Mary’s office was a juxtaposition to the dinginess of the exterior, being light and airy. Plants arrayed her window sills, in an orderly fashion, acting as an audience to her desks position solidly planted in the middle of the room. Mary pointed to the chairs opposite the desk and then sat in her own green leather bound office chair. Opening one of the drawers to her right, she withdrew a thick folder with the words Red Rock scrawled across the front, slowly setting it down in front of her. “You should know” she began, “that whatever information I have, Red Rock knows I have. They just don’t care.” She opened the front of the folder and sighed. “Red Rock is only part of a much bigger beast, a small gear in some vast workings as it were”. She pulled out a sheet of paper and studied it for a moment.
“This is the location of Site F, Korallgrottans Naturreservat, just outside of the small town of Ankarvattnet. It’s how it sounds, and is with a natural reserve so Red Rock’s tentacles can only extend so far. There’s a waterfall nearby and the caves are prone to flooding. This is apparently the reason for the majority of the deaths there. Unexpected flooding, entrapment and then, well, you understand.” Joe and Darius looked at each other and shivered.
“Nasty way to go” Darius mused.
“Indeed. Now, why have Red Rock got away with having people die on their site so often? This is because it is in fact a nature reserve and those who descend into the depths do so at their own risk essentially. Of course, it is rumoured that Red Rock have created a man-made shaft deeper into the cave network but who knows? Each person who goes down under the banner of Red Rock has to sign an NDA so nothing really gets out. In fact that’s a prerequisite for working for them.” Mart pulled out another sheaf of paper and passed it to the brothers. “What’s odd is that this place has had a geological survey before. As you can see, the surveyors indicated that there was a next to zero chance of there being even coal down there, not to mention oil.”
“So why are they there?” Joe asked, passing back the sheet of paper.
“Well that’s the million pound question no?”
“My father also said the same in his diary. He indicated that Red Rock had dug a shaft down almost 1000 ft, and that was five years ago or so.”
“Do you have that diary, I would love to read it?” Mary asked excitedly.
“First, what’s your stake in Red Rock? Why are you so interested in their going ons?”
Mary’s face fell. “Would you believe me if I said professional curiosity?” She looked them both over and then sighed, getting up to put the kettle on. As she spooned some loose tea into a china teapot she continued. “My mentor, and the one who set up this online newspaper, was an excellent investigative journalist. He taught me everything I know.” She nodded her head towards a picture of a rotund gentleman on the wall. “His name was Lucius, Lucius Ward, and he died whilst investigating one of Red Rock’s sister''s companies. One under the same umbrella I spoke of earlier.”
“What umbrella is that?” Darius asked.
“I’ll get to that. Anyway, Lucius had a habit of breaking into places and one night, without telling me, he broke into one of Selma’s warehouses. I presume he was certain he would find some sort of damning evidence there, but we will never know. He was shot as an intruder by the defending security. The security claimed that he had come armed so they had no choice to respond in kind.” She shook her head “ where the hell is a fat reporter supposed to get a gun? Especially in this country. Anyway, he was foolish, sure, of course he was going to get caught, he wasn’t exactly James Bond. And yet, the fact that he still attempted it, the fact that he took such a risk. It means whatever he was searching for was extremely important, like it was worth his life to search for, or maybe even reveal to the world.” The tea had steeped by this time and so she poured out three cups, adding milk as requested. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“So why Red Rock and not Selma?” Joe asked, thanking Mary for the tea.
“Simple. Selma shut up shop three years ago. Some of their assets went to other companies under the umbrella, and the site that Lucius died at went to Red Rock. I’ve been investigating them ever since, along with other work to keep the website making money of course. Now you asked who or what this umbrella was, and well, that’s not an easy question to answer. In reality there is nothing official, all the companies, at least on paper, appear to operate independently. Yet, if you follow the people, as I have done, you will find personnel working or having worked in multiple companies, sales between those companies of assets at ridiculous prices and other such indicators.” She took a sip of her tea and leaned back in her chair. “Of course this is purely conjecture and maybe it’s all coincidence, but I’d stake my reputation on there being a higher power behind all of the companies. So far I have identified seven possible umbrella companies, but I am sure there are more”.
They sat in silence for a while, savouring the delicious tea, a blend of assam and earl grey according to Mary, and digested Mary’s words. “Now, you said your father died at site F, what does that mean to you? Why have you come here today?”
Joe looked at Darius, and then turned back to Mary “Essentially, I found the whole thing mighty strange and I was hoping if you might know a way that I can get into Site F to explore it myself. Knowing that there might be a reason for my father’s death rather than just an accident, compels me to do something.” Mary nodded in understanding. “How far are you willing to go to find out the truth though?” Joe laughed “As far as it takes, I just had a life crisis of my own you see, and I finally understand what is important. My life being in danger is not unwarranted if I’m doing right by our old man. Besides our mother, well, let''s just say that if we find some good news or even just some clarity we hope it will help our mum”.
“Well, you heard me say that the place is a Swedish nature reserve. That means the public is entitled to explore the caves for a small fee, without any restrictions from Red Rock, as they are there at the pleasure of the Swedish government. The Swedish parliament isn’t very happy with Red Rock at the moment either, especially as some of the recent deaths were some of Sweden’s top experts. I had already booked a trip to go spelunking in those caves in a few weeks. Why don’t you come with me?” She looked at Darius pointedly, considering his size, as she was somewhat sceptical of Joe’s skeletal form. Darius shook his head, “I can’t go, I have a job starting in Bristol next month, however Joe here, once he gets his passport, should be all go”. He slapped Joe on the shoulder to emphasise his point, causing Joe to choke on the tea he was sipping daintily.
“You don’t have a passport?” Mary asked, looking annoyed. Why would she want to take this skinny fellow along instead of the rather handsome looking giant by his side. She began to regret asking if they’d join her, but before she changed her mind Joe stood up.
“Okay, here’s my number, call me with the details and I’ll arrange my own flight etc. Don’t worry about the passport thing, I will have it in hand before we leave. We have stuff to do, so, thanks for your time and the excellent tea, and we’ll keep in touch.” And with that they both quit the room without giving Mary so much as a chance to say goodbye.