Chapter II
15 to 16 - January
The girl opened the restroom's door violently and rushed to the sinks after securing the door from the inside. She let her gun next to the washbowl and opened the tap. She washed her face repeatedly while the water stained in red from her blood. But the rage was still there. When she looked at herself on the mirror, she immediately took out the pins from her hair, pulled the black wig away and shook her head, at least free from that ugly thing. It was really hard to cut her beloved red hair, one (among several) of her favorite things about her looks. It used reach her waist in long and not much pronounced curls, now it was so short that it barely reached her neck and without a single curl.
-Skinny little bitch… -Murmured angrily. At least she didn't have to paint it black, it would have been unbearable.
The redhead girl took out her coat and opened and opened the first bottoms of her blazer. She has not really big breasts, but at least more than that fucking punk and with a beautiful and firm shape. But she was not trying to release her boobs, but to reach the small cellphone under her bra, a Haier Black Pearl. She put the headphones on the phone and one of them in her left ear and marked the only number in the memory of the phone, putting it in her pocked after.
-Houston, we have a problem… -said with a sarcastic but sweet (almost sexy) voice, while reaching for her gun.
After the events of "the case of the section", not much changed for those involved, with the obvious exception of the, now even more famous, Mikael Blomkvist, Lisbeth Salander and some of the police officers involved in the case. Among them, perhaps the one with the best rise was Sonja Modig. Some recognition for her work and infinite patience in front of some injustices, granted her the confidence to get the rank of inspector. But her activities were not as those of Bublankij's, her previous boss. She was transferred to a special division of federal police in charge of a small department. For her, it was just a glorified nanny. The very same day Modig get her new charge, she was presented to the redhead girl and the secret of her identity was added (verbally) to her responsibilities.
Modig tried to play the big sister role at first. She brought two cups of coffee herself to the room, after the chief of the division leave both women alone. The redhead girl was almost absent in the reunion, just sitting in that very same chair, now looking at Modig with her beautiful eyes while playing with a lock of her long red hair. Her body was slim and curvaceous, with more breasts and hips than she expected. Short and cute enough to pass as a teenager even to she has passed twenty-seven and her face, looked carefully and close, was almost the same as Modig remembered. But the whole thing was different: she was, somehow, so fucking beautiful.
-Well, alone at last –said Sonja Modig with a small and warm smile.
-That sounded like you are going to try to rape me –was the quick answer. Her voice was sweet and almost inviting.
Sonja did not understand that sentence immediately and she just looked at the redhead girl with a dumb look. The girl's eyes were directly on her and a rally small smile was drawn on her face, almost unnoticeable. Modig smiled with and let out a funny sight, giving no importance to the comment. She was surprised that the real thing that got her was that the girl talked. She was expecting long silences.
-I understand your position –continued Modig. At the same time, the smile on the face of the girl disappeared- and I assure you that you can trust me on everything you need.
The girl crossed her arms the same as her legs and leaned back on her chair a little, moving back and forward quickly. Again, the silence did not last.
-I do not need pity from you –she said, and then bit her lips. Modig had the feeling she was talking to a little girl.
-Listen, I…
-No, you don't understand. I have had this chad before a lot. First from that bastard of Björk, Gullberg and even Teleborian. I was cleaver enough to not let scape my only chance to have a life and I have been doing just that since then.
Modig was quiet, just looking at the girl, who put her red hair behind her ear.
-I worked for them and they are all death or fucked. I don't need the good cop thing.
Sonja did not said a thing, just took a few of the coffee, but it was almost cold. She stood up with the desire to hit that spoiled little girl on her beautiful face for the first time.
-Tomorrow at first hour.
Only a small part of the team was in a near apartment waiting for the signal. Inside, there were a few tables with computers and monitors, recording the videos from the cameras near the Riksdagshuset and inside it. Two agents were working on the computers and checking the activity of The Group that entered the parliament house with Lisbeth Salander. The rest of the team was in a truck covered with snow and prepared with guns and submachine guns to arrest Alvar and his people at a signal. It was the first real operation under Sonja Modig's direction, a work of more than a year. So, it was not strange for her to be nervous. She had been checking every monitor since The Group arrived and started working.
Security in the Riksdagshuset was informed to leave some "openings" weeks before. It required the authorization of a lot of people and control of media. But it was done, everyone was cooperating, some more than others. The only important thing was to arrest Alvar.
On the cameras, the leader and Salander entered the computer room while the other four men took different ways. Suddenly, the cameras failed. The agents tried to reestablish the video but the problem was inside the building. Only the camera of the main chamber was still working and showed nothing important. Sonja felt like a chill on her back, they were supposed to catch the moment The Group contacted Alvar, whoever he was. Now all was on the redhead girl.
When the phone sounded and the girl said: "Houston, we have a problem", Sonja Modig had already lost the count of times she wanted to hit her. Like all other times, she just closed her eyes for a moment and answered looking at the darkness inside her eyelids. It was stupid to inform that, she was not supposed to use that number unless case of an emergency.
-What's wrong? We have no video.
-Alvar is not coming. Otto said he called and canceled. He was here before and took the information.
-What?! –Modig opened her eyes.
-Look, these guys are crazy for real. They have bombs and are planting them all over the building. You have to take me out.
-Wait, bombs?!
-Boss –interrupted one of the agents, pointing at the monitor. The four men were walking around with some small boxes. Quickly, Modig connected some ideas.
-Are you listening to me? –repeated the girl.
-Yes, I'm here. Listen, if the team enters there and those bastards detonated the…
-I have the detonator, I took it from Otto!
-You did what? Then you have are not undercover anymore?
-Hey! –She yelled, starting to lose control- That is not important, I am inside a building full of bombs and some guys probably armed!
-You have a detonator, but what if there are more?
-Then what?! Am I supposed to die here?!
-I'll send the team near there, but you have to get out unnoticed on your own, Camilla.
Camilla Sjölander snorted frustrated. No one would go in to help her. It was all Modig's fault, it was all Lisbeth fault. What if they were twins? She did not ask for it, that's for sure. But that bitch of Sonja Modig forced her to pretend to be the person Camilla hated the most: her sister. Everyone was aware of the crazy Lisbeth Salander, even when the judge against her was finished and all the charges were dismissed, in the memory of must people Salander was still (and probably will always be) a crazy and satanic criminal. And Camilla, the beautiful redhead girl who attracted the eyes of men immediately, was supposed to pass as her. It wasn't fair.
To be honest to her, Camilla was afraid, but she never believed for sure that she could die for real. It was just… unnatural. But even as her conscious mind was not fully aware of the danger, her instinct was alert and ready. Modig was right; there could be more detonators, perhaps one for each bomb. Nothing was sure. She put the detonator she had in her pocked, took a deep breath and pulled the slide of her Walther P99 to chamber a round. She looked at the gun: black plastic with a stainless steel slide. She liked it a lot because it remained her of a Parker pen she had once. Camille put her middle finger of her left hand over the headphone in her ear for a second.
-I will go out.
-The team will be waiting for you.
Camilla took her gun pointing up, a few inches from her face as she was taught to do but she forgot about trigger discipline at all. Carefully, she opened the door of the restroom and walked out to the empty hallway. She walked as silent as she could, looking at each side of the way. Far away she perceived some voices from the other men, but no one seemed altered or looking for her. She continued walking, passing some doors and looking for the same way they got in, the only door she was sure to be open. Suddenly, near a corner, a voice reached her.
-Hey, Salander, it's that you?
The girl looked back, with her eyes wide open, at the man, who was confused for her red hair and gun. In a moment he seemed to realize what was going on, or at least, that something was really wrong.
-Stop! –he demanded, putting his and inside his jacket.
Camilla ran away as fast as she can, she had no interest in start a fight with guns. The man has a different idea. The shoots passed near to her, but the guy was a bad shooter. She turned a corner, already lost for evading bullets and the voices that were stronger.
-Modig! Modig, damn! –she said, but the headphone had already fallen from her ear.
The redhead girl stopped abruptly, opening her arms to maintain equilibrium. She was in the main chamber of the parliament.
-Damn…
The men were behind her, so she ran and took cover behind some tables at the very same time some shooting passed just where she was.
-Come here you bitch, we found Otto!
Sjölander crawled between chairs and tables. She wasn't even sure help was coming; all she had was her gun. Camilla view under the sea of tables and was able to see some shoes coming her way. She did not hesitated and shot to them. She did not wait to see the effect of her attack and started to crawl again, a scream, the sound of something falling and a curse revealed her succeed. Camilla did not notice that she was humming a song until she stopped just when her face was in front of one of the bombs under one of the chairs.
The remaining three men were sure that she had no scape. They were able to see her sometimes here and there, crawling like a baby, but it was really hard for them to be sure of her position. Then, she yelled:
-I have Otto's detonator! –The silence was total- I'm holding it in my hand right now with my finger on the bottom and if you shot me I'll press it!
A small white hand appeared between the tables, moving the detonator to show it to them. The men were still silent. Camilla stood up holding the device with one hand and her gun in the other, pointing at each for turns. Her legs were shaking a little but the rage on her face was really convincing.
-You would kill us all, even…
-Yes! Even me! I am a crazy satanic lesbian, remember?! –No one moved a muscle, again, the reputation of her sister worked for her (skinny little bitch…) - I will leave here, if someone follows me or try to do something we are all dead! Dead!
Camilla waited a few seconds, but no one said anything, so, she started to walk slowly. The men hated her; she could see the rage in their eyes.
"Amateurs, I have seen the eyes of the devil".
She smiled, remembering Zalachenko just now was so crazy. The girl had almost reached the door when it opened with violence.
-Put the gun down! –demanded the police officers entering the building with their guns pointing at all that moves there, even the hurt guy on the floor. Some pointed at Camilla until they saw her face.
The girl put the detonator down and sighed deeply. At last, the shit was over.
-Salander –said Sonja Modig, entering the place, directly toward the girl- what the hell happened here?
Camilla Sjölander looked at Modig, her eyes were red as if she was about to cry.
-Don't you ever call me that again –she said. This time, it was Camilla who wanted to hit Modig.