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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

164

Bjorn focused on his PC again, re-reading the sentence about Pedro and his alleged involvement in the corruption scandal in Portugal. It was hard to believe that the man he had met at the building site was the man described in that sentence. He seemed so ordinary in every way. There was absolutely nothing extraordinary about the man's appearance.

But beyond the purely superficial, the man had been quite remarkable. He had shown a real interest in both Bjorn and his fellow visitors, and his uncanny frankness about Bjorn's schedule for the coming week was flattering in a way. Pedro, the man alleged to have corrupted a prime minister, had shown a personal interest in everyone, and a particular interest in Bjorn. And that made no sense, and a lot of sense at the same time.

Pedro was no doubt a man with above average people skills. He made everybody feel special. He might not even be able to help it. It might be something he just did without even thinking. And this simple personality thing was probably what made him as good as he was at what he was doing. So even though it may not be very important for Pedro to flatter people like Olga and Igor, it was something he just did. It made no immediate sense to be that way, but why not? Why not make everyone feel special if that's something that comes easily and naturally?

But Pedro's particular interest in Bjorn was more than just instinctive flattery. It was deliberate, and difficult to comprehend, particularly considering Pedro's involvement at the very top of society. Why would someone with a personal connection to the foreign minister be interested in Bjorn's schedule? Bjorn was neither rich nor powerful, yet Pedro had detailed knowledge of his weekly schedule. It made no sense, and it felt a little spooky. If it was not for the fact that Pedro had come across as a rather likable character, it would have been down right scary.

Bjorn clicked on Pedro's name in the article in front of him, almost as if drawn to it by an external force. But the short article that it brought up was virtually unchanged from last time he had been reading it. It contained the same dated picture which held little resemblance to him, and the facts were almost as limited as last time. However, Lundby was mentioned. Lance security was also mentioned. And the corruption scandal in Portugal had a brief mention too.

Bjorn could not quite remember if any of this was mentioned last time he looked for information on Pedro, but he felt sure that the article had been edited. He would certainly have remembered if Pedro's alleged connection to the Portuguese prime minister had been mentioned. Someone had added to the article. Someone out there was keeping an eye with him. And why not? It would have been rather strange if such an important figure had no mention at all. The odd thing was not that the man had a mention in Wikipedia, but rater that his mention was as brief as it was.

Returning to the article on the empire, Bjorn clicked on the link to Ingunn, a woman that he vaguely remembered reading about in connection with some weird anarchist activity. And the article on the woman was surprisingly long, with numerous pictures and a long list of references. The contrast to the article on Pedro was striking, a consequence, no doubt, of the different strategies taken by these two people as regards their public visibility.

Ingunn was clearly someone who must have liked and enjoyed the attention that she got from her activities, while Pedro was just as clearly doing his utmost to stay out of the limelight. And from a brief reading of the article on Ingunn it was clear that Pedro's strategy was by far the wisest one.

Monday, December 29, 2014

163

Bjorn looked up from his PC again. The low sun was slowly descending towards the mountains to the north west, and was starting to shine into his room. He pulled the left curtain to prevent the glare from shining into his eyes, but he did this reflexively as his mind was fully occupied by the last bit of information that he had picked up about Pedro.

A lot of pieces were suddenly falling into place. If Pedro had indeed been behind the corruption of Portugal's prime minister, and Bjorn saw no reason to doubt this rumor, then this could easily explain why the man was so elusive. A person involved in that kind of business would hardly be interested in a lot of personal attention. It was suddenly clear why Pedro was deliberately keeping a low profile. But more importantly, the rumor had in it an explanation as to Pedro's true business model, and his reason for being involved in the Lundby project.

Pedro was involved in corruption at the very highest level. He was a master thief, as it were. And it suddenly dawned on Bjorn how thoroughly ridiculous the whole Dr. Evil idea had been. Why spend huge resources on a doomsday machine, risking his own life and safety in the process, if the treasury of a nation could be emptied by simply bribing the key holder?

Corruption, when done correctly is virtually risk free, which explains why the private sector never built a doomsday machine. Such horrible devices are the domain of governments. Only statesmen of powerful nations would ever dream of building, let alone using, such a horrible weapon. Only statesmen have virtually unlimited resources available to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians, just to make a political statement. No private organization would ever do such a mad thing, not least because the alternative is both virtually risk free and far more lucrative in terms of profits.

But corruption is not completely risk free. There is always the chance that something could go wrong, and if so, Pedro might have to answer questions by a high court. He might have to spend time and resources on defending himself. He might even have to spend a few years in jail. And so, just to be on the safe side, Pedro has found himself a nuclear bunker where he can hide out, just in case.

It all made perfect sense, and Bjorn felt very pleased with himself for having figured it out on his own. "That's it," Bjorn thought with a smile. "I cracked it!" But then another thought struck him, and he realized that he had only solved a part of the puzzle. Pedro and the foreign minister were after all friends, or at least on friendly terms, and this could not possibly be a good thing, considering the fact that the foreign minister was pretty much running the show as far as the Norwegian state was concerned.

The foreign minister had acted completely independently when he ordered the bombing of Libya. And if mass murder on behalf of the Norwegian people was within his capabilities, then the treasury too may well be within his personal reach. Who would stop him if he decided to make an "emergency transfer" to "safeguard" the sovereign wealth fund? Would there be any questions asked? No one seemed particularly bothered about the Libya campaign. Would people even notice if Pedro got a way to subtly empty the wealth fund?

There was no way to know anything for sure, and all of this was of course pure speculation. Bjorn had no way to know if any of this was actually happening. The only thing he knew for sure was that Pedro and the foreign minister were somehow connected, and that Pedro was quite probably a master of corruption, a man with access to power and money almost beyond comprehension.

Monday, December 22, 2014

162

Returning to his room, Bjorn decided to look up Frederico and his empire thing on the web. The man had been charismatic and well spoken, and Bjorn was curious about his reach on the web. Was he as popular in cyber space as he was in the village? Bjorn was curious to know.

He turned on his PC and made a search for "the fifth empire" which immediately returned a varied list of references, some about the old Portuguese myth, and others about Frederico and his sect. There were links to blogs, including video blogs on YouTube, some in support of Frederico and others evidently attacking him and his ideas. But there were also quite a number of links to the old myth, including a few image links to a film with characters dressed up in 17th century costumes.

The top link was to an article on Wikipedia, and thinking this as good a place as any to start his research, Bjorn clicked on it.

He was immediately presented with an article relating to the myth. But Frederico's sect was mentioned right at the beginning of the article, and without spending any more time on the myth, Bjorn clicked his way to what Wikipedia described as the liberty movement. And this article in turn mentioned the myth in its initial description, underscoring the fact that the following was dedicated to the liberty movement and not the myth.

The article pretty much confirmed what Frederico had been saying. And, not surprisingly, it described Frederico's ideas as controversial. Although, largely in line with the ideas of earlier thinkers, Frederico's ideas made several unorthodox claims, not least pertaining to law and the notion of empire. Unlike previous writings on the subject, Frederico's claim was that the fifth empire is linked to the Portuguese people in a purely spiritual sense, and will not be a revival of the old empire.

"The fifth empire is not a rebirth of an old empire, but rather the coming to dominance of a political undercurrent that has been around since Babylonian times. The fifth empire will be one in which there will be no state, and where the cult of authority will be vanquished," it read.

"Basing his ideas on Biblical scripture, previous thinking pertaining to the fifth empire, writings on Portuguese culture, and political writings by prominent figures inside the liberty movement, Frederico has constructed for himself and his followers a complete belief system, containing both rational and occult elements," it continued.

Bjorn looked up from his PC to digest what he had read. It was broadly in line with what he had expected. And it was also clear that Frederico's ideas had quickly spread through the undercurrents of the web, propelling Frederico from obscurity to semi-fame in a very short period of time. Frederico's success was apparently not based on any novelty per say, but rather his ability to pull together a number of seemingly unrelated ideas to form a complete system with broad popular appeal.

Bjorn continued reading, noting the frequent references to the gentle anarchist, the golden rule, and private law, further confirming Bjorn's impression about Frederico's ideas. And when he came to the section about criticism, he read with interest that Frederico's ideas had not gone unchallenged.

Apart from purely scholarly criticism on the actual nature of the fifth empire, Frederico had already seen a lot of hard hitting political criticism by people strongly opposed to his ideas. Frederico's liberty movement had been criticized by both political opponents and many pro-liberty thinkers for being cult like, occult, and right out dangerous. However, Frederico on his side had been quick to point out that the fifth empire does not require any belief in any deity by its citizens, that citizenship is purely voluntary and can be relinquished at any time without consequence, and that the only rule that a citizen must adhere to is the golden rule.

"To claim that citizenship in the fifth empire is cult like, while simultaneously claiming that the social contract is a rational construct, cannot be taken seriously," according to Frederico. "The state and the cult of authority are clearly far more occult and dangerous than a purely voluntary arrangement that people can enter and leave as they please."

Other critics, while agreeing that the fifth empire could hardly be described as a cult, focused more on practicalities than principle, pointing to the sad fate suffered by many activists in the liberty movement. People eager to promote the idea of a stateless society have increasingly come under increased control and scrutiny by state agents, with loss of property, liberty, and in some cases even life as a consequence.

"The Republic of Venice, some early free state movements in the US, and several individual secessions in Scandinavia have all ended badly, and resistance to authority should therefore be more subtle and less confrontational," according to many of these critics.

However, to this, Frederico had only commented that he fully agreed with his critics, and that he does not promote heroism. Instead, he promotes small scale resistance, starting at the personal level, expanding to family and friends, while never confronting the authorities directly.

"The fact that the fifth empire has become widely popular cannot in itself be a reason to reject it," Frederico pointed out to one of his critics, "We will never promote direct confrontation. All citizens must act prudently within the limits of what they deem reasonable. However, as we grow more numerous, we can reasonably act more forcefully."

The article, full of links and references, had a list of related articles and topics at the bottom, including a link to the Blacklist, which surprised Bjorn since that website was less than a week old. There were also links to something called Ingunn's Niceland together with links to the Venetian Republic, various free state movements and other liberty projects.

And under a section called recent developments, there was a rather lengthy piece on Lundby with a brief mention of Pedro, who was described as an elusive billionaire, rumored to be the mastermind behind the corruption of the Portuguese ex prime minister. However, Pedro had so far neither been questioned on the matter nor charged with any wrongdoing.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

161

Bjorn scratched his head. He felt a mild urge to get up of his chair and stretch his legs. A trip to the bathroom would do fine. Except, someone was in there, so he'd rather wait for that someone to finish and leave before going there himself. Not that he had to. The bathroom was equipped with three toilets in separate stalls after all. But he preferred to have the place to himself.

It annoyed him that the barracks had a common bathroom, rather than a separate one for each bedroom. It would have made a big difference to him if he had had his own en-suite bathroom. It would have made him feel more relaxed, more at home, as it were.

The servants quarters in Pedro's luxury apartment were equipped with their own bathrooms. And the rooms were slightly larger too. Bjorn felt almost envious of Pedro's servants. However, if Einar was right, and Bjorn saw no reason to think him otherwise, the servants were actually slaves, working for free, and that was not exactly a nice situation to be in. Giving away ones freedom for a place to live was hardly something to be envious about.

With Ane paying a mere hundred MG per day to her workers, not including any kind of housing, Pedro could surely go even lower, offering free housing and food instead of money. The capitalists down in Lundby were running a tight ship. With the possible exception of Olga, everyone was raising to the bottom as far as wages were concerned. And why not. No one were there to stop them. "Lundby is a desperate lawless place where everything goes, and everything is accepted," Bjorn thought to himself, shaking his head. "Even slavery is legal down there."

Bjorn was making more money in an hour than Ane's poor workers were making in a day, and Pedro was probably going to go even lower. It was a disgrace, and Bjorn was struck by how lucky he was to have a whole system of unions and tariffs and laws to protect him from such exploitation. He had to smile of his naivety for having considered the poor slaves lucky for even a moment.

The bathroom door opened and shut, and footsteps passed by Bjorn's door. The place was once again vacant. "Kind of strange how I knew someone was in there," Bjorn thought to himself as he got up of his chair. "I wasn't really paying attention to the comings and goings, yet I knew it was occupied."

Bjorn was struck by a fleeting light dizziness as he got up of his chair, but it was so subtle that he did not think of it before it subsided out in the hallway. "I've been having this for months," Bjorn thought, suddenly realizing that the dizziness was not actually anything new, but rather something that had grown on him so slowly and gradually that he had not thought of it before these last few days when it had suddenly become more intense.

"I sure hope it's nothing serious," Bjorn continued thinking on entering the bathroom. "I really have to stop smoking, and maybe get myself some exercise."

The bathroom was damp and stuffy and somewhat filthy. It needed cleaning, and Bjorn found himself suddenly wondering if anyone was in charge of this, and if so, who. He couldn't remember anyone telling him of any cleaning duties. Ante didn't mention any such responsibilities when giving him the quick tour of the premises. Yet, now that he was thinking about it, someone must have cleaned the place during the week. And it must have been on Wednesday while he was at Ane's place together with Geir, or else he would have noticed, or maybe not. He was terrible when it came to this kind of stuff, he had to admit to himself. He could see that the place needed cleaning, and he vaguely recalled thinking the same when he first moved into the barracks. But at some point, when things actually got cleaned and tidied up, he had not really noticed.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

160

"But what about Ante's flippant remark about a nuclear bomb?" Bjorn wondered. Could that be it? Could it be that Pedro's real reason for taking over the village and airport was to build a nuclear bomb, and hold the world for ransom? The airfield was after all an old cold war relic, with nuclear bunkers and all that goes with it. A perfect place for Dr. Evil to hide away while the world goes up in flames.

The plane that so mysteriously made a landing during the night might have carried the parts for such a bomb. Or, who knows, maybe Pedro had simply bought a ready made one. Some corrupt general out there might have sold him a bomb. It would not surprise him if such a thing was possible. But would it make any sense?

Such an action would only put Pedro in danger. He would have to employ a whole little army of security officers to keep himself safe, and even if he got hold of the money from holding a city hostage with his bomb, how would he ever be able to spend it. His bank accounts would be frozen. He would be hounded by special forces from all over the world, and it would all surely be the end of him.

Bjorn lent back in his chair, taking once again in the full view in front of him. The sight filled him with calm satisfaction, and made him even surer of himself in his conclusion that no one were plotting to attack the checkpoint, and that there was no Dr. Evil out there, plotting to hold the world for ransom. This was no Bond movie. This was reality, and reality has little patience with the sort of lunacy portrayed in action movies.

However, Pedro's interest in Lundby seemed strange, for while it was easy to see how Jan and Ane were making money off of their respective projects, Pedro's business plan was less clear. Providing security services for a handful of village residents did not seem like a hugely profitable venture. And Pedro was allegedly a billionaire. Why would he waste his time collecting pennies here in the arctic. Surely, running a protection racket in Lundby could not be his reason for getting himself involved in the village.

Monday, December 15, 2014

159

What exactly was Pedro having in store for him on Tuesday, Bjorn wondered. Now that it was established that Pedro was right about Wednesday, it seemed unlikely that he would be wrong about Bjorn's schedule on Tuesday. There would be some sort of test, and Bjorn would be judged according to his performance, but what exactly the test would entail was unknown.

It did not matter much what it was all about, though, Bjorn concluded, since the test was no doubt set up to test his personality in some way. There was some final test for him to clear before his assignment on Wednesday, and all he had to do on Tuesday was to act naturally, and pretend that he did not know that he was being tested.

But now that Pedro had hinted on the test, it was impossible for Bjorn to completely rid himself of the sense of self consciousness that comes with such knowledge. He felt watched and monitored, even in his own room. And on that note, his attention was drawn to a sun glare coming from a window or similar reflecting surface down in the village.

Suddenly, Bjorn got the creepy feeling that the whole village was watching him, but he lay the absurd thought quickly to rest, focusing instead on where the glare was coming from. He picked up a pair of binoculars and directed them towards the village, but the glare was gone before he found its source. Instead, he found himself studying Gus's gun store, partly hidden behind the little hill where Gus had set up the installation of fences and other defensive hardware.

"He has a clear view of us from that top window," Bjorn thought to himself as he studied the house that had once belonged to Ante's grandparents. "But he'd be an idiot to fire anything at us from that position. It is too far away and too obvious a target for a counter strike."

However, Bjorn could not completely free himself from an uneasy feeling that the bunker boys might have been right after all. Some of the stuff Gus had on display on his posters were hardly defensive, and if people were stocking up on that kind of weaponry, an attack on the checkpoint could easily be made. But it would be suicide for whoever attempted it. The air force would be called in, and the rebels would quickly be crushed. They would never reach Neiden, and even if they did, what could they do?

Only a suicidal bunch of madmen would attempt an attack on the checkpoint, and as far as Bjorn could judge, Lundby was not exactly brimming with such people. True, some of the folks down there were running away from the law, and Einar had even killed a man. But everyone seemed to have purely defensive concerns. And then there were people like Pedro and Jan who would hardly approve of such an attack. Those men would only stand to loose if things went completely haywire,

An attack on the checkpoint would be both suicidal and meaningless. If it ever happened, it would be a random act of violence, or an act of desperation, a final retaliation against a great injustice. And as long as no one was pushing them up against a wall, an attack was extremely unlikely, even if technically possible.

And while thinking of this, Bjorn realized that he was not much more exposed to violence where he was than he would have been on any other military base. Military personnel were increasingly being targeted by islamists and other loonies. He was probably no more exposed to such random violence at the checkpoint than anywhere else. But Gus' clear line of sight was nevertheless a little unsettling.

Friday, December 12, 2014

158

Back in his room, Bjorn put the little bottle of medicine on the table in front of the window. Then he sat down and studied it idly for a while before putting it in a drawer together with the little measuring cup that came with it. The label said nothing about what was actually in the bottle. There was no list of ingredients, and no mention of the cannabis oil that David talked about. The full text on the label was "David's Anxiety Relief" with "secret recipe" as a sub-title. That was it, plain and simple.

The lack of information on the bottle did not bother Bjorn, though. In fact, it was probably for the better. If it had said cannabis oil on the label, and someone like Geir happened to come across it, it could easily mean trouble. This way, no one would know just by looking at it that it was in fact contraband.

Bjorn felt confident that the medicine was as harmless as David had said, not least because he knew from experience what sort of effect he could expect. Way back, before he met his ex, he had been smoking pot quite regularly. And the warm and fuzzy feeling he got from it was nothing but pleasant. But he dropped the habit when he became a father, and even during his extended period of unemployment, he had not bothered to take it up again.

Holding the bottle in his hand, reading the label, he had been tempted to try the medicine right away, but remembering David's instruction, only to take it just before going to bed, he had put it away in the drawer instead. He felt terribly anxious, though. The day had been way more eventful than he had imagined, and much of it with a sinister undertone. Like Pedro's shameless claim to know his weekly schedule.

And someone in Oslo was apparently also taking a personal interest in Bjorn's schedule. It was all a little spooky. Why were these people singling him out, he wondered.

Bjorn had to admit he knew the answer, though. Bjorn and Espen were being asked to check out the airport precisely because they were so bad at that kind of things. And the one most likely to benefit from this was Pedro. Pedro was behind this, and someone must have told him who to pick for the assignment on Wednesday, and that someone was most likely Frank.

Frank was no doubt corrupted, and Pedro was pulling his strings, either directly or via Oslo. In fact, leaving Oslo out of the picture, simplified things quite a bit. Oslo was probably just a lame excuse invented by Frank to divert the attention away from himself. Frank had most likely been in direct contact with Pedro who had simply called Frank and told him to send his two most incompetent men.

But knowing who had been talking to whom, did not really solve the mystery. The real mystery was not who were behind this, but rather why. What was Pedro up to out at the airport? What was he hiding out there? And then there was the added question of what Bjorn should do about this, now that he had evidence that he was used as a pawn in a game of sorts.

"I'm dealing with gangsters," Bjorn thought, feeling a sudden cold rush up his spine. "I better not do anything stupid, like playing the hero."

But to play the hero, he would have to know what the game was all about, and he didn't. He was clueless as to the game being played. And this thought was strangely comforting. "Some things are better left alone," Bjorn thought to himself. "And this whole mess is definitely one of them. I'll simply be my usual clueless self. That way I'll probably sail through this whole thing without any trouble."

Thursday, December 11, 2014

157

Bjorn and Ante found Frank and Geir sitting in front of the TV, watching a football game, in the living room. Bjorn felt a little uneasy about his bottle of medicine, tucked into the pocket of his jacket, and had preferred to go straight up to his room. However, Ante had lead him into the living room instead, insisting that they should find out about the schedules for airport right away.

"Any news about the airplane or the airport?" Ante asked after a brief exchange of pleasantries regarding the fine weather and their trip to Lundby.
"Well, quite a lot actually," Frank replied with a nod. "I just got this long e-mail from Oslo, all about things we have to change and do in order to contain the village."
"Really?"
"Yep, they are concerned about things getting out of hand. They are even bring in the coast guard to patrol the mouth of the fjord so that the detainees can't escape by boat. That should take care of the boat taxi thing, at least for now."
"And the airport?"
"It will be opened on Thursday, after we inspect it on Wednesday."
"Is that so?" Ante asked knowingly, sending Bjorn a quick glance. "And who are you sending down there to inspect it?"
"Ah... I was thinking we could send Espen and... and you, Bjorn," Frank replied hesitantly, avoiding eye contact with Geir and focusing instead on Bjorn as if desperately curious to know what Bjorn thought about the idea.
"Bjorn and Espen?" Geir asked in disbelief before Bjorn had a chance to say anything.
"Yeah, why not?" Frank asked, pretending to think the choice an excellent one.
"But they are completely clueless," Geir protested. "I mean, even Thomas would do a better job than those two."

Frank looked at his colleagues, a little lost for words.

"They are not that bad," Frank protested. "And the exercise would be good for you, don't you think, Bjorn?"
"But they need coaching," Geir continued. "They'll just roam aimlessly around. You got to admit it, Bjorn, you would have been completely lost without me down at Ane's factory."

Bjorn didn't know what to say. Geir was right. But he did not feel like admitting it in front of him.

"I'll read up on the rules," Bjorn ventured. "We'll be fine, Espen and I."
"Exactly! That's the spirit," Frank said with a smile.
"But wouldn't it be better if I came along with them, just to see that they're not missing anything?" Geir asked impatiently. "I mean, this is the airport. It's like this huge hole in the middle of the colony, and you're sending Bjorn and Espen down there so they can exercise their skills. What sort of logic is that?"
"I can't send everybody down. I need you here, Geir," Frank protested.
"But why me? Why not send me down instead of Bjorn or Espen?"

Frank looked desperate again, searching for a reasonable explanation.

"Well, I've made up my mind," Frank said abruptly. "It will be Bjorn and Espen. That's it."
"But..." Geir protested.
"No buts about it, I've made up my mind."
"But why them?"

Frank turned his attention back to the TV, signalling that he was done with the topic.

"It isn't really your idea at all, is it?" Ante suggested, and there was suddenly an eerie silence in the room while everyone was waiting for Frank's reply.
"You're right," Frank admitted, not changing his focus from the TV. "But let's just keep this among us. I'm not supposed to tell you this."
"So who's idea is this?" Geir asked in disbelief.
"I've said quite enough, Geir," Frank protested quietly. "It was an order from Oslo. That's all I can say, and even that is a secret, so let's all forget that I said this, right?"

Ante looked at Bjorn who was more than a little surprised to have learned that someone in Oslo was taking an active interest in his weekly schedule. The two men left the room. They hung off their jackets in the hallway, and without saying much, Bjorn took his bottle of medicine up to his room, while Ante went into the kitchen to start preparations for dinner.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

156

Thomas greeted the two men from his seat in the glass cage as they drove slowly past his post. He looked as sloppy as ever, with his unruly hair and a jam stain clearly visible on his sweater.

"So, that's your sage," Bjorn commented mockingly as they drove by.
"Judging the book by its cover again, are you?" Ante countered with a smile. "He's a slob, that's true, but his views are worth listening to. Even if you don't agree, you're bound to pick up a thing or two."
"Yeah?"
"Like this whole child protection thing that you've been going on about. He got a pretty interesting view on that too."

Ante stopped the car outside the barracks and turned off the engine. Then he proceeded with his thoughts.

"The problem is not that they want to help children, but the way they go about it. They barge in and make a terrible mess at times. And there's hardly any consequence for them when they are caught making huge mistakes."
"Yeah?" Bjorn asked blankly.
"You know, my sister got caught up in this stupid thing when she got her divorce," Ante continued undeterred. "Her ex-mother in law told them these lies about her, presumably to help her son get custody of the child, and the whole thing ended up in court and dragged on for months."
"This is your sister in Oslo, the one helping out at the homeless shelter at times?"
"Yes. And you know, they even accused her of being a bad mother for socio-cultural reasons, as they called it. Basically insinuating that Samis are somehow inferior parents to you Germanics."
"Really?"
"Yeah! It's ridiculous, and the whole thing got thrown out of court eventually for being just too stupid. Yet it took months to get through this, and you can imagine the stress, not to mention the time wasted, and the money spent on the lawyer."

Ante reached for the handle to open the door of the car.

"And the ones behind the whole charade went away from the mess with nothing but a suggestion by the judge that they come up with better arguments next time," Ante continued, opening the door on his side. "So, had they been a little bit more careful in their fabrication of evidence, the whole case could have ended up very differently. She might have lost her kid to those people."

The men stepped out of the car. Bjorn tucked the bottle from David's pharmacy into the pocket of his jacket and grabbed a cigarette while Ante locked the doors.

"Imagine if that was a service provided by a private charity," Ante continued. "It would have been all over the news, and the charity would have gone out of business. Or they would at the very least have had to fire the scheming little rats."

Bjorn nodded thoughtfully as he lit his cigarette.

"But there are plenty of cases where the child protection service does not interfere in time, with tragic consequences," Bjorn commented.
"Sure. But they are not getting any better by letting the incompetents stay, are they?"
"No, that's true."

The two men found a sheltered spot in the sun, next to the barracks, where the dark wood panels had soaked up heat during the day.

"So, what's Thomas' solution to this problem?" Bjorn asked.
"He'd split it in two. He'd let the police take care of criminal negligence, and let charities take care of the orphans. And he'd privatize everything, of course."
"And that would solve it?"
"It would work better than what we got today."
"Why?"
"Because they would run out of fundings if they screwed things up."
"But what if the state just kept paying them regardless?"
"The state?"
"Yeah. The state splits up this service, like you say, and then hand everything over to private investors who are then guaranteed an income. If the state just keeps funding those guys regardless, nothing will improve, will it?"
"But that's not privatization. That's fascism."
"Really? But this is what privatization usually means. Just look at the way our new government is privatizing the hospitals and the old people's homes, and even the jails. They hand it over to private companies who in turn are guaranteed an income. Heck. This whole Lundby thing is nothing but one big privatization."

Ante looked at Bjorn momentarily lost for words.

"But Pedro isn't being paid by the state to operate this village," Ante ventured thoughtfully. "So Lundby is fundamentally different from the jails and the other stuff they are privatizing. In fact, Lundby has been privatized the way things should be privatized."
"Says who?"
"Says I."
"And what about Thomas?"
"I bet he'd agree with me. But you have to ask him."
"Okay. So, how exactly would you go about privatizing the child protection services?"
"I'd split it up, like Thomas, suggests. Then I would let private companies come in and take care of the policing and the charity work. And I would cut all funding coming from the state."

Bjorn tossed the butt of his cigarette into a small pile of wet snow where it hissed as it quickly died.

"You'd privatize the police?" Bjorn commented dryly. "That's a pretty silly idea."
"Why?"
"Because it won't work. Who's going to control them, and who's going to pay them?"
"It works in Lundby. And you know, it's not that unusual. We've always had private security companies. Just think of Securitas. They provide watchmen, and they turn a profit. You don't go around worrying about them, do you?"
"That's true."
"And if they screw things up, they have to clean up their act. But if the police screws up, they make an internal audit, conclude that they need more money, and that's it."
"Well, that's Thomas talking again, isn't it?" Bjorn commented with a smile.
"Yeah, you're right," Ante replied, also smiling. "Let's go in, It's getting chilly out here."

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

155

The fjord lay cold and still to their left as they sped along it towards the intersection with the Neiden road. Considering the numerous pot holes, bends and crests in the road, Ante's driving was as reckless as ever. However, Ante seemed to be as familiar with the road as Igor, knowing exactly where he had to slow down in order to avoid damaging his car. Oncoming traffic was also dealt with with skill and precision, with Ante never slowing down more than absolutely necessary in order to avoid bumping into the other cars or falling out on the side of the road.

Looking up the hill to his right, Bjorn could see the glass cage at the checkpoint appear every now and again as they reached a high point of the road. And even the barracks were at times visible.

"You know that woman I told you about," Bjorn said, having a sudden flashback to the church and its congregation. "The one with the girl, so determined to get into Lundby."
"Yeah?" Ante replied, speeding up along a straight stretch of road.
"I saw her in church. She was the one coming in late with her daughter all dressed up."
"The blond woman who sat down with Ane?"
"Yeah... So you know Ane?"
"No. But I know Ola, so I'm assuming the cute one next to him must have been Ane."
"You're right. She's quite a sight isn't she?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, anyway... You were right about that woman. She's on the run from the child protection services."

Ante hit the breaks, avoided a pothole before speeding up again.

"You see!" Ante said with a satisfied grim. "I'm the master of deduction, the Sherlock Holmes of the north."
"If you say so," Bjorn replied with a smile and a nod.
"So that means that we already know three people hiding out in Lundby. Four if we include the woman's daughter. And that is not including people like David and Roger. How long do you think it will take before we're asked to arrest these people?"

Bjorn cringed at the thought. He had absolutely no desire to interfere in any of these people's lives. His job was to keep people from escaping the colony, not to arrest them, and he felt deeply uncomfortable with the idea that his responsibilities may be expanded towards general policing, rather than simple mindless patrolling of the border.

"Or do you think they will let all these desperadoes flock to Lundby unhindered?" Ante continued.
"It's not our job, is it? To act as police," Bjorn protested.
"No. Not at the moment. But that can change."

Bjorn had to admit that Ante was right. Lundby was not at all the sort of place he had expected it to be, and as a consequence, his job description was likely to change too. He would not be very surprised if he one day was asked to apprehend people down in Lundby.

"And what about you?" Bjorn asked. "Would you make that arrest if you were asked to do so?"
"No I wouldn't."
"No?"

Bjorn was hoping for an explanation, but Ante didn't seem interested in expanding on his thought, and Bjorn did not feel like digging into the matter, feeling that he had already heard quite enough to paint a rather worrying picture.

Ante was evidently not prepared to follow orders slavishly, and Thomas was probably even less reliable in that respect. Then there were Frank who was almost certainly corrupted in some way. John would probably do his job reluctantly, and Espen... Well he might follow orders too, but reluctantly, although for different reasons than John.

The only one who could be relied upon to do his job without question was Geir, and this was almost as worrying as the realization that none of his other colleagues would do their job in a reliable fashion if asked to interfere in Lundby.

"But isn't Pedro the one in charge of law and order in Lundby?" Bjorn asked, suddenly remembering this detail from the original deal struck between the foreign minister and Pedro.
"Yeah. But Pedro doesn't seem to be doing much in terms of law and order, is he?"
"Well... He has this Lance security thing."
"True. But he's actually protecting David, not stopping him."
"How do you know?"
"Ah! Dear Watson, you have to pay attention! Didn't you see the stickers on his door? David has a Lance security sticker, and so does Roger. Pedro is guaranteeing their safety. And that, my friend, in case you were wondering, is the reason why I'm not going to arrest anyone in Lundby. I don't want my name on Pedro's blacklist."

Ante was right, of course. This was in the end Bjorn's big concern too. Lundby was in fact already out of control. Any attempt to rein in the citizens at this stage would be fraught with danger, and Bjorn was simply not up to it, especially knowing that he could easily end up abandoned by his colleagues in the middle of such a dangerous mission.

"Besides, I don't particularly agree with the sort of law and order that we would be asked to enforce," Ante continued, slowing down for the intersection with the Neiden road, before speeding up again for the climb up to the checkpoint. "I don't think any of those so called outlaws are actually doing anything wrong."
"Not even David?"
"Look who's talking," Ante said with a satisfied smile. "You're one of his customers. And you think he should be arrested?"
"Well..."
"And I'm certainly not going to arrest Katinka or Einar, or that woman."
"Cecilie?"
"Yeah. It's not our business to interfere in those people's lives."
"Even if the kids are in danger?"
"But they're not, are they?"
"How do you know?"
"I don't. But did you see any evidence of abuse?"
"Well... Katinka and Roger... I mean..."
"Okay! So that's a little unsavory, maybe. But did she seem distressed? Did she seem like she was in fear of Roger?"
"No... But she's too young. Don't you think?"
"And what makes you think that they are better for her in Alta? She fled the place. And now you're suggesting that we should send her back to the very place that she ran away from."
"But..."
"She's clearly thinking herself better off with Roger than in Alta. So the only way to get her away from him, without making her deeply unhappy, would be to offer her something better, not force her to return to the place she hates."
"But what if she's too young to know what's best for her?"
"Well, for one, I don't think she's too young to know this. And even if she were, it makes no sense going against her wishes. It is in the end all about what she thinks and feels, and if we just barge in and ignore all her wishes, we're surely violating her more than anyone else."

Friday, December 5, 2014

154

Bjorn looked over at the casino as Ante drove by at low speed, and a thought struck him about Jan and Pedro. The two men were no doubt in charge in the village, dominating its commerce with their money and influence. Yet they did not seem to engage in any kind of direct taxation. With the exception of Pedro's attempt to get rent from the stall owners, the two men were leaving everyone alone. And they even appeared in Frederico's church, as if to underscore their willingness to adhere to the golden rule. But why would they do that? Why not tax people? Why not establish a kingdom of their own? They could easily do that, with Jan having acquired special rights due to his Sami origin, and Pedro having a free pass to do whatever he pleases with the colony in return for taking care of the asylum seekers.

"Maybe they have some other and better way to make money?" Ante suggested when Bjorn aired his thoughts. "Or they may be up to something that we have no idea about."
"Like what?" Bjorn asked.
"Something sinister, like... you know... like something out of a Bond movie."
"Dr. Evil and Mini Me?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's stupid. What sort of evil are you thinking of?"
"Maybe they are building a nuclear bomb so they can take over the world."
"Are you serious?"
"Not really."

Bjorn couldn't figure it out. But the idea that someone would spend a fortune building a doomsday device in order to take over the world was just right out lame. Especially considering that Jan and Pedro had not even bothered to take over Lundby.

"But if Pedro is right, you'll be over at the airport on Wednesday. Maybe you'll pick up some more clues then," Ante continued. "Who knows what he's up to out there. It has a nuclear bunker after all. Just the sort of place that Dr. Evil and Mini Me would love."
"It looked pretty abandoned when we drove past it last week."
"That's true. But something is going on out there, with that airplane landing there in the middle of the night and all."
"You're right," Bjorn admitted. "There's something going on. And if I am indeed asked to go down there on Wednesday..."
"Provided you behave properly on Tuesday," Ante interjected.
"Yeah. That's kind of creepy, isn't it. And he said that so shamelessly too."
"Like he owned you," Ante suggested.
"Yeah... well... he probably owns Frank."
"True. That would explain it. But you know what you should do?"
"No?"
"You should ask Frank casually about Tuesday and Wednesday, and see what he says. That way we'll know if Pedro had it from Frank, or from someone else, someone superior to him."

Bjorn thought Ante's suggestion interesting, but a little too confrontational to his liking. However, he nevertheless nodded in agreement as if he would in fact make such an inquiry.

The two men sat in silence until they reached the billboard welcoming people to Lundby and its casino, the back of which was now covered with another giant poster, thanking them for their visit and wishing them back soon.

"That's new, isn't it?" Bjorn said, pointing to the welcome back poster. "We haven't seen that before, have we?"
"No, it wasn't there Saturday night," Ante said in confirmation.
"And you are right about the armillary spheres," Bjorn continued. "They are everywhere... Just look at that!"

The welcome back poster was full of them, all subtly weaved into the background image. And when Bjorn turned around to have another look at the front of the billboard, he saw that the background image of that picture too was full of the gold colored spheres.

"How could I have missed that?" Bjorn continued rhetorically. "Now that you've mentioned it, I'm seeing them everywhere. Even Peppe's had one on a shelf."
"And the stickers in the windows," Ante added.
"Yeah. Together with the Lance stickers," Bjorn continued. "It's kind of creepy, don't you think?"
"Not really," Ante said, dismissing Bjorn's concern. "It's no worse than any other kind of patriotism. I mean... Look at our uniforms. We carry this little flag on our shoulders, and lots of people use flags whenever they have something to celebrate. We got our flag. They got their sphere."
"But they're mixing religion into this, with all that talk about the empire and the golden rule and stuff like that."
"Sure. But weren't you the one wanting to become a citizen just now?"
"Ah... Just to try it out, you know..."
"Anyway... there's much less difference between religion and politics than most people think," Ante continued.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Frederico is right about that. In politics, people believe in the social contract. That's a superstition, isn't it?"
"So you listened to him while he was going on about this?" Bjorn asked. "I thought you weren't paying attention."
"Well... I've heard it all before, you know, so I was only listening with half an ear."
"Thomas has been preaching for you?"
"Exactly."

Coming down to the fjord, passing the luxury apartments, Ante continued on his thought.

"The golden rule is not much of a superstition when you think about it," he said in a quiet voice. "The social contract, on the other hand, is quite bizarre. How can anyone be tied to a contract they never signed? Unless, of course, the social contract is simply the golden rule, and that politics have changed it into meaning obedience to authority and self sacrifice."
"But even then, it would be strange to assume that newborn babies have signed onto it," Bjorn added.
"Exactly. That's why Frederico insists that everyone have to voluntarily embrace it."
"But what about those who refuse? What about people like us, who either refuse, or simply can't embrace it due to our profession?"
"People like us will always be viewed with suspicion, I guess... Which we were, right?"
"Yeah. Were we ever? I mean... That Einar guy was pretty fierce... And Katinka."
"It was unpleasant at times, wasn't it?"
"Not too bad... but yeah."
"And we haven't even done anything for real. Imagine how these people will treat people who more blatantly break the golden rule."
"It won't be pleasant."
"It won't for sure," Ante confirmed with a nod. "They will kick you out if you don't behave. They will refuse to deal with you, and they may even kill you if you keep breaking the law."
"You think so?"
"I'm sure of it."
"Isn't that a little harsh?"
"Not really. We are talking about deliberate aggression, robbery, theft, extortion, that kind of things. People like that will have a hard time in Lundby."

Bjorn looked out on the fjord, to their left. Then, struck by a thought, he continued the conversation.

"So they are in a sense worshiping their legal system?" he mused.
"That's a good way of putting it," Ante said with a nod. "Like I said, there's very little difference between religion and politics. It's all about law and ethics in the end."

Thursday, November 20, 2014

153

Now that Ante had described the rock behind the church as Jesus' two fingers pointing to the heavens, Bjorn could not free himself from seeing it again as they passed the church on the way back to the car.

"He's quite a character, that Frederico, isn't he?" Bjorn commented.
"Yeah," Ante replied idly.
"That whole Golden Rule thing... It's a nice thought, don't you think?"

Ante did not answer.

"You know," Bjorn continued. "I think I'll try that citizen thing one day. I mean... its not like anything bad will happen if I do, right?"
"No, of course not. But it's a silly idea."
"You think so? Why? You think the Golden Rule is a silly idea?"
"No, no... the Golden Rule is a cute idea."
"Cute?"
"Yeah. Quaint... Nice... I like it. But it's silly to pretend we're actually following it."
"We're not?"

Ante looked at Bjorn with a skeptical frown.

"You're a border guard. How is that compatible with the golden rule?"
"But I'm not hurting anyone," Bjorn protested.
"Sure... But the whole point of your job is to impose certain rules on people."
"Well... yeah."
"Against their will."
"Yeah... but... It's our country, they have no right to go there if we don't allow it."
"No? Why not?"
"Because it is our country."
"But what if someone in Neiden or Kirkenes wants to invite someone from Lundby over to work for them, or even just visit. Would you let them?"
"No... but that's a silly example. No one is inviting anyone over from Lundby."
"And why is that, you think?"
"Well... they don't know each other for starters."
"Because they can't, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Because people like you and me are keeping them segregated."
"Well..."
"It's a kind of apartheid, isn't it? That's what we're involved in."

Bjorn shook his head in mild disbelief.

"You're clearly talking too much with Thomas."
"Yeah," Ante admitted with a sheepish smile. "But I think he has a point, though."
"Thomas?"
"Yeah... I think he's right. We're actually the bad guys."
"He said that?"
"Yeah."
"So what is he doing at the checkpoint? If he believes that, why is he still working for us? I mean... have you told Frank about this?"
"No, of course not."

Bjorn was shocked. The idea that they had a rebel in their ranks, someone who openly despised the system, was worrying.

"He's selling his soul for a decent salary, he says," Ante continued.
"He really is a grumpy old man, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Having reached the base of the hill, the two men headed directly for the knoll with the parked cars.

"Well, anyway," Bjorn continued. "I'm declaring myself a citizen right now. I'm hereby a citizen of the Fifth Empire."
"And who exactly are you saying this to?"
"To the world."
"But you know... The world doesn't care. No one out here cares one bit about what you say. It's not what you say, but what you do that defines you in the end. And the moment you go out to that glass box tomorrow you're no longer a citizen, no matter what you say."
"No?"
"No. That's why it's such a silly idea for you to declare yourself a citizen, because you'll only be a citizen when it doesn't really matter, and the moment it actually makes a difference you're back to being... well... a border guard."
"But I'll be nice to my colleagues," Bjorn protested, putting on a humorous grin to soften his protest.
"Sure... as if you weren't a nice guy already."

Bjorn nodded, content with Ante's flattery, and fully prepared to drop the topic.

"You know, you can't fake this," Ante continued, concluding his own thoughts on the subject. "Because it is a promise only to yourself, not to the world. It´s not like you have to convince anyone else that you're a true citizen. There's no bureaucrat you have to apply to."
"It's not a typical application for a citizenship, is it?" Bjorn agreed.
"No. And what's the point in being a citizen if you have to call it off every time you go to work?"
"Well... If I wasn't such a nice guy," Bjorn said with a cheerful smile. "Then it might make sense."
"Yeah. But the idea must be to be a nice guy all the time, and to everybody, not only to your colleagues."

The men reached Ante's car where they stopped and took a quick look a the village square before entering the vehicle.

"It's a nice thought, though," Bjorn concluded.
"Sure. But we're not a part of it. And it's silly to think otherwise."

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

152

"What was that all about?" Bjorn asked Ante immediately after leaving the pharmacy.
"What?"
"The heroin thing."
"Well, what do you think? I mean... heroin... And I could buy it just like that."
"Yeah?"
"Hey! Wouldn't that be cool?" Ante asked, making a sweeping gesture with his hands. "Have a bottle of heroin available, just in case."
"You were seriously considering buying it, weren't you?"
"Yeah, I was. Just, you know, to have it."

Bjorn shook his head.

"And take it with you up to the checkpoint?" Bjorn continued.
"Yeah, of course."
"That would have been kind of illegal, wouldn't it?"
"Yep, it would. Just like your cannabis oil," Ante retorted with a big smile.

Bjorn looked at Ante, suddenly realizing the obvious. He had just bought himself a bottle of contraband, and would have to smuggle it into his room on returning to the checkpoint.

"Gosh, I didn't think of that."
"You didn't did you?" Ante said, still smiling from ear to ear. "That David guy really convinced you, didn't he."
"But he said this is better, better than the synthetic alternative, that is."
"But even that would have been illegal," Ante continued. "I'm sure the alternative is a prescription drug, and you haven't been to a doctor, have you?"
"No, but..."
"But what?"

Bjorn had to think for a moment. He felt very confident that he had been well advised, and that the medicine he was carrying would at its worst be harmless, and at its best be quite effective. Yet, Ante was right. He was carrying contraband, and was technically speaking breaking Norwegian law.

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Bjorn asked.
"No, of course not. But I have to say I find this whole thing amusing."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Here we are. Two representatives of the law, preparing to smuggle contraband into the checkpoint. It says quite a lot, doesn't it?"
"Like what?"

Ante looked over at the vicarage where a small line was forming with some truly miserable looking people.

"You didn't think of it being illegal when you bought it, did you?" Ante asked.
"No, I didn't," Bjorn confessed.
"And why was that, you think?"
"Well, David came across as pretty serious, didn't he?"
"Yeah?"

Bjorn didn't know what more to say, and being distracted by the sight of people in front of the vicarage, he stopped and changed the subject completely.

"They are lining up for soup, aren't they?" Bjorn asked.
"Looks like it, doesn't it," Ante confirmed with a nod.
"But they are not letting them in, are they?" Bjorn continued.

Then, before Ante could vent his opinion, the door of the vicarage opened, and out came Elisabeth and Aung, each with a small tray with Styrofoam cups, which they proceeded to hand out to the people who had gathered outside.

"Looks like they are keeping them at an arm's length," Ante commented.
"That's kind of condescending, isn't it?"
"It is," Ante agreed. "But to let them in... Would you?"
"Sure, why not? It's a big house. I mean... if they are serious about charity, shouldn't they?"
"And risk getting stuck with these people?"
"Well..."

Bjorn had to admit to himself that the sad looking group hardly was the kind of people he would have eagerly welcomed into his home. But a charity should operate differently, he felt, and was about to formulate this idea when Ante broke it off by pointing out that Bjorn was doing precisely nothing for the people over by the vicarage, and should for that reason be a little careful about criticizing the well doers.

"But..." Bjorn protested, still unable to articulate his objection.
"But what?"
"It's not the way we do it, is it? Like in the rest of Norway."
"It isn't?"
"No. I was unemployed for more than a year, and I never had to stand in any line."
"Ah... But what about those who can't even find their way to the unemployment office? You know... the really down and out people."
"The bums?"
"Yeah?"
"Well... I don't know."
"You never bothered to find out, did you?"
"Ah... no."
"But my sister who lives in Oslo works every now and again at a soup kitchen. And it's quite overwhelming at times, she says. And lately it's been getting much worse."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"And?"
"She says you just can't get too involved in these people, because they will drag you down. They really will. It's just too much. So you just have to put up a distance, a polite one for sure, but nevertheless a distance. And that's exactly what they are doing over there. It's the only way to run a charity. You have to keep a distance. You can't get involved in every little tragedy out there."

Ante started walking again.

"But if you do it right," Ante continued, getting Bjorn along with him. "You can keep it going for ever. And it can be very rewarding. Especially if you manage to do more than just feed them, but lift them out. Help them get a job. Get them back on their feet. That's what charity is all about in the end."
"Except for those who can never get a job, like cripples and retards," Bjorn commented.
"Yeah, but that's different. Those people over there are neither cripples nor retards. They may be depressed or hooked on drugs or whatnot. But they are not completely incapable of doing anything useful."

Bjorn still thought the whole thing condescending, almost to the point of being cruel. But he knew, despite his objections, that Ante was right. Things were no different in Oslo. And anyone crazy enough to open their home unconditionally to the needy would quickly find themselves completely drained both physically and emotionally.

"Unlimited generosity is a silly utopian idea," Ante commented, as if he had listened in on Bjorn's private thoughts. "It will quickly drain the life blood from anyone attempting it. And in the end, everyone will be worse off. The charity will be dead, and the recipients will have nowhere to go."

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

151

Bjorn felt immediately much better on leaving the restaurant.

"It was stuffy in there, wasn't it?" he commented.
"Not any worse than at the checkpoint," Ante replied.
"Well, I feel much better now," Bjorn continued, hoping to convince Ante to change his mind regarding David's pharmacy. "Let's go back to the checkpoint."
"And miss out on this little adventure?" Ante protested. "No way!"
"But..."
"I'm curious, and now I got the perfect excuse to nose around," Ante continued. "Come on, do it for me!"
"But it's just a pharmacy," Bjorn ventured.
"No. It's not just a pharmacy. It's a drug store. Those guys sell everything you could possible want. Aren't you curious about that?"
"And you want me to take advice from those guys?" Bjorn asked, stopping by the pathway leading up to the pharmacy from the road.
"Hey! What harm can come of it. It's not like you have to buy a bottle of heroin if that's what they prescribe."
"No. But what's the point? They can't possibly be serious. I mean... just look at that board. The sky is not the limit. What kind of an ad is that? And those guys are going to suggest something for my dizzy spell?"
"Well, Katinka said she trusts them."
"Yeah... she trusts Roger too. That makes her an expert, right?"

Ante looked at Bjorn and then back at the pharmacy.

"Come on!" he exclaimed, putting one foot forward in the direction of the store. "Let's check this place out."

And with all his counter arguments exhausted, Bjorn followed Ante up the pathway. Ante opened the door and ushered Bjorn in as a guest of honor, closing the door carefully behind them as they stepped into another converted living room, this one full of little racks displaying all sorts of medicines and pharmaceutical products.

A woman sat by a PC behind the counter, barely sparing them a glance as they stepped into the room. She was busy typing something, and for a moment Bjorn got the impression that she had no interest at all in helping them. He looked around, and saw that the place did indeed look like a pharmacy, and not like a dealer's den. But a rack to the back of the store had a board with the word "recreational" typed onto it. There was also one with the word "opiates" typed on to it. But the two racks were otherwise no different from those that were marked with words like "dental" and "skin care" and the like.

"How can I help you?" the woman behind the PC asked, having finished her typing.
"Well, we need something against dizziness," Ante said. "My friend here suffers from dizzy spells."
"Oh, is that so?" the woman replied. "I'm not sure what David would recommend for that. Wait here! I'll check with him."

Bjorn recognized the woman at once as Maria, the self proclaimed law expert, and he mentioned this to Ante the moment she disappeared into the back room.

"She's a lawyer?" Ante asked, intrigued.
"That's what she claims."
"In a place with no laws," Ante commented with a smile. "That must be tough."

But the two men had no time to reflect on Maria's seemingly impossible profession, as she soon returned with David who she presented to them as being her husband and store owner.

David was a little taller than Maria, but still a relatively short man, not even as tall as Ante. But what he lacked in stature, he made up for in his presence. There was something confidence inspiring about the man.

"Dizzy spells?" David asked rhetorically, looking at Bjorn.
"Yeah, well, I had one on Friday, and one just now."
"That's it?"
"Well, I was a little dizzy yesterday too."
"So you've just started having these spells?"
"Yeah."
"You're in the military I see."
"Yeah."
"And when did you have your latest check up."
"Oh... like a month ago. When I signed up for this job."
"And they didn't find anything wrong with you back then?"
"No, well, they said I could drop a few pounds. Maybe stop smoking."
"I see. And?"
"Well, I haven't given up on the smoke, and I haven't lost any weight, I don't think."

David looked at Bjorn with a critical eye.

"Anxiety?" David asked. "Ever feel claustrophobic or lost for no reason?"
"Eh, well... It happens."
"Nightmares?"
"Actually, yes. But I'm not very bothered."
"No?"
"No."

David went over to a rack next to the opiates where he picked up a small brown bottle with a thick liquid inside.

"This will help you stop smoking, and relieve some of that anxiety too," David said with a serious and confident look at Bjorn. "And it does relieve certain types of vertigo."
"What is it?" Bjorn asked.
"It's a cannabis oil that I've developed."
"Oh..." Bjorn replied, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. "I'd prefer something... ah... more pharmaceutical, if you will."
"Well, we have a synthetic alternative, but it is actually more dangerous, has more side effect. I prefer not giving that to people unless they specifically ask for it."
"Yeah?"
"No one ever died ingesting small quantities of cannabis. That's not the case for the synthetic alternative."
"The other one kills people?"
"It has been known to heighten blood pressure. And, well, that can be very dangerous."
"And this oil doesn't do that?"
"No."
"There's no side effects?"
"Apart from drowsiness, no. So you take one spoon of this in the evening, and you'll sleep like a baby."
"And the next morning?"
"You'll feel fine, and less of an urge to have a cigarette."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."

Bjorn reached for the bottle which David was happy to let him hold.

"But I'm actually here for those dizzy spells," Bjorn said, looking at the viscous liquid through the dark glass.
"It may work, or maybe not. But I think your real problem is the cigarettes. And this will help you stop smoking."
"So if I stop smoking, the dizzy spells will pass."
"Probably, yes."
"And this will help me sleep better too."
"For sure."
"I won't get hooked, will I?" Bjorn asked.
"It's never a good idea to use a drug over time. But this is definitely not very addictive. This bottle will last you two weeks, and you should have no trouble quitting it right there."
"Unlike this," Ante commented from the side, holding a small bottle labeled "heroin" in his hand.

David gave Ante a tired look, clearly having been challenged about his drugs before.

"No, as I'm sure you know, that's very addictive," David explained. "But that's not what I'm recommending for your friend here, is it?"
"No, but you're actually selling this stuff?"
"Yes I do."
"Just like that?"
"What you mean?"
"Can I buy this bottle?" Ante asked.
"I wouldn't recommend it, but yeah."
"You're not going to stop me?"
"No. But I'm not pushing it either."
"But how about that sky is not the limit sign you got out on your front yard?"
"That's for the recreational drugs. What you got there is an opiate, and a very strong one at that."

Ante looked pleased with David's calm and down to earth explanations.

"So who is this for?" Ante asked.
"Well. It's meant for terminally ill people. People who are in a lot of pain. People like that don't care if they get hooked, since they are going to die anyway."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, we have a few customers like that."
"Terminally ill people?"
"Yeah?"
"Really?"
"We even have a place for them to come and stay. But most people prefer to die at home."
"You got a hospital thing going on here?" Ante asked, impressed.
"Well, not in this house."
"Where?"
"That's a secret."
"Yeah? Why?"

David looked at Ante with a critical smile.

"Well, why do you think?"
"I don't know."
"You're turning up here in uniforms, and you expect me to tell you all my secrets? How stupid do you think I am?"
"Oh... I'm sorry," Ante replied, putting the heroin bottle back in its place. "But you would sell me this bottle if I insisted?"
"Yeah, sure. But why would you want to buy a bottle of heroin?"
"Just for the heck of it, maybe."
"Sure! Be my guest!"

Ante looked at the bottle as if he was seriously considering buying it. Then he looked over at Bjorn, still holding on to the cannabis oil.

"Ah... well... I'll have this one," Bjorn commented, sending Ante a stern look.
"Okay," David said with a nod. "That will be seventy five MG."

They walked over to the counter where Maria was once again focusing on her PC.

"Remember to shake it well before use," David commented while Bjorn fished out a handful of casino tokens from his trouser pocket, picking out the correct amount for Maria. She in turn grabbed a small plastic bag from under the counter, dropped the bottle into it and handed it back to Bjorn.

Monday, November 17, 2014

150

Ante signaled to Katinka that he was ready to pay by waving his debit card in the air, prompting her to come over with a terminal to take his payment.

"So, was everything to your liking?" she asked, handing the device over to Ante to let him type in his pin code.
"Oh yeah," Bjorn said with a smile. "And I really liked your little lecture on the ID chip thing. Very well presented, I must say."
"Well, thank you, I'm glad you liked it."

Ante handed the terminal back to Katinka who checked that all was in order before handing Ante his card back, together with the receipt.

"It's hard to believe you're able to make a living with these prices," Ante commented.
"Well, there's no taxes and no fees."
"Still... I'm sure you two have bills to pay like everyone else."
"Yes we do," Katinka answered with a smile reflecting her appreciation for Ante's implicit recognition of Katinka and Roger as a legitimate couple. "It's tough, but we get by."
"Don't you think you could raise the prices a bit without hurting your business?" Ante continued, pushing his chair back and readying himself to get up.
"Maybe... but we got Nora's Place to compete with, and they serve food at the casino too, and... well, you know. Even people form Kirkenes are feeling the pinch, with the crisis and all... And the Gram has appreciated quite a lot over the last few months."
"It has, hasn't it?" Ante commented, looking over at Bjorn. "Remember how upset Espen got on Friday when he had to pay more for his tokens?"
"Yeah, he got really angry, didn't he?" Bjorn confirmed.
"So, you see," Katinka concluded. "Upping our prices wouldn't sit well with our regular customers. And the appreciating Gram is actually making things a little cheaper for us. Things like flour and sugar and meat. It's all getting cheaper."
"In Grams," Ante noted.
"Yeah, but still. That's the money we use. So we are actually better off now than we were. And we keep getting more customers too."
"So, you're optimistic for the future?" Ante asked, finally getting up from his chair.

Bjorn rose from his chair too, but was immediately struck by a spell of dizziness, making him fall over to the side.

"Oh my!" Bjorn gasped clutching the table in front of him in order to keep himself from falling flat onto the floor, and he was immediately griped by a sense of intense embarrassment.

"You're all right there?" Katinka asked, clearly concerned about Bjorn's sudden dizzy spell.
"Yeah, yeah," Bjorn replied with a sheepish smile, continuing his hold on the table. "It's just a dizzy spell. That's all."
"You get this often?" Katinka asked, seeing that Bjorn was not letting go of the table.
"No, no..." Bjorn replied, noting with terror that the discomfort was lingering. "It'll soon pass."

But it did not pass for several long seconds, and even when the worst was over, Bjorn felt a lingering nausea.

"You look a little pale," Ante commented. "I'd have that checked if I were you."
"Yeah. Why don't you talk to David. He's good with this kind of things," Katinka suggested.
"David?" Bjorn asked confused.
"Yeah. He's practically a doctor. He knows his stuff."
"Really?"

Bjorn felt it a silly proposition. But Katinka was clearly serious, and when he looked over at Ante, it seemed that he too thought it a good idea.

"Just as a first quick check up," Ante noted. "What harm can come of it?"
"And it's free," Katinka added. "He's a serious guy. He knows his stuff."
"But... He's a drug dealer," Bjorn protested.
"No, no, no," Katinka protested. "He sells some stuff that's illegal in other places. But he's actually a very nice guy."
"Ah, well, I don't think we need to," Bjorn said, smiling bravely. "I'm better all ready."

Ante and Katinka looked at Bjorn quietly.

"You know, I'll hold your hand," Ante said with a patronizing smile. "It won't take long. And you know... I'm rather curious about the place myself. Let's have a look at it!"

Bjorn straightened up and pulled his jacket on. Then he collected the token's he had spread out on the table, leaving a ten MG token for Katinka.

"Okay. Let's go!" he said. Then, thanking Katinka for an excellent meal, he joined Ante out into the cold but sunny weather.

Friday, November 14, 2014

149

Katinka returned with two mugs and a pot of coffee. She put the mugs on the table and poured the hot brew into them. The men thanked her. Then she went back to the kitchen before reappearing moments later, sitting down on a stool behind the bar, and picking up a book that she had evidently left there for moments like this, with little or nothing to do.

There was something relaxing and pleasant about her person, almost serene, and Bjorn could not help thinking that Roger might actually have been right about himself and Katinka. The age separating the two was great, indecent even, but Katinka looked content, as if fully confident in Roger's ability to protect her from any kind of harm, and her initial worry, and subsequent interrogation by Ante, had left no lasting impression on her. She looked happy.

"So, they got their gun store over there, and their drug store over here," Ante said, breaking Bjorn's train of thought, and moving his attention from Katinka to the street outside.
"Yeah?" Bjorn asked, resting his eyes on a car moving slowly past in the direction of Gus' gun store.
"Well, what do you think about that?" Ante continued, sipping his coffee. "You get your gun over there, and then stack up on some psychedelic drugs over there, and you're all set for a shooting spree."
"But you're the one thinking that's cool," Bjorn noted coldly. "You know what I think about it."
"Yeah. You find it a little crazy, don't you?"
"A little? Well, I think it's insane. That's what I think of it."
"You wouldn't last long if you tried something like that here in Lundby, though," Ante continued. "Everybody has a gun, and you'd quickly find yourself dead if you started shooting wildly around you."
"Still. It's just not a very good idea to combine these things, is it?"
"But you know Anders..."
"The mass murderer?"
"Yeah," Ante said with a thoughtful look across the street where a young man entered the drug store. "He had no trouble getting the guns and the drugs that he took just before going on his murderous rampage. And that was in Oslo where they got rules against that kind of thing."
"Still... There wouldn't have been anything at all stopping him up here."
"Except for pretty much the entire village shooting back at him," Ante noted with a cheeky smile.

Bjorn couldn't help thinking that Ante had a point. Yet, the tragedy in Oslo was different, and a rather extreme example, he felt. He wasn't buying Ante's argument, but had no ready counter argument either.

"You know, he just started his own party," Ante continued.
"Anders?"
"Yeah. Didn't you hear about that?"
"Well... yeah. But are anyone taking it seriously. I mean, the man is mad, right?"
"He got a few thousand followers on Facebook."
"He does?"
"Yep. A few thousand. I think that's saying quite a lot, don't you?"
"Like what?"
"About people and politics."
"Yeah?"
"And the foreign minister is as popular as ever," Ante continued. "You know... far more people were killed in Libya on his orders than Anders managed to kill out on that island."
"Yeah, but come on... You're not comparing the foreign minister with Anders, are you?"
"Sure, why not? They both illustrate the same point."
"They do?"
"Killing people will actually make you more popular, not less."
"But..."
"Yeah?"
"It's a stupid comparison."
"Why?"
"Well, the foreign minister and Anders? Come on! Anders killed those kids in cold blood."
"And the kids in Libya?"
"Kids in Libya?" Bjorn protested. "We were bombing military targets. If we killed any kids, it was by accident. That's a huge difference right there."
"But killing people does make you more popular," Ante continued undeterred. "That's all I'm saying."
"Well... okay... you're probably right about that."
"And that's kind of sad, sin't it."

Thursday, November 13, 2014

148

Katinka came back into the dining hall with a flushed look and a rosy nose from crying, sending Bjorn and Ante a suspicious look before going over to the couple by the wall. The couple were finished with their meal and ready to pay, which they did with casino tokens that Katinka checked with the same little device that Bjorn had seen used at Nora's place.

"I wonder how that thing works," Bjorn commented, breaking the silence between him and Ante, happy to have something neutral and harmless to talk about.
"What you mean?" Ante asked, munching thoughtfully on pizza.
"That thing to check if the tokens are counterfeit or not," Bjorn explained.
"Ah... well... beats me," Ante said, clearly more interested in his pizza than Bjorn's question. "Does it matter?"
"No... but I'm curious. You know... how difficult is it really to counterfeit those chips?"
"Pretty hard, I would guess."
"But they are just pieces of plastic. Not even very fancy," Bjorn continued, grabbing a few from his trouser pocket and putting them on the table between them.
"No, you're right," Ante agreed, picking up one of the tokens to have a closer look. "But that machine probably makes it harder to fake."
"Exactly! So, how does it work. Aren't you a tiny bit curious?"
"A tiny bit maybe," Ante said, still not looking very interested.

However, the appearance of tokens on their table had caught Katinka's attention, and having just ushered out the other couple, she headed over to them.

"Is everything all right?" she asked. "You're ready for coffee maybe?"
"Well yeah, that would be nice," Bjorn answered without waiting for Ante's opinion.
"And you?" Katinka asked, turning to Ante.
"Yeah, that would be nice," Ante replied.
"Desert too, maybe?"
"Um... no thanks," Bjorn answered, looking over at Ante who nodded in agreement. "But... I was just wondering. Do you have any idea how that thing works? That counterfeit check thing, I mean."
"How it works?"
"Yeah."

Katinka did not answer immediately, and Bjorn got a sinking feeling that he may have touched a nerve again, and that even this seemingly neutral question was a bit much to ask after Ante's interrogation. But just as Bjorn thought he had to back track on his question, or at least moderate it somehow to prevent another scene, Katinka replied that she did in fact know how the device worked.

"It's quite simple actually," she explained with a self conscious smile. "There's an ID chip in each of those tokens. You can easily see them if you hold them up to the light."
"Okay," Bjorn replied, lifting one of his chips up against the light outside. "There it is. But how does that guarantee anything? What if I got hold of a bunch of those chips? Then, what's to stop me from producing as many of these as I want?"
"Exactly. That was what I was wondering too," Katinka replied, happy to be ahead of Bjorn in her understanding.
"And?"
"Well... each chip is registered in a database over at the casino," Katinka explained. "And that's what the device does. It simply calls up the database and checks that the chip is registered there. If it isn't, it's a counterfeit."
"Ah... I see," Bjorn said with a nod, thinking that was the whole explanation. "So I can't just make a bunch of my own tokens."
"No, you can't. Unless you know what ID's are registered in the database, of course."
"Yeah... Of course," Bjorn agreed, realizing that Katinka had just undermined her whole argument. "Even knowing one ID would be enough for me to make a whole bunch of copies, wouldn't it?"

Katinka nodded with a knowing smile, clearly relishing the fact that she had understood this problem and knew its solution.

"Exactly. But the database does more than just check if the ID is registered," Katinka explained. "Because if it only checked the ID, anyone could do what you're suggesting, and we could have like thousands of copies of one and the same chip, all valid in the database."
"So there's a way to prevent that?" Bjorn asked puzzled.
"There is, and it's very simple," Katinka said with enthusiasm.
"Yeah?"
"They use a time stamp."
"A time stamp?" Bjorn asked, puzzled by Katinka's insight. "Where did you learn about this?"
"Well, I was curious. Just like you. So I asked Roger, and he explained a bit. And then I looked it up on the web. You know... to understand it."
"So you know what a time stamp is?" Bjorn asked, still surprised by Katinka's insight.
"Well... It's just the date and time. You know... when things have happened, like."
"Yeah... I know... I was just a little surprised to hear it from you. You talk like an expert."
"Well, thank you," Katinka said with a big honest smile.
"Anyway... so what's with the times tamp."

Katinka made a dramatic pause, not so much to impress the men, but to focus her thoughts into a concise explanation.

"Well, each chip comes with an ID and a time stamp," Katinka said, stressing this point. "Both are stored in the database and in the chip, and both have to match for the chip to be valid."
"Okay," Bjorn said, with growing respect for the young girl.
"The ID never changes, but the time stamp does," she continued, still speaking very deliberately to hammer in the information. "Every time I check a chip, the time stamp is changed in the database and on the chip."
"Yeah?"
"So if you want to counterfeit a chip, you have to copy the ID and the time stamp from an existing chip."
"Yes, right..."
"But the moment either the counterfeit, or the original chip is used and checked with our little device, all the other copies are suddenly having the wrong time stamp and can no longer be used."
"Ah! I see," Bjorn said, seeing dimly how it all works. "So if I take this token, for instance, and make a thousand copies of it with the same ID and time stamp. Then I can still only use one of them. The other ones will become useless the moment I use one, due to the time stamp."
"Exactly. The new time stamp will only match the one we checked, so you can never use more than one token. The other ones become useless the moment one is checked."
"Provided the chip is checked, right?" Bjorn continued. "If I use my counterfeit tokens down at the market, for instance. That may work."
"Yeah. That's true. But if that started happening, even the stall owners would get themselves these counterfeit checking devices, I guess. So far, no one has tried to counterfeit any tokens, though. And as long as the tokens are being checked regularly by some of us, the rest, like the stall owners, can be pretty sure there are no counterfeits in the system."

Bjorn leaned back, totally impressed by the explanation. The girl had figured it all out, and had explained it so well that he was simply speechless.

"So... you want some coffee now," Katinka asked with a satisfied smile.
"Oh yeah. That will be great!" Bjorn answered, looking over at Ante who still seemed to be struggling to understand how exactly the counterfeit checking worked.

Katinka headed for the kitchen and Bjorn asked Ante if had been able to follow what Katinka had said.

"Well... not really," Ante had to admit. "So it has an ID and a time stamp in it?" Ante continued. "And every time the chip is checked, the time stamp is changed?"
"Right," Bjorn said with a smile and a nod.
"And that prevents counterfeiting?"
"Yeah, it does."
"Because the copies will immediately have the wrong time stamp, once one of them have been checked."
"Exactly."
"Well... hey! Maybe I understood it anyway." Ante said with a smile.
"Good for you," Bjorn said with a patronizing grin. "That makes you almost as smart as Katinka."

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

147

"Why did you do that?" Bjorn asked, following Katinka with his eyes as she headed for the kitchen. "Poor girl. What came over you?"
"Well, I was curious," Ante replied sheepishly.
"But you know how rude that was, don't you?"
"Ah... Well..."
"Would you have asked that kind of questions if she was a grown woman?"

Ante did not answer right away, taking instead another piece of pizza.

"But she isn't, is she?" Ante said defiantly. "She's not even seventeen. You know what that makes Roger. Well... it makes him a pervert. That's what it makes him."

But just as Ante said this, Roger appeared in the door of the kitchen, looking straight at the two men.

"Oh my," Bjorn muttered. "Look what you've done."
"Ups."
"So, what you gonna do now?" Bjorn whispered, following Roger with his eyes as he descended on their table.
"Me? Well..."

"If you two could treat Katinka with a little respect, that would be fine," Roger said as he neared the table.
"Respect?" Ante asked, pretending to be clueless.
"Yeah, you  know. A little courtesy never hurt anyone."
"No?"
"But people have been known to regret their disrespect for other people."
"Disrespect?"
"Are you a little hard of hearing or what?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you."

Ante looked over at Bjorn, begging for help.

"You know... I'm sorry," Bjorn ventured.
"You're sorry?" Roger asked. "And how about your buddy over here. Is he sorry too? After all, he's the twit, not you."
"I... I'm sorry," Ante said. "I was just..."
"You were just?"
"Well..."
"She's an orphan, all right?" Roger explained. "She doesn't need you to make herself feel less for it."
"But..."
"But what?"
"I wasn't criticizing her for being an orphan."
"No?"

Ante looked again over at Bjorn for help.

"Well... eh... I guess we did in a way... unintentionally," Bjorn said, trying desperately to find a way to avoid the real issue. "You know... without knowing it."
"Yeah?"
"Well... you know the Guardian Angels?" Bjorn continued, spinning his story as fast as he could.
"The TV show?"
"Yeah..."
"It's tripe. What about it?"
"Ah... well... we kind of like it, don't we, Ante?" Bjorn said, now looking to Ante for help.
"Yes we do. We think they are great!" Ante continued. "Love the way they take care of the kids, you know... Real heroes! But... well... I guess you two see it differently?"
"Yeah we do," Roger said with a serious frown. "It's a bunch of self serving crap."
"Oh, but they save the children. I mean... what would happen to those poor little kiddies if it wasn't for them?" Ante continued, a little too enthusiastically for Bjorn's taste.
"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?" Roger said with disgust.
"Well... but seriously... who would take care of the kiddies?"
"Good people," Roger answered. "Like me and Elisabeth, and you know... There's no shortage of good people in the world. We don't need a bunch of evil psychopaths to run these things."
"Eh... good people like you?" Ante asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Yeah. I'm taking care of Katinka. You got a problem with that?"
"Eh... no..." Ante answered, pretending not to care.
"Good... So, is that all then?" Roger asked, changing his focus to the pizza pieces still left on the serving tray. "You're still working on that, are you?"
"Yeah, we're still eating," Bjorn answered.
"Okay. And go a little easy on Katinka, will you?" Roger continued in conclusion, turning back to the kitchen before the two men could answer.

146

"Okay, I'll have water," Ante commented, nodding in Katinka's direction to signal that Bjorn was right. Katinka on her side got the message, and returned moments later from the kitchen with a pitcher of water and two glasses which she put on the table.

"Will that be all?" Katinka asked, looking first at Ante and then at Bjorn. "How about another beer for you?"
"No thank you," Bjorn replied. "I'm fine. I'll go over to water, just like my friend here."
"Okay."

Then, just as Katinka was about to leave the men alone again, Ante asked her if she happened to know Einar.

"Einar, the carpenter?" Katinka asked.
"Yeah, well, the carpenter apprentice."
"Sure. He's half the reason I'm here."
"Really?" Ante asked delighted. "You're like good friends, the two of you?"
"No, not really. But... well... he sort of discovered this place for us."
"Einar discovered Lundby?"
"Kind of."

Ante looked blankly at Katinka, expecting some explanation.

"He was the first one to run away," Katinka explained.
"And?"
"Well, once we saw that no one went after him, we thought that we could do the same. He kept updating his Facebook page with stuff he was doing, and it looked really cool."
"Like what."
"Like working for those Italians, and living on his own, and stuff like that."
"So you're like Facebook friends, are you?"
"Yeah, that too. But we were at the same... well... jail, you know."
"Correctional facility. Isn't that the right word?"
"Yeah... But you know, it's a jail. That's what it is."
"So you've killed someone too?" Ante asked cheekily.
"No, no. I kept running away from my foster parents, and... well... they ended up giving up on me and sent me up here where there wasn't anywhere I could run away to."
"Until this whole Lundby thing," Ante suggested.
"Exactly."
"So, by now that jail must be empty, or what?" Ante asked, fascinated by Katinka's story.
"Well, they shut it down. That's the last thing I heard."
"Really?"
"Yeah. They moved everyone to Alta. But even that is not far enough away from Lundby."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. People keep finding their way to this place. It's more difficult, but it still happens."

Bjorn was as fascinated as Ante, and could not help being reminded of the TV program about the Guardian Angels.

"So, you're not a big fan of the child protection services, are you?" Bjorn asked.
"No, not at all."
"But some kids really need help, right?"
"Sure! I was abandoned as a kid. So yeah..."
"And yet you're against them. That doesn't make any sense, does it?"
"Well... I just didn't like my foster parents. That's all."

Bjorn felt that they had been holding on to Katinka quite enough, and stopped asking questions. But Ante was evidently not completely satisfied.

"You heard about that murder in Asker?" he asked quite shamelessly. "At that institution."
"Yes. What about it?"
"Nah, I was just wondering what you make of it."
"Well, she was mad, wasn't she?"
"And what about Einar? Is he mad too?"
"Oh... I see what you mean. No, he's not mad. Just a little aggressive at times."
"A little?"
"It was an accident. I'm quite sure of it."
"That's what he keeps saying."
"You're not going to arrest him, are you?"
"No, no. But we had the pleasure of meeting him. He seems like a nice guy."
"And he is."
"So you're one of those camping out down at the new apartment building, together with Einar?" Ante asked, paying no attention to Katinka's growing impatience with his inquiry.
"No. I'm not. I live here. But it's really none of your business, is it?"
"No. I'm sorry," Ante replied, finally getting the message that his inquiry was less than pleasant for the young girl. But unable to restrain his curiosity he pushed on anyway. "So you live here alone?" he asked.
"No. I live here with Roger."
"The chef?"
"Yeah."
"He's not your boyfriend is he?" Ante asked, concerned.
"Well... Actually he is," Kartinka answered, straightening up a notch to look more mature.
"Oh my!" Ante exclaimed. "But he could be your father. How old are you?"

Katinka hesitated a moment.

"I'm seventeen," she said, convincing neither Bjorn nor Ante. Then she turned and headed straight for the kitchen, clearly upset by Ante's intrusive questioning.

Monday, November 10, 2014

145

"So you see," Ante commented once Katinka had disappeared back into the kitchen. "Katinka does not seem to have a problem with David's pharmacy."
"No, apparently not."
"But you do, don't you?" Ante continued, pouring some dressing onto a piece of pizza.

Bjorn looked across the street. Apart from the rather provocative sign about the sky not being the limit, the pharmacy seemed quite harmless, and he had to admit that he did not feel threatened by it in any way.

"It's not so much me, but kids and, you know, other people I'm worried about."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Like Katinka?"
"Well yeah, sort of."
"So you don't think she can take care of herself?"

Bjorn took a piece of pizza for himself.

"Katinka is a bad example. But you know, other people."
"Other people?" Ante asked, munching thoughtfully on his piece of pizza. "Like who?"
"Well, I don't know. Drug addicts. You know, people who get hooked on that stuff. I mean, it can really get you in trouble."
"Like, it can get you arrested, right?"
"Right."
"But that's not the drugs, that's the police, isn't it. The biggest danger with illegal drugs is that it can land you in jail."
"Now, that's silly," Bjorn protested. "Some of those drugs will kill you, you know."
"And that's what you think David is selling? Drugs that kill people?"
"Yeah, what's to stop him?"
"His reputation, maybe."
"Reputation?"
"Would you sit here and eat this pizza if you had heard that someone died eating this?"
"No, of course not."
"But you expect people to flock to David's pharmacy, knowing full well that he kills people?"
"No. But that's different. You know, if you're hooked, you'll do it anyway. You'll buy it, even if it may kill you."
"Exactly. So the addicts will find their drugs somehow, and buy it from someone somewhere. Someone with a sketchy reputation. Isn't it better that they buy it from David who has a reputation to take care of? Don't you think it's safer for the addicts to deal with David than someone under a bridge somewhere?"
"Yeah, maybe. But this guy is promoting his stuff. He's actively pushing it. You really think that should be legal?"
"Why not?"
"Because... You know... This is just stupid. I've already told you why, haven't I?"
"Yeah, you have."
"It's Thomas talking through you again, isn't it?" Bjorn inquired.
"Kind of. But I always thought it odd that people shouldn't be allowed to make up their own minds on things like this. So, it's not like I never thought about this. It's just that Thomas kind of put words to those thoughts."
"Thomas is a bitter old man," Bjorn commented.
"He's a good deal younger than you."
"Still. He's a bitter old man. That's what he is."

The pizza was exactly like what Bjorn was used to from Oslo, so there was no doubt that it was made from the original Peppe's recipe. But just as Bjorn was about to comment on this, Ante broke the silence.

"Did you ever try, like pot or anything like that?" Ante asked.
"Well... yeah... Who hasn't? I mean..."
"I've never tried it. Never even felt curious."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Ante continued thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why I don't mind people like David. I don't feel drawn to his stuff, so I don't see any reason to stop him."
"Well, that's a thought."
"What about you? Did you ever try anything that was, you know, stronger than pot?"
"No, but I've been tempted. You know, when I was young."
"And it scares you to think what might have happened?"
"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't try it."
"You think you could have been hooked?"
"I don't know... Maybe."
"So that's why you want it to be illegal. That's the real reason? Is it?"
"What?"
"You're afraid of yourself, and would prefer to see it banned?"
"Now... Well... That's silly. No, I'm not afraid of myself. I can take care of myself."
"But the younger version of yourself? That's the one you want to protect?"
"Nah... That's not it. I just know that people get drawn to this stuff, and I think it shouldn't be out there."
"Okay. So it should be banned? Much better to let the Mafia sell this kind of stuff than people like David?"
"But David is the Mafia. This whole place is run by them. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

Ante didn't answer, but took a final swing of his beer instead. Then he looked around for Katinka, catching sight of her over by the bar. And once he got her attention he signaled that he would like another beer.

"Oh, no he's not," Bjorn intervened in a loud voice. "Give this man a glass of water will you."