Madeleine said, “I just filled Hugo in about QuantumCorp and Klaus Horst.”
“Ah. Yes, I heard that Xi Liu was caught on camera when the attackers were leaving. And where you find Xi, you can be sure that Klaus is close by.”
“Here, please sit,” Madeleine said, pointing to a chair. Henrik pulled off his heavy coat, hung it on the back of the chair, and sat. Madeleine sat opposite him; Hugo stood beside them. Henrik drummed his fingers on the table.
“So now what?”
“Well, like I just told Hugo, there’s going to be an investigation, and I assume that the police will launch a big investigation. It’s not often that something like this happens in Malmö.”
Henrik’s eyes flashed. “Let me interrupt you right there, Madeleine. You’ve had an awful time, to be sure. But we still need you—maybe more now than ever before.”
Hugo could tell that Henrik was serious. He knew the type all too well—military types with only one goal before their eyes: the mission. The mission was everything, all the time, no matter the cost.
Henrik continued, “When we contacted you to investigate Markov Tupolev, we did that with a definitive goal of acquiring his discovery. And if it wasn’t possible, get Markov himself.”
Hugo turned sharply toward Henrik. Investigate Markov? Hadn’t Madeleine said it was Klaus Horst who had contacted Novus to kidnap Markov?
He remained silent. Madeleine’s face was like a stone mask.
“True,” she said. “But at the moment, Novus isn’t able to perform any part of that assignment, no matter how much the Swedish Armed Forces need it done.”
Henrik held up a hand. “You misunderstand me, Madeleine. It isn’t me or even the Swedish Armed Forces that need you to continue. Markov’s discovery is too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands. That’s why you’ve got to continue with the mission I gave you. Obtain Markov’s discovery or Markov himself.”
As the seconds passed, Madeleine’s face became redder and redder. Finally, she hissed, “We don’t have an intervention team that can do this anymore. The staff we had are either dead or injured in the hospital.”
Hugo looked through the window at the crowd below again. A thin layer of snow had settled on everyone’s hats and coats as they hopped in place to keep warm. He knew what he needed to do. It was his brother who was lying in the hospital, badly injured. He thought of Lita but just as quickly pushed her away from her thoughts. He had to call her later, but now was not the time to hesitate.
“I’ll do it.”
Madeleine and Henrik both looked at him with genuine curiosity.
“What do you mean?” Madeleine asked.
“Just what I said. I’ll take Felix’s place as team leader, and we’ll carry out the assignment. With a bit of luck, we’ll get hold of both Klaus and Xi.”
Madeleine could hardly believe her luck. Her plan had succeeded. “Why are you doing this?”
Hugo stared out the window and the howling storm outside.
“Revenge.”
*
The decision was made. Hugo took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders.
Madeleine stood and touched his arm. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, I am.”
Henrik cleared his throat, all business and all about the mission. “Okay, in that case, we have no time to lose. The press conference is tomorrow morning in London. Can you get to St. Petersburg and secure Markov before then?”
“I’ll do my best.”
Madeleine picked up her iPad from the table and told the men, “This is the latest information we have about Markov. He also has an assistant in Finland who is a key player, too. Go ahead and read through all of this now.”
Hugo took the tablet and started reading. While he did, Henrik pulled Madeleine aside.
“Are you sure about this, Madeleine? You’re taking a huge risk here.”
“I know. But it’s better than nothing, right?”
Henrik nodded gravely and said, “Yes, much better.”
“So I’ll call the other team members and go through the situation with them.”
A few minutes later, everyone was sitting quietly around the table. Madeleine made her review short and to the point, and when she was done, Mikko was the first to speak.
“And you think this is the best solution?”
“I don’t know if it’s the best, but it’s a solution. And at the moment, it’s the only one we have.”
Mikko huddled with Sussie and Freya, who sat on either side of him. They deliberated for a few minutes and then turned to Madeleine.
“Okay. Given the situation, we agree it’s the best option.”
8
The plate broke into a thousand pieces as it smashed into the kitchen cabinet. Hugo held up his hands.
“Calm down!”
Another plate came flying, and the broken pieces rained down into the sink. Lita Marquez’s eyes flared with rage.
“Who do you think you are? You think you can just leave me alone now? Now, when I could give birth at any time? Are you stupid or what?”
Hugo gritted his teeth. He didn’t have time for this. The others were waiting in the car, and Xi was surely on his way to Russia by now in search of Markov.
Hugo took a slow breath, unclenched the muscles in his shoulders, and said as calmly as he could, ”I know it sounds insane, but I have to do this. Felix is in the hospital hovering between life and death, and the ones who are responsible for it murdered at least four other people. They’ll get away if no one does something.”
“But why does that person have to be you? It makes no sense at all. Isn’t this why we have the police?”
“It would take days for the police to get anywhere with their investigation—that’s always how it is. If a crime isn’t resolved within twenty-four hours, the chance of it ever being resolved goes down by a lot. And this hit was made by some seriously professional criminals.”
Lita’s olive complexion glittered as faint sun rays broke through the waning snowfall outside. She was unbelievably beautiful, with high cheekbones and dark hair that rocked forward and back when she walked. She and Hugo had met just a little less than two years ago, and their relationship was a stormy one.
She could be difficult when things didn’t go her way, but then again, he wasn’t all that easy to live with himself. She’d been a defining point in his life, though, especially after he’d been discharged from the military three months ago because of his diagnosis (a mild form of hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type V pain syndrome). It was a complicated expression of a genetic defect that made him insensitive to pain. The symptoms had snuck up at first, but Hugo had known for a long time that something was wrong.
Lita stood in the doorway and leaned against the door frame. “But Hugo, what about the baby? How can you leave me now?”
He knew she was going to cave. When he got his mind set on something, then he did it, no matter the cost. Lita didn’t like it, but she accepted it. He went up to her and held her face gently in his hands.
“You know that you and the baby are the most important thing to me. You mean everything. But my brother means a lot to me, too. Someone has put him in the hospital—he might die—and I will move heaven and earth to avenge him. Felix has a competent team, and I can jump in and try to complete the mission Felix had planned.”