The Gambit (Ben Lewis Thriller Book 2)
Page 32
“Thanks, Saul. You’ve cut me a lot of slack these last few days. By all rights you should have turned me in. I am glad you didn’t.” They clink glasses. “The Germans make decent red wines these days, by the way. Thank you.”
“It’s good isn’t it?” Zeltinger says, picking up the bottle and pouring the remnants into their glasses. Lewis moves his bishop to a3.
“Check.”
“I have a feeling I am going to lose this game. Why don’t you tell me what happened in Zurich? I still haven’t heard it all.”
Lewis leans back in the simple wooden chair and folds his arms.
“Very well. I am, of course, sworn to secrecy. The very fact that you’re asking me – and that I am about to tell you – what happened, is probably perjuring us both. Arkady Nemikov did not die in that car crash. It seems that for years he has been secretly working with the Americans. They cut him a deal. They would help him rise to power in a new Ukrainian administration as long as he pledged his money to prop up the cash-starved regime in Kiev. The Americans knew the Russians would do anything to try and keep Nemikov out of Kiev. Without his money, Nemikov had nothing to bring to the table in Kiev. Therefore the Russian strategy was to go after the cash. They knew that Nemikov was clever, that he’d put in place various ruses to ensure his money would still get to Kiev, even if he was killed. So instead they planned to steal it.”
He takes another sip of wine, moves another piece on the chessboard, and then continues.
“What no one saw coming was the Americans helping Nemikov fake his death. They helped him disappear. It was a masterstroke. You almost worked it out, though, didn’t you, Saul? You were suspicious that the timings around his death looked out of sync, that the van his car crashed into seemingly burst into a fireball all too conveniently. No one else got close: next time, trust your instincts. You nearly cracked it.”
He raises his glass in a toast and they both salute each other.
“What about Plushenko?”
“You don’t really want to know the details, Saul. Trust me.”
“How did he react when Nemikov returned from the dead and walked into the room with you in Zurich?”
“Let’s just say that he knew immediately that his time on the planet had come to an end. He’d reached the end of the line.”
“Did Nemikov really kill him?”
“No comment, Saul, I’m sorry. Official secrets and all that.”
“Was it all orchestrated or did we just strike lucky in the end?”
“Saul: the one weakness in the whole plan was the Americans’ failure to safeguard Nemikov’s wife and children. That was left in part to me and, in part, to the fortunes, or misfortunes, of Oleg Panich. He very nearly succeeded. If he had, we’d both be dead and the Russians would have won.”
“You came out on top, Ben. You’re the hero of the hour. We all owe you. Especially the Nemikovs. Do we know for sure whether the wife really was killed in Venice?”
“I don’t know. Jake Sullivan didn’t know when I asked him earlier. The working assumption is yes. We may never know. At least Olena and Borys live to see another day.”
“Go and see her, Ben. You would be good for each other at the moment.”
“Who?” Lewis says, studying the chessboard.
“Olena, of course, don’t be so obtuse. It’s the perfect match.”
Lewis shakes his head, then smiles, moving his queen to b6.
“Checkmate!”
He looks across the table at Zeltinger. Zeltinger studies the pieces and then sits back, nodding.
“You win, Ben. Congratulations!”
“Look Saul. Whether I happen to agree with your other assessment or not,” he says draining his wine glass in one pull, “one thing I do know,” he says pointing at the chessboard with his head.
“This particular match may not have been perfect: but it has been pretty good.”
They both laugh.
“Perhaps that’s a good omen, Ben.”
The End
Acknowledgements
Nothing gets written without a lot of patience and support from so many people out there – not least to all those who bought my first Ben Lewis book, The Dossier. Thank you to all who gave me so much encouragement to write another. I hope that I listened to what you told me along the way!
Special thanks must go to the continued patience and never ending support of my wife and two sons, each tirelessly giving me feedback – good and bad – and ideas along the way.
I am also hugely grateful to Sonia Land, my agent at Sheil Land. She has nudged, cajoled and actively encouraged me to write and has helped enormously with my growing relationship with Amazon. For us independent authors, Amazon and Kindle provide a great outlet to a worldwide readership and I have benefitted hugely from their continued support and promotion.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who really helped with the production of this book – especially Gabrielle from Sheil Land – without her painstaking work, the book would not look as good in its present form. Sadly, it does not just happen automatically. Also to Ginny, Maggie and Helena for their help in proof reading, oftentimes at ridiculously short notice. I really do appreciate it.