The last of the few hours of sunlight glinted off the frozen landscape. As the twin-prop descended, Kaitlin looked out of the window and marvelled at the loneliness of this part of the world. Just a few scattered villages dotted the tundra and one small town nestled close to the fjord. Below, Qaanaaq Airport was little more than one airstrip and a low-level arrivals and departure building with sapphire-painted walls and a white roof.
The juddering plane bounced down and rumbled to a halt. As the door was thrown open, Kaitlin winced at the bite of the wind.
‘Minus seven out there,’ Thomas said as he pulled on his parka. ‘Could drop as low as minus twenty when the sun goes down.’
Rory yanked his fur-edged hood so tight only a small circle of pink face showed. ‘Sooner we’re in, sooner we’re out.’
Kaitlin admired his optimism.
At the foot of the steps, she felt a hand tug her sleeve. Dennison leaned in.
‘Kaitlin, I need to apologise again. When we first met, I was in a very dark place. And I worry that I scared you.’
‘You didn’t scare me.’
‘All that talk about shadows and biological weapons.’
‘You were right, though. I think you were right about all of it.’
He nodded, seemingly relieved by what she’d said. He was a good man. They all were.
As they traipsed through the departures door into the glaring light and warmth, Kaitlin threw back her hood.
‘Our papers are ready,’ Thomas muttered. ‘Any problem, let me do the talking.’
Kaitlin felt relieved Thomas and Dennison had come along. She didn’t know how she’d have made it through otherwise. Between them, they’d sourced new passports under fake identities, tickets and enough cash to book passage with a change at Copenhagen in Denmark to throw off their trail for whoever might be tracking them. If they’d gone directly to Thule Air Base, they’d have needed a permit from the Danish Foreign Ministry, but Thomas had persuaded them it was better to scope out the lie of the land before making a direct approach.
They eased through immigration, with Thomas claiming he and Kaitlin were eloping; one week here in the Arctic Circle and then off to Europe for a honeymoon. Whatever lies Rory and Dennison spun, it seemed to do the trick.
Out in the car park, Kaitlin stamped her feet and rubbed her hands for warmth. Only a sliver of red sun edged the horizon.
‘Now what?’ she said.
‘Now, we split up,’ Thomas replied. ‘I’ve got a guide waiting so we can check out the area where Flight 702 was supposed to have come down.’
‘Jim’s coming with me,’ Rory said. ‘Got a meeting with the lawyer acting for the eyewitness. Old friend. We’ll see what we can pick up and then check in at the hotel. When you get back there, we can discuss the next step.’
While Rory and Dennison headed towards their rental car, Thomas slipped behind the wheel of a jeep. A few minutes later, they were rumbling along frozen roads, swathed in the heat blasting out of the vents.
‘Only another twenty minutes or so,’ Thomas said.
Maybe he could sense her anxiety. So close now to knowing the truth.
‘You’re sure this guide is on the up and up?’
‘He’s an old contact. Been a few years since I’ve seen him, but we can trust him.’ He snaked his hand down into his bag and pulled out a GoPro. ‘Before I forget.’
‘What’s this for?’
‘Clip it to your jacket.’
‘I’m already recording. I’m always recording.’
‘We’re heading deep into the tundra. There won’t be any cell service. It’s going to be bitter cold, probably very windy and, overall, incredibly harsh.’
‘Sounds like fun,’ Kaitlin said, clipping on the GoPro.
‘That camera is made to withstand harsh conditions. Your iPhone isn’t. You need to think ahead.’
Kaitlin eyed him, feeling a rush of irritation. ‘Patronising much? You’ve been gone the past few months and I’ve been doing just fine without you. I told you all along that Conor was still alive and I was right.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Would it kill you to give me some credit?’
‘I just want us to keep our heads. Think before we act.’
Kaitlin softened her tone. There was no point getting into a fight. ‘I know we still have to get in and a lot of things could go wrong, but it’s OK to be hopeful.’
‘What if Conor isn’t there? What if that’s an old recording?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she replied, looking out into the white landscape. ‘This is the closest we’ve got and we have to keep going.’
‘If we don’t do this right – if we don’t do this perfectly – and something happens to Conor … I can’t fail him again.’
‘You’re not going to fail him. You haven’t failed him. You never stopped looking, just like me.’
The road rumbled beneath them. With every mile that passed, Kaitlin felt her chest grow tighter.
The office was cramped, with a computer on the desk from a brand that Rory didn’t recognise. It looked like it came from the last century. But at least it was warm. Probably too warm. He fanned himself.
Dennison sat beside him like an Easter Island statue, giving nothing away. They both watched the lawyer moving around her den, putting files into cabinets as if that were a far more important task. Malina Jensen was blonde and slim. Danish stock. God knows why she was out here on the edge of nowhere.
‘So good to see you again, Rory,’ she said as if it wasn’t even remotely good to see him.
Dennison eyed him.
‘Good to see you, too, Malina. Been a few years since we worked on the Kangerlussuaq Airport case.’
‘Oh, you remember that? You forgot my phone number quickly enough.’
Now Dennison was glaring at him.
‘Life got on top of me, Malina, and I’m truly sorry for that. But let’s not dwell on the past.’
She tucked the final file away and slipped into her chair. ‘If you want to go after GreelandAir, you can—’
‘No, no, it’s not that,’ Rory stressed.
‘We’re here about Flight 702,’ Dennison growled.
Malina smiled. ‘Of course. That’s just the sort of case you’d go for. So, you’re suing Atlantic Airlines, I take it?’ She turned to Dennison. ‘And who are you, exactly? Forgive me, but you seem rather too old to be his intern.’
‘I used to work for the American government,’ Dennison said in that voice that made everything sound like a potential threat.
Malina took notice, though.
‘I heard that you were working an injury case,’ Rory began.
‘I work a lot of injury cases.’
‘Of someone who got hit by flying debris from a plane crash.’
‘My clients’ cases are confidential, you know that.’
‘People don’t get hit by falling debris very often. Especially from flights that disappeared without a trace.’
Malina cocked her head. ‘Flight 702 was found in the Atlantic.’
‘Parts of it were,’ Dennison said. ‘Which is why it’s odd you have a client who was hit by flying debris while driving a car. On land. Miles away from the Atlantic.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not an aviation expert, but two plus two isn’t adding up to four for me here.’
‘I think you’ll find that no part of this equation bears out the way you think it will.’
Dennison folded his hands together. ‘My daughter was on Flight 702.’
Malina flinched. ‘I’m very sorry for your loss.’
‘So, you think the plane crashed, then?’ Rory said, seizing the moment.
‘It’s not my job to determine what happened to Flight 702. The only thing I care about is getting someone to pay for my client’s medical bills and car repairs.’
‘Malina, please. Just give us the nod that we’re not on a wild goose chase,’ Rory pressed.
Malina thought for a moment. ‘OK. I will tell you this. My client is opposed to the US presence in Greenland and has been very vocal on the matter. I recognise this could be a potential obstacle if a case were to be made that he’s simply trying to use it as another way to make his political point.’
‘You wouldn’t have taken it this far if you thought he was making it up, Malina,’ Rory said, smiling wryly.
‘I’ve interviewed him in detail. His story never changes. He’s adamant he saw a passenger plane in trouble that day, not a military aircraft.’
Rory eased back in his chair. ‘That’s good enough for me.’
‘What exactly is your plan, if you don’t mind me asking?’ Malina said. ‘You’ve come all the way to Greenland in the hope of drumming up more evidence that they’re not telling us everything about 702? Looking to find definitively what happened? Because trust me, I’ve been doing this for many months and I can’t find my way through the tangle of information. You are two men, far from home. I can’t help you and you can’t go up against this alone.’
Dennison leaned forwards. ‘But we’re not alone.’
The full moon glowed and stars sprayed across the vault of the heavens. Under the majestic sky, the two snowmobiles trundled across the frozen wastes.
Despite multiple layers, Kaitlin shivered in the wind blasting from the north. She couldn’t feel her face. Both her arms were wrapped around Thomas, who was steering. The guide drove the other vehicle. He was a short man, heavyset, with a thick beard.
‘How much further?’ she shouted over the drone of the engines.
‘It’s just up here,’ the guide bellowed back.
Thomas craned his neck back. ‘You all right?’
‘Fine. When did you learn to drive one of these things?’
‘My parents used to take me to the Alps for the holidays.’
‘Well, la-di-da.’
‘Just up here,’ the guide shouted again. He killed his engine and jumped off.
Thomas eased his snowmobile alongside and cut the power. Now they were stationary, the wind didn’t feel quite so harsh. Kaitlin looked out across a vast stretch of billowing snow. A stillness hung over everything.
‘Where are we?’ she asked as she climbed off.
The guide pointed into the distance. ‘Just over four miles from Thule Air Base.’
‘And this is where everyone saw it?’ Thomas asked.
‘Clear as day. A passenger plane, fire and smoke coming from its tail, falling out of the sky.’
‘You’re sure it was a passenger plane?’
‘I know a military plane when I see one. You know how many fly across here? My whole life, your government has been treating our land like it’s theirs.’
‘You live near here?’ Kaitlin asked.
‘About two miles south.’
‘Whose land are we on?’
‘Greenland’s.’
‘This is public land?’
‘All of Greenland is for everyone. No one owns private property here. We share.’
‘Except Thule.’
‘Except Thule. That day, I followed the plane as far as I could on my snowmobile.’
Kaitlin stamped her feet again to try to revive her frozen toes. ‘What were you doing out here?’
‘Hunting. At least until all the animals got scared away by the noise.’
‘Did you see where the plane landed?’
‘It didn’t land. It crashed.’
‘No, it didn’t,’ she insisted. ‘Because some of the passengers survived.’
The guide said nothing for a moment. Then: ‘Maybe they did. But there was an explosion. I could hear it, even miles behind.’
‘Did you hear anything else?’ Thomas said. ‘Before you saw the plane, was there an explosion? Gunfire? Another plane?’
The guide shook his head. Thomas took a deep breath. Relief, Kaitlin guessed.
‘Can you take us to the crash site?’ Thomas asked.
‘No. This is as far as I can go.’
‘OK. Tell us where it is. We’ll go on our own.’
‘I can’t. Not with any certainty.’
‘I thought you said you followed it.’ Kaitlin’s breath clouded.
‘As far as I could,’ the guide replied. ‘The explosion had barely stopped ringing when the helicopter noises started.’
Thomas paced forwards a few steps and peered away into the night. ‘The military.’
‘Like I said, the air base is very close. They responded quickly.’
‘So, if there were any survivors of the initial crash—’
‘The military would have gotten them out quickly,’ Kaitlin interrupted. ‘I told you. He’s alive.’
Thomas ignored her. All right, if you can’t take us to the crash site, then we’ll go to the air base.’
‘You crazy?’
‘This is a huge, empty place. There has to be a spot we could sneak in unnoticed.’
‘They patrol the perimeter.’
‘We’ll wait for a gap in the patrol.’
The guide was looking at Thomas as if he were insane. Maybe he was. Maybe they both were.
‘In sub-zero temperatures?’ He turned to Kaitlin. ‘Can you talk some sense into him?’
‘Just point us in the right direction,’ she said. ‘We’ll pay you for the snowmobile.’
‘You’re both crazy. If the military doesn’t get you, you’ll die of exposure.’
Kaitlin knew he could be right. But all she could think of was Conor and she was sure it was the same for Thomas.
‘Which way is the base?’
Rory and Dennison strode from the hotel check-in desk to the elevator. After the bitter chill of the night, Rory felt relief to be back in the warmth. He wasn’t a man cut out for cold weather, that’s for sure.
‘Pity Malina couldn’t be more helpful. But at least we’re confident there are witnesses to the plane crashing,’ he said as the door slid open.
‘And the government is doing its damnedest to keep those witnesses quiet.’
Rory eyed Dennison. He was a hard man to read. His daughter’s disappearance must have hit him hard, but he kept those emotions locked away.
‘The more cracks in the armour, the better. Now, though, time for a hot shower,’ Rory said.
From the elevator, they walked along the corridor, checking the room numbers. Dennison was a few paces ahead of him and when the ex-FBI man reached a corner, he lurched back, throwing out an arm to pin Rory to the wall. Dennison pressed a finger to his lips before Rory could call out.
He peeked round the corner again and then whispered, ‘Two men in military uniforms standing outside my room.’
‘Did they see you?’ Rory breathed.
‘Don’t think so.’
‘We need to get out of here.’
Dennison shook his head. ‘We need to warn Kaitlin and Thomas.’
Before they could move, the sound of footsteps echoed along the corridor, moving towards them.
The rumble of the snowmobile died and then there was only the whine of the wind. Kaitlin eased off the seat and stared at the lights glowing in the distance. Thule Air Base. The approach road, the security fence and the landing strips were all illuminated. Several buildings were scattered around the hangars.
‘Let’s leave the snowmobiles here. Go the rest of the way on foot,’ Thomas said.
‘Can we have a little hope yet?’ she replied.
‘When I look Conor in the eye. Only then.’ Thomas crunched across the snow to get a better look. ‘It’s bigger than I expected.’
‘Should be somewhere we can sneak in,’ she said. ‘I bet they don’t expect many prying eyes out here.’
‘OK. Let’s go.’
They strode out across the crisp snow. After a few steps, Kaitlin felt a prickle of unease.
‘Look,’ she said, pointing. ‘One of those lights is moving.’
Not just moving, but rising.
‘Fuck,’ Thomas muttered. ‘Run.’
Kaitlin spun on her heel and lurched back towards the snowmobile. But now the icy silence shattered as the helicopter swept towards them. Her heart pounded, but that thunder roared up faster than she could run.
Lights blazed on, sweeping the white waste all around.
We were too confident, she thought.
A voice boomed out of the chopper’s speakers: ‘Stop where you are and get on the ground.’
‘Keep running,’ Thomas gasped.
‘You are trespassing on US government property. Stop where you are or we are authorised to shoot.’
Thomas ground to a halt. Kaitlin threw herself down, the snow burning her face as she clasped her hands on her head.
We’ve failed. So close, but we failed.
The roar of the helicopter rushed down and the gale blasted them.