The Bones Of Odin (Matt Drake 1) (23 page)

“The chopper will have onboard internet,” Dahl tried to calm everyone. “In about . . . oh, thirty minutes.”

“Okay, well, what about the central section?” Drake did his bit. “Two outlines that look like a child’s drawing of three udders and a jellyfish.”

“
And
the Shield again,” Ben zoomed in on the ‘jellyfish’s’ eye. “Same representation as the North section. So we have
two
depictions of the Shield
on
the Shield itself. A centrepiece composed of two random outlines,
and
the three Odinic triangles,” he said, nodding at Kennedy. “That may
not
be triangles at all.”

“Well, at least it proves my theory that the Shield is the principal Piece,” Parnevik pointed out.

“Those outlines remind me of something,” Dahl was musing. “I just can’t say what.”

Drake could think of several nasty personal comebacks, but held himself in check.
Progress,
he thought. The poncy Swede had come a long way with them, and had now earned a little respect.

“Look!” Ben shouted out, making them all jump. “There’s a thin, almost irrelevant, line connecting both Shield images!”

“Which actually tells us nothing,” Parnevik grouched.

“Or . . .,” Drake mused, thinking about his army map-reading days, “or . . . if you come at it a different way - we know the Shield is a map to Ragnarok. The two images could be the same focal point on
two
different
views
. . . only one view is the elevation and the other-”

“-is
plan!”
Ben said.

At that moment there was the sound of a chopper approaching. Dahl talked it in, showing his old-school dependencies by shutting off the GPRS. He squinted into the dark along with everyone else when the big, black shape approached.

“Well, we don’t have much choice,” he said with half a smile. “We’re going to have to, um, wing it.”

*****

Once aboard and settled, Dahl booted up a 20” Sony Vaio laptop that used its own portable modem, like an I-phone. Depending on the mobile network coverage, they would have internet access.

“It’s a map,” Drake continued his line of thought. “So let’s treat it that way. Clearly the middle, the centrepiece, is the
plan
view. So - copy the outline, use some kind of geographical recognition software, and see what comes up.”

“Hmm,” Parnevik studied the enlarged view dubiously. “Why include that other udder-like image if the shield symbol lies on the, um,
Jellyfish.
”

“A point of reference?” Kennedy ventured.

The chopper swayed, buffeted by high winds. The pilot had been told to head for Oslo until he received further instructions. A second SGG team awaited them there.

“Try the software, Torsten.”

“I already have, but I don’t need it,” Dahl replied in sudden wonder. “I
knew
that outline looked familiar. It’s Scandinavia on a map! The
udders
are Norway, Sweden and Finland. The Jellyfish is Iceland. Unbelievable.”

A split-second later, the laptop pinged with a total of three possible matches. The recognition software algorithms had weighted the closest at ninety-eight percent – it was Scandinavia.

Drake nodded towards Dahl in respect.

“Ragnarok’s in Iceland?” Parnevik wondered. “But - why?”

“Get those coordinates to the pilot,” Drake jabbed at the coastline of Iceland and the position of the Shield symbol. “Now. We’re already hours behind.”

“But we don’t have the damn
Pieces,
” Ben said plaintively. “The Germans have them. And only
they
can find the Tomb of the Gods by using the Pieces.”

And now Torsten Dahl actually laughed, causing Drake to double-take. “Oh, no,” the Swede said, and his guffaw was almost villain-like. “I have a
much
better idea than fiddling about with those friggin’ Pieces. Always have had. Let the
Sauerkrauts
keep them!”

“You do? Let me think - wasn’t Iceland where the Shield was
found?”
Ben asked, impressing Drake yet again with his clear thinking under pressure.

“Yes, and if that’s the ancient site of Ragnarok,” Parnevik said, “it makes perfect sense. Odin’s Shield would have fallen where he died.”

“Oh, it makes sense now, Professor,” Kennedy teased him. “Now these guys have worked it all out for ya.”

“Well, if it helps, we still have the greatest mystery to solve,” Ben said with a slight smile. “The meaning of the ancient symbol of Odin - the three triangles.”

THIRTY-FIVE

ICELAND

The Icelandic coastline is ice-laden, rugged, and awash with colour, sheared in some parts by great glaciers, and beaten smooth in others by lashing waves and scouring winds. There are coasts of lava and black cliffs, majestic icebergs, and, overall, a kind of zen-like calm. Danger and beauty stand hand-in-hand, ready to lull the unwary traveller to an untimely end.

Reykjavik passed beneath them in a matter of minutes, its bright red roofs, white buildings, and surrounding snow-covered mountains guaranteed to stir even the most jaded of hearts.

They stopped briefly at a sparse military base to re-fuel and upload snowsuits, ammunition and rations, and anything else Dahl could think of in the ten minutes they were at a standstill.

But the people on board the black military chopper saw none of it. They were connected as a group – discussing the same objective – but their inner thoughts were of their own mortality and the world’s - of how scared and apprehensive they were, and how frightened for others.

Drake was apprehensive. He couldn’t see how to keep everyone safe. If this was Ragnarok they had found, then the legendary Tomb of the Gods was next, and their lives had just become a game of roulette - the kind you played in Kennedy’s favourite allusion - Vegas – where the table was rigged.

Rigged in
this
particular allusion by every secret player’s secret agenda, and by the unknown agendas of their many enemies.

And now in addition to Ben and Kennedy - the two people he would protect with his life – Drake had to consider both Hayden and Karin too.

Would all these concerns get in the way of saving the world? Only time would tell.

Endgames were being played out in every corner. Abel Frey had already begun his. Alicia and Milo might have one of their own, but Drake suspected his ex-SRT colleague had a killer-surprise in store that even her boyfriend hadn’t anticipated.

Torsten Dahl and Wells had rarely been off the phone since they crossed the coast of Iceland, receiving orders, hints and whispered advice from their respective governments. At length, Kennedy answered a call that made her sit up straight for a few minutes and shake her head wearily in shock.

She turned only to Drake. “Remember Hayden? The
secretary?
Yeah, she’s just doing her job alright.”

“Meaning?”

“She’s CIA, dammit. And right where she wants to be. In the middle of all this bullshit.”

“Bollocks.” Drake sent a troubled glance over towards Ben, but still fancied she harboured a soft spot for his friend. Was it just Drake’s heart feeding him romantic notions, telling him Hayden’s feelings had been true, or was she for real?

“That was the Secretary of Defence,” Kennedy went on matter-of-factly. “Wanting to be, umm, ‘kept in the loop’.”

“Indeed.” Drake nodded at Dahl and Wells. “And, over there, that’s just history repeating.” He looked tiredly through the closest window. “Can you believe, Kennedy, after the last week or so, that we’re still in the game here?”

“Can you believe,” Kennedy said, “that everyone’s buying in to this end of the world ‘fire will consume us’ theory?”

Drake was about to answer with weary aplomb when the bottom fell out of his world. The blood froze in his veins as something gigantic loomed outside the window.

Something so huge . . ..

“I do now,”
he hissed in the dread-filled voice of a man suddenly realising that everything he loved might die today.
“Damnit . . . Kennedy . . . I do now.”

*****

When he pointed out his revelation and Kennedy leaned across to take a look, he felt her entire frame stiffen.

“Oh my God!” she said. “That’s the . . .’

“I know,” Drake interrupted. “
Dahl!
Look at that. Look!”

The Swede caught his uncharacteristic show of fear, and quickly ended his call. A brief glance through the window made him frown in confusion. “It’s just
Eyjafjallajokul.
And yes, yes, Drake, I know, it’s easy for me to say, and yes, yes, it’s the one that made all the news in 2010 . . . ” he paused, riveted, expectant.

Parnevik’s eyes were bugging. Swedish swear-words shot from him like poisoned darts.

Now Ben scooted close to the window. “Wow. It’s Iceland’s most famous volcano and it’s still erupting it seems, albeit gently.”

“Yes!” Drake cried. “Fire will consume us. The Goddamned
Supervolcano.
”

“But more importantly,” Kennedy now managed to continue, “look at the Shield’s image in elevation, Matt. Look at it!”

Parnevik now managed to find his flow: “Three
mountains
-
not
three triangles as has always been thought. The ancient scholars erred. Odin’s most famous symbol was decoded wrongly. Oh dear!”

Drake looked beyond the erupting volcano, and saw two even taller mountains flanking it that, when looked at in elevation, closely resembled Odin’s symbol.

“Oh dear,” Parnevik said. “Our eyes do play a trick here, because although those mountains appear next to
Eyjafjallajokul
, they are in fact hundreds of miles away. But they
are
part of the
chain
of Icelandic volcanoes. All connected.”

“So if one goes up with enough force, and is directly linked to those other two . . .” Kennedy continued.

“You’ve got the beginnings of a Supervolcano,” Drake finished.

“The Tomb of the Gods,” Dahl breathed, “is
inside
the erupting volcano.”

“And the removal of Odin’s bones makes it go
boom!”
Kennedy shook her head, unfettered hair flying. “Would you expect anything less?”

“Wait!” Dahl was watching the satellite image now that told them when they would reach the ‘Jellyfish’s’ eye. “We still need a bit of help with the directions, and this has always been my Plan B. That’s one enormous mountain there, and Abel Frey’s going to show us right through the front door.”

“How?” At least two voices asked.

Dahl winked and spoke to the pilot. “Take us higher.”

*****

They were now so high that Drake couldn’t see even the mountains through the clouds. His new-found respect for the SGG Commander was in dire need of a lift.

“Alright, Torville, put the peasants outta their misery, eh?”

“Tor
sten
,” Dahl corrected, before realising he was being goaded. “Oh, I see. Okay then, try to keep up if you can. This is my army speciality, or
was
, before I joined SGG. Aerial reconnaissance photography, in particular,
Orthophotos.
”

“That’s brilliant,” Drake said. “I’m erect as we speak. What the hell are those?”

“They are photographs taken from an ‘infinite’ distance, looking straight down, which are then geometrically altered into the accepted standard of a map. Once the photo is uploaded, all we have to do is align it with ‘real-world’ coordinates, then . . .” he shrugged.

“Boom!”
Kennedy laughed. “You mean like Google Earth, right? Only without the 3D?”

“Indeed.” Drake made a face. “Hope this works, Dahl. It’s our only chance to get ahead of the endgame.”

“It will. And not only that, when the computer calculates the coordinates we will know
exactly
where the entrance to the Tomb of the Gods is. Even the Germans, in full possession of all nine Pieces, will have to estimate.”

“Assuming that the Germans align all the Pieces correctly,” Ben said with a humourless smile.

“Well, that’s true. We can only hope that Abel Frey knows what he’s doing. He’s certainly had enough time to practice.”

Drake slid out of his seat and looked for Wells. Saw him tapping his mobile against the window in frustration.

“Any news on Frey’s Chateau, mate?”

The SAS commander snorted. “Surrounded. But covertly - the Chateau is unaware of its new-found attention. German cops’re there. Interpol.
Representatives
from most of the world’s Governments. But not Mai, for some reason. I’ll not lie to you, Matt, it’s going to be one hard rock to crack without a shitload of losses.”

Drake nodded, thinking of Karin. He knew the odds, having played them many times. “So we’ll do the Tomb first . . . then see where we’re at.”

Just then there was some excitement near the front of the cramped chopper. Dahl turned around with a gleeful smile on his face. “Frey’s down there now! Arranging the Pieces. If we set this baby on full res and a snap-happy one-frame-per-second we’ll be inside that Tomb within the hour!”

“Have some respect,” Parnevik breathed reverently. “That’s Ragnarok down there. One of the greatest battlefields in known history, and the site of at least one Armageddon. Gods died screaming in that ice.
Gods.
”

“And so will Abel Frey,” Ben Blake said quietly. “If he’s harmed my sister.”

PART 2

get your armour on . . .

THIRTY-SIX

THE TOMB OF THE GODS

The game was up.

When Drake and his companions overflew Ragnarok and Abel Frey’s crew, heading towards the smoking mountain, they knew the Germans would be high-tailing it after them. The chopper descended rapidly towards a soft snow basin, jarred violently by random gusts of wind and a rebounding down-draught. The pilot finessed the collective until the chopper hovered as close as it was going to get, six feet off the ground, then shouted at everyone to get the hell off.