Page 76 of Spymaster

“I do,” said Harvath as he played back a portion of the audio from the equipment shed.

The Chief Inspector listened in disbelief. He wanted to say that it wasn’t Johansson; that it couldn’t be, but the voice on the recording was unmistakable. It was Johansson, and he had incriminated himself by admitting to the unthinkable.

“I’m sure you recognize his voice,” said Harvath.

Nyström nodded. “Yes, that’s him. Where is he?”

Harvath walked back to the squad car and popped the trunk. Coming to join him, the Chief Inspector looked inside. There, still hog-tied and hooded, was Johansson in his uniform. Harvath pulled the hood from his head so Nyström could be certain.

Reaching up, the Chief Inspector took hold of the lid and slammed it shut. “What is it you want?”

He was angry, and understandably so. Harvath needed to be very careful about how he threaded this needle.

“First and foremost, I believe I want the same thing you do.”

“Which is what?”

“For the Russians not to invade Gotland,” said Harvath. “For them not to invade anywhere. For them to be contained.”

“But that is not my job. That’s the job of the Swedish military, the government.”

“Have you seen their plan to protect Gotland?”

“No,” said Nyström. “I have only heard about it.”

“I’ve actually seen it,” said Harvath. “In fact, the entire American military has seen it and we have been begging Sweden to change it. Their plan is to wait for help, to wait for NATO to come and liberate Gotland.”

“I have always heard they would bring in more troops from the mainland.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, by boat I guess, or by air.”

“Russian submarines and Russian fighter jets will make sure those troops never arrive,” Harvath remarked. “This island is too important to them. If it’s worth invading, which it very much is to them, then it’s worth defending. I guarantee you, Sweden will only risk so much to take it back. They will decide it is better to wait for help.

“And during that time, what do you think will happen? What will happen to you and your fellow police officers? What will happen to the people of Gotland, to the business owners like your uncle? What will happen to them if they do not comply with the Russian occupiers?”

The Chief Inspector didn’t need to think about what would happen. He already knew. European history was all too clear on that subject. Sweden had dodged the horrors of Nazi attack and occupation, but only because it had declared itself neutral and had helped feed the Third Reich’s war machine by supplying it with much-needed iron ore, steel, and machine parts. It was an inconvenient truth if ever there was one.

“I still don’t understand what you want from me,” said Nyström.

“I want you to help me get Dominik Gashi—the cell leader.”

“I can’t do that.”

“What are you talking about?” Harvath replied. “You took an oath to protect this island.”

“I took anoathto uphold the law.”

Harvath shook his head.

“This needs to brought to the attention of the garrison commander,” Nyström continued. “This is a national security matter.”

“It’s bigger than that,” said Harvath. “It’s aninternationalsecurity matter. Do you know what happens if the military or the government gets involved? Dominik Gashi gets arrested. Then, he gets a lawyer. And at some point way in the future, he gets a trial. In the meantime, you saw what happened in Rome last night?”

“The bombing? Yes, it was terrible.”

“Well, that’s what Europe gets—attack after attack. Maybe even some right here in Sweden.

---