Page 14 - MILK - TRANSLATION - MICHAEL (1)-converted

Chapter 3

Gustav Kräsen's true identity

Friday 23 February 2018.

The road he is driving on is gradually changing in colour; from dark-

greyish hew to completely white due to the continuing heavy snowfall. There are

no people and the cars he passes by could be counted on one hand. A few months
earlier, this stretch of road had been filled to the brim with eager Christmas

shoppers. Now it is as quiet as it possibly could be. Only a few shops are partly lit
by lighting but most of them are entirely seeped in darkness. The high electricity

prices mean that even on the country's most exclusive shops are in full lightning

always.
With the attack on Kronborg, one of the most known national treasures in

Denmark, where the story of Hamlet took place, the country has been hit in the

heart. So far, everything is in a “state of emergency" as the Prime Minister put it
late last night in a press conference.

"We are under attack and the entire state force is deployed to defend the
country and protect our citizens"

The violent scenario last night, which Tom himself only barely survived,

has left the streets desolate. Even the regulars at the low-cost pubs, who are
usually willing to go through fire and water to fight their inner loneliness and

maintain their daily alcohol level, are staying indoors. The only signs of life in

Copenhagen is a handful of homeless people and gypsies going from trash to
trash, while rummaging through empty bottles and cans, looking for gold.

It's a gloomy Sunday night, and he's thinking with great horror about

how everything is going to unfold tomorrow when the whole country is
reopened and the state of emergency is being lifted. Train operations have been

halted for fear of bombings, as well as planes, buses and ferry operations, not to

mention the pressure at the border crossings, which obviously also have been
closed.

He sees with his inner eye, kilometre-long queues of people and vehicles
waiting to get back to work or cross borders. That’s not going to work.