***
Frodo slipped around the back of the base, not wanting to be seen by any more people than was necessary, since he didn’t know how quickly information was traveling, and what form it would take. He skirted the open bay where heavy equipment was serviced, and slipped through the kennels to where Geoff, the dog handler, would be. Though their usefulness was nearly obsolete from an operational perspective, the huskies were kept as a revered link to the past, and trains of dog sleds traversing the ice was a glorious sight.
Geoff held an injured paw in his hand, rubbing balm into a tender pad that had been scraped raw by the rough snow. The dog was howling loudly to the others who responded in kind, though not with any sort of real anxiety, it seemed more as if she was making the most of the special attention she was receiving, which had the effect of driving the others mad. Geoff tried to sooth her while he worked.
“Quit yer bitchin, would ya? You’d think I were cutting it off for all the bloody racket. Bloody hell, what a nuisance!”
After seeing that the coast was clear, Frodo walked into the dog hut.
“G’day Geoff,” he said in his best Kiwi accent.
Geoff nodded appreciatively.
“Not bad, not bad, though you sound more like a bloody Aukker on the piss.”
“I’m still working on it. Geoff, I need to disappear for a while, like permanently.”
“You wouldn’t be the first,” the Kiwi said, mindlessly.
“I’m serious. There’s been a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding, and the Navy thinks I’ve gone terrorist on them.”
“Did you now?”
“No, I did not,” Frodo said indignantly. “It’s just that I’m not going to get a chance to explain myself and, well, it might be a little hard to explain. Is there any way out of here that wouldn’t attract attention?”
The Kiwi cocked his head once, indicating it was tough one.
“Not right now. All our people are coming and going on the Yank planes. A couple weeks and we’ll have some flights into Willey.”
“I need to go away for a couple of weeks then,” Frodo mused out loud.
“We’re going out with the dogs tonight. Might come with us, if you’ve a mind to.”
Frodo’s eyebrows arched and his lips pursed as he contemplated.
“Where are you going?”
“Follow the coast, check in on some penguin rookeries. Cape Roberts, Cape Day. Terra Nova. A regular tour, I daresay.”
“How long?”
“Just about the right amount, I shouldn’t wonder. Are you in?”
Frodo smiled a mischievous grin.
“I am totally in.”