read over the last volume, especially if everything on site had gone to pot. ‘Why is no one from the contractors joining us?’ she asked without looking up. ‘This is a rather large contract and I doubt that everyone from the company was working on site. At least not the management.’
‘It’s not a big company,’ replied Matthew, clearly relieved that Thora was talking about something other than his having given in to Bragi. ‘It’s very specialized and has managed to make a name for itself in geological research and related feasibility studies, though mainly in the field of geothermal heat. Berg Technology’s main man and founder is now involved in another project in the Azores, along with five employees. The company has no other staff apart from the twelve who went to Greenland, and ten of them refuse to go back there, while the other two…’ He cleared his throat before continuing. ‘The company had planned greatly to expand its workforce this summer, when it was supposed to start major construction projects like laying an airport runway, but whether that will actually happen depends on whether Berg Technology manages to stay afloat. The kind of workers they need are much easier to find than the ones working at the site now, and it shouldn’t be any trouble to hire them if an agreement can be reached with the mining company. As far as the owner is concerned, we’ve been in constant contact with him by telephone and e-mail, but he can’t get away for the time being. They’re about to complete an important stage of their project in the Azores and he’s afraid that if he leaves now, the company that hired them will start having doubts. The last thing Berg needs now is for that project to be put at risk as well. We’re not going to press him, because he could become an albatross around our necks. His company is naturally far more important to him than the financial standing of the bank, so you never know what he might do. Berg has three board members, including the owner, but the other two have never come to Greenland, so it’s not really worthwhile dragging them along.’
Thora nodded. The voice on the tannoy announced that the charter flight to Greenland was ready for departure. Thora stuck the documents back into the briefcase. She smiled as she stood up. It looked as if Bella would not make the plane. Sometimes you got lucky. They walked along with the others towards the gate and Thora noticed that a woman in her early thirties had joined the group. This must be the geologist Fri?rikka. She was tall like Thora, but otherwise they were quite different. Thora was blonde, but Fri?rikka had curly bright red hair that she was obviously trying to keep under control with an elastic band. She was also a little plump, while Thora was quite skinny. Matthew stopped when he saw her approaching and as he introduced her to Thora, Fri?rikka extended a calloused hand. The woman seemed rather shy, but her grip was firm nevertheless and her low-key greeting sincere.
Thora hadn’t thought about the fact that there was a little duty-free shop at the airport, but she didn’t really want anything. Some of the group went to the tills with cartons of cigarettes, but the only one who seemed to want to take advantage of the inexpensive alcohol was the rescuer Alvar Palsson. He stood in line at the register with a bottle of rum and another of Campari, still just as red-faced as when Thora had seen him first. Considering the amount he was buying for such a short trip, he was either a lush or preparing himself for a longer stay in Greenland than planned.
‘Are you going to buy something?’ asked Matthew, who appeared rather unimpressed by the little shop.
‘No,’ replied Thora. ‘I don’t think I need anything they sell.’ Headache tablets would have been useful, but there were none to be seen. They started walking out of the shop, but Thora stopped abruptly in the doorway when she heard a familiar voice coming from the security gate.
‘If I can take one lighter on board, then why can’t I take two?’ thundered Bella. ‘What can I do with two lighters that I can’t do with one?’
Thora went back into the shop and headed towards the spirits section.
The flight only took two hours and Thora used the time to read the contract, in search of anything that might be useful if it came to a breach of agreement. She found nothing other than the clause about force majeure. Everything else was nailed down pretty tightly. Special emphasis had even been put on local conditions and difficulties connected with transportation and climate. The bank clearly wanted to ensure as far as possible that Berg Technology could not request additional payments or postponements due to the area turning out to be more difficult than anticipated at first, or the costs higher. She also noted that any contractual disputes were to be settled in a British court, which meant the bank would no longer have need of her services at the conclusion of this trip. It might take her a few days to process whatever data they gathered, then her part in the matter would be finished. So Thora’s prediction had turned out to be right: as soon as the case was straightened out, others would take over. Although she was naturally a bit miffed about this, it was comforting to imagine Bragi’s disappointment. Her longing to tell him about it only intensified when she heard Bella jabbering away to herself at the back of the plane.
The eight passengers on board the charter had plenty of room. Thora and Matthew sat at the front, so she couldn’t see her fellow travellers, but the sound of snoring suggested that some of them had decided to nap on the way. That was understandable; although it was light outside, there was nothing to see but sky and sea. It wasn’t until they reached the coast of Greenland that the view was worth waking up for. The country looked very unwelcoming. It was covered with snow except in a few places where the mountainsides were too steep for it to settle, and on a slender strip near the coast where the encroaching sea had melted it. Icebergs were floating everywhere off the coast and the overriding impression was that the land was being ground into pieces and driven out into the sea. The jaggedness of the coastline did nothing to diminish this effect. The same went for the interior: there were no level areas, and the mountain peaks were innumerable. There were no visible signs of human habitation.
‘Has the pilot got confused and taken us to the North Pole?’ Thora asked Matthew, after turning away from the glacier’s glare. ‘No one could possibly be living down there.’
He leaned towards the window and looked slightly shaken when he turned back to her. ‘It looks worse from such a great height,’ he said. ‘Also, maybe we’re still too far north. I’m sure it will look better when we land.’ He appeared to be trying to convince himself as much as Thora.
‘I hope you’re right,’ said Thora. ‘Erik the Red must have been colour-blind when he named the country. Everything down there is white. I don’t know how we’re going to avoid polar bears – if they close their eyes they’ll be invisible.’
‘There won’t be any polar bears,’ said Matthew, although he was still peering out nervously. ‘The trip itself is the only problem we’re going to have.’
‘I hope so,’ she replied, smiling. ‘But one thing’s for certain – there was no polar bear swinging an axe or a club in the video.’ She leaned in and whispered, ‘Did you notice that Bella is the only other person awake?’ Stealthily, she turned to check whether this was still the case. ‘If she weren’t here I could invite you to the toilet and initiate you into the mile high club.’ She looked Matthew in the eye and grinned. ‘Damn it, what a shame she had to come.’ She turned back to the window, pleased with herself.
Shortly afterwards the aircraft landed gently. The travellers disembarked, full of expectation tempered with anxiety. All except one. That passenger had promised never to come here again. Terrible memories lingered here, memories that were impossible to push away.
It was incredible that this passenger had returned, in fact. A blue-black crow screeched on the roof of the airport, rose into the air and flew off into the wilderness.
Chapter 4
Thora wasn’t as excited about the helicopter as Matthew was. What the others in the group thought, she couldn’t guess, but most were at least trying to look as if they found it totally commonplace. Matthew did what he could to enthuse Thora, saying that it was none other than a Huey, the type that was used in the Vietnam War. She was not impressed, however – even when he added that as soon as the blades started whirring, she would recognize the sound from the movies. She smiled reluctantly. ‘Couldn’t they have added a few more blades? It only has two.’ She hoped that this shortage of propellers wouldn’t cause the helicopter to fly unsteadily, because her stomach was hardly in any condition for that. The Vietnam atmosphere would be dampened somewhat if she started vomiting in the back of the helicopter.
