A Norse Crime Mystery Book Series
Kurt Hammer by Mats Vederhus
Series Excerpt
There was a disruptive mood across all NRK. Fifteen minutes remained until the news of the day, Dagsnytt, was going to air at 7:00 p.m., and there were rumors that an important visitor was on his way to the newsroom. Jon Gelius was sitting in makeup when Nina Owing entered and sat in the chair next to him.
“Have you heard it,” she whispered, as she had a little rouge applied on her cheeks.
“No, what?”
“You’re aware that Medvedev’s visiting, right?”
Jon nodded. He was, of course, aware that Medvedev was in Oslo to sign an agreement on boundaries in the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. It was going to be one of the main stories in the broadcast.
Nina continued to whisper. “I was told by the reception that he might be on his way here.”
“Are you kidding?”
“I know it sounds… far out. Just about far enough that it might be true. What do you think?”
Jon contorted his face in deep folds. “Do you know whether Hans–Wilhelm is on duty?”
“I actually think he is.” She smiled.
About fifteen minutes later, the two were presenting the broadcast in the studio. Just as the main stories had been presented, Jon received a message on the ear from producer Geir.
“Medvedev’s in the reception, with an interpreter. The broadcast will be extended by ten minutes. Russia has just entered Schengen. Amazing scoop!”
Jon was perplexed for a few long seconds.
“Well, I’ve just heard on my ear here that… President Dmitry Medvedev is heading into the studio to talk about… Russia has become a member of Schengen.”
The cameramen and script looked at each other as if they couldn’t believe what they’d just heard. One minute of silence followed.
“Yeah, uh, this is taking some time.” Jon swore under his breath.
Nina tried to save the situation. “Tonight’s main story is that Medvedev came to Oslo to sign an agreement on the borders to the Barents Sea. Let’s take a look at the story.”
Just as the story started running, Medvedev came casually walking into the studio.
“I have an announcement to make.” He stood right next to Jon and Nina.
“Please stand over here.” Jon pointed. “Welcome!”
“Thank you.” Medvedev shook his hand before moving to the place Jon had pointed out.
The cameraman began counting down. “5, 4, 3, 2…”
Jon announced, “Yes, then we have Medvedev in the studio. Mr. President, you said you had an announcement to make?”
He smiled, triumphantly. A winning smile, targeting cameras, and Jon could understand why he was president.
“Yes, today, here in Oslo, I signed an agreement between Norway and my country. But more importantly, yesterday Russia officially became a part of Schengen. This was the result of many months of intense negotiations, and I am pleased to say that Russian citizens can now travel freely without a visa, across the border to Norway. It also means that, for the first time, Norwegians can visit my beautiful city of St. Petersburg without first submitting a visa application. This is great news and I hope it will better the relations between Europe and Russia.”
Nina gasped. “When will this agreement be put into effect?”
“Well, as with all such things, there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be processed, but we are currently looking at the winter of 2011.”
“That’s great! Did you have any other motivation besides promoting tourism?”
“Yes, we are hoping, as I said, to promote our relations with Europe in general, and our trade relations in particular.”
“Are you trying to compete with Norway’s oil and gas exportations,” asked Jon.
Medvedev smiled, bashfully this time. “Well, Russia has traditionally had its own markets, including Ukraine in particular. But that is part of it, yes.”
“Did you discuss this with Jens Stoltenberg?”
“Actually, no. You guys are the first to hear. Jens is such a nice man. There was no need to upset him with such details.”
“Aren’t you afraid he’s going to feel… cheated?”
“Absolutely not! He will find out at the same time as everyone else.”
“Well, we have to move on now,” Jon said. “But thanks for coming here to share this important news.”
“The pleasure was all mine.”
Medvedev left his assigned place, and just as Nina was going to present the next story, he came over and kissed her on the cheek before leaving as abruptly as he had arrived. A collective gasp went through the studio as blonde Nina turned red as a tomato.
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