Part 32 (1/2)

Finally Ole speaks. I see. Well, thats good news. He leaves it at that.

There is a short pause in the conversation, and suddenly everyone who knows Ole realizes that he had no idea about Pauls offer to Gunnar. Ole doesnt confront Paul, allowing him to retain some dignity. Instead he says that he must hurry off. Maybe Gunnar guesses the truth as well. The joy is wiped from his face, but Paul keeps his cool. That was good. Now youve had a chance to say h.e.l.lo to our chairman as well. This office is always busy lots of unpredictable traffic. He leads the way back to his office. But you will find that out soon enough, once you get to know us all.

The men leave. Silence falls in the Winter Garden. Anne-Lise desperately wants to phone Henrik but the open door makes it impossible. Sometimes she wishes she could simply close the d.a.m.ned thing again, so that she could be herself for a few moments. No doubt theyd all complain if she did.

She cant concentrate on the Afghanistan reports. Instead she opens newly arrived boxes from the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague and starts sorting the doc.u.ments. She listens to the talk outside.

Iben is speaking: Gunnar wont have anything to do with the DCIG now. He wont want to be mixed up in Pauls games.

Malene doesnt seem to agree. I think h.e.l.l say yes to the board members.h.i.+p.

After a brief pause, she adds an explanation: I mean, they must be discussing it right now.

He wont do it!

For once maybe for the first time Anne-Lise hears Iben becoming more and more shrill. Her voice has risen to a near scream.

You cant think that about him!

Malene sounds different, controlled and rather patronizing. Iben, I dont know how long hes been waiting for a chance like this. You know he needs to get back in the running.

But not at the expense of someone else, and in such an underhanded way. Hes not like that!

You have to take into account that Gunnar has lived in Africa, where corruption is the order of the day.

So what? Ive lived in Africa too.

At this point they fall silent. This is their first open disagreement. It seems to have materialized out of nowhere. Maybe an outsider wouldnt see how furious they are with each other, but for Anne-Lise their fight is a revelation. Shes gratified to see them finally direct their meanness at each other.

Somewhere in pa.s.sing Malene manages to stick in a reference to her illness. Iben does not respond.

A little later, Malenes inquiry is almost gentle. You know so much about him? Must be magic. I mean, you only spoke to him once, right? At Sophies?

Iben has regained control and now sounds self-a.s.sured. We did have a very good talk that evening. Absolutely. Like Rasmus says, some of the best conversations are with people you meet only once.

Malene deflates a little. I see. Now you have to drag Rasmus into this.

Why, shouldnt I?

After a few more minutes of this Iben decamps to the kitchen to cool down.

Anne-Lise stacks magazines on a shelf. She has a view of the Winter Garden from where she is standing.

Iben is back at her desk when at last the door to Pauls office opens. Gunnar steps out, and he isnt smiling. He walks quickly toward the front door and, as he opens it, turns around to face them all and politely says, Goodbye.

Had it not been for Anne-Lises feeling of exhaustion, his angry frown would have made her utterly delighted.

chapter 33.

Soon after the front door slams behind Gunnar, Paul comes out of his office.

Iben asks him at once: How did it go?

Oh, not so good. Such f.u.c.king bad luck that Ole turned up just then. Paul looks irritated. Well, anyway, lets see how it pans out. Christ, all were trying to do is save this Center. Thats all.

He backs into his office and is about to close the door behind him. I need to phone Ole.

They all exchange looks. So apparently Paul isnt feeling bad about anything or worried about how Ole will react. What does that mean in terms of the Centers future?

Anne-Lise looks around the Winter Garden, taking in every familiar and tedious detail: the decorous orderliness of the Post-it notes on Camillas desk, the little plastic troll perched on Malenes desk, the broken spring on Ibens lamp.

In a few months everything might be different.

Ole cant have answered his phone, because Paul joins them again a minute later. Hes holding a croissant, presumably left over from Gunnars visit, and settles into the spare chair next to Malenes desk.

Well, anyway, the show must go on. Listen to this. Yesterday I had lunch with a friend of mine. Hes friendly with someone on the Conservative Partys foreign policy working committee. Thats how I know that in two months time everyone whos anyone in Brussels will be debating the EUs relations.h.i.+p with Turkey, especially in the light of Turkeys repudiation of the Armenian genocide.

Does Paul intend to make them work as if nothing has happened?

Anne-Lise looks around. Arent the others finding Pauls manner hard to take as well? She sees that everyone is pretending that its all quite normal.

It follows that the Armenians will be on the agenda of the Danish Parliament. Both our own media and the EUs will be falling over each other to run the story. That is why we must be the source for all the most vital and up-to-date information on the subject. In print and on the Internet. In English as well as Danish.

He turns to Iben. This should be our top priority. Drop Chechnya for now. An issue packed with information on Turkey should be ready to go to the printers in a months time. We must present the best data, the best background briefings and interviews in Europe! When Paul is fired up about something, his enthusiasm is impressive.

Our Web site must offer the best set of links. When you get to work, keep thinking: Whats hidden in this region that no one else has thought of? Think history! We need to be ten times smarter than the press.

He relaxes for a moment. Over to you, Anne-Lise. Any books we should know about in order to write this up? Any magazines that have already featured the subject?

This is new. Neither Paul nor any of the others has ever turned to her in this way, she thinks. This is it. Ive waited a whole year and now its happened. At last theyre letting me in.

She starts to speak. Theres definitely Then she dries up.

Im sure She cant think of anything else to say.

The others glance knowingly at one another. Its totally infuriating. But its her own fault. She is the one who isnt behaving professionally.

Paul turns to Iben. Iben, do you have any ideas?

Of course she has. Iben smiles. There is no hint in her manner that only fifteen minutes ago Ole proved Paul to be deceitful.

If we approach the foreign freelance journalists, the guys on the spot, well get information well beyond our usual range. And there is no problem about compiling an overview of the responses from each of the larger EU states to genocides in Turkey and elsewhere.

Anne-Lise doesnt take in the rest of what she says, because she is preoccupied by the image of Iben running into the library, holding an empty bottle of rum and hiding it in the cupboard. It is beyond Anne-Lises understanding how this cool-headed, persuasive academic is the same as that manipulative, childish person.

Iben is reaching the end of her suggestions: would give our clients a better chance of informing themselves not only about the subject itself, but also about the basis for joint European decision making.