Arnaldur Indriðason: Operation Napoleon

‘That must have been Bateman.’

‘If you say so. I don’t know what he was called but the weird thing was that the truck suddenly stopped and some soldiers burst in and from what I could tell arrested him. They dragged him out of the truck, frisked him, and confiscated some papers he was carrying. I didn’t see him again after that.’

The wheels of her addled memory turned slowly. ‘Confiscated some papers?’

‘Yes. He had them in his pocket.’

‘And what happened to the papers?’

‘Someone set fire to them in front of his nose, without so much as looking at them. The ash blew away. They left me alone after that.’

‘Where did they let you go?’

‘Outside the gates of the US base. I watched the convoy disappear inside. It was dark when we left the glacier and dark when we reached Keflavík so I’ve no idea how long it took. I got myself to town and made contact with the team on the glacier. The Americans prevented us from coming to join you. They shot at us.’

Júlíus handed her a newspaper, pointing to the headline: RESCUE TEAM ATTACKED BY MILITARY. The article was accompanied by photos of the team’s bullet-riddled vehicle. He handed her another paper: SHOTS FIRED AT REYKJAVÍK RESCUE TEAM.

‘We contacted the media the moment we were released,’ he continued. ‘The Americans have issued an apology. Army spokesmen have been busy on the TV and radio, parroting a story about conventional winter exercises involving Dutch and Belgian NATO forces in collaboration with the US army, and claiming that it was never their intention to obstruct us. They deeply regret that certain soldiers overreacted to a perceived threat and fired at us. They promise that they’ll be holding an inquiry and that compensation will be offered. But they disclaim all knowledge of Elías and Jóhann’s fate. Deny categorically that it had anything to do with them, or that they know anything about you.’

‘And what do the Yanks say about the plane?’

‘They have no knowledge of any German aircraft on the glacier. The radio news reported that the soldiers were searching for satellite-tracking equipment that had been lost several years ago by a plane crossing the glacier. The TV news, on the other hand, was saying the soldiers had been rehearsing a rescue mission involving a staged air crash, using bits of an old DC-8. And the evening paper mentioned a hunt for lost gold reserves. You see what we’re up against. They’ve been thorough, all right.’

Kristín took a deep breath and thought about what Júlíus had said. ‘And Steve?’

For the first time since he arrived Júlíus looked awkward, his authority deserting him. ‘They say he’s missing, Kristín. They claim they’re trying to track him down but expect it to take time.’

‘I see.’

Júlíus searched her face for a reaction but it was unreadable.

‘How have the Icelandic government played it?’ she asked.

‘By saying that they granted permission for the exercises.’

‘Nothing about the plane or Steve?’

‘I told them about the plane and Steve’s murder and that you were missing and probably being held against your will by the Americans. It’s all in the paper, but the army won’t discuss it. They dismiss it all as “unfounded allegations”. But you’ve turned up now, and soon Elías will come round and there’ll be three of us. People must believe us. They’ll have to, don’t you think? The three of us together?’

Kristín looked from Júlíus to Elías and back again.

‘They threatened me, Júlíus,’ she said quietly. ‘And I’m scared. I’ve had enough. They threatened to harm Elías, and you too. I want it to stop, I’ve had enough.’

It was beyond her to explain her feelings about the ordeal she had been through or the effect it had had on her. She felt as if she were alone in the world with no one to turn to. Perhaps she would tell Júlíus what had happened once she had had some rest and recovered a little but right now all she wanted was to be left in peace.

‘But we can’t give in now,’ he protested. ‘Where were you? What was the plane on the glacier carrying? We owe it to the others’

‘I saw how they treated the man who did this to Elías and killed Steve. I think I was meant to see it. As a demonstration. As if they had held a court martial, found him guilty and sentenced him, and that that ought to satisfy me. If I pursue it, they know where to find me. That was the message I got.’

Júlíus had no answer to this.

‘Come on,’ Kristín said, coming to a sudden decision. ‘Let’s go into the waiting room and talk there.’

They left Elías and walked along the corridor to a waiting room with three chairs, a table and some out-of-date magazines on a shelf. They sat down and Kristín described everything that had happened to her since they parted. She repeated what Miller had told her about Operation Napoleon, and the threats made by the man, almost certainly Carr, who appeared to have been in charge. She could remember nothing at all between talking to him on board the transport plane and waking up in her own living room that morning.

Júlíus had a hard time taking in the implications of the operation. ‘That’s incredible, unbelievable! Who on earth could have come up with such an idea? Do you really believe it? About Napoleon, I mean,’ he asked. ‘Do you believe they moved him from Berlin?’

‘I think they’ve behaved exactly as one would expect them to if they wanted to prevent the story from leaking. If the plane was carrying information that sensitive, they would want to know what happened to it, establish whether it had emerged from the ice and make sure that no one discovered its secret, whether or not the operation the papers mapped out was ever followed through. They’d send soldiers to the glacier to remove the plane and all it contained, as far as possible without attracting any media attention. You can imagine what would happen if it was found to be true.’

‘And if we take our conspiracy theory to the press…’

‘We’ll be a laughing stock, Júlíus. Nothing more.’

Neither of them spoke. They sat there in the blandly impersonal surroundings of the hospital lounge with its synthetic flowers, quietly contemplating their separate fates.

REYKJAVÍK,

AUGUST

The days passed, turning into weeks and months, and the media furore caused by the US army opening fire on an Icelandic rescue team gradually died down. Kristín spent much of her time at the hospital with Elías who soon regained consciousness and was able to tell her about his encounter with Ratoff. His recovery was slow but steady. Their father returned from abroad and learnt about Elías’s condition, but he did not seem particularly interested in hearing the details.

‘All this bloody messing about on snowmobiles,’ he said. ‘It’s time you grew up.’ Four days later he was off on another trip.

Kristín broke the news to Elías about his friend Jóhann. To her surprise, Jóhann’s parents were satisfied with the explanation that the two men had fallen into a crevasse. Kristín and Elías debated whether to tell them the truth and finally decided they would. Once Elías was stronger, they asked Jóhann’s parents to the hospital and told them about the circumstances of their son’s death and the eventual fate of his murderer. They chose not to mention anything relating to the German plane. Although Elías had witnessed the incident, Kristín pointed out, it was obvious that the army would not admit to any kind of violence, let alone murder, and no witnesses would come forward from among its ranks to support their statement.