Anna looked at the map. “Little over a hundred kilometers. At this rate, assuming we don’t hit a herd of reindeer or an elk, perhaps forty minutes.”
“How do I explain bullet holes in the trunk?” Kjersti asked.
They had rented the car in her name. Since it was her country, it was the best choice. “You took out the insurance, right?”
“Of course. But somehow I don’t think that covers bullet holes.”
“Blame hunters. Crazy Finns.”
They traveled through a couple of tiny towns along the way. In less than an hour they turned south at Kaaresuvanto, Finland, a border town across the Konkamaeno River from Kaesuando, Sweden. They crossed into Sweden without even a nod from the border patrol. The word had not gotten out on them. Either the men were still tied up, or they had decided to let the incident go. Better to save face and not admit to someone getting the jump on them and tying them up.
Safely in Sweden, they continued south at the speed limit until they reached Gallivare, some two hundred ten kilometers from the Finnish border. Kjersti had kept the wheel for that entire stretch.
“Kjersti,” Jake said from the back seat. “Pull over up ahead on that road.”
She didn’t hesitate, pulling over on a remote side road on the outskirts of town.
Anna and Kjersti both turned around, wonder in their stares.
Anna said, “What’s up?”
Jake had a feeling they weren’t going to like this. “We need to split up.”
“Why?” Kjersti asked.
“Just in case those two at the Finnish border decide to call us in. The Swedes could also be looking for us.”
“I don’t think so,” Kjersti said.
“You don’t think they’ll be looking for us,” Jake said, “or you don’t think we should split up?”
“Both.” Kjersti looked disturbed and concerned. “Besides…this is my case and my territory.” Determined now.
“She’s got a point, Jake,” Anna said, her expression of disappointment in him obvious.
Jake had anticipated them not wanting to comply, so he had a back-up plan. The real plan, in fact. But he needed to sell it. “Listen. There’s no need for the two of you to be exposed to this virus. Anna, perhaps you should go with Kjersti back to Oslo.”
“What?” Anna was pissed now, like she had been finding Jake drunk on the floor at the Oslo hotel. “This is my case as well. If anyone should go back to Oslo, Jake, it’s you. You’re a private citizen.”
Cold but true, and part of his plan. See how determined they were; then break in with the real plan. “I was paid to go to Svalbard,” Jake reminded Anna.
“To find an old friend.”
“You think I really believed that story Colonel Reed was selling?” Jake shook his head, playing it up big-time. “And now the Agency is involved. I’ve essentially been ordered by the highest intelligence source in the world, a man who takes his orders directly from the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, to bring this virus to Oslo so the American scientists can render it inactive and save the entire world from this deadly pandemic.” Too thick? Maybe.
But the two women simply stared at him. Then they broke out in laughter together and didn’t stop until tears came to their eyes. Jake sat back and crossed his arms until they were done, his poker face not revealing anything to them.
“You done?” Jake asked.
They both nodded to him.
“So I guess we’re a threesome,” he said.
“You wish,” Kjersti said.
“Yes, he does,” Anna chimed in.
Finally Jake got out and went to the driver’s door, opened it and reached down for the trunk release.
“What you doing?” Anna asked him. “Come on, I know you can take a joke.”
“I need to grab something. The SAT phone. See if I can get a call through.”
He went to the trunk and opened it, glancing out onto the main road as a car passed. But they were concealed by a strip of thick trees, so they would not be seen. When he looked into the trunk, the first thing he saw was a bullet hole in his backpack. The border guard’s shots had entered the trunk, passed through and through, and one had crashed into his bag. He thought about stepping back or throwing the bag into the woods, but if the bullet had struck the metal box, chances are the flu virus would have released into the trunk over the past four hours. He could be infected already. No, he probably needed direct contact with the virus. Just look, Jake. He had to know for sure.
Carefully and slowly unzipping the bag, Jake tried his best to look inside. But he couldn’t see anything. Without further thought, he reached his hand down and carefully felt the side of the metal box that had faced the driver’s side of the car. Then he felt it. A hole. Crap.
From a side pouch, Jake found a mini-flashlight and turned it on, looking deep into the bag. Something wasn’t right, though. There was a strange color as the light hit the hole. Yet, the color changed when the light went slightly off center. He shone the light into the bottom of the backpack and saw something else. Something that should not have been there.
“Colonel Reed, you bastard,” Jake whispered. Then he looked around and found a pencil. He shoved it into the hole in the box as deep as it would go, then he broke it off. That would have to do for now. Looking down at his right hand, he noticed a slight tremble, as if early Parkinson’s had set into his body. His body needed a drink. The only thing keeping him from stopping now and grabbing at least a beer was Anna. Her and the rush he got being back in the game. He couldn’t decide which was a stronger fix for him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes an willed the shake to stop. Opening his eyes, he was steady again.
He quickly zipped up the backpack and found three bottles of water to bring back to the car. He slammed the trunk shut and went to the back seat.
“Water anyone?” Jake asked them.
They each took a bottle from him.
“Everything all right?” Anna asked.
“Yep. Kjersti, how good is the insurance on this car?”
“You checked out the bullet holes?”
“Afraid so. I think we should dump it and catch a train. Once we get down the track a ways, we’ll call in the car stolen.” Jake’s true reason for coming this crazy way in the first place. Passenger service in Sweden started in the little town of Gallivare, just a kilometer away.
“All right,” Kjersti said. “But let’s grab some breakfast, check the train schedule, drop off the bags, and then dump the car.”
“Sounds good,” Jake said, even though he already knew the next train heading south would depart at 11:19. They had a few hours to kill. Jake had been reluctant to take the box on the train for fear of exposure to more people. But that fear was gone now. That bastard.
16
Toni Contardo spent most of the evening just talking with Colonel Reed. She had a hard time thinking of him as a bad guy, or even someone who would do something bad. After all, he had been a respected military officer for decades, and after that had worked for the old CIA, just like Jake Adams. The only difference was that Jake had gotten in and out of both endeavors much sooner than the colonel. But Jake had also stayed in the game since leaving the CIA, working for himself as a consultant and in private security. She had no idea how involved the colonel had been over the past ten years. His Agency file, which she had read thoroughly on the flight from Camp Springs to Oslo, had been spotty over the recent years. So those are the years she concentrated on first. He had mostly been retired, traveling to places he had not been able to see when his security clearance had restricted certain areas. As this became more of a travelogue, she suggested they have a beer from the mini-bar, which she had gotten for them. It was easy to drop the drug into his beer, and he was out cold in a few minutes. Then she had tied him to the bed and had gotten some sleep in the chair.