Kalle Koskinen: The Iceman

We opened our Veikkauliiga account for the season with an away trip to HIFK. The Helsinki-based side didn't put up too much of a fight, with our brand new star-studded attack running amok in a comfortable 5-0 win. Bilal Hussein was the star of the show, silencing doubters following his €1,100,000 to Peimari United from AIK of Sweden.

Next up was a home game against FC Ilves. For almost the full ninety minutes, we looked impenetrable and we were proving to be incredibly dynamic in attack. Goals from Luka Ilic and Silvio Tokic in the first half set us on our way, before Ángel Di María and Giovanni Terrani added goals of their own late on. FC Ilves scored a ninetieth minute consolation goal, but we were the victors following a confident 4-1 win.

A long trip to Rovaniemi followed, with RoPS being our third opposition of the league season. We were thoroughly professional, with Ángel Di María shining. The Argentine opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, with young Finnish striker Jesper Santanen then doubling our lead just five minutes later. Jarno Seppälä wrapped up proceedings with a stoppage time goal as we coasted to a 3-0 win.

Our last Veikkausliiga game of April saw us travel to FC Inter Turku for a local rivalry fixture. Kevin Larsson got back to goal-scoring ways as he opened the scoring for us twenty minutes into the game. Mäntylä leveled the game for FC Inter Turku before half-time, but we were relentless in the second half. Luka Ilic scored from the spot, while goals from Jesper Santanen and Silvio Tokic secured the three points. Unfortunately, Jukka Virtanen scored an own-goal, but we finished the game with a 4-2 win.

We began our Suomen Cup knockout football with a Last Sixteen clash at home to lower league side OTP. I rotated the squad heavily, but the players on the pitch performed fantastically. Giovanni Terrani was the star of the show, with the Italian wide attacker scoring four times. Ángel Di María also got in on the act as we closed the month with a superb 5-0 win.

Ángel Di María was our hero in April. He might have been in the latter stage of his career, but he was incredible in his role as an Advanced Playmaker in central midfield. His three goals were a testament to his goal-scoring prowess, while he also produced a number of key passes which nearly lead to goals throughout the month.

Four games in and four points clear. Our goal-scoring record was phenomenal, averaging four goals per game, and we were already favourites to win the league. We weren't going to let up the pressure. We were focused on suffocating the rest of the league before UEFA Champions League qualifiers begin in July.

Alas, the big games! IFK Mariehamn and KuPS were always expected to be tough opposition in the league, with a tasty game away to HJK to look forward to mid-month. In terms of Suomen Cup football, we had a quarter final clash against JJK to look forward to.

First up was IFK Mariehamn. We knew that IFK Mariehamn would prove to be tough to break down, and we only mustered one goal against them. Pontus Engblom scored the winner midway through the first half. Thankfully, we kept a clean sheet, as we earned ourselves a 1-0 win.

Our next league game was against KuPS. We scored three goals in the first half, with Silvio Tokic (twice) and Luka Ilic getting on the score sheet. Furlan clawed one back for the visitors just after half-time, before Jesper Santanen scored the final goal of the game with just five minutes remaining to round off a 4-1 win for us.

Then came the big one. An away trip to HJK. It was thrilling from the very start. Luka Ilic scored the opening goal for us in the very first minute, getting on the end of a long ball before smashing the ball in at the near post. Pontus Engblom doubled our lead five minutes later, but HJK then clawed one back from the penalty spot just moments later as Yaghoubi scored from twelve yards. Agudo leveled the game later on in the first half, but a Kevin Larsson goal just before the interval proved to be the winner for us as we secured the 3-2 win in a major title-race fixture.

We played FC Lahti at home. For once, we struggled to be creative. FC Lahti held strong and we couldn't break them down. Luckily, we proved to be equally strong in defence. The game ended in a 0-0 draw.

Our final Veikkausliiga fixture of the month was at home to VPS. We were far more creative in this game, and scored twice. Jesper Santanen scored the first goal, in the first half, and Iiro Järvinen scored late on in the second half to secure us a 2-0 win.

We continued our Suomen Cup campaign with a quarter final game away to JJK in Jyväskylä. We walked them over thoroughly. Giovanni Terrani, Levan Sikharulidze and Mats Köhlert all scored as we kept a clean sheet. We earned a 3-0 win as we waltzed to the semi final stage.

KuPS awaited us in the semi final, which was played in Kuopio. We were incredibly powerful. Jesper Santanen scored twice while Jukka Virtanen, Ángel Di María and Silvio Tokic also scored as we got a 5-1 win to put us into the final.

FC Lahti was our opponent in the final. We were much more potent against them this time around, scoring twice within a minute early on. Luka Ilic (from a penalty) and Pontus Engblom scored to give us a cushion. Bilal Hussein finished off FC Lahti early on in the second half as we got a 3-0 win to retain the Suomen Cup trophy!

Silvio Tokic was our hero in May. The eighteen year old midfielder had grown into the perfect Box-To-Box midfielder during his time at the club, often getting himself on the score sheet. The young Croatian midfielder has been the subject of interest from several European clubs, but we were hoping to keep him at the club for as long as possible.

Aside from the 0-0 draw against FC Lahti, we were flawless. 26 goals scored in 9 games was more than enough to see us be in pole position to make a proper title charge. We were determined to continue on in the same vein of form.

June was set to be a relatively easy month. Up first was a trip to TPS, before back-to-back home games against SJK, HIFK and RoPS. A trip to FC Ilves was to round off the month. We were hoping for maximum points.

"It looks pretty airtight to me, Sami. I can't see any clear way of us getting in," moaned a restless Max Virtanen.
Max was prone on the ground with a set of black clothing and a partial ghillie suit to allow him to blend into the surroundings. He held a pair of military-grade night-vision binoculars to his face as he gazed upon a fortress of concrete and steel just a couple of hundred metres in front of him. He was peering into a chemical factory by the name of King's Kemikals. They were responsible for the manufacturing of many chemical agents used globally, including the secretive, lethal poison known by the acronym J.A.C.K.

Alongside Max Virtanen lay Sami Heikkinen, the brother of Kalle Koskinen's fiancé Elsa Heikkinen, and a member of the Dragon organisation. Sami was dressed in similar attire to Max, but wore no headgear as he instead allowed his shoulder-length jet-black locks flow freely either side of his face. He too was peering at the chemical factory through a set of binoculars, with a stern expression on his face which revealed that he was deep in thought about the task at hand.

Max and Sami were an unusual partnership. They had both previously worked on opposite, and similar, sides of the law in the past and were as from being similar to each other, in terms of personal characteristics, as possible. While Max first served in the army before becoming a police detective and then moving on to England to become a security guard for a major firm before taking over as a manager of a night club, Sami Heikkinen went from being an army veteran to becoming an operative of the Dragon organisation.

The two were brought together my the one thing they had in common; Kalle Koskinen. In January, Koskinen learned that Christian Schäfer had condemned his mother to death by poisoning her with an invisible serum known as J.A.C.K. The leader of the Dragon organisation, who was nameless to Kalle, provided the Finn with information regarding the production of the serum, which led Kalle to the factory outside of Odesa in Ukraine. Kalle contacted both Max and Sami andjoined forces with them in order to take down the crazed German scientist's operation.

The factory was a fortress. The concrete and steel structure towered over the surrounding area and stretched a couple of hundred metres in each direction. An electrified chain fence, with barbs decorating the top, stood at over four metres tall with high-rising lights towering over the area and blasting the ground below in a bright white light. The only road to the factory first came up a slope before traveling to the fence-line. The road then turned ninety degrees to run alongside the fence and ran on into the far distance to other factories beyond. An opening in the fence was located on this long stretch of road where manually-operated electronic barriers and a guard hut closed the factory to the public.

A heavily-armored security unit patrolled the vast expanse of ground between the fence and the factory beyond it. They wore kevlar vests and padded trousers and shoes, with Kalashnikov rifles propped on their shoulders. The men were clearly athletic and roamed the area with a presence that told onlookers that they were ex-military, in great physical condition and a serious threat to any trespassers. The gun-totting guards completed an already incredible security setup.

Unfazed by Max's concerns, Sami sat up and unlatched a metal canteen from a utility belt that wrapped around his waist and unscrewed the lid before taking two large gulps of water. As Sami replaced the canteen at his waist, he took a long look at the long road which rose up over a hill before forming an L-shape at the fence line, almost a full one-hundred metres away from the actual entrance of the grounds. A plan formed in his eyes as glanced at his partner-in-action.

"We'd need to use an armored truck as a battering ram in order to penetrate that fence, Sami. I can't see how we could possibly get in there," said an agitated Max.

"You're really only good at following leads, aren't you? Perhaps if you didn't quit your job in Finland when things got hard in order to make easy money in England, you might have developed some worthwhile skills," Sami said with a smirk on his face which angered his compatriot.

"I'm the manager of England's most successful night club, Sami. I've got plenty of skills," responded Max with a frown that creased his forehead like a croissant.

"Oh please! A monkey could manage that club without any issue, Mister Virtanen! You took the easy way out and now you're in a job that you're not really passionate about. You could have achieved so much in Finland, Max. Instead, you'll only ever be remembered for being a money-grabbing loser."

"Look Sami, I took the high-paying job so that I could provide the best possible life for my family. I have a wife to think about, and our child will be born in a few months. I want my child to have the best life possible and I'll do everything in my power to make sure that our first-born will live a long and happy life from the very first day. I want to give my family everything and I will always be there for the ones I love when they need me the most."

"Okay, enough chitter-chatter. Let's get back to the base."

"Do you have a plan?"

"I've got something."

1

The night time brought with it a dark sky and cooler conditions. It was a respite for the security unit at King's Kemikals who had sweated through their uniform during the heat of the summer daytime. Despite the rigid duties of their professions, the former military men allowed themselves to relax during the latter hours of the evening. The only light they could see was that provided by the light towers which surrounded the complex, with a dark spread of clouds protecting the land from the glow of the night's stars. It meant that the security officers on duty couldn't see too far beyond the fences which surrounded the factory.

The quiet of the night was broken by the roar of a truck engine in the distance. The security turned their heads to locate the source of the sound. They were used to trucks travelling to or around the factory complex to transport inventory during the night, but they still turned their heads anyway to see what was happening. First they saw the beaming headlights of the truck coming up over the hill on the singular road towards the factory. The truck had it's headlights on at full-beam as it made it's way directly towards the factory's fence on the road. The shining light blinded the security guards who had to hold a hand over their eyes and turn away slightly to protect their sensitive retinas. The sound of the truck's engine increased to a deafening roar as it shut out any other noises. At the last second, the truck turned to follow the road that ran parallel to the fence.

After nearly one hundred metres, the truck turned into the entrance to the factory and stopped at the barrier and the security hut. The driver of the truck began to beep the vehicle's horn to attract the attention of the guards in the hut, inadvertently soaking up the attention of every other guard in the facility's perimeter. All eyes were on the truck as the driver continued to create a ruckus, drawing in as much attention as possible. None of the security guards had noticed the two figures that were running briskly from the fence-line towards a side entrance to the factory.

The two figures were Sami Heikkinen and Max Virtanen. They were lying flat on top of the truck as it made its way towards the factory's fence line. With the headlights of the truck blinding all security guards within the compound's perimeter, the two leaped off the top of the truck and over the fence, which was level with the roof of the truck, and landed as flat and quietly as possible on the other side. Sami's girlfriend, and fellow Dragon operative, Karina had been driving the truck. As Sami and Max made their way from the inside of the fence towards the factory, Karina had pulled up at the entrance to pull all focus on her as she asked for directions to a made-up location, causing as much of a commotion as possible. The ruse worked successfully, as both Sami and Max reached the walls of the factory without notice.

The side entrance was a former fire escape which also had a handle built into the outside. Sami and Max had hoped that the door would be left unlocked, and they were more than delighted to find the door turn inwards when they tried to enter. The door led into a long, well-lit hallway with office doors decorating either side. The hallway was empty, with all the laboratory workers at home for the night, and the pair anticipated to only come across security guards inside the building. Sami and Max reckoned that they could overpower anybody they met during their adventure.

The pair jogged down the corridor as quickly as they could without making much noise. Sami had a large pack on his back which made the most noise as they bounced from step-to-step. There was a turn-off to the left midway down the corridor, and the pair took that route after checking around the corner for any company. They were not too worried about being seen. They wore balaclavas which disguised their identity an, in any case, they planned to disable and security recording software present in the facility, wiping any evidence of their unauthorized visit.

They made their way to the end of this corridor. In front of them was a door which read 'Security HQ' in Ukrainian. There was a bell beside the door which rang inside the room whenever somebody wanted to enter. There was a camera near the ceiling which activated whenever somebody rang the bell and broadcasted a live image of the visitors to the security guard inside. It was a fairly fool-proof security measure, but not completely fool-proof.

Max took out a piece of rolled-up sandpaper form his pocket and unfolded it before holding it in front of the camera. As Sami rang the bell, the security guard was unable to see who was outside the room looking for access. A few moments passed before the security guard within the room made a noise.
"Who is it?" asked the security guard in Ukrainian?

"King," lied Sami from the otherside.

Moments later, the door swung open and Sami came face-to-face with a middle-aged man who had eaten one too many pretzels during his time. Shock twisted the guard's face into a despairing shriek as he saw the two men in balaclavas before him. Before the guard could make a noise, Sami jabbed him in the nose, sending a splatter of fresh blood everywhere. Sami then grabbed the guard by the throat and charged him backwards into the room. Sami took two swings at the guard's head; one to knock him down, and the other to knock him out. When Sami was satisfied that the guard was unconscious, he tied the guard up with wire that he had in his possession and left the guard in the recovery position in a corner of the room.

Meanwhile, Max had closed the door shut behind them and used his experience as a security guard and police detective to first disable the CCTV systems that were in place and to then delete all recording history that was stored on the servers within the factory. Max then located a floor plan, where he looked for the room that was of interest to him. Once he found it, he marked out the easiest route to get there in his mind. He then disabled all communication equipment within the room. When the pair were ready to depart the room, they opened the door before breaking off the handle on the inside and then closing the door shut.

The pair backtracked down to the initial corridor that they were in, before turning to the left and continuing down to the far side of the complex. There was an observatory at the far end of the corridor which Max and Sami made their way towards. The observatory overlooked the main laboratory area which was the size of three or four basketball courts put together. The CEO of the company, Paul King, was walking through the laboratory area on his phone. He was known for working late at night to avoid going home to his wife Roselynn, a retired porn star. Paul was notorious for often being in his wife's shadow in the public eye.

There was a large vat in the centre of the laboratory where a mysterious clear liquid was swirled. It often bubbled menacingly and looked just as dangerous as it was. It was the killer serum, J.A.C.K., which had taken the lives of many in the past, including that of Mia Koskinen. A number of pipes led from the structure of the vat through the floor and down to the level below.

Sami and Max darted out of the room and down a flight of stairs to a level where much of the facility's important infrastructure and plant rooms were located. The air was humid and heavy with heat from machines that worked continuously through the day and night as Sami and Max looked for their target room. Eventually they found it, bursting through the door. Once that they were satisfied that they would not be joined by any unanticipated company, they got to work.

Sami removed a gas canister from his pack which had a hose and nozzle attached to it. Sami found the pipe he was looking for, marked by a sign. It was a pipe which allowed oxygen to enter the vat of serum above their heads. The oxygen was used to allow the breeding process of the toxins within the serum to develop, with a level of oxygen similar to that found in live blood. There was an opening in the pipe which was sealed off by a clasped flap. Sami undid the flap and placed the nozzle over the opening, and emptied the contents of the gas canister into the pipe.

The canister contained chlorine gas. It was found that the J.A.C.K. serum did not react well with chlorine, which destroyed the serum's chemical structure. The gas itself made the serum as harmless as water, effectively making it useless. Such a discovery was made by one of the Dragon's scientists, who had been studying a sample of the serum that the organisation had uncovered by chance.

Once the gas canister was emptied, Sami and Max made their way out of the factory. Getting out of the place was going to be a lot more difficult than getting in. As they ran towards the fence line in the exact same location that they had entered from, Sami removed a number of smoke grenades from his pack. He launched these grenades towards where the guards were located. As he did so, Karina had driven the truck over the same hill that it had done previously. This time, instead of turning to follow the road around the perimeter of the fence, it charged straight through the electrified mesh. The truck tore a hole through the barrier, and Karina slammed to a stop inside the grounds. Sami and Max boarded the truck before Karina reversed and charged away.

With the compound's communication systems having been cut off just a few minutes previously, the guards were unable to coordinate each other into an attempt to chase. The three had escaped without any harm, causing damage to the factory worth hundreds of millions in the process. The production of the lethal serum was not cheap, and neither was the equipment. While they were unable to completely destroy its process in one go, they had set back production by years in the making. It allowed them time to make their next attack on Christian Schäfer's plans.

As they put several miles between themselves and the compound, Sami removed a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. After a few seconds, a person on the other side of the line picked up the phone and a familiar voice spoke.

"Is it done?" asked Kalle.

"Yes," responded Sami triumphantly. "Our next step now is to attack the next base of operations, and then locate Christian Schäfer and take him down for good."

Kalle Koskinen and Peimari United have parted ways today following a mutual decision to terminate the manager's contract. The thirty-seven year old Finnish manager questioned the chairman's priorities following a string of player sales that were not authorized by the manager, but Eklund instead. Since July of last season, Antti Eklund authorized the sales of Guido Claeys (€2,000,000), Moussa Faye (€500,000), Tornike Dzadzamia (€675,000), Tyler Whitesides (€750,000), Niko Lehtinen (€775,000) and Jukka Virtanen (€275,000) without consulting his manager. Koskinen and Eklund met to discuss the situation, with the pair agreeing that there was no way forward for Koskinen at the football club. Eklund reportedly refused to pay Koskinen compensation for the expiration of his contract, but Koskinen is not expected to pursue legal action.

Kalle Koskinen took charge of the club back on 5th December 2018. Koskinen earned instant success at the football club, winning the Kakkonen league title and the Kakkonen Cup in his debut season. His second season was quite successful too, with Peimari United winning the Ykkönen league title and earning a runners-up spot in the Suomen Cup final. Season three saw Peimari United make their Veikkausliiga debut, and they finished in a respectable runners-up position as they won the Suomen Cup for the first time. Last season saw Peimari United go one better in the league, winning the Veikkausliiga title and retaining the Suomen Cup trophy. They also earned progression to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League group stage, where the Finnish side earned a very respectable third place finish.

Koskinen's departure comes mid-season, with Peimari United having already won the Suomen Cup this season and topping the league with a stunning 28 points from just ten games. Following a transfer window of major upheaval, helped by the chairman Antti Eklund selling a number of Peimari's key players, the current season has seen Peimari United score an incredible 27 goals in their opening ten games in the league. His team's heroics have seen him earn plenty of interest from clubs all around Europe, and Koskinen is now likely to secure a top job.

Kalle Koskinen managed Peimari United for a total of 183 competitive games. His record in that time was borderline ridiculous, winning 139 (75.96%) of those. Under Koskinen's stewardship, Peimari United lost just 21 of those games. The club's transformation from being a Kakkonen (third tier) side to becoming the undisputed best team in Finland, and Veikkausliiga and Suomen Cup champions, was a real testament to the good work that Kalle Koskinen did at the club.

Aatu Hakala joined Peimari United in March 2019. He instantly became the club's first-choice goalkeeper, despite being just 18 years old at the time. He wasn't Peimari United's best goalkeeper during the Kalle Koskinen era but he kept his place as the club's first-choice goalkeeper until the signings of Tyler Whitesides and Tornike Dzadzamia. Hakala made a total of 73 appearances for the club with Koskinen as manager. While he doesn't like playing too many games for the club in the future, his contribution to Peimari United's most important era is undoubted.

A cult hero. Bruno Rodrigues joined the club in June 2018. He was originally a winger for the club, but Kalle Koskinen converted him to play as a complete wing back at the start of his managerial era. For the first three seasons of Koskinen's reign at Peimari United, Rodrigues was the first-choice full-back. He was known for his high-speed overlapping runs and his ability to create goals with his wicked passing ability. Rodrigues left the club last July in search of more regular football.

Not the best defender that Peimari United ever had, but Latosaari was a real leader in defence. Latosaari joined Koskinen's Peimari United in January 2020 and became an important defender for the club. His imperious nature in the air made him a gladiator in defence, and he eventually became club captain. He made a high-profile error in a title clash game against HJK in the 2021 Veikkausliiga season, slipping on the ball to allow the opposition to score in a game that ultimately won the title race for HJK. Despite the error, he is remembered fondly bu Peimari United fans.

A true Peimari United hero. He wore his heart on his sleeve whenever he played for the club. Holma joined the club in February 2019, and instantly became a key player for the club. He made 111 appearances for the club under manager Kalle Koskinen. He lost his starting spot a year-and-a-half ago when Yuri and Richard Latham joined the club, but will always be remembered fondly.

Jukka Virtanen was a revelation of a signing for the club when he joined in January 2020. He became an almost ever-present in Peimari's defence and his ability to create goals with his surging runs forward and his incredible crossing made him a formidable player in attack.

Oh captain, my captain. Eero was one of Koskinen's first signings, joining the club in January 2019. The holding midfielder immediately became an instant hit, proving to be an incredibly important player in Peimari's midfield. His tackling ability made him vital to the club's success, and he had a habit of scoring from range, especially from free-kicks.

Sasha Popovitch may go down as one of Peimari United's greatest ever players. The giant midfielder joined in January 2019. The playmaker became a crucial player for the club, scoring and assisting fairly regularly. His ability in the final third, starting off good attacks and linking play, made him important.

The Croatian midfielder joined the club last May, and became a key player. He was expected to become an incredible player in the future and, despite spending such little time at the club, he was an incredible impact. He scored an incredible 18 goals as a box-to-box midfielder. He is certain to become a key player for the side, provided Peimari United's chairman doesn't sell him for nothing.

Legend. Kevin Larsson joined the club in March 2019 and made an instant impact. He was creative in scoring and assisting from the first second at the club. Despite leaving for Sochi in August 2021, he rejoined the club on loan for the following season before rejoining the club permanently the season after. He has the potential to become a Veikkausliiga legend and is expected to become a regular for the Finnish national team in the future.

Sjöroos will always be a player remembered fondly by Peimari United fans. Having joined the club in 2019, Sjöroos' goal-scoring exploits from the left side as an inside forward made him a hero for the club in the lower leagues, and then made him an invaluable asset in the Veikkausliiga too. He suffered a number of serious injuries which hampered his game time but he was always a threat when he was on the pitch.

Santanen joined the club as a sixteen year old and instantly became an important player. He struggled with consistency at times but scored regularly enough to make him an important player. He had a superb 2022 season, scoring 21 times throughout the year.

1

The cold winter wind cut into the bare skin of Kalle's face as he strode through the streets of Weissbad. The small town in the north-east of Switzerland had become a victim of a harsh December storm which coated every slope of hill and mountain in a deep blanket of crisp white snow. A pale grey cloud had descended into the valleys between the grass-and-rocky faces of the northern edge of the Alpine mountains. The air was heavy with almost ice-cold moisture, almost suffocating those who breathed in the highly-humid atmosphere.

For Kalle Koskinen, the weather had no impact on his march through the town. His whole life had led to this very moment and his destiny had become as clear as fresh river water in the past two-and-a-half years. All of the hardship that he had faced during the previous forty years, starting with his mother's death on the day he was born, had come as a result of the evil workings of a crazed German scientist. Forty years on from his birth, he was set to write the final chapter in a cursed tale of events.

The death of his mother, Mia, had left a gaping hole in his family. With no surviving grandparents, no uncles or aunts, and no siblings, Kalle's only relative was his father, Joonas. The pair were very close. Joonas worked, by day, as a factory labourer. By night, he fulfilled all the responsibilities of a set of parents by himself. He did everything in his power to make sure that Kalle lived a good life. While there were events that were out of Joonas' control that upset and tormented Kalle, Joonas more than filled the void left by his late wife.

Kalle was most recently a football manager but started his career in football as a player, and a very successful one at that. He had previously played for HJK, the biggest club in Finnish football, and FC Bayern Munich, one of the biggest clubs in world football. He was a seasoned international footballer for his country and had won many honours as a player, including the UEFA Champions League in 2013 when his Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund in a frantic final in Wembley.

Kalle's darkest moment in football came the year after he won the Champions League with Bayern. It was in the same competition, away to Arsenal, when he received continued jeering and songs sang by opposition fans about the death of his mother during his birth. The event itself hurt Kalle, but the reaction hurt him even more. There were no repercussions for those responsible for the abuse, with post-event comments also going unpunished. The event caused Kalle to retire from UEFA competition, and eventually pushed him towards early retirement as a player.

Kalle fought back by joining forces with UEFA to combat abuse in football. He identified transparency from top to bottom of the football structure as his primary objective and he set about making it happen with UEFA's abundant resources. In 2018, Koskinen was responsible for bringing about the Mia Koskinen Act, which aided in football authorities' battle against abuse. The Act saw abuse in football plummet by a staggering amount.

Following the formation of the Mia Koskinen Act, Kalle made the step back into being directly involved in football. Nobody anticipated, however, that he would take the reigns of Peimari United at the end of the year. The then-Kakkonen club soared under his stewardship, earning back-to-back league titles and promotions on the way to Veikkausliiga football. In 2022, they were crowned champions of Finland. Koskinen led the club to UEFA Europa League group stage football in 2022 and looked set to take them to the same stage in the UEFA Champions League in the following season but saw his stay at the club come to an abrupt end following a heated argument with chairman Antti Eklund in June 2023.

The official story was that Koskinen saw his contract mutually terminated following a revelation that he had a major difference in vision to his employer. Koskinen was far more ambitious about the club's opportunities in continental competition than Eklund, but Eklund was far more interested in making money than competing. The story was close to the truth. However, Koskinen already had one eye on leaving the club following a revelation he made in January of that year.

It was when he was in Udine for a UEFA Europa League game against Udinese that Kalle came across the leader of the Dragon organisation. The snake-like character was terrifying in demeanor but appeared to be an ally to Kalle. During their meeting Udine, it was revealed to Kalle that his mother was murdered by a crazed German scientist named Christian Schäfer. Schäfer orchestrated the death of Mia by injecting her with a rare poison by the name of J.A.C.K. that destroyed her vital bodily functions, remaining untraceable for the best part of thirty-five years.

After Kalle's departure from Peimari United, he dedicated his life to taking down Christian Schäfer. He joined forces with the Dragon organisation, brandishing the treacherous mark of the group in the form of a tattoo on his forearm. Kalle trained with Sami Heikkinen to become the ultimate soldier. While Kalle had received basic military training during his conscription as a teenager, he learned skills that even the elite militants in the world did not know. Sami was an expert marksman and equally skilled at unarmed combat, espionage and survival, and Kalle came to become his equal in the two years since the pair joined forces.

The pair undertook a number of missions, often alongside former soldier Max Virtanen, to bring down Schäfer's plot to manufacture the J.A.C.K. serum on a global scale. Factories were destroyed, product was spoiled and antagonists were brought to justice. Kalle was adamant that nobody would die during his crusade to bring down Der Professor (the nickname associated with Christian Schäfer), and their body-count remained at zero. While they killed nobody, Sami's and Kalle's reputations struck fear into Schäfer's allies. Sami was known as The Winter Soldier, due to his adept ability to camouflage himself in a snowy environment. Kalle was known as The Iceman, a nickname he earned during his time as a footballer for his cool reactions to difficult situations.
While Sami became Kalle's partner-in-crime, Elsa's relationship with Kalle ended shortly after he left Peimari United. The pair met in late 2018 when Elsa worked as a reporter, interviewing Kalle as Peimari United manager. The pair soon began dating each other, surviving a number of traumatic events during their time together. At the end of 2019, Rodrigo Soldado took the pair as prisoners and was about to kill them when he was thwarted by a reliable Max Virtanen. During the following year, Boris Maguire contracted the criminally insane Michael Scott to assassinate the pair in theatrical fashion. However, Sami Heikkinen was on hand to slay this threat.

Kalle and Elsa became engaged following the Michael Scott situation, and were to be married in the winter of 2023. However, Kalle pulled the plug on their relationship so that he could avenge his mother by seeking out justice on Christian Schäfer. Aware that being in a relationship with Elsa would leave Kalle fighting a battle with one hand tied behind his back, he ended things to protect her. Christian was capable of striking her down at will should he have seen fit to do so. Kalle kept tabs on Elsa's life, but never contacted her after their split.

Kalle and Sami's missions saw them travel throughout Europe and many parts of Asia. All-in-all, they destroyed eight factories and played a hand in more than sixty villains seeing their criminal careers come to an abrupt end. Production of the J.A.C.K serum had come to a stand-still, and eventually ceased completely, from the good work of Kalle and Sami. Their work in infiltrating and demolishing the infrastructure of Schäfer's plans had been executed eloquently.

Following the downfall of J.A.C.K., Kalle set his sights on completing the mission by bringing Christian Schäfer down. His search for Christian wasn't successful to begin with and he was instead horrified when he learned of Schäfer's obsession with his mother. Kalle unraveled evidence that Christian was also responsible for the death of Mia's parents, burning them alive in a house fire which was made to look accidental. It was part of Christian's plan to leave Mia vulnerable and for the taking. His sick infatuation with her led to him assaulting her on the night Mia met Joonas, and he then attempted to rape her many years later. While he failed in doing so, it was on that night that Christian injected Mia with the J.A.C.K. serum, sentencing her to her inevitable death.

Kalle took interest in the house fire which killed Mia's parents, and his grandparents. It was the first major attack by Christian on his family, and so was likely to be the most important to Christian. Through research, Kalle discovered that Mia's childhood home had been rebuilt by a South African laborer known as Sebastien Tyson. Tyson had links to both Boris Maguire, who ordered the hit on Kalle, and to Christian Schäfer. Kalle tugged on this lead to discover that the elderly Christian Schäfer now lived in Mia's childhood house in Weissbad, in the north-east of Switzerland. It was a sickening turn of events.

Kalle made the venture to Weissbad on his own. Sami had offered to go with him as backup, but it was a trip that Kalle wanted to make himself. It was to be the final chapter in a tale of events that started with Mia and Christian. As Kalle made his way to his mother's old house, he was prepared to do what was necessary to end it all, despite his turn of health.

Kalle's health had deteriorated significantly in the past two years. What appeared to initially be a cold had transformed into an unending fever that saw Kalle often unable to eat for days on end. He vomited regularly, rarely slept, and lost weight at an alarming rate. He became weaker and weaker with every day and often suffered from extreme hallucinations. Despite his illness, he battled on. He was determined to see his mission through.

Mia's former house stood before Kalle. It was made from a treated timber, painted with a dark oil. Snow rested on the slanted roof with the bulking frame of the Alp Bommen standing tall behind it. There were no lights on inside the house but Kalle knew that it was occupied. Thermal imagery showed that there was one person in the building, and Kalle knew who it was.

Kalle's heart started pounding as he crept up to the front door. He considered knocking on it and surprising the man inside, but he tried his luck with the door handle and found it to be unlocked. The door swung open into the house with a creak, revealing an open-plan area with an old mothy rug sprawled across the floor. In the shadows in the far corner of the room sat a lone figure, who was as still as a statue. The figure leaned forward as Kalle entered the room.

"You have your mother's eyes," spoke the shadow-covered man in German.

His voice was strained and weak as a result of his age. He was close to the end of his life, but still just as menacing as he was during his prime. Kalle was aware of the danger that sat in front of him, but he didn't care. He was there to see out his destiny. It was his judgement day. He wanted justice, at any cost. He was ready to take on Christian Schäfer in the battle of his life.

1

Time stood still. As Kalle stood inside the house where his mother grew up as a child, he knew he was at his final destination. It was where his and his mother's battle against Christian Schäfer had begun many decades ago, and where it was ultimately going to end. It was Schäfer's insatiable desire for Mia that drove him to destroying her life and, ultimately, killing her. He wore the veil of a psychotic monster and resembled Death himself.

It was Christian Schäfer who killed Mia's parents. That much was evident. He burned down their house while they slept, cooking them alive. It was made to look like an accident and Christian had loyal associates within the police service who turned a blind eye to an event they were quick to consider as nothing more than unfortunate. It was all part of Christian's plan to isolate Mia before taking her hand. When it became evident that he wasn't to succeed, he killed her and rebuilt her home to use as his own personal shrine. It was his twisted fantasy, but it was not yet complete. Kalle was his final prize, and he stood before him.

Kalle stood still. He could see wisps of dust float by him in the air, made visible by a dim ray of light which penetrated the otherwise dark interior of the house through a solitary window. A gentle breeze pounded against the side of the house, filling the room with a hollow booming sound. No words followed Christian's chilling greeting as the German scientist raised the tension levels considerably with his nonchalant opening sentence.

Kalle's eyes pierced into Christian, but he was met by a stare which exuded a state of grief. The demon that had lived in Schäfer's soul had ripped apart his very being and stripped him of everything that he held precious. He had become merely a shadow of a human being, with his treacherous mind chained to life by his weak and desolate frame. He was a man ready for death, and he did not fear the enemy that stood in front of him, no matter how capable he was.

From his waistband, Kalle brandished a pistol and pointed it at his enemy. The metal was cold in his hand and, despite his extensive training and practice with guns of all kinds, the SIG Sauer which he held in his hand weighed a ton. He was known as The Iceman for his coolness in difficult situations, but his ice-cold resolve was melting in the furnace that was the once-burned house of his ancestors. The barrel of the gun moved in circles as he struggled to hold his death-machine aloft.

"And what do you hope to achieve by killing me?" questioned the calm and composed German, who had a smug expression painted on his face. "Sentencing me to death wouldn't be justice, and you're an honorable man. Could you live with yourself if you killed me?"

Christian burst out into forced laughter. He wheezed as the chilling sound echoed throughout the room. His confidence successfully unnerved Kalle, who had begun to sweat profusely. His concentration began to waver uncontrollably and his body burned with flashes of rage-induced heat that emanated from inside his fractured soul. His vision began to blur, with his heart throbbing at a rapidly-increasing pace.

"You look like you're a bit under the weather, Kalle," continued the doctor. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out yet?" responded Kalle with his anger noticeable in his voice.

Christian's wheezy laughs kicked off again. He rocked back and forth in his chair with his hands squeezing the armrests firmly. Despite his fragile and ancient condition, he was as menacing as anything Kalle had ever seen before. There was no good in Christian's soul. He was full of hate, darkness and, most terrifyingly, evil. He had been on a mission to wipe out half the earth's population with his serum and, while he was ultimately stopped by Kalle, Sami and Max, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

"Your mother is the reason you are ill. The serum I injected her with all those years ago killed her, and transferred into you while you were in her womb. You were born with the serum in your system. Because you were not yet conceived when you came into contact with the serum, it remained dormant for some time. It is now in full effect, and you are suffering from it. You will die, and it is all because your mother gave birth to you."

"That's where you're wrong!" responded in angry Kalle. His blood was boiling with rage and he took a step towards Christian. "You are the one responsible for my mother's death, and you are the one responsible for me being affected by the serum. I will not let you hurt anybody else."

"I don't care," replied the doctor. "The stupid bitch deserved it. I offered her every opportunity in life and I would have made her a very happy wife with everything she could have wanted. She turned me down once, so I killed her parents. She turned me down twice, so I hit her. She turned me down three times, so I killed her. And now, her only child shall die painfully too, all because she gave birth to you.

And now you're here standing in front of me with a gun in your hand, ready to kill me. No matter what happens here today, I've already won. I've destroyed you and I've destroyed your mother. You think you can earn justice by coming here to avenge your mother's death? Justice is dead! There is no more justice in this world! Your journey is at an end, Kalle! It's all over and you-"

Christian Schäfer was cut off by the bullet that was planted in his forehead. The round was fired from Kalle's handgun, which filled the house with a booming sound, and planted itself deep inside the German's skull, not penetrating the back of his head. The force of the bullet rocked Christian in his chair before the old man slumped forward, falling off his seat and onto the ground where he lay in a lump. A small pool of blood slowly began to form around his head, soaking into the carpet and floorboards underneath him.

The SIG Sauer became too heavy for Kalle to hold onto and it fell to the floor with a massive thud as the metal dented and scratched the wooden floor. Kalle then followed the gun and fell to his knees, allowing his arms to fall freely by his sides. His head was leaned forward and his eyes were shut as he shook with a restless energy that came from a release of a lifetime's collection of angst. After some time, he opened his eyes and looked towards Christian's still body.

"The world doesn't need justice anymore," muttered Kalle in an undertone. "It just needed you to be dead."

The event that just unfolded had taken a huge toll on Kalle's energy, both physically and mentally. While his breathing slowed, it became more shallow and his heart began to beat weakly. His bodily temperature began to drop and he could feel the last of his energy began to sap out of him. He just about had enough energy to stand up once more and walk towards the back of the house. He pushed open a door and stepped out to the back of the house.

The house was set upon the lower end of a small hill that belonged to the Alp Bommen mountain. Despite the cover of snow which blanketed the hill, he could pick out a deformity in the hillside which belonged to a rock that jutted out from the ground's surface. It was a rock that was just big enough for a person to sit on and would have been surrounded by lupine flowers during the summer months.

In Kalle's weak and sickly state, he began to hallucinate and saw a young girl of no older than eight years old sitting upon the rock. She had golden hair tied back into two braided pigtails, and she donned a cap on top of her head. She was clothed in a red-and-white striped t-shirt and dungaree shorts. The girl was plucking the flowers off of a lupine stem and was singing a made-up song to herself. A golden retriever lay beside her, content with life.

Kalle had never seen pictures of his mother as a child before, but this was how he imagined her to be. She appeared to be happy and vibrant, and she shone with a light that made her seem angelic and innocent. She was a free spirit in a world full of darkness. That was the way her life was before she met Christian Schäfer. A pang of melancholy struck Kalle as he realised just how much his mother lost to the crazed man who now lay dead inside her childhood home, but the feeling passed as the image of his young and happy mother injected Kalle with a peace that he had never known before.

"You can rest now," Kalle spoke softly in the direction of the girl that sat on the rock.

The girl stopped singing and placed the lupine flower down before looking up at Kalle, where their eyes met. Despite being just a product of Kalle's hallucinations, he felt a connection to the girl as they looked at each other warmly. It was as if the girl knew that her older self became Kalle's mother, and she loved him as a son, while he loved her as a mother. The girl then smiled at him with such innocence that Kalle felt his heart welt and then, just moments later, the vision of Mia disappeared for good as Kalle's hallucination ended. She was finally at peace with the world.

As the image of his mother vanished, Kalle grew weaker than he had ever been before. He fell to the ground where he landed on his front, with his head turned so that he was still looking up the hill where his mother had sat upon the rock. He didn't know it, but that rock was his mother's sanctuary and safe haven when she was a child, yet he still felt a connection to the spot that drew his focus. It was the last thing he saw before he drifted away from the world.

What Christian had said to Kalle was true - it was the end of a journey for him. Instead of having the effect that the German desired, it did not concern Kalle. He saw the situation differently. Part of the journey is the end, he thought to himself as he drifted away from life. His last thoughts were of his parents. He thought of his mother who died on the day he was born forty years previously, and of his father who passed away two years previously due to cancer. He was ready to join them wherever he would end up. Kalle had played his part in the ever-changing story of the world, but his own story had been written. It wasn't just the end of a chapter, it was the end of an era. As the last of Kalle's existence faded away from the living and his body began to turn as cold as ice, there was only one thing that was certain - he was born to die, but his legacy would live on.