by Peter Kozmar
“The British Prime Minister?” Gamzova said with mock surprise.
“Yes, and their Foreign Secretary.”
Gamzova took another sip of her drink and leaned back in her chair.
Andy shifted in his seat as he asked, “But why are you here?”
“There are a series of contracts for Iraq being placed by the United Nations for reconstruction and infrastructure. The UN, the IMF and the World Bank are providing the funds. They voted to create a single contracting entity, a company called Sunrise Phoenix, headed by an American. Soon there will be another vote in the UN to allow Sunrise Phoenix to place contracts without any supervision or oversight. Their reason is having less bureaucracy will help speed things up,” Gamzova paused, “I’m sure you can work out what’s going to happen.”
“How much are we looking at?”
“Between two-hundred and two-hundred-and-fifty billion dollars.”
Andy took a large swig of his drink, wishing it were alcoholic.
Gamzova took another sip of her drink before she spoke, “Maybe I can help you.”
“How?”
“I’ll make some enquiries.”
“Okay,” Andy said positively.
“We’ll meet again, the day after tomorrow, here for breakfast. If I can help, I’ll let you know then.”
“Oh, one more question.”
“Go on,” Gamzova invited.
“Have you ever heard of Prizm?” Andy asked.
Gamzova looked thoughtful for several seconds as she mulled over the name before she replied. “No, it’s not a name I’ve come across in my investigation so far, why do you ask?”
“I saw it written down somewhere and wondered whether it meant anything. Oliver Knight clammed up when I raised it with him.”
Gamzova shrugged, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you there.”
They finished their drinks and headed to the Patara restaurant.
CHAPTER 37
Andy used most of the following day to review the data he’d collected during his investigation and study in more detail the photographs he’d taken at each of the locations in New Zealand. He enjoyed the distraction of emailing Hobbs on her personal email account to wish her well in her new role and hoped she’d settle in quickly. He’d told her that he’d uncovered information about the POTUS which he’d need to share with someone at the White House when he was back in the States, which he thought would be soon.
He took another walk around the city and dined at an Italian restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. He was constantly checking he hadn’t got any shadows and took the precautions his training had taught him to make sure he was alone.
With eager anticipation of what the next day would bring, Andy made for an early night. A day of fresh air and walking the city helped him slip into a deep sleep without any accompanying nightmares. The next morning he woke feeling refreshed for the first time since he’d seen Mark die.
Just after nine, Andy was sat in the hotel’s breakfast room when two young, athletic men, wearing ill-fitting suits, walked in and scanned the room. One of them turned his head and spoke quietly into the lapel of his suit. As the man turned, Andy briefly caught a glimpse of the tell-tale, clear plastic curly chord which ran from his earpiece down his shirt collar to his radio.
Two minutes later Gamzova caught several glances from the other male diners as she walked confidently over to Andy’s table. As she sat down a waiter appeared and she ordered a black coffee. Her two minders sat a few tables away watching the room. After the initial pleasantries, Andy got onto the pressing matter at hand. “Do you think you can help me?” he asked, hoping the answer would be yes.
Gamzova smiled, “You’re in luck.” She reached into her attaché case and removed a brown paper folder which contained a wad of paper files. She held the folder up briefly before handing it over.
“What is it?” Andy asked curiously.
“It’s the names and reference numbers which you’ve been missing. We also have the trust fund names and details of the beneficiaries for each fund. In case you think there is an error when you go through the data, you’ll see some names belong to multiple trusts therefore receive multiple payments. It’s not an error.”
“Is this from Kavell, Knight and Schroder?” he asked.
The waiter arrived with Gamzova’s coffee, then took their breakfast order. When he was gone, Luba turned back to Andy and said, “You know I can’t tell you where these came from, or how I got them. But that doesn’t stop you from using the information.”
“Is it stolen?” he asked, as it would raise serious issues and a firm of lawyers who specialized in hiding information from prying eyes would have a field day in court.
“Nothing is missing from their offices so, technically, nothing has been stolen, copied maybe, but not stolen. They should check their locks more carefully night,” she paused, “or be more careful of who they employ.”
Andy chuckled, he knew that if it were the latter, that person would have been paid handsomely to risk copying the files. To access the ledger they would be in a position of trust without raising any suspicions. “If I can match the names, references and transactions from the two sets of documents, I can figure out who’s involved.” Andy went silent for a minute before he spoke in a near whisper, “Will I learn who hired the gunman?”
“I don’t know, only you have the pieces to the puzzle, but I’m confident that you will piece the evidence together and work out the bigger picture.”
The waiter arrived pushing a silver cart with their breakfasts covered by two enormous silver domes. He theatrically unfolded Gamzova’s napkin and, ever so carefully, placed it on her lap. He repeated the move with Andy. With the same grandiose fashion he lifted one of the domes to revealed Gamzova’s breakfast and placed it in front of her, repeating the move for Andy.
A second waiter appeared at and removed a silver flask from the lower shelf of the trolley. He twisted the cap and poured Gamzova’s coffee before moving on to pour Andy’s. With their breakfasts served and their coffees poured, the two waiters retreated with their trolley back to the kitchens.
“I think I’ll leave you with some additional security while you figure things out,” Gamzova said as she picked up her cutlery and prepared to tuck into the perfectly presented food in front of her.
“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll be fine,” Andy replied as he followed her lead.
Gamzova leaned over and placed her hand on his and held it firmly while she spoke quietly, but firmly, “It isn’t an offer which you can decline. While you’re in Switzerland, you will have our protection. This order came from Moscow,” She pointed skywards with the index finger of her free hand, “from the highest authority.”
He couldn’t refuse her help and she wouldn’t disobey her orders, so he nodded his understanding. She released his hand and the two of them tucked into their breakfasts unaware that in the corner of the dining room a listening device was trained on them.
The Listener heartily ate his breakfast safe in the knowledge he was recording every word. The extra security could be a problem for him and, if tasked to kill the target, he’d have to carefully consider his approach.
After they had finished, Andy stood and gave Gamzova a warm embrace. He thanked her before he headed to his suite with the file she’d given him. The two young men stayed close to Gamzova while two others appeared from the lobby and tagged onto Andy as he made for the elevator.
When Andy reached his suite and held the door to let them in behind him, he thought they’d only be conspicuous standing outside and they’d do a better job if they were closer to him.
In his suite Andy gestured to the chairs in the entrance way for them to sit. He moved further inside and placed the file on the large mahogany writing desk. Next, he went into the bedroom and removed the papers he’d found behind the picture frame at Fiona’s from his case. He returned to the writing desk and sat. Finally, he could follow the money trail and joi
n the dots together.
For the next hour Andy carefully compared the two sets of data. When he believed he’d finished, he sat back and admired his results. He’d mapped it out. All of it. The UN had a problem and Andy believed The Secretary General needed to know the scale of the abuse. How can I contact The Secretary General of the United Nations without raising any suspicions? Should I call Amy Carter? But then she would have to involve Marcel Durand.
Then he remembered he held the business card from the Governor General who had said they had a direct line to The Secretary General of the UN. So what if it’s late at night! I’m sure they’ll pick up. Their job is twenty-four-seven.
He got out his cell phone, removed the Governor General’s business card and dialed.
***
Once Gamzova and Flint had left the breakfast room with their respective security details. The Listener put his headphones on and replayed the recording he’d just made. Certain of his facts, The Listener opened his laptop and prepared, then sent, a secure email. Five minutes after opening his laptop, The Listener closed it down, paid for breakfast and headed across town to his hotel.
Still feeling the effects of jet-lag, he decided he’d rest while he waited for the reply. Three hours later, The Listener’s laptop gave an alert that his reply had arrived. He sat up from his bed, unlocked the screen and opened his message. The instructions were brief: Fly to New York via London.
He was to travel under his British identity. A copy of his airline tickets were attached to the message. He opened the attachment. He was relieved to see the tickets were for Business Class so he could have a good sleep on a flat bed. He checked his watch. His flight to London was due to leave in four hours. He had time for a quick shave and shower before checking out and heading to the airport. The message ended: Further instructions to follow.
CHAPTER 38
Andy looked out of the cabin window as the Swissair Airbus accelerated down the runway on its short hop to London where he’d catch his connecting flight to New York. The beautiful scene below mesmerized him as they climbed over Lake Geneva. A few minutes later they were clear of the lake, out of the valleys and looking down on the stunning snow-capped peaks. The afternoon flight out of Geneva reminded him of Queenstown airport and the rugged mountain views he’d seen in New Zealand.
When the fasten seatbelt sign went out, Andy resisted the urge to grab his bag from the overhead luggage locker and review his analysis of the data again. A few minutes later one of the stewards arrived with the complimentary drinks trolley. Andy looked at the miniatures and could smell the open bottles of wine. His mouth salivated, his palms became sweaty and he felt uncomfortably warm. Andy averted his gaze from the drinks and asked for a black coffee and iced sparkling water. The steward poured Andy’s drinks and moved on. It took a good while before his heart rate dropped back to normal as the panic he felt dissipated. He hoped one day it would get easier for him to say no to a drink.
He sipped the chilled water to clear his palate and reflected on his conversation with the Governor General. Even though his conversation had been brief, he was impressed with the efficiency of the UN machine as they organized his flights to New York and arranged his face-to-face meeting with the Secretary General. Andy looked at his watch. He still had over an hour before they would be making their descent into London Heathrow. The aisle seat next to him remained empty. With privacy assured, the need to review the files took over. He unbuckled, stood and removed his small backpack from the luggage bin.
Moments later he was looking at the data again. Something had been bothering him since going through the data at the hotel. After a few minutes he spotted a pattern. Every seven days funds would move from the UN to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands controlled by the Government of Iraq. Why did it go into an offshore account and not into the Central Bank of Iraq?
As he worked through the paper trail it suddenly became clear. Within twelve hours the account was emptied and the money split four ways to shell companies administered by Kavell, Knight and Schroder. Three hours later those accounts were also emptied and the funds transferred to sixteen trust funds across various tax havens.
Gamzova had not only provided the data to translate between the banking transfer reference numbers, the shell companies, and trust funds, she’d also included information around the establishment of the Trusts. He found copies of identity documents: passports, driver licenses and utility bills to prove the domicile addresses of the Trustees. Andy was looking at the personal details of political leaders from across the globe, including the UK, Italy, South Africa, Nigeria, Ukraine and Mexico amongst others.
Andy saw a larger one-off payment move from the UN to a shell company registered in Jersey in the Channel Islands, a company controlled by Kavell, Knight and Schroder. The funds moved to a trust fund in Bermuda. Andy looked at Luba’s data to cross reference it. After a few minutes of searching he found the beneficiary: Charles Morley-Wood, the British Prime Minister.
Andy re-read the transcripts of the conversations between Morley-Wood and Michael Webb at the UN. After what felt like only a few minutes, the captain’s announcement that they would shortly be commencing their descent into London, broke his concentration. Andy gathered his papers, placed them in his backpack and returned it to the overhead locker.
He returned to his seat and watched the sun setting over London. The sky changed its hue from bright orange to blood red as the day ended and darkness approached. Andy could make out various landmarks, the London Eye, a red light flashed from the top of Canary Wharf. He could see the Shard, The Houses of Parliament and St Paul’s Cathedral. He looked down on trains entering and leaving a mainline station and watched the long strands of red and white lights from the miles of commuter traffic slowly heading home. Andy never grew tired of the view out of the window as he looked down at the small houses, industrial units and lines of cars.
As the aircraft turned, Andy could see the flashing lights of three other aircraft stacked in front of them as they made their final approach. The Airbus levelled out, its flaps starting to extend and the aircraft groaned as the landing gear lowered and locked into place. The drop in speed made the aircraft pitch nose upwards as it started to stall. The engines whined as the pilot applied more power enabling the Airbus to continue on its smooth glide path. Moments later they were over the airport perimeter fence and then over the runway with the flashing lights on the ground rising up to meet them. Andy felt a gentle bump as it touched down and heard the engines roared as the brakes were applied.
The aircraft quickly taxied off the main runway and made its way to the terminal building and closer to his international transfer. Andy was looking forward to the British Airways flight and the opportunity of a few hours’ sleep before arriving in New York. Over the cabin intercom came the announcement that electronic devices could now be switched on. Another announcement soon followed which informed passengers making an international transfer didn’t need to clear immigration or collect their baggage as it would be checked through to their final destination. Andy smiled to himself as he knew his Business Class baggage would be waiting for him in New York, tagged with a red ‘Priority Baggage’ tag.
Two seats behind Andy, The Listener switched on his cell phone. Several seconds later it had registered onto a UK mobile network. The cell phone showed a secure message had arrived. The Listener unlocked his phone and read the brief message.
Kill Flint.
CHAPTER 39
Andy quickly left the aircraft and headed down the long glass-walled walkway from the airbridge into Terminal Two. He followed the purple signs for the flight connections center and his flight to JFK. Even though he knew which terminal he was flying out of, Andy checked his ticket again. Yep. Terminal Five.
He glanced at the information boards which advised he needed to allow seventy-five minutes to make his connection. His route took him passed several duty-free shops selling a wide range of spirits, fragrances and jewelry. Andy
reflected that not too long ago he would have browsed through their aisles studying the different Bourbons and Brandy while calculating the allowance he could carry to his destination. Today, he didn’t have any interest in them.
Continuing to follow the purple signs Andy was led to a large waiting area where airport staff greeted him, checked his boarding pass and told him he’d need to wait a few minutes for the next shuttle bus. While he waited in the transit area other travelers heading to Terminal Five joined him.
They were a mixed bunch. Some, like him, were travelling solo, there were a few couples and a large group of South Koreans who were being marshalled by a lady who waved a small South Korean flag in the air. She continually watched her charges and barked stern instructions when one of her group strayed even slightly away.
Andy’s eyes briefly caught sight of the young man travelling alone who had been a few rows behind him on the Swissair flight, but paid him no further attention. After a few minutes, the airport staff announced the shuttle bus had arrived and advised the passengers to move towards the closed glass doors.
The Listener moved steadily closer to the doors and took his position casually behind Andy.
When the doors opened, the passengers slowly shuffled through the doors, down a flight of concrete stairs and onto the waiting airport bus. The bus filled quickly, its doors closed and headed away from Terminal Two to thread its way around Terminal Three, passing several parked aircraft, and on to its destination. Andy looked out of the window at the parked aircraft and saw ground crews busy cleaning, resupplying and refueling for the next flight.
The bus pulled away from Terminal Three heading towards the perimeter track. Andy watched as Terminal Five loomed larger until it towered over them like a breaking wave. The bus came to a halt and parked in the belly of the great structure. The doors opened, and Andy was the second passenger to alight from the bus and walk through the automatic doors into the terminal.