Winter Storm by John Schettler Read Free Book Online Page A

from Severomorsk. He arranged to meet us there. It was he
that sent that coded recall order—the only man alive in this time who could
have known how it should have been formatted, and known the confirmation code
word. ”
    “Good
Lord, Fedorov! You mean he’s replaced our Captain—the man who was in here
arguing you were a spy?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then
he’s… some kind of duplicate? A Double?”
    “A
doppelganger,” said Fedorov. “It’s a German word—means Double Walker. This is
what I believe, though I’m not sure how it happened. I thought only one or the
other could survive, but not both men, never two men alike allowed in the same
time. But I was obviously wrong on that score.”
    Zolkin
scratched his grey-white hair. “Then what happened to the Captain who sailed
with us days ago? For that matter, what happen to you—to your other self? Where
is that young officer who was always lost in his history books?”
    “I
don’t know. I think the Captain may have done something with his other self.
Who knows, but the man aboard this ship now is the Siberian. I’m certain of
that, and he is very, very dangerous.”
    “And
your other self?”
    Fedorov
had a glum look on his face, the guilt obvious to Zolkin’s careful eye. “I
don’t know… But I don’t think that man survived…”
    Now
Zolkin gave him a heartfelt look, slowly nodding his head, thinking of all he
had heard from Fedorov, and realizing all he had endured. Now he was standing
there, head down, knowing he may be responsible for his own death.
    “My
good young man,” he said. “You’ve been through purgatory here, worse than that.
You’ve been through hell and back again. I’m so sorry… I wish I had believed
you earlier, but you can surely understand why I came to those other
conclusions.”
    “Of
course… But that doesn’t matter. Now you know the real truth, but I have been
posing as if I were still that unknowing young officer. Yet I don’t know how
long I can hide that way. I’m telling you Karpov is different, and if you spend
any time around him in the days ahead, you will notice that too. Well I’m
different too. I have been through hell and back, and that has to change
a man. Can you see that in me now?”
    “That I
can, Fedorov,” said Zolkin softly.
    “Others
may notice it as well,” said Fedorov. “Orlov tried to pull his tough guy
routine on me a couple days ago, and I stood up to him. He had to know that
wasn’t the Fedorov he knew me to be. Others may have noticed things about me too.”
    “Volsky
certainly did,” said Zolkin. “Me? I was busy diagnosing your mental state, and
seeing those differences as a result of anxiety. Now I know better.”
    “Yes?
Well I’m worried Karpov may soon figure this out himself. He’s been asking me
some very probing questions—about that message I asked the Admiral to send out.
I tried to cover for that by saying I got it from one of my books, but he asked
me to produce that reference.”
    “How
will you get around that?”
    “I’ve
already taken care of it. I just doctored a few files I had on my pad device.
It will account for that little oversight on my part, but at that time, I was
not aware of what had happened with Karpov. I’ve gone over and over everything
I could remember saying or doing, looking for a loose shirttail. If he
discovers I know all this…”
    The
implication was very obvious to Zolkin.
    “Alright…”
said the Doctor. “It seems I was your ally once in all of this, Mister Fedorov.
You can count on me again, as God is my witness. You’ve told me what that man
up there is capable of, no, you’ve told me what he’s actually done! My God! He
used special warheads on the men of this era? Amazing! Well, you say that isn’t
happening now, and things are different. The ship is taking a different course.
Perhaps we can change all those things he did, Fedorov. If I understand what is
happening now, this is a kind of replay of all those events