean watched her do so, before she handed him the device. On the screen appeared a map, on which the coordinates he had memorized pointed to a geographical point, somewhere on a bank of the White Continent, near the sea.
"Looks like we've got something here."
"You're perfect, Diego."
"You're flattering me."
They exchanged a triumphant smile. Diego finally started the old car, and they drove away to get back to the inn.