Assassin 2 - Sleeping Dogs (Assassin Series)

by Bryan Murray

  Nick was anxious to hear. “And?”

  Davies continued. “As we suspected, a number of companies have been buying low and one company in Europe spent a bundle on taking a major stake in the movie company, so much so, that rumor has it they now have two brand new movie projects, both fully financed!”

  Bostwick asked. “Any connection between the companies picking over the remains?”

  Davies smiled. “At first, there were no connections at all, but one of our nerds drilled deeper to track the ultimate parent companies of them all, and that’s when it got interesting!”

  Nick smiled. “Lemme guess, it was the same company?”

  Davies nodded affirmatively. “Correct! A large international company in Wolfsburg, Austria called Nayra Global Industries. They’re a conglomerate of investors in entertainment, service and travel. Privately held, excellent reputation. The president is a well-respected industrialist.”

  Nick looked confused. “So, what are we saying here? These guys are above reproach?”

  Bostwick interrupted. “Not in my book, Nick. I think we need to pay them a visit, fronted by our friends in the Mossad!”

  Davies nodded his head up and down. “I agree, Dave, we need to let Jake and Sarah know and maybe we can use one of your local guys from the Vienna office to go in with them?”

  Nick added. “You’ll need a hell of a cover story!”

  Bostwick nodded. “I agree and I’ve got just the guy to go in with them. He can charm the birds from the trees, bullshit with the best of them, but he’s also an excellent agent.”

  Davies nodded in agreement. “Good idea, we’ll need good IDs and a strong enough hook to persuade this Nayra crowd to host a visit!”

  “What’s your guy’s name, Dave?” Davies asked.

  Bostwick smiled. “Steve Caplin,” he got up to leave. “Okay, gentlemen, if we are all agreed, I’ll give Jake and Sarah a call and try and set this up.” Nick and Davies nodded in agreement as they ended the meeting.

  * * *

  It was late in the day when Bostwick finally managed to get hold of Jake and he also put Sarah on the speaker phone. Sarah spoke first. “So, Mr. Bostwick, did your guys come up with anything?” she asked.

  Bostwick was courteous. “Maybe, guys, let me explain what we came up with for you and the Mossad to comment on?”

  Jake glanced at Sarah. “Go ahead?”

  By the time that Bostwick had finished his explanation of the game plan, both Jake and Sarah were nodding at each other in agreement.

  “So, what d’you think?” Bostwick asked them.

  Jake was the first to speak. “I think it’s worth pursuing. We’ve no proof whatsoever that these people are remotely involved, but I’ve worked with Steve Caplin before and if anybody can bullshit a reaction from these people, he’s the man!”

  Bostwick was pleased. “So, what d’you want to do next, Jake?” he asked.

  Jake thought for a moment. “Well, first we need to clear the plan with the Mossad, now that we’re working with the top guy Zeke Safin, since Dr. Golchen is no longer with us.”

  Bostwick continued. “And when we’re ready to go ahead?”

  Jake replied. “Then I suggest we meet up with Steve somewhere near Innsbruck, get our act together and set up an appointment.”

  Bostwick was in agreement. “Right, give me a couple of days, I’ll give Steve a call and we’ll talk tactics. When I get the green light from your end, we’ll start making plans.”

  Jake was impressed with Bostwick’s professionalism after their somewhat tense first meeting. “Sounds like a plan, thanks for the call, Dave.” he rang off and turned to Sarah. “What do you think?”

  She was thinking out loud. “The cover story is all important, Jake. If these people specialize in investment in entertainment, service and travel, we need to get their attention, at least strongly enough to convince them to meet with us.”

  Jake nodded. “Right, so maybe we should go in as some type of consultants, who specialize in finding exceptional investment opportunities for select clients?”

  Sarah was on the same wavelength. “Yes, excellent idea. If this guy Steve is as good as you say, he should be able to set up the meeting and we can have a dry run with him before we go in.”

  Jake was still thinking out loud. “And we’ll need bona fide ID’s, these Europeans are pretty thorough on checking who they are dealing with.”

  She looked at him seriously. “Tell me about this Steve Caplin guy. You and I have each other’s back instinctively, but what’s he like, because we could be walking into the lion’s den here if these really are the bad guys?”

  He thought for a moment. “Steve’s a good guy, not like that bastard Jennings. I did a job with him in the Ukraine, where he was helping to set up the target for me. He’s a real pro, meticulous in his planning, multi-lingual and he’s a real team player. He’s also a character, terrific sense of humor.”

  Sarah smiled, “In that case, I’d call Bostwick back, tell him our ideas, so that Steve can be thinking about it.” He nodded in agreement

  Later that afternoon, Jake and Sarah drove into Tel Aviv to Mossad headquarters to meet Zeke Safin, the top man in the Mossad, for the first time. After going through meticulous security protocol, they were finally ushered into Safin’s office. He was small, balding, with rimless spectacles, more like you would expect the owner of an antique book store to look, rather than the head of one of the top anti-terrorist networks in the world!

  He greeted them cordially and opened the conversation with his sincerest condolences to Sarah at the loss of both her uncle and her grandfather. Jake was sure he detected a tear in the man’s eye.

  Safin then got straight down to business. “So, Mr. Harrigan?” he began. “What is the latest status on your investigation?” Jake and Sarah quickly brought him up to speed and also mentioned the suggested plan to try and infiltrate Nayra Global Industries under cover.

  Safin thought for a moment, a steel trap mind behind those innocuous rimless glasses. “I must admit,” he began. “This motive thing has concerned me from the beginning, due to the fact that the attacks were at random and also a mix of commercial and civilian targets.”

  Sarah nodded. “Exactly! It took a while for us to realize that behind the smoke screen of violence, it wasn’t individuals who were the targets, whether they were commercial or civilian, it was the Israeli and more particularly the Jewish economy as a whole and this is why we think this latest idea of the FBI and CIA is worth pursuing.”

  He was very sympathetic. “So, if I understand this correctly, this would entail three of you going in, the two of you plus this CIA operative?”

  Jake nodded. “Correct, sir. They may be a totally innocent organization, just trying to make a buck, like everyone else, but I’ve always been of the opinion that when something looks like a suspicious coincidence, it invariably is.”

  Safin smiled. “I agree entirely, Mr. Harrigan, so please take care on this trip. I don’t want to lose another member of my mentor Ari’s family, because if these people are indeed the evil masterminds behind all these atrocities, adding three more scalps to their belts will not even cause them to slow down from whatever their unspeakable goal could be.”

  Jake and Sarah got up and they shook his hand. “We’ll take care, sir,” Jake replied. “And we’ll also keep you up to date on what goes on. Thank you for your time.” Safin escorted them to the door. “Good luck!” They left, escorted by his secretary.

  As they drove back into town, Sarah was strangely quiet. “What are you thinking?” Jake asked.

  She thought for a moment. “Zeke Safin could be right!”

  “About what?”

  “About the danger of this trip if our suspicions are proved correct. If they suspect we are on to them, our lives won’t be worth a plug nickel!”

  Jake was in agreement “Yes, and what bothers me is that this Arab terrorist knows what we look like, let’s face it, he tried to blow your
head off!”

  She shuddered. “Thanks for the reminding me!”

  Jake continued. “So, hopefully, with all the stuff going on over here, those two bastards won’t be around in Austria!”

  She looked at him with a wry smile. “I guarantee that will be the subject of tonight’s prayers!” she added.

  CHAPTER 34

  The large commercial jet commenced its descent into Innsbruck, Austria, through spectacular alpine scenery, with the last snows of winter still around. On board, Jake and Sarah were looking forward to meeting Agent Steve Caplin in the main terminal, following his flight in from Vienna.

  After clearing immigration, they entered the terminal to find that Steve had arrived ahead of them and was waiting in the arrival area. He was a good-looking, dark-haired man in his 30’s, with the remnants of a ski tan, giving him the look of a successful business executive. He smiled when he saw Jake and came over.

  “Hi, Jake!” he began as the two men shook hands warmly. He turned to Sarah. “And you must be Sarah, nice to meet you.”

  She smiled and shook his hand. “You too, Steve.”

  They walked down towards the baggage claim and Jake smiled at Steve. “You’re looking your usual suave self, Steve?”

  Steve grinned. “Just getting into character for this little charade,” he looked closer at Jake. “Looks like private business is suiting you?”

  Jake gave a wry smile. “Sure as hell beats what I was doing before. So far, this latest job with the Mossad started real low key, just a training course for new recruits and suddenly, the goal posts changed and we were up to our necks in international intrigue!”

  Steve nodded that he understood. “I know, I’ve been following the shit going on in Israel. I was so sorry to hear about your uncle, Sarah, he was a fine man.”

  Sarah nodded. “Thanks.” they grabbed their bags and headed to the rental car lot, where Steve had reserved a car and within minutes they were on their way towards the mountains and the City of Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony.

  Steve drove along and they discussed the assignment ahead. He was the first to speak. “So, as I understand this so far, we’re going in to visit these people just to push a few buttons and to try and get some reaction concerning their involvement in all these terrorist attacks?”

  Jake nodded. “That’s right, Steve. Have you made contact yet to get an appointment?”

  Steve shrugged. “Not yet, I thought I’d debrief with you guys first, since this is your case and then wing it from there.”

  Sarah nodded in agreement. “Good idea. D’you have our cover story lined up, ID, you know, the whole works?”

  Steve smiled. “Oh, yeah, that part’s perfect, even if they check us up on the Net and we’ll need to go over the story in detail when we get to the hotel.”

  Jake was very interested. “Have you done any research yourself on this company, Steve?”

  Steve smiled. “Yes, the president is a German guy called Johan Bleiberg and he’s a well-respected, hard-nosed investment guru here in Europe. He seems to have a solid, young team behind him and they are extremely smart cookies. Nobody’s goin’ to pull the wool over their eyes, so, we’ve got our work cut out, guys!”

  Jake was starting to get the feel for the assignment. “So, who takes the lead?”

  Steve smiled again. “Me. I’m used to talking this financial bullshit and the idea from the agency is to take a look around and stay alert in case we see or hear anything unusual.”

  Sarah still looked a little nervous. “And if things go wrong?”

  Steve gave Jake a knowing look. “You know what to do!” Sarah swallowed nervously.

  They arrived at their Tyrolean-style hotel and checked in for the night, ready for their ordeal the following day. After supper, Steve gave Jake and Sarah their fake ID’s and cover stories and they had a dry run on their presentation.

  * * *

  On a bright, crisp, sunny morning, the three of them drove up the impressive driveway to the offices of Nayra Global Industries. Beautifully landscaped into the breathless, surrounding scenery, the building looked like an elegant castle of light grey stone against the vivid and dark greens of the vegetation, highlighted by white flashes of fresh snow. Outside the gate house, the corporate logo of Nayra Global could be seen alongside an elegant sign with the company name on it. The logo looked like an elegant car wheel with ornate spokes.

  As they approached the gate house, both Jake and Sarah noticed the metal fence around the entire office complex. They stopped at the gate and Steve wound down the window as the friendly Guard, with a surprisingly unfriendly gun on his hip, welcomed them with a smile.

  “Guten Tag, Can I help you?” he asked.

  Steve, who had made the appointment first thing that morning, smiled warmly. “Yes, sir, we have an appointment with Herr Bleiberg. We’re from Profitable Risk Evaluations.”

  The Guard picked up a telephone. “One moment, please?” he spoke briefly into the phone in German with his back to them, before turning with a smile on his face. “Please drive ahead and park over on the right in front of the main building. Someone will meet you there.”

  Steve nodded. “Thank you.” he wound up the window and drove over to the designated building. Inside the car, Jake was already alert. “Did you see the Glock on that dude’s hip?”

  Steve smiled. “Same thought went through my mind. Okay, guys. Showtime!”

  They pulled up and got out of the car, and a tall, blonde, young man in an immaculate business suit, was already waiting to greet them. Steve, with his new-found Texas accent was ready to perform. “Good morning, sir,” he began in a loud voice. “I’m Dave Johnson of Profitable Risk Evaluations and these are my colleagues, Eric Rousselle and Helen Brewster.”

  The man Stefan shook hands with all three of them. “Herr Johnson, I’m Stefan, Herr Bleiberg’s CFO. Welcome to you and your colleagues. Please follow me?” he led the way towards the building as they followed him.

  Sarah had a momentary frown on her face when she spotted armed guards, casually patrolling the grounds. Steve was already on a roll, chatting to Stefan.

  “It’s real neighborly of Herr Bleiberg to spare a few minutes. We were just visiting with a client in Innsbruck and thought it might help to stop by here in Wolfsburg, to let y’all know what we’re doing for our US investment clients, in case it may be of interest.”

  They were entering the futuristic lobby as Stefan replied. “Well, lady and gentlemen, we are certainly interested to hear what you have to say.” he gestured to them to follow him down the corridor towards the elegant board room. He opened the door and ushered all three of them inside.

  Already seated around the board room table, were Johan Bleiberg, the tall, fair-haired, greying, clean-cut president, who was already in discussion with an attractive, blonde female executive and three other young, athletic-looking male executives. Bleiberg got up and came around the table to greet his visitors. Stefan made the introductions. ‘Herr Bleiberg, this is Herr Johnson and his colleagues from Profitable Risk Evaluations,”

  Stefan turned to the trio and introduced his colleagues. “Herr Bleiberg, our president, Katrina Vogel, our financial analyst, Dieter Kranz, our marketing director, Josef Filcher, investment VP and Klaus Lingerhoff, security.” Lingerhoff was a cruel-looking, shaven-headed guy in his 50’s. They all shook hands with the visitors and exchanged business cards in the traditional manner.

  Bleiberg was very courteous. “May we offer you some coffee?”

  Steve was in his new role, still the over-the-top Texan. “That would be real nice, thank you.” he took a deep breath. “Herr Bleiberg, I know y’all are real busy, so I’ll cut right to the chase, as we say in Texas, and then we’ll get out of here.”

  Bleiberg nodded his appreciation. “Thank you, Herr Johnson, we do have an urgent board meeting in less than an hour. So please proceed?”

  Steve had their attention and smoothly moved on. “Well, lady and gentlemen, we in PRE s
pecialize in finding investment opportunities for our clients, in companies that are extremely profitable, but who, at the moment, are having a temporary downturn in activity.”

  In an office up above, the meeting was being televised on a screen and being watched by an old man, an old-fashioned monocle in one eye. The man was holding a cigarette in a silver cigarette holder in one hand. He had a small glass of medication in his other hand, containing a green liquid.

  Down below in the meeting, as Stefan poured coffee and passed it to Jake, Steve and Sarah, Bleiberg continued the conversation. “That is very interesting, Herr Johnson,” he replied. “Since this is one of our main corporate investment criteria. Like many other successful companies, we like to get in on the downswing and sell off on the upswing,” he pointed to Josef Filcher. “In fact, Herr Filcher here specializes in this kind of investment.” Filcher nodded in confirmation.

  Steve slapped his thigh in true Texas style. “There you go, I just knew there could be some common ground for us, Herr Bleiberg!”

  The Austrian continued. “So, how do you think you may be able to help us, Herr Johnson?”

  Steve stood up to confront the meeting, taking control of the discussion. “Well, sir, our team of analysts spend all their time scrutinizing the performance of key companies with outstanding previous track records, who seem to be having temporary setbacks. And with our feedback from our key contacts on Wall Street, we are able to point our confidential clients in the direction of potential growth opportunities.”

  Bleiberg smiled. “For a fee, of course, Herr Johnson?”

  Steve smiled, flashing his white teeth. “There you go! I knew we were going to get on well, Herr Bleiberg!”

  Bleiberg then shocked all three of them. “As a matter of fact,” he began. “Our most recent acquisition, among our many international interests in the media industry, was right there in your home country, in Los Angeles as a matter of fact!”