Meltwater (Fire and Ice)

close to a peace
accord?’
    Magnus nodded.
    ‘Well, there are some concessions in there from the Israelis about halting settlement on the West Bank. Some on the Israeli right wing think that those concessions go too far. If the video
is released, the peace process is screwed, and Jews can continue to settle the West Bank.’
    ‘You guys don’t make things simple,’ said Magnus.
    Bryant smiled. ‘Welcome to my world.’
    ‘So is there any chance that Mossad is behind Nico Andreose’s death?’
    ‘You tell me. Mossad are pros. Was the guy who killed Andreose a pro?’
    Magnus thought of the botched attack on the volcano. The failure to kill Erika again the day before. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Not professionals. We’re dealing with an amateur
here. What about the Italians? You are saying it is more than just the minister Tretto involved?’
    ‘Oh, yes. It’s one of the Italian mafia organizations. Not as professional as Mossad, of course, but still professionals.’
    That still didn’t quite fit. ‘Thank you, Tom,’ said Magnus. ‘Now, can you give me a lift back to my car?’
    ‘Can you tell me when Freeflow is going to publish the video?’
    ‘No,’ said Magnus.
    ‘Why not?’ said Bryant, his voice edged with anger.
    ‘They don’t know themselves. Whenever the volcano lets them, I guess.’
    ‘They are planning a press conference?’
    Magnus shrugged. ‘I think this conversation is over now. Thanks for your help.’
    They drove back to Magnus’s car in silence. Bryant paused at the bottom of Thórsgata to let Magnus out. ‘Remember what I said. About the video. You may want to tell
Freeflow.’
    ‘I’ll think about it,’ said Magnus.
    Erika, Dieter and Apex were online in the chat room. She was ten feet away from Dieter and many thousands of miles away from Apex.
    Erika began to type: did dieter tell you about asta?
    She found it very hard to type that last word. She stared at the line she had just written and was overwhelmed by a desire to burst into tears. She tried to press Send but she just
couldn’t.
    She pushed her chair back from the desk and hurried over to the window. She stared out at the house’s scrappy yard, her back to the others, and took some deep breaths.
    She was finding it really difficult to hold it together. She was used to high-pressure situations, to high stakes; she thrived on them. Freeflow had received all sorts of threats over the years
and she had never backed down. Never.
    But this time . . .
    She had been able to handle the murder of her lover. It had been hard, but she had dealt with it. But then there was the attack on herself. And the discovery that Nico had betrayed her all
along. And finally the death of Ásta.
    Ásta was innocent. She reminded Erika of a more innocent version of herself. Ásta hadn’t deserved to die.
    Erika’s credo was that however much pressure Freeflow came under, they would always publish.
    Now she wasn’t so sure.
    She felt a touch on her shoulder. She wanted to shrug it off, but she took one last deep breath and turned.
    It was Dieter. ‘Are you OK, Erika?’
    His face was full of concern. Of tenderness. Dieter was always there for her, for Freeflow. He would do anything for the cause, her cause.
    She couldn’t let him down. Not now. Couldn’t show weakness.
    She took another breath. Somehow, miraculously, she had been able to hold back the tears. ‘Yes. Yes, Dieter, of course I am.’
    She pushed past him and back to her desk, sending her last message on its way as she sat down. She only waited a few seconds for a response.
    Apex: yes. presumably the police haven’t found who killed her.
    Erika: the police are useless. they asked whether she might have submitted her own leak in the last couple of days. anyone seen anything?
    Apex: i checked the new stuff last night. yet another fraternity handbook. cornell. and something about waste dumping in the amazon in peru.
    Erika: none of that sounds like asta.
    Apex: what are we going to do?
    Erika: what do you think we should do?
    Apex: i think you should get the hell out of iceland.
    Dieter: we can’t. the volcano.
    Apex: you could fly west. to america. get the hell out of there.
    Erika: if we leave now, these people will have died for nothing.
    Apex: if you don’t leave you will die for nothing.
    Erika stared at her screen. Apex had a point. But so had she. She wished she could get out of the damn house, go for a run or something, get some perspective.
    Erika: let’s