Searching for Estelle.

While I sat on my flight to Sweden, fast asleep with my iPod in my ears, I had no idea of the frenzy I'd created in Helsinki.

–

When Jyrki had hung up from speaking to me he stormed back in to the bar furious, having made many fruitless attempts at calling me back. He walked over to Novak and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him roughly out of his seat.

“What the fuck did you say to her?” he hissed, his ice blue eyes filled with an uncharacteristic rage.

Ville's head shot up from where he'd been looking at the screen of his phone, willing me to call him.

“Jyrki?” he asked, beginning to rise from his seat, unsure whether it was to stop Jyrki from killing Novak or helping him do it.

“I swear to God, if you laid a finger on her I will gut you,” Jyrki growled, pulling Novak threateningly close to him.

Novak held his hands up in a defensive pose.

“Whoa, dude. I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.”

“Bullshit,” Jyrki tightened his grip on Novak.

“I swear I didn't touch her!” he said, his voice beginning to show fear.

“Then what the fuck did you say?!” Jyrki roared, his knuckles turning white in the vice-like grip he had on Novak, attracting the attention of the entire bar. Everyone else, bouncers included, seemed to scared to approach the situation.

Bam stepped in then and put a kind, but firm, hand on Jyrki's arm.

“Man, let him go and I swear if he's done something to her I'll let you fuck him up for good.”

Novak turned white at that sentence and Jyrki released his shirt, stepping backwards and taking a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.

“Sit down,” Bam said to Novak pointing at a chair.

Novak opened his mouth to argue but Bam silenced him with a glare.

Novak sat and began muttering curse words, making Jyrki take a threatening step towards him which shut him up quickly.

“Talk,” Jyrki said, sitting down.

Ville cut in at that point. “No, Jyrk. You first. What did she say?”

Jyrki sighed and turned to Ville. “She said that he,” he pointed an accusatory finger at Novak “Told her the truth and that she was leaving and wouldn't be coming back.”

Ville's eyes widened with hurt and shock and he turned to Novak.

“You'd better start fucking talking,” he said, gripping the edge of the table.

Jussi, who had been uncharacteristically refined during this tense moment, spoke then.

“And if you've done something to mess shit up you won't only have to worry about Jyrki,” he said, a hard look gracing his usually pleasant features.

Novak threw his hands in the air.

“This is bullshit, man. She probably just had a bitch fit and decided to fuck off,” he said before beginning to stand.

Bam shoved him roughly back into his seat.

“You were talking to her at the bar, Novak. What the fuck did you say?”

Novak looked up at Bam, about to argue but stopped seeing the look on his face.

He sat back in his seat and shrugged.

“Whatever. I only told her what you assholes weren't.”

Jyrki riled up again at that. “Which was what?” he spat.

“That you had a bet riding on her hot Australian pussy.”

Jussi barely managed to restrain Jyrki at that comment.

“What bet?” Ville asked, incredulous.

“Who'd fuck her first,” Novak said, rolling his eyes.

All four men just stared at him. Ville opened his mouth to speak but just shut it again, shaking his head.

“Are you telling me that my girlfriend may have left the fucking country because you made up some bullshit about us having a high school bet about her?” he finally said, furious.

Jyrki slammed his hand on the table causing the rest of the bar to stare at them once more.

“You have no idea what you're bullshit story's done,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

“What the fuck, man? If she wanted to go she wanted to go,” Novak said stupidly.

Jyrki rolled his eyes. “She didn't want to leave, she was going to move here until you fucked everything up. She'd finally started to trust us and relax and you just undid everything.”

“Hey! I didn't lie to her, asshole. If you wanted her to stay you shouldn't have made a fucking bet,” Novak spat defensively.

All four men were shocked and silent for a minute until Jussi spoke.

“We didn't make a bet,” he said, shaking his head.

“Bullshit! You were sitting here talking about it when Ville and the bitch were outside,” Novak argued.

Realisation dawned for Bam first. “You fuckin' dick.”

Ville looked at Bam, confusion still all over his face.

“He heard Jussi and Jyrki talking about you and 'Stell. They bet on whether you'd hook up or not when you first met,” Bam explained with a slight smirk.

Ville narrowed his eyes and turned to Jyrki.

“What the fuck.”

Jyrki shook his head, realising what Ville had assumed. “No, not about whether you'd sleep with her. Just about whether or not you'd date. I swear.”

Jussi nodded. “It's true. But,” he turned to Novak “How the fuck did you get that so wrong?”

Novak shrugged. “I dunno, man. I was drunk. I wasn't listening and I wanted to get laid.”

“So, you put two and two together and got seven because you were shit-faced and thinking with your cock?” Bam asked him.

Novak nodded.

“Which resulted in you messing everything up and making a sweet girl run away from her friends because she thought they were using her,” Jyrki said furiously.

Ville was dialling furiously on his phone and growled in frustration. “She's not taking my calls.”

“Mine either,” Jussi said, also holding his phone.

Bam, Jyrki, Jussi and Ville alternated between trying to call me for awhile- me ignoring them each and every time before Jyrki stood up abruptly and grabbed his jacket.

“Where are you going?” Ville asked, also standing.

“Hotel,” Jyrki said before turning to leave.

Ville, Bam and Jussi began to follow him and Bam spoke over his shoulder to Novak.

“Pay the tab, asshole.”

Novak began to argue and stood up to follow them.

Jyrki turned towards him. “You should just be grateful you can still see straight,” he growled and stepped towards him.

Novak seemed to decide that paying the tab was the better option and scurried towards the bar.

Jyrki let a smirk grace his features before sliding his wayfarers onto his face, despite the fact it was night, and caught up with the Ville who was walking at as fast a pace his scrawny body would allow.

They piled into a cab that was on the street, Novak jumping in at the last minute, bitching about how he was even poorer now, and headed for the hotel.

Ville turned to Jyrki. “She's probably already left.”

Jyrki nodded. “I know, we'll ask at reception.” He walked up to the desk and leaned over, dropping his sunglasses to look at the young girl who was now sitting behind it.

“Sweetheart, I need a favour.”

The girl gasped and nodded. “Y-yes?”

“Is Estelle Jacobs still staying here?”

The girl nervously tapped away at her keyboard before shaking her head. “She checked out over an hour ago.”

“Dammit,” Jyrki swore under his breath.

“She left something here, though,” the girl said, squinting at the screen before frowning and digging around in a stack of papers.

She held up an envelope and shrugged. “Apparently she said some friends might come and get this. The concierge who was on early just left it here with a note.”

Jyrki took the envelope from her and winked, which made the girl blush. “Thanks.”

He turned to the others and shook his head as they looked at him expectantly. “She's gone. But she left something.”

He tore open the envelope, expecting a letter or some form of explanation but only finding the photos.

He frowned and passed them to Ville who had hurt written all over his face as he realised what they were.

Jussi spoke up “Maybe she's just switched hotels.”

Ville shook his head. “No, she's gone.”

Bam shook his head and chuckled.

Ville looked up at him, frowning. “I'm not really getting the humour here, Bammie.”

“This isn't exactly how I was hoping my first day here would go.”

“Then why the fuck did you bring Novak?” Ville asked with a raised eyebrow which made Bam laugh.

“Where would she have gone, though?” Jussi asked.

“Dani,” Jyrki and Ville said at the same time.

Bam raised an eyebrow.

“Her best friend, she's in Paris,” Jyrki explained.

“No,” Ville said, causing Jyrki to look at him confused “Dani was flying out tonight. She had a stopover in Sweden. That's where she's gone.”

There was a moment of silence before they all headed for the door as one, no words necessary.

Piling into another cab they told the driver to head for the airport.

Ville thumbed through the photos as they drove, stopping on one of him and Estelle.

Jyrki looked over his shoulder and smiled a little.

“I won.”

Ville glanced at him. “What?”

“The bet. I won,” Jyrki said before leaning back in his seat.

Ville smiled to himself before wondering how the hell they would convince me to stay.

When they reached the airport he realised it would be more difficult then just that. After Jyrki had flirted with a travel agent in the first agency he saw they'd found out what flight I'd taken.

It just happened to be the one that had departed moments before they arrived. Ahead of schedule.

“Are flights even allowed to depart early?” Bam asked, incredulous “They're always late.”

Jyrki shook his head. “I don't know.” He sighed.

“You must have fucked karma in the ass, man,” Novak said “Because that's bad luck, dude.”

Jyrki turned to him, incredulous. “Do I need to remind you that this is entirely your fault and that I really want to hit you right now?” he said angrily.

Novak shook his head and wisely shut his mouth.

“Now what?” Ville asked, looking positively defeated.

Jyrki shook his head. “I don't know.”

Bam grinned, gaining the attention of the others. “Who wants to go to Sweden?”