Chapter 5 chapter Five
Blomkvist spends Saturday night with Erica.Lying in bed, they talked at length about the details of the Zarachenko case.Blomkvist had absolute trust in Erica, and she was never unable to speak freely because she was about to play for a competitor, and Erica never thought of bringing this report over.It's a Millennium exclusive, but she's bummed not to be able to edit an issue that would have capped her Millennium story perfectly.
They also discussed the future organizational structure of the magazine.Despite not being able to interfere with the magazine's content, Erica was determined to keep her share and remain a director.
"Give me a few years at the daily and who knows? Maybe I'll go back to Millennium before I retire," she said.
As for the complicated relationship between the two of them, why must it be changed?It's just that we won't meet so often anymore.Just like in the 1980s, before "Millennium" was formed, they each had their own jobs.
"I think we need to make an appointment when we meet in the future." Erica said with a faint smile.
After a quick goodbye on Sunday morning, Erica drove home to her husband, Greg Beckman.
After she left, Blomkvist called Sogernska Hospital to try to find out how Salander was doing.No one was willing to disclose any information, so he had to call Inspector Erlander. The policeman took pity on him, and then confided: Judging from the current situation, Salander is in good condition, and the doctors are cautiously optimistic.He asked if he could see her.Erlander said that Salander had actually been arrested and that prosecutors would not allow her to see anyone, but she couldn't be questioned anyway.Erlander said she would call him if her condition worsened.
Blomkvist checked his phone and found forty-two text messages, almost all from reporters.Ever since it was learned that it was Blomkvist who found Salander, and possibly even saved her life, the media began to speculate wildly.He obviously had a close relationship with the development of events.
After he deleted all the messages from the reporter, he called his sister Annika and invited her to have lunch together.Then call Dragan Armansky, Milton Security's executive officer, who is at his home in Lidingyue.
"You really have a knack for headlines," Armansky said.
"I wanted to call you this week. I heard that you were looking for me, but I haven't had time..."
"Our Milton has been continuing to investigate. I heard from Pangelan that you have some information, but you seem to be far ahead of us."
Blomkvist hesitated before saying, "Can I trust you?"
"I don't understand you."
"Are you on Salander's side? Can I believe that you sincerely wish her well?"
"I'm her friend. But you know that doesn't mean she's my friend."
"I understand. But what I want to ask is whether you would like to stand with her and fight her enemies."
"I support her," he said.
"If I tell you certain information and discuss it with you, you won't leak it to the police or anyone else, will you?"
"I can't get involved in criminal activity," Armansky said.
"I won't ask you to do that."
"Just don't tell me you're engaging in some sort of criminal activity, then you can trust me 100 percent."
"That's good. We've got to see each other."
"I'm going downtown tonight. Is dinner okay?"
"Not today, but I'd appreciate an appointment tomorrow night. You and I, and maybe a few others, should sit down and talk."
"Welcome to Milton. How about six o'clock?"
"One more thing...I'm going to see my sister, Attorney Annika Giannini, later. She's considering representing Salander, but she can't do free work. I can pay her part of the fee out of my own pocket, Mir. Can Dayton also contribute a little?"
"The kid is going to need a top-notch criminal defense lawyer, and with all due respect, Lingmei is probably not the best choice. I've spoken to Milton's lead lawyer and he's working on it. I'm thinking of someone like Peter Altine people like that."
"It's not right. What Salander needs is a completely different kind of legal assistance. You'll understand after we talk about it. But in principle, are you willing to help?"
"I already decided Milton should get a lawyer for her—"
"So willing or not? I know what happened to her, I probably know the whole story, and I have a strategy."
Armansky laughed.
"Okay, I'll just listen to what you have to say. If it suits me, I'll take it."
Blomkvist kissed his sister on the cheek and immediately asked, "Are you going to defend Salander?"
"I have to say no. You know I'm not a criminal defense attorney. Even if she's acquitted of one count of homicide, she's charged with a host of other counts. She needs someone with very different influence and experience than I do."
"You're wrong. You're a lawyer and you're known for fighting for women's rights. After much thought, I think you're just the lawyer she needs."
"Michael... I don't think you understand what's involved. This is a complex criminal case, not just sexual harassment or violence against a woman. If I defended her, it could end badly."
Blomkvist smiled and said, "You didn't figure it out. If she was indicted for -- let's say -- the murders of Duggar and Mia, I'd go to a heavyweight criminal defense like Sibersky. Lawyer. But this case is completely different."
"You better explain."
They talked for nearly two hours, eating sandwiches and drinking coffee.After Blomkvist finished narrating, Annika was also convinced.He picked up his cell phone and called Inspector Erlander in Gothenburg.
"Hi, it's me again, Blomkvist."
"I don't have any news about Salander." From the tone of his voice, he was very annoyed.
"I suppose that's good news. But I do have some news."
"what?"
"She already has a lawyer named Annika Giannini, who is with me now, and I ask her to speak to you."
Blomkvist passed the phone across the table.
"I'm Annika Giannini, and I've decided to represent Liz Salander. I need to see my client and get her consent. I also need the prosecutor's phone number."
"As far as I know," Erlander said, "a public defender has been assigned to her."
"Really? But have you ever asked what Salander meant?"
"Honestly...we haven't had a chance to ask her yet. If she's doing well, hopefully we can talk to her tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll tell you now, before Miss Salander refuses, you can regard me as her legal representative. Unless I'm present, you can't interrogate her. You can say hello to her and ask Will she accept me as her lawyer. But that's all. Got it?"
"Understood." Erland sighed visibly.Regarding this point, he is not very clear about how the law regulates it. "Our first priority is to know if she has any information on Niedermann's whereabouts. Is it okay to ask her that...even if you're not there?"
"That's okay...you can ask her about the police's arrest of Niederman, but you can't ask her any questions related to her possible prosecution. Do you agree?"
"I guess that's all right."
Inspector Erlander got up from his desk and went upstairs to convey the content of his conversation with Annika to Yeva, the person in charge of the preliminary investigation.
"Apparently Blomkvist hired her, and I don't think Salander knew about it."
"Anika specializes in women's rights, and I've heard her speak. She's capable, but totally unsuitable for this case."
"It's up to Salander to decide."
"I may have to challenge this decision in court... For the sake of the girl, she needs to have a proper advocate, not just a celebrity who grabs the headlines. And Salander has been declared legally incapacitated. Whether things are affected."
"what should we do?"
Eva thought for a moment. "It's a mess. I don't know who the case is going to be, or if it's going to be transferred to Extron in Stockholm. She's going to need a lawyer anyway. Well... ask her if she wants Annika."
When Blomkvist got home at 5:00 p.m., he turned on his computer and resumed writing the article he had left at the hotel in Gothenburg.After seven hours of continuous work, he found several glaring holes in the article.There's still a lot to investigate.According to the existing information, there is one question he can't answer, that is, besides Bjork, who else in the National Security Bureau conspired to imprison Salander in a mental hospital?As for Bjork's relationship with psychiatrist Tyler Polion, he hasn't gotten to the heart of it either.
Finally he turned off the computer and went to bed.As soon as he lay down, he felt that he could sleep easily and peacefully, for the first time in weeks.The story is already in his hands.No matter how many unresolved questions remain, the information he possesses is enough to detonate all news headlines.
Even though it was late at night, he picked up the phone, intending to update Erica on the progress.But remembering that she had left "Millennium" in time, it was difficult to sleep again.
The train arrived at Stockholm Central Station at 7:30 in the evening. A man with a brown briefcase carefully got off the train and stood in the crowd of passengers for a while, observing the surrounding environment.Just after eight o'clock the next morning, he set off from Lahelm, stopped in Gothenburg to find an old friend for lunch, and then continued to drive to Stockholm.He hadn't been to the capital for two years, and in fact he didn't plan to come back at all.Although I have lived and worked here for most of my life, I have never had a sense of belonging, especially every time I come back after retirement, this feeling becomes stronger.
He ambled across the station, bought an evening paper and two bananas at a chain convenience store, and stopped to watch two hijab-wearing Islamic women hurry by.He had nothing against women wearing headscarves, and he didn't care if people wanted to dress up differently, but it made him uncomfortable that they had to dress like this in central Stockholm.He believes that this kind of dress is much more appropriate in Somalia.
He walked the three hundred meters to the Forrest Hotel, next to the old post office on Vassar Street, where he had stayed on his previous visits.The restaurant is in a good location, clean and not expensive - take this into account as you pay for yourself.He had booked a room in the name of Evert Gulbe the day before.
After going upstairs and entering the room, he went straight to the bathroom.At his age, it has been a few years since he often had to go to the toilet, and he could sleep until dawn at night.
After using the bathroom, he took off his hat—it was a dark green felt hat with a narrow brim—and loosened his tie.He is 184cm tall and weighs 68kg. He is thin and muscular. He wears a houndstooth jacket and dark gray trousers.He opened the brown briefcase, took out two shirts, a tie, and underwear, put them away in a chest of drawers, and hung his coat and jacket in the wardrobe behind the door.
It was too early for bed and too late for a walk, which he didn't really like anyway.He settled into the chair that was necessary in a hotel room, looked around the room and turned on the TV, turning the volume down so he wouldn't have to listen.He wanted to call the counter to order a cup of coffee, but finally decided it was too late, so he opened the mini bar, poured a little Johnny Walker Scotch whiskey into a glass, and added a very small amount of water.He opened the evening paper, perusing every report about the manhunt for Niederman and Salander.After a while, he took out a leather notebook and jotted down something.
Gulbo, a former senior NSA executive, is 78 years old and has been retired for 13 years.But intelligence officers never really retire, they just hide behind the scenes.
After the war, at the age of nineteen, Gulbeau joined the Navy, first as a reserve officer and later as an officer.But he was not assigned a general sea mission as he expected, but went to Karlskrona as a signal tracker for the naval intelligence system.He was quite capable of the job, mostly scouting the situation across the Baltic, but he found it monotonous and uninteresting.However, he did learn Russian and Polish at the language school in the army.These language skills were one of the reasons he was recruited into the secret police in 1950 by the impeccable George Thulin who was then the third director of the secret police.When Gulbe first entered, there were ninety-six secret police officers with a total budget of 2.7 million crowns.And when he retired in 1992, the budget of the secret police had exceeded 350 million crowns, and he did not know how many employees there were.
It is ironic that Gurbo has dedicated his life to the intelligence service of His Majesty the King - more correctly, the Social Democratic Welfare State - as he has consistently voted moderately in elections time and time again. Party, only in 1991 did it deliberately not support the moderate party.He thought it was the scourge.So voted for. A few years of "Sweden's most illustrious government" confirmed his deepest fears.The moderate government came to power just as the Soviet Union was collapsing, and no government, in his opinion, was more at a loss, either to the emerging political opportunities in the East, or to the art of espionage.The Bildt government not only cut the personnel of the Soviet Union on financial grounds, but also got involved in the international disputes between Bosnia and Serbia at the same time-as if Serbia would one day threaten Sweden.As a result, a great opportunity to set up a long-term eyeliner in Moscow was missed.One day, when the relationship between the two sides deteriorated again--Gulber thought it was inevitable--the NSA and MI would be given ridiculous orders, expecting them to wave a magic wand and conjure up a bunch of agents.
Gurbo initially worked in the Russian Section of the Third Division of the State Police. After two years of experience, he made his first field probation in 1952 and 1953, and then became an Air Force Attaché with the rank of lieutenant. The identity is stationed in the Moscow embassy.Oddly enough, he followed in the footsteps of another well-known spy.A few years ago it was the notorious Colonel Wennerstrom who held this post.
After returning to Sweden, Gulbo engaged in anti-interpretation work.Ten years later, Gulbe was one of several young secret police officers under Otto Danielson who exposed Wennerstrom and sentenced him to life imprisonment in Long Island Prison for treason.
In 1964, the secret police led by Pei Guna Wegne was reorganized and became the intelligence department of the National Police Agency (also known as the Swedish National Security Agency), and its personnel began to increase dramatically.At that time, Gulbo had been in the secret police for fourteen years and became one of the trusted veterans.
Gulbo never used the word "S?po" to refer to the secret police.In official documents, he will use "SIS" (Swedish National Security Service), and among colleagues, he will refer to "company" or "unit" directly, but never "Söpo".the reason is simple. The most important task of the "company" for many years is the so-called personnel control, which is to investigate and record Swedish citizens suspected of holding communist or reactionary ideas.Within the "corporation," communist and traitor were synonymous.The term "S?po" that was commonly used later was actually a term invented by the suspected reactionary communist publication "Guangming".Gulbe couldn't figure out why the word "Söpo" was used in the memoirs of his former boss Vigne, "The Chief of the Secret Police: 1962-1970".
The reorganization in 1964 also determined the future of Gulbeau's career.
With the "SIS" moniker, the State Secret Police has been transformed into the modern police organization described in the Justice Department memo, which involves recruiting new recruits and ongoing training.This ever-expanding organization has greatly increased the chances of the "enemy" infiltrating operatives. Relatively, it is necessary to strengthen domestic security-the former secret police station is like a club for police officers. The most common qualification is that his father is or was a member of the secret police.But now everything has changed.
In 1963, Gulber was transferred from the anti-interruption unit to the personnel control unit, a role that became even more important after Wennerstrom's identity as a double agent was revealed.During that time the basis was laid for the "Political Views Record", a list of Swedish citizens deemed to have disproportionate political views, numbering nearly 300,000 by the end of the 1960s.Checking the background of Swedish citizens is one thing, but the key question is: how to implement security controls within the National Security Agency?
Wennerström's failure set off a string of embarrassments in secret police circles.If the colonel at the Defense Staff could work for Russia—he was also a government adviser on nuclear weapons and national security policy—then there might be equally high-ranking Russian operatives in the secret police.Who can guarantee that the top and mid-level executives in the "company" are not working for the Russians?Simply put, who is in charge of spying on spies?
One afternoon in August 1964, Gulbe was sent to a meeting with Hans Wilhelm Franck, the deputy director of the State Security Bureau, and two other "company" executives were present: the secretary general and the budget director.Before the meeting ended, Gulbeau had been appointed as the head of a newly formed department called "Special Team", or SS for short.One of the first things he did was to change the name of the division to "Analysis Group," or SA for short.A few minutes later, the budget director pointed out that the SA was not much better than the SS, so the organization was finally named "Special Analysis Team", referred to as SSA, and usually called "team" to distinguish the "unit" or "company" representing the entire secret police. And so on.
The "team" was Frank's idea, and he called it "the last line of defense."A top-secret unit that occupies a strategic position in the "Company" but is invisible.All documents, including budget memos, were left untouched and therefore impossible to infiltrate.And its mission is to monitor national security.Frank has every right to do such a thing.He needed the director of the budget and the secretary general to build this invisible structure, but they were old colleagues, comrades who had fought the enemy dozens of times together.
For the first year, the "team" consisted of Gulbeau and three carefully selected colleagues.Over the next ten years, the number grew to eleven, with two old-fashioned executive secretaries and the rest professional spy hunters.There are only two levels in the organizational structure. Gulbo is the team leader and usually meets with every team member every day. The team values efficiency more than background.
Formally, the NSA secretary had a long line of people who were Gulbe's superiors, to whom he had to submit monthly reports, but in reality he was given a unique and privileged position.He—and he alone—could decide to put the secret police chief under the microscope.He could also turn Vigne's life upside down if he wanted to. (And he did.) He could initiate an investigation on his own, or tap a phone call, without explanation or even reporting to his superiors.He was modeled after the legendary James Angleton, who played a similar role in the CIA, and the two were also personal friends.
The "team" became a micro-organization within the "unit"—not belonging to, parallel to, and superior to other departments of the NSA.This also has an effect of geographic location. The “team” had its office on Kings Island, but for safety reasons almost the entire team had been moved from the main office to an eleven-room apartment in East Maugham.The apartment had been quietly converted into a fortified office, manned round the clock, because the devoted secretary Irene Badenbülk lived in the two rooms closest to the entrance.She was an invaluable colleague and had won Gulbe's confidence.
Within the organization, Gulbe and his employees were invisible—funded by a special fund, but completely absent from the formal structure of the NSA, which falls under the police department or the Justice Department.Their mission is to deal with the most sensitive and sensitive matters, and even the Director of NSA does not know the secrets of these secrets.
So by the age of forty, Gulbe had climbed to the point where he could take actions without reporting to anyone and could initiate investigations against anyone.
Gurber was well aware of the potential for the Special Analysis Unit to become a politically sensitive unit, so job descriptions were deliberately vague and written records were scant.In September 1964, Prime Minister Erlander signed an order expressly directing the allocation of funds to the "Special Analysis Group" because its task was very important to the guarantee of national security.In an afternoon meeting on a certain day, Frank, the deputy director of the National Security Bureau, mentioned twelve things of a similar nature. file.
The Prime Minister's signature means that the "group" is a legal institution, with a budget of 52,000 crowns for the first year.It was a smart move on such a low budget, Gulbe thought.In this way, the establishment of this group appears to be a matter of routine.
More broadly, the Prime Minister signed off on his belief that there really was a need for a unit responsible for "inside personnel control".At the same time, it can also be explained that the Prime Minister allowed the establishment of a group to monitor some particularly sensitive figures outside the NSA, including the Prime Minister himself, and because of this, there were potentially serious political problems.
Gulber noticed that the whiskey in the glass was empty.He is not greedy for drinking, but this day and this trip are really long.At this point in his life, he didn't think it was important to drink an extra whiskey or two.So he poured a little more Glenfiddich.
The most sensitive issue he has ever encountered is, of course, the Palme incident.
Gulbe remembers every detail of Election Day 1976.It was the first time in modern history that Sweden had elected a conservative government, and it was most regrettable that Fielding was prime minister, not the far more competent Costa Berman.But the most important thing was that Palme was defeated, for which Gulbo could breathe a sigh of relief.
During the lunchtime chats in the corridors of the NSA, there was more than one discussion about Palme's suitability as prime minister.In 1969, Vigne was fired for saying Palme might have been an influential KGB operative.Many people in the unit felt the same way. In terms of the atmosphere at that time, his ideas were not controversial in the unit at all.It is a pity that he discussed the matter openly with Sheriff Rashinanti during his visit to North Botten.Rashinanti was astonished and immediately reported to the minister, and Vigne was summoned immediately to give a one-on-one explanation with the minister.
To Gulbe's dismay, the question of Palme's possible contacts with the Russians remained unanswered.Despite the "team"'s unremitting efforts to unearth the truth and find key evidence, nothing has been found.In Gulbo's view, this does not mean that Palme is innocent, but that he is particularly cunning and smart, and is unlikely to make the same mistakes as other Soviet Russian spies.Palme kept them frustrated year after year.By 1982, when he became Prime Minister for a second time, his problems resurfaced, and after the assassin's gunshots rang out in Svialu, it was no longer important.
1976 was a troubled year for the "group".Inside the NSA—that is, among the few people who actually knew the existence of the "cell"—there was a lot of criticism.Over the past decade, sixty-five NSA employees have been fired for being politically unreliable, yet most have never produced evidence, leading some very senior personnel to suspect that the "team" was driven by a group of paranoid dominated by conspiracy theorists.
Looking back on one case involving a operative hired by the NSA in 1968 whom Gulber personally found incompetent still irritates him.The man was Inspector Beglin, a Swedish lieutenant who was later revealed to be a colonel in the GRU, the Soviet intelligence unit.Gurber tried four separate times to dislodge Beglin, but was thwarted each time.It wasn't until 1977 that even people outside the "group" began to doubt Begling, and the situation changed.The incident became one of the biggest scandals in the history of the Swedish secret police.
In the early 1970s, criticism of the "team" increased day by day, and by the mid-1970s, Gulbeau heard proposals for budget cuts, and some even argued that such a department was unnecessary.
Criticism means that the future of the "team" is in doubt.That year, the threat of terrorism became a priority for the NSA.As far as espionage goes, it's a sad chapter in their history, mostly dealing with lost youths mingling with Arab or pro-Palestinian elements.The big question within the secret police is how much privilege should be given to the personnel control unit to investigate foreign nationals in Sweden, or to continue to be run by the immigration unit.
As a result of this supposedly secretive bureaucratic infighting, the "team" felt the need to send a reliable colleague to step up control—indeed, surveillance—of the immigration team's personnel.
The task fell to a young man who had joined the NSA in 1970 and was absolutely qualified to work with the "team" both by his background and his political allegiances.In his free time, he joined an organization called the "Democratic Union", which the social democratic media called an extreme right group.In the "group", this does not constitute an obstacle, because there are three other people who are also members of the Democratic Alliance, and the establishment of the alliance, the "group" actually provided a lot of help and contributed part of the funds.This young man gained the attention and snare of the "group" through this organization.
His name was Gunnar Bjork.
Zarachenko was so lucky that when he walked into the police station in Malm to seek asylum on Election Day 1976, he happened to be approached by this young police officer named Bjork, who was then the head of the immigration department and had already been with the police. The top secret organization is on the line.
Immediately realizing Zarachenko's importance, Björk cut off the conversation and placed the defector in a room at the Continental Hotel.It was Gulbeauer who Björk called urgently, not his figurehead boss in the immigration department.When he called, the polls had just closed, and all signs pointed to Palme losing.Gulbo, too, had just come home and was watching the election coverage on TV.Hearing the young police officer's excited statement, he was skeptical at first.Later, he drove to the Continental Hotel—less than two hundred and fifty meters away from the room where he was staying today—and took over the Zarachenko incident.
That night Gulbe's life changed dramatically. The notion of "secret" took on a whole new weight.He immediately saw the need for a new structure for the defector.
He decided to include Bjork in the "Zarachenko Group."This was a reasonable decision, since Bjork already knew of Zarachenko's existence, and it was better to include him than to risk his exclusion.So Bjork was transferred from the immigration team to an office in the East Maugham Police Department.
In the ensuing series of dramatic developments, Gulbo decided at the outset to tell only one person at the NSA, the Secretary General, who already had a general knowledge of the Cell's activities.After suppressing the news for a few days, the Secretary-General explained to Gulbo that the defection incident was too serious and had to be reported to the head of the National Security Bureau, and the government must also know about it.
At that time, the new director of the National Security Bureau knew that there was a "special analysis team" inside, but he had only a vague idea of the real work content of the "team".He had recently arrived in charge of cleaning up what was commonly known as the "Information Bureau Affair" and was poised to make his mark in the police force.The secretary-general once told the bureau chief in private that the "team" was a secret unit established by the government, and it was not required to follow normal operating procedures, and outsiders were not allowed to question it.As long as the question is likely to get an unpleasant answer, the bureau chief never asks, which is equivalent to acquiescing.He accepted the fact that there was a thing called the Special Analysis Unit, and that he couldn't ask anything.
Gulbe accepted the status quo with satisfaction.He ordered absolute secrecy, and even the head of the NSA had to be very cautious about talking about it in his office.The director also agreed that Zarachenko should be dealt with by a "special analysis team".
The outgoing prime minister certainly doesn't have to tell.As the political situation changed, the new prime minister, Fielding, was very busy, focusing on appointing ministers and negotiating with other conservative parties.It was not until one month after the establishment of the new government that the director took Gulbo to drive to Rosenbart, where the prime minister's office was located, to report to the new prime minister.Gulbe was not at all in favor of telling the government, but the director insisted that it would be constitutionally untenable not to report to the prime minister.Gurbo was trying to persuade the prime minister not to let the news about Zarachenko leak out of his office, insisting that there was no need for foreign ministers, defense ministers or other government officials to know.
Fielding was so upset that a leading Soviet intelligence operative had sought asylum in Sweden that he began to talk about fairness with the leaders of the other two parties in the coalition government.Guerber had expected that the prime minister would object, so he had to show his trump card.He explained in a low voice that if the Prime Minister did this, he would be forced to resign immediately.This threat made Fielding hesitate. What Gulbo meant was that if the news leaked out and Russia sent an assassination team to deal with Zarachenko, the prime minister must take full responsibility.Such an accidental revelation would be a political disaster for the prime minister if those in charge of Zarachenko's security felt compelled to resign.
Still not quite in control of his role, Fielding agreed.He authorized the "team" to be in charge of Zarachenko's security and conduct interrogation. He also ordered that no information about Zarachenko should get out of the prime minister's office. This order was immediately classified as a classified file.Fielding signed the order not only to certify that he knew, but also to limit his discussions with anyone.In short, he could put Zarachenko aside.But Fielding asked to be informed by a man in his office, a cabinet member he had specially selected.This person will be responsible for contacting the defector.Gulbe reluctantly agreed.He expected to have no problem dealing with a cabinet member.
The director is very satisfied.Now the Zaraqianke incident is guaranteed by the constitution, which means that he has someone behind him.Gulbo was also satisfied.He finally pulled up the blockade, which means that he will be able to control a lot of information.Zarachenko is controlled by him alone.
Back at Ost Maugham's office, he sat down at his desk and wrote down a list of those who knew about Zarachenko: himself, Björk, Hans von Rotinger, the head of operations of the "team", the deputy team leader Frederick Clinton, the "team's" secretary Irene Badenburk, and two police officers tasked with collecting and analyzing possible intelligence from Zarachenko.Over the next few years, these seven people will form a special group of "groups", which he secretly calls the core team.
In addition to the "team", in addition to the Director of the National Security Bureau and the Secretary-General, there are also the Prime Minister and a cabinet member, a total of twelve people.It is unprecedented that such an important secret is known only to so few people.
Thinking of this, Gulbo's face darkened.And a thirteenth person.Bjork was accompanied by a lawyer, Biermann, when he first met Zarachenko.It was absolutely impossible to get Bierman into the task force. He wasn't really a secret police officer—in fact, he was just a rookie at the NSA—and he didn't have the necessary experience and skills.Gulbe considered various options, and finally decided to carefully lead him out of the game.He threatened and lured both ways. On the one hand, he threatened Bierman that as long as he dared to leak a word, he would be imprisoned for treason for the rest of his life. On the other hand, he promised to pave the way for his future, and even used sweet words to make Bierman self-inflated.He arranged for Bierman to join a prestigious law firm and kept him busy with one case after another.The only problem was that Biermann was too unprogressive to take advantage of his opportunities.Ten years later he left the firm to start his own business, which later became the law firm in Olden Square.
For the next few years, Gulbeau carefully monitored Biermann, with Björk in charge.He did not stop monitoring Bürmann until the end of the eighties, when the Soviet Union was about to collapse and Zarachenko was no longer a priority.
At the beginning, the "group" regarded Zarachenko as the key to breaking through Palme's mystery, so when Gulbo questioned him for a long time, Palme was the first thing mentioned.
However, hopes of a breakthrough in the case were quickly dashed, because Zarachenko had never carried out missions in Sweden and knew nothing about the country.However, he has heard rumors of Russian spies "Red Leapers", who may be some high-ranking Swedish official working for the KGB or a political figure from another Nordic country.
Gulbe listed a string of names related to Palme: Karl Libaum, Pierre Schaury, Stan Anderson, Marita Erffskau, and so on.Throughout his life, Gulbe chased the list again and again, but could never find the answer.
Gulbe became a big shot in the blink of an eye.He was treated with courtesy in the exclusive club of great fighters, a club whose members not only knew each other well, but whose friendships were based on personal friendship and trust rather than through official channels and bureaucracies.He also met Angleton and drank whiskey with the head of MI6 in a secret club in London.他成了精英分子。
他永远无法将自己的丰功伟业告诉任何人，即使是死后的回忆录也一样。而且他无时无刻不担心敌人会发现他的海外之行，担心自己引人注意，担心自己可能无意间引领俄国人找到札拉千科。如此说来，札拉千科倒是他的最大敌人。
第一年里，这个叛逃者住在小组名下一间不为人知的公寓，任何记录或公开数据上都没有他的名字。“札拉千科小组”成员以为还有充分的时间来计划他的未来。直到一九七八年春天，他才拿到一本名为卡尔·阿克索·波汀的护照和一段费心设计的个人经历——这个伪造的背景却有瑞典档案记录为证。
但那时已经太迟了。札拉千科已经搞上那个原姓休兰德的蠢妓女阿格妮塔，而且还漫不经心地说出自己的真实姓名。古尔博开始觉得这个俄国叛徒脑子不太对劲，还怀疑他是故意想暴露身份，仿佛是需要一个舞台。否则他如此愚蠢的行为又该作何解释？
一会儿是妓女，一会儿是酗酒，一会儿又和保镖等等发生暴力冲突惹麻烦。札拉千科曾三次因酒醉闹事遭瑞典警方逮捕，还有两次则和酒吧斗殴有关。每次“小组”都得谨慎地出面保释他，并确保相关文件从此消失，记录也得加以修改。古尔博派毕约克二十四小时守着札拉千科，这不是简单的任务，但别无他法。
本来一切都可以很顺利。到了八十年代初，札拉千科冷静下来开始适应。但他始终没有抛弃那个妓女阿格妮塔，更糟的是他还生了两个女儿卡米拉和莉丝。
莉丝·莎兰德。
古尔博不悦地念着这个名字。
这两个女孩九岁或十岁时，他对莉丝就有不好的感觉，不用精神科医生诊断也看得出来她不正常。毕约克的报告说她对父亲很凶恶、有攻击性，似乎一点也不怕他。她话不多，却有上千种方式表达她对事情的不满。她将会是个麻烦，但古尔博做梦也想不到这麻烦竟会如此巨大。他最害怕的是莎兰德家里的情况会导致社会福利人员写出一篇提到札拉千科这个名字的报告，因此他一再力促札拉千科与家人断绝关系，从她们的生活中消失。札拉千科每次答应后又总会食言。他还有其他妓女，他有无数的妓女，但几个月后偏偏总会回到那个阿格妮塔身边。
那个王八蛋札拉千科。只要情报员让那话儿支配人生的任何一部分，显然就不是优秀的情报员。那个人似乎自以为不受任何正规约束。假如他只是和妓女上床也就算了，偏偏却一次又一次地凌虐女友。这么做好像是为了激怒看顾他的“札拉千科小组”组员，并引以为乐。
古尔博知道札拉千科毫无疑问是个病态王八蛋，但叛逃的GRU探员也不是他能选择的。他眼前只有一个，而且此人很清楚自己在古尔博心中的价值。
“札拉千科小组”扮演起清洁大队的角色，这点无可否认。札拉千科知道自己可以为所欲为，一切问题他们都会解决。对于阿格妮塔，他更是任性到了极点。
其实并非毫无警讯。莎兰德十二岁那年，曾刺伤札拉千科，虽然没有生命危险，他还是被送到圣约兰医院，组员们要收拾的残局更胜以往。古尔博于是向札拉千科挑明了说，要他绝对不能再和莎兰德一家有来往，札拉千科答应了。这个承诺他遵守了六个多月后，又再次出现在阿格妮塔家，把她打个半死，她最后被送进一家疗养院度过余生。
莎兰德家那个女孩竟会制造汽油弹，倒是古尔博始料未及。那天简直是一团混乱。眼看就要接受各式各样的调查，“札拉千科小组”——甚至于整个“特别小组”——的未来危在旦夕。万一莎兰德说了什么，就会危及札拉千科的掩护，而过去十五年来在欧洲各地布置的行动恐怕也得解除。除此之外，“小组”也可能受到正式审查，这是不计代价都得避免的结果。
古尔博满心忧虑。如果“小组”的档案公开，外界将会发现有些行动不一定符合宪法的规定，更遑论他们多年来对帕尔梅与其他重要社会民主党员所作的调查。帕尔梅才遇刺几年，这还是敏感议题。紧接着当然免不了要起诉古尔博与其他几名“小组”成员。更糟的是，有些野心勃勃的三流记者八成会散布“'小组'是帕尔梅遇刺的幕后黑手”等言论，进而引发更不利于他们的臆测，调查工作也可能更紧锣密鼓地进行。然而最令人担心的还是秘密警察的人事变迁太大，就连现任的国安局局长也不知道这个“小组”的存在。所有与国安局的联系都只到新任秘书长为止，而他已经在“小组”里面待了十年。
组员们陷入极度惊慌，甚至于恐惧的情绪中。解决之道其实是毕约克提出来的。精神科医师泰勒波利安是因为另一个完全不相干的案子，和国安局反问部门拉上关系，当时该部门正在监视一个有嫌疑的工业间谍，而他正是关键的顾问。调查到一个重要阶段，他们需要知道调查对象若遭受极大压力会有何反应。泰勒波利安提出了具体而明确的建议。那一次，国安局人员成功地防止了自杀事件，并让该间谍成为双面间谍。
莎兰德攻击札拉千科后，毕约克偷偷地聘请泰勒波利安担任“小组”的外部顾问。
解决问题的方法很简单。可以让波汀因接受康复护理而消失，阿格妮塔也必须消失在某个长期照顾的疗养院。所有相关的警方报告全都集中到国安局，由秘书长转交给“小组”。
泰勒波利安是乌普萨拉圣史蒂芬儿童精神病院的副主任医师。他们需要的只是一张合法的医疗报告，由毕约克与泰勒波利安联手撰写，接着还要一份简要但毫无争议的地方法院裁决书。问题只在于案件的呈现方式，无关宪法。这毕竟涉及国家安全。
何况莎兰德确实很明显是疯了，让她到医院待几年有益无害。古尔博批准了。
许多问题一并解决之际，“札拉千科小组”也正好面临解散。苏联已经不存在，札拉千科的确愈来愈没有利用价值。
他们从秘密警察资金当中取得一笔丰厚的资遣金，于是安排他接受最好的康复治疗，六个月后送他坐上飞往西班牙的飞机。那时他们便和札拉千科摊牌，他与“小组”从此各自为政。这是古尔博最后负责的任务之一。一星期后，他到达退休年龄，便移交给他钦定的接班人克林顿。此后，古尔博只在特别敏感的事件中担任顾问。他又在斯德哥尔摩待了三年，几乎每天都进“小组”工作，但分派给他的任务愈来愈少，他也就逐渐淡出。接着他回到家乡拉赫尔姆，在那儿找事做，起初还经常上斯德哥尔摩，后来次数逐渐减少，最后压根不来了。
在看见札拉千科的女儿出现在每个新闻广告牌上的那天早上之前，他已经好几个月连想都没想到他。
古尔博既惊慌又困惑地留意整件事的发展。毕尔曼担任莎兰德的监护人当然不是巧合，另一方面他不明白的是札拉千科的往事怎么会浮上台面？莎兰德很明显是精神错乱，杀死这些人并不令人意外，但他万万没想到此事会牵扯上札拉千科。他女儿迟早会被捕，到时一切都完了。于是他开始打电话，并认为该是回斯德哥尔摩的时候了。
“小组”面临了自从创立以来最大的危机。
札拉千科拖行着进入厕所。现在有了拐杖，他便能到处走动。星期日这天，他强迫自己做一点短暂而剧烈的训练。下巴依旧疼痛难当，所以只能吃流质食物，不过已经可以下床开始活动。装了这么久的假肢，他很快就习惯拄拐杖。他试着在移动时不发出声响，并在床边来来回回地练习。每当右脚着地，整只腿立刻一阵剧痛。
他咬紧牙根，想着女儿就近在咫尺。他花了一整天才推测出她就住在右手边走廊过去第二间病房。
夜班护士已经离开十分钟，凌晨两点，万籁俱寂。札拉千科费力地起身，摸索着拐杖。他走到门边倾听，没有声响，于是拉开门，走上廊道，听见护理站传来微弱的音乐声。他走向走廊的尽头，推开门，看了看空无一人的电梯间。再沿着走廊往回走，来到女儿房门口停下，拄着拐杖站立片刻，竖耳聆听。
莎兰德听到一个摩擦声，随即睁开眼睛。走廊上好像有人拖行着什么东西。有一会儿寂静无声，她以为是自己的幻觉，接着又听到同样的声音逐渐离去。她开始感到不安。
札拉千科就在外头。
她感觉被锁在床上。护颈底下的皮肤好痒。她顿时有一股强大的欲望想移动，想起身。她慢慢地坐了起来，目前也只能做到这样，结果又跌回枕头上。
她用手摸了摸护颈，找到固定的纽扣，便打开纽扣，将护颈丢在地上，呼吸立刻顺畅许多。
现在她最想要的就是一个武器，以及起身去把事情一次解决的力气。
她勉强撑起身子，扭开夜灯，往房内张望了一下，没看到什么合用的东西。这时她的目光落在离床三米处墙边的护理桌上，有人留下一支铅笔。
她一直等到夜班护士来过又离开。今晚似乎是每半小时巡房一次，护士来的次数减少应该表示医生认为她的情况改善了，因为周末期间至少每十五分钟就会有人来巡视。至于她自己则几乎感觉不到任何差异。
护士走后，她使尽力气坐起来，双脚从床沿垂下。她身上贴着记录脉搏与呼吸的电极片，但电线朝铅笔的方向延伸。她将全身重量放在脚上，站起来，一时间重心不稳晃了一下，她一度以为自己会昏倒，但还是扶着床头稳住了，然后将视线集中在眼前的铅笔。她摇摇晃晃挪出数小步，伸出手，抓起铅笔。
然后缓缓退回到床边，已然精疲力竭。
过了一会儿，她好不容易将被单和毯子拉到下巴处。接着开始研究铅笔。是一支普通的木质铅笔，刚削过。用来当武器还过得去——可以戳脸或眼睛。
她把铅笔放到臀部旁边，这才入睡。
Notes:
Notes: