Femicide by Pascal Engman

Author:Pascal Engman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Legend Press

14

NICOLAS HEARD A scraping sound from outside. The balcony door was open. He went out, stood with his hands on the railing and looked out at the concrete buildings in front of him.

It was a beautiful, warm, cloudless night. Once again, he heard that same sound – coming from Celine’s balcony.

“Celine, are you there?”

“No.”

Celine’s voice. He smirked, leaned over the railing and tried to see in behind the metal screen. She poked her head up.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Camping.” She got to her feet. Her body was swaddled in a sleeping bag. “See? Can you keep the noise down now. You’re spoiling the illusion of wilderness.”

“Sorry,” said Nicolas. “But are you going to sleep out here?”

“Am I disturbing you?”

“Not at all,” he said with a smile. “Just be careful, so the wolves don’t get you.” He slid down with his back against the railing, tipped his head backwards and looked up at the stars.

“Thanks for helping my friend when she was here.”

“Vanessa? Well, she’s cool. For a cop.”

It went quiet. From one of the neighbouring flats, the sound of a hip-hop beat over which a man was bellowing his hatred of society. Nicolas’ meeting with Magnus Örn had gone well. He had explained AOS security, how their operatives comprised former soldiers from all over the world. And that Nicolas, with his Special Operations Group background, would be welcomed with open arms.

The missions ranged from bodyguard duty to assisting British and American troops in war zones – in everything from battle to patrol work and training. Nicolas was offered a basic wage of ninety thousand crowns a month, and an apartment in London. Generous allowances for overseas duty. His mouth had dropped, and he’d said yes on the spot. It was the only way to go.

And yet, he still felt torn. Maria was here. And Vanessa, who was, aside from his sister, the only person he trusted. On top of that, he’d miss Celine. She would be left alone when he went.

“Nicolas, what do you actually do?”

“I used to be a soldier.”

He thought about telling Celine about the job in London, that he was going to disappear, but decided not to. Not yet.

“Have you killed anyone?”

“I shot a man last week,” said Nicolas. “In the pizza place.”

“So that was you? Is that why the police were here?”

“Yes.”

The true answer was that he had killed many people, even if he didn’t know an exact number. Probably over twenty. Almost ten years in SOG and Special Protection Group. Action in Afghanistan, Mali, Nigeria. Covert operations the world over. Situations in which Swedish lives had been in peril. Last year: with Vanessa in southern Chile. At the pizzeria the other week. In self-defence. But still. He was, in all probability, one of the biggest killers amongst all living Swedes. More than any feared gangland boss. Yet he wasn’t seen as a murderer. At least not in the eyes of the law. Now his talent for extinguishing life had landed him a well-paid job.

The world was strange.

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