35
Nina dropped into the water, the cold like a punch to her heart. She was going under—
A thud from behind — as Eddie dived and skidded on his belly across the ice to grab her beneath her arms. ‘Keep hold of Olivia!’ he yelled, dragging her out of the new hole. She managed to maintain her grip on her grandmother even through the biting chill assaulting her body. Both women collapsed on to the frozen surface.
Eddie crawled backwards, pulling them with him. ‘Come on, get up,’ he said. ‘We’ve got to find some shelter before she gets hypothermia.’
‘Where?’ Nina asked, shivering as she surveyed the surrounding emptiness.
‘The… the other truck,’ Olivia said, her voice a quavering whisper. ‘In the back, there should… be a tent.’
Anger filled Nina, its heat almost driving away the cold. ‘But you went for the goddamn Crucible first?’ The crystal sphere was only a few feet away in the snow. ‘That thing’s almost gotten me and Eddie killed half a dozen times already — and now you’re joining in as well!’
‘Nina, hey,’ said her husband, trying to calm her. ‘We need to get her warmed up, then you can have a go at her. See if you can get anything out of the other jeep before it sinks. I’ll get her back to ours, it’s the only shelter we’ve got.’ He picked up Olivia, holding her tightly as he limped back towards the Toyota.
Nina shook off freezing water, then, shivering, made her way to the other truck. It was still slowly sinking, trapped air bubbling up as its nose tilted downwards. The rising water had reached the rear bed. She pulled as much as she could out on to the ice and hurriedly examined it. There was no tent, but a waterproof bag contained a bivouac. There was also a small portable gas heater and a first aid kit; she collected them along with a few other items, then hurried after Eddie.
She passed the Crucible. A pause — then, almost disgusted at herself, she picked it up and continued towards the super jeep, the cold wind tearing at her wet clothes like the fangs of a wolf.
Sarah looked back across the snowscape with concern. ‘It’s been too long. Where is she?’
Mikkelsson followed her gaze. Beyond the light from the 4x4’s roof-mounted spots, there was nothing but darkness. ‘She must be out there somewhere.’
‘I can’t see her truck.’
‘I can’t see Olivia’s either. Perhaps Ana has dealt with them and gone back to follow us around the lake.’ The words were spoken with his usual matter-of-fact conviction, but couldn’t disguise an edge of concern.
De Klerx gave his boss a worried glance. ‘Something might have happened to her.’
Mikkelsson took the radio handset. ‘Anastasia, come in. Where are you?’ He waited for several seconds, but there was no answer.
‘Maybe the aurora’s blocking the transmission?’ Sarah suggested hopefully, eyes flicking towards the dim green fog in the sky.
He shook his head. ‘It would have to be much stronger than that.’
‘Something’s wrong,’ said De Klerx. He released the accelerator. The super jeep quickly slowed in the dense snow.
‘What are you doing?’ demanded Mikkelsson.
‘We’ve got to go back and look for her!’
‘Yes, we do,’ Sarah said, nodding. ‘She might be hurt.’
The tall diplomat’s face hardened. ‘No.’
‘What do you mean, “no”?’ his wife asked, confused. ‘You don’t think she’s hurt, or—’
‘We have to keep going. De Klerx, go.’
The security chief stared at him. ‘She’s your daughter!’
‘Yes, and she is as committed to our plan as I am.’ He gestured at the large Crucible in the pickup bed. ‘It is more vital than ever that we get the Crucible out of the country quickly. If Nina warns the authorities before we leave, we will be arrested at the airport.’ Seeing his companions’ disbelief, he went on: ‘If Anastasia is still alive, then Olivia, Nina and her husband are dead and we have nothing to worry about. Even if her jeep has been damaged, she knows how to survive out here.’
‘And if she…’ Sarah couldn’t bring herself to voice the alternative. ‘And if Olivia and the others aren’t dead?’ she managed instead.
‘Then it is imperative that we leave right now.’ He stared at De Klerx. The younger man hesitated, then wilted under Mikkelsson’s unblinking gaze and pushed down the pedal.
‘Fenrir!’ cried Sarah, appalled. ‘You… you’re just going to leave her?’
He faced her. ‘She is okay, I am sure of it. She will catch up with us. But if our positions were reversed, she would do the same thing. You know she would,’ he insisted, reaching out to put a hand against her cheek. ‘Don’t you?’
She almost flinched at the touch, uncertainty clear on her face. ‘I… yes, I do.’ Another look back, but there was still nothing behind her but darkness. ‘She’s okay. She’ll be okay, right?’
‘She will,’ Mikkelsson said, stonily regarding the way ahead.
Eddie watched the super jeep’s lights drop behind a distant rise. ‘Least they didn’t come back to finish us off,’ he said through chattering teeth as he duck into the cramped bivouac. Olivia lay on a groundsheet inside, covered by a blanket with the heater beside her. With no way to swap her wet clothing for dry, all they could do was try to keep her warm.
Nina sat with her, legs curled under a corner of the blanket in an attempt to mitigate her own exposure. ‘Yeah, but that means they’re getting away with the big Crucible — and taking it to North Korea.’
‘North Korea.’ Olivia managed to project disbelieving disdain even through a strained whisper. ‘It’s like something from that terrible movie they made of your book, Nina! Fenrir must be out of his mind.’
‘I don’t know, I can see a kind of demented logic to it,’ she replied. ‘He has the diplomatic connections, he has access to classified intel about their nuclear programme, and he knows how to use the Crucible to make plutonium for them. I mean, the man’s a nuclear physicist!’
‘The man’s insane. I can’t…’ Olivia coughed hard, struggling to recover her voice. ‘I can’t believe I never realised before.’
‘He’s a sociopath. He’s very good at hiding his true intentions, and getting people to do what he wants.’
‘Like Anastasia,’ said Eddie. ‘His own bloody daughter. That’s what I can’t believe. No way would I ever push Macy into doing something that could get her hurt.’
‘I doubt that he pushed her,’ Olivia said. ‘Children naturally want to please their parents…’ She trailed off, shuddering.
‘Are you okay?’ Nina asked, worried.
Olivia gave her a pained look. ‘I just fell in a frozen lake and have never been s-so cold in my entire life. So on balance, I would have to say no.’
‘I see being a smart-arse runs in the family,’ said Eddie. He held his hands over the heater. ‘I’ll try to get the truck’s radio working and send out a Mayday. The battery should still be dry, so hopefully I’ll be able to get power to it.’
‘If Fenrir hears it, they might come back,’ said Nina.
‘We don’t have much choice. That heater won’t last for ever. And we can’t stay out here all night.’
Olivia tipped her head towards him. ‘You mean… I can’t.’
‘No,’ he said, with a heavy sigh. ‘Not wanting to sound like a cock, but… not at your age. If you were forty or fifty, you could probably make it even after a soaking like that. But at ninety…’
‘Eighty-nine, thank you.’ She managed a small laugh, which turned into another cough. ‘There’s a certain irony. I smoked, drank, ate red meat and sugar, all the things that are supposed to kill you, but I never imagined a mountainside in Iceland would finish me off.’