Chapter 7
Rhian was jostled from behind as she headed for the front of the airport. “Rude,” she said to the rapidly disappearing back. The tall woman with long dirty-blond curls muttered an apology as she shoved past her.
She sighed, hitched her bag higher on her shoulder, and walked out of the building. It was the first of September, and the first day of the next stage of the project. Carlos was waiting for her. A huge grin on his face, a bottle of water in one hand, and a brown paper bag in the other.
“Isabella sends empanadas for you again, my friend.”
She wrapped her arms around him like he was an old friend and kissed his cheek. “It’s good to see you again, Carlos. I can’t believe it’s been six months already.”
“Sí, right? So much has happened, yet it feels like yesterday you were eating with my Isabella and me while we make plans for this very big adventure of ours.”
“My thoughts exactly.” She threw her rucksack on the back seat while he slid her suitcase into the back of the Jeep. “So how are the plans coming?”
“Good. I think.” He nodded as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Yes, I think is all on track. I’ve been speaking very much to your assistant, Mellissa. She is very good to be getting me all the details of the equipment arriving, and the people too. We have just one week before the film crew begin to arrive.” He pulled onto the road and began manoeuvring them through the city.
“That’s right. And she’s been a godsend. She’ll be coming out with the contestants.”
“Good. It will be nice to meet her face-to-face, then.”
“Yes. And what about the routes and challenges? Has Fen told you anything about her work on those?”
Carlos frowned. “I do not know. I’m sorry. You should be speaking to Mark, I think.”
“Mark? Not Fen?”
Carlos nodded.
“Why do I need to speak to Mark? What’s happened?” Carlos glanced around him, his discomfort evident as her voice rose and a shrillness crept into it. “Sorry, you’ve just got me a bit panicked here.” She chuckled and forced herself to relax. After all, if it was anything serious, Fen or Mark would have been in touch with her. “I mean, I’m sure everything’s okay, right? We’re ready to do this, and Fen said the scouting’s been going really well. She’s got almost all the challenges sorted, so what can possibly be wrong?”
“I think, maybe, you should be speaking with Mark.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through, intent on doing just that. Of all the fallback plans she’d made for the project, this was the one she hadn’t been able to prepare for. If Fen backed out, she was fucked. The whole project was fucked. She couldn’t believe there was something so wrong that Carlos looked this worried about it yet neither of them had called her. What the hell was going on? She needed to get to the bottom of it all and get answers, and preferably a solution, before she went to Rachel. Or this would not “make her proud”. Not at all.
“Actually, I think I’d rather speak to him face-to-face, Carlos.” The drive to El Chaltén would give her plenty of time to get her temper under control and figure out a possible solution if Fen was backing out on her. That was the only reason she could come up with that Carlos would look so worried. “Can you drive me straight there?”
Carlos’s frown deepened. “I’m not sure that would be best. Not right now.”
Rhian turned to him, her nerves at fraying point. “Carlos, my company is paying them a small fortune—actually not that small a fortune—so when I ask to speak to them, I expect to be able to speak to them. I haven’t made any unreasonable requests, but you’ve scared the crap out of me right now. And this project… Well, we can’t stop it now. Too much money has been invested by too many people. If Fen’s having cold feet about it, at too-late-o-fucking-clock, then I’m damn well going to speak to her about it right now.”
“Is no so simple, Miss Rhian.”
“It is to me. Now take me to the bastards.” Carlos opened his mouth but clearly thought better of it. Instead he nodded and flicked on his indicator.
Six months. She’d wasted six months developing the show, the routes, the challenges, and now they were dropping out on her. She could have spent the time finding someone else to do this with. But now everyone else was in place. Everything rested on Fen leading the groups—safely—through the next five months and on her hosting the show. She was the right person for the task. Rhian was sure of it. But one thing she was even surer of was that there simply wasn’t the time to start again. The contestants were chosen. The bloody film crew was arriving in less than a week. Maybe I can go back to the rude woman—what was her name again? Sarah? I could go and see if she’ll do it. It’ll cost more, no doubt, to get someone in at the last minute, but at least then we won’t have to cancel everything. And waste or lose the millions that have already been invested.
She clenched her teeth, her jaw muscles flexed, and she drummed her fingers on her thighs.
“Is no what you think, Miss Rhian.”
“No? Then what is it?”
Carlos stopped the car and pointed. El Calafate Hospital. Rhian’s mouth popped open. “Oh God.” She’d been so annoyed with Fen and Mark that she hadn’t even noticed Carlos not getting onto the road to El Chaltén.
“Fen hurt very bad, Miss Rhian.”
“But I only spoke to her a few days ago.”
“Was two days. Mark and she look for route, for show, and ice open. Crevasse, no?”
She nodded, still staring at the building. “How bad?”
“Mark say arm, leg, ribs broken. Knee out of joint and back broken.”
She swallowed. “Bloody hell.” She closed her eyes and tapped the contact on her phone.
“Landed safe and sound, then, hey?” Rachel’s voice was light and sounded happy.
Well, that won’t last long. “Rach, we’ve got a problem.”
“Fuck. Don’t tell me problems, Rhian. Give me solutions.”
“Don’t know if there is one for this.”
“Let me just close the door.” A loud bang, followed by a much quieter background followed. “Right, hit me.”
Rhian quickly outlined what Carlos had just told her.
“Bollocks,” Rachel said. “She’s okay, right?”
“I don’t know anything other than what Carlos has told me.”
“Fuck.”
“I know.”
“We’re too far down the line to stop this thing now.”
“I know.”
“There’s too much money gone in.”
“I know.”
“The company would be bankrupted if we have to pay out the penalties for not getting this done.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying ‘I know’ like that. It’s annoying.”
“I know,” Rhian added. She couldn’t resist. “Sorry. So what do you want me to do? See if one of the other two from the list can fit in instead?”
“No. If you’d had confidence they could have done it six months ago, you’d have gone with them then. There’s no way they’re going to be able to do it on a month’s notice.” Tap, tap, tap. Rachel’s nervous tic of drumming the desk with her pencil echoed on the line. “Isn’t there another climber with this company?”
“Mark? Yeah, sure. But I thought Patagonia wanted a woman’s face, plus I’m not sure what state he’ll be in. It sounds like he was out there with her, and she’s his wife. I don’t think—”
“No, another woman.”
Rhian frowned. “I never met another woman, and I don’t recall—”
“Let me get the details and call you back. You go and see Mark and find out what’s going on.”
“You want me to go into the hospital and interrogate him about a TV show while his wife’s in bed injured?”
“Sounds a bit callous when you put it like that.”
“You think?”
“Look, kiddo, I know this is where the shit gets real, but we need information before we can move forward and figure out if we’ve got a canoe and a paddle down this river of shit, or if we’re just drowning. You’re my eyes and ears out there, and I need to know. I need to know if Mark could work with another woman to make the work he and Fen have done useable. I need to know if he’ll second whoever it’s going to be, to make sure it’s safe, because I do not, I repeat, do not want one of our contestants to get hurt. I don’t care what disclaimers they’ve all signed.”
“You’re all heart, Rach.”
“No, I’m honest, Rhi. You know that. Now stop moping, and go find me some answers. I’ll try and have some info for you when you come back to me. Okay?”
“Sure,” she said, but Rachel was already gone.
“You want me take you to El Chaltén now, Miss Rhian?”
Rhian shook her head. “Unfortunately, I really do have to go and see Mark now.” She held up the phone. “Boss’s orders.”
“Your boss, she—how you say—big bitch?”
Rhian chuckled. “She can be.” She dialled Mark’s number. “She’s also my mother.”
Carlos’s eyes opened wide.
“Mark, hi, sorry to bother you, I know this is a really bad time, but is there any chance I can talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Rhian? Oh, yeah, okay. I’m glad you called, actually. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“I know about Fen’s accident.”
“You do? Oh, right. Well, that’s what I was going to tell you. I didn’t call before because, well, she’s only just come out of surgery a little while ago, and I’m waiting for her to wake up so I can…so we can tell her…”
“Oh, Mark. I’m so sorry. How did she take it?”
“She hasn’t been awake since the accident.”
“God.”
“Yeah. It’s a mess.”
“I know. Listen, I’m in the car park with Carlos at the moment. Is there any chance I can see you for a few minutes? I know it’s an awful time, but, well, my boss is already pressuring me to get info so we can figure out how to, well, work around this, I guess.”
“Oh, right. Well, I guess that would be okay. Jay’s here, so Fen won’t be alone if she wakes up. I’ll come down. I could do with some fresh air.”
“Thanks. And, again, I’m really sorry.”
“Not your fault. See you in a minute.”
She ended the call and tapped the edge of the phone against her knee, her mind whirling, trying to see a way through the maze of obstacles that now littered her project. How could everything turn to shit so fast?
Mark looked worn out. Usually his eyes sparkled and energy radiated from him. Today it felt as if a cartoon character of him—flat and colourless—were walking towards her. He seemed to be merely an addition to the background.
Some days I really fucking hate you, Rachel. She climbed out of the car and walked towards him. The least she could do was meet him halfway.
“Hi,” he said quietly when they met.
“How is she?”
“Like I said, still asleep. The doctor said the surgery went well. Now all we can do is wait till she wakes up, then see if the spinal cord is damaged or just impinged because of the swelling.”
“Can’t they do a scan or something to tell?”
“They have. There’s so much swelling they can’t get a clear image of the spinal cord.”
“Are you okay?”
He shook his head and let it fall forward, chin to chest. “I did it, Rhian.”
“What do you mean?” Rhian asked with a frown. “It was an accident.”
“I pulled her up on the rope. I broke her back.” Sobs tore through him.
“No, it wasn’t your fault.” She pulled him into her arms and stroked his back while he sobbed. “It was an accident. If you hadn’t pulled her up, she’d be dead. It’s not your fault.”
“I should’ve done it differently.”
“Mark, she had a broken arm, a broken leg, ribs, and a dislocated knee. She was never going to be able to pull or climb out of there on her own. You did what you had to do. You saved her life.”
“What will we do if she can’t walk again?”
“You adapt. You find new ways to live.”
“But she won’t climb again.”
“Then you’ll carry her. You’ll find new adventures together.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“No, I imagine it won’t be. But maybe it should be.”
“Yeah.” He pulled away and sat on the stone edge of a raised flower bed. “Sorry for blubbing all over you.”
“Don’t be silly. What else could a little girl like me expect of a big strong bloke like you?” She bumped his shoulder and sat next to him.
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, doing my hard-man-of-the-mountains rep no favours, am I?”
“I’d say that ship’s sailed.”
“So how come you got here so quickly, anyway?”
She frowned. “It’s the first of September. This was always my arrival day.”
His face paled further, and his mouth popped open. “Fuck. The show. Oh my God. What’re we gonna do? She can’t…I can’t…oh fuck.”
She shook her head and held her hand up to stop him. “We’ll figure it out. Will you help me as much as you can? I know you’re going to be here with her a lot, but if you can show me some of what you’ve put together when I find a new guide, it would really be a massive help, I’m sure. I hate to ask. I really, really hate to ask this of you now—”
“Rhian, you have to. It’s your job. I get it. And of course I will. Just let me know what you need when you’ve found someone else.” He pointed to the doors with his thumb. “I should be getting back. She might be awake now, and it isn’t fair to leave it all to Jay.”
“Jay?”
“Jayden, Fen’s sister. She flew in from the UK today. You must have been on the same flight.”
“Oh, okay. Well, go on, then. You best get back in there.”
“Yeah. And thanks.”
“No worries.” Rhian watched him go, knowing he’d do what he could, but he wouldn’t be up to leading this event now. His heart wouldn’t be in it, and that could get people killed. Even if she did shave his beard off and stick him in a dress. She called Rachel to let her know she had no good news to add.
“Well, lucky for you I do.”
“What’s that, then?”
“The trekking company is owned by two people.”
“Yes, Fen and Mark McCash. I told you neither of them is in a position to do what we need now.”
“Wrong. It’s owned by Fen McCash and Jayden Harris. Her sister. She’s another climber. I’ve run her name by the tourism board and the clothing company. They’re both fine with her taking over and being the face on this. They said she’s an even better climber than Fen is. I’m reading her CV right now. Everest, K2, Annapurna. In fact, it says she’s done all the 8000s, as well as the Seven Summits. Is that good?”
“Yes.”
“It also says she’s one of the few women in the world to ever climb Cerro Torre too.”
“Really?”
“That’s what the bio says.”
“Wow. That’s really impressive.”
“Good. So, anyway, they’re all happy with this solution. And she’s the company director too, so she’s already contracted to us as well.”
“I can’t believe you’ve spoken to the clients already.”
“Gotta be on the ball, kiddo. We’ve just been on Skype now. Should have seen their faces when I mentioned her name. Seems she would have been first pick for the Patagonia dudes, anyway.”
“Then why wasn’t she on the list?”
“Don’t know. Maybe she wasn’t in the country.”
“Mark did say she just flew in from the UK today, so that must be it.”
“She’s there?”
“Well, yeah. Mark said she was with Fen. So I presume she’s in the hospital.”
“Then go in there and talk to her. Get her on board, and get to work.”
“Rachel, you have the sensitivity of a hippo’s arse. I will not march into that hospital room and tell a stranger that she’s under contract to me, to leave her injured sister’s bedside, and come and get to work. They’re waiting for her to wake up to tell her she may never walk again.”
Rachel sighed. “Fine. Speak to her tomorrow, then.” And then she was gone.
Rhian smacked the phone to her forehead and growled her frustration at the flower bed. “Bitch.”