Gullberg, drove to Rosenbad to inform the incoming Prime Minister. Gullberg had objected to telling the government at all, but the chief of S.I.S. had stood his ground - it was constitutionally indefensible not to inform the Prime Minister. Gullberg used all his eloquence to convince the Prime Minister not to allow information about Zalachenko to pass beyond his own office - there was, he insisted, no need for the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Defence or any other member of the government to be informed.
It had upset Falldin that an important Soviet agent had sought asylum in Sweden. The Prime Minister had begun to talk about how, for the sake of fairness, he would be obliged to take up the matter at least with the leaders of the other two parties in the coalition government. Gullberg was expecting this objection and played the strongest card he had available. He explained in a low voice that, if that happened, he would be forced to tender his resignation immediately. This was a threat that made an impression on Falldin. It was intended to convey that the Prime Minister would bear the responsibility if the story ever got out and the Russians sent a death squad to liquidate Zalachenko. And if the person responsible for Zalachenko's safety had seen fit to resign, such a revelation would be a political disaster for the Prime Minister.
Falldin, still relatively unsure in his role, had acquiesced. He approved a directive that was immediately entered into the secret protocol, making the Section responsible for Zalachenko's safety and debriefing. It also laid down that information about Zalachenko would not leave the Prime Minister's office. By signing this directive, Falldin had in practice demonstrated that he had been informed, but it also prevented him from ever discussing the matter. In short, he could forget about Zalachenko. But Falldin had required that one person in his office, a hand-picked state secretary, should also be informed. He would function as a contact person in matters relating to the defector. Gullberg allowed himself to agree to this. He did not anticipate having any problem handling a state secretary.
The chief of S.I.S. was pleased. The Zalachenko matter was now constitutionally secured, which in this case meant that the chief had covered his back. Gullberg was pleased as well. He had managed to create a quarantine, which meant that he would be able to control the flow of information. He alone controlled Zalachenko.
When he got back to ostermalm he sat at his desk and wrote down a list of the people who knew about Zalachenko: himself, Bjorck, the operations chief of the Section Hans von Rottinger, Assistant Chief Fredrik Clinton, the Section's secretary Eleanor Badenbrink, and two officers whose job it was to compile and analyse any intelligence information that Zalachenko might contribute. Seven individuals who over the coming years would constitute a special Section within the Section. He thought of them as the Inner Circle.
Outside the Section the information was known by the chief of S.I.S., the assistant chief, and the head of Secretariat. Besides them, the Prime Minister and a state secretary. A total of twelve. Never before had a secret of this magnitude been known to such a very small group.
Then Gullberg's expression darkened. The secret was known also to a thirteenth person. Bjorck had been accompanied at Zalachenko's original reception by a lawyer, Nils Erik Bjurman. To include Bjurman in the special Section would be out of the question. Bjurman was not a real security policeman - he was really no more than a trainee at S.I.S. - and he did not have the requisite experience or skills. Gullberg considered various alternatives and then chose to steer Bjurman carefully out of the picture. He used the threat of imprisonment for life, for treason, if Bjurman were to breathe so much as one syllable about Zalachenko, and at the same time he offered inducements, promises of future assignments, and finally he used flattery to bolster Bjurman's feeling of importance. He arranged for Bjurman to be hired by a well-regarded law firm, who then provided him with a steady stream of assignments to keep him busy. The only problem was that Bjurman was such a mediocre lawyer that he was hardly capable of exploiting his opportunities. He left the firm after ten years and opened his own practice, which eventually became a law office at Odenplan.
Over the following years Gullberg kept Bjurman under discreet