the Talisker himself in appreciation of his help with the simulation of a mission involving freeing passengers from a hijacked airplane. The bottle was now half-gone.
“Let the song go on,” Dirk demanded, not surprised by Mark’s appearance.
“Forget it. Any more Ian Gillan and my eardrums will break. We’ll get the bastards. Together.”
Dirk stood up and took a heavy crystal glass from the shelf. He filled the glass and pushed it over to Mark. “Good. Thanks. Completely normal perverts, right? Nothing to do with the LKA or the US Navy. Am I right?”
“Yes.”
Dirk’s gaze became clearer. “What do you have?”
“Are you sure you want to hear this today?” Mark looked at the bottle.
“It doesn’t work. No matter how much I pour down my throat. It doesn’t drive away the pictures of what would have happened to Tim if . . . I don’t know. Tell me what happened. I had my hands full calming Alex down and distracting Tim and only caught half of it.”
Mark had only a vague notion of how much strength the last few hours had sapped from Dirk. “Alex and Laura had agreed to meet at the playground with the boys because both the school and the day care center were closed. While they were talking, at least two men were occupied with trimming hedges. Nicki has said he and Tim played with each other at first. Then they got mad at each other. Nicki told Tim he had already fired my gun and called him a baby. Tim was insulted and ran away and was called over by one of the supposed gardeners. The guy asked him about the argument and promised to show him a pistol and let him fire it. Nicki heard this and wanted to keep him from going along with it. When Tim proved to be stubborn, Nicki ran to Alex. Alex came immediately but only arrived in time to see a man trying to pull Tim into a van. The vehicle drove off, and Tim lay on the road, unconscious. Sven also learned the following from your son and Maria: Tim actually saw a gun and said that his father’s was bigger. The man then asked why his father had a gun, and Tim answered that his father was a police officer with a special unit. The man in the front passenger seat had a ‘smelly cloth’ and tried to hold him. At that point Tim struck him on the wrist and kicked him in the shin. The driver screamed that the whole thing had gone wrong and that Kalle should let him go.”
“Kalle? That’s more a category than a name.” Dirk laughed. “Did you know Alex and I argued about guns this morning? I wanted to give Tim a reasonable explanation about the Sig, so this crap would lose its fascination. If these bastards hadn’t been afraid of abducting the son of a police officer, we’d have never heard from Tim again, nor found out what happened to him. And I’m not a ‘police officer with a special unit’ at all. Damn it, what would have happened if Tim had said ‘accountant’? What kind of world are we living in?”
“Your son’s upstairs sleeping. That’s the important thing, Dirk. We already know the world can be lousy. We’re not going to eliminate the problem, but we can take on those who are responsible.”
When Dirk made a move to refill his glass, Mark restrained him. “Don’t you think that’s enough for today?” When Dirk tried to resist, Mark placed the bottle on the desk, out of Dirk’s reach. “Your family needs you, and tomorrow you need to convince Tannhäuser to support us. It’d be pretty silly if we were to work completely without a net, and you’re hardly going to convince him if you allow your cover to become a reality. By the way, damned good work.”
The praise resulted in a grimace that with a great deal of goodwill could be interpreted as a grin. “Thanks for sending Fox and Tom over. Had those two not been here I’d have hardly started in on the Talisker, alarm system or not.”
With a furrowed brow, Mark took a sip. “If you noticed those two were out there, I’ll have to have a talk with them,” he said and placed
“Let the song go on,” Dirk demanded, not surprised by Mark’s appearance.
“Forget it. Any more Ian Gillan and my eardrums will break. We’ll get the bastards. Together.”
Dirk stood up and took a heavy crystal glass from the shelf. He filled the glass and pushed it over to Mark. “Good. Thanks. Completely normal perverts, right? Nothing to do with the LKA or the US Navy. Am I right?”
“Yes.”
Dirk’s gaze became clearer. “What do you have?”
“Are you sure you want to hear this today?” Mark looked at the bottle.
“It doesn’t work. No matter how much I pour down my throat. It doesn’t drive away the pictures of what would have happened to Tim if . . . I don’t know. Tell me what happened. I had my hands full calming Alex down and distracting Tim and only caught half of it.”
Mark had only a vague notion of how much strength the last few hours had sapped from Dirk. “Alex and Laura had agreed to meet at the playground with the boys because both the school and the day care center were closed. While they were talking, at least two men were occupied with trimming hedges. Nicki has said he and Tim played with each other at first. Then they got mad at each other. Nicki told Tim he had already fired my gun and called him a baby. Tim was insulted and ran away and was called over by one of the supposed gardeners. The guy asked him about the argument and promised to show him a pistol and let him fire it. Nicki heard this and wanted to keep him from going along with it. When Tim proved to be stubborn, Nicki ran to Alex. Alex came immediately but only arrived in time to see a man trying to pull Tim into a van. The vehicle drove off, and Tim lay on the road, unconscious. Sven also learned the following from your son and Maria: Tim actually saw a gun and said that his father’s was bigger. The man then asked why his father had a gun, and Tim answered that his father was a police officer with a special unit. The man in the front passenger seat had a ‘smelly cloth’ and tried to hold him. At that point Tim struck him on the wrist and kicked him in the shin. The driver screamed that the whole thing had gone wrong and that Kalle should let him go.”
“Kalle? That’s more a category than a name.” Dirk laughed. “Did you know Alex and I argued about guns this morning? I wanted to give Tim a reasonable explanation about the Sig, so this crap would lose its fascination. If these bastards hadn’t been afraid of abducting the son of a police officer, we’d have never heard from Tim again, nor found out what happened to him. And I’m not a ‘police officer with a special unit’ at all. Damn it, what would have happened if Tim had said ‘accountant’? What kind of world are we living in?”
“Your son’s upstairs sleeping. That’s the important thing, Dirk. We already know the world can be lousy. We’re not going to eliminate the problem, but we can take on those who are responsible.”
When Dirk made a move to refill his glass, Mark restrained him. “Don’t you think that’s enough for today?” When Dirk tried to resist, Mark placed the bottle on the desk, out of Dirk’s reach. “Your family needs you, and tomorrow you need to convince Tannhäuser to support us. It’d be pretty silly if we were to work completely without a net, and you’re hardly going to convince him if you allow your cover to become a reality. By the way, damned good work.”
The praise resulted in a grimace that with a great deal of goodwill could be interpreted as a grin. “Thanks for sending Fox and Tom over. Had those two not been here I’d have hardly started in on the Talisker, alarm system or not.”
With a furrowed brow, Mark took a sip. “If you noticed those two were out there, I’ll have to have a talk with them,” he said and placed
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