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was hard to miss, with a two-inch stripe of dark hair running from front to back through his blond curls,
like a skunk. The man asked Jesper if he needed help.
Jesper nodded.  I need a cab. He looked around aimlessly.
The man smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.  You look like a mess. Where are you going?
Jesper clenched his teeth to fight off a wave of tears.  To Rigshospitalet. It s a hospital in Copenhagen.
 No worries, friend. Come with me, I have a car waiting. Get you there in a jiffy.
Jesper followed him blindly down Bernstorffsgade. There was no room in his head for any thoughts about
safety, or how this man could have a car waiting if he had just come in on the same train. But even if he
could think about safety he probably wouldn t care. What was there to live for, anyway?
A limousine waited on Tietgensgade, the next street. Jesper climbed inside after the man with the eye
patch, glad not to think. His head ached.
The man smiled consolingly.  Looks like you ve had a long day. My name is Ajax Hunter, by the way.
Pleased to make your acquaintance.
Ajax had a slight British accent, but sounded like he had been living in America a while.  I know this
sounds hard to believe, he said,  but I know what happened to your wife and daughter. I m friends with
their doctor. He shrugged, an apologetic grin on his face.  Don t worry. I think things are going to turn
out just fine.
A wave of confusion washed through Jesper. It seemed impossible, this stranger claiming to know what
happened to his family. How could he? He had said  your wife and daughter, so he must have heard
something.
No, Jesper realized.  You must be confusing me with someone else. His voice cracked.  Things aren t
going to turn out fine for me.
 Really, mate. I think it will. Ajax smiled encouragingly.
Jesper dropped his face into his hands. Something seemed to crack inside him, threatening to let all of his
pain spill right out.  No, Ajax. It won t. I m too late. They had a car accident and they re both& 
 Dead? Ajax laughed, which made Jesper s stomach turn. How dare he?
Ajax shook his head.  No, they ll be okay. Really. Like I say, I m friends with their doctor. I ll take you
to see him straight away. He s not at the hospital anymore, though. He s got your wife and daughter
safely in his lab. Dr. B is a master surgeon, I ll tell you. If anyone can save them, he can.
Hope surged unexpectedly through Jesper. Maybe the hospital had been wrong! He was afraid to
believe it, sure that he d be disappointed and have to go through worse pain when he found out.
The whole thing was confusing and hard to grasp with his mind spinning. Ajax knew the doctor? Was it a
coincidence that he had been on the same train then?  Are you sure you have the right person? How do
you know all of this? Jesper asked.
Ajax leaned back against his seat and closed his uncovered eye as if he didn t hear the questions.
Jesper began to panic.  Are you sure they re okay? He shook Ajax.  Tell me how you know. Where
are they?
Then a fear shot into his heart like an arrow. Could someone have sabotaged his family because he had
become the UN president? Would anyone really do that? He was dizzy with shock and grief. Maybe he
was getting paranoid.
Before his head stopped spinning, the limousine pulled into the driveway of an immense building.
Ajax led Jesper through the building s corridors. It was plush, and looked nothing like a hospital or
laboratory. The doctor was waiting behind a large oak desk in an ornate room filled with gold statues and
art. Even sitting, Jasper could tell he was tall, an imposing man with silver hair that dipped into a sharp
widow s peak. He had an eye patch on, like Ajax did, which struck Jesper as peculiar.
The doctor s thin lips stretched into a smile, but his uncovered blue eye regarded Jesper coldly.
 President Jesper Konungsson. I hear congratulations are in order.
 I should think not, Jesper spit out.  Where are Rebecka and Annika? Are they& okay?
 They should make it, I think, the doctor said.  Only with your help, though. He cleared his throat.
 Please excuse me. I ve had a few disappointments this week. I lost an eye. He pointed at his eye
patch.  And I m not at my best. May I introduce myself? I am Thanatos Baskania. You may have heard
of me the Crown Prince of Peace? I hope that we will become good friends this year, like I have with
the former presidents of the UN.
The Crown Prince of Peace? This couldn t be. Jesper shook his head. This was the head of Eye of the
World, the peace organization that just took over as the ruling body of the United Nations? The man who
owned so many multinational corporations that he nearly owned the world? And he was a doctor?
Obviously not. This was some kind of scheme to control Jesper. He had planned to kick Eye of the
World out as his first move as president. It seemed hard to believe that anyone would stoop to this level.
This was going too far.
Baskania seemed to have read his mind.  It s all in how you look at it, Jesper. Everything will be fine
soon for your family. More than fine. You will have a wonderful term as president. You will support me
and Eye of the World fully, and learn to appreciate what I am doing for world peace. And you will find
that with my support you will be able to accomplish everything else you want, and more. No harm done
at all.
 That is, if you cooperate. For you see, I am a doctor, Jesper. And it was lucky that I was here when this [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]