The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ? Just had to take them somewhere interesting that I know nothing about. You'll never guess, but I've been researching Iceland.
"Bring it on !" said Aneisha.
Tom looked slightly nervous. "OK. That's good," he said uncertainly.
"It's for the team Tom," said Aneisha.
"I know. I want them back too," said Tom defensively. "It'll be fine," he said. He seemed to be trying to convince himself, rather than Frank and Aneisha.
Tom, Aneisha and Frank were sitting in a military aeroplane heading for Iceland. Tom was playing on his games console. Aneisha was reading a magazine. Frank was reading a book about Iceland. "Oh, this is interesting," he said. "Did you know that the word geyser in English comes from a geyser in Iceland called Geysir ?" He looked round at the others smiling with delight. Tom grunted but didn't look up from his console.
Aneisha looked at him and said, "Does it say anything about criminal masterminds ?"
"Well, no, but ..." Frank tailed off. Looking hurt he returned to his reading. Aneisha smiled slightly and carried on with her magazine. Frank was a bit like Zoe in his enthusiasms. She was interested in everything. Aneisha missed her.
Tom kept getting killed off in Level 2. This was pathetic. The trouble was, he was too distracted. He thought that Aneisha was right. She always read people's motivations so well. KORPS probably only wanted Zoe and Dan was just there to keep her in line. He didn't envy Dan one little bit today. Tom knew he had the edge on the technology, but it was usually Dan who came up with the plan. He hoped they were alright.
Frank cut into their thoughts. "We're nearly there. Keep strapped in. We'll be landing on an unpaved airstrip out in a remote part of the island. We didn't want to land at Keflavik Airport in case it drew any attention. As soon as he finished speaking they felt the plane start its descent. It dropped quite steeply and Tom had to hold his nose and swallow repeatedly to stop his ears popping.
They stepped out of the plane onto a windswept plain. The ground was packed down hard black gravel with little tufts of grass growing in spots through it. There were no trees. Tom looked around, staggered at how alien it looked. It looked like a set from a Doctor Who episode called "Desolate Planet" of something like that.
Frank called to them to help with their equipment. They put down their own bags and went back to help Frank with the bags and boxes filled with their gear. One of the air crew came out to help and soon there was a small mound of bags and boxes sitting on the ground next to the plane. The airman shook hands with Frank and closed the door behind him. The plane taxied away and took off within minutes.
When the noise of the plane's departure had diminished, Frank and the others looked around them. "Someone should be meeting us here," said Frank. There was one galvanised metal shed at the edge of the field, but there was no sign of life there. Frank pulled out his phone. Aneisha and Tom started pulling extra layers out of their bags and putting them on. The wind was bitingly cold. "Yes, yes we're waiting. OK. See you soon. Bye," said Frank. "They went to the wrong airfield," said Frank. "They think we went to the wrong airfield," he added, shrugging his shoulders.
Finally they saw a minivan coming over the horizon, heading in their direction. It pulled up beside their mound of luggage and a bearded man got out. "Frank London ?" he asked. Frank nodded. "Harald Haraldson," said the man, shaking hands with Frank. "OK, we put your stuff inside," said Harald. He eyed up the pile of stuff and looked doubtfully at his van. It took them nearly fifteen minutes to load all of the gear into the van. By the time they'd finished, the three of them had to squeeze into the remaining front seats. Aneisha hoped they didn't stop suddenly or they would all be killed by the avalanche of metal boxes and holdalls.
The road was unmade and rough and the ride was not smooth. Tom wasn't accustomed to this side of spy life and he was feeling tired and rather queasy. It took an hour to reach their destination once they reached the main road which circled the island. Harald dropped them off at a wooden cabin on the shore of a sea inlet on the west of the island. "Sorry we had to take the long route," he said. "A lava flow has cut through the short road. It will take a while to be fixed. No point when there is more lava coming."
A wiry, older bearded man came out of the cabin and spoke to Harald in Icelandic. He introduced himself in broken English to Frank and the others as Olafur. The five of them loaded their equipment into the cabin. Harald said goodbye and set off in his van. Tom and Frank started setting up their equipment. Aneisha contact HQ to report that they had arrived. She was put through to Stella who asked to speak to to them all on speaker. Tom connected her phone to the speakers.
"Team, we've got some information for you. Aneisha tells me you've met Olafur ? Olafur was asked to help us by his government. He is a local fisherman but he has also served in a Norwegian special commando unit. We need his local knowledge and skills to get you to your destination. We think we have located the secret KORPS base on the islands. We used satellite imaging to find a strange construction on one of the supposedly uninhabited islands in the Vestmannaeyjar Islands. The Icelandic government were unaware of it. If you have set up your satellite link, we will send you what information we have," said Stella. Tom dashed outside with a satellite dish. Olafur went out to help him.
"Any news on the boat with Zoe and Dan ?" asked Aneisha.
"No change," said Stella. "Still heading towards Iceland. We estimate it will arrive around 8pm tonight GMT."
"What time is it in Iceland ?" asked Aneisha.
"It's the same," said Stella. Aneisha was surprised.
Tom returned to say the satellite connection was ready. Screens of information started to pour across his laptop. Stella wished them luck and closed the call. The three agents looked at one another. Frank spoke to Olafur. "Could we set out this evening Olafur ? I'm worried that there won't be a lot of time to recover our agents once they arrive in Iceland," he asked the older man.
Olafur nodded. "I will have the boat ready for you," he said. "You make yourselves ready." Frank thanked him. Olafur then offered to make them a meal which they gratefully accepted.
Frank, Aneisha and Tom started working through the information which Stella had sent them. The satellite images were the most interesting. They showed a small complex of buildings huddled together on the western side of a small island. Frank called Olafur over to look and asked if he knew where this island was. He opened up a chart of the small islands and they found the coordinates for him. He pointed to a small island of the same shape on his map. "Here," he said, marking the map with a cross. "There is nothing on this island," he added.
Tom compared it with the satellite image. "Well there is now !" he said. He paused as something occurred to him. "Frank ?" he asked. "How are we going to get there ?"
"Well, we can only get there by boat," said Frank. "Why ?"
"It's just that, I get really sea-sick," admitted Tom.
"Don't worry. I brought some motion-sickness tablets," assured Frank. "You'll be fine Tom."
Later that day, after a meal consisting mainly of fish, with pickled cabbage and potatoes they set out in Olafur's boat. It looked like an ordinary fishing boat, but was surprisingly fast. It was still light and since it was nearly mid-summer, would not get properly dark, even at midnight. Tom had brought what equipment he thought he could carry. He was feeling guilty because he'd never worried about the weight of equipment he loaded the rest of the team with when they headed out on field work. Maybe in future, he should ask them first. Frank had handed out sea-sickness tablets to Aneisha and Tom and took some himself. He said there was no point in them getting ill before they got there. It turned out to be a good call, because the sea was quite heavy and the boat bounced and rolled all the way to the island.
Frank kept lookout with his binoculars as they neared the island. Olafur slowed the boat as they motored round the island coast. Frank raised his hand and Olafur slowed the engines until the boat came to a near standstill. The others pulled out binoculars to get a view. A large boat was docking at a jetty projecting into the sea. Frank motioned Olafur to move closer to the island shore, which he did. "Can we get ashore here Olafur ?" Frank asked. The older man surveyed the shore and pointed to a small inlet. "That'll do. Thanks," said Frank. As the boat pulled in, Frank jumped ashore and Olafur tossed him a rope. Frank found a projecting rock to tie the boat to. Then they secured the back of the boat in the same way. Aneisha tossed Frank his backpack. Then she and Tom put on theirs and clambered out of the boat with Frank's help. The three scrambled up the shore a little way until they had a clearer view of the docked boat. Lying flat and holding their binoculars, they had a fairly clear view of the activity on the jetty. Steps were lowered from the boat to the jetty and people started to disembark. Then some equipment started to be unloaded and various supplies. Finally, all three took deep breaths as they watched a familiar red-head and blond being led down the steps to the shore. Zoe walked with her head bowed and appeared to be holding Dan's arm. Then they disappeared from view.
"Right, we need to get moving," said Frank. "I don't think we have much time."