Rogan, page 1
Books in This Series:
Magnus, Book 1
Rogan, Book 2
Egan, Book 3
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Day 1, Morning
Day 1, Midmorning
Day 1, Dinnertime
Day 2, Morning
Day 3, Morning
Day 3, Evening
Day 4, Wee Early Morning Hours
Day 4, Later That Morning
Day 4, Dinnertime
Day 5, Early Morning
Day 5, Morning
Day 6, Morning
Day 7, Morning
Day 7, Early Evening
Day 8, Midmorning
Day 9, Morning
Day 9, Late Evening
Day 10, Morning
Day 11, Almost Midmorning
Day 12, Midmorning
Day 12, Late Afternoon
Day 13, Early Morning
Day 13, Later That Morning
Epilogue
About Egan
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Rogan arrives at the arctic training camp in the midst of chaos and suspicion. Missing men, fires in the kitchen, Magnus still recovering… and Mountain tearing across the tundra searching for his brother…
Lisa was brought in to assist Dr. Sydney in the medical clinic and is only just now catching up on the horrific events that’s plagued the camp. She’s trying to ignore the distrustful gazes as the only newcomer allowed in, even as everyone is trying to leave.
And yet through it all, the team investigating find some answers and yet a dozen more questions arise. Adding to the confusion, the science center is having unexplained issues with their generator. But with several scientists gone missing their problems are just starting. And those problems spill over to the training center upping the ante for both groups…
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Prologue
Rogan walked into the medical clinic to introduce himself and found Magnus there in one of the hospital beds, sitting up, a cup of coffee in his hand, talking to the doctor. Rogan stepped up and shook hands with Magnus, who looked at him, his gaze intent. Rogan just let him look. Then he turned to face Sydney and smiled.
“Hi, Sydney. I’m Rogan.”
She beamed, reached out, and shook his hand. “Am I glad you are on board.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve heard a bit about the hellish nightmare going on here right now.”
“You’re not kidding. And I’m getting a new nurse today as well, but I have yet to see her.”
“I already heard. She’s been here during training, so she’s been tapped to come in and to help you with your short-staffing issue.”
At that came a knock on the door. A woman entered, smiling as she stepped forward and looked at Sydney intently. “Hey, apparently I’ve been reassigned as your nurse. I’m Lisa.”
Sydney studied her. “That’s interesting. I didn’t even realize you were here. I thought I was getting someone else.”
“I came in a couple days ago on one of the flights where patients were airlifted out,” she said. “I’ve done some sledding myself, quite a bit, but I wanted an opportunity to do it within the military’s parameters, only now I have been reassigned here.” She turned and looked around. “Apparently this is the most dangerous place on the whole damn base.”
Sydney winced. “You could be right. But it’s a pretty large base, with multiple outbuildings in this little military village, so I wouldn’t count on it. Anyway, this is Rogan, and this is Magnus.”
Lisa looked at Magnus, smiled, shook his hand, then turned to Rogan. “I already know Rogan.” She acknowledged him with another laugh.
“Yeah, last time I went out with you on a dog sled, you dumped me, the dogs took off, and I was left stranded in that lovely blizzard.”
She smirked. “That was your own fault.”
“If you say so.” He shook his head. “I’m glad to hear that you’re getting some training. Maybe by the time you’re done here, you’ll know how to mush a team.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby. If you hadn’t screamed like a little kid, the dogs wouldn’t have been afraid in the first place.”
He snorted. “Screamed like a little kid? You jumped a crevasse.”
She shrugged. “Stopping wasn’t really an option, and, hey, at least you got dumped on the far side.”
Magnus and Sydney watched this exchange in fascination, as Rogan and Lisa volleyed barbs back and forth. Sydney reached out a hand to Magnus, who stood up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Rogan turned his attention to them. “Don’t worry. Lisa and I know each other from way back, so all is good.”
Sydney smiled and chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that. It sounds as if you do have a thing going on.”
He looked at her. “Oh no, that we do not. She was married to my best friend. That’s all there is to it.” Then he nodded goodbye and walked out.
Lisa looked after him, and then turned to the two of them and smiled. “He’s right. I was married to his best friend, but that was a long time ago. And the marriage itself? It didn’t last more than ten months,” she shared, with a sad smile. “Teenage pregnancy, teenage marriage, lost the baby, lost the husband, and, hey, life is not what you think it’s going to be anymore,” she murmured.
“And Rogan?” Sydney asked.
“I think in a way he blames me for the baby and for his friend. I was just as heartbroken. We were both so damn young.” She shrugged. “Anyway, Rogan and I have stayed in touch over the years, mostly because of the work we do. And surprise, surprise. Here we are. Let the world bring what it may, I’m up for it.”
And, with that, she smiled and asked, “Where’s my desk?”
Sydney pointed.
Then Lisa nodded, headed over, and declared, “Okay, let’s get to work.”
Day 1, Morning
Successfully arrived at camp. Assimilation won’t be the easiest. Anger among the teams that anyone new is coming in when they all want out. No progress as yet. Stay tuned.
Rogan Matlock stepped into the kitchen area, then headed to the ever-present coffeepot and realized it was empty. Frowning, he turned with the pot toward the kitchen and held it up. One of the cooks in the front rolled his eyes, took it from his hand, and grimaced. “Seems to happen a lot lately.”
“As long as it refills throughout the day, I don’t care,” he replied cheerfully.
The cook looked at him, frowned, and noted, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around lately.”
“I was here early on,” he shared. “Now I’m back.”
At that, the other guy snorted. “Why the hell would you want to come back? I’ve been trying to get out of here for ages, or so it seems.” Rogan considered him, and the line cook shrugged. “Shit’s going on here, man. I don’t need that.”
“Maybe you don’t need it,” Rogan stated, his gaze searching the place, “but, according to my information, the only people who can come and go from here are any essential services or people involved with the training center since this term began.”
“Right, you need your head examined,” he muttered, then turned toward the stoves. He returned with another carafe of coffee. “It’s a fresh pot after this.”
“And what’s this?” Rogan asked, staring at the carafe.
“Old coffee. You get that before you get anything else.”
He winced at that and looked over at Chef, who was smoking off to the side. His puffs of smoke disappeared out the slightly cracked open door, while Chef openly stared at Rogan.
Rogan asked, “Is this how you guys run coffee all the time?”
“It is. You happen to come back at a time when supplies are low.”
“Why are supplies low?” he asked curiously, noting he ought to sound friendlier. “I came in with a load.”
“Sure, you came in with supplies, but we were shorted, as always. So, if you don’t want that coffee, put it back, and somebody else will grab it. You can wait for the next pot,” he stated, his tone tart.
Surprised at the attitude and the comment, Rogan didn’t say anything more but put the full carafe on the burner, and, sure enough, several other people jumped up to fill their cups. In a blink, the pot was empty again.
Rogan took the empty pot back to the kitchen. With that, the line cook nodded, disappeared, then reappeared with two fresh pots. “You seem surprised,” he told Rogan.
“I am,” Rogan confirmed. “Things were a little different when I was here before.”
“Yeah, they sure were,” he snapped. “People weren’t dying. People weren’t going missing right under our noses.”
Rogan looked over at Chef, the nickname that suited this man’s occupation, who frowned at his line cook, and Rogan nodded. “I get it. Tempers are running hot.”
“Hot, cold, and everything in between,” Chef declared, walking closer. He eyed Rogan carefully. “I’m surprised they let anybody in. Or, in your case, back in. You were here for a few days, when we were setting up.”
“Several people have returned. Maybe they thought we could be a stabilizing influence,” he shared, with a shrug.
“I don’t know why the hell anybody would think that,” the line cook replied, glaring at Rogan. “I want the hell out of here.” At that, Chef looked down at him and frowned again. The line cook threw up his hands. “Look. I want to get out of here alive. I no longer sleep at night. I’m looking over my shoulder all the time.”
“Hang on a minute,” Rogan interrupted, trying for an innocently shocked tone. “I understood the one guy and the nurse were involved with stealing drugs, and they are both gone. Right?”
“Even if you heard that much, you’re doing better than most,” the line cook noted, with a half laugh. “Yet I’ve got to tell you that that’s only part of the story.”
Rogan waited for more feedback to come, but Chef shushed his line cook with a stern stare and sent him back to work. At that, Rogan raised an eyebrow. Chef shook his head. “We can’t have that talk, not in here,” he explained in a low voice. “I’m not sure why the hell you’re here because I remember you, and I remember you from other places too,” he declared, barely in a whisper. “Watch your back.”
“Any reason in particular?” Rogan asked.
“Yeah, because anybody involved with the investigations into this base is a suspect. So, whether or not you are another investigator,” Chef added cryptically, “the fact that you’re even here means your presence is suspicious.”
“And why is that?”
“Because we were told that nobody else was being allowed in.”
“And yet we had a new nurse, and we had a couple other new guys. That was bound to happen sooner rather than later, what with people on waiting lists for these survival training sessions.”
“Right, and yet”—Chef studied Rogan closely—“the brass won’t let just anybody in at this point. They’ll be majorly vetted.”
At that, Rogan gave him a lazy smile. “Good point.”
“Keep your head down, before somebody sees your presence as a challenge.” And, with that, Chef turned and walked away, leaving a very surprised Rogan.
A challenge? What did Chef mean by that? Rogan had never considered his presence here in that light. He pondered that, as he walked over to the dining room tables and sat down among the others.
Instant silence swept around him. He waited to see what the general reaction would be to him; then several people started speaking almost at once.
“What the hell are you even doing here?”
“We heard that nobody was allowed to come in or out.”
“How did they allow you back?”
“Are you on the investigation team?”
He looked around at the table at a lot of confused, angry, and perplexed faces.
“Some of us had to come in or go out for various reasons. I brought supplies with me, so I presume you want me here.”
“Not really,” replied one of the guys, almost joking. “I wish we were on that supply plane, leaving with or without you.”
“So I’ve heard before,” Rogan replied. “I’m not sure what’s going on around here.”
“Yeah, nobody does,” murmured one of the other men. “None of us really knows what’s going on, and nobody’s talking, and the fact that nobody’s talking makes all of us even more suspicious. I’ve already put in several complaints with my superior, and I’ve asked for a chance to get the hell out.”
“What response did you get?” Rogan asked, eyeing him curiously.
The guy looked down at the table and shrugged. “Not a terribly positive one,” he noted, with a frustrated sigh. “Something about making a big deal out of nothing, with a tone that suggested they may as well have told me, ‘Suck it up, son. You’re a soldier. That’s why you’re here.’”
Another man rolled his eyes at that. “It’s one thing if you’re up against an enemy,” he explained, with a shrug, “at least an enemy from another country. But to find out you’re up against enemies within your own training mission?” He waved his hand around, as if warding off some form of evil. “That’s a whole different story.”
“Do you know for sure that’s what it is?” Rogan asked, looking at him closely. “Do you have any information that nobody else has?”
“No, of course not.” He glared, looking around the table at the others seated nearby. “However, believe me. This place is rife with rumors.” And he stood up, slammed down his cup. “And you best grab a hold of whatever it is that brought you here and turn around and get the hell back out again.” And, with that, he stormed off.
Watching him leave, Rogan turned to look at the others, but they all suddenly appeared to be busy. “You’re all of the same opinion?” he asked, amazed when a couple men shrugged. This place was itching to blow, and that was never a good situation.
One of them stated, “Don’t know what the hell is going on, so everyone is on the edge. … I’m Ryan, by the way.” Then he reached out a hand and shook Rogan’s.
“Rogan,” he replied, smiling. “I’ve never been in a situation quite like this.”
“None of us have,” Ryan noted. “I think that’s the problem. People don’t know how to handle new and different.” He got up then and added in a controlled, yet bitter tone, “As a friendly warning—because we don’t know what the hell is going on—keep an eye out, will you?” And, with that, he turned and left as well.
Rogan looked at the last two guys remaining at their table, both staring at him sideways. Rogan shrugged. “Can’t say I ever expected to feel as unwelcome as I do right about now,” he stated in a conversational tone.
One of the guys snorted. “That’s all right. You’ll get used to it soon enough.” And, with that, he was gone too.
The other guy winced. “Hey, I remember you from the beginning. Not sure why you left or why you’re back, but, considering what’s going on here, you’ve got to see that things have changed. I’m Reed.”
“Hi, Reed. And I do see that they have changed.” Rogan tilted his head toward the door, where the others had walked out. “I hadn’t expected a welcome, but I didn’t expect to be treated like a leper either.”
“It’s not so much that you’re a leper as much as the circumstances make everyone feel wary of newcomers and jealous of those who get shipped out. On the whole, most would prefer to leave. Most of us have asked for transfers,” he shared. “We all committed to a certain amount of time here, and we generally honor our commitments, but we didn’t realize it would be such a damn nightmare.”
“No, and I wasn’t really filled in on it either, but, whatever is going on, it’s palpable.”
Reed added, “You may want to turn around and leave. Most of us are confused and don’t know what’s going on, but we do know that several people have gone missing—two still are. Plus several guards were attacked by one or two who were stealing drugs here. Not to mention we’ve also had some men get hurt in very strange ways. Two died in training exercises, and recently a man who tried to rape our doc was murdered.”
“Maybe a little bit of suspicion is healthy then,” Rogan noted cautiously, “but too much of it, and things can go south very quickly.”
“I think we’re already at the too-much part, and things are definitely going south,” Reed replied. “So just a friendly warning to watch your back.” Then he smiled and asked, “Do you have a room to yourself?”
Rogan shook his head. “I’m bunked where one of the other guys used to be. It’s also a bit hard to digest that the morale at this base has dropped so drastically. If the brass could find answers, it would help,” he suggested casually, as he stretched out his legs.
“Sure, it would, but, so far, no luck in that department. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.” Picking up his cup, he stood to leave, then turned back to Rogan. “I’m heading out to do a check around base. I’m on watch, if you want to come.”
“Absolutely.” Rogan rose. “I also need to acclimate to the Arctic temperatures again.”
“Yeah, is there an easy way to do that? I sure as hell haven’t found it,” Reed muttered, as they walked to the exit, where they quickly bundled up in multiple layers of heavy outdoor gear.
“I always liked it up here,” Rogan replied, with a chuckle. “I know it’s not for everybody, but something’s very peaceful about this frozen world. I respect it but also enjoy it.”
“Something peaceful, yes, usually. However, right now, something is so wrong.”
“I heard that one of the missing men was found in a snow cave.” He slid a sideways glance at his companion.
