Salander was breathing heavily as she stumbled back to her car. She was generally unharmed as her small body moved quickly like thin branches of wood that sashayed easily in the trees. Her narrow body made her almost aerodynamic, with an almost eerie ability to escape whatever dangers may come her way.
Even so, the sudden attack that night had shook her up. A quick trip to Mimmi's was all she had in plan that night but yet, like the rest of Salander's life, nothing seemed to be able to function according to plan.
She recalled with some satisfaction how she had broken her attackers face pretty badly. It would be difficult for him to heal that up without some medical attention.
An average person with her skills might have considered paying close attention to patients at nearby hospitals to check for anyone that came in with a cut similar to the ones she inflicted. However, possibly in hindsight, an average person would be completely incapable of possessing the skills she did. Salander was, undoubtedly, a most extraordinary person, with a most extraordinary skill set, and well equipped with a most extraordinary mind.
When her mind had finally sunk into a sort of blissful numbness, another puzzle piece the just the incident prior had surfaced to the forefront of Salander's mind. Another damn mystery piece.
Mikael Blomkvist. Reporter, journalist, and with an apparent professional career of being nosy. What the hell had he been doing and what the hell was Salander's luck when he just happened to keep appearing when and where he wasn't wanted. With a brief thought which Salander exterminated quickly, she wondered if he was okay as she had heard him let out a cry of pain during the fight.
For someone she had promised to keep out her mind, he sure seemed to occupy it a lot.
With quivering hands, Salander checked her body and with a hiss of annoyance, she realized she had probably dropped her keys in the fight or when she was running. Her adrenaline was dropping rapidly and in replacement of it, exhaustion began to weigh down her sore limbs. She looked into the distance, wondering how long it would take her to walk back to her own apartment. She estimated over an hour, something she sincerely doubted her body could withstand in this state of health.
She looked upwards with a resigned glance at her old apartment that she hated so much on Lundergarten, comforted mildly by the idea that her lovely and probably naked Mimmi was up there currently, probably fast asleep.
Salander suddenly felt an odd feeling over take her. With a sickening realization, she recognized it abruptly as fear. It was paralyzing, this ice laced with fire that seemed to freeze but also simultaneously burning her body from the inside out. The intensely frigid Swedish air whipped around her thin legs, only amplifying the sensation and, for a brief second, Salander had never felt so scared.
Decisively, she marched back upstairs to her old apartment, having to explain to her lover that she was mugged of her bag and car keys so she's be spending the night there. Mimmi was more than happy to give the girl a place to stay for the night, especially if it were right next to her.