The Hugo Xavier Series: Book 1-3

by Filip Forsberg

  Before Sara could say anything, the man turned on his heel and left. A few moments later, he returned with a tall, fair-haired woman. Her rosy lips glistened.

  “Welcome to the Grand Hôtel. You are here for a meeting with Jasper Roscoe?”

  Sara nodded and forced herself to appear calm even though her heart was pounding in her chest.

  “Yes,” she said, “That’s right.”

  The fair-haired woman walked around the counter and approached her. “Just follow me,” she told Sara. “A lot’s going on at the hotel today, so it’s a bit crowded.”

  Sara followed the woman. “Did I hear something about a press conference?” she asked.

  The woman spun around. “Yes, exactly. You’re so perceptive. By the way, my name is Ilse, and since Mr. Roscoe is a very important guest, it’s essential to me that you have a good meeting.”

  Flustered, Sara managed, “Yeah, I hope so too.”

  They passed a television screen on the wall. A news reporter, looking rather seductively into the camera, was saying, “This is Tony Stiles from Channel Four news. We continue our reporting of the latest events here in Denmark and Oresund. We have an exclusive report that a shooting has indeed taken place out on the cargo ship that’s currently passing through Oresund.”

  Sara stopped in her tracks. “Wait, Ilse, I just need to hear this.”

  Tony pointed behind him at the cargo ship, and when he turned back, he fixed his penetrating gaze on the camera again. “According to reports that sound almost too fantastic to be true, two yachts somehow got up onto the cargo ship and became stuck there. The people inside the yachts have since opened up a firefight on the ship.” Tony paused for a second, then continued, “The ship, called the Golden Wind, is a Malaysian cargo vessel heading north through Oresund. We’re still working to determine exactly what its load is. According to our sources, however, the shooting continued for quite a while, and that’s not all. We have strong indications that the shooters belong to the same group that, earlier in the day, were involved in the robbery at Magnus von Silverstråle’s apartment in Copenhagen. This is the same group responsible for the shootout later in the day in Nordhavn. In the middle of the Golden Wind firefight, the suspected burglars managed to escape by hijacking a helicopter that was on board. Yes, you heard right. They escaped with a helicopter and are believed to be heading north. The big question right now is how this will affect Magnus von Silverstråle’s press conference in Oslo, which will be starting very soon.”

  Tony’s eyes twinkled. “We understand, dear viewers, that there are many more questions that will arise on this extraordinary day. We can only follow along and see what happens next. And you can see it all here—” Tony winked into the camera— “on Channel Four. Over to Jana and Robert now in the studio.”

  Tony was replaced by a man and a woman in a news studio. Ilse leaned forward toward Sara.

  “Exciting?”

  Sara jolted. “Yes, quite,” she replied. “Is it Magnus’ press conference that will be here today?”

  Ilse nodded. “That’s right, it’ll start in two minutes. Did you not know?”

  Sara shook her head and laughed. “No, I’ve been so busy with work that I have no idea what day it is half the time.”

  Ilse smiled and said, “I understand. Follow me, and I’ll show you the way to Jasper. We can’t make him wait.”

  Ilse spun around, and Sara followed.

  ***

  The van entered Karl Johan’s gate and approached the Grand Hôtel. Raynard bit his lip. It was time.

  It would be a fast in and out, that was all. Meet Sara and leave the loot. And then move on. This mission had gone too far. They’d followed the news broadcasts on the internet, and the whole thing left Raynard with a bitter taste in his mouth. He was ready to just ignore everything and knit. But he couldn’t. If he did, his reputation would be ruined—and that was simply not going to happen. He rubbed his face with both hands.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Raynard opened his eyes and nodded at Jules. “I’m fine. It’s just going to be nice when this is over. I don’t like that the news is being so fast with their reporting.”

  Jules nodded. “Yeah, it’s a little annoying that it’s so close.”

  They pulled closer to the hotel, and the driver pointed. “There it is,” he said. “Should I go to the front entrance?”

  “Yes, that’s fine,” Raynard replied. He turned to the two mercenaries in the back seat and asked, “You two ready?”

  Slavo and Dragan nodded as one. “Ready.”

  “Good. We’ll go in two by two. If we all four go in at once, it’ll look shady. Jules and I will go first, and you two come in a minute later. Got it?”

  Slavo nodded again and flicked the safety off his automatic weapon. “No problem,” he said.

  Raynard pointed at Slavo’s dark, high-speed weapon and shook his head. “The heavy weaponry stays here. There’s no chance of us getting in there with that.”

  Slavo’s expression became grim. “You’re not serious, are you?”

  Raynard’s gaze hardened. “You better believe I am,” he replied. “The heavy weapons have to stay here.”

  Slavo was about to say something when Dragan grabbed his arm. “Yeah, okay, no problem,” he said gruffly. “We go in light.”

  Raynard and Jules looked at each other, then drove the last bit to the entrance. Raynard pulled the black bag from the floor, opened the door, and jumped out. Some people were moving around the area, and in the distance, he heard sirens. Some pointed to the castle and ran past him and Jules as they closed the door behind them. Raynard didn’t hear what they were saying, and he didn’t care. This was it. He was ready. He nodded to Jules, and they entered the hotel lobby. Behind him, Slavo shoved the automatic weapons into a black duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder, and brought it with him as he exited the car.

  The lobby was half-full of people all talking to each other in pockets of small groups. Some looked down their noses at the two men dressed in black, but most seemed to assume that they were part of the hotel’s security force and returned to their conversation undisturbed. Jules nodded toward the reception desk.

  As he approached the desk, Raynard was met by the young man with the Hollywood smile.

  “Welcome to the Grand Hôtel,” he greeted them cheerfully.

  There was some kind of commotion going on outside the hotel, but the receptionist stared straight at Raynard.

  “How can I help you today?”

  Raynard put his bag down and said, “I’m meeting Sara Blitz here today.”

  The receptionist began to tap the screen in front of him, hidden from Raynard. After a few seconds, the young man’s face opened into a big smile. “Yes, of course,” he said. “Sara has arrived, and she’s been shown up to Jasper Roscoe’s suite.”

  Raynard froze. “Jasper Roscoe?”

  The receptionist beamed. “Yes, isn’t it an exciting day here at the Grand Hôtel? We have the press conference with Magnus von Silverstråle and a visit from Jasper Roscoe on the same day. Isn’t that amazing? Two of the world’s most feared businessmen who, to top it all off, are competitors of ours. Say what you will, but we won’t have a boring day here at the Grand.”

  A drop of sweat slid down Raynard’s cheek, and he mumbled, “No, it sounds very exciting.”

  The receptionist gave Raynard a card. “Here you are. And our beautiful Ilse will show you the way to Jasper Roscoe’s suite. Thank you for visiting the Grand Hôtel.”

  A tall, fair-haired woman materialized next to Raynard, and he jerked.

  “Jasper is receiving so many visits—he really must have a busy day. Welcome to the Grand. My name is Ilse.”

  Jules stepped up next to Raynard. “Is everything okay?”

  Raynard bit his lip. This was not the agreement. They were supposed to meet Sara, not Jasper. But it was going to have to wait. They’d have to go along with this for now. He took a deep breath and said, “Yes, i
t’s all right.”

  At that moment, Slavo and Dragan entered the hotel and headed toward Raynard. Ilse spun on her heel and started walking through the lobby.

  “Follow me, gentlemen. This way.”

  Ilse walked ahead of them, and Jules looked at Raynard, who shrugged, took a firm grip on the bag, and followed Ilse.

  ***

  Hugo tensed his muscles as he entered. The chopper’s vibrations beneath him varied as Mary put it into a long, sliding turn that took them toward the landing pad. Below them, the royal palace slipped past. The cream-painted building looked surprisingly low-key. It dropped from Hugo’s field of vision as Mary corrected the course.

  “Are you sure about this?” Magnus asked Hugo, leaning in toward him.

  Hugo chuckled. “I’m telling you, it’s our only chance. Raynard may already be at the Grand. If he isn’t, he’s definitely not far away.”

  Magnus’s face was pale, but he said no more. Hugo looked over at Freya, who was checking their weapons.

  “How’s it look?” he asked her.

  She shook her head. “Not great,” she replied. “We have no ammunition for our automatics. But maybe that’s just as well. We can’t exactly rush into the Grand with high-speed weapons in full swing.”

  “True.”

  Freya grimaced. “So, we get to drive with a little more finesse this time. Only handguns and knives. That’s all.”

  Hugo clasped his hands. “Okay, no problem. A little close contact has never hurt anyone.”

  Mary corrected again and slowed down. Her voice crackled in Hugo’s ear. “Okay, here we go! Get ready!”

  Hugo took two deep breaths and held them. His heart rate lowered as they got closer to the ground. He couldn’t lie—he loved this. The alarm. The chaos. The adrenaline pumping through his system. There was simply nothing better. You were never as alive as you were when you were close to death. A hint of guilt ran through his mind as he thought of Lita, but he pushed those thoughts away. They would have to wait.

  “Ten seconds!” Mary called out.

  The copter came in from the southeast, flying close over the treetops and sinking gently down to the large square in front of the royal castle. Hugo peeked out and saw people pointing at them excitedly. Cars were honking wildly, and traffic came to a grinding halt as the helicopter came in for a landing in central Oslo. The space where they’d chosen to land in front of the castle was open and empty of cars, so at least there was that. On the other hand, a hundred people were wandering around the castle grounds, and now they all stared in horror at the chopper rushing toward them. Hugo heard people screaming and saw them fleeing in all directions. In less than twenty seconds, the whole place was empty. Mary roared again.

  “Three seconds!”

  Hugo looked at Freya, and that explosive glow slid over her gaze. She was as stoked as he was. Two! One! The helicopter pounded to the ground, and Hugo unbuckled his seatbelt. Magnus and Freya did the same. Out of the corner of his eye, Hugo saw Veronica staring at them in alarm. Hugo got halfway up out of his seat and grabbed the door handle, then pulled and it slid to the side. He jumped out, and Magnus and Freya followed close behind. Veronica sat frozen like a statue. Magnus motioned for her to follow, but she shook her head.

  When everyone else was out, Hugo closed the door. The helicopter engine spun up again, and while Hugo, Magnus, and Freya crouched away from the blades, Mary took off again. The copter rose quickly and turned in the direction of the castle.

  The crowd standing around them in a large circle shouted and pointed excitedly at them. But Hugo ignored them.

  “There!” he cried out. “Move!”

  They ran toward the Grand Hôtel, leaving the castle behind them. Hugo pushed through a group of excited men shouting things he couldn’t make out. They grabbed and tore after him, and he shouted, “Out of the way!”

  But the men didn’t get out of the way. Instead, they continued to seize him. Hugo smacked one of the men so hard he stumbled backward. Another had his leg swept away, and he fell crashing to the ground. The other tourists backed away in horror as violence exploded around them. People pulled back and opened a hole in the human wall.

  “Now—jump!”

  Hugo, Freya, and Magnus set a course through the crowd. The Grand Hôtel sat waiting on the other side of the park.

  ***

  Not far to go now. Jasper Roscoe looked at his watch. Ten more minutes. He stood up, stretched, and walked to the window to admire the magnificent view. The rooftops on the other side of the street glistened as the sun’s rays sought their way through the heavy cloud cover. Jasper smacked his lips. He’d always been the impatient type.

  Ever since he was little, he’d had difficulty sitting still. And now, with so much at stake, was no exception. If this went according to plan, it would be an utterly outstanding coup. In one fell swoop, he would wrest power over the largest arms group in Europe, and his future as one of history’s foremost businessmen would ever be his. Behind him, someone cleared their throat, and he turned. It was one of the bodyguards.

  “Sorry, Mr. Roscoe, but Sara Blitz is on her way up.”

  Jasper cracked his knuckles. Let the game begin. He went to the living room, poured himself a drink, and took a sip.

  “Okay, when she gets here, let her in. But search her thoroughly. You never know what kind of ideas she might have for herself.”

  The bodyguard nodded. “Of course, Mr. Roscoe.”

  Thirty seconds later, there was a knock on the door, and Jasper heard voices in the hall. His pulse quickened. Another couple of seconds passed, and then came the bodyguard’s clear tone: “Raise your arms, please.”

  A woman said something in reply, and a few seconds later, steps advanced in his direction. The closer they got to the living room, the faster Jasper’s heart rate became. Finally, Sara Blitz entered with quick, smart steps.

  “Sara, how wonderful to see you,” Jasper said, standing.

  Smiling warmly, he walked over to Sara, who was casually admiring the surroundings. She nodded briefly.

  “Jasper. Good to see you, too.”

  “I hope my bodyguards weren’t too harsh,” he said. “I know they can be at times.”

  Sara forced a smile. “No, it’s fine. I understand.”

  Jasper chuckled. “Excellent, excellent! Would you like a drink?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Jasper went to the side table and poured a drink for her.

  “Here you go.”

  She thanked him, and they sat down on opposite sofas.

  Sara gathered her courage and said, “I thought Raynard would already be here.”

  “Yes, he would have,” Jasper said, “but he seems to have gotten into some trouble along the way. But don’t worry, he and the team will be here very soon.”

  Sara froze. This wasn’t the way she’d planned things. The idea was that she, Jasper, and Raynard would meet here to hand over the loot, but that contact with Raynard had always happened through Sara. Now, it seemed that Jasper had direct contact with Raynard. Sara’s heart fluttered, but she kept her face stone-cold.

  “Okay, good,” she replied.

  Jasper studied her for a few seconds. “You will be a rich woman, Sara. What are you going to do with the money?”

  Sara ran a finger along the rim of her glass. “Well,” she said, “the first thing I have to do is get a divorce and hire some good lawyers.”

  Jasper leaned forward, suddenly quite interested.

  “Some lawyers? As in more than one? Why?”

  “To be sure I get half in the divorce,” Sara replied simply.

  Jasper stared at her in amazement. She was going to become one of the richest women in Europe, but she still wanted more. He burst out laughing.

  “That’s the right attitude!”

  One of the bodyguards entered the room, and Sara’s heart stopped momentarily. She watched him walk over to Jasper, lean in, and say something into his ear. Jasper nodded,
and the bodyguard pivoted and went back to the hall.

  Jasper got up. Voices were coming from the hall. Sara put the glass down on the table—a little too quickly, causing a loud clattering sound—and she rose as well. Four men entered the room, all of them tall and with brutal faces. One of them was carrying a black bag. The man in front approached Jasper and held out his hand.

  “Jasper.”

  Jasper took the man’s hand and shook it. “Raynard. Good to see you.”

  Sara was a statue as she realized Raynard and Jasper had met before. A rush of panic slid over her. Jasper had told her that he’d had contact with Raynard before, but he’d also said they’d never met. She swore silently. But now, there was no time for doubt. Win or lose. She hadn’t come this far to give up. She took a deep breath and purposefully walked toward Raynard. The tall man towered in front of her.

  “Sara Blitz,” she said. “I was the one who hired you.”

  Raynard’s scarred face morphed into a smile, and there was a twinkle in his eye. “Sara Blitz,” he said pleasantly. “So nice to finally put a face to the voice.”

  “The pleasure is completely mine.”

  “And thank you for the help in you found us when we were out in Oresund.”

  Sara relaxed a bit. “I appreciate you completing the assignment. It was a bit tough for a while, I understand?”

  Raynard flinched but then chuckled. “Yes, you could say that,” he said and gestured to the three men behind him. “This is what we have left of our team, and two of them are replacements. Only Jules and I are left of the original team.”

  The man standing obliquely behind Raynard touched his forehead.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  Jasper chuckled and said, “Excellent! Now that we have all met and you have the item with you, we may be able to sit down for a few seconds. Raynard, do you and your men want a drink?”

  Raynard shook his head. “No. Not on assignment.”

  “Of course. Well. Now we’ve come all the way here. Shall we look at the loot?”