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Thursday, February 19, 2015

182

Bjorn felt strangely pleased with himself for having registered his complaint with the Blacklist. He was not alone in finding it intolerable that the website did not allow him to remove his profile, and having registered his complaint together with the three other disgruntled users, he had at least made it clear that he too was less than pleased with the way the site was hogging his data. He still felt irritated that his profile could not be erased, but his anger was gone. It was not like the site had an awful lot of information on him, and apart from the villagers and a few desperate individuals from places like Libya and the Middle East, no one was taking the site seriously anyway.

Bjorn poured himself a final cup of coffee from his thermos. Then, looking out over the fjord, he noticed the barge that had entered the port earlier, maneuvering out towards the center of the bay, filled with a cargo of containers. On studying the containers more closely with his binoculars, he saw that they were accommodation units, similar to the ones next to Ane's fish processing plants. And indeed, pretty much identical to those used as barracks at the checkpoint.

Bjorn sipped his coffee while following the barge on its way to its destination. For a while, it looked like it was heading for the village, but then, as it came closer, it made another turn and headed towards the airport. And just as the barge disappeared from view, another barge appeared, heading out from the port. This one filled with rocks and boulders. "It must have come in on someone else's watch," Bjorn thought as he looked closer to see if the rocks were iron ore, or simply building material.

The rocks carried by the second barge were pale grey, and clearly not iron ore, so Bjorn concluded that it must be intended for some building project, possibly related to the living units that he had just seen. He put down his binoculars and finished his coffee, idly following the barge on its way. And to Bjorn's satisfaction, the second barge followed the exact same path as the first one. They were related, in other words, just like he had thought. "They must be doing some last minute work in preparation for the influx of asylum seekers," Bjorn concluded.

The second barge disappeared behind the hill between him and the airport, and for a while, there was virtually nothing to occupy his mind. The coastguard vessel out to the north east was laying still in the water. The cranes to the north west were hardly moving, and even the luxury apartments down by the water seemed almost lifeless, with very little work being done outside.

Bjorn grabbed his pack of cigarettes, and was about to step outside when a small truck that he had idly been following as it headed towards the port, slowed down by the intersection with the Neiden road. The truck took a right turn, and sped up again as it started its climb towards the checkpoint.

Bjorn put the pack of cigarettes back in his pocket, and looking briefly at his PC to see if he was still logged in with the Department of Justice, he closed the tab connected to the Blacklist, not bothering to log out. A few minutes later, the truck appeared from behind the hill to the north east, after having been out of sight for a while. Then it completed its climb up the winding road before coming to a complete stop next to the glass cage.

The driver was a strong man with a crew cut, and next to him sat two men, just as strong as him but with a less disciplined look.

"We're here with the signs that Frank ordered," the driver said, before Bjorn had time to ask for the men's passports.
"Signs?" Bjorn asked, confused.
"Yep. Frank placed an order for some stuff this morning, and we're here to deliver it."
"Is that so?" Bjorn asked, still a little confused. "Wait a minute, I'll call Frank."
"Sure, you go ahead."

Bjorn called Frank, and got him immediately on the other end of the line.

"There's a guy here with some signs he's delivering," Bjorn explained. "Something you ordered this morning, he says."
"Oh! Already?" Frank replied. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I thought they wouldn't be here before Geir had taken your place. Just let him in, will you?"
"Okay... He has two guys with him. Is that still all right?"
"Sure! They're putting up the signs. He'll need help to do that. You let them in. Tell them to drive up to the barracks, and I'll meet them there."
"Okay."

Bjorn put down the phone.

"That seems to be in order," Bjorn said to the driver. "Frank will meet you at the back of the barracks." Then, he opened the gate, letting the truck pass.

A little later, Geir appeared from behind the barracks, all smiles, wearing his bomber jacket and pilot sunglasses. Bjorn checked his watch, and was surprised to see that it was indeed time to call it a day.

"So, who was that guy I just let in?" Bjorn asked as Geir entered the glass cage.
"That was Gus, the owner of the gun store down in the village," Geir explained.
"Really?" Bjorn said in amazement.
"It's not as crazy as it sounds," Geir continued. "He is good with these kind of things. He does it cheaply and quickly. And Frank figures that we can influence him to our advantage if we promise him some business from time to time. Pretty smart, huh?"

Bjorn was not convinced, but nodded nevertheless. Then he handed the automatic pistol over to Geir.

"And let me use your PC, will you?" Geir insisted, as Bjorn was about to unplug it.
"No! It's mine," Bjorn retorted, pulling the cord from its socket.
"But mine is a stationary. I can't very well bring that one out here. And Frank suggested I use yours."
"He did, did he?" Bjorn asked, still very reluctant to hand his PC over to Geir.
"Yeah, he did."
Bjorn looked at his PC, then back at Geir. "Okay. If that is so, I'll let you use it. But only this once."

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