Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 03 - Snow Cone Read Online Free Page B

friends ever since.”
    “ It’s a tough business, I bet,” I said to him.
    “ Real tough—and cutthroat.  Sometimes you just didn’t know who your friends were.  I decided to go back to school and get a real job.”  Joe laughed at himself again.  “Anyway, I have a dicey sort of problem here.  As I told Mr. Galveston, I’ve been having some trouble with my research.  I don’t know where to begin.” 
    “ It’s okay, Joe.  We’ll guide you along,” Galveston assured him.
    “ Alright.  Well, my work focuses on hydrology and sedimentology.  Hydrology, for your information, studies the distribution and movement of water over the earth, and sedimentology is the study of how rocks, sand, and mud have been deposited.”  Joe paused.  “I haven’t lost you yet, have I?” 
    “ Don’t worry, Joe.  We’re here,” I responded politely, even though in a few more seconds my eyes would have glazed over.
    “ I’ve been researching the movement of the ice sheets in Greenland for years, probably twenty or so.  I study the rocks around the ice sheets, and I’ve been taking samples from the area.”
    “ Greenland?  It’s not very green,” Galveston said with a hint of interest.
    “ No, not very green, but the rim of the country is lined with some interesting geological features.  It may not sound too exciting, but I’m trying to determine what is truly underneath the ice sheets.  It’s debated whether there are three islands under the ice or a huge canyon.  No one is exactly sure.  I feel this information could help us determine how ice and water interact under and around the ice sheet.  It could allow scientists to figure out how the ice affects water levels.”
    “ Interesting,” I lied, and I felt bad about it.  I didn’t come for a lesson in geology; a subject I almost failed in high school.  But I understood it mattered to Joe, and I respected that.
    “ All of that information is neither here nor there.  I’ve had problems the last two times I’ve gone to Greenland,” Joe said, shaking his head.  “This last time just destroyed an entire research opportunity.”
    “ What happened?” I inquired, my interest now rising.
    “ I’m not sure why it happened, but I was chased out of my research area.”
    “ By who?” Galveston asked.
    “ I don’t know.  I started doing my regular work—testing soil samples, taking ice core samples—then all of a sudden I get approached by a group of men.  They had uniforms and handguns but no indication of where they were from.  Greenland is in the Kingdom of Denmark, and these men were not Danish.  There is a U.S. Air Force base nearby, but they weren’t from there.  They told me to leave immediately because the area was off-limits.”
    “ They didn’t tell you who they were?” I asked.
    “ No, and I didn’t wait for an answer.  I was there with my research assistant, and these men didn’t want to talk.  I tried to go back a few days later and was threatened again.  They told me I would be arrested by the Danish government if I entered the area.  I tried to argue my way through, but then they got aggressive and started to point their guns at me.  I wasn’t about to test them, either.  I tried to get answers in the capitol, Nuuk, but they just looked at me like I was crazy.  I still have pieces of my equipment sitting up there.”
    “ Did you try to get more answers when you got back to the States?” I interrogated him.
    “ Yes, but everyone thought I was crazy.  The Danish government said I had permission in that area, and if I had further problems to contact them.  But this is Greenland.  The police are spread out so much; it’s hardly a concern for them.”
    “ What would you like us to do?” Galveston questioned.
    “ I would like some support.  For one, I would like to know who these men are, and two, I would like to not get shot trying to continue my research.  Above all else, I want some answers.”
    “