The Mistletoe Experiment (11 page)

Fumio Yoshida, went out together this morning but didn"t

return from their research trip around seven p.m. when we

expected them. We"ve tried calling them, but can"t seem to

get through. However, we do know where they were planning

to go. Since it"s summer here and never gets dark enough to

impede the search efforts, we sent out a search team an

hour ago, as soon as the blizzard stopped.”

Shit
.

Magnus was in trouble, and there was absolutely

nothing he could do to help.

Fuck
.

“Lance? Are you still there?” Wiktor sounded worried.

Lance couldn"t speak through the fear that had

suddenly taken over. His breath came too quickly; he started

shaking and had to sit down on the sofa.

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“Lance? Please, answer me.” Wiktor"s voice was louder

than before.

“Yes.” Lance held the receiver with both hands so he

wouldn"t drop it. “I"m here.”

“Good.” Wiktor heaved a sigh of relief. “Now, you"re

probably not going to believe me, but there is no reason to

panic at this point.”

Yeah, right. Lance was still trying to catch his breath

from the fear hitting him full force like a fist to his solar

plexus. It had driven all the air out of his lungs, so he was

still trying to catch his breath

“Magnus and Fumio are experienced explorers. They"re

well equipped, and have been trained to deal with

emergencies like these.” Wiktor sounded like a public

relations person announcing that “there had been no danger

to the general public at any time” right after a major

industrial accident that everyone knew had caused huge

damage.

Yeah, right. Wiktor probably didn"t even know what sort

of an emergency Magnus was trying to deal with. After all,

he"d admitted that they hadn"t been able to get in touch. It

all sounded so placating and useless.

“Wha-what"s going to happen next?”
What can I do?

“We"re going to have to wait for the rescue team to either

signal us, or for them to come back with Magnus and Fumio

in tow.” Wiktor sighed again. “I realize this is going to be

hard for you, but the only thing you can do is wait. You

should really try to get some sleep….”

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Yeah, right
. Like he was going to be able to sleep,

knowing that Magnus was in danger. He was out of his mind

with worry already, and the longer he didn"t hear anything

the worse it would get.

“But I know that isn"t likely to happen. Have you got a

family member or a friend who can sit up with you? They

might be able to distract you a little bit and give you some

support.” Wiktor sounded like he was honestly trying to

help.

Heck, he probably was. Magnus had said he was a really

nice guy.

“Well, I don"t know, it"s kind of late….” Lance closed his

eyes. He was sure Ragnor would sit up with him. And he did

need someone to talk to who would understand.

“It"s totally up to you, Lance, but please, think about it.

Hold on.” Wiktor sounded like he was talking to someone

else for a moment; then he came back on the line. “Look, I"m

going to have to go. I still need to call Fumio"s relatives. I

promise we"ll get in touch the minute we know something.

Okay?”

“Okay, I understand.” Lance nodded to himself. “But

please, the minute you know something….”

“Of course. I have your number. I"ll talk to you soon.”

Wiktor ended the call.

Lance listened to the dial tone for a few moments before

he put down the receiver. He covered his face with his hands

and sat there until he was fairly sure that he wouldn"t start

crying the minute he explained to Ragnor what the problem

was.

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The moment he told Ragnor that he needed his help, the

man said he was on his way over. He"d dropped the phone

before Lance could explain further. He even knocked on the

door to avoid the risk of Jakob waking up from the doorbell.

Lance smiled. Jakob was such a heavy sleeper, he"d never

wake up, but the thoughtfulness was very touching.

Lance led him into the living room after offering him a

drink, which he declined.

“So, what can I help you with?” Ragnor looked worried.

Lance grinned. Initially he"d been worried when Ragnor

didn"t stop his flirting even though Lance had explained that

he was engaged to Magnus. But when Ragnor started flirting

with a stunned Magnus as well, Lance had come to

understand that it was Ragnor"s nature and wasn"t likely to

change. Magnus had taken a little longer to believe it, but

had learned to enjoy the harmless banter as much as Lance.

“Well, it"s Magnus.” Lance swallowed, suddenly

overcome with emotion again. Talking about it just made it

that much more real.

“That doesn"t sound good.” Ragnor tilted his head.

“What about Magnus?”

“H-he didn"t return from a daytrip up the glacier. They

haven"t heard from him and now they"ve sent out a search

team to look for him and his colleague.” Lance bit his lower

lip to distract himself from the tears that wanted to flow.

What if they didn"t find him? It may be light almost

twenty-four hours so close to the solstice, but it was still

extremely cold. And what if there had been some sort of an

accident?

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“It sounds like they"re doing everything they can.”

Ragnor moved so he sat next to him on the sofa.

“Yeah.” Lance needed to keep telling himself that. “I still

worry, though, you know?”

“Of course you do! You wouldn"t be human if you

didn"t.” Ragnor smiled. “But I"m glad you called me to sit up

with you. Shared worry is a lot easier on the heart.”

“Thanks for understanding.” Lance leaned back against

the sofa. “I"m sorry I bugged you with this, but I just can"t go

through this alone.”

“I do understand that.” Ragnor nodded. “Now, what do

you want to do to distract ourselves? There isn"t really

anything we can do on the wedding preparations, everything

seems pretty much in order there.”

“Yes, thanks to all your help.” Barring any last minute

catastrophes, it looked like they"d be okay.

“So—a movie? Or some food?” Ragnor grinned. “I do like

your brownies a lot, and I believe they
are
classified as

comfort food. Besides, even though you kindly gave me the

recipe, I can"t seem to get mine to taste as perfectly chocolaty

as yours.”

“What a great idea.” Yeah, baking would distract him for

a while by keeping him busy. Who knew? There might be

news by the time they were done.

Unfortunately, by the time the brownies were made, and

most of them eaten, there was still no news. They were both

sitting on the couch at this point, and Lance was suddenly

overpowered with fatigue. He wanted to stay awake, but he"d

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also run out of energy, despite all the sugar he"d just

consumed.

Without saying a word Ragnor opened his arms. Lance

moved right into them, welcoming the warmth of another

human next to him. It was so good to feel safe and protected.

If only Magnus were here and could feel the same.

“You get some sleep, Lance. I"ll make sure we don"t miss

any phone calls.” Ragnor"s voice was low, as if he didn"t want

to disturb Lance.

Lance was already half asleep. Even though the scent of

the man"s arms surrounding him was slightly different, the

beating of the man"s heart against his ear was relaxing him

into sleep the way Magnus"s had so often done before.

The next thing he knew was the shrill ringing of the

phone. He sat up so fast that it made him dizzy. Ragnor

grabbed him by the shoulders so he didn"t fall over. A quick

glance at the clock on the mantel as he reached for the

phone they"d put on the coffee table right next to him told

him it was three a.m.

With a grateful smile at Ragnor and after taking a deep

breath for courage, he reached for the phone. Never in his

life had he wanted good news as badly as he did now.

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Chapter Eight

“LANCE RIVERA speaking.” Lance fisted his free hand to try

to contain the tension that was bubbling in his stomach. It

made him feel queasy and light-headed, as if someone had

pulled the floor from under him. Suddenly, there was

nothing to hold onto.

“This is Wiktor Pokodny.” There was a pause. “I have

some good news for you.”

Oh, thank God!

“Please tell me—did you find Magnus? Is he okay?”

Lance leaned back against Ragnor, suddenly unable to

remain upright on his own.

“Yes, the search team located Magnus and Fumio

around one a.m. this morning. Magnus had fallen into a

crevasse and Fumio was having trouble getting him back to

the surface of the glacier on his own. The search team got

him out, and they made their way back here.” Wiktor cleared

his throat.

Fallen into a crevasse?

“Is—is Magnus okay?” Lance closed his eyes. God, he

wanted his lover to be unharmed so badly he could taste it.

“He"ll be okay, don"t worry.” Wiktor sounded like he was

trying to placate a small child. “We"ve had the resident

doctor have a look at him and—”

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“The doctor?” He sat up, feeling Ragnor take hold of his

shoulders again.

“Yes, Magnus hit his head on the crevasse"s wall when

he fell, so we needed to make sure there wasn"t a

concussion. If there had been, we might not have been able

to fly him out of here to get his leg wound taken care of.”

“His—his leg wound?”
Oh, good God, why didn’t the man

give him any details without being prodded for them?

“Apparently a piece of protruding rock penetrated his

clothing during the fall and stabbed him in his upper thigh.”

Wiktor sighed. “We got the bleeding stopped but Magnus

needs surgery to close the wound properly. There"s a small

hospital in Svalbard, just over an hour"s flight by helicopter

from here, and Magnus will be treated there. He said he

wanted to return to Stockholm immediately afterward,

though.”

“He can do that, right? I mean, you will let him do that?”

Lance remembered him signing some kind of insurance

paperwork before he left.

“Yes, he"s entitled to make the decision to return from

the assignment early in case of a serious work-related

accident.” Wiktor sighed. “This situation more than

qualifies.”

“So when will he be back?” Lance heard a small relieved

sigh from Ragnor behind him. His friend was clearly as

interested in Magnus"s welfare as he was.

“We"ll fly him to Svalbard as soon as their rescue

helicopter can get here. Once the wound has been taken care

of, he"ll fly to Oslo on the two-forty-five Scandinavian Airlines

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flight, then on to Stockholm in the evening.” Wiktor rustled

with some papers, probably looking for the exact details.

“He"ll arrive at Arlanda at twenty-two fifteen. We"ve arranged

transportation to the Karolinska University Hospital, with

which Stockholm University has a special agreement for its

employees. He"ll probably need to stay under medical

supervision for a few days, to make sure the wound heals

properly.”

“Can I see him at the hospital tonight?” Lance wanted to

fly out to Svalbad now, to be with Magnus, but by the time

he got there, Magnus would be gone. God, this long distance

stuff was awful.

“Probably better to wait for tomorrow morning when

they have visiting hours. It"s probably best to check with

them first, as well. Just to make sure Magnus will actually

be awake to see you when you visit.” Wiktor took a deep

breath. “Look, I"m really sorry this happened to Magnus, and

by extension to you, and I wish there was more I could do.”

“Thank you.” Well, waiting to see Magnus tomorrow