Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 03 - Snow Cone (11 page)

“I’m going to have about twelve,” I joked.

We got on the plane and started our return journey to Nuuk, and eventually, Iceland.  The case seemed to be wrapped up.  The military was on the case and would catch the gunmen and expose their operation.  Now we could go home.  But we should have realized that an operation like this was more sophisticated than we gave it credit for.  We needed to enjoy the quiet solitude of the flight, because soon our real mission was going to begin.

-Chapter 21-

Sally and Joe had left Nuuk well before us and were arriving in
Reykjavik just as we left Qaanaaq.  Greenland was actually a pleasant place, but the names of the towns and villages were beginning to cause my tongue to cramp up. 

Galveston
couldn’t help but make fun of my pronunciations as I attempted to decipher what towns we were going over on our flight.  Names like Uumnannaq, Upernavik, and Qaqortoq sounded as if we were in Middle Earth of a lost Tolkien novel.  At least Nuuk was one of the easier towns to remember and say correctly.

We arrived in the capitol city, and
Galveston managed to find a flight leaving in the next hour that would connect to Kulusuk, on the Eastern shore of Greenland.  From there we could take a short hop over the Denmark Strait into Reykjavik to meet up with Sally and Joe.

I settled into a seat and decided I better check in with Jane.  I hadn’t spoken to her in days.  She would understand why I hadn’t called sooner, after I filled her in on the particulars of our adventure.  Just as I was about to dial, the satellite phone buzzed that we had an incoming call.  I figured it to be Alex, but I didn’t recognize the number.  It had to be from the Air Force Officer, Lt. Perkins.  I gave
Galveston the phone, and he answered in an even worse version of Dutch than before.

“Ja,” he said.

“Mr. Jenssen, Lt. Perkins, United States Air Force.”  Galveston was always impressed with the formality of military operations.

“Lieutenant, good to hear from you so soon,”
Galveston began, ditching the Dutch accent almost entirely.  We were far enough away from them now.

“We sent out a survey team to the site you told us about.  I must say, I did not think your information was credible, but we did find an illegal mining operation taking place.”

“Really, mining you say?” Galveston questioned, knowing full well there was no mining taking place.

“Yes, sir, it was an illegal ruby operation.  We have rounded up many of the workers, but some of the men that you say were armed have fled into the mountains nearby.  We are attempting to locate them, but the weather has grounded many of our aircraft.”

“Rubies?  They were after rubies?” Galveston questioned, feigning excitement.

“Yes, sir,” Lt. Perkins answered politely.  “They had a central command post, but burned it before we could get inside.  We found a cache of rubies pulled from the ground and are returning them to the
Greenland authorities.”

“Did you find anything about Project Broken Arrow?”

“No.  We have questioned the men, and they are all saying that the operation was to smuggle rubies out of the country without a permit.  They’ve told us that Broken Arrow referred to how the site was arranged.”

Galveston
looked like he was ready to scream, but he couldn’t press the Lieutenant further.  “Okay.  Thank you for the information.  That puts a dent in our film making plans.  Thank you for calling.”

“Thank you, sir.  If you need any additional information, we would be glad to help.”

Galveston hung up the phone, and I awaited the news of what the Air Force had discovered.  I could tell it was not good news since Galveston looked like he was going to chuck the phone into the wall.

“What happened?” I asked, waiting for what I knew to be bad news.

“They’re giving us the runaround.  They’re saying it’s an illegal ruby mining operation.”

“That’s hogwash,” I blurted.

“That’s the best you have—hogwash?” he replied bitingly.

“It’s a stinking pile of horse manure?” I attempted.

“That’s a little better.  How about a complete load of…” Galveston was cut off by the intercom announcing our flight to Kulusuk.

“Hold that thought,” I told him.  “We’ll discuss it on the plane.”

We boarded the small aircraft, and once it began to taxi I leaned toward Galveston.  “So what’s the story, without any ranting.”

“They’re saying it’s an illegal ruby operation.  The gunmen have escaped into the mountains, and the workers are saying it was a ruby operation.  The command center was supposedly firebombed, which I don’t believe for a second.  The term
Broken Arrow was used because that was how they had their mining operation arranged.”

“And you don’t believe any of it, do you,” I said, affirming his statement.

“Of course not.  I think the military has found something of use and doesn’t want us to know about it.”

“Then that’s a good thing, right?”

“Not necessarily.  I don’t know which parts are factual or not.  Are these gunmen on the loose?  They probably know that Joe was the most likely culprit of our little invasion.  What does the military really know?  Maybe these workers have convinced them it was an illegal ruby mining operation.  It would be a hell of a lot better excuse then telling them they were looking for a hydrogen bomb.”

I was beginning to understand
Galveston’s angst.  The information was unsettling and didn’t allow us to fold the case into a nice, neat package.  The workers definitely wouldn’t want the U.S. military knowing they were hunting for a hydrogen bomb.  I actually was beginning to believe the Air Force’s story.  Illegal ruby mining was a brilliant front, and the military would never want it leaked that there was still a bomb perched somewhere on the ice. 

“Is the Air Force looking for the gunmen?” I inquired.

“They can’t, the weather has them grounded.”

“That means those gunmen would be long gone by now.”

“My thoughts exactly, and they know Joe’s cabin is in the closest vicinity,” Galveston answered with a look of concern etched on his face.

“What should we do?”

“Go to Iceland and then back home.  There has to be a Congressman or woman that would listen to us.  This is a matter of national security, depending on what part of the Lieutenant’s answers are credible.”

We were in a sticky situation.  We didn’t know the truth, and we couldn’t go back and see for ourselves.  It was our belief that the Air Force would have gone in, rounded up all the men, and discovered what they were after.  That was it—case closed.  But now we were in a situation where we didn’t know the truth and our client was in real danger.   The case had unraveled in just the span of three hours. 

-Chapter 22-

We were quiet during the rest of the flight and did what we thought we did best—come up with another harebrained plan.

Joe and Sally were our primary concern now, and their safety was paramount.  We had a good head start on the unknown gunmen and any of their partners, who we were sure were scattered about the country.  It would take them time to deduce who Joe was and where he went—or so we hoped.  We forgot to take into consideration that the main reason the group was searching for the bomb was because Joe had found evidence of it being there.  It would be only a matter of time before they put the pieces together and found out we were involved too.

Galveston and I decided that when we reached Reykjavik we would immediately move Sally and Joe to another location.  The next thing we planned to do was stay in the city for a few extra days.  The men of this unknown gang would have the airport covered by now, since Reykjavik was the main point for traveling out of Iceland.  We decided the best course of action was to stay concealed until we could come up with a better alternative out of the country.

These weren’t complex ideas we were formulating, but at the moment they were all we could come up with.  We needed time to investigate who these men were, and who they worked for.

Our airplane landed at Reykjavik, and we wasted no time in finding a phone to warn Joe and Sally to leave their hotel.  After we told Joe of the situation, he was consumed with panic.  It took another five minutes to calm him down.  Galveston empowered Sally to make sure her uncle was safe.  She would prove to be calm under the intense pressure.  We were now involved in a game of shadows and wary of anyone we came into contact with.

Galveston
arranged for them to meet us at an area called “The Pearl”, east of the airport.  From there we would decide where out next few days would be spent.  The best plan of action was to place ourselves among the locals and stay out of the resort areas.

Joe and Sally were waiting for us at our predetermined location.  The
Pearl was actually a landmark building in Reykjavik and stood out on the landscape.  It was a beautiful dome-shaped structure of glass and sparkled in the sunlight.

We approached them cautiously and saw that Joe continued to be upset over the events that had transpired.  Sally sat with him on a bench with an arm around his shoulders.

“Are you both okay?” Galveston asked as we came upon them.

“Joe is still pretty shook-up, but I’m okay,” Sally informed us. 

“There’s no need to beat yourself up over this, Joe,” Galveston told him.  “There was no way for you to know.”

Joe was taking the news hard.  It was just coincidence that he had started a cascade of events, but he was a pacifist, and we understood how he didn’t want to be associated with a group being able to get their hands on a hydrogen bomb.

Galveston pulled Joe into a standing position and looked him straight in the eye.  “Joe,” he started seriously, “you have to let this go.  What is done is done, and there is nothing you or I can do about it now.  In order for you to be safe you have to be strong, do you understand me?”

Joe listened to his words intently.  “Yes, I know.  I will be strong, and I’ll do whatever you want.”

It was a pitiful sight, but we had to remember that Joe was not used to this kind of thing.  He just wanted to do his research, nothing else.  He didn’t want to be involved in some geopolitical struggle.  He wanted to check his GPS monitors and determine how the ice was moving.  Sally, on the other hand, was trying to control her excitement.  I could tell this was the adventure and adrenaline that she longed for.  I just hoped she didn’t expect things to play out like they did in the movies.

Galveston
and I were not surprised about the turn of events.  We had learned from previous operations what to do, but that didn’t make things easier.  We had no idea what group we were dealing with or the financial backing of such a group.  That made things even more difficult.  Now we had to be suspicious of everyone, since the U.S. military hadn’t produced the results we had hoped or planned for.  We had no idea what the Air Force had really discovered at the Operation Broken Arrow site, and this produced fear in my mind

I located a hotel not far from the
Pearl that was run by an aging couple.  It was a quaint place and would offer the protection we needed.  We got two rooms under an assumed name and set up our gear.  Galveston left to get food at a local market while I made some important calls to Alex and Jane.

Alex had been waiting to hear about the rest of our mission and was shocked when I told him how it turned out.

“I’m sending you the pictures of the inside of the truck,” I informed him.  “I hope you can figure out what they had.”

“I’ll do my best,” he said with reserved confidence.

I next called Jane.  It had been three days since we had last talked.  I felt a renewed sense of vigor when her voice came on the line.  I relayed the entire story to her and laid out all the bits and pieces so she would be up to date.

“Sounds like this is getting dangerous,” she concluded after I had spilled the story.

“I don’t know, it could be, but we aren’t taking any chances.”  I decided to change the subject so she wouldn’t start to worry.  “How is the new office coming along?”

“It’s coming along great.  I bought some nice plants, a few decorative pieces, and the new computer system is being installed today.”

“How much is this going to cost us?” I wondered aloud, knowing that Jane sometimes didn’t care to check the price of things.

She paused and didn’t say a word, which was a clear indication to me that she was going well over our intended budget.

“Jane, how much did you spend?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“Well,” she started and paused again.  “I felt we needed to bring things up to modern times.  You have to spend money to make money, you know.”

As the financial manager of our business, that was not the response I was looking for.  She was expertly dodging the question, and I pictured a Renoit hanging on the wall in our office.

“I’m moving out here for you,” she attempted to say sweetly.

“Nicely played,” I responded.  I decided to let the matter fall and would deal with the consequences of our modern office later.  “I look forward to seeing what you have done with it.”

“Good answer.  You won’t be disappointed.”

“One more thing before I let you go, Jane.  I may have you and Alex do a little job for us, since I’m going to be stuck in Iceland for a few days.  I need to talk it over with Galveston, but we need to get to work on some answers to our problems.”

“Sure, let me know.  I love you,” she said with a lovely lilt in her voice.  Those were words I needed to hear.

“I love you, too.”  I hung up the phone and felt all warm and fuzzy for a moment before the reality of our situation came flooding back.

Galveston
returned with rations from the market.  He was a terrible shopper, and I was convinced we would need an insulin shot due to the large quantity of sugary snacks he had purchased.  

The small hotel was off the path of the regular tourist spots, so I hoped we would be able to escape from the confines of our room a few times each day.  We just needed to not draw attention to ourselves, and this seemed to be the perfect spot to do just that.

Galveston and I set to work as soon as we got Sally and Joe comfortable in their room.  We needed time to coordinate our next move.  I had been thinking long and hard about what we should do next.  The military intervention idea had proved to be a dead end, and the idea about telling a government official here in Iceland seemed fruitless.  We would simply come off as a couple of crackpots.  We needed a definitive starting point to trace from, and I knew that point had to be with Tony, Joe’s supposed friend.

An idea had been swirling in my head, and that was why I had told Jane she may be needed for a job.  Tony was our first link, and we needed to know what he knew.  I proposed to
Galveston that Alex and Jane would approach Tony and question him.  They would be completely falsifying their identities, of course.  We needed Tony to talk, and I knew Galveston could come up with a plan to make him do so.

“Do you think they can really pull this off?” he asked, not so much questioning our colleagues but the plan itself.

“I think so.  Tony has probably never been questioned, so a little fear ought to make him spill some dirt,” I concluded.

“Give them a call.”

I dialed Jane and she picked up immediately.  I explained to her that the plan would be simple; interview Tony posing as FBI agents, and get him to tell how he got involved in this mess. 

Jane was excited.  It wasn’t often that she got to be involved in one of our cases at this level.  I knew Alex wasn’t going to be as enthused. 

“Have Alex find Tony, and then the two of you can do your work,” I instructed.  “And don’t let him give you ‘no’ for an answer.”

“You got it, boss,” she replied, and I could sense she was smiling on the other end of the line.

“One more thing, Jane.  Don’t forget to bring your gun, and get one for Alex, too.  Please make sure it’s not loaded.  You may even have to get him a plastic one.”

“You got it, honey.  I’ll get on it now.  I’ll keep you informed of our progress.”  Jane was a little too excited.

Alex wasn’t a fan of guns, and I’m not sure he ever had fired one other than at a computer screen.  Jane had been taking firearm training for the past two years.  It had become her hobby.  I wasn’t so much concerned about her ability in handling the weapon as much as I was hesitant in her ability to react in a stressful situation.  She had been shooting at cardboard cutouts of people at the range, but she didn’t have any experience in using a gun when there was no other option available.

Galveston
tried to quell my fears.  “I’ve shot with her many times.  She’s good and she knows how to handle a gun.  Don’t forget, we sent her to that firearms class for a reason.”

I had forgotten, but I still felt I was sending her into a possible situation she wasn’t prepared for.  The class
Galveston spoke of was an intensive course in Atlanta that trained law enforcement and private security personnel from around the country in advance firearms training.  I had taken the course before Jane and knew it improved my awareness and judgment.  I had to expect that it had done the same for Jane.  She also practiced a lot more than I did.  Still, it was a bit hard to fathom that my sweet, little Jane could be a gun-toting, wild woman.

In reality, Jane’s many years as an actress would prove to be her most beneficial asset.  As I thought about it further, I was beginning to fear more for Alex’s safety than Jane’s.  The only thing he could do to stop an out of control situation was to throw a computer at it, or text for the police.  “What have I done,” I began to think.

Galveston wasn’t the least bit worried about either one of them.  He had assessed Tony and knew he was not a threat—at least in the gun department. 

For now we just had to sit and wait.  Alex would
need to find Tony, and then he and Jane would need to physically locate him.  There wasn’t much more for us to do.  We didn’t know who to call, and we didn’t have a lead to go on.  It was a helpless feeling.