His reply was simple. ‘Yes.’
‘Were they doing… bad stuff?’
‘Yeah.’ He stood, still holding the mine. ‘If you really don’t want to carry the gun, it’s no problem — I’ll take it. But can you put the fuse in my rucksack? It’ll be safe as long as the wire stays in place, but be careful with it anyway.’
She gingerly picked up the fuse and slipped it into one of his pack’s outer pockets. ‘What happens if the wire comes out?’ she asked.
‘Maybe nothing; it’s all buggered up with rust and muck. Or it might go off. There’s a gunpowder charge in it, enough to take off some fingers if you’re holding it.’
There was a startled gasp from behind him. When he looked round, he saw that she had retreated by several steps. ‘You want to walk in front of me?’
‘Please.’
He grinned. ‘If it hasn’t gone off by now, it’s probably not going to unless someone tries to make it happen. And I’m not going to do that, not while I’m carrying the bloody thing!’
The young woman did not seem entirely convinced, but still managed a faint smile. She picked up the AKS as if it were covered in thorns and handed it to him. ‘Here.’
‘Thanks.’ He slung it over one shoulder. ‘Okay, now which way were we going?’
Natalia pointed into the trees. ‘That way.’
‘Great. Let’s get to this village of yours. Oh,’ he said with a grin as they set off, ‘watch what you’re treading on this time, eh?’
13
Eddie emerged from a tent, rubbing his hands rapidly up and down his neoprene-sleeved arms. ‘Buggeration and fuckery! It’s a bit nippy.’
‘I told you that you don’t need to do this,’ said Nina. She gave the tight-fitting drysuit a cheekily approving look. ‘But you know, you look rather good in that.’ Even though her own fitness regimen had started to slide of late, her husband worked out enough to keep himself in solid shape, muscles visible even through the layers of cold-water gear.
A smirk spread across his face. ‘I’ve been saying you look good in tight rubber for years. If you weren’t such a bloody prude, you’d buy that dress with holes in all the right places.’
Nina blushed as she realised they had an audience; Matt and Tova had just rounded the tent. The Swede widened her eyes, while the Australian’s response was little more than a heard-it-all-before shrug. ‘Ignore him, he’s just joking,’ she hurriedly said.
‘No, no, it is quite all right,’ Tova replied. She smiled at the couple. ‘It is healthy to discuss your sex life — and keep it interesting.’
‘Mm-hmm,’ said Nina, blushing even more. Eddie cackled.
‘So, aaaanyway,’ Matt said, keen to change the subject, ‘we’ve got all the IBUs ready. Nelson’s waiting in the hole in the ice — once you and the other divers load up his topside rack with the gear, you can just grab on and he’ll tow you to the dig site.’
‘You noticed how everyone says “the hole in the ice” and not “the ice hole”?’ Eddie remarked, still grinning as he tugged the drysuit’s hood up over his head. He put on his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice. ‘Fuck you, ice hooole.’
It got a smile from Matt, at least, but Tova didn’t seem to understand what he had said, and Nina just gave a weary sigh. He snorted. ‘Well I thought it was funny. So we’re ready?’
‘No time like the present,’ said Nina. Even though it was only early in the afternoon, at this latitude and time of year they only had a few more hours of daylight. She started for the shoreline, the others following.
‘Keep that burning,’ Eddie said as they passed a campfire that Mikkel had started. ‘I know we’ve got heaters in the tents, but sometimes a big roaring pile of wood’s the best thing you can have.’
‘Oh, don’t you worry,’ Nina told him. ‘I’m going to spend the rest of the day sitting by it while you work. I may even toast some marshmallows.’
Eddie collected his nitrox tanks and a small toolbox. ‘Yeah, right,’ he scoffed. ‘I know you better than that. You’ll be looking over Matt’s shoulder and getting annoyed that you can’t micromanage us the whole time.’
‘The man knows his wife,’ Matt said, laughing.
Nina pouted. ‘Shut up. Although yeah, he’s totally right,’ she admitted to Tova. The older woman grinned.
The group set out across the ice, joining Mikkel and the two IHA divers waiting at the hole. Eddie donned his breathing gear, weights and flippers, then attached the toolbox to his belt. Nina noticed that neither of the other divers had anything similar. ‘What’s in that?’
‘Just some bits and bobs in case I need ’em,’ came the non-committal reply.
‘Like what?’
‘Like the kinds of things you normally find in a toolbox. You know, tools?’
‘Okay, jeez,’ she said, a little taken aback by his waspish sarcasm. ‘I just wondered.’
He didn’t respond, instead pulling down his goggles before giving his mouthpiece one final check. ‘Okay, I’m set.’
‘We are too,’ Mathias told him.
Eddie gave him a thumbs-up. ‘Stand back if you don’t want to get splashed,’ he warned, before putting the rebreather into his mouth and hopping into the water. His head popped back above the surface a couple of seconds later, his wide-eyed grimace giving those above a clear indication of the temperature.
‘You okay?’ Nina called to him as the two other divers also dropped into the lake.
He gave her another thumbs-up, which then drooped to a more uncertain angle, but his expression assured her that he was not serious. The three men checked each other’s gear to make sure the watertight seals were secure, then, with the aid of those still on the ice, loaded the buoyancy units on to the submersible. Once everything was secured, Matt headed back to his little shelter on the shore, Tova following him.
Nina stayed to watch her husband go. ‘See you back here soon,’ she said. His hand broke the surface to wave at her. ‘And don’t get cold — oops, too late.’ The hand rotated to give her a two-finger salute. She laughed. ‘Go on, get going,’ she said, waving back. Eddie dipped beneath the surface, the two other men following suit. She watched them disappear into the darkness below, then returned to the shore.
‘Jesus, Eddie was right,’ Matt complained. His tone was light, but there was still an edge of genuine irritation.
Nina was indeed watching over his shoulder, gazing intently at the images from the ROV’s cameras. ‘Sorry, sorry,’ she said, moving back — a few inches. ‘It’s just frustrating not being able to communicate with them.’
‘Not being able to boss ’em around, you mean.’
‘Well, yeah.’ They shared a chuckle.
The main screen showed the runestone poking up from the lake’s bottom, pinned by the hovering submersible’s spotlights. The three divers had cleared away some of the silt, exposing more of the monolith — but while Nina and Tova’s interest was in what was inscribed upon the stone, the men at the site were concerned only with securing high-tensile ropes around it. Three sets of lines connected by nylon webbing now encircled the slab; each line would have two lifting bags attached, which based on the weight of its counterpart would be more than enough to raise it to the surface.
One of the divers attached a hook to the ropework, then gave two thumbs-ups to the camera. ‘Either they’re ready, or Eddie’s just seen a really good movie,’ said Nina.
‘Probably not one of Grant Thorn’s, then,’ Matt said; he too was acquainted with the Hollywood star. He zoomed in the camera, taking a closer look at the rigging. ‘Well, Mathias and Peder know their knots, and I’m guessing Eddie does too, so all that seems nice and tight.’