Delaney leaned back in the leather chair. ‘We’re not going to have to worry about Somali pirates.’
Pallisder turned his head to look at him, then looked at Uli. Petrov smiled indulgently and looked to Delaney.
‘Don’t tell me you’re planning on taking on all the pirates along that coastline as well,’ Pallisder laughed, looking at each man in turn.
Delaney smiled at him and shook his head. ‘We’re not going that way.’
Pallisder sat down and leaned forward on the boardroom table. ‘Go on.’
Delaney stood up and began pacing the room. ‘A couple of years ago, two German-flagged ships went through the Arctic North-West Passage. They left South Korea, travelled north, then headed west through the Arctic ice.’
‘That’s impossible!’
Delaney smiled. ‘It was once.’
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Pallisder. ‘They did that trip in the Arctic summer. There’s no way you’re getting through there now.’
Delaney folded his arms. ‘Thanks to a little-known phenomenon called global warming,’ he smiled, acknowledging the ripple of laughter round the room, ‘it’s now possible to navigate the route most of the year.’
He nodded towards Uli. ‘We have a Russian icebreaker leading the way and we’ve ensured the crew are experienced on that route.’
Chapter 34
Near Uffington, Oxfordshire, England
Dan walked up the ice-covered garden path and banged on the front door. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and stamped his feet, then turned round to take in the sprawling view opposite the house while he waited.
He grimaced. A yellowing grey sky hung over the hillside, meaning another imminent snow storm was due for the Thames Valley. He spun round as the door opened, the warmth from inside rushing by his legs.
Harry grinned out at him. ‘Acclimatised yet?’
Dan shook his head and smiled. ‘No – let me in before I get hypothermia.’ He walked up the step and hung his jacket on the stair banister as Harry shut the door behind him.
‘What did you find out then?’ asked Harry.
Dan explained. ‘And we just can’t work out what he’s trying to do with the stuff – or where it’s going,’ he concluded.
Harry headed off down the hallway and pushed open a door which led through to a small dining room. Dan stood to one side while Harry cleared the dining table, sweeping crosswords and a half-finished jigsaw puzzle to one side.
‘Retirement games,’ he shrugged, and held out his hands for the documents in Dan’s hand. ‘Let’s see what you’ve come up with.’
Dan handed over the updated notes and watched as Harry carefully laid them out on the table, side by side. Once complete, the documents covered the surface. Harry bent over each one, his finger thoughtfully tapping his chin. Dan wandered over to the window and stared down the country lane, letting his mind drift as he looked at the scenery. He heard Harry murmur behind him and turned.
‘Sorry, what?’
Harry was grinning at him. ‘Fuel cells.’
Dan walked back to the table and stared at the documents. ‘Say again?’
‘Fuel cells. That’s what he’s up to.’
Dan glanced at Harry. ‘Are you sure? How did you work that out?’
Harry picked up Peter’s lecture notes and held them up to Dan.
‘Right from the start, Peter has been telling us ‘white gold’, ‘alternative energy’, right? We just looked in the wrong place. We’ve been looking for something big. That’s where we went wrong.’
Harry put down the lecture notes and turned to the financial documents. ‘Delaney and his group have been buying up gold mines – but if you look closer, they’ve been buying up interests in all mines which produce platinum group metals – gold, platinum and the rest.’
He put the documents down and turned to Dan. ‘We’ve gathered Delaney’s a maniac, and will do anything to protect his real interest – coal, of which he has a lot.’
Harry turned Dan towards the window and pointed. On the far horizon, the cooling towers of Didcot power station could be seen through the grey afternoon haze. ‘We also know, despite everything that’s being said by the politicians, the UK is going to have to start decommissioning its old coal-fired power stations before too long just to keep our masters in Europe happy. We haven’t got anything to take their place Dan – none of the so-called ‘alternatives’ are ready – we haven’t got enough wind farms, no solar arrays and nobody wants a nuclear power station in their back yard.’
Harry turned back to the room and began to gather up the notes. ‘Do you know how close we’ve come to having no electricity the past three winters? We’ve had to buy in gas from Russia just to keep up with demand. And that’s when we do have the coal-burning power stations on line.’
Dan folded his arms across his chest. ‘So what do you think?’
Harry smiled and beckoned Dan to follow him. ‘Come on – living room. Let’s have a warming drink. I think I’ve earned it.’
Dan followed Harry to the next room and slumped into one of the armchairs next to the fire. The cat raised its head off its bed next to the hearth, opened one eye to glare at Dan, then went back to sleep.
Harry picked up a bottle and two crystal glasses from a side table, handed one of the glasses to Dan and filled both. He placed the bottle on the floor next to his own armchair and sat down.
‘Cheers,’ he said to Dan.