Алистер Маклин - Red Alert

‘Has Pisani briefed you?’ Paluzzi asked, sitting on the bed beside Graham.

Calvieri nodded. ‘I called him when I got here. He wanted to be here in person but he wasn’t up to it. He’s deteriorating fast. The doctors are doubtful he’ll see out the year. At this rate he won’t see out the summer. You did tell them about him?’

‘They know,’ Paluzzi replied.

‘He asked me to put myself completely at your disposal. We’re just as concerned as you are about getting the vial back safely.’

‘That’s good coming from you,’ Graham snapped. ‘It’s a bit late to lock the stable door. The horse bolted two days ago.’

‘It was an unauthorized operation, Mr. Graham. The committee didn’t know anything about it until the following day.’

‘And that’s your excuse? Your organization is in such a shambles that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing any more?’

Calvieri inhaled deeply on the cigarette and moved to the window. A school bus had stopped on the other side of the street. He could see several of the children inside laughing as they play-fought on the back seat. How many of them would die if the virus were to be released into the atmosphere? He turned away, unable to look at their innocent faces.

‘Where do you think Ubrino’s hiding?’ Kolchinsky asked Calvieri.

‘I’d say he is still in Rome. His friends are here. They’ll shield him. Unfortunately, the Rome cell has always been the maverick in the organization. That’s how someone like Zocchi became their brigade chief. It could never have happened in any of the other cities.’

‘He could also be in Venice,’ Paluzzi said.

‘Venice?’ Calvieri asked in surprise.

‘He was posted up there for a few months a couple of years ago. It’s about the only time he and Zocchi were ever apart.’

‘I didn’t know he was ever in Venice. It proves how mysterious the man can be.’

‘I doubt he’d have gone to Venice, though,’ Paluzzi concluded after a moment’s thought. ‘It’s a moderate stronghold, that’s why he didn’t last there very long. No, I’d have to go along with Calvieri. He’s almost certainly still here in Rome.’

‘I used to be the senior cell commander here twelve years ago,’ Calvieri said. ‘I’ve still got contacts in the city. I’ve already told them to find out what they can. If Ubrino’s here, they’ll pass the information on to me. The problem will be trying to pin him down. He knows he’ll have to keep moving to stay one step ahead of us.’

‘I suggest you split up into teams,’ Kolchinsky said. ‘Sabrina, you work with Calvieri. And stick to him like a leech.’

Calvieri shrugged. ‘That’s fine by me.’

‘Her Italian’s as good as your English, that’s why I’ve paired her with you.’ Kolchinsky turned to Graham. ‘You work with Major Paluzzi.’

‘How’s your Italian?’ Paluzzi asked Graham. ‘Non-existent.’

‘We’ll manage,’ Paluzzi said with a smile.

Kolchinsky picked up his attaché case and got to his feet. ‘You’ll have to excuse me. I have several phone calls to make.’

‘So have I,’ Calvieri said. ‘Hopefully one of my contacts will have come up with something by now.’

‘Where do we start?’ Graham asked Paluzzi.

‘Neo-Chem Industries. My men have been there all night. I think it’s time to see what they’ve found.’

Paluzzi parked his white Alfa Romeo Lusso in the carpark opposite the plant’s main entrance. They got out and he used a transmitter to lock the doors behind them. They crossed the carpark and mounted the steps leading into the foyer. The front of the reception desk had been boarded up to hide the bullet holes. The wall behind it had already been redecorated. In fact, the only sign of the break-in was the chipped pillar in the middle of the foyer. Paluzzi identified himself to the receptionist and asked her to have his deputy report to the foyer. He then crossed to where Graham was standing beside the pillar.

‘What were your men doing here last night?’ Graham asked.

‘Trying to find out who was paying Wiseman for the virus. They concealed themselves in the building late yesterday afternoon and waited until the management team had left before going through each of their offices in turn.’

‘How did they get past the closed-circuit television cameras?’

Paluzzi gave him a knowing smile. ‘Some of these systems can go on the blink at the most inopportune moments.’

‘Point taken.’

‘We’re sure to take some flak when the MD finds out what’s happened but we’ll weather the storm. We always do.’

The lift doors opened and a tall, dark-haired man emerged into the foyer. Graham doubted he was much older than Sabrina. Paluzzi introduced him as Lieutenant Angelo Marco, his personal adjutant for the past seven months.

‘Pleased to meet you, sir,’ Marco said, shaking Graham’s hand.

‘Call me Mike,’ Graham told him.

‘Well, did you find anything?’ Paluzzi asked.

‘Yes, sir, but we’re going to have a job proving it.’ Marco jabbed his thumb upwards. ‘We’ve got a more immediate problem on our hands. The MD’s been ranting and raging at me ever since he got here an hour ago. He said he wanted to see you the moment you arrived.’

‘What did you find?’

Marco pushed the button for the lift. ‘The senior sales manager has received four payments of eighty million lire in the past year. And each time he withdrew sixty-four million lire, in cash, on the same day that the cheques were cleared through his account.’

The lift arrived.

‘How much is eighty million lire in dollars?’ Graham asked.

‘It’s about twenty-five thousand dollars,’ Marco said, pressing the button for the top floor. He looked at Paluzzi. ‘The cheques were all issued by Nikki Karos.’

‘Karos?’ Paluzzi said thoughtfully. ‘That’s interesting.’

‘Who’s this Karos?’ Graham asked.

‘One of the wealthiest arms dealers in the Aegean,’ Paluzzi replied. ‘He does most of his business in the Middle East.’

‘So if this sales manager was the middleman between Karos and Wiseman, who’s to say Karos wasn’t acting on behalf of a Middle Eastern client? Iran? Iraq? One of the Lebanese factions? The list’s endless.’

‘That’s what we’ve got to find out,’ Paluzzi replied. ‘But first we’ve got to pacify an angry MD.’

The doors parted and they emerged into a beige-carpeted corridor. Marco led them to a door and entered without knocking. The secretary looked up from her typewriter. Her smile faltered when she saw Marco. Paluzzi rapped loudly on one of the double doors and entered the inner office without waiting for a reply.

The managing director sat behind a large oak desk. The nameplate identified him as Daniel Chidenko.

‘I’m Major Paluzzi, I believe you wanted to see me?’

The secretary hurried into the room. ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Chidenko, they just walked in–’

‘It’s okay, Margarita,’ Chidenko cut in, his hand raised. ‘It’s not your fault.’

The secretary left the room, closing the door behind her.

‘You don’t have to speak English to me, Major. I may be American but I am fluent in your language.’

‘Mr. Graham here doesn’t speak Italian.’

Chidenko removed a cigarette from the silver box on his desk and lit it. ‘Mike Graham. Our head office in New York told me you were coming.’

‘I’m impressed,’ Graham replied. ‘At least there’s one efficient employee in the company. You should have them transferred out here.’

Chidenko ignored Graham’s sarcasm and looked at Paluzzi. ‘I want to know on whose authority your men broke into the seven offices on this floor, including my own, and went through the contents of the wall safes.’