Joona Linna is next to Pasi Rannikko and peering through a pair of binoculars. The first mate stands beside them. They all watch the enormous luxury yacht now dead in the water before them. It rocks slightly although the wind has died down. The flag of Italy droops. There’s no movement on the ship, as if all aboard are suspended in Sleeping Beauty’s hundred-year sleep. Whitecaps have disappeared from the surface of the Baltic Sea, and it is so calm the smooth water mirrors the light blue sky.
The mobile phone rings in Joona’s pocket. He hands the binoculars to Niko and answers.
“We have a witness!” Saga is screaming on the other end. “The girl saw everything! Axel Riessen has definitely been kidnapped. The prosecutor has already issued a warrant—you can go on board and search for him!”
“Good work!” Joona says.
Pasi Rannikko looks at Joona expectantly as he puts his phone away.
“We have the authority to arrest Raphael Guidi,” Joona says. “He’s accused of kidnapping.”
“I’ll radio FNS Hanko,” Pasi Rannikko says, and rushes up to the communication radio on the bridge.
“They’ll be here in twenty minutes,” Niko says excitedly.
“Request for backup,” Pasi Rannikko says into the microphone. “We have an arrest warrant to board Raphael Guidi’s boat and take him in … Roger, that’s correct … Yes, but hurry! Top speed!”
Joona has the binoculars again and sweeps his gaze along the white stairs from their platform on the deck, past belowdecks, and then back up to the afterdeck with its closed umbrellas. He tries to get a glimpse through a set of overwide windows but they are too black. He follows the railing and then back up the next set of stairs onto the large terrace.
Shimmering hot air filters through vents on the roof of the captain’s bridge. Joona swings his binoculars back to the black windows and stops. He thought he saw movement behind the glass. Something white is hurrying along behind the panes. For a second it looks like a huge wing, bent feathers pressed against the glass.
The next moment, it appears to be cloth or white plastic.
Joona blinks to clear his vision and looks again to find himself staring into a face lifting its own binoculars.
The steel door to the captain’s bridge slams open, and a blond man runs out and jumps down the stairs to race across the foredeck.
These are the first people Joona has seen on the yacht.
The second man is dressed in black. He hurries to the helicopter pad and unfastens the lines around the helicopter’s base. He opens the door to the cockpit.
“They’ve listened in on our radio,” Joona says.
“We’ll change channels,” Pasi Rannikko calls back.
“It doesn’t matter any more,” Joona says. “They’re not going to stay. They’re going to try to get away on the helicopter.”
He hands the binoculars to Niko.
“Fifteen minutes to backup,” Pasi Rannikko says tensely.
“Too late,” Joona states swiftly.
“Someone’s already in the helicopter,” Niko calls out.
“Raphael knows we have his arrest warrant and can come aboard,” Joona says.
“So do we board the ship right away?” asks Niko.
“That’s what we’ll have to do,” Joona says, giving him a quick glance.
Niko snaps a magazine into an automatic rifle that is as black as dirty oil. It’s a short-barrelled Heckler & Koch 416.
Pasi Rannikko takes his own gun from his holster and hands it to Joona.
“Thanks,” Joona says as he quickly checks the ammunition and looks the gun over. It’s an M9A1 semiautomatic. He recognises it as similar to the M9 used in the Gulf War, but the magazine is slightly different and there’s a fastener for a lamp and a laser scope.
Without speaking again, Pasi Rannikko aims his ship towards the aft bridge of the yacht, which is just above the waterline. As they near it, the yacht seems to rise higher and higher, almost like an apartment building. Pasi puts his engine into reverse to slow down, whipping up the wake, and Niko throws fenders over the side. The hulls bang against each other and sparks fly.
Joona climbs aboard even as the boats veer away from each other. Water churns up between them. Niko jumps and Joona catches his hand; his automatic rifle bangs against the railing. They run together towards the stairs, force their way past the debris of scattered wicker chairs and old wine boxes, and race up.
Niko turns for a second to wave at Pasi Rannikko, who is roaring away from the yacht.