He must have been hit harder by the cold than he’d realized.
He reached up slowly with his left hand, pressed his fingers to Samantha’s throat, felt her pulse. It seemed stronger now, and some color had come back to her cheeks. The patches of skin on her face that had frozen were red—a good sign.
He cupped her cheek, her skin warmer now. “Samantha, can you hear me? It’s Thor. I want to give you some hot cocoa or coffee, but you need to wake up first.”
She turned her head toward the sound of his voice, her eyes still closed.
He glanced at his watch, saw that he’d been asleep for about an hour. He reached for the radio. Last time he’d checked, it wasn’t working, probably a result of extreme cold. He turned it on, relieved to hear a littlebeep.
But who was listening on the other end—Jones and Segal, or Hardin?
For all Thor knew, Jones and Segal were hostages—or dead. The last thing he needed was for Hardin to overhear him and come out here to finish him off. He had no weapons and was already injured, while Hardin had his pistol.
Instead of speaking into the radio, he pushed the talk button a few times, sending out three bursts of static. Then he waited—but not for long.
“Isaksen, this is Jones. Is that you, man?”
“Jones, Isaksen here. Are you and Segal safe?”
“We told that bastard you weren’t dead.” Jones’ words were almost drowned out by cheers in the background. “Is Dr. Park with you? Is she alive?”
“Yes, but she’s dangerously hypothermic and has mild frostbite. I found shelter and treated her as well as I could, but I think she might be in a hypothermic coma. She’s still unconscious.”
“Hardin drugged her. That’s what he told us. I don’t know what he gave her, but if she’s still unconscious, Decker here says it might be the drug.”
Hardin, you fucking bastard.
“How are you?” Jones asked. “He says he shot you.”
“Yes, with my own damned weapon. I’ve got a round in my shoulder and a graze on my thigh and a bit of frostbite, but I’m okay for now.”
He’d get an infection if the bullet didn’t come out, but that was a worry for later.
“Damn, brother, you are hard to kill.”
“What’s your situation?”
“We’re fine. Hardin has us all locked in the lounge. He’s got the package—and the run of the station. I have no clue what he has planned, but he’s got control of the doors. So far, he hasn’t shown aggression toward anyone here. We haven’t seen him for about an hour.”
Thor tried to remember what Hardin had told him about the B1 Lounge as a life pod. It had its own power plant. It had food, restrooms, and a kitchen, as well as medical supplies, sleeping bags, its own coms and computers. The staff would be safe there—at least until the food ran out.
“Jones, Segal—Hardin said the station could be run from the lounge. Does anyone on staff know what he meant or have access to the station’s systems?”
“I’ll ask.”
“Isaksen, Segal here. I’ve kept Tower apprised of our situation. I just gave him an update to let him know you’ve checked in. They’re working on a rescue op, but that’s likely some time off, thanks to the weather.”
Then Jones was back. “Lance, Ryan, and Charli from coms say they both have access to the system. McClain says that power for the heating can be rerouted to the lounge, cutting off the rest of the station. But doing that might drive Hardin to attack us—or to seek shelter elsewhere. That might bring him out to you.”
Those weren’t the only risks.
“Can Hardin override that command and cut off power to the lounge?”
The bastard was capable of almost anything.
“Lance says he thinks they can lock him out of the life pod controls altogether. Lance and Charli are working on it now. The life pod’s systems operate independently, so if they get in there first and establish admin control—”
“Do it. Will they be able to open the doors to the rest of the station?”