Red Alert (32 page)

32.4

Calvieri wiped the sweat out of his eyes. 'It's not over Colonel. We still have one ace left to play. Sabrina.

e's our ticket out of here. And don't underestimate us,

: don't have anything left to lose. Not any more.'

'If anything happens to Sabrina-'

'It won't, as long as you do as we say. I'll call you back

ben we've decided on a plan of action. And don't try nything stupid like storming the room. You wouldn't rant to have Sabrina's death on your conscience, would

i?' Calvieri replaced the receiver and rubbed his hands rer his face. He was devastated. He looked up at Ubrino.

bey found out about Helga.'

'How?' Ubrino replied. 'You said there was no way bey could trace her.'

'I know what I said,' Calvieri snapped, raking his fingers brough his hair. 'They found her name and number in

old address book under the floorboards in my flat. I sn't remember putting it there. I thought I'd destroyed ill my links with her. God, what have I done?'

'It's all collapsing around you and there isn't a damn bing you can do about it,' Sabrina said with a satisfied

lile. 'You might as well give up now, Tony, you know jrou're finished. Nobody likes a failure, not even the Red rigades.'

'Sta zitta? Ubrino shouted, pulling the Beretta from his elt.

'Leave her,' Calvieri hissed and pushed the barrel of |the gun towards the carpet. 'We need her in order to get jut of here.'

'They could be stalling for time.'

Calvieri shook his head. 'Then they would have post ijponed the press conference. No, they don't intend to give fin to our demands. That much is obvious.'

'Then press the button.'

32.5

Calvieri took the transmitter from his pocket and stared at it in the palm of his hand. 'The vial's already been removed for analysis. What's the use of blowing up an empty metal cylinder?'

'You only have their word for it. What if they're calling your bluff? Press the button. We have nothing left to lose. Press it.'

'No!' Calvieri yelled, his eyes blazing. 'You've been working with Zocchi for too long. Even if the vial is still inside the metal cylinder, what can we hope to achieve by killing millions of innocent people? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.'

Ubrino looked at Sabrina. 'She was right. You never intended to push it, did you?'

'Never,' Calvieri replied defiantly. 'But they didn't know that. If they had they wouldn't have agreed to our demands in the first place. It was psychological pressure. Can't you see that?'

'I believed in you, Tony. And this is how you repay my trust.' Ubrino levelled the Beretta at Calvieri. 'Give me the transmitter.'

'You'll have to kill me first,' Calvieri said in a challenging voice. 'And you can't do that, can you? You need me to get you out of here. You don't have the brains to do it by yourself.'

Ubrino thought for a few moments, then shoved the Beretta back into his belt. 'When this is over . . .'

Then you'll kill me, sure,' Calvieri replied with an indifferent shrug, reaching for the telephone to call Philpott.

'What did he say, sir?' Whitlock asked after Philpott had replaced the receiver.

'He wants a helicopter ready in twenty minutes to fly

1*6

them out. They're taking Sabrina as a hostage.' Philpott turned to Paluzzi. 'I want you and your men to clear the helipad. Only our helicopter must be there.' He gestured to Vlok. 'Dieter, I want you to go with them to make sure it all runs smoothly.'

Vlok agreed, then hurried out with Paluzzi and his men.

'Sergei, I want you and Mike to check the fifth floor. There shouldn't be anybody there, but it's best to be sure.'

Kolchinsky and Graham left the room.

Philpott turned to Kuhlmann. 'Reinhardt, I want you to commandeer one of the lifts then put a guard on each floor to make sure that Calvieri and Ubrino have safe passage to the helipad.' 'I'll see to it,' Kuhlmann said and went immediately to carry out the instruction.

'Which leaves me,' Whitlock said suspiciously. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Ever wanted to become a helicopter pilot?'

The telephone rang.

Calvieri answered it. 'You're three minutes late.'

'You made the conditions, not me,' Philpott replied.

'Is the helicopter ready?'

'It's ready.'

'And the lift?'

'It's been stopped on the fifth floor, as requested.'

'You make any move against us -- '

'You'll kill Sabrina, you told me that before,' Philpott cut in.

'As long as we understand each other. She'll be released, unharmed, once we reach our final destination. I'll call you at the hotel tomorrow morning to tell you where to

327

find her. Until then, cwo.' Calvieri replaced the receiver and turned to Ubrino. 'Bring her.'

'Why don't you bring her?' Ubrino retorted.

'Why don't I just bring myself?' Sabrina said, getting to her feet.

Ubrino grabbed her arm and pressed the Beretta against the side of her neck. Calvieri unlocked the door and eased it open. He then took hold of Sabrina's other arm and they led her out into the deserted corridor. All the doors were closed. The lift stood open at the end of the corridor. The silence was eer
ie.
Ubrino dug his fingers into Sabrina's arm and guided her towards the lift. Calvieri kept his eyes on the doors behind them, his Beretta at the ready. Not that he thought Philpott would try anything. There was a touching loyalty amongst his kind. A loyalty that was foreign to someone like Calvieri. His loyalty lay with the cause, not with its protagonists. He glanced at Ubrino. Zocchi's militancy had obviously rubbed off on him over the past few years. Ubrino had suddenly become a dangerous liability. He would kill him the moment they were airborne. He couldn't afford to take any chances. But for the moment he needed Ubrino. Just as Ubrino needed him. A temporary bond was all that remained of a once close friendship.

Ubrino led Sabrina into the lift, the Beretta still pressed firmly against the side of her neck. Calvieri backed into the lift after them and closed the doors.

Whitlock sat behind the controls of the Lynx helicopter, Emile's peaked cap tugged over his head. He looked across at the lift doors. Where were they?

He thought about the briefing in Vlok's office. Philpott's instructions had been simple. Rescue Sabrina,

3z8

unharmed. It meant he would have to kill at least one of them. Perhaps both. Ubrino was certainly the more dangerous of the two. A psychotic killer. Calvieri was less of a threat. Although he was always armed, he had never been known to use his gun. He left the killings to his Brigatisti. Whitlock touched the Browning in his belt and looked slowly around the deserted helipad. The landing lights were on as the darkness descended across Berne. He shivered in the light wind which had sprung up in the last hour and absently adjusted his cap as he turned his attention back to the lift doors. Where were they?

The doors suddenly parted and Calvieri stepped out tentatively on to the helipad. He looked around slowly, then indicated for Ubrino to follow him. Ubrino emerged on to the helipad, Sabrina held tightly against him. Whit lock bit his lip anxiously. It was going to be a difficult shot. A mistake could cost Sabrina her life. That seemed to give him renewed confidence in himself.

Calvieri pointed to the rotors and turned his finger round in the air, indicating that he wanted Whitlock to start the engine. Whitlock remembered what Emile had shown him and pressed the starter switch. They were now less than ten yards away from the helicopter. He palmed the Browning from his belt. His hands were sweating. Calvieri reached the open door first and peered into the cabin. Satisfied it was empty, he clambered inside. Ubrino led Sabrina to the door and Calvieri grabbed her arm to help her up. Ubrino glanced around furtively, then gripped the door but as he pulled himself up Sabrina lashed out with her foot, catching him on the side of the head. He fell heavily on to the helipad, the Beretta spinning from his hand. Whitlock instinctively swung his Browning on Calvieri, then noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ubrino had got to his feet and was making for his fallen

319

Beretta. For a split second Whitlock was caught in a dilemma. Then Sabrina shoulder-charged Calvieri, slamming him against the cabin wall. He grunted in pain and the Beretta slipped from his grasp. Whitlock kicked open the passenger door and shot Ubrino as he was aiming the Beretta at Sabrina's back. The bullet struck Ubrino in the head and he was dead before he hit the ground. Whitlock turned the Browning on Calvieri, giving Sabrina the chance to kick the Beretta out on to the helipad.

Graham and Paluzzi, alerted by the gunshot, emerged from behind a door leading on to the stairs and ran across to the helicopter. Philpott, Kolchinsky and Kuhlmann appeared behind them. Graham retrieved the two Berettas, then ordered Calvieri out of the helicopter. Calvieri jumped on to the helipad and slowly raised his hands above his head. Paluzzi frisked him and pocketed the transmitter. He found the key for Sabrina's handcuffs and unlocked them before helping her out of the helicopter. She took one of the Berettas from Graham and pushed it into her shoulder holster.

Whitlock cut the engine, then got out of the cockpit and looked across at Sabrina. 'Are you all right?'

'I'm fine,' she replied, massaging her wrists where the handcuffs had dug into her skin. 'Thanks, C.W.'

Whitlock smiled at her, then crossed to where Philpott was standing. 'Good work, C.W.'

Thank you, sir.'

'Cuff him,' Philpott said, nodding towards Calvieri.

'Allow me,' Sabrina replied, then took the handcuffs from Paluzzi and snapped them around Calvieri's wrists.

'Have you got a cigarette?' Calvieri asked Kolchinsky. 'I haven't had one all afternoon.'

Kolchinsky took his cigarettes from his pocket, pushed one between Calvieri's lips, and lit it for him. Calvieri

330

took a long drag then raised his manacled hands and took the cigarette from his lips. He exhaled deeply, then looked across at Philpott. 'I'm not taking this rap by myself. You'll find Nikki Karos at his house on Corfu.'

'Karos alive?' Paluzzi snorted. 'That's ridiculous. Mike and I were there when he was killed.'

'It was stagemanaged for your benefit,' Calvieri said to Paluzzi.

'We've had the house under surveillance - '

'Don't you think he knows that?' Calvieri cut across Paluzzi. 'Why do you think Boudien dismissed the staff? To make it look as if Karos was dead.'

'We saw him die,' Graham snapped.

'I don't know how he faked it, but Nikki Karos is alive. I should know, I spoke to him on his private line this morning.'

Philpott turned to Graham. 'I want you and Sabrina to check it out. Emile can fly you there tonight.'

'I'll fly them over, Malcolm,' Kolchinsky said. 'Emile's a courier, not a combat pilot. If Karos is alive, we could come under fire.'

'Very well,' Philpott replied after a moment's thought.

He took Whitlock and Paluzzi to one side. 'Commissioner Kuhlmann has agreed to give us two hours with Calvieri before we have to hand him over to the local police. I want you to get as much out of him as you can before they take him away.'

'Where can we question him?' Paluzzi asked.

'Use Vlok's office.'

'What about Ubrino?' Whitlock asked, glancing at the body.

'The police will be here shortly. Commissioner Kuhlmann and I will stay here to tie up any loose ends. Now go on, get Calvieri out of here before they arrive.'

331

Whitlock and Paluzzi led Calvieri across the helipad and disappeared down the stairs.

Kolchinsky looked at his watch, then dropped his cigarette end and ground it underfoot. 'It's going to be a long haul. We'd better get started as soon as possible.'

'How long will it take us to reach Corfu?' Sabrina asked.

'You're my navigators, that's for you to work out.'

Graham and Sabrina exchanged an expressive look as they followed Kolchinsky to the helicopter.

'Sit down,' Whitlock said to Calvieri, indicating the chair behind Vlok's desk.

'What about these?' Calvieri asked, extending his manacled wrists towards Whitlock.

'They stay, for the moment.'

'So what's the deal?' Calvieri asked, sitting down.

'Deal?' Paluzzi asked suspiciously.

'Why am I here? Why haven't I been handed over to the local police?'

'You'll be handed over to them in two hours' time,' Whitlock told him. That's when you'll be officially booked.'

'And until then?'

'Hopefully you'll agree to cooperate with us,' Whitlock said. 'It would certainly benefit you in the long run if you did.'

'And what exactly does this "cooperation" entail?'

'A signed confession,' Paluzzi replied brusquely.

'And what's in it for me? I'm hardly going to be pardoned, am I?'

'A reduction in sentence,' Whitlock said.

Calvieri sat back and smiled to himself. 'So I'll get three

332.

life sentences instead of four. Not much of an incentive, is it?'

Paluzzi placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Calvieri's face. 'You're going to spend part of your sentence in an Italian jail. And that means you're going to need protection. All I have to do is make one phone call and all the Red Brigades prisoners will be transferred to other jails before you even get there. Can you imagine what those neo-fascist prisoners would do to you? And the warders won't lift a finger -- '

'You've made your point.' There was fear in Calvieri's eyes. He chuckled nervously. 'You certainly know how to negotiate, Paluzzi.'

Paluzzi moved to the door. Til get some paper from the other office.'

'Paluzzi?' Calvieri called out after him. 'I could use another cigarette.'

Til see what I can do,' Paluzzi replied as he closed the door behind him.

Whitlock sat on the sofa and looked at Calvieri. 'What made you team up with Karos? You two are complete opposites.'

'It was a case of us needing each other. I needed him to finance the operation and he needed the money to start a new life in some other part of the world. I don't know the whole story, but it seems there were several contracts out on his life. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he was hit.'

'So he orchestrated his own "death" in front of the authorities to make it seem all the more convincing?'

Calvieri nodded. 'He knew it would take the pressure off him, giving him the chance to start afresh away from Corfu.'

'What would his cut have been?'

333

'Twenty million.'

'Where would it have come from? You wanted the hundred million split between five terrorist groups . . .' Whitlock trailed off and nodded to himself. 'Of course, you only intended to give to four of them. The fifth was just a cover for Karos.'

'That's right. The Red Army Faction in West Germany were never in on the deal. Karos had his own contact in Berlin who would have collected the money for him.'

'Who hired the Francia brothers?' Whitlock asked.

'Karos. They'd worked for him before. I've never even met them. I spoke once to Carlo on the phone to stage the shooting in Venice, that's all. It helped to draw the suspicion away from me.'

Whitlock frowned. 'There's one thing I still don't understand. How did you manage to warn Ubrino that Mike, Sabrina and Fabio were on their way to the chalet?'

'I had a transmitter in my pocket which I carried with me at all times. Ubrino had the receiver in the chalet. We agreed that I would only use it in an emergency. He contacted the Francia brothers and, well, the rest you know.' Calvieri sat forward, his manacled hands clasped together on the desk. 'You were Anderson, weren't you? I knew it the moment I saw you properly on the helipad. The description matched perfectly. So who was Yardley?'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Whitlock replied, holding Calvieri's stare.

'No, I suppose not,' Calvieri muttered, then slumped back in his chair.

When Paluzzi returned he placed a pad, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter on the desk in front of Calvieri. He then unlocked Calvieri's handcuffs and handed him a pen. 'Now start writing.'

334

THIRTEEN

It took them five-and-a-half hours, including three fuel stops, to reach Corfu.

As Kolchinsky skimmed the helicopter low across the Khalikiopoulos Lagoon, Graham and Sabrina were smearing camouflage cream over their faces in the cabin behind him. They were both wearing black tracksuits, which they had got from the Test Centre in Zurich, and Sabrina also wore a black cap to hide her blonde hair.

'Are you ready?' Kolchinsky called out over his shoulder.

'Ready,' Sabrina replied, and pushed her Beretta into her shoulder holster.

Graham, too, loaded his Beretta and bolstered it. 'How long before we deplane?'

'A couple of minutes,' Kolchinsky answered.

'And you're sure there are no guards?' Sabrina asked.

'That's what it says in the surveillance report,' Kolchinsky replied. 'Boudien's the only person who's been seen there in the last two days.'

Graham clipped the two-way radio on his belt. 'I still say we're on a wild-goose chase.'

'But what would Calvieri gain by that?' Sabrina asked.

'I know it doesn't make any sense but you'd understand my scepticism if you'd been there when Karos was shot. The guy was riddled with bullets even before he fell off

335

the terrace. You don't just get up and walk away from that.'

Kolchinsky banked the helicopter in a wide arc to avoid flying over the house and landed on the helipad. He gave them a thumbs-up sign, the signal to deplane.

'If you haven't heard from us in thirty minutes you'll come in with guns blazing, right?' Graham said, standing in front of the closed cabin door. 'Just make sure I do hear from you,' Kolchinsky replied.

Graham pulled open the door and jumped out on to the helipad. Sabrina leapt out after him and closed the door behind her. The helicopter immediately rose into the sky and wheeled away towards a clearing on the edge of the lagoon where Kolchinsky would await their instructions.

They ignored the road leading up to the house. Instead they used the cover of the adjacent olive grove, dense trees with thick corded trunks. It would be impossible to see them from the house. The perfect approach. Graham put a hand lightly on Sabrina's arm when they reached the edge of the grove. The nearest of the four concrete pillars stood thirty yards away. Thirty yards of lawn. According to the surveillance report, the only way into the house was via the glass lift. Although the glass was bulletproof, it still made them feel uneasy. They would be trapped together in a confined space. And not only that, their progress could be monitored from inside the house. Graham had suggested climbing the pylons, using suction pads, but his idea was quickly scuppered when it turned out that the pylons were protected with razor-sharp pieces of glass embedded into the concrete. Sabrina had suggested using a length of rope to climb up to the terrace. The railing had an alarm built into it which would be activated the moment the grappling hook touched it. If the alarm was

336

on. But they couldn't take that chance. Another idea discarded. There was no alternative; they would have to use the lift.

Graham broke cover and sprinted to the lift. Sabrina followed and took up a positjon on the other side. He pressed the call button and the lift arrived seconds later. He pivoted round, Beretta extended, when the doors opened. It was empty. They stepped inside and he pushed the button for the first floor. They had agreed to cover the house, floor by floor, rather than risk any more time in the lift than was absolutely necessary. The doors closed and the lift rose slowly up the side of the house. They braced themselves to dive low out of the lift when it stopped on the first floor. It didn't stop. He hit the button for the second floor. It didn't stop there either. It slowed on nearing the third, the top, floor. Each was aware of the other's tension, and the sweat shone on both their faces.

The lift stopped and the doors opened. They dived low through the doorway, fanning the corridor with their Berettas. It was deserted. A closed-circuit television camera, mounted above the metal door at the end of the corridor, was monitoring their every move. The lift doors closed behind them. Graham got to his feet cautiously and was about to shoot out the camera lens when the metal doors suddenly slid open. They both trained their Berettas on the doorway. The room looked deserted. It had to be a trap. Sabrina stood up and covered Graham's back as he moved towards the open door.

They were both knocked off their feet as if hit by an invisible punch. Sabrina landed by the lift. Graham was slammed against the wall, winded. He fell, face forward, on to the carpet. The towering figure of Boudien appeared in the doorway, holding a CZy5 pistol in his hand. He

337

disarmed them, then returned to the doorway and waited for them to recover.

Graham was the first to move. He rubbed his eyes, then pulled himself up on to one knee. He felt groggy. His whole body was tingling. He looked across at Sabrina. She lay motionless in front of the lift. For a horrifying moment he thought she was dead. Then she groaned and slowly eased herself up info a sitting position. She let Graham help her to her feet. Boudien gestured for them to enter the room.

It was a lounge. And Karos's obsession with snakes was evident everywhere. Prints and wood engravings lined the walls, bronze sculptures littered the sideboards, and even the carpet had snakes incorporated into its design.

Karos sat in one of the armchairs. 'Please, come in. Sit down,' he said, indicating the sofa opposite him.

Boudien waited until they were seated, then handed one of the Berettas to Karos and tucked the other into the back of his belt. He took up a position behind the sofa, his arms folded across his chest.

Karos placed the Beretta in his lap. 'I'm relieved that you both survived the shock. Gadgets have never been my strong point, I'm afraid. I was worried that I might have overdone it. My plans would have been thrown into complete disarray if the shock had proved fatal.'

'An electric shock? I thought as much,' Graham said, eyeing Karos contemptuously. 'What is it, some sort of metallic sensor?'

Karos picked up a remote control device from the coffee table next to the armchair. 'I find metallic sensors very unreliable. It's so difficult to set a level for it. It's either too high or too low. There really isn't a happy medium. This one works off a heat-seeking sensor built into the ceiling in the corridor. The sensor picks up the heat from

338

a body and counters it with a charge of static electricity. It's part of my security system. Not that I've had to use it before. That's why I was worried about the strength of the charge.'

'I presume the remote also controls the lift and the door?' Sabrina said.

'And the closed-circuit television cameras,' Karos replied. 'That's how I was able to track you both from the moment you left the helicopter. My whole security system on one remote control. The wonders of science.'

'You knew we were coming?' Sabrina said.

'I realized something had gone wrong when Bellini didn't resign at five o'clock. I knew that if Calvieri had been taken alive he'd be sure to finger me. He wouldn't take the rap by himself. So I expected some sort of deputation, Miss Carver, either from your organization or from the NOGS.' Karos got to his feet and secured the Beretta under his belt. He gestured towards the drinks cabinet. 'Can 1 get you something? Brandy? Whisky? A bourbon, perhaps?'

'How did you manage to pull off your own death like that?' Graham asked, staring coldly at Karos.

"I wondered when you'd get round to that.' Karos poured himself a whisky. 'I've made a lot of enemies over the years and several of them have put out contracts on my life. Two attempts have been made to kill me in the last three months alone. Fortunately Boudien was on hand to thwart them. But I can't go on relying on Boudien to bail me out every time. I realized the only way to get the contracts lifted would be for me to "die". That would mean starting a new life away from Corfu. But I couldn't risk withdrawing large sums of money just prior to my "death". It would be too suspicious. So I went into league with Calvieri. I would cover the cost of the operation in

339

return for a fifth of the ransom money. Well, that's how it should have worked.'

'You've told us why, not how,' Graham said.

'How? It's really very simple. Carlo and Tommaso Francia used to be stuntmen. They know the ins and outs of the film industry. They came up with the plan. The first hundred bullets in each of the helicopter's two machine guns were actually blanks. I was rigged up with a series of small explosive charges hidden underneath my jacket. The charges were attached to sachets of blood. My own blood. It made it look more realistic. Boudien was in the control room with the detonator switch so all he had to do was activate the charges when Tommaso Francia opened fire. I fell off the terrace and landed on a safety net which was manned by four of my most trusted employees. He then sprayed the terrace with live rounds to keep you pinned down until the safety net had been rolled up and taken back into the house. So by the time you and Paluzzi reached the railing it looked as though 1 had landed on the rocks. You both thought I was dead. What better witnesses could I have had?'

'Ingenious,' Graham said at length. 'But how did you know we would be there?'

'The bank statements in Dragotti's safe were the bait. 1 knew you would come sooner or later. So when Paluzzi called to say you were on your way we put the plan into action. As I said, it was really very simple.' Karos drank the whisky in one gulp and placed the glass on top of the drinks cabinet. 'Well, now that your curiosity's been satisfied, we can get down to business. Contact your pilot on the radio and tell him that Boudien and I have surrendered. Tell him to put down on the terrace to pick us up. It would be too risky trying to get us to the runway.'

Then what?' Sabrina challenged. 'You'll kill us and

340

have the pilot fly you two to a destination of your choice, then you'll kill him as well.'

'That's a little melodramatic, Miss Carver. I don't have any reason to kill any of you, as long as you do as I say. I'm only interested in getting away from Corfu.'

'And if I refuse?' Graham asked.

'Then Miss Carver will die,' Karos replied, indicating the gun in Boudien's hand.

Graham undipped the two-way radio from his belt, switched it on, and put it to his lips. 'Graham to Emile, do you read me? Over.'

Sabrina was momentarily puzzled. Emile? Graham must be trying to warn Kolchinsky. But would it work?

There was a lengthy pause then the radio crackled into life. 'Emile to Graham, I read you. Over.' Sabrina felt a surge of relief.

'We've apprehended Boudien and Karos. Request that you put down on the terrace to take them aboard. Over.'

'Message received and understood. Am on my way. Over and out.'