Jacob devours the article in just a few minutes, then reads the editorial and all of the follow-up articles. Apparently, a Russian company with direct links to the Kremlin paid a Swedish professor to write a report for the EU Council of Ministers to persuade them to increase the privatization of European police forces. In the meantime, that same company helped to organize riots in several suburbs to coincide with the presentation of that report to the EU ministers during a meeting in Stockholm last week. Their goal was to destabilize the police and increase opportunities for private companies with Russian ties to take over some policing duties. And Säpo, the Swedish Security Service, knew about the whole plot and allowed it to happen.

Jacob flips back to the front page again, to the picture of the attractive red-haired woman. Gabriella Seichelmann. An attorney at one of Sweden’s most prestigious firms. She was the whistleblower on all of this. Apparently, there were other people involved, but she’s the public face. She’s the one who presented the witness statements and documentation to journalists, who were allowed to read them only if they promised not to publish anything classified. The documents were verified by the journalists, but Säpo is still refusing to comment.

Jacob puts down the newspaper with his heart pounding in his chest. It’s like a spy movie. So exciting, and yet the more he reads about it, the more jealous he gets.

That lawyer. She can’t be that much older than him? Five, six years at the most? He sighs deeply. Can you imagine being in the middle of something like that? Standing up to powerful people. Your face and name splashed across every newspaper. It makes him feel so small. His internship, his unfinished statistics exam. His inability to master the languages he needs for a career that still won’t be nearly as dazzling as what this Seichelmann has already achieved. Maybe he should have gone into law instead?

His phone beeps. Maybe Agneta is finally here. But he takes it out, and it’s only Simon. Of course.

‘Have you landed yet, babe?’

Babe. It annoys Jacob. How long is it going to take Simon to understand what they had this spring is over? They’ve barely seen each other all summer. Does Jacob really have to spell it out?