Er, wait, I mean … the man protested.
HP jabbed the prongs at the mans chest, and he immediately began to jerk wildly.
AAAARRGH!!
HP pulled the taser away and let the man slip onto the floor. His body continued to convulse for a couple of seconds before lying still. A faint smell of burned hair spread through the room.
HP turned round slowly and pointed the taser at the technician, who backed away at once.
What the fuck are you doing, HP?! Jeffs face was ghostly pale, but HP ignored him.
The atmosphere inside the room had suddenly changed, and the fear was now tangible.
He took a few steps up towards the closest operator and raised the taser.
What would have happened if the stick had been plugged in?
The system would have shut down at once … the man replied instantly.
Excellent! What else … ?
Er, the lights would have gone out, the electricity would have shut off, the lifts would have stopped. The alarm would have gone off, then the guards …
The man gulped a couple of times but HP waved the taser in front of him to encourage him to go on.
Guards, cops, the military … the whole lot!
HP turned his head towards Jeff. But Muscles didnt seem to be keeping up.
This is a trap, Jeff. They knew we were coming. Didnt you?
He moved the taser closer to the operators face and once again made sparks crackle between the prongs.
Not like this … The man held up his hands and leaned as far back in his chair as he could. Th-the tunnel, you were supposed to come through the tunnel … It was all …
It was all what?! Jeff seemed to have regained the power of speech.
A t-test, some sort of exercise. Thats what they said. Not …
The operator glanced over the railing at his floored boss, who was now curled up and sobbing quietly.
… like this.
FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!
Jeff didnt seem to know what to do with himself.
HP gave him a couple of seconds to calm down.
Its all fucked! If we cant plug the virus in, we might as well …
Jeff slowly shook his head. He lowered the arm holding the revolver towards the floor and HP noticed Jochen the technician creeping gradually closer.
Take it easy, Jefferson, HP muttered. Were not finished yet. Just keep an eye on our little hero over there.
He put the taser in his pocket, turned away from Jeff and began to fiddle with the oversized catch of his rucksack.
Jeff looked up at Jochen, realized that he had moved, and quickly raised the revolver again.
Get back! he snarled.
Jochen held his hands up in front of him.
Take it easy, mate, youve got no chance, he said in a sterner and considerably less jocular tone of voice than before. You managed to get in, against all the odds – congratulations. But our response unit will be in place upstairs now. The alarm will have gone out by now …
He took half a pace forward.
Jeff, thats your name, isnt it? Listen, Jeff. Youll never manage to sabotage the system. Its idiot-proof, the slightest attempt to introduce anything into the system makes it shut down. Anyway, theres nowhere for you to go …
Another half step.
The best thing you can do now is give up!
Jeffs arm was trembling even more than before.
The response unit will be on their way down the stairs by now. Theyll be breaking in any moment, and Im not sure Id want to be holding a gun when that happens, if you get what I mean … ?
Jochen was trying to establish eye contact with Jeff, and took another pace forward. He reached his hand towards the barrel of the revolver.
Come on, Jeff. I promise Ill help you. Everything will be … GAAARGH!!!
The electric shock made the man shake like a pneumatic drill. His mouth opened and closed, and his eyes rolled back until only the whites were visible.
HP held the taser against Jochens arm for a good five seconds before letting go.
All of the mans muscles stopped working at once and his body collapsed to the floor where a puddle of urine quickly spread from beneath it.
That was a really stupid thing to do, HP said coldly to the unconscious technician as he nudged him with one shoe.
Probably military, or used to be … he said to Jeff as he put his rucksack on the desk. Jeff seemed too shocked to react at all. No technician has such clean hands, and he talked in a military way. Like my dad …
Jeff still didnt say anything. HP shrugged and after a couple of attempts successfully undid the fiddly combination lock of the rucksack, and managed to open the stiff lid.
Here!
He pulled out a rubber-padded portable hard-drive from the rucksack, then a pair of handcuffs, and then a bottle of water and tossed it to Jeff, who caught it, and for a moment seemed unsure what to do with it. Then his brain finally switched track, and he opened it with his teeth and took a couple of deep gulps.
Could I suggest that you put your musket away, Jeff, HP said. These guys seem to realize we mean business – isnt that right?
None of the operators said anything, but the terror in their eyes was answer enough.
And our would-be hero was probably right, HP said, looking up at the large clock on the far wall. The response unit is bound to be on its way …
He put the hard-drive on the desk in front of the nearest operator.
Plug this in, please.
The operator reached for the square hard-drive. His hands were shaking so much that he had trouble getting hold of the lead sticking out from the back of it.
W-wait! Jeff finally spoke again …
Ignoring him, HP nodded to the operator, waving the taser to underline his order. The man leaned forward and plugged the lead in. The screens on the desk in front of him flickered. Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath. The second-hand on the clock ticked forward one second.
Two.
And carried on …
Good to have you back, Normén, Runeberg grinned as they headed down the corridor. But I still dont quite get it. I mean, Henrik Pettersson is … he paused while they walked past a couple of other bodyguards. … your brother. Why do you want to … ?
Its pretty straightforward, really, Ludvig. No-one knows Henke better than I do, no-one else knows how he works …
Sure, theres a certain logic to that, but what happens if …
They passed an open door and she caught a glimpse of Stigsson and Sammer inside, together with a third man that she recognized vaguely from television.
Im prepared to do whatever it takes to stop Henke and the people behind him, she said, rather too forcefully. But Im afraid I need to ask a favour, Ludvig, she added once they were past the door. A very big favour …
Nothing happened.
Open the Excel file called R-day. Then do a search for the ID numbers listed there, HP said, as calmly as he could. His heart was pounding so hard he imagined he could see his overalls moving.
Use the databases kept at the bottom of the bunker. Criminal records, search engine results, parking fines, texts, telecom records, emails, Facebook, medical records, their supermarket loyalty cards – I want the fucking lot!
The operator opened his mouth to say something but HP interrupted him.
If I were you, Id protest a bit less and work a bit more …
He made the taser crackle just in front of the mans face.
The operator thought for a moment, then pursed his lips and nodded. He typed in a couple of commands on the keyboard.
You see, Jeff, we arent going to introduce anything into the system. Thats exactly what theyre expecting, HP went on, trying to sound a lot calmer than he actually was. So, instead of following our original plan, trying to put a stop to something that cant be stopped and then sticking our hands up, were going to do something completely different. Were going to take something with us when we leave, something seriously fucking valuable. Something this place is crammed with. Get it?
HP raised his eyebrows in an encouraging grimace.
Information, Jeff muttered. But hows that going to help us? How can a bit of stolen information put a stop to PayTag?
Look, there must be five hundred names on this list, the operator interrupted.
Almost right, my good man, HP smiled.
The first tab has a hundred names. All the leader writers for every newspaper in Sweden, as well as the heads of news for every radio and television station you can think of, and a few people whose surnames just happen to be Bonnier or Wallenberg.
And the others? Jeff suddenly looked a bit brighter.
The other list contains three hundred and forty-nine names. Exactly. Are you starting to get the idea now?
28
Ninjas
Ready for the final act?
Jeff nodded.
Okay, lets get going. Keep your fingers crossed! He put the hard-drive in the rucksack, locked the lid and fastened it round his chest. He attached the passcard with the technicians photograph to one of the straps. The blue top was a couple of sizes too big, and the uniform trousers were soaked in piss, but theyd have to do.
Guys, the best thing you can do now is lie still under your desks for about ten minutes and try to breathe through your noses, he called out to the men in the room.
He pulled the protective mask over his face, took out the smoke grenade, removed the safety catch and set it off. In less than thirty seconds the room was full of thick, irritating smoke.
He opened the steel door, set off another grenade and tossed it into the lobby in front of the lifts.
They waited a few seconds. An alarm went off somewhere in the distance.