“idon’tgetit.”

    blokvistsighed.itwasawhilebeforehespokeagain.

    “ihadadanedgoodstory.istillhadn’tconfrontedwennerstr？hiself,butthestorywasairtight；ifihadpublisheditatthatoentireallywouldhaveshookhiup.itightnothaveledtoanindictentforfraud—thedealhadalreadybeenapprovedbytheauditors—butiwouldhavedaagedhisreputation.”

    “whatwentwrong？”

    “soewherealongthewaysoebodyheardaboutwhatiwaspokingynoseinto,andwennerstr？wasadeawareofyexistence.andallofasuddenawholebunchofstrangethingsstartedhappening.firstiwasthreatened.anonyouscallsfrocardtelephonesthatwereipossibletotrace.erikawasalsothreatened.itwastheusualnonsense:liedownorelsewe’regoingtonailyoutoabarndoor,andsoon.she,ofcourse,wasadasahellcat.”

    hetookacigarettefrosalander.

    “thensoethingextreelyunpleasanthappened.lateonenightwhenilefttheofficeiwasattackedbytwoenwhojustwalkeduptoeandgaveeacoupleofpunches.igotafatlipandfelldowninthestreet.icouldn’tidentifythe,butoneofthelookedlikeanoldbiker.”

    “so,next…”

    “allthesegoings-on,ofcourse,onlyhadtheeffectofakingerikaverycrossindeed,andigotstubborn.webeefedupsecurityatmillenniu.theproblewasthattheharassentwasoutofallproportiontothecontentofthestory.wecouldn’tfathowhyallthiswashappening.”

    “butthestoryyoupublishedwassoethingquitedifferent.”

    “exactly.suddenlyweadeabreakthrough.wefoundasource,adeepthroatinwennerstr？’scircle.thissourcewasliterallyscaredtodeath,andwewereonlyallowedtoeethiinhotelroos.hetoldusthattheoneyfrotheminosaffairhadbeenusedforweaponsdealsinthewarinyugoslavia.wennerstr？hadbeenakingdealswiththeright-wingustasheincroatia.notonlythat,thesourcewasabletogiveuscopiesofdocuentstobackitup.”

    “youbelievedhi？”

    “hewasclever.heonlyevergaveusenoughrationtoleadustothenextsource,whowouldconfirthestory.wewereevengivenaphotographofoneofwennerstr？’sclosestcolleaguesshakinghandswiththebuyer.itwasdetailedblockbusteraterial,andeverythingseeedverifiable.sowepublished.”

    “anditwasafake.”

    “itwasallafakefrobeginningtoend.thedocuentswereskilfulferies.wennerstr？’slawyerwasabletoprovethatthephotographofwennerstr？’ssubordinateandtheustasheleaderwasaontageoftwodifferentiages.”

    “fascinating,”salandersaid.

    “inhindsightitwasveryeasytoseehoehadbeenanipulated.ouroriginalstoryreallyhaddaagedwennerstr？.nowthatstorywasdrownedinacleverfery.wepublishedastorythatwennerstr？couldpickapartpointbypointandprovehisinnocence.”

    “youcouldn’tbackdownandtellthetruth？youhadabsolutelynoproofthatwennerstr？hadittedthefalsification？”

    “ifwehadtriedtotellthetruthandausedwennerstr？ofbeingbehindthewholething,nobodywouldhavebelievedus.itwouldhavelookedlikeadesperateattepttoshifttheblaefroourstupidityontoaninnocentleaderofindustry.”

    “isee.”

    “wennerstr？hadtwolayersofprotection.ifthefakehadbeenrevealed,hewouldhavebeenabletoclaithatitwasoneofhiseneiestryingtoslanderhi.andweatmillenniuwouldonceagainhavelostallcredibility,sincewefellforsoethingthatturnedouttobefalse.”

    “soyouchosenottodefendyourselfandtaketheprisonsentence.”

    “ideservedit,”blokvistsaid.“ihadittedlibel.nowyouknow.canigobacktosleepnow？”

    heturnedoffthelapandshuthiseyes.salanderlaydownnexttohi.

    “wennerstr？isagangster.”

    “iknow.”

    “no,iean,iknowthathe’sagangster.heworkswitheverybodyfrotherussianafiatothecolobiandrugcartels.”

    “whatdoyouean？”

    “wheniturnedinyreporttofrodehegaveeanextraassignent.heaskedetotrytofindoutwhatreallyhappenedatthetrial.ihadjuststartedworkingonitwhenhecalledaranskyandcancelledthejob.”

    “iwonderwhy.”

    “iassuethattheyscrappedtheinvestigationassoonasyouaeptedhenrikvanger’sassignent.itwouldnolongerhavebeenofiediateinterest.”

    “and？”

    “well,idon’tlikeleavingthingsunresolved.ihadafeeeks…freelastspringwhenaranskydidn’thaveanyjobsfore,soididsoediggingintowennerstr？forfun.”

    blokvistsatupandturnedonthelapandlookedatsalander.heethereyes.sheactuallylookedguilty.

    “didyoufindoutanything？”

    “ihavehisentireharddiskonyputer.youcanhaveasuchproofasyouneedthathe’sagangster.”

    chapter28

    tuesday,july29–friday,october24

    blokvisthadbeenporingoversalander’sputerprintoutsforthreedays—boxesfullofpapers.theproblewasthatthesubjectskeptchangingallthetie.anoptiondealinlondon.acurrencydealinparisthroughanagent.apanywithapost-officeboxingibraltar.asuddendoublingoffundsinanaountatthechasemanhattanbankinnewyork.

    andthenallthosepuzzlingquestionarks:atradingpanywith200,000kronorinanuntouchedaountregisteredfiveyearsearlierinsantiago,chile—oneofnearlythirtysuchpaniesintwelvedifferentcountries—andnotahintofwhattypeofactivitywasinvolved.adorantpany？waitingforwhat？afrontforsoeotherkindofactivity？theputergavenoclueastowhatwasgoingoninwennerstr？’sindorwhatayhavebeenperfectlyobvioustohiandsowasneverforulatedinanelectronicdocuent.

    salanderwaspersuadedthatostofthesequestionswouldneverbeanswered.theycouldseetheessage,butwithoutakeytheywouldneverbeabletointerprettheeaning.wennerstr？’sepirewaslikeanonionfrowhichonelayerafteranothercouldbereoved；alabyrinthofenterprisesownedbyoneanother.panies,aounts,funds,securities.theyreckonedthatnobody—perhapsnotevenwennerstr？hiself—couldhaveapleteoverview.wennerstr？’sepirehadalifeofitsown.

    buttherewasapattern,oratleastahintofapattern.alabyrinthofenterprisesownedbyeachother.wennerstr？’sepirewasvariouslyvaluedatbetween100and400billionkronor,dependingonwhoyouaskedandhowitwascalculated.butifpaniesowneachother’sassets—whatthenwouldbetheirvalue？

    theyhadlefthedebyislandingreathasteearlyintheorningaftersalanderdroppedthebobthatwasnowoupyingeverywakingoentofblokvist’slife.theydrovetosalander’splaceandspenttwodaysinfrontofherputerwhilesheguidedhithroughwennerstr？’suniverse.hehadplentyofquestions.oneofthewaspurecuriosity.

    “lisbeth,howareyouabletooperatehisputer,froapurelypracticalpointofview？”

    “it’salittleinventionthatyfriendplaguecaeupwith.wennerstr？hasanibmlaptopthatheworkson,bothathoeandattheoffice.thateansthatalltherationisonasingleharddrive.hehasabroadbandconnectiontohispropertyathoe.plagueinventedatypeofcuffthatyoufastenaroundthebroadbandcable,andi’testingitoutforhi.everythingthatwennerstr？seesisregisteredbythecuff,whichforwardsthedatatoaserversoewhereelse.”

    “doesn’thehaveafirewall？”

    salandersiled.

    “ofcoursehehasafirewall.butthepointisthatthecuffalsofunctionsasatypeoffirewall.ittakesawhiletohacktheputerthisway.let’ssaythatwennerstr？getsaneail；itgoesfirsttoplague’scuffandwecanreaditbeforeitevenpassesthroughhisfirewall.buttheingeniouspartisthattheeailisrewrittenandafewbytesofsourcecodeareadded.thisisrepeatedeverytiehedownloadsanythingtohisputer.picturesareevenbetter.hedoesalotofsurfingonthe.eachtiehepicksupapornpictureoropensanewhoepage,weaddseveralrowsofsourcecode.afterawhile,inseveralhoursorseveraldays,dependingonhowuchheusestheputer,wennerstr？hasdownloadedanentireprograeofapproxiatelythreeegabytesinwhicheachbitislinkedtothenextbit.”

    “and？”

    “whenthelastbitsareinplace,theprograeisintegratedwithhisinterbrowser.tohiitwilllookasthoughhisputerhaslockedup,andhehastorestartit.duringtherestartawholenewsoftwareprograeisinstalled.heusesinterexplorer.thenexttiehestartsexplorer,he’sreallystartingawholedifferentprograethat’sinvisibleonhisdesktopandlooksandfunctionsjustlikeexplorer,butitalsodoesalotofotherthings.firstittakescontrolofhisfirewallandakessurethateverythingisworking.thenitstartstoscantheputerandtransitsbitsofrationeverytieheclickstheousewhilehe’ssurfing.afterawhile,againdependingonhowuchhesurfs,we’veauulatedapleteirroriageofthecontentsofhisharddriveonaserversoewhere.andthenit’stiefortheht.”

    “ht？”

    “sorry.plaguecallsittheht.hostiletakeover.”

    “isee.”

    “thereallysubtlethingiswhathappensnext.whenthestructureisready,wennerstr？hastwopleteharddrives,oneonhisownachineandoneonourserver.thenexttiehebootsuphisputer,it’sactuallytheirroredputerthat’sstarting.he’snolongerworkingonhisownputer；inrealityhe’sworkingonourserver.hisputerwillrunalittleslower,butit’svirtuallynotnoticeable.andwheni’connectedtotheserver,icantaphisputerinrealtie.eachtiewennerstr？pressesakeyonhisputeriseeitonine.”

    “yourfriendisalsoahacker？”

    “hewastheonewhoarrangedthetelephoapinlondon.he’salittleoutofitsocially,butonthehe’salegend.”

    “ok,”blokvistsaid,givingheraresignedsile.“questionnubertwo:whydidn’tyoutelleaboutwennerstr？earlier？”

    “youneveraskede.”

    “andifineverdidaskyou—let’ssupposethatineveretyou—youwouldhavesathereknowingthatwennerstr？wasagangsterwhilemillenniuwentbankrupt？”

    “nobodyaskedetoexposewennerstr？forwhatheis,”salanderrepliedinaknow-it-allvoice.

    “yes,butwhatif？”

    “ididtellyou,”shesaid.

    blokvistdroppedthesubject.

    salanderburnedthecontentsofwennerstr？’sharddrive—aboutfivegigabytes—ontotencds,andshefeltasifshehadoreorlessovedintoblokvist’sapartent.shewaitedpatiently,answeringallthequestionsheasked.

    “ican’tunderstandhowhecanbesofuckingditoputallhisdirtylaundryononeharddrive,”hesaid.“ifitevergotintothehandsofthepolice…”

    “peoplearen’tveryrational.hehastobelievethatthepolicewouldneverthinkofconfiscatinghisputer.”

    “abovesuspicion.iagreethathe’sanarrogantbastard,butheusthavesecurityconsultantstellinghihowtohandlehisputer.there’saterialonthisachinegoingallthewaybackto1993.”

    “theputeritselfisrelativelynew.itwasanufacturedayearago,butheseestohavetransferredallhisoldcorrespondenceandeverythingelseontotheharddriveinsteadofstoringitoncds.butatleasthe’susinganencryptionprograe.”

    “whichistotallyuselessifyou’reinsidehisputerandreadingthepasswordseverytiehetypesthein.”

    afterthey’dbeenbackinstockholforfourdays,malcalledonblokvist’sobileat3:00intheorning.

    “henrycortezwasatabarwithhisgirlfriendtonight.”

    “uh-huh,”blokvistsaid,sleepily.

    “onthewayhoetheyendedupatcentralen’sbar.”

    “notaverygoodplaceforaseduction.”

    “listen.dahlanisonholiday.henrydiscoveredhisittingatatablewithsoeguy.”

    “and？”

    “henryrecognisedtheanfrohisbylinepic.kristers？der.”

    “idon’tthinkirecognisethenae,but…”

    “heworksformonopolyfinancialmagazine,whichisownedbythewennerstr？group.”

    blokvistsatupstraightinbed.

    “areyouthere？”

    “i’here.thatightnoteananything.s？derisajournalist,andheightbeanoldfriend.”

    “maybei’beingparanoid.butawhileagomillenniuboughtastoryfroafreelancer.theweekbeforeweweregoingtopublishit,s？derrananexposéthatwasalostidentical.itwasthestoryabouttheobiletelephoneanufacturerandthedefectiveponent.”

    “ihearwhatyou’resaying.butthatsortofthingdoeshappen.haveyoutalkedtoerika？”

    “no,she’snotbackuntilnextweek.”

    “don’tdoanything.i’llcallyoubacklater,”blokvistsaid.

    “probles？”salanderasked.

    “millenniu,”blokvistsaid.“ihavetogothere.wanttoealong？”

    theeditorialofficesweredeserted.ittooksalanderthreeinutestocrackthepasswordprotectionondahlan’sputer,andanothertwoinutestotransferitscontentstoblokvist’si.

    mostofdahlan’seailswereprobablyonhisownlaptop,andtheydidnothaveaesstoit.butthroughhisdesktopputeratmillenniu,salanderwasabletodiscoverthatdahlanhadahotailaountinadditiontohisillenniu.seaddress.ittookhersixinutestocrackthecodeanddownloadhiscorrespondencefrothepastyear.fiveinuteslaterblokvisthadevidencethatdahlanhadleakedrationaboutthesituationatmillenniuandkepttheeditorofmonopolyfinancialmagazineupdatedonwhichstoriesbergerwasplanningforwhichissues.thespyinghadbeengoingonatleastsincethepreviousautun.

    theyturnedofftheputersandwentbacktomikael’sapartenttosleepforafewhours.hecalledchristermalat10:00a..

    “ihaveproofthatdahlanisworkingforwennerstr？.”

    “iknewit.great,i’goingtofirethatfuckingpigtoday.”

    “no,don’t.don’tdoanythingatall.”

    “nothing？”

    “christer,truste.isdahlanstillonholiday？”

    “yes,he’sbackonmonday.”

    “howanyareintheofficetoday？”

    “well,abouthalf.”

    “canyoucallaeetingfor2:00？don’tsaywhatit’sabout.i’ingover.”

    thereweresixpeoplearoundtheconferencetable.mallookedtired.cortezlookedlikesoeonenewlyinlove,thewaythatonlytwenty-four-year-oldscanlook.nilssonlookedonedge—malhadnottoldanyonewhattheeetingwasabout,butshehadbeenwiththepanylongenoughtoknowthatsoethingoutoftheordinarywasgoingon,andshewasannoyedthatshehadbeenkeptoutoftheloop.theonlyonewholookedthesaeasusualwasthepart-tieringelaoskarsson,whoworkedtwodaysaweekdealingwithsipleadinistrativetasks,thesubscriberlistandthelike；shehadnotlookedtrulyrelaxedsinceshebecaeaothertwoyearsago.theotherpart-tierwasthefreelancereporterlottakari,whohadacontractsiilartocortez’sandhadjuststartedbacktoworkafterherholiday.malhadalsoanagedtogetmagnussontoein,althoughhewasstillonholiday.

    blokvistbeganbygreetingeveryonewarlyandapologisingforbeingsolongabsent.

    “whatwe’regoingtodiscusstodayissoethingthatchristerandihaven’ttakenupwitherika,buticanassureyouthatinthiscaseispeakforhertoo.todaywe’regoingtodeterinemillenniu’sfuture.”

    hepausedtoletthewordssinkin.no-oneaskedanyquestions.

    “thepastyearhasbeenrough.i’surprisedandproudthatnoneofyouhasreconsideredandfoundajobsoewhereelse.ihavetoassuethateitheryou’restarkravingadorwonderfullyloyalandactuallyenjoyworkingonthisagazine.that’swhyi’goingtolaythecardsonthetableandaskyouforonelasteffort.”

    “onelasteffort？”nilssonsaid.“thatsoundsasifyou’rethinkingofshuttingdowntheagazine.”

    “exactly,monika,”blokvistsaid.“andthankyouforthat.whenshegetsbackerikaisgoingtogatherusalltogetherforaglooyeditorialeetingandtotellusthatmillenniuwillfoldatchristasandthatyou’reallfired.”

    nowalarbeganspreadingthroughthegroup.evenmalthoughtforaoentthatblokvistwasserious.thentheyallnoticedhisbroadsile.

    “whatyouhavetodothisautunisplayadoublegae.thedisagreeablefactisthatourdearanagingeditor,jannedahlan,isoonlightingasanrerforhans-erikwennerstr？.thiseansthattheeneyisbeingkeptredofexactlywhat’sgoingoninoureditorialoffices.thisexplainsanuberofsetbackswe’veexperienced.youespecially,sonny,whenadvertiserswhoseeedpositivepulledoutwithoutwarning.”

    dahlanhadneverbeenpopularintheoffice,andtherevelationwasapparentlynotashocktoanyone.blokvistcutshorttheururingthatstartedup.

    “thereasonthati’tellingyouthisisbecauseihaveabsoluteconfidenceinallofyou.iknowthatyou’veallgotyourheadsscrewedonstraight.that’swhyialsoknowthatyou’llplayalongwithwhattakesplacethisautun.it’sveryiportantthatwennerstr？believesthatmillenniuisonthevergeofcollapse.itwillbeyourjobtoakesurehedoes.”

    “what’sourrealsituation？”cortezsaid.

    “ok,hereitis:byallaountsmillenniushouldbeonitswaytothegrave.igiveyouywordthatthat’snotgoingtohappen.millenniuisstrongertodaythanitwasayearago.whenthiseetingisover,i’goingtodisappearagarabouttwoonths.towardstheendofoctoberi’llbeback.thenwe’regoingtoclipwennerstr？’swings.”

    “howarewegoingtodothat？”nilssonsaid.

    “sorry,monika.idon’twanttogiveyouthede