Good morning, the guard said in an over-cheerful voice before waving her through.
Just as she passed the gate and was starting to roll down the tunnel leading beneath Kronoberg, her mobile buzzed.
She waited until she had parked her bike in the garage before checking the message.
Good luck today, Rebecca.
Your father would have been very proud of you!
When this is over, I promise to explain all about him.
Uncle Tage
She couldnt help smiling. Then she saw that there was another text in her inbox.
Just three words, with no senders name or number.
Dont trust anyone!
She deleted it at once.
Outside the changing room she bumped into Runeberg.
Have you heard anything? she asked, skipping the preliminaries.
There was a car chase early this morning north of Uppsala. At least ten cars, helicopter, road blocks, the works. It took them an hour to put a stop …
And? She held her breath.
Runeberg shook his head.
They got away. Theyre probably hiding, lying low up there in …
… the forest, she concluded, but he was only half listening.
Theyd chatted a bit at the start, mostly about which way they should go, but for once he had been fairly taciturn and the conversation had died out.
But now she evidently wanted to make another attempt.
What did you say? he mumbled.
I said we should soon be out of the forest. I thought I just heard a church bell …
Mmm.
It had taken half an hour to find the railway line, then theyd spent more than two hours walking through the trees along the side of the track. In spite of its thick, padded straps the rucksack was digging into his neck and shoulders. His legs felt heavy and hed already fallen flat on his face a couple of times after tripping over roots and rocks as they rushed into the trees to hide from passing trains.
He was a child of the tarmac, not some fucking tree-hugger …
She turned round and gave him a quick glance.
You look knackered. When did you last get any sleep?
He didnt answer.
Now that the adrenalin had faded things were starting to fall into place. Things he hadnt thought about before.
They walked on in silence.
Shame about Manga, she said eventually.
W-what? He looked up and stopped abruptly.
A shame what happened … With the barn … she added when he just stared at her like an idiot.
Yeah, okay … Youve said that once already. He looked away.
Youre angry with him, arent you?
He didnt answer, but that didnt stop her going on.
You do get it, dont you? That Manga shafted us somehow … ?
I dont want to talk about it …
Mind you, you could be right, maybe Manga got shafted as well? If the Game Master tricked him the same way he tricked us, making him believe he was really doing something good …
Just a couple of hours ago you seemed pretty convinced that he was the Game Master … HP kicked at a stone, then another one.
I know, Im sorry about that. Stress makes you say weird things. Manga had the wool pulled over his eyes just like you and me, she said. At least thats how Im choosing to look at it.
He was still kicking stones from the track into the undergrowth.
Manga isnt the sort whod sell out a mate … he muttered, but without sounding quite as convinced as he should.
Or wasnt, he silently corrected himself.
Shit, Manga, how did everything get so fucked up?!
With everything that had been happening, hed hardly had a moment to think about the barn and the explosion. Instead hed been using his tried and tested method of getting his brain to skip past anything that was too unpleasant to deal with. But right now his superpowers were waning.
High time to change the subject.
He set off again, and she quickly turned round and they ended up walking beside each other.
One more thing … he said. Ive been wanting to ask ever since Medborgarplatsen …
You want to know if I was the one who set fire to your flat?
He started, but before hed worked out how to reply, shed trotted a few steps ahead.
Over there, can you see it? A station!
Okay, good people!
The police officers gathered in the conference room fell silent at once when Runeberg entered the room.
One last run-through before we go live. The ceremony in the cathedral ends at 13.30, and the cortege will set off shortly after that. Well be heading down Slottsbacken, then round to Norrbro. Then right towards Kungsträdgården, and into Kungsträdgårdsgatan …
He paused for a moment and several of the bodyguards exchanged glances.
Weve got extra plain-clothed officers stationed along Kungsträdgårdsgatan, in case anyone fancies trying a copycat attack … Runeberg went on. Then left into Hamngatan, to Sergels torg, then right onto Sveavägen, as far as the Concert Hall … Any questions so far?
Any news about the suspects? one of the bodyguards at the front asked, probably one of the new ones. Pettersson and Al-Hassan, I mean, he went on in a confident tone of voice.
I was going to take that later, but since you ask, Runeberg muttered, clearly annoyed at having to change subject.
A fair bit has happened since yesterday. Farook Al-Hassan, or Magnus Sandström as hes also known, is believed to be dead. His car was found at the site of an explosion in a barn north of Uppsala, along with remains that forensics are fairly sure are his. There were also traces of explosives and chemical fertilizer at the scene, so it may be that a homemade bomb accidentally detonated early. Well be hearing more about that shortly.
Runeberg nodded towards Tage Sammer, who was sitting on one of the chairs closest to the door. Stigsson was sitting next to him, and when Runeberg started talking again Stigsson leaned forward and whispered something in Sammers ear. Rebecca felt a lump in her throat and swallowed hard a couple of times to get rid of it.
As far as the others are concerned, we have recently apprehended an individual in a stolen police van. But two of the suspects are still at large, including our other prime suspect.
Runeberg glanced in her direction.
By that I mean Henrik Pettersson, also known as HP.
They were in luck. The next train to Stockholm was only ten minutes away, giving just enough time for Nora to buy tickets and get something to eat from the stations vending machine.
HP stayed hidden behind one of the pillars on the platform, keeping an eye out for pursuers.
He gulped down two Snickers bars as he stood there, and just had time to wash down these delicacies with the half-bottle of Coke that she passed him before the train pulled into the station.
Once theyd found two empty seats he was so tired that he forgot to take the rucksack off before crashing down onto the window seat. To make matters worse, the metal catch was playing up, and he swore so loudly that several of the other passengers glared angrily in their direction.
Hang on, Ill get it. Nora slipped into the aisle seat and leaned over to help him. You have to lift them up first, then twist the two flat pieces apart.
Her head was right next to his face, he could feel her fingers against his chest, and for a few moments he thought he could smell her shampoo.
Strange how the artificial scent of flowers could make him feel a bit better …
There! Nora said as the straps slipped apart.
He pulled the rucksack off and slid it onto the floor. Just to be on the safe side he leaned it against one of his legs so hed feel if anything happened to it. Then he leaned back, massaged his aching shoulders and resisted a sudden urge to close his eyes.
The train had built up speed and the gentle rocking motion was almost impossible to resist.
But he was going to try.
He turned towards Nora. She was just putting a little sachet of chewing tobacco in her mouth, and he waited politely for her to slot it into place under her top lip.
Well be back in the city in less than two hours, he said in a low voice. Theres an internet café with a decent connection at Hötorget, Ive used it a couple of times before. I can send from there.
She nodded as she adjusted the position of the tobacco with her tongue. The movement fascinated him, almost making him lose his thread.
That sounds good, HP, well aim for that. Have you thought about what were going to do after that?
He shook his head.
I dont really give a shit. Once the files are out there PayTag will sink like a stone, probably dragging the Game Master down with it, maybe even the whole Game. Theyre going to have their hands full trying to save their own skin …
And you think theyll just forget about us?
That remains to be seen …
He shrugged.
So, how about telling me how you got involved in all this? he said a few moments later, without really knowing why.
She put the lid back on her tub of chewing tobacco and slowly put it away as she thought about her response.
Its quite a long story … she said.
Im not doing anything for the next hour or so, he replied, and tried to conjure up his most charming smile.
Okay, but itll have to be the short version. We could both do with a bit of a rest … I used to play top-level handball. It was going pretty well, I even got selected for the national squad. Trained practically every day …
He nodded to demonstrate his interest, which was easier than hed expected.
I lived for sport, for the camaraderie of the team, the competition. Then I picked up an injury.
Ouch.