by David Nees
“Well this calls for a bottle of good wine.” She turned to Fred. “See if there is a Sangiovese downstairs.” Turning back to Dan, “Are you going to feed Conti any of your culinary delight?”
“Absolut nicht!” Evangeline exclaimed. “He doesn’t deserve such good food. Not when I have something to do with it.”
“I guess that settles it,” Dan said.
The meal was sumptuous. No one talked about Conti or Aebischer or any plans. They kept the conversation light and social. Later that evening, everyone retired to the living room. Dan had told Evangeline earlier that she couldn’t be in on the planning, but she refused to be excluded.
“I have things to contribute,” she told him.
“Didn’t you tell Jane everything?”
“There are a few things I know that will help in your preparation, if you’re planning what I think you are.”
Dan gave her a steady look. She stared right back at him, her eyes bright and shining with affection, excitement? A mix of both it seemed to Dan.
“You are quite the schemer, aren’t you?”
She just smiled at him. “So I need to be in the room. And don’t worry about secrets. I’m good at keeping them. I’ve kept one for years.” Her voice and smile faded at the thoughts stirred up in her mind.
Dan relented.
The others sat down and pulled their chairs close together. Evangeline claimed her spot snuggled up against Dan on the couch. The conversation took place in English. Evangeline could speak and understand both English and Italian along with her native Swiss German.
“As I said, Henry wants to capture Aebischer. The Swiss authorities won’t help for obvious reasons. We’re not supposed to operate in their country and Aebischer is too rich and connected. Claiming he broke laws won’t help. We don’t have direct evidence to connect him. Evangeline is right when she says her accusations wouldn’t help either.”
“It has to be undercover then,” Dan said.
“What have you found out about security at the mansion?” Jane asked Warren Thomas. He was the tech wizard who had been snooping through Aebischer’s electronic accounts and files for most of the day.
“It’s pretty sophisticated. It has a strong firewall. The weak link is the wireless connection to get out to the internet. Someone made the mistake of using the same pathway for his security and his work, connecting with his office downtown and various banks as well as the general internet. That’s protected but I was able to crack it after five hours of work. I’ve been in and set up a bug that will recognize my computer as part of the network, but it won’t show on the network diagram.”
“You can turn off his security?” Dan asked.
“Better than that. I can keep it running but blind it. I can loop the videos so everything looks normal. It won’t be hard. The external view really doesn’t change much. When you go in, no one will see you.”
“There’s a better way in,” Evangeline spoke up.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“Aebischer has a secret tunnel that goes out to the back of the property. There’s a cover hidden in a planting bed in the foliage just inside the fence. The trees screen the property from the road. It’s dense inside the foliage. The top looks like a sewer cover.
“The tunnel leads into the basement of the building. There are hidden elevators from Aebischer’s bedroom and office to the basement so he can leave undetected if there is a break-in.”
She smiled at everyone with satisfaction at offering a game changing piece of information.
“You didn’t tell me everything,” Jane said. Her voice was tense.
“It’s okay,” Dan interjected. “She’s being helpful, even if on her own terms.”
“Can it be opened from the outside?” Jane asked.
Evangeline shook her head. “I don’t know. We, my s…s…mother and I explored it from the inside. I suppose you can pry it open.”
Jane turned to Warren, “Can you tell if the cover is alarmed?”
He nodded. “I can check on that. That wasn’t a focus on my exploration of the system. Give me some time tonight and I’ll have an answer for you in the morning.”
They talked late into the night. The plans were set. Henry would be appraised. Fred would remain behind. Warren would monitor the security from a van nearby the mansion. Marcus would join Dan in the kidnapping while Roland stayed behind, much to his frustration, to keep an eye on Pietro.
The van would be outfitted with the electronic gear Warren needed to monitor and control the security system. He immediately set out to make a list of what to bring with them. Jane would drive the van which would be parked near where the Aebischer’s escape tunnel emerged. Evangeline loudly insisted on going with them and Jane finally relented after Dan gave his support. She would allow the girl to ride with her in the van.
Chapter 35
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R ashid made five wire transfers, from five different companies he controlled, to five separate accounts owned by Herr Aebischer, the amounts, all different, totaled twenty million Euros. Aebischer’s work would be to run the funds through shell companies until the trail was lost in a deluge of transfer records. It would finally end up in three legitimate “front” companies controlled by Aebischer.
One account would be used to pay the Russian mafia boss, Kuznetsov, for one hundred and fifty kilos of C-4 plastic explosive along with ten cases filled with the German Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank grenade launchers with their attendant warheads. The weapon could be operated by one man and fired indoors, unlike many rocket launchers, due to its minimal back blast. The armaments would be distributed to six different terror cells throughout Europe.
Another payment was destined for Bulat Zakayev, the Chechen gun dealer. He was to provide a fresh supply of AK47 rifles, MP5 machine guns, and pistols, along with ammunition, and hand grenades to the terrorist cells.
The third payment would be dispersed amongst the terror cells to supply them with support funds to carry out the planned attacks.
Rashid smiled. The planning had taken a year and a half. The cells did not know their targets or their exact roles and wouldn’t until days before the attacks were to begin. Leaders were instructed to train their groups on the Panzerfaust 3 but did not know where the weapon would be used. Similarly, the assault teams were readied and prepared to use the AK 47 and MP5 automatic weapons but were not informed where or when an attack would take place.
When Jane last talked with Henry, she told him about Aebischer’s involvement in money laundering, not for just tax cheats but for various underworld groups, some of them possibly connected to terrorists.
“We’ve seen an uptick in internet traffic hinting at a large operation in Europe, either one large attack or a series of coordinated attacks. Aebischer might be involved in this.” Henry said.
“It could be. How soon do you expect the attacks to take place?”
“That’s just it. We don’t know enough to say. We’ve alerted the governments involved but they’re reluctant to raise the threat profile without some idea of how imminent the threat is.
“If we can get our hands on Aebischer’s ledgers, we might be able to find out more. If it’s a large operation it will take a large amount of money and planning.”
“The agency is monitoring known arms dealers,” Henry said. “That might give us a clue. When are you going in?”
“A few more days. I’ll alert you when we depart for Zürich. The plan is to transport Aebischer back here to Italy. Here we can find out what he knows without any interruption.”
“We can’t spend too much time at the safe house. We’ll have to find another place.”
“You work on that, I’ll work on getting him and his ledger out of Zürich.”
Aebischer’s nervousness increased with each passing day. He had received the funds from banks in Cypress, Beirut, Malta and Gibraltar, all known havens for hiding funds and doing anonymous transfers. Aebischer ha
d done his part and moved the money through his myriad accounts until the funds were parked and ready to disperse. Now he had to wait for Rashid to authorize the release. Aebischer didn’t know exactly when he was to disperse the payments. He could be waiting for a week or more. Meanwhile there was an assassin loose.
The planning went on back at the safe house. Conti was kept in the basement’s secure room. He complained only mildly. A doctor had visited him; there was not much to do about his broken jaw. It would heal. He was still working to make himself important enough to keep alive. Between Conti and Evangeline, the team assembled a clear picture of the security around the mansion.
“The front gate is strong and heavily guarded. Like most he thinks an assault would come from the front. People forget about attackers just going around the obstacle,” said Marcus as they went over the security picture. “Even with Warren’s help to neutralize the cameras, the guards make infiltrating from any direction difficult.”
The consensus was the tunnel that Evangeline spoke of was the best way inside.
“I can neutralize the alarm on the cover in the system,” Warren said with pride. “The more complex problem will be the cameras inside the mansion. There are cameras throughout the interior.”
“Can you create loops for them as well?” Jane asked.
“Yes, but there’s more activity inside. Someone would more easily see a repetition of a pattern or not see an expected activity like security making the rounds.”
The discussions went on as the team gnawed away at the problem. They were determined to come up with a workable plan. Dan’s frustration grew. He wanted to get on with the mission. He usually worked alone in a much looser environment where had to improvise. The planning was starting to seem obsessive.
“How many security personnel are we talking about, inside and outside?” he asked.
Warren answered, “I’ve recorded one at the main gate, two going around the house outside and three or four men inside. I can’t be sure.
“Why so few outside?” Marcus asked.
“He’s relying on the cameras,” Dan answered. He turned to Warren, “Why aren’t you sure of the inside number?”
“Two of the men inside seem to roam randomly, so it’s hard to pin them down. There’s definitely one at the monitors, but there may be more in the rotation. I haven’t been able to single each one out to be sure.”
“Seven men at the most. We can eliminate them,” Dan said.
“We don’t want to do that,” Jane said. “We’re not in the countryside of Croatia. This is Zürich and the police will come quickly if an alarm is triggered”
“I can keep that from happening…at least from being transmitted,” Warren said.
“All right. That helps.” Dan ignored Jane’s reference to his attack on Feriz’s mansion. “If Marcus and I can locate the inside guards, we can neutralize them. With suppressed weapons the guards outside may not hear what’s going on.” He turned to Warren, “Do they interchange between inside and outside?”
Warren frowned. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it, but I can’t say it doesn’t happen.”
“All right, we go in, find the inside security, take them out, grab Aebischer and get out via the tunnel,” Dan said.
“And Aebischer will depart via the same tunnel when he hears a shot inside, even if it’s not heard outside,” Jane said.
“And you’ll be at the exit to grab him,” Dan responded.
“But if an alarm is triggered,” Jane said, “the exterior guards will come running and now you have a full-fledged gun battle, something we need to avoid.”
Dan got up and paced the room. His frustration showed. If it were him alone, he’d go in and take out the inside security, then grab Aebischer and leave either with him going willingly or knocked unconscious and over his shoulder.
Evangeline watched Dan as he paced. She followed the conversation and was getting increasingly worried. These people didn’t realize how methodical and ruthless her father was.
“You must not underestimate Aebischer,” Evangeline said. “He will have backups in place. I hope you find them all. You said you could stop his wireless alarm from going out, but what if he has a wire connection? Is that possible?”
“Yeah, it is. I can’t see that from my equipment, though.”
“We’ll have to find the phone lines going to the property and cut them,” Dan said from across the room.
“Do we just cut all the power lines?” Warren asked. “That would simplify all the other issues.”
“And alert him to an attack. No, if he has multiple ways to communicate, we don’t want to alert him. Let him think the phone lines are working. It will give him a sense that help is coming. Help that will never arrive.”
Evangeline still worried. Aebischer would have a backup, maybe more than one. He would not rely on just one or even two systems to protect him. He had too many secrets.
Chapter 36
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D an went downstairs after leaving one of the long sessions discussing all the facets of capturing Aebischer. He unlocked the door and, leaving his weapon outside, went in to talk to Pietro.
The prisoner gave him a wary look as Dan entered. He was sitting on a mattress on the floor. There was a single chair in the room along with a bucket for taking care of his business in an emergency. When used, Roland had the unenviable task of emptying it, which he protested quite strenuously about, until Marcus agreed to share the onerous chore. There was nothing else in the room. Pietro was led to a washroom daily which, hopefully, negated the need for the bucket.
Dan took the one chair as Pietro moved to get up off the mattress.
“Sit,” he said.
Pietro sat back down. His face still showed bruises from the beating Dan had delivered.
“You’re making a big deal about this ledger and how it’s in code. I’d think you were making it up just to save your ass. However, Evangeline has confirmed what you said.” Pietro’s face showed his relief. “Now I need to know where to find this ledger. I won’t have much time to go looking for it.”
“I told the woman I wasn’t sure—”
“That’s not good enough.” Dan leaned forward. He could see the fear in Pietro’s eyes.
“You saw it. Otherwise you can’t say it exists. Where did you see it?” Dan’s eyes bore into the man. He wanted nothing more than to pound him again. His anger rose again at the thought of what Pietro had done and how close to getting killed he had come.
Pietro swallowed hard. “In the office. It was on his desk. I am pretty sure it was the ledger book.”
“Tell me in detail what you saw, the circumstances around it, everything.”
Pietro recounted how once when he came to see Herr Aebischer the book was on his desk. He had been making entries. He closed it when Pietro came in and put it in his safe. Aebischer, noticing Pietro’s interest, told him the book was an insurance policy, for the two of them.
“We have to crack a safe to get the book.”
Pietro nodded. “If he hears you coming, he’ll bolt but he’ll lock the ledger in his safe.”
From Pietro’s description, Dan knew the safe was too heavy to move. Blowing the door would destroy the ledger, wiping out the information they were seeking. And there wasn’t going to be enough time to drill it open or crack the code on the lock. In any case they didn’t have a safecracker on the team.
Dan would have to get Aebischer to give him the combination. He could do that, but it would take time. From what Conti and Evangeline had told him, Jan Luis Aebischer could be a tough man to crack.
It was Thursday. The team had been developing its plans for two days. Dan could wait no longer. It was time to act. He pointed out that Aebischer knew Conti was missing and so would presume the assassin was still alive and might now know who he was. Aebischer would not want to just sit around and wait for Dan to show up. And the threat of a massive terror operation was not going away. I
f Aebischer was involved then the best chance of interrupting the operation was to remove him. Taking him out of the picture could stall any funds transfers and that could interrupt supplies needed for an attack.
Fred had discovered that a large amount of money had flowed into Aebischer’s accounts, millions of dollars from suspect banks. He could not uncover the source of the funds, nor could he follow the subsequent transfers. He couldn’t even be sure if they were still in Aebischer’s control. The lack of clear information and timeline called for acting now, even if all the details had not been worked out.
Thursday night the team left the safe house, Dan, Jane, Marcus, Warren, and Evangeline. They drove through the night towards Zürich in three vehicles. Jane and Warren were in the van posing as security trade show participants on their way to another event with their electronic gear to demonstrate to corporate purchasers. Dan and Evangeline were tourists. She had been given a new passport indicating she was from Freiburg, a town in southern Germany, but had been raised in Switzerland, which would explain her Swiss German accent. Dan was her uncle from America, over on holiday. She was taking him back to see the family. Marcus had a U.S. passport and was a tourist exploring the Alps.
Since Switzerland had joined the Shengen agreement, a treaty that largely abolished border checks, there were no stops at the border crossings unless you had something to declare. All the vehicles had vignette stickers on their windshields indicating they had prepaid for the toll roads. Jane expected all the vehicles to just make a slow pass through the border control along with all the other non-commercial traffic.
The drive would take about three and a half hours. They would stay in three different hotels near the Zürich airport used for business travelers on budgets. Aebischer lived in a large estate house a half hour north of downtown Zürich, just outside of Embrach. The home was located on twenty partly wooded acres in a hilly section outside of the suburb. A single road ran through the area servicing the few wealthy estates located on the hillside. They would find a location on the backside, near the escape tunnel’s exit where Jane could park the van.