The Viking Seal

CHAPTER 5 - The Holiday Couples

"So what did you think of Stone?" Gretta was perched on the edge of the bed in her panties and a sleeveless t-shirt watching Arnold get ready for bed.

"He's okay, I guess. He's older than I thought."

"He's not old, Arny, he's the same age as you . . . about." She grabbed a pillow and clutched it to her stomach. "You should hear some of the tales he has to tell."

The sound of an excited thrill in her voice unsettled him. "When did you hear them?" He stepped into the bathroom and tossed his dirty clothes in the hamper.

"From Cheesy," she called. "Stone has quite a reputation back in Egypt. You talk about Indiana Jones."

"I'd rather not, and what was that about competition if Cheesy didn't even know who he thought they might be?"

"He has an inkling."

"An inkling. Like he knows bloody well who it is and doesn't want to spook Indiana Jones, eh?" Arny yanked back the bedsheet and punched his pillow.

"The truth?"

"Well, yeah, that would be nice."

"You remember Gravestone from when we-"

"Yeah, yeah. Mexico. Who could forget?"

"Well he had- has an acquaintance who competes with him on some of those schemes like the one we broke up." Arny held his hands out, waiting. "Well the guy has a daughter, Moira Fowler. She is sort of like uhm- sort of like . . . you remember Claude DeGeer?"

"Oh shit!"

"—well she's something like him."

"A killer!"

"We-e-e-l-l-l . . ."

"Jesus, Gretta." He stood up from the bed and began a circuit of the room. "I don't appreciate being treated like a kid. You guys lied, didn't you?"

She hugged the pillow close and just stared at him, a pixie grin peeking over the top. Arnold stopped by the bed with a pained look on his face, shaking his head. He let out a big sigh, "What about his girlfriend, this Mel person, does she know all about this stuff, is she part of your team?"

"No, not really. More like you, like Stone said." Gretta giggled and tossed the pillow at him, falling back on the covers.

He charged at her and covered her head with the pillow as they wrestled on the bed. "Then maybe she and I can find something in common." He grunted, trying to pin her down, realizing with dismay that she was far stronger.

"As long as it's just comparing notes." Gretta tossed him off and clambered on top, sitting astride him.

"Well, while you and Rock are trekking through the wild north, we can spend some time getting to know one another." He grunted again, this time from the weight on his chest.

"It's not Rock, Arny dear, it's Stone."

*****

Melanie Van Reagar immediately caught the attention of Arnold. They had all gathered in the university conference room for a briefing and after introductions and a few anecdotes the group found their places around the table and settled in for the discussion. She was slightly taller than average, with an open face surrounded by a cloud of blonde unfettered hair. He mentally compared her to Gretta and found some disquieting physical similarities.

He wondered if Stone noticed the same things, how both women seemed to be cast from the same mould; both appeared extremely self-confident. Both were opinionated, as evident in their contributions to the discussion, and both had gorgeous eyes. Arny could even picture Melanie stomping bad guys with the same equanimity as Gretta.

The room felt thick and heavy with large, gilt-framed portraits of past deans and board members. A dark, plush, Oriental rug stretched almost wall to wall under the oak stained conference table. Twelve matching captain's chairs stood around the table making the room look even more crowded, and they had to keep their chairs apart to prevent pinching fingers.

The only concessions to modernity were the vertical blinds covering the deep, double hung windows, and even they were covered in a dark patterned material that barely hinted at an outdoors.

The professor was rambling on about the technical aspects of the mission; conclusions that the lab people had reached along with quotes from historical files and Arnold could see that Melanie was becoming equally restless over the endless stream of data.

When the professor stopped to relight his pipe, Arnold stood and executed a theatrical yawn that brought the desired response from the others.

"You'd like a break I take it?"

"Gee, Gretta, is it that noticeable?"

"I think I'm on his side," Melanie laughed, standing and performing her own stretch.

"The reason I wanted you both to sit in on this is because we would like you to take a somewhat passive yet active role in our project." The professor puffed mightily on his pipe, sending a large cloud of bluish smoke into the room, indicating his reluctance to pause the meeting.

"Gretta?" Arnold turned a warning glance at her, shaking his head negatively at her casual shrug.

"All you'd be doing is accompanying us. We just want it to look like two couples on holiday."

"Want what to look like two couples on holiday? And when did this come up? Certainly not this morning."

"It. What we've been discussing. Our investigation." Gretta looked at Stone who nodded encouragingly to Melanie.

"I've never seen Northern Canada. Sounds like fun. Will it be all snow up there?" She looked so innocent, Arnold wondered if he was being set up.

He told her about the snow and when they expected it to disappear from the streets. "It's Northern Ontario, and do you know what you're letting yourself in for?"

"Mel has shared some pretty dicey moments with me," Stone said. "I think she'd rather be along to keep me in line than sit back here worrying."

"Dicey moments? Keep you in Line? Gretta?" He felt control slipping away, and it occurred to him that he was beginning to sound annoyingly repetitive.

"Arny, wind down a bit. Not every job we do is like the two you were on. It's all you have for comparison and it's not fair. This could be a really nice time for all of us—and expenses paid as well." She grinned at the professor, who waggled his head in unavoidable agreement.

The meeting ended with a common agreement. Melanie had learned a little of the other incidents referred to and shared her own harrowing experience in the Farafra Desert, which left Arnold feeling a little wimpy. They parted company, prepared to meet at nine the following morning, packed and ready to go.

Gretta papered over all of Arnold's concerns on the way home, and by the evening's end he had forgotten all about them, or at least buried them deep enough to feel comfortable.