C10 Chapter 10

Rikard had been held up in the car park because of somebody else. An elderly man had begun to panic as he was parking, and his car was squeezed between Rikard’s car and a carelessly parked, elegant, fast car.

Instinctively, Rikard the policeman quickly wrote down the number of the fast car and then had to help the elderly man with his parking. He had just got the car parked properly and was waiting for the owners of the fast car, who were approaching quickly. Rikard was straightening his back in order to give them a ticking off when Tova came running.

He immediately understood his daughter’s message and threw her the car keys.

“Lock the car,” he told her, because he didn’t trust the owners of the fast car. The three men stared open-mouthed at Rikard and Tova. Then Rikard ran in the direction of the departure hall.

Tova was tense and fumbled with the keys as she bent to open the car door.

She just managed to hear a few footsteps behind her when she was hit hard on her head from behind.

“What on earth ...” she had time to say before everything turned black.

By then, Rikard had already entered the air terminal and didn’t see what had happened to his only daughter.

She came to her senses in a scruffy car. The three men had thrown her on the floor in front of the back seat. A pair of pointed men’s shoes kicked her in her ribs, which hurt.

Don’t show them that you’re awake, Tova told herself. A woman’s voice spoke in the front of the car. Whoever she was, she certainly wasn’t particular about pronouncing her words clearly. “Are you sure he’s there?”

“Certainly,” answered the driver. How are things in the back?”

The one with the pointed shoes replied: “No life. Couldn’t we just dump her in the lake?”

The driver, who seemed the least uncultured of the three, said: “It’s not your job to think, Lasse. We need to speak to Number One first.”

“He’s not God, is he? Hell, no!”

“Just shut up! Number One is the only one who receives orders.”

“From God?”

“What do we need God for? It’s much better to follow the other one.”

Then all three laughed.

The other one? Tova thought. Did they mean the devil?

Oh, no. But perhaps his master on earth? Tova shuddered. It wasn’t difficult to figure out who they were talking about. We’ve underestimated Tengel the Evil, she thought. So he has ordinary mortals working for him! This wasn’t really so surprising, because Tova assumed that he would take command the very day he emerged among human beings again. But that he was already able to ...?

Oh God, her head was really aching. Now the pain was really beginning to make itself felt.

“He’s the only one that receives orders.” Number One ...?

That made sense. Tengel the Evil had picked a mortal man – evil by nature, of course – and given him the task of gathering the rabble around him. He wouldn’t stoop to talk directly to each of them.

I hope Dad succeeded in getting away from them.

Oh, help, the bomb!

What if it exploded at Fornebu Airport? And Dad and all his friends ...

No, it would have been a time bomb. Set to explode when the plane was in the air.

How incredibly mean! Sacrificing a lot of innocent people simply to be rid of the Ice People’s chosen ones!

Thank goodness they had Nataniel, who sensed that something was up. Please forgive me, Nataniel. I’ve always underestimated you because you’re such a gentle soul. I often forget what you’re capable of.

But Tova was capable of quite a lot herself. If only she could get rid of these pointed shoes for a start, poking her so unpleasantly in her ribs?

She smiled to herself. This could be quite entertaining! She was ready for the fun!

“Those deformed, narrow, pointed shoes are squeezing your feet. Your feet are swelling. There’s no room. Can’t you feel that there’s no room for your toes? The bones inside your foot are squashed. They haven’t got enough room ...”

“Oh, hell, my shoes aren’t half pinching!” Lasse moaned and tore them off. “It’s devilishly hot in here. My feet are swelling up!”

Oh, now the pain in Tova’s ribs was abating. But she couldn’t do so much about her headache.

Like most people skilled in wizardry and healers, Tova had problems curing herself.

The carpet on the floor was tickling her nose. She hoped she wouldn’t sneeze!

Now the three in the front seat were talking. Tova listened.

“Børt, how come this mysterious commander is so scared of those people?”

“I’ve no idea,” said the driver. But he’s rid of them now. The bomb will have exploded on the plane by now.”

I don’t think so, thought Tova.

“What was it that Number One said?” asked the woman. “That they had something they needed to destroy?”

“Yes, that was the order he had received. But I’ve no idea what it was. But it’s bound to have been destroyed now. Whatever it was.”

“Do you think Number One will be pleased that we’re taking care of the lass?”

“Of course. We can get a lot out of her. With our methods.”

Lasse laughed at that.

“She’s as ugly as sin,” the woman said. “It won’t be any loss to the world if Number One turns his thumb down for her.”

Oh, thank you for that, thought Tova. We’ll see about that!

She was curious to get to see them. Especially this Number One. They were clearly a gang. The question was whether she would have time to see much of Number One. Or whether she would have the chance to tell the others what she had seen and heard.

Dismal prospects for the future!

“There’s a motorbike behind us,” said Lasse, brushing Tova in the face with his foot as he twisted himself in his seat.

“Yeah, and so what?” said Børt.

“He’s been there for quite a while. It’s a cool machine.”

“Can you see his mug?”

“No, he’s wearing a black helmet and a black visor. Black all over.”

“Cop?”

“No, I don’t think so. Too cool for that. Speed up, will you?”

The driver accelerated. Tova felt a bit sick, but that was mostly because of the knock on her head.

“Have we shaken him off?”

“No, he’s hanging on like a leech.”

I think I like him, Tova thought.

The car speeded up with a jerk, which threw Tova in under the seat. She managed to quench an exclamation of pain.

Nataniel, Ellen and Gabriel had already discovered that Tova wasn’t by Rikard’s car or anywhere else.

“Don’t tell Rikard,” warned Nataniel. “He’s got enough to think about with the bomb – if there was one, of course. Don’t add to the strain on him with his daughter’s disappearance. Right now, this is our business.”

“Yes,” agreed Ellen. “We hadn’t reckoned on opposition from Tengel the Evil this soon. We thought it would happen in the Valley of the Ice People.”

Nataniel nodded. “We’ve been naive and now we’re paying for it.”

“Do you think he’s out?” asked Gabriel with big eyes. Awake I mean.”

“He’s probably awake,” replied Nataniel. “But whether he’s out in the open ... We’ll see.”

Ellen gasped. “Tova’s rucksack. It’s still at the check-in desk. I’ll run in and ...”

Nataniel stopped her immediately. “No, we don’t want to lose you as well! Get into my car and don’t let anybody in! I’ll be back soon.”

“But Nataniel ...” she said, but he was already far away. “We don’t want to lose you,” she muttered weakly.

They had to wait for quite some time before he returned with the rucksack in his hand. He stowed it away and threw himself into the driver’s seat. “I could hardly get inside,” he explained. “The entire hall was cordoned off. It was a bomb, which they’re disarming right now. It was only thanks to Rikard that I was allowed in.”

“You didn’t say anything about Tova, did you?”

“No. Gabriel, you said that you saw a car just as we came out. A car that drove away from the car park on two wheels.”

“Yes, and it came from the same place where Rikard’s car is parked.”

“Where was it going?” Nataniel asked as he started the car.

Gabriel looked confused. “Just out of the car park.”

“Well, yes, of course you couldn’t see any farther. Well, it must have moved in the direction of Drammensveien ... see that? The wheel tracks around the corner from the car park! The tyres must have shrieked! Let’s hope they continue their journey like that!”

Ellen, who was sitting next to Nataniel, asked: “Is that something to wish for? What if that driver has taken Tova? We don’t want her as a victim in a collision.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

They were soon on Drammensveien. By then, they had already seen the same kind of skid marks at a crossroads. Now they saw them once more. The car had driven in the direction of Drammen.

Nataniel said: “Now we’ll see what this car is capable of. Of course, the other car is far ahead of us. What colour was it, Gabriel?”

“It was a Chevrolet Impala, 59 model,” said Gabriel quickly. “Red with wings at the back and points at the front.”

Nataniel whistled. “Bravo! You didn’t see the number plate, did you?”

“No, I didn’t have time for that.”

“No, but wait! Rikard said something to me but I didn’t dwell on it at the time. He muttered something about bikers, gang members, that had delayed him. He said: ‘I took the car number.’ So Rikard has it. But we can’t turn back now.”

“And we don’t know whether Tova is with them,” said Ellen. “She might be waiting for us in the car park. We’ve no idea.”

“Oh, no, not Tova! Something has happened to her. That’s what all my senses are telling me. But how on earth are we to find her? This will be like looking for a needle in a haystack!”

Tova couldn’t make up her mind.

On the one hand, she desperately wished for the motorcyclist to be a policeman, who would stop the car she was in and arrest these damned kidnappers. On the other hand, she wanted to know a bit more about these people and their leader. But how was she going to get out of this in one piece? Oh, well, she would just have to wait and see.

Now they were quarrelling. Børt was angry with Lasse. “I’ve told you, haven’t I, that you’re not to call me Børt! I’m Number Three, so now you know! You yourself are only Number Twelve, the last but one, which is where you belong.”

“Shut your mouth,” muttered Lasse grumpily. “You and Bitten are two boring snobs ...”

“You don’t call her Bitten either,” hissed Børt. “She’s Number Seven, haven’t you got that into your wooden head? There are others in this car!”

“This one here? She’s totally lost, she can’t hear anything! And I don’t suppose she’ll get the chance to blabber to anybody afterwards, surely you know that!”

Lasse giggled. Tova thought it wasn’t anything to laugh at. He continued: “If only Number One manages to squeeze out of her what his boss wants, then I’ll take care of her myself.”

Tova stiffened where she lay. Good heavens, where were her thoughts? The bottle? They mustn’t get hold of the bottle for anything in the world. The bottle with Shira’s clear water!

She could absolutely not risk meeting this Number One. Being searched and ...

“Is the bike still following us?” asked Børt.

“Precisely as before. He's a rotten driver.”

So are you, thought Tova. Which makes sense since he’s driving at the same speed. She also concluded that she hadn’t forgotten her old tricks. I made Lasse take off his shoes, didn’t I? So I think I can make them come to a standstill!

She concentrated fiercely. It was a bit difficult dealing with three at the same time, but Børt was the most important one.

Nevertheless, Lasse was the first to react: “Oh, hell! Stop! I need to piss!”

“Surely you can ... Oh, damn, no. What have we been drinking today?”

“I need to go too,” said Bitten. She was a lady and she didn’t think it so amusing. “Stop, or I’ll wet my panties!”

“But the motorcyclist ...? Well, it can’t be helped. I need to get out of the car. Must have been that lousy drink at Fornebu Airport.”

The car swerved to the side of the road and stopped. All three sprinted out of the car and up into the forest at a terrific speed.

Tova heard the heavy motorcycle right next to her. Stop, oh, stop, she moaned silently as she tried to get to her feet. Her head was aching terribly and she only managed to heave her unravelled hair and her despairing eyes above the edge of the window for a moment. Then she sank down on the floor once more.

The back door was opened and an arm pulled her out. That policeman dressed in black – or whatever he was – lifted her as easily as anything and placed her on the pillion of his motorbike. She couldn’t see his face behind his black visor, but she thought he was asking her whether she could stay put there.

Tova was struggling as everything whirled around, but she must have managed to nod because he said something like: “Hold onto me!” Anyway, that was how she interpreted it.

“If I let go it means I’ve fainted,” she snivelled.

He hesitated for a moment, then there were loud shouts up in the forest. They had been seen, and the man had no choice but to start the engine of the motorbike.

In the direction of Oslo.

How did he know that?

She shouted: “I need to go to Fornebu,” while her hands took a firm grip on his jacket. “They’re expecting me there.”

He just nodded.

Oh God, I’ll never make it, she thought. Not a chance.

The wind ... the roar from the motorbike ... the shiny jacket ... hold on to it very tightly ... hold on to it!

Finally, the whole world was just this: hold tight, hold tight, don’t let go because you’ll fall! Everything whirled around her. Her cheek was pressed against the jacket, the motorbike vibrated under her, the traffic in the opposite direction rushed past like blurs of colour. She had never ridden on the back of a motorbike before. This must be one of the biggest? What were they called? Harley-Davidson? Triumph? She had forgotten.

The wind did her good: it cleared her head. She thought that it couldn’t be good for her concussion. She was worried. Sitting and shaking on a motorbike going extremely fast. What had happened to the gangsters in the car? She didn’t dare to turn around to check.

“Thanks for your help,” she shouted.

The black helmet nodded.

“Not that I understand ...”

“Really, Tova?”

That voice! Her head was clearer now and she was able to pick up more. That voice!

She gave him a jubilant hug. “Marco!!!”

Tova could feel that he was laughing.

“Oh, Marco, Marco,” she said, half sobbing. “Why did you just follow the car? You could have stopped them anytime. They were so stupid!”

“I wanted to see where and to whom they would take you,” he shouted against the wind.

“I would have done the same,” she shouted. “But then I remembered the water in the bottle.”

“Fair enough, Tova. But what happened? Why did they leave the car? I was afraid that it might be on fire.”

“No, I ...” Tova giggled. “No, I won’t tell you.”

“Yes!”

“You know that I can work with suggestion and illusion, don’t you?”

“Yes. Among other things.”

Oh, how wonderful to hear him say “among other things”. What a solace for a heart that thirsted to be praised!

“So I just made them believe that they needed the lavatory in a very great hurry!”

“That was absolutely perfect, Tova. What had you thought of doing afterwards?”

“Don’t know,” she shouted. “Perhaps run. Or try to stop a car. But most of all, I had hopes for the motorbike they were talking about. I thought that it might be a policeman.”

“Did you get any information?”

Holding a conversation on such a heavy motorbike wasn’t easy. You had to yell against the roaring wind. “Yes, I pretended to be unconscious. Then they talked.”

“You’re smart, very smart, Tova!”

Oh, bliss!

She laughed quietly.

Marco asked her: “What’s the matter?”

“I had no idea that angels rode on motorbikes!”

“I’m not a real angel. I only have the blood of the black angels in my veins, there’s a big difference. Besides, it was a part of my upbringing that I would be capable of everything human.”

Tova didn’t ask him where he had got all his equipment from. That would be too complicated. Nor how he could just turn up at such an appropriate moment. Marco’s ways were past understanding.

Or were they, right now? Didn’t he have to relinquish his supernatural abilities in order to take the bottle to the Valley of the Ice People?

Supernatural or not, he immediately answered her unspoken question. It might have been a coincidence ...

“It’s nice to have the chance to use my motorbike,” he said with a smile. “I rode it to Fornebu Airport because I wanted to make sure that you got off to a good start. Afterwards I had thought of driving north on it. Then I saw them hit you, and decided to follow the car.”

That was an answer in itself.

Tova heaved a deep sigh. Here she was tearing away on Drammensveien with a prince of the black angels. An utterly bizarre situation. But also very nice!

She laid her cheek on his back. “My prince,” she whispered sadly.

Børt was swearing like mad.

“You bloody idiots! Couldn’t you have pissed behind the car,” he barked, trying to blame the others.

“That damn leatherjacket made a hole in the front wheel. We won’t be able to move away from here!”

Bitten’s well-painted lips were pale under her makeup. “What will Number One say? We lost track of them! We lost track of them!”

“Stop cackling and raise your thumb instead. We’ll jump in when you’ve stopped a car.”

Bitten obeyed immediately.

“No, no, Oh, hell! Wait till I’m in touch with headquarters. That damn walkie-talkie is howling away. Hello, hello, damn it! Number Three calling Number Two. Number Three calling Number Two ...”

The portable walkie-talkie in the boot of the car crackled terribly. “Hell, hell,” hissed Børt. “They’ll be livid when they hear ...”

Finally, a voice came out of the apparatus. Something that was impossible to decipher.

“Hello,” shouted Børt. “Number Three here! Number Three calling Number Two. There’s a crisis on Drammensveien. Please summon more people!”

The answer he got made him go very pale indeed. “Oh. Yes ... I see. What happened ... it wasn’t our fault ... but we ...”

As he spoke to the other voice, his own sank and became dull and faint. “Got it,” he ended. “That was Number One!”

“Oh, Lord!” Bitten whispered:

“I didn’t finish pissing,” complained Lasse, who had joined them.

“Then do it here, for God’s sake,” snarled Børt. “Then dig out your revolver and the things you want to bring with you. Then we’ll stand behind the car and jump in when some randy idiot stops for Bitten.”

Børt supplied himself with various weapons, including a pistol (stolen from a policeman), a knuckleduster and a knife. Then they were ready. Bitten took up her position.

Nataniel’s car had almost reached the exit to Hønefoss at Sandvika when he exclaimed: “No, this is crazy. We can’t find Tova like this. They might have taken any side road. It would have been much better to wait for her at Fornebu. She may be standing there, wondering. We’ll go back!”

“Look at that motorbike,” shouted Ellen. “It’s turning and coming over here and they’re waving at us. Wow, Tova is sitting on the back!”

Nataniel drove onto the Rv60 and stopped. The motorbike followed immediately.

They all rushed out at the same time. Nataniel knew that they ought to be more careful, but Tova looked so thrilled. Her driver couldn’t be dangerous.

Even before the driver had put up his visor, Nataniel knew who it was. Heavens, how could they have forgotten Marco, Tova’s helper? Of course, Nataniel ought to have called him as soon as Tova disappeared. Anyway, Marco had clearly been on duty. And perhaps he could no longer pick up extrasensory signals?

There was no time for explanations.

“They’re after us,” Tova gasped. “Do you have my rucksack?”

“Yes, we’ve got everything.”

“Then we’re off,” said Marco. “Just follow me! And they’re not after us – yet!”

At this point Tova ought to have got into the car, but she didn’t. She had developed a liking for riding pillion.

Certainly with such a driver!

As they roared onto the Rv60, Tova began to regret her decision. This wasn’t exactly Drammensveien.

She pressed her cheek closer to Marco’s back. When they came to Rud, Marco chose the Bærumveien towards Oslo in order to get onto the Trondheimsveien. It would be stupid to continue to Hønefoss because that would be a long way around.

But the small roads were so bad that Marco signalled to stop, which they did by the roadside.

“I think Tova would prefer to sit in the car now,” Marco told the others, smiling.

Which Tova couldn’t deny.

They continued their journey.

“Phew,” moaned Tova, “Have I been sitting in a cement mixer?

She looked happy.

“Now you must tell us what happened,” said Nataniel encouragingly.

And Tova did so.

“So there are thirteen of them,” said Nataniel pensively. “Did you hear that, Ellen? Exactly the same as a witches’ coven in England.”

“These men didn’t seem to have anything to do with witches’ covens,” said Tova matter-of-factly. “They didn’t have enough between the ears to figure that out. They were coarse tools. Well, perhaps Børt, who’s Number Three, might put together a coherent thought from time to time. But not the others. Lasse was absolutely daft.”

“But they never mentioned Number One’s name?”

“No. They seemed terrified of him. And almost as terrified of Number One’s superior – who can only be Tengel the Evil. I’d swear to that!”

“So would I,” said Nataniel with clenched teeth. “Didn’t Dorothy Sayers write a detective story about thirteen people called Number One, Number Two, and so on?”

“Yes,” said Ellen. “They probably got the idea from the book. They weren’t allowed to use names either, only numbers. That was one of the points about the intrigue – that you had to guess who they were.”

“Well we have three first names already,” said Nataniel. “Well done, Tova! You’re cleverer than we realized. Imagine getting them out of the car like that!”

They all laughed. Being able to laugh was wonderful. They needed it.

Number One had been in touch with his right-hand man, Number Two:

“I’ve been told that they’ll be travelling northwards,” said the strained voice that Number Two feared. “Get in touch with the subordinate members out in the country. His Grace gives me ongoing reports about the movements of the five. Give orders that they are to be stopped by any means possible! His Grace is only interested in what they are carrying with them. Give orders that their belongings must be taken from them and destroyed!”

“The five themselves, Number One? Did His Highness mention anything about that?”

But the connection was broken. Number One didn’t want to talk about anything he didn’t know the answer to. Number Two wetted his dry lips. He always felt dry in the mouth when he spoke to Number One. What was it about that chap that always frightened you so dreadfully?

He sat down by the telephone and began to ring all his contacts in the eastern parts of Norway.

He had no idea what route the five men had taken.

Why five? When they were only four? What did Number One mean when he talked about five? Number Two noticed that his hands, which held the list of names, were shaking uncontrollably.

“There, now we’re on Trondheimsveien,” said Nataniel.

Gabriel said humbly: “Perhaps I’m being a bit stupid, but couldn’t we have flown instead now that the bomb has been removed?”

“I thought the same,” replied Nataniel. “But I think we’re doing the right thing. You can be absolutely sure that other members of the gang were keeping Fornebu Airport under surveillance. If we had gone on board, somebody would have followed us. Besides, we were a bit too quick sending Tova out to look for Rikard. That’s where we underestimated our enemies.”

“This way will take longer,” said Ellen.

“Yes, and we’re less protected. Open to attack.”

“I hope they didn’t see where we were driving to?”

“Let’s hope they didn’t. We haven’t had any cars pursuing us.”

Tova didn’t have time to talk. She was staring, fascinated, at the dark motorcyclist in front of them and she was scared stiff that they would lose him. Therefore, she took it upon herself to see to it that they kept pace, which wasn’t so difficult. Trondheimsveien was pretty straightforward, and there wasn’t very much traffic.

They couldn’t drive forever. They would soon need a break. The car and the motorbike needed petrol, the humans needed food and going to the toilet was a necessity on long journeys.

They found a café that didn’t appear too scruffy. They parked the car and the bike strategically so that they could keep an eye on them but they were not within sight of the road. They had learnt their lesson now.

They sat around a rather dirty table on chairs made of steel tubing, which Ellen abhorred. She thought the steel tubing made the place look unpleasantly cold and besides, when she was wearing nylon stockings, she would feel a slight electric shock.

Nevertheless, she enjoyed the moment immensely. She could be with Nataniel, and she very much liked the others. She and Tova had become friends ages ago, after a time when Tova had treated her with aggressive suspicion.

Tova was also very happy. Marco was with them and he was daring to be seen out among human beings. His leather jacket was excellent camouflage, and he had kept his helmet on to hide his very black hair and as much as possible of his face. It was evident beyond any doubt that he wasn’t entirely earthly. No mortal man could be so incredibly handsome, have such exquisitely pure features and such radiant eyes. He spoke to the others as if they were his best friends and he laughed and joked just like everyone else.

Could life be more perfect?

A shy, middle-aged woman wearing worn clothes walked up to their table. She apologised and asked whether one of them had a 50 øre coin (probably for the toilet). She held out two 25 øre coins in her worn hand. They immediately rummaged in their pockets and she was offered three 50 øre coins at the same time. She was overwhelmed and chose Nataniel’s. She dared only a quick glance at Marco. She gasped and then walked away.

They felt like boy scouts after having done their good deed of the day.

In the café, they hadn’t said a word about the purpose of their journey. Caution, caution: this was their most important mantra now. When they left the café and walked out into the beautiful but icy-cold May day, they made absolutely sure that nobody was nearby. Then Nataniel said: “What do you suggest, Marco? Should we continue as before, as far as our fuel will take us?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“It would be better if you came in the car with us,” Ellen said to Marco, and Tova loved her for saying so. “But you don’t want to leave the motorbike, do you?”

Marco thought for a moment, and Tova had time to admire his jet-black eyelashes shining in the sun.

“I think it would be advantageous if we split up,” he said. “If it wasn’t so tough for Tova, she probably ought to come with me.”

“It’snotthattough,” she said, so quickly that it sounded like gibberish.

Marco gave her a smile: “In the long run it will be. This road isn’t one of the worst, but there will be plenty of bad stretches later on. Roadworks are a part of life in Norway, and slippery gravel roads are something you really feel when you sit on the back of a motorbike. Both in aching muscles and elsewhere.”

Yes, and I already feel sore here and there, Tova thought. With a sigh, she resigned herself and walked back to the car with the others.

Marco came to a sudden halt.

The others looked at him in amazement.

“Nataniel ... did you have that spot on your bonnet before?”

The car was white, in the medium price range, because Nataniel wasn’t well off. His teaching job at the university didn’t earn him millions.

Despite the light colour, Tova could hardly make out the small spot. It looked as if an oily finger had brushed over the paintwork right on the edge of the car bonnet.

“No, I don’t know,” replied Nataniel, confused. “But I cleaned the car before I picked up Ellen this morning so there ought not to be any spots ...”

They approached cautiously. Marco held out his hand behind him towards the three youngest. “You stay here. Go behind the corner of the building, for safety’s sake.”

“But we kept an eye on the car all the time,” Gabriel protested. The others didn’t reply because they were already walking away. Tova looked carefully around the corner. She saw them inspecting the spot carefully. After that, they very carefully coaxed open the bonnet of the car.

“What do you think?” Tova whispered. She had absolutely no idea why she was whispering. “Nobody has been by the car!”

However, it was clear that they had found something there. They instinctively stepped back after peering down into the engine. After some fiddling around, Marco carefully picked up something that looked like tubes.

“Oh, no!” Ellen recognized it. “A bomb here as well!”

Gabriel breathed out. He had held his breath for far too long. For a second, he longed to be at home with Mum and Peik, but it wouldn’t be right to give up now. He had a task, and he wanted to carry it through, no matter what!

There was a petrol station nearby, and Nataniel went there with the dynamite rods. The others waited for him to come back.

“They said they would call the police,” he said. “I explained as much as I could, but we haven’t got time to wait. We need to go immediately.”

Tova was livid. “Who can have done this? We were careful all the time.”

“Were we?” Marco said. “What about changing that money?”

“You’re not telling me that that ordinary, nondescript woman ...? Oh, come on. She looked so innocent ...”

“I’ll see where she is,” said Nataniel, and went back into the café. “Nobody at the petrol station had seen anybody by the car,” he added over his shoulder, “but they can’t really see it from there.”

They were dumbfounded. They just stood there until Nataniel came back. He said briefly: “The woman left a while ago. Nobody had served her, they couldn’t even remember her.”

“So she just walked in?” Ellen said doubtfully. “And then left again? But she was so ordinary!”

"She may have been sent in by someone else, she seemed naive enough. And we didn’t see where she went. The toilets and the phone are both in the foyer; she could have just walked past them.”

Ellen said thoughtfully: “You’re right that we were far too preoccupied finding that cash, so we didn’t keep an eye on the car. But is it really possible to set up something like that in such a short while?”

“They did a very primitive job of it,” Marco replied. “But it was efficient. Anyway, I think we should spread ourselves a bit. Perhaps Gabriel will ride pillion on my motorbike?”

Gabriel and Tova both replied at the same time: “Well, yes, of course!” and “No, why?” the first one radiantly happy and the other one deeply disappointed.

“Oh, oh,” Marco said, concerned. “I didn’t think. Well then, all of you go in the car and I’ll stay close behind you so that you can see me.”

Gabriel and Tova went along with this reluctantly. Both were sensitive enough to understand that no matter who was allowed to ride with Marco, the other one would be hurt. And if they insisted, they might hurt Nataniel’s feelings.

Sometimes, the Ice People were a bit too considerate.

Ellen continued where she had left off: “Anyway, I still don’t understand. Nobody was following us on the road. How could they have found us here?”

Nataniel and Marco looked at one another.

“I don’t think you’ve grasped the seriousness of the incident,” said Nataniel. “The fact that they found us here can mean only one thing.”

“What?”

It was Marco who replied: “That Tengel the Evil is out. He’s the only one who could follow our journey like that. He’s the only one who can recruit helpers everywhere. He finds them among people who have some kind of weakness in their character – or, even worse – are outright criminals.”

“But that middle-aged woman didn’t look like a criminal, did she?”

“No, I suppose she was merely a tool of somebody else’s will.”

Gabriel had suddenly turned rather pale. “Is Tengel the Evil out in the open? Already? Oh, God, please help us!”