LOVE, LOSS, LEYSIN LOOKING

IN THE AIR TONIGHT Chapter 8

As the four ABBA members sat patiently and set about confirming their gift to UNICEF, in Leysin Stig was wild with temper. His fury only increased as moments passed and he was pacing agitatedly around as Gorel poured through a stack of papers, made phone calls, searching for a flight to Leysin as soon as humanly possible. As she studied more time tables, Stig became irate, his fury rising like hot air "Come on you stupid girl. What do I pay you for? Stop dawdling, twiddling your fingers and do what you're told. You can't protect your little friends, they're getting their asses here, even if I have to go and physically drag them here! Ungrateful little shits!" Gorel sighed, she was so tired of this, his attitude towards her and the others. She turned and gave him a look full of disdain "You pay me because nobody else will work with you or put up with your tantrums and your "winning personality"! So, put a sock in it and let me do what I can or nothing will get done and you'll have to do the show yourself!" Stig glared with sheer fury, he knew she was right, yet he wanted to retain control, show who was boss "Speak to me like that again and you're fired! Out on your ass, done, finished! No one in music will touch you, when I spread the word. And I fucking will too, make no mistake!" Gorel looked at him again, he was intolerable, obnoxious. She dropped the papers from her hand to the desk and stood, fixing him with a look of pure disgust "Good! Fire me, I'll get a pay off and Bjorn, Benny, Frida and 'Netha will happily employ me. They've told me that, I have it in writing. So if you like let's end this now, I'm off and you can pick up where I left off!" she turned away hiding a smile, she knew he'd have to climb down from his high horse and beg her to stay, it was the same thing every time he fired her, at least once a week. Stig was panicked, he needed Gorel to make sure things ran smoothly, he raised both hands, palms facing her "Gorel, wait, wait. Look I'm..I'm sorry, okay. Don't leave, but please, get them here, quickly!" Gorel smirked to herself, she'd conjured up every delaying tactic she could think of, hoping to save her closest friends from travelling, but now it was crunch time, Stig wasn't budging, she knew they'd all have to come and soon. She shrugged her shoulders "If you like, but I want a pay rise. You promised me on in 1976 and I'm still waiting!" Stig sneered "Money grabber! Okay, a rise, agreed" Gorel handed him some official Polar Music papers "In writing please, signed, dated, so no back tracking can be done" reluctantly Stig did as she asked and passed the paper back to her when she held her hand out. Putting the paper safely in her briefcase she turned to her bad tempered boss "There's one way this works and one way only..And you won't like it one bit!" Stig glowered angrily "Well, what is it? Come on you stupid girl, tell me!" she smiled "They can catch a flight from Gothenburg, but, they have to get their and fast. A car or a train won't do the job. So, you'll have to send that brand new helicopter you park on the roof of Polar to fetch them and take them to Gothenburg. And yes I knew you had it, it's so noisy a deaf man would know!" Stig could not believe his ears, the helicopter was his secret, something for him to swan around in, impressing people with his wealth and style. Now Gorel knew and that meant that four others and no doubt more did too! "Oh fucking hell! Are there no secrets? No privacy? Why can't they bloody get a train? It's my helicopter, not theirs, all for me!" Gorel listened to his tirade, it was as ever self centred nonsense "It's your choice, they can get a train, but they won't be here until tomorrow. If you want them here there's only one solution. Take it or leave it!" Back in Stockholm, four very famous people were just getting over the sheer shock of what had happened, it had shaken them, scared them and it was only now that they could relax a little, each of them grateful to have survived. The call with Stig and the UNICEF donation had cheered them up, it felt good to annoy him! The telephone rang interrupting their relaxation. Bjorn stood and turned to the others "We can guess who this is!" Gorel greeted him and went onto explain the plan, in detail "Sorry Bjorn, I tried to delay this as long as I could, but you know how he is. Like a big kid stamping his feet and wanting his own way" Bjorn agreed, they knew all too well what Stig was like "So we're going in this mysterious helicopter of his. I'm not happy about having to fly so soon after what happened, but we won't get you into trouble. We'll meet the chopper on the roof in 20 minutes" Off they headed towards the roof, having cleared things with the hospital, Gorel had already arranged for their luggage to be at Gothenburg Airport and had given instructions to the pilot of where exactly to meet them. Emerging onto the rooftop they were struck once again by the sheer cold, the strong wind blowing at them, Agnetha shivered in spite of her thick and heavy Blue overcoat, Bjorn knew that it wasn't only the weather that made her shiver, it was the prospect of getting airborne again that worried her most, gently he put an arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear "I know, I know. But listen to me, you'll be fine, we all will. I'm here and I'd never let anything happen to you. Just hold onto my hand, squeeze for all your worth and we'll be alright. Okay?" she nodded and braved a small smile, as always had been the case he knew exactly what to say, what she needed and wanted to hear "Thanks, I'll do just that" Moment later a loud noise broke through the wind, lights on the underneath and the nose of whirling blades signified the arrival of Stig's helicopter, the blades blew snow everywhere as the pilot touched down gently and switched his engine off. He waited until the blades ceased to rotate before hopping out and opening the rear doors "Good afternoon, Gorel asked me to greet you and to say that she has everything arranged at Gothenburg. You just have to check in, no delays, they're prepping the 'plane with decals as we speak" He was calm, friendly and wanted everyone to feel relaxed on their unscheduled journey. For one passenger however that was never going to be the case, Agnetha had ridden in helicopters before, but never enjoyed the experience and this would be no different. As the pilot lifted off Bjorn felt her hand squeeze his tightly, he noticed she had her eyes clamped shut, her nerves were tangible and he again wished he could take away her fear, but settled for gently stroking the back of her hand "It's okay, squeeze away and that way you'll know I'm here, with you, anytime" she nodded, so nervous she couldn't really speak and finally as the helicopter turned and levelled out she opened her eyes and let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She felt a familiar hand being squeezed by her own and blushed for a moment, before letting go "Oh Bjorn, I'm so sorry. I was squeezing your hand so hard. Are you hurt? Did I cause you pain?" he smiled, typically she was thinking of others instead of herself "No of course not. No pain at all. Even if there had been I wouldn't have minded as long as it helped you feel safe" her smile appeared, a genuine one. She was touched again by his sheer warmth and for an all too brief moment allowed her mind to drift back to the previous night, to that very morning, she was ever more convinced that he had hidden something from her, that he'd been as tempted as she had been to spend the night together. Frida interrupted her thoughts, turning to smile gently, gesturing for her to lower the microphone attached to her headphones so they could talk above the noise "Everything okay our sweetest one?" Agnetha smiled to her friend "About as good as flying will get! But thanks for asking" Frida got a wicked smirk on her face "I actually think all of it is an excuse to get Bjorn's attention! Anything for a grope you are!" Laughter filled the cabin, she was being distracted, which gave Bjorn time to formulate an idea for the upcoming flight to Leysin. He knew she was dreading this, he didn't need to ask and the incident that very morning would only increase her unease. The flight to Gothenburg was swift, the helicopter moved at rapid pace, crossing the distance quickly without any bother from the snowy conditions. The pilot radioed ahead and was instructed to land on top of the main terminal building, but to then leave quickly in a gap in the flight schedule. Landing gently exactly where instructed the four ABBA members thanked him for his help, signed some autographs and placed a roll of Krone into his hand as gestures of appreciation. They turned away as he lifted off, snow blowing all over them. By now it was late afternoon, daylight had now disappeared, the Swedish winter being in full effect, darkness surrounded them as they sought the doorway to take them into the warmth. It was Benny who found what they were seeking "Here it is. Bjorn, give me a hand, the door's a little tight, like it's swollen or expanded" Bjorn joined his friend and they pulled hard on the wooden door, it groaned, creaked and protested but after several strong pulls, finally it gave way and the bottom slid on the thick carpet of snow opening just wide enough for them to squeeze through "Okay girls, you and the kids go first. Benny and I have switched the stairway light on and we'll shut the door behind us all" Bjorn gestured for them to slip through the doors and once they had he and Benny stepped inside and pulled hard at the door again "Damn this thing's tight! Come on Bjorn, one last attempt" Benny smirked, it seemed so abnormal for two song writing superstars to be wrestling with a door! "Okay, on three. Ready Benny? One, two and three!" they pulled with all their might and finally the door banged shut and they could lean against the wall for a moment, to catch their breath. Bjorn laughed quietly "And we think writing songs can get difficult!" Benny laughed at his friend, he was typically finding humour in their situation "Exactly! I'll never complain about going to sit in the cottage on Viggso in winter again after this escapade!" Laughing they rushed downstairs to rejoin the girls who were now arriving at the bottom of the staircase, Agnetha frowned slightly "And how do we get out of here? The door must be locked to stop people from climbing up here" Frida nodded, she'd been wondering herself "Someone must know we're here, they'll open the door, speaking of which there it is!" Agnetha smiled and that smile widened as two sets of footsteps came clattering down the stairs as Bjorn and Benny reunited with them "Looks like we're here just in time" he nodded in the direction of the door as keys turned in it's lock and it squeaked as it was opened. Light poured in and a security guard peered around the door "Ahh there you are! I knew you must be here, the chopper left a few minutes ago. Come this way please" he stepped back making room for them to enter the main concourse. Agnetha and Frida shrugged, Agnetha had Linda by the hand whilst Frida had her Godson, Christian in her arms, Christian decided that now would be a good time to let go of a particularly noxious fart! Frida laughed and screwed up her nose "You little stinker! I don't know how you do it, you smell more than most adults!" he giggled and as Agnetha laughed she gestured for her friend to go ahead first and finally all four of them emerged onto the concourse. The security guard locked the door behind them "If you'd care to follow me, we'll get you checked in and ready to go. The'plane is fuelled up, all the stickers are in place. You'll be airborne in no time! What fun eh?" They exchanged looks between them, he had no idea of their ordeal or of how much they dreaded the forthcoming flight, no one more than Agnetha who's nerves were already shredded and she paled visibly at the mention of flying. This was going to be tough....