Passenger List

by John Scott Dryden

  ‘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 o
ut 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.

  26

  In a white windowless room under a glaring strip light, Kaitlin stared at her two captors across the table. One was a sergeant: buzz cut, blue eyes, solid muscle. She didn’t catch his name. The other was a woman, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, charcoal suit. She didn’t have that military rigidity about her, so Kaitlin assumed she was probably a civilian of some kind. Kaitlin remembered, during the flurry of activity when she was dragged in, that this woman’s name was Marianne.

  Her mind was racing ahead, as it always did in times of high stress. What were the possible outcomes for her here? None of them good, that was for sure.

  Marianne flicked on a recording device. ‘Interview with Kaitlin Le—’

  ‘My name’s Sophie Nguyen.’

  ‘Did you say something, Miss Le?’ the sergeant growled.

  ‘I’m Sophie Nguyen. I’m here with my fiancé. I’m sorry if we’ve strayed onto … I don’t know what this place is. We were trying to see the Northern Lights. We didn’t realise we were on … What is this place?’

  ‘What are you doing here?’ The sergeant fixed those cold blue eyes on her.

  ‘I told you, we were … We were looking for the Northern Lights,’ she stuttered. ‘But everything looks the same here. I guess we got lost and …’

  The sergeant tossed the GoPro on the table. Kaitlin stared at it for a moment.

  ‘I wasn’t filming you guys,’ she began. ‘I was trying to film the landscape, maybe even the aurora. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s pretty picturesque out there.’ She glanced to the door, desperately thinking of ways to gain the upper hand. ‘Where’s my fiancé? Why are you holding us? We just got lost.’

  Marianne smiled. ‘Kaitlin, we need to ask you about the man you were with.’

  ‘My fiancé?’

  ‘The man you were with,’ the sergeant stressed. ‘Do you know who he is?’

  ‘You need to be open with us,’ Marianne stressed. ‘We’re giving you a chance to save yourself. You were led into this, right? The fake passport. He persuaded you.’

  ‘That’s not true.’

  ‘Listen to me, Kaitlin. You’re in big trouble. We’re trying to help you.’

  ‘Help me?’

  ‘Do you know what happens to spies?’ Marianne said in a calm voice that disguised the menace in the statement.

  Kaitlin felt a rush of cold. They were threatening to go in hard: jail time, years of it, disgrace, the devastation of her parents. Were they really that scared of what she was doing? She jumped to her feet. ‘I want a lawyer.’

  ‘Sit down, please,’ the sergeant said.

  ‘Is there a lawyer here?’

  The sergeant’s eyes blazed and he roared, ‘I said, sit down.’

  Kaitlin slumped back to her seat, but she wasn’t going to be cowed.

  ‘I want a lawyer. Before I utter another word.’

  Marianne smiled again. That was getting as menacing as the sergeant’s toxic masculinity.

  ‘We’re not on US soil,’ she said. ‘You don’t have any rights here.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Tell us about the man you were with. You might as well. You’ve come to the end of it all now. There’s nowhere to hide here, no one you can hide behind.’

  ‘I don’t know what to say. He’s British. He works for—’

  ‘The British Government? MI6?’

  Kaitlin feigned a frown. ‘No, of course not.’

  ‘Did you know he’s a Russian agent?’

  Kaitlin stared. Shit, Thomas. What have you gotten us into?

  ‘The British authorities have been looking for him ever since he disappeared. He’s a spy. And this is a US base,’ Marianne continued.

  ‘What kind of base?’

  ‘Just your regular satellite communications and intelligence base. We have bases like this all over the world. Nothing unusual about it being here.’

  ‘Then am I free to go?’

  The sergeant hammered the flat of his hand on the table. ‘No, you are not free to go. You were in the company of a Russian agent.’

  ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’ Kaitlin heaved a deep breath. ‘OK, maybe travelling on a false passport, I admit, that wasn’t … But, look, I don’t have anything to hide. I’m just trying to find the truth about Flight 702. Is that a crime?

  ‘My brother was on that plane. I’ve given up everything. My studies, my family. All to find out what happened. I’ve followed every lead. I’ve done everything humanly possible to get to the bottom of what happened and I’ve ended up here.’ She looked from the sergeant to Marianne. ‘Is my brother … ? Is Conor here?’

  ‘Flight 702 crashed into the sea, Kaitlin,’ Marianne said.

  ‘I know that’s what’s been said. But there was a crash near here. I have proof. There are witnesses, satellite images. It happened at exactly the same time Flight 702 went missing. Were there any survivors? Is Conor here?’

  Marianne shook her head with a note of sadness.

  ‘I’m sorry. You’ve been wasting your time. We don’t know anything about what you’re saying.’

  They weren’t going to give anything away. Did she expect any less?

  ‘Where’s Thomas? Can I see him?’

  ‘He’s not here. He’s been handed back to the British government,’ the sergeant said.

  ‘What’s going to happen to me?’

  ‘You’ll be repatriated and processed back to the US.’

  ‘Processed?’

  The sergeant stood up. ‘OK. Time to go.’

  Kaitlin felt her stomach knot. ‘Where?’

 
; ‘You’ll be kept in custody until we can arrange transport.’ He swung open the door and called for the guards.

  As he walked out into the corridor, Marianne leaned across the table and whispered, ‘Don’t eat the food.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t eat the—’

  Marianne clamped her mouth shut when the sergeant stepped back in. She stood up and walked away as if nothing had happened.

  The sergeant flexed his fingers for Kaitlin to stand. ‘You can go with the officers here.’

  Kaitlin watched Marianne vanish through the door, but her mind was racing once again: what had just happened?

  After what seemed like an age in a holding cell, more guards came and escorted Kaitlin to another room, this one painted in yellow. A couch sat against one wall and a chair next to it. A large mirror occupied the wall opposite the couch. A balding man with glasses smiled at her as she entered. He introduced himself as Dr Hallin from the Army Research Laboratory, a military psychologist.

  He swept a hand towards the couch and Kaitlin sat. She felt her body clench as she tried to guess what was coming next.

  ‘I have a few questions for you,’ Hallin began. He was softly-spoken, kindly at first glance, although she couldn’t tell if that was a front. ‘General ones – at first, anyway. Some names, dates, who your contacts are here, who brought you to the base. You didn’t find your own way here.’

  ‘Where are the people who interviewed me before? The sergeant, and the woman – Marianne? I told them everything.’

  ‘I’m sure you did. I’m here to assist them in their inquiries. Marianne – Dr Hawkins – in fact used to be a student of mine. She has an extremely perceptive mind. Razor-sharp focus. Very good at her job.’

  ‘So, where is she?’

  ‘Behind the glass, assisting me with this process.’

  ‘I don’t know what all this is about. I’ve been sitting in a cell for God knows how long and no one is telling me anything.’

  ‘You want some answers, right? I understand how you’re feeling.’ Hallin picked up his iPad and turned his back on Kaitlin as he scrolled through it. ‘Did they give you anything to eat?’ he asked.

  The comment sounded disinterested, but after Marianne’s warning, she knew better. ‘Yes,’ she said. They’d brought her food, but she’d scraped it into the toilet and flushed it away.