An hour later, they were on their way out of the city again. The battered blue Lada borrowed from Tatjana’s friend was hassle-free, and the first couple of hours’ drive went smoothly. The night’s events were discussed repeatedly, keeping them awake and energetic. The questions, however, were stacking up, and soon their exhausted minds had spun one fanciful conspiracy web after another. Maybe I’m just simply being mistaken for someone else? Holger thought without much conviction.

Shortly after the sun rose on the horizon, Holger pulled over at a gas station. They both needed to stretch their legs, and he suggested they take turns sleeping on the remainder of the long drive to St Petersburg. Once the car had its tank filled, Holger took the first shift behind the wheel, and Tatjana instantly closed her eyes and slept like a baby. He would not have been able to sleep himself after such brutal events. Carefully, he pulled the jacket over her shoulders and admired her classical features. In the dim light, they took on an almost aristocratic air. Holger concentrated on driving again and let his hand rub the nascent stubble on his jaw. Instinctively, he shot a glance in the rear-view mirror and suddenly felt rumpled.

Holger pressed the old Lada across the tarmac, but he did not look forward to the many hours behind the wheel because his 330thoughts were once more inviting him to dance a troubled dance. The killing, the sight of blood on his hands, and the fact that the police apparently were chasing him were grinding away in his head. The mission had been almost derailed before it even got traction. The thoughts made his mood darken. It would be a fiasco. And quite possibly resulting in Kaare’s death. It was unbearable to contemplate his inability to uphold his part of the bargain with FE. The mere thought that FE would not uphold their end of the bargain was intolerable. He had promised Louise that he would be cleared of all the terrible accusations, that everything would be all right again. The thought of Louise and the hopeless situation he was thrown into brought tears running down his cheeks. It was liberating to let the emotion run free. He tightened his grip on the wheel, his knuckles turning white, and he felt determination return. After a while, the tears dried out. There simply was no alternative to completing the mission. No one is going to stop me!

Slowly, positive thoughts turned up like cavalry in a cowboy movie, and Holger started organising the information gathered on the night. They were the basis for a tactical assessment of the mission status and, not least, the planning of next steps. Essential elements he needed to sort. The police knew his identity now, but as long as they had no idea where he was going and his aim, it was not the biggest of concerns. Unexpectedly, his growing confidence brought Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ into his head, and soon he was playing air guitar with David Gilmour.