“Great mental shit, boss,” Jack replied. “We still don’t know our target or any details about this important mission.”
“Mr. Madsen, our Commander, will soon inspect this platoon. He’ll explain these final details.” He stood toe-to-toe with Jack, whose defiant grin swung from one corner of his lip to the other.
“Platoon my ass,” mumbled a man from the last row. “We’re being tied like prisoners.”
“You are prisoners, but this mission will make you free, each and every one of you. That’s why your minds and your bodies should work toward accomplishing this mission.”
“Which we still don’t know,” retorted the disgruntled man.
“I’ll tell you exactly what it is,” Gunter replied, standing at the entrance of the barrack.
The recruits scrambled to complete their lines. Magnus and his team turned to face the commander and stood at attention. Gunter strutted in with Yuliya in tow. She was followed by six armed guards Magnus was seeing for the first time.
Gunter stopped in front of the platoon. “Soldiers, my name is Gunter Madsen, and I’m the commander of this operation. Soon we’ll embark on a short flight, a mission to defend our country’s sovereignty in a much disputed region, the High Arctic. It is our duty to march forward as the leading unit to secure these Danish territories.” Gunter kept pacing in front of the platoon, his voice reaching a crescendo with the rhythm of his speech. “We will fight, and if need be, we will shed our blood, so that our land may be prosperous and secure.”
“Did he say shed our blood?” a small man in the fourth row whispered to a tall recruit to his right. “We were told this was a patrol mission, to confirm Denmark’s presence in the Arctic.”
“Shhhhh,” the tall recruit replied.
Gunter paused and scanned their faces with his bright eyes. “In terms of exact details, you’ll be flying in one of the Hercules that brought you here. Our destination is Nanisivik, a small Canadian settlement at the northern tip of Baffin Island. Once on the ground, you’ll take over the town. When the area is secured, we’ll continue up north, to Resolute. At the same time, another group will take over the town of Arctic Bay, another insignificant obstacle in our way to control the entire Northwest Passage.”
Loud mumbling broke through the crowd, mostly from the back rows.
“Weapons will be given to you after landing,” Gunter continued, pacing to his right and then turning around. “Resistance from the enemy is expected to be pathetic, at best. Still everyone is urged to take this mission very seriously. You should make every effort to accomplish it victoriously. May God bless you all.”
“Hmm, Chief,” a scratchy voice called from the back row. “We’re all chained up here, like mad dogs.”
Gunter tilted his head and looked for the man. He found him standing at the far end corner of the platoon.
“I’ve got this.” Yuliya held Gunter’s arm and marched toward the scratchy voice. Two of the guards unknown to Magnus followed her. “Chained up you say?”
“Yes, don’t you see the handcuffs?” the man lifted up his arms.
“I see an attitude,” Yuliya replied. “An attitude of disrespect toward authority.”
The man snorted with a big shrug.
“Mr. Madsen’s authority is not to be questioned, neither by you nor—”
“I’m saying, if we’re heroes and that bullshit, why don’t you trust us?”
“You interrupted me. But maybe you’re right. Maybe we’re asking too much of you, and we’re seeing things that just aren’t there. Maybe it’s all bullshit, as you say, and there are no heroes among you.” Yuliya nodded to one of the two guards behind her. “Yuri, what is Mr.—”
“Villadsen, Pedar Villadsen,” the man replied. He stood straight and tall with a natural pride when giving his name.
“Yes. And Mr. Villadsen’s reason for being behind bars?”
Yuri swung his HK MP5 submachine gun behind his shoulder and tapped a few keys on his BlackBerry. “Murder,” he said after a few seconds. “Mr. Villadsen was convicted for murder and has served half of his fifteen-year sentence.”
“Murder. Interesting.” Yuliya circled around Pedar. “An innocent man?” she asked.
Pedar remained silent.
“What’s going on here?” Magnus asked Gunter, who was observing the exchange, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “What is she up too?”
“I have no idea,” Gunter replied coldly. His gaze seemed distant, detached from the scene taking place in front of his eyes.
“Tell me. Was he an innocent man?” Yuliya asked again.
“Nobody’s innocent,” Pedar replied.
“Quite so,” she said.
She took Yuri’s BlackBerry and skimmed through the pages of Pedar’s file stored in the device. “You shot a liquor store clerk, after tying and blindfolding him.”
Pedar nodded, his crooked teeth flashing an evil grin.
Yuliya stepped closer to him. She removed her HK USP 9mm pistol with a swift gesture and pressed it against Pedar’s left side, wedging it tight in the man’s ribcage. “I’m doing you the same favor, you son of a bitch,” she sputtered.
Pedar stumbled backwards and began to raise his arms. Yuliya was fast on the trigger. A single bullet pierced through Pedar’s clothes and skin. He was dead before his body hit the cement floor.
Magnus’s hand went for his side weapon, but the corner of his eye caught a quick glimpse of Gunter’s emotionless face. Why is he not intervening? What’s going on here?
“Shit,” shouted the man standing next to Pedar, glancing at the pool of blood forming around the body. “You’ve killed him, you—”
Yuliya pointed her pistol at the agitated man, in case he attempted a stupid act of revenge. “Yes, and I will not think twice about punishing any form of disobedience.”
She returned to the front of the platoon, followed by Yuri and the other guard.
All Magnus could do was stare in disbelief, as Gunter took a step back, giving Yuliya the floor. Some of the recruits shook their heads. Others stared at the floor.
“Maybe the commander was thinking too highly of you maggots, when he tried to lighten up your condemned souls. Maybe we’re miscalculating your thirst for evil. Well, here it is in simple and clear words: You do what you’re told, or else I’ll kill you all with my own hands. Is that clear?”
A couple of shy nods came from the third row.
“I can’t hear anything,” Yuliya shouted. “Do you get it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” a few half-hearted replies came from the crowd.
“What? I can’t hear you!”
“Yes, ma’am,” the platoon roared in a single voice.
“Great, that’s much better. Back to you, Commander.” Yuliya placed her pistol in its holster.
Gunter sighed and took a deep breath before speaking in a wavering voice. “Magnus, take the platoon into the Hercules. I’ll complete the inspection of the other barracks. Follow me, Yuliya.”
“Yes, yes, sir,” Magnus replied. I’ve got to figure out what the hell is going on here, and who is actually in charge.
“My father, Pukiq, was a hunter.” Kiawak’s voice was shaky, like his hands, and mixed tinged with nostalgia as he began to speak to his people in their native language. He had asked for Justin’s help, and he had sat him on the floor. Everyone in the crowd had followed his example, forming a semi-circle. “Pukiq’s father, Saghani, he was a hunter too. He liked to hunt seals in particular, and he liked it when my grandma Kenojuak cooked them for him after he returned from long voyages.”