Colin Forbes - Precipice

'He's welcome to her.' said Philip. 'They make a pretty pair.'

Eve crossed the platz to outside the Schweizerhof, weighing up whether to go in and ask for Newman. No, best to phone him, bearing in mind what she was going to demand.

She hurried back to the phone box in Bahnhofstrasse she had used before. Opening a small notebook, she checked the number of the Schweizerhof and called it, asking for Mr Robert Newman.

There was a pause. Newman was on his way back to his own room and heard the phone ringing as he entered. Locking the door, he ran to the phone.

'Yes, who is it?'

'Bob, it's Eve. I've missed you.'

'All right. What are you after?'

'Don't be like that. We could make music together.'

'Discordant music.'

'You're not being at all nice to me.'

'Get to the point.'

'I will.' Her voice hardened. 'How would you like the scoop of your career? Something so sensational you would hit the headlines all over the world.'

'Go on, if you must.'

'I can give you the real story of Leopold Brazil. And I have evidence to back it up. How he seduced twenty of the world's top scientists to work for him.'

'Did he?' Newman enquired in a bored voice.

'You listen to me.' she snarled. 'I had notes taken from his secret files giving all the intimate details about those missing scientists. Later, I was able to photograph the sheets from those files. Ed Reynolds, Irina Krivitsky, and others. Are you listening?'

'Vaguely.'

'I want one hundred thousand pounds for the information.'

'You don't want much, do you?'

'You can syndicate your expose. You'll make another fortune. I'm offering it to you cheap for one hundred thousand pounds. Other people would pay one helluva sight more.'

'Go to other people.'

'You'd make the most terrific job of it. I've read some of your stuff. And on top of the hundred thousand I'd want five per cent of the total profits.'

'You're making my mouth water.' he said cynically.

'When you ponder it you'll come round to my way of thinking. I'm at the Baur-en-Ville. Give your name as Cross when you phone me.'

'Mr Double-Cross?'

Newman put down the phone. He had a reaction of complete revulsion.

Eve flounced out of the phone box, hurried back to the Baur-en-Ville. She was going to the bar. She needed a large vodka.

Gustav had watched her from inside a shop front across the street. As soon as she was hidden by an approaching tram he ran across to the phone box. A grim-looking woman had her hand reached out for the door of the phone box. He brushed her aside, ignored her abuse, pretended to look up a number.

As soon as she had gone he detached the miniature listening and recording device he had hidden, pulling hard at the suckers which held it in place. Gustav had hoped that if she made another call she would use the phone box he had seen her use before.

He wasted no time getting back to his office in the hotel. Once inside, he locked the door, extracted the cassette, placed it in the machine which played it back, listened with growing excitement. He had never liked Eve.

He was walking along the corridor to Brazil's room when his chief came up behind him. Gustav dropped back as Eve came out of her room. She had freshened herself up and was on her way to the bar.

'Where is Jose?' she asked.

'Jose decided to stay behind,' Brazil told her cheerfully. 'I think he's gone home.'

'I'll be in the bar if you want me.' she said.

'Where else?' replied Brazil, even more cheerfully.

He was unlocking his door when Gustav came up behind him, said he'd like a private word.

'Is it important?' asked Brazil.

'I think you should judge that for yourself.'

'Oh, all right. You'd better come in. But not for long.'

Brazil sat behind his desk, hoping Gustav would soon go away. He wanted to listen to the latest radio reports -particularly if anything had slipped through about the situation in Moscow.

'I want to play you a tape.' Gustav said.

Brazil frowned, nodded his head, sat back while Gustav inserted the tape in the machine on his desk, pressed the play button. Nothing changed in his expression as he heard what was on the tape. Brazil had iron self-control. When the tape ran out Gustav looked at his boss expectantly.

'I had seen her go into that phone box before.' he explained. 'So, thinking she might use it again, I attached one of my recorders inside the box. The same recorder which I put under Jose's desk.'

'Leave the tape with me.'

'You don't want me to…'

'I want you to go and get on with your work.'

He waited until Gustav had left, got up, locked the door and returned to his desk. Gustav had rewound the tape before leaving. Brazil pressed the play button and listened again.

… the scoop of your career… I can give you the real story of Leopold Brazil… I was able to photograph the sheets from those files…

… one hundred thousand pounds for the information…

When the tape was finished Brazil rewound it, extracted the cassette, slipped it into his pocket. He sat down again behind his desk, his expression grim.

I trusted her, he thought. I paid her a huge salary, but even that wasn't enough. More treachery among my own ranks. Greed is her driving force. Loyalty to no one except her hideous self.

Brazil spent a long time gazing at the opposite wall, replaying in his mind what he had heard on the tape. He pulled himself together with a jerk, switched on the radio.

Now he would never be able to send the second signal – which would have obliterated all world communications. But he had done enough to give Marov the opportunity to seize full control. Russia was now again a major power, a menace which would wake up the West.

Newman had sat in his own room for awhile. He was writing down in his swift hand the gist of his conversation with Eve Warner. Then he had a good wash, brushed his hair, and went along to Tweed's room.

Tweed was listening to the World Service as more and more reports came through. Paula sat in a chair close to Philip as they also listened. Tweed switched off the radio when Newman was let in by Philip.

'Brazil has achieved a lot of his plan,' he told Newman. 'It's strange, but I still find myself agreeing with the blackguard's ideas. I'm sure Brazil planned to send a second signal – probably to do it himself as he was at the ground station – but you stopped him by destroying the ground station. Which is a blessing.'

'Why?' asked Newman.

'One of our agents flew out of Russia before Marov shut down the frontiers. He tried to call me from Frankfurt and talked to Monica when I wasn't available. There have been rumours of Russian troops massing on the border separating Russia from Ukraine. I'm sure Marov – with the aid of the considerable Russian population there – planned to occupy Ukraine. Then we would have faced a huge world crisis.'

'Because Ukraine has a long border with Poland.' Newman suggested.

'Exactly.' agreed Tweed. 'The Russian Army would have loomed over Western Europe. People forget they still have most of the immense armoury of weapons they built up during the Cold War. And it's quite definite that a proclamation has been issued, making all the previously private shops state concerns. Bread rationing has been brought back. The Russian people may not enjoy queuing up but they'll know there is bread to be bought at controlled prices daily.'

That's Communism.' Newman objected.

'No, it isn't. Marov is being very clever. He's using the bits of Communism which guaranteed food supplies -but the proclamation was issued in the name of All The Russias. The ailing President signed it, but Marov has countersigned it. So we know who is now in charge.'

'Their economy is still in ruins.' Newman objected again.