and
starting to yell at one another. At one time, Alex had thought he would be closer to his son than his daughter, but it turned out he was wrong.
Alex focused on his job instead. None of the bomb threats had been genuine. No one had been hurt. And yet he still felt on edge.
Four bomb threats. Not one, not two, not three, but four. Aimed at different locations in inner-city Stockholm that took a huge amount of resources to evacuate and search. They had thought it
might be an attempt to divert their attention from something much worse, but that hadn’t happened either. The whole thing had begun and ended with four bomb threats, made by someone in the
vicinity of Arlanda, using voice distortion.
Arlanda. What the hell was the link between the bomb threats and the country’s biggest airport?
TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2011
10
FLIGHT 573, 09:03
I t had been a chaotic morning. For a while it had looked as if Erik was going to be late for work. first of all, the bus to the commuter train was
late. Then the train to Central Station was late as well, which meant he missed the Arlanda Express he had been hoping to catch. When he eventually left on the next train, it had to travel at a
reduced speed due to an earlier accident.
Erik tried not to feel stressed, but beads of sweat broke through along his hairline, and his palms were damp. He was going to have to run to the plane, which was hardly appropriate for a
responsible co-pilot. Among other things – including a patch of dried baby rice on his uniform.
He had been delighted to get a job so quickly. Hard work and a natural aptitude for the profession went a long way, as it turned out. And the opportunity had been there. Very few of the other
pilots were as young as Erik. He felt his stomach flip over with a sudden attack of nerves.
What if I don’t deliver? What if I’m not good enough?
His mobile rang when the train had almost reached the south platform at Arlanda.
‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ he said.
And he was.
The train slowed down and Erik hit the ground running. Claudia called; she just wanted to hear his voice one last time before they parted. In an hour or so, she and their son would be on a plane
to South America, heading off to visit Claudia’s parents. Erik was on the flight to New York, and he would then follow them for a much-needed holiday. They would eat late in the evening,
drink wine and dance long into the night. Lie in bed in the morning. Claudia’s mother would take care of their little boy, give them a break. In Erik’s opinion, they were doing the
child a favour. It was hard work being the parent of a toddler; sometimes it was so hard that Erik would have given his right arm just to sleep through one single night. Therefore, it had to be
good for both the parent and child if they had a rest from one another occasionally.
That had to mean fewer arguments and a stronger bond.
The security checks had increased and grown far more stringent in recent years. Erik couldn’t help thinking some of them were unnecessary. As long as people were allowed to carry several
litres of alcohol on board, there was little point in X-raying their hand luggage and asking them to remove items such as nail scissors.
Erik was allowed to go to the front of the queue for the X-ray machines. The security guard gave him a nod of recognition.
‘Running late?’
‘Too bloody right.’
They did their best to speed up the process. It was only a question of minutes, then he would be on his way. Erik placed his bag on the conveyor belt and walked through the metal detector.
Picked up his bag and ran.
He could see his colleague in the distance. Karim Sassi, a man Claudia had once referred to as ‘the most handsome man she had ever seen’. With a certain amount of reluctance, Erik
had to admit that Karim looked good. He was six foot four, dark and charismatic. The main thing that made Karim Sassi so attractive was his cheerful expression and the
starting to yell at one another. At one time, Alex had thought he would be closer to his son than his daughter, but it turned out he was wrong.
Alex focused on his job instead. None of the bomb threats had been genuine. No one had been hurt. And yet he still felt on edge.
Four bomb threats. Not one, not two, not three, but four. Aimed at different locations in inner-city Stockholm that took a huge amount of resources to evacuate and search. They had thought it
might be an attempt to divert their attention from something much worse, but that hadn’t happened either. The whole thing had begun and ended with four bomb threats, made by someone in the
vicinity of Arlanda, using voice distortion.
Arlanda. What the hell was the link between the bomb threats and the country’s biggest airport?
TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2011
10
FLIGHT 573, 09:03
I t had been a chaotic morning. For a while it had looked as if Erik was going to be late for work. first of all, the bus to the commuter train was
late. Then the train to Central Station was late as well, which meant he missed the Arlanda Express he had been hoping to catch. When he eventually left on the next train, it had to travel at a
reduced speed due to an earlier accident.
Erik tried not to feel stressed, but beads of sweat broke through along his hairline, and his palms were damp. He was going to have to run to the plane, which was hardly appropriate for a
responsible co-pilot. Among other things – including a patch of dried baby rice on his uniform.
He had been delighted to get a job so quickly. Hard work and a natural aptitude for the profession went a long way, as it turned out. And the opportunity had been there. Very few of the other
pilots were as young as Erik. He felt his stomach flip over with a sudden attack of nerves.
What if I don’t deliver? What if I’m not good enough?
His mobile rang when the train had almost reached the south platform at Arlanda.
‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ he said.
And he was.
The train slowed down and Erik hit the ground running. Claudia called; she just wanted to hear his voice one last time before they parted. In an hour or so, she and their son would be on a plane
to South America, heading off to visit Claudia’s parents. Erik was on the flight to New York, and he would then follow them for a much-needed holiday. They would eat late in the evening,
drink wine and dance long into the night. Lie in bed in the morning. Claudia’s mother would take care of their little boy, give them a break. In Erik’s opinion, they were doing the
child a favour. It was hard work being the parent of a toddler; sometimes it was so hard that Erik would have given his right arm just to sleep through one single night. Therefore, it had to be
good for both the parent and child if they had a rest from one another occasionally.
That had to mean fewer arguments and a stronger bond.
The security checks had increased and grown far more stringent in recent years. Erik couldn’t help thinking some of them were unnecessary. As long as people were allowed to carry several
litres of alcohol on board, there was little point in X-raying their hand luggage and asking them to remove items such as nail scissors.
Erik was allowed to go to the front of the queue for the X-ray machines. The security guard gave him a nod of recognition.
‘Running late?’
‘Too bloody right.’
They did their best to speed up the process. It was only a question of minutes, then he would be on his way. Erik placed his bag on the conveyor belt and walked through the metal detector.
Picked up his bag and ran.
He could see his colleague in the distance. Karim Sassi, a man Claudia had once referred to as ‘the most handsome man she had ever seen’. With a certain amount of reluctance, Erik
had to admit that Karim looked good. He was six foot four, dark and charismatic. The main thing that made Karim Sassi so attractive was his cheerful expression and the
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