Free The Beggar and the Hare by Tuomas Kyrö Page B

Tikkurila, in about fifteen minutes’ time.
    Keep calm. Don’t force it. Don’t cause tensions.
    Vatanescu asked the teenagers where they were going.
     
    Jonttu’s map showed all the mining areas, and planned mining areas, across Finland and Sweden. He had also printed out a bundle of information – maps, data, company profiles – and firmly believed that if he did not succeed on the first attempt, then surely by the third he would. There must be plenty of work there for those who looked for it. Vatanescu took from his pocket themap of the national park that Ming had given him, and pointed to his own destination.
    The right words. The details.
    Vatanescu put his finger on a circle. The area inside it was said to contain peat bogs that produced the highest yield of cloudberries.
    Raw material trading.
    Vatanescu’s destination was close to where the teenagers were going, and his ultimate aims were not so distant from theirs either.
    Natural riches, preliminary explorations.
    ‘In the area of the national park?’
    All over the place. If I find what I’m looking for, nothing will get in my way.
    The teenagers looked at the smooth-shaven man in a suit sitting in front of them, and then at one another.
    ‘What do they have up there? Gold?’
    ‘Diamonds?’
    ‘Oil?’
    Yellow stuff. Valuable stuff.
    They asked what company Vatanescu represented, what his position was.
    They’ll catch you out if you mention names or describe things in too much detail.
    Remember the men in suits. In first class.
    Just tell them the essentials. But don’t lie so you don’t have to explain. Explaining is what will get you caught.
    Vatanescu said that he worked for himself. He sold outputs, results and reports to the highest bidder. Thus he was able to make the quick decisions that in large businesses can take months. And he knew where to invest his profits. In the future, in future generations.
    In football boots.
    He said he had started out in the financial sector but had discovered new challenges in the raw material market.
    Jonttu wanted to know from Vatanescu what the advantages were of working in mines with regard to wages and conditions of employment. Minttu was interested in whether women were able to take jobs as drivers of forklift trucks or ore transport lorries.
    Everything is possible. You have excellent backgrounds and the hourly rate is so high that… er… a Romanian beggar… could live for a whole year on a month’s wages.
    The teenagers thought the comparison was far-fetched , but they liked what he told them.
    It’s also OK to smile while you’re working. You can look other people in the eye, even if those eyes are blackened by coal. There’s always some white flashing in them.
    The train stopped at Pasila.
    Listen…
    Vatanescu’s words stuck in his throat. To request a loan was risky, especially if he was asked about his credit record, which was worse than that of Greece. It could all collapse, it was all useless.
    Well, anyway…
    The express train sped through Malmi without stopping, then Tapanila. After Puistola it began to slow down as it approached Tikkurila. The teenagers chatted together in Finnish. They laughed at all sorts of things, as kids do at that age – laugh and be sceptical.
    Act. Act now.
    The train stopped.
    What am I going to do?
    The rabbit slipped out of his sleeve onto the seat and then to the floor. From there it climbed up beside the teenagers.
    It sat on Ökö’s lap, and encountered no resistance. In a flash their astonishment turned into affection. The rabbit looked at the teenagers and by its demeanour permitted them to stroke it.
    Jonttu took photos with his camera phone and they asked why the head of an investment company was travelling with a rabbit.
    ‘Are you a magician?’
    It’s like a… canary. In a mine. Life insurance. It detects danger. Sniffs out precious metals. Only eight rabbits in the world are specially trained like it.

    V atanescu lay on one of the upper