“Is that… is that all we’re doing, sir?” asked one of the men in a faltering voice. He was Support Squadron Commander of the airbase. Sergeant Emily Moore and Sergeant Tom Brown were two of the people in his team.
“Of course not,” the commander replied. “Emily is my highest priority, and we’ll do everything we can to bring her home. I had a chance to interrogate the Canadians, when they were still recovering in the hospital. While I may have misjudged their abilities, they didn’t strike me as vicious criminals.”
“That’s an understatement, sir,” the same man replied. “Sergeant Brown’s skull is fractured. He was tied up and left naked on the emergency room floor.”
“It’s all because of that stupid radar signal that notified us about these people in the first place,” another man blurted out. “If those technicians would stop messing around with their toys, we wouldn’t even be here at this graveyard hour.”
“Whoa, whoa,” said another voice. “If it weren’t for my team, we would have three dead people in our conscience. Three dead people, which we could have saved. There was no way for anyone to know about this turn of events.”
“Oh, is that so? Well, my conscience is already burdened with a head split sergeant and a kidnapped sergeant, held as hostage who knows where.”
“Gentlemen,” the commander shouted, silencing their bickering. “There’s no gain in figuring out who’s to blame. Let’s focus on solutions, rather than accusations.”
Some of the men nodded in agreement.
“I was saying the Canadians seemed like decent folks,” the commander said. “I know Hall mugged Sergeant Brown, and I don’t condone his action. I’m simply accepting it as a fact, regrettable as such, yet still notable, since it tells us about his determination. It also testifies to his character. Hall is not into overkill, but precise, controlled use of physical force, in correct proportion with the needs of the situation.”
He looked around the room. “I’ll explain myself, since some of you seem lost. When the Canadians had a chance to fight back, their machine guns blasted tarmac chunks, not the flesh of our soldiers. I’m sure they’re not going to hurt Emily. They did not kid… take her for ransom or to pressure us into submission or negotiation. Hall was afraid we were going to pulverize the chopper. The bastard was right; I may have issued the order to shoot down the Seahawk, if it had nothing valuable on board.”
There were some nods around the table.
“Now, my question is: Why were they in such a hurry to go back? What was so important that couldn’t wait, not even three, four days, until their health improved, and we could escort them safely back to Canada?”
“They were trying to hide something,” one man guessed.
“Rushing to get rid of their tracks of whatever illegal scheme they were working on,” the deputy commander said.
“Hall claimed they had secured evidence confirming their suspicions about Danish soldiers attacking their Arctic territory.”
“What?” the superintendent asked.
“Really? That’s a clever one,” the deputy commander said in a mocking tone.
“Yes, a fascinating claim,” the commander said. “I dismissed it offhand as nonsense. But after their death-defying stunt, I’m not so sure. I want to check yesterday’s satellite monitoring records for anything out of ordinary, in terms of Danish aircraft or icebreakers heading toward Canada. Hall talked about some isolated maneuver Denmark may be carrying out. I remember seeing a memo a few weeks back, when they were planning a training exercise, but I don’t recall its details. At the time, it looked pretty harmless. Find me anything recent about the Danish preparations for this exercise. I also want the other Seahawks on standby for a rescue mission at a moment’s notice. Pilots and armaments should be ready, awaiting my orders.”
“Sir, hmmm…” the superintendent began, “those choppers, the Seahawks. We’ll have to anticipate a considerable backlash from the Danish government if news about their existence at our base appeared in the media.”
The commander thought about the superintendent’s words for a few moments. “I’m quite aware of our agreement with Denmark on the expansion of our base. I know it prohibits the presence of sophisticated and heavy armed fighter aircraft. But thank you for the reminder. Now, allow me to remind everyone around this table we’re the only people in possession of this secret. If the Danes start asking about our Seahawks and whether they’re in violation of our treaty with their government, I’ll start an investigation of the leak. I will not hesitate to court-martial anyone who leaks the information. Is this clear?”
The commander waited until everyone had nodded their acknowledgment before continuing. “I’ll make sure our personnel are informed about our official position on the situation. We’re actively pursuing a diplomatic solution with the government of Canada. At the same time, we’re working to ensure the return of our airman. I’ll address the troops over the radio as early as this morning. Hopefully, we’ll have more positive news by then.
“One last thing, I want all our eyes on the Canadian coast. Nothing flies over or swims in or under the waters separating Greenland from Canada without me, personally, knowing about it.”
“He’s a lucky bas…” Nilak’s voice trailed off.
He stood up, as Anna entered the small spare bedroom. She tiptoed toward the bed, where Justin was buried underneath a mountain of sheets and blankets. His pale face was the only uncovered part of his body. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was heavy.
Iluak, who was sitting on a small wooden stool next to his twin brother, asked Anna, “How’s Tania doing?”
“The nurses are still with her.” She gestured toward the hall leading to Iluak’s bedroom, where Tania was wrapped in warm blankets. “They say her exposure to the freezing water was not severe, so no internal rewarming is necessary.”
“I remember they were saying something about a hot bath,” Iluak said.
“You’re right. They did that already. Has Justin said anything?”
“Not much. He complained about being cold, ten minutes ago, so I turned up the heat. It takes some time for the house to warm up, since it’s so damn cold outside,” Nilak replied.
“What did the nurses say about his arrhythmia?”
Nilak rolled his eyes. “I don’t think they mentioned it. But how do you know so much about this?”
“Just recovered from some serious hypothermia of my own.”
“You did?”
“Yes. All thanks to the one who’s frozen solid at the bottom of the Bay.”
“Alisha, she’s such a f…” He stopped and offered an apologetic smile.
Anna shrugged.
“So, why did Alisha do that?” Iluak asked.
“Oh, it’s a long story. A very long story.”
Anna looked at Justin’s face. One of the nurses had combed his hair to the side and had attended to the wound on his forehead, which was now dressed neatly in clean gauze. She reached over to remove a loose hair from his eyelids, but her warm breath on his face disturbed his light sleep.
“Carrie,” he muttered, his eyes still shut. “Is that you?”
“No,” she whispered in his ear. “It’s Anna.”
“She gave you the kiss of life, and you’re confusing her with another woman?” Nilak wondered aloud, quite loud, for the small room.
“Yeah, man, what’s wrong with you?” Iluak said with a smug grin.
“I… I don’t know… maybe because I’m exhausted,” Justin replied with a wheezing sigh, which turned into a loud cough. “And dead, if she had to revive me,” he added after his hacking stopped.