Joe sat on the plane to Sweden, with Mary to his side who was writing on her laptop. Outside the window, clouds floated by, like a landscape of rolling white hills and mountains, the rivers made up of occasional abysses towards the earth. Joe felt wholly serene as he traversed this wonderland, wishing that he could be a bird to float free amongst these clouds. The cabin crew announced in Swedish and English that they would shortly be making their descent into Stockholm. Sure enough, within 10 minutes, the iconic islands below came into view, like some giant shattered jigsaw puzzle.
“We will be taking a car directly from the airport to Ankarvattnett, where we have a b&b with a view of the lakes,” Mary repeated to Joe. “Tomorrow, we will take a car to the caves, where we will be trained in the use of the equipment. The day after, Wednesday, we will go into the caves just you and I, as I already have the permit. You and I are a couple, deeply in Love, and also keen fans of cave exploration”. She raised her eyebrows at Joe. “Any problems?”
“Nope, how realistic do you want our love to be though?” as he lent in for a faux kiss.
“None of that thank you, I’m a Christian lady thank you very much, waiting for marriage” Joe groaned dramatically and then turned serious. “What are our chances of even making it to the shaft and descending, do you think?”
“Aha, pretty much zero, somewhat a fools errand I’d say but this is one of the perks of the job, exploring and all that. Investigative journalism is dangerous, yes, but it offers one hell of a rush”.
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“And if we make it down the shaft, what’s your plan, take some photographs, unearth a dossier of damning evidence, what?”
“Aha what will come, will come, I hope more to interview the workers there if we can find them. I’ve been noticed to loosen some lips from time to time” she said, batting her eyelashes.
“Mhmm, you must have your ways I suppose”.
Soon they were sitting in the car, racing along the winding roads as rivers, lakes and ferries flashed past. Joe settled down for a nap whilst Mary brought out her laptop to continue whatever she was doing. It was a 10 hour drive after all, so they had plenty of time to spare. Joe reflected on his questions to Mary earlier. What would he do if he actually found evidence of foul play in regards to his dad’s death? If it was a murder, would he go to the authorities, or would he somehow take the law into his own hands. He thought about how he had lifted the sofa easily with one hand, and his surprising dexterity even on the brink of death. I really need to learn how to fight. He considered that his days of rugby brawling weren’t exactly sufficient for taking down a multinational company, especially one that had been complicit, allegedly, in many murders already. He noticed, even as he thought of the dangers, he felt somewhat relaxed, the inner fire in his stomach giving him strength.
Looking inside and sensing the ‘fire’, Joe noticed that it had grown much stronger since he had ingested the amphora’s liquid, and was curious to see what he could do with it. He tried to access any information in the memories he had been given, but there was no clue. ‘Zilch eh? Figures. I feel like that Augustus knew even less than I did, pillsmith my arse!’ For the rest of the journey he decided to visit the memory of talking to Augustus to see if he could garner any clues.