men checked their weapons and prepared their night vision goggles.
As with the Nazi SS, to be a member of Wagner, recruits not only had to have been tops in their previous military units, but they also had to have “pure” Russian blood. They had to have demonstrated obedience and an absolute commitment to Russia, the Russian President, and the Russian people.
The Wagner motto was identical to that of the SS: My honor is loyalty. Teplov led the men in a recital of their oath. “We swear to you, O Russia, fidelity and bravery. We solemnly pledge obedience to the death to you, and to those named as our leaders.”
Inside the helicopter, the men exploded in the Russian battle cry, popular since the days of the Imperial Russian Army, “Ura! Ura! Ura!”
If Harvath was down there, Teplov had no doubt that his fired-up, highly disciplined, and highly experienced men would find him.
CHAPTER 48
* * *
* * *
Harvath hadn’t been asleep that long when he heard the helicopter pass. Instantly, he shot straight up in bed.
Sini, who was sitting nearby and watching her patient, had heard it, too.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Bad news,” replied Harvath. “Very bad news.”
The letter from Christina had explained that he was in trouble, but that it wasn’t his fault and that he could be trusted. Her only request had been for Sini to see to his injuries and to keep him safe until she could get there.
The Sámi woman saw Harvath eyeing the shotgun. This time she didn’t argue with him. Walking over to the door, she picked it up and carefully brought it to him.
“What else do you need?”
“A rag,” he replied. “And some oil if you have it.”
Sini hunted the items down and carried them over to Harvath. She watched as he unloaded the weapon and expertly took it apart, examining each piece, rubbing some with the cloth, and applying small drops of oil where necessary.
Then, as quickly as he had broken the shotgun down, he reassembled it, loaded the rounds, and racked one into the chamber.
His confidence with the weapon spoke to a certain level of expertise. The injuries to his body, as well as his detached demeanor, suggested to her a man all too familiar with violence. His concern over the helicopter suggested he was being pursued by the state.
“That helicopter is looking for you,” she said. “Isn’t it?”
Harvath nodded.
“And you think they will come here?”
“I know they will.”
“Why?” she asked. “What happened?”
“I don’t have time to explain. How far are we from Friddja?”
“You think that is where the helicopter is going?”
It had to be. There was no other reason he could think of for it to be out here.
But, if it was heading for Friddja, that could only mean one thing—Christina had given him up. There was no way they could have tracked him through the snow. Any trail he left was quickly covered over. It had to have been Christina.
Though he barely knew her, he doubted she had given him up willingly. The soldiers from Wagner had proven their brutality outside the bar in Nivsky. It wasn’t a stretch to believe they would have beaten Christina as well if they thought she had information they needed.
“The men in that helicopter are mercenaries. They beat a man back in town unconscious because he refused to give them his vehicle. If they are headed to Friddja, it’s because they figured out Christina was helping me and they forced her to talk. When they get there, and can’t find me, they’re going to come here. We need to get moving. Now, how far away is Friddja?”
“Poronkusema,” she replied. “One poronkusema.”
“I don’t know that word,” he said, as he removed the poultices and began pulling his clothes on.
“In this area, we herd reindeer. Reindeer can’t walk and urinate at the same time. They have to stop. A poronkusema is the average distance between stops,” said Sini as she tried to come up with an equivalent he would understand. “Somewhere between nine and ten kilometers. We’ll say nine and a half.”
It was way too close. “Who knows you’re here?”
“My husband, of course. Why?”
“Who else?”
“No one. Just him.”
“What did you tell him?” he asked.
“I didn’t tell him anything,” she said. “Jompá, one of the brothers who rescued you, put together a new dog team and came to get me. When he arrived, he showed me the letter they had found in your pocket.
“He told us the story of how they had found you in the snow. He