The Hugo Xavier Series: Book 1-3

by Filip Forsberg

  Adem sat up a little straighter. “Right.”

  On the television, a man with a dazzling white smile appeared in front of the camera. “This is Tony Stiles, direct from Copenhagen.”

  Madeleine listened intently as Tony Stiles pointed at the sea behind him.

  “I’m in the northern part of the port of Copenhagen, reporting on the extraordinary events that are unfolding in Oresund. There have been reports of gunfire out on the cargo ship you see in the distance—” he turned around and pointed to the dark shadow that was moving north, then continued, “At the moment, these reports are unconfirmed, but our sources are working with both the police and the coast guard to confirm them.”

  A gust of wind made Tony turn away for a moment. When it subsided, he faced the camera again. “What we all wonder, of course, is whether what’s happening right now on the cargo ship has something to do with the dramatic events that took place earlier today in Copenhagen. I am, of course, referring to the burglary at Magnus von Silverstråle’s apartment, followed by the shooting in Nordhavn that claimed the lives of at least three people. It’s been quite a dramatic day in the Danish capital, and it appears it isn’t over yet. We’ll continue our live broadcast here from the port until we get the go-ahead from the Danish police that it’s safe to approach the ship.”

  Madeleine groaned. This was precisely what they did not need—a media bomb like this. She was sure it would only be a couple of minutes before Novus’ phone would start ringing off the hook. That’s how journalists were, constantly looking for something to write about. And considering what had happened to Novus, they would clearly suspect a connection to the company.

  They had to move fast. There was no time to lose. Madeleine pushed back her chair, stood up, and was about to say something to Adem when her phone rang. She froze when she saw who it was.

  “This is Madeleine,” she said, hardly breathing.

  The deep voice on the other end said, “Hey, boss.”

  “Hugo! It’s so good to hear your voice. We just saw you on the news.”

  Hugo was silent for a few seconds. “We’re on the news?” he asked.

  Madeleine recounted the coverage she and Adem had just watched. “But don’t worry about it now,” she told Hugo. “How are you?”

  Now it was Hugo’s turn to sum things up. “We chased the bastards up onto the ship. There was a hell of a shootout, and then they managed to escape. We’re still on the ship; we don’t have any way to leave.”

  “Okay,” said Madeleine, “let me think.” She was silent for a few moments, then asked, “How are the others?”

  “They’re okay, all things considered. Mikko has the worst of the injuries. He needs to see a doctor as soon as possible. We’ve established a good rapport with the captain, so hopefully, he’ll be willing to help us for a while.”

  “Okay, good.”

  Hugo’s tone became a little sharper. “They’re getting away, Madeleine. We saw them. They had the loot with them—they were carrying a dark sack. But they got reinforcements, and then they managed to hijack a helicopter. They’re at least fifteen minutes ahead of us now.”

  “If we can get you a means of transportation from the ship, do you know where they’re going?”

  Hugo was silent as he considered the options. “The only thing I can think of is Oslo,” he said. “When I met Magnus earlier in his apartment, he mentioned something about going to Oslo today.”

  “Yes, that’s my guess too,” Madeleine agreed.

  “So, do you have any ideas?” Hugo asked.

  “Perhaps. Give me some time, and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “We don’t have time,” Hugo replied with an edge in his voice. Even by Novus’ standards, this had been a very big day. Hugo was beyond tired of dealing with it. “Every second that we’re stuck here, they get a wider head start.”

  “Hugo, I know. Give me just five minutes. I’ll call you back.”

  Hugo finally gave in. “Okay, five minutes.”

  Madeleine clicked off the call. Adem looked at her anxiously.

  “What did he say?”

  She held up her hand and said, “Wait, I’m thinking.”

  Ten seconds passed, and then Madeleine picked up the phone again.

  “Magnus? It’s me, Madeleine.”

  15

  Magnus von Silverstråle looked out into the dreary afternoon as they passed the north coast of Zealand. The dull, heavy vibration of the rotor spread through the seat. Veronica held her hand over his and squeezed it lightly.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked again, looking into his eyes.

  Magnus tapped her hand. “Yes, I’m just thinking. The press conference has to go perfectly. But the break-in this morning has me all out of balance.” He shook his head. “There’s so much at stake. If it turns out to be a failure or if I don’t make it there, I don’t want to think about what will happen. I’ll be a laughingstock.”

  Veronica leaned against him. “You’ll be there. And you will do well. Try not to worry about the break-in, darling. The police are working hard to solve it.”

  Magnus’ expression went blank, and he said, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said, shrugging.

  “Come on, tell me.”

  Magnus sighed. “It’s just that what I had in that safe is unbelievably valuable to me. But it’s also sensitive. It must not, under any circumstances, fall into the wrong hands.”

  Something gleamed in Veronica’s eyes. “You know,” she said, flashing him a smile, “you still haven’t told me what was in the safe.”

  Magnus turned toward her. “It doesn’t matter. Just something private.”

  She opened her mouth to reply, but Magnus put a finger to her lips and shook his head. Just then, his phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket.

  “Magnus,” he answered.

  The cabin noise made it difficult to hear, and he pressed the phone harder against his ear.

  “Hey, it’s me, Madeleine—from Novus. Can you hear me?”

  Magnus’ heart skipped a beat. “Yes, I can hear you. Have you found my belongings?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  His momentary hope died out, and in the same second, a wave of irritation welled up inside him.

  “What do you want then?”

  Madeleine took a deep breath and told him, “Our team chased the burglars onto a cargo ship out in Oresund. There was a firefight that left several dead, but the thieves managed to escape from the ship.”

  “You cannot be serious.”

  “I’m serious,” Madeleine assured him. “But to make a long story short, Hugo and one other—Freya—need a way to get off the ship and continue the hunt.”

  Magnus gripped his temples with the thumb and ring finger of his left hand. “What does that have to do with me?” he asked. “I have a thousand and one things to prepare for.”

  Madeleine’s voice became louder. “Listen. My team is putting their lives on the line by trying to get your stolen property back, so I would appreciate it if you’d keep that in mind.”

  Magnus cleared his throat. “You’re right,” he said. “Excuse me.”

  “I want you to pick Hugo and Freya up from the ship and take them to Oslo. We’re pretty sure that’s where the thieves are going.”

  Magnus was stunned. “How can you be sure of that?” he asked.

  “Well, it’s almost the only possibility. I can’t be one hundred percent certain, but considering that you’ll be holding a press conference there this afternoon in front of the entire world press, it’s our best guess at the moment.”

  This turned Magnus’ stomach. It was yet another horrible thing to take care of. His worst fears had come true. “I don’t know, Madeleine,” he said. “We’re already well on our way. If we were to turn around now, it would mean a delay. And I’m already late as it is.”

  “En
ough, Magnus! Do you want us to help you or not?”

  Magnus bit his lip. “Okay, you’re right. I talk to the pilot and tell him to pick up the two from the ship.”

  “Fantastic. I’ll send you the coordinates.”

  He pulled his hand over his face. “Wait—are we supposed to land on the ship?”

  “I don’t care how you do it,” Madeleine said. “Just make sure you do.”

  The call ended, and Magnus stared blankly at the phone. Slowly, he returned it to his pocket and pulled the headphone back over his ear.

  “Mary?”

  The pilot’s voice crackled in his ear. “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “New plans.”

  ***

  They say that fortune favors the brave. Mary Tingel guided the helicopter forward slowly, and the slender craft slid through the air. They passed through a spot of turbulence, but Mary held the control stick in a firm grip. She let her gaze glide over the dark water. It was foamy, but the wind had finally calmed down. She had always loved to fly, ever since she had accompanied her grandfather on a flight as a little girl.

  She’d been hooked since that day. Sometimes it felt like just yesterday that she had applied to pilot school, but she’d been flying a long time now. Mary had changed airlines several times since those early days, but she still loved being in the air. It would never leave her.

  Behind her, she could hear Magnus’ muffled voice in the back of the cabin as he talked on the phone. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but her attention was focused straight ahead. She was thinking only of the flight.

  Then her headphones buzzed, and she heard Magnus’ voice loud and clear.

  “Mary?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?” she responded.

  There were a few seconds of hesitation, and then, “New plans.”

  Mary’s face froze. Magnus had changed their routes a few times before, and he knew how much she disliked it.

  “What new plans, Magnus?”

  “We’ve got sort of a special situation. We need to pick up two more passengers. It’s not that far.”

  Mary exhaled and shook her head. “Ok, nemas problemas. Where are they?”

  “Out in Oresund.”

  Mary’s jaw dropped. “Where did you say?”

  Hugo turned around and pointed. “They’re out on a ship in Oresund. Back that way.”

  Mary was silent for a few seconds. “You’re joking,” she said.

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “You can’t be serious, Magnus! This isn’t military transport! We can’t just fly in and pick up people who are out at sea. Do you understand what you’re saying?”

  She looked over her shoulder and met Magnus’ eyes. They were completely calm. He clenched his jaw.

  “I know it’s a little awkward,” he said, “but there’s nothing I can do about it. There are two people on a ship in Oresund. I’ve got the coordinates, and one way or another, we’ve got to pick them up.”

  Mary wasn’t giving up. This was insane. “But Magnus. How in the world do you think we’re going to pick them up? We don’t have a winch system or anything we can use to pull them up to us.”

  “Then we’ll just have to improvise,” Magnus said simply.

  Mary threw her head back and groaned. She knew that Magnus would get his way. It didn’t matter how much she protested—it was a waste of energy.

  “So we’ll need to land on the ship to pick them up,” she said incredulously.

  “If that’s what we have to do.”

  Mary swallowed hard. There would be all possible retaliation for this. Landing a helicopter on a cargo ship out in one of the world’s busiest bodies of water would be investigated for months. She tried that tactic on Magnus.

  “I’m going to have all the problems in the world if I do this, just so you know.”

  Magnus shrugged. “Let me take care of it later. What’s important right now is that we pick them up as soon as possible.”

  Mary’s shoulders sank. “Okay, you win. Give me the coordinates.”

  Magnus did so, and Mary adjusted the course. The wind changed as their direction shifted, and ten minutes later, she pointed down to a dark dot in the water.

  “There. Is that it?”

  Magnus picked up a pair of binoculars and said, “Probably. There aren’t many other cargo ships out here right now. The ship they’re on is called the Golden Wind.”

  They got closer, and the ship grew rapidly in size. Mary’s heart rate lowered slightly. If they had any chance of successfully landing on the craft, it needed to be nice and big.

  “Okay,” she said. “Let’s take a closer look and see if we can contact them.”

  Mary moved the joystick forward and flew closer. “Golden Wind, this is RSZ-111,” she said into her mic. “We’ve been instructed to pick up two of your passengers?”

  The voice in her headphones crackled. A man replied, “This is the Golden Wind. That’s right—a man and a woman. They’re ready for transport.”

  Mary shook her head. She was going to regret this. “Help me out, Golden Wind. Where is a good place to land?”

  “We’ve prepared a place along the front of the bow,” the captain replied. “There’s enough space for you. We’ll keep a steady course and speed. Can you see where we marked the landing area?”

  Mary leaned forward and stared down at the ship, which was slowly but surely plowing through the waves. Along the front of the bow, she saw a circle marked with emergency lights.

  “Yes, I see it.”

  On the other end, the captain’s voice was tense. “All right,” he said, “we’re ready to receive you.”

  “Roger that. We’re coming down.”

  Mary adjusted the controls and put the chopper in a gentle descent toward the ship. As they drew closer, the vast cargo ship towered up before them. It was a monster. As they passed alongside the vessel, a gust of wind shoved them to the side; Mary turned to the right and nearly crashed into the ship. She pulled back, and the captain spoke in her ear again.

  “Take it easy. No pressure. Try again.”

  Mary came in a little more from the side the second time, and then it went better. The bow approached, and she turned slightly to the left and down. Not far to go now. Thirty meters. Twenty. Two men stood on either side of the pad with flashlights in their hands to help her determine the distance. Two other people appeared next to one of the flashlight men.

  “Looking good,” the captain said. “Ten meters.”

  Mary took a deep breath and called back, “Magnus! Be ready by the door. Open it, get them on board, and close it. Okay?”

  Magnus crawled to the door and grabbed the handle. “Ready!”

  Mary gently lowered the helicopter. Five meters. Two. Landing!

  “Now!”

  Magnus pulled the door open, and the wind roared into the cabin. Two black-clad figures ran over the landing plate, reached the helicopter, and jumped in.

  “Okay, Magnus, now!” Mary yelled.

  Magnus slammed the door shut, and the new passengers sank into two empty seats. Mary increased the engine power and pulled back on the control stick.

  “Okay, we’re out of here!”

  The chopper took off, and after a few seconds, it was clear of the ship. Magnus leaned back as a wave of adrenaline rushed through his veins. He looked over the people they had picked up. It was Hugo Xavier and a woman he didn’t recognize. He nodded at Hugo.

  “Hey, Hugo.”

  Hugo answered the nod. “Hey, Magnus. Thanks for the ride.”

  Magnus shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Always happy to help. Where are we going?”

  Hugo grinned and replied, “North. To Oslo.”

  ***

  Raynard de Cryx rolled his shoulders to make the exploding headache go away, but it stubbornly continued. He glanced out the side window as they approached their goal. He turned to Jules and murmured, “Almost there.”

  Jules bared his teeth. “It’s a
bout time. We’ve got to get down there fast, before there are too many cops on site. The live broadcasts on the internet say the police are focusing their efforts more closely on Denmark right now. It doesn’t look like they’re searching for us.”

  Raynard sat up straighter. “Good. There’s always something.” He turned to the pilot and asked, “How long until we land?”

  “Just a minute. We only need a permit, and we’ll fly straight in.”

  Raynard swallowed hard. Not so far to go, maybe an hour more. They’d enter the hotel in central Oslo and hand the loot over to Sara. Then he, Jules, and the others would disappear like fog on a hot summer day.

  He turned to Dragan and Slavo. “We need help with the last part of the mission,” he said.

  Slavo raised an eyebrow. “Sure. What is it?”

  “Nothing too difficult. After we land, take us through the security checkpoint and then to whatever transport will take us into Oslo. We’ll leave this—” he lifted the dark bundle that sat on the floor between his feet— “with our client. Then we’re done.”

  Slavo licked his lips. “I see. And how much would such a small safety transportation mission pay, then?”

  Raynard gritted his teeth. That’s how it was to work with mercenaries. Everything had its price.

  “Ten thousand dollars.”

  Slavo bit his lip and said, “Each.”

  Raynard chuckled. “Sure. Each.”

  Slavo held out his hand. “Deal.”

  They continued in silence. As the copter got closer, Raynard heard the pilot calling Gardermoen, Oslo’s main airport. It was beautifully situated, and Raynard gazed absently through the side window as they approached. When all this was over, he would disappear for a few months and rest on a small Greek island with some beautiful women. He smiled inwardly as he imagined it. Then the helicopter rolled, returning his thoughts to the present.

  The pilot’s voice crackled, “Two minutes.”

  Raynard grabbed Jules’ arm. “Jules, we’re doing this.”

  Jules nodded and replied, “Yep, nice and easy.”

  The pilot gently lowered the helicopter toward Gardermoen, and a few minutes later, Raynard felt them touch down. He unbuckled his seat belt.