‘$400 billion!’ shot out from three mouths.
‘Perhaps in hindsight Starvel’s involvement with the Rite of Larmenius goes further. Velis was aware of his father’s misdemeanours and he did not halt this: he escalated it. Gile was undoubtedly aware, but back then I never saw enough of him to know for sure. By 2004, Starvel AG was probably 95% Starvel and 5% the Rite of Larmenius bank. Starvel was legit. Rite of Larmenius was probably 95-5.’
Cardinal Utaka removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes vigorously. Rogero leaned forward with a pensive expression but remained silent.
‘By 2003 at least seven other board members were involved with the Rite of Larmenius, but even they probably wouldn’t know what we’ve just been told. By then I was outnumbered. Velis asked me if I wanted more: I refused. Velis wanted me out and accused me of something, I can’t remember what, something about insider dealing. But that was just an excuse. He needed me out, I knew too much about the bank. By then I went willingly.’
Rogero exhaled strongly. He watched the emotion drain from Swanson’s face. ‘Why didn’t you tell anyone?’
Piercing eyes returned Rogero’s stare. ‘See, it’s against the law to reveal dealings of your clients, president.’
Rogero leaned forward, his expression remaining one of annoyance.
‘Besides. Had I said anything about Velis, the same thing would have happened to me that happened to Randy and the others.’ He stuttered momentarily. ‘And how the hell was I supposed to know about all this?’ he shouted, referring to the fraud. ‘I was never on the board of Leoni et Cie; I’d never heard of these Templars. Officially Gile was just the chairman, and not involved in the running of the bank.’
The banker inhaled, struggling to control his breathing.
‘But by the time I left I had other considerations,’ he said, his voice weaker than before. ‘By then my daughter was married and had recently given birth to little Millie. Things change when you have a family, sir. Things that once mattered were now insignificant. And Velis was aware of that. See, things like that don’t mean a goddamn thing to guys like him. And that’s where Velis had one over on me, and that was when I was fired. I mean, men like him don’t give a hoot about what matters. For him, family is something to show off, or, in the case of your enemies, something to get at. And they knew that,’ Swanson said pointing his finger. ‘And I would never let anything like that threaten my family.’
Thierry rose to his feet, shaking his head. ‘Personally I do not believe that Mr. Swanson is in anyway involved in this unfortunate scenario.’
Looks of surprise dominated the faces of most present. Mark remained neutral, though his expression suggested he agreed. Swanson looked weakly at Thierry, tears falling from his eyes.
Mark rose to his feet. ‘Without question Gilbert de Bois’s role as chairman allowed him significant insight into Leoni et Cie’s affairs. Yet, as Mr. Swanson quite rightly pointed out, he could not have done this alone. Nor could he have been able to move Roman Curia funds into and from the bank. Devére, himself, mentions key figures from the Vatican being in league with this organisation, and who better than one who has acted as an independent adviser for both Starvel and Leoni et Cie over the last ten years. And, it just so happens, that Mr. Lewis only became suspicious in the first place after inspecting transactions that have taken place since you were appointed chief executive.’
His eyes focused on Giancarlo Riva.
Gasps of astonishment filled the room, notably from the cardinals.
Riva looked at Mark with an expression of shock.
Mark: ‘According to Ged Fairbanks you have been a freelance consultant to Starvel for over fifteen years. He also speculates that you have been secretly assisting de Bois in manipulating Leoni et Cie’s accounts for over eight years.’
Riva rose to his feet. ‘This is an outrage. You don’t know what you are doing, none of you.’
‘Then perhaps you would like to explain this,’ Thierry said, removing a sheet of paper from his inside pocket. ‘It seems Mr. Lewis sent more than one email.’
Riva’s eyes widened. He looked at Swanson then Mark. ‘But this is preposterous,’ he said nervously. ‘Is that why you brought the Swiss Guard? You set me up? This was a trap?’
Riva looked around with awkward eyes.
‘You are all so pathetically wide of the mark: you call yourselves investigators? This is slander. You have no proof.’
He faced Cardinal Tepilo.
‘Eminence, please believe me, this is not true. Please you must understand.’
‘Understand?’ Tepilo said, standing, moving toward the Italian. ‘Understand that you are a traitor? That you’re in league with the Devil himself? That a master of the Rite of Larmenius has been acting as a Gentiluomo di Sua Santità, a councillor for the Vatican City? Giancarlo, I trusted you; everyone here trusted you.’
Riva banged loudly on the table and started shaking his head vigorously. His face was consumed by panic. He shouted loudly, his eyes focused on Cardinal del Rosi in the next seat.
‘Eminence, please, there has been an awful mistake.’
The cardinal stood and walked away from the table. Mike backed up slightly as Cardinal del Rosi retreated towards the wall. Suddenly Riva made a break for the far door.
Mike’s reactions were immediate. Had it not have been for the cardinal’s decision to move, his actions might not have been possible. Without giving any thought to anything else he dived across the vacant seat to Riva and sent him crashing to the floor.
49
The meeting was adjourned for over an hour. Mark and Thierry arrested Riva on the spot before summoning four halberdiers to escort the banker to the headquarters of the Vatican Police. Mark spent the next half hour chatting to Swanson about his knowledge of recent events whereas the other cardinals and bankers talked nervously among themselves.
Thierry re-entered the room shortly after and took his seat at the table. By now every other person had returned but the order of the meeting was lost.
Dominguez looked up. ‘We have spoken about Starvel, we have spoken about the Rite of Larmenius and I feel that this covers these Templar people.’ He paused momentarily. ‘Yet I feel we know little about how this affects our problem with Leoni et Cie and the finances of the Vatican Bank. That is where our attention must lie. Tell us, Mr. Swanson, about your relationship with Mr. de Bois.’
Swanson sipped quickly from his glass, gathering his thoughts.
‘Well, sir, Gile and I only met back in ‘97 after I returned to Starvel. We never particularly liked each other, but our paths rarely crossed. He and Velis on the other hand go back a long way. From what I’ve been told they met back in the late ‘80s at what the Rite of Larmenius call a “gathering”, a three-week jamboree of sorts located in the Swiss Alps, although I never knew for sure that Gile was a member. Velis’s background was in hotels, as I say, and de Bois in media. The idea of expanding Starvel must have been in their minds for some time. Starvel went from being the world’s most impressive corporate bank to a global conglomerate: its tentacles span banking, insurance, hotels, clearing and settlement, retail – you name it. By the time they met, Velis was already revered as something of a prophet when it came to business.’
Rogero nodded. ‘Why did de Bois leave?’
‘Well, sir, the official reason was that he wanted to concentrate on other ventures. Gile always has his fingers in a number of different pies. I was there for over four years following his departure and he and Velis never spoke or did business since. At least not as far as I was aware.’
‘If Velis really is the Grand Master of the Templars then he is the highest Rite of Larmenius there is,’ Mark said. ‘De Bois’s inclusion now seems straightforward. And all of these murders must have been carried out on their orders.’
Dominguez nodded. ‘Every business carried out by the Rite of Larmenius…no wonder Starvel has become so powerful.’
‘What do you know about the Rite of L
armenius, Mr. Swanson?’ del Rosi asked, his voice noticeably more calm than before.
‘Only what I’ve been told, eminence, I was never a member. I openly admit I was once a Mason but that was a long time ago. The Masons are fine. It was actually a current Starvel AG director who asked me to become a Mason, but I only lasted three years. That was one of the reasons I was ousted the first time. I’ve heard some stuff of the Rite, particularly about their rituals. Nothing concrete.’
Tepilo listened with interest, his eyes without judgment.
Mark: ‘The FBI in America is clearly aware of a possible link between certain members of the Rite of Larmenius and the murders. They have wanted to raid the secret lodges for some time. The chief reckons they could get enough evidence to open up cases on over three thousand murders between last year and the end of the Second World War. But there could be other indictments. Tax evasion, money laundering, embezzlement, larceny…the potential seems endless.’
‘Sir, I would love to see these guys crumble,’ Swanson said. ‘I will help in any way I can.’
Mark shook his head. ‘If Mikael Devére is correct then the Templar order has pulled off every major move on the world scene since the 14th century. Tearing down an order that has survived out of view for over six centuries is hardly gonna be a piece of cake.’
Thierry nodded. ‘I agree. However, we need not target their institutions. Just the simplest of evidence against the individuals in question could be the most devastating blow to political corruption since the war.’
‘Looking at the testimony of Mr. Devére, and the other contents found within his safe, there are probably only about eight men on the highest council,’ Mark said. ‘Perhaps a few hundred know of them. Most members of the Rite of Larmenius are probably just powerful businessmen looking for a little more. Nothing illegal. And Starvel is just a mechanism. We can’t imagine how the Templars operate but what we are sure of is that the Rite of Larmenius operate for the Templars and them only.’
‘To bring them down would require cooperation from the inside. Velis must have known about Devére and acted,’ Thierry shook his head, allowing a smile. ‘What better way to bring them down than by publishing your memoirs and announcing the identity of the secret rulers of the world.’
Gabrielle lowered her head, a stray tear forming in the corner of her eye.
‘Who are the other members?’ Utaka asked.
‘The original death warrants handed over to me by Mr. Devére confirm that seven people initiated the six deaths, so presumably that makes eight including him. Devére was one; US Senator Daniel D’Amato another; de Bois seems fairly likely,’ Mark said.
‘Lord Parker of England,’ Thierry said.
‘Alexander Broadie,’ Gabrielle said. ‘He’s my uncle’s colleague at Harvard.’
‘Harvard professor and known Rite of Larmenius master,’ Mark said, nodding. ‘Respected. Supposedly descended of the St. Clairs of Rosslyn, other known Templars. Possible distant cousin of Velis.’
‘Very well,’ Utaka said. ‘That leaves only two.’
‘Three, eminence: Devére would surely have been replaced by now,’ Mark said.
Cardinal del Rosi and Cardinal Tepilo looked on with interest.
‘How about Gullet?’ Mike suggested.
‘Unlikely,’ Mark replied. ‘Gullet was probably the go to guy. Probably had no other firm connections even if he is a Rite of Larmenius master. And there’s no way he would talk.’
Utaka nodded. ‘That leaves three mysteries.’
Swanson looked up. ‘If these guys do exist, any proof will probably be in the vaults of Starvel’s main headquarters. Ms. Leoni talked of old castles and churches in Rhode Island. That stuff’s medieval. Maybe these Templars claim ancestry of the Crusaders but god knows that’s no concern to the current members. Heck, they probably wouldn’t care anyway: they’ve bigger fish to fry.’
‘What are you getting at, Irve?’ Dominguez asked.
‘Agent Mäder referred to these guys being hunted by the Feds, Interpol and God knows who else. Evidence that this hitman from Campione d’Italia had files on these guys and hired a Jeep in Mauritius bears no connection to the order itself. The work of Walls itself is proof of Leoni et Cie’s financial failures, but it does not prove who was responsible. That and the testimony of Devére alone aren’t proof.’
‘Not proof,’ del Rosi slammed. ‘Nine men have been murdered.’
‘Mr. Swanson is correct, eminence,’ Thierry concurred. ‘To indict the order itself it would be necessary to dig further.’
Swanson: ‘Now, eminence, oberst, sirs, as y’all know, I used to work at Starvel. I know the layout; I know the vaults; hell, they even entrusted me with the restricted keycodes. Now I can’t promise everything will be there – heck, Velis has probably already destroyed the most important stuff. But if there is anything that proves the existence and guilt of these guys, it will be there.’
‘And what do you suggest?’ Rogero asked. ‘That you simply walk in and ask Mr. Velis for permission to see his files.’
‘No, sir, I do not suggest I ask him. But every bank has records. And Starvel as a whole probably has as much as the Vatican Library. The Starvel AG vaults are more select. Now I reckon I could get enough to indict every one of these Templars.’
‘Absolutely out of the question,’ Cardinal Utaka said. ‘The Vatican will not condone stealing. No matter how noble the intention.’
‘It wouldn’t necessarily be stealing, eminence,’ Mark said. ‘The FBI will get them sooner or later.’
Cardinal Tepilo’s expression softened. Cardinal del Rosi looked sternly at Thierry.
‘I’m afraid I must agree with Cardinal Utaka,’ Thierry said. ‘Neither the Vatican Police nor the Swiss Guard have the authority to break into the vaults of a bank in America.’
‘Then perhaps you would explain how Agent Markus obtained photographs of the contents of Gullet’s safe?’ del Rosi slammed.
Mark: ‘Eminence, I did indeed break into the office of Ludovic Gullet’s casino and I take full responsibility. It was my own decision.’
Mike smiled.
Swanson: ‘Eminence, I know Starvel inside out. I could get in with a little help. Officially the Vatican need know nothing about it. Although maybe if Agent Mäder could come with me.’
‘Absolutely not,’ del Rosi said.
‘I’ll do it,’ Mike said. All eyes turned to him.
‘Thank you, wachtmeister,’ Thierry said. ‘But we cannot allow this.’
‘I’ll do it,’ Gabrielle said.
‘My dear, please,’ Tepilo said.
‘Alright,’ Swanson said, ‘I’ll do it myself if I have to. Now I appreciate y’all feel I let you down. Only if it were my own risk I could be fine with that.’ He paused momentarily. ‘Just promise me you’ll protect my family if anything should go wrong.’
Silence followed.
‘Very well,’ Thierry said. ‘The Swiss Guard will watch over your family until this has all blown over.’
Swanson nodded gratefully. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose forcefully.
‘How the heck do you intend to pull this off, Irve?’ Dominguez asked. ‘I’ve been to Starvel’s base in Boston. It’s worse than Fort Knox down there.’
‘Wait,’ Gabrielle said, her voice echoing off the walls.
All eyes turned to her. She cleared her throat before speaking.
‘My friend Rachel used to work at Starvel. In fact, she was married to Velis. She still knows people who work there. They could provide Mr. Swanson with clearance.’
Mark looked at her with interest.
‘Out of the question,’ del Rosi said.
‘How would she do this?’ Mark asked.
‘Well, as I say, she still knows people who work there. I reckon if in doubt I could offer them a pretty good deal.’
A few minor laughs drifted around the table. Cardinal Utaka looked at her thoughtfully.
�
��You would be taking an almighty risk,’ Thierry said softly, ‘and her also. Her friends may lose their jobs. Or worse. You yourself...’
Gabrielle shook her head. ‘No. They’ll be fine. They won’t know. And I don’t care about me,’ she said, inhaling slowly. ‘I just want this to all be over.’
50
Boston, Massachusetts
The black hatchback pulled up outside the main headquarters of the Starvel Group at just after 10:30am. After identifying a vacant parking space approximately three cars down from the entrance, far enough away to avoid suspicion, the driver parked the car and switched off the engine. Seconds later, he opened the door and ambled leisurely towards the parking meter located on the nearby sidewalk. He shuffled his pocket for change and dropped the coins one by one into the meter: the electronic display suggested he had three hours. Once finished, he re-entered the car and closed the door behind him.
The driver was Mark. Replacing his official police uniform, he wore trainers, jeans, and a leather jacket over a blue t-shirt. He wore mirrored sunglasses to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight but also to disguise his regular checks in the rear-view mirror. The occasion was one for precision.
Sitting next to him was Irving Swanson. As usual, he dressed in the attire of a banker, identical in appearance to many individuals walking in and out through the revolving doors of the nearby building. On the back seat, Gabrielle sat next to Rachel who was clearly restless. Next on from her was Mike.
It was four days since the meeting at the Vatican. Since that time two further meetings had taken place and both had ended in disagreement. Nerves were setting in, the moods of all involved fragile, and accusations following the circumstances leading to Leoni et Cie’s financial fraud continued to fly. After accepting that Giancarlo Riva and the recently disappeared Gilbert de Bois were in some way responsible, and accepting that the fraud itself was coordinated by people from outside the Vatican, the cardinals eventually agreed to Swanson’s request to go through with his plan with the aid of Rachel who had bribed one of her friends working in records to loan her her keycard during a long lunch break. She assumed that if she was discovered she would get fired but Gabrielle promised to see her okay if that happened. The risk was worth it provided nothing further went wrong and, as far as the employee was aware, nothing would. Important bankers and lawyers lose important documents and keycards with regularity in the hustle and bustle of the rat race yet that was fine provided they did not end up in the wrong hands. Such mishaps seldom resulted in ill consequence – or at least that’s what the guys at the top like you to believe. Yet things marked private have a habit of doing so when privacy conceals secrets worth millions. Rachel knew that for a fact.
The Templar Agenda Page 48