Assassin 2 - Sleeping Dogs (Assassin Series)

by Bryan Murray

  Steve then shocked him right back. “Star of David Productions, if I’m not mistaken, Herr Bleiberg, which is why we’re here!”

  Bleiberg’s eyebrows shot up momentarily as Steve continued, waving his hand towards Jake and Sarah. “My colleagues and I felt that it was an extremely smart move that y’all made there and if we can find you similar opportunities in both the US and Europe, then maybe we can start a mutually rewarding relationship?”

  Bleiberg looked across at Filcher, who nodded imperceptibly before Bleiberg stood up to signal that the meeting was over. “I don’t see why not,” he began. “Lady and gentlemen, I’m afraid I will have to leave you, but please put your proposal in an e-mail to Herr Filcher, stating your terms and perhaps we can explore a working relationship on a case by case basis?”

  Steve rose to his feet courteously as did Jake and Sarah. “Excellent! Excellent! Herr Bleiberg. Thank you so much for your time and hospitality!” he shook hands with Bleiberg, who was equally courteous.

  “Thank you all for coming to see us and please stay in touch,” Bleiberg smiled. “As you say in Texas, have a nice day!” he gave a courteous half bow as he left, followed by his staff, who also shook hands as they left. Stefan stayed behind to escort them to their car.

  As they walked across to their car, Steve thanked Stefan. “Thank you for your hospitality, Stefan. You have a most professional organization. We’ll be in touch.”

  Stefan smiled as they climbed into the car. “Goodbye, have a safe trip back.” he turned and walked back into the building as they drove off.

  Inside the car, Steve turned to Jake and Sarah. “So, guys, what did you think of that?”

  Sarah smiled. “Well, first of all, Steve, great job, you almost had me buying your mythical services!”

  Steve grinned. “Thank you, thank you, but what about these guys?”

  Jake thought for a moment. “Very open, maybe too open, very professional!”

  Sarah still looked pensive.

  “Sarah?” Jake asked.

  She nodded. “I agree, I just have a funny feeling, maybe it’s the Germanic way of management, but did you notice that nobody spoke in there except Bleiberg?”

  Steve nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right, that seems to be the way the Central Europeans conduct business. So, where do we go from here?”

  Jake gave a heavy sigh. “I wish I knew. We sure as hell can’t walk into a place like that and accuse them of being terrorists!”

  Sarah was in agreement. “Correct, the Mossad are walking a fine line as it is.” They shook their heads disconsolately as they drove on towards the airport.

  CHAPTER 35

  Back in the Nayra board room, Bleiberg and his senior staff were waiting for Stefan to return. He arrived back and Bleiberg began the discussions. “What do you think, Stefan?” he asked.

  The CFO shook his head negatively. “I doubt it, Herr Bleiberg. Companies like that are as the Americans say, ‘a dime a dozen’ on Wall Street, but I suppose we can see what they come up with before we even think about working with them.”

  Bleiberg nodded. “I agree, now we can get on with the board meeting.” He reached under the edge of the table in front of him where there were two buttons mounted on a pad. He pressed the first button and the doors of the board room automatically locked shut. Bleiberg looked at his staff. “You all have your reports ready, in case of questions?” They all nodded as he reached under the edge of the table and pressed the second button. Bleiberg and his staff all stood to attention and as if by magic, a section of the wall on one side of the board room slid back to reveal a ramp, leading down into the board room and as they waited expectantly, the old man seen earlier was wheeled down into the board room in a wheelchair by two bodyguards,

  As he entered the board room, Heinrich Kloss, the 84-year-old billionaire, sole shareholder and CEO of Nayra Global, looked at his team surrounding him. He had a cruel look in his cold, demented eyes, on one of which, he was still wearing the old style monocle. He still had the cigarette holder in his hand. He reached the head of the board room table and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, all his staff clicked their heels and gave the Nazi salute! “Zeig heil!”

  Kloss, with a surprisingly strong voice for a man of his age, addressed the Board. “This is a special time for Nayra Global and I am pleased to advise that our master strategy against the Jews, is going perfectly to plan, exactly as our beloved Fuhrer would have wished it!” They all nodded in agreement as Kloss continued, a demented look in his eye.

  “We were stopped from eliminating them in World War II, but now there is nothing to stop us from destroying the Jewish economy, their international connections and any foolish peace prospects in the Middle East, from which, we in Nayra Global will make millions!”

  The people around the table applauded in chorus. “Bravo! Bravo!”

  Kloss continued, his megalomania somewhat reminiscent of the verbal ramblings of Adolf Hitler himself. “Our attacks on the Jewish targets organized by Akeem, our terrorism consultant, have all been a huge success, helping us to purge our Aryan nation of its deadliest enemy!”

  He was getting breathless as he continued to speak. “And now, everything is in place for our final devastating blow against Israel, one that will shake the world!” he clicked on the TV monitor to one side. “My son, our Aryan General, currently among the enemy, will explain the plan.”

  The TV on the wall came on line and Gunther Kloss, the accomplice of Akeem, a man in his late fifties, came on the screen, but instead of his swarthy skin and his hair being dark as previously seen, it was now his natural Aryan blonde, with a streak of grey and his skin was the color of a white Caucasian!

  He began to speak. “As my father, our new Fuhrer has already explained, we are now poised to deliver our final blow against the Jews. In our deadliest strike to date, we will explode a briefcase nuclear bomb right here in the heart of Jerusalem, during its most crowded time of the year - Easter Week! A time when the City will be filled with Jews and Christians from all over the world. In addition, all the visiting heads of state from the Arab nations, including the US President and the British Prime Minister, will also be in town for the signing of the much publicised Olive Branch Peace Accord!”

  An impromptu chorus echoed out. “Excellent! Excellent!” as Gunther continued on the TV. “The devastation and death will be a world story for years and increase the isolation of the Jews even more!”

  At the head of the table, Heinrich looked on adoringly as Gunther continued. “Our team leader Akeem is a fully trained specialist for the mission and our commercial team have all the right follow-up moves in place to continue to capitalize on the Jewish demise, making millions of Euros for us in the process!”

  Heinrich clicked off the TV monitor. “Thank you, Gunther!” he continued. “Yes, indeed, the millions we will make, added to the gold of the Fatherland, given to me by the Fuhrer and used to build my business empire, will help to finance the campaign of our own Aryan candidate in the upcoming German Presidential Elections and once again, the master race envisaged by our beloved Fuhrer will rule Germany and be a major power in Europe!”

  He paused to take a breath before continuing, a wild, insane look in his eyes. “This has been my life’s work, the Jews will now pay dearly for hunting down and executing my beloved father!”

  He waved to his bodyguards to come over and wheel him back to his office. “Thank you all for your allegiance and remember, confidentiality is all important. Good day to you all!” They all stood and gave the Nazi salute again as Kloss was wheeled up the ramp and out of sight. “Zeig heil!” echoed around the board room as Bleiberg pushed the buttons under the table and the board room returned to normal.

  CHAPTER 36

  In the peace and calm of the bar in the Innsbruck International Airport terminal, Jake, Sarah and Steve were having a drink before catching their flight back to Tel Aviv. Steve looked at Sarah, who had a far-away, troubled l
ook in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong, Sarah?” he asked.

  She sighed. “Something just doesn’t seem to fit!”

  Jake nodded. “You mean with those Nayra guys?”

  She looked thoughtful as she replied. “Yes, they must have something to guard in that complex that they don’t want anyone to see or know about. Did you see those armed guards patrolling the grounds?”

  Jake nodded in agreement. “Yeah, for a company into entertainment and financial services, why are they so nervous? What could they be hiding?”

  Steve looked at his two colleagues. “What d’you suggest, Jake?”

  Jake thought for a moment. “Well, as my old daddy used to say, ‘when in doubt, go find out’!”

  Sarah looked at him closely. “You mean...?”

  Jake replied with a wicked look in his eye. “Exactly, let’s go take another look, only this time when there’s nobody else around!”

  Steve grinned. “When do we leave?”

  Jake threw a few Euros on the table. “Right now!” they all got up and left the bar.

  * * *

  Later that evening, as Steve drove them back out to Nayra Global, they were trying to rationalize what Nayra were doing. Jake was the first to offer a comment. “I suppose Nayra are not the only sharks in the pond, looking for weaker fish to devour?”

  “Maybe so,” Steve replied. “But all their latest activity, according to the FBI analysts, is directed at all our problems.”

  Jake agreed. “So, what do we do when we get there? It’s obvious we can’t go up to laughing boy on the gate and ask if we can borrow the board room keys!”

  Steve was thinking. “We’ll park down the road, out of sight of the gate, clear the fence and pray there are no prowling dogs. I hate dogs and for some reason, they hate me more!”

  They drove up and past the main gate at Nayra and parked under the trees down the deserted road. They got out and Steve and Jake quickly climbed the wall and helped Sarah over before they dropped silently down the other side. The grounds were lit by lights in the surrounding trees and they made their way towards the main building, working from tree to tree. In the distance, an armed guard could be seen patrolling the grounds. Steve whispered to the others. “So far, no dogs!” he pointed across the grounds. “The board room’s in that direction, so let’s stay under cover till we get there and play it as we go after that.”

  Jake gave a wry smile. “That’s what I like, a solid plan!”

  They moved quickly through the trees until they were at the side of the building. Steve peeked round the corner and quickly moved back, smothering Jake and Sarah into the bushes. A guard eventually walked past totally unaware of their presence and Steve’s eyes opened wide as if to say ‘Oh no!’ when he saw the guard had a huge Doberman on the leash. They held their breath until the guard had moved on and they then moved quickly to a door at the side of the building.

  Steve tried the door and it was locked. “Rats!” he whispered. Jake fished out his special tools. “Keep a look out, I’ll have us inside in a jiff.” And he did.

  Once inside the building, they moved quickly and silently down the corridor, towards the reception area, where there was another guard, uncharacteristically asleep at his TV monitor. They crept silently past the sleeping sentinel and down to the board room. Steve tried the door and grimaced when it was locked. Once again Jake used his tools and smiled as it opened to his touch. They all slid silently inside and he locked the door behind them. In one corner of the board room, the door to Bleiberg’s office was slightly ajar and the ramp up to Kloss’s office seen earlier was still open. Presumably, since the board room itself was locked, Kloss and Bleiberg had not seen fit to lock their office doors as they left for the day. Big mistake!

  The trio looked at the ramp to Kloss’s office, not having seen it before in their previous meeting and from the corner of her eye, Sarah suddenly saw the flashlight of the patrolling guard, flickering under the door of the board room. She quickly whispered to Jake and Steve. “Quick, someone’s coming!” they all scrambled under the board room table at the far end of the room from the door, just as the guard unlocked the door and came in.

  He flashed his light around the room and from under the table, they could see his legs at the far end of the room near the door. A second later, the guard left, re-locking the door and the three of them slowly emerged from under the table.

  Jake pointed to the ramp up to Kloss’s office. “I wonder where that goes?” he inquired.

  “Let’s find out!” Steve whispered as they all walked up the ramp into the darkened office.

  Sarah clicked on the light to show a beautiful office with a mahogany desk with a nameplate on the front. It read ‘Heinrich Kloss CEO’. Jake looked on. “Who the hell’s he?”

  Sarah shrugged that she had no idea. She walked over to a side table and picked up an old black and white photograph in a frame. She looked at it and a sudden, incredulous look appeared on her face. “Oh, my God!” she hissed

  “What is it?” Jake asked.

  She passed him the photograph and both he and Steve looked on in shock. Jake snarled. “I don’t believe it!”

  The photograph showed Adolf Hitler shaking hands with an SS Captain, with a young teenage youth at the Captain’s side in the uniform of the Hitler Youth. Steve was incredulous. “This is unreal. D’you reckon that young boy could be this Kloss guy?”

  Sarah shuddered. “I hope not!”

  Jake looked immediately angry. “Nazis!”

  Sarah added. “Neo-Nazis!”

  Also on the side table was another photograph. It was a head and shoulders shot of Gunther Kloss, but this time with blonde hair. Jake pointed to the picture. “And this is the asshole we’ve been chasing alongside the Arab!”

  Sarah nodded. “Yeah, probably the old man’s son, or something!”

  Jake nodded. “Could well be!”

  Sarah quickly copied the photographs into her I-phone and put the photographs back exactly where they found them.

  Meanwhile, Jake was looking at a swivel type desktop model of the Nayra name and logo. He touched it and as it swivelled. the letters on the back side were reversed to read ‘ARYAN’ and the original corporate logo of the spokes of a car wheel in motion, changed to spokes of an ominously different kind- the Swastika!”

  Jake pointed to it in disgust. “Check this out! Why the hell couldn’t they let sleeping dogs lie?”

  Sarah sat there, rubbing her hands up and down her face in final recognition. “Now it makes sense!” she sighed.

  “Exactly!” Jake added. “It’s not the Arabs who are doing this!”

  Steve nodded. “Right, it’s the goddamned Neo-Nazis and making us think it’s the Arabs!”

  Sarah was nodding her head up and down. “And that’s why the terrorist groups denied responsibility, because they really didn’t do it!”

  They left the office exactly as they found it and walked back down the ramp into the board room.

  Jake looked at Sarah in astonishment, shaking his head in disbelief. “My God! These freakos are deadly serious!”

  She agreed with him. “It looks like it.” they walked into Bleiberg’s office and everything looked neat and tidy. However, Sarah spotted a writing tablet on the top of the desk and she could see that the top sheet had been ripped off, but there were still indentations on the sheet that had been behind it, now the top sheet.

  She took a soft pencil from the jar on the desk and lightly feathered it across the tablet, so that what was written in the indentations could be seen. Slowly, the three words - ‘Jerusalem - Die Osterwoche’ could be seen.

  She tore the sheet off and took it to show Jake and Steve. “Take a look at this?”

  Jake read the message out loud. “Jerusalem - Die Osterwoche!” he turned to Steve. “Doesn’t that mean ‘Jerusalem - Easter Week’?”

  Steve nodded and Sarah put her hand to her mouth. “My God! That’s when the peace accord will be signed!
”

  Jake shrugged. “And if I’m not mistaken, that’s when the next hit will take place!”

  She was already ahead of him as she stuffed the piece of paper in her pocket. “Yes and there’ll be thousands of Jews and Christians of all nationalities and other tourists in town for the varying religious celebrations!”

  Steve was thinking out loud. “Which means that at least one of us has to get out of here, so, let’s go!” they checked the corridor outside and left as quickly and silently as they arrived. Jake re-locked the board room door and they carefully made their way back, past the sleeping guard and over the fence back to the car.

  Driving back to the airport, the three of them were reviewing the latest startling developments. Jake was the first to speak. “So, these must be the guys who hired the two bastards we’ve been chasing?”

  Sarah added. “Certainly the Arab guy, it could be that the blonde guy is part of the family.”

  “Yes,” Jake added. “And if they’re planning something in Jerusalem, you can be sure it will be something big, with the City full of Jewish and Christian pilgrims and tourists and with the eyes of the world on the signing of the peace accord.”

  Sarah was in agreement. “Like you said, Jake, they were saving themselves for something even bigger than the attempted power plant bombing.”

  Steve shook his head in sudden recognition. “And the President and the British PM are expected to be coming over. Jeez, I need to make some phone calls!” he clicked on his cell phone.

  Jake nodded. “Me too, we’ve gotta let Israel know and then it’s gonna be the biggest surveillance program ever in Israeli history!”

  Sarah nodded a little sceptically. “Right, just one problem, we still don’t know what and where in Jerusalem and we still haven’t a clue where these two bomb- happy terrorists are hiding!”

  She carried on her line of thinking. “So, what do we have to tell our respective bosses? Some guy, who had his picture taken with Hitler, could be a problem! Not a whole lot!”