The Curious Case of the Missing Head

by Gabriel Farago

  ‘But we have to stop some time,’ said Silvanus. ‘We are all getting a little too old for this. We are just not hungry enough anymore. Our priorities have changed; families ... remember what almost happened in Cairo?’

  ‘A small mistake, that’s all,’ said Teodora.

  ‘We were lucky that time. We cannot afford slip-ups like that. It could have been a disaster. We could have lost everything.’

  ‘It won’t happen again,’ said Nadia, remembering the tiny timing error that had almost got them killed.

  Teodora held up her hand. It was time to cut through the hesitation and the doubt. ‘All right, guys, I hear you. Loud and clear. I am proposing one more assignment, admittedly our biggest and most ambitious yet. And the most lucrative by far. It would set us up for life—’

  ‘Are you serious?’ interrupted Silvanus. ‘Are you suggesting this could be our last assignment?’

  ‘I am. It could be our masterpiece and a most fitting way to go out and retire – on our terms.’

  ‘Let’s hear it,’ said Aladdin, his interest aroused. He could sense that his brother was interested too. He always followed his brother’s lead, and Nadia always did what her sister suggested.

  ‘All right. Let me start at the beginning. As you know, we were approached by the Giordanos. Nothing unusual about that. We have done business with them in the past very successfully so that part is sound and the money is safe. We don’t have to worry about that.’

  ‘But isn’t there another party involved?’ asked Silvanus, frowning. ‘Doesn’t that complicate things?’

  ‘Not really. I met Raul Rodrigo in New York and checked him out. He’s a lawyer working for the H Cartel in Colombia, one of the most powerful cartels in South America. I think we can work with him and his client. I don’t think his involvement should cause us too much trouble. The nature of the assignment doesn’t leave much room for client involvement or interference. It’s too complex. In essence, it would all be up to us. The real challenge here is the assignment itself. The logistics, the way we approach the obvious difficulties involved, deal with obstacles and the unexpected. That’s what this is all about.’

  ‘May we take it that you have completed your assessment?’ said Aladdin. ‘And can make a recommendation here, today?’

  ‘Yes, of course, except for one thing. The final bit. The delivery of the “subject” to his destination.’

  ‘And where might that be?’

  ‘Morocco. And before you start, I am meeting with Alessandro Giordano tomorrow to discuss this. I think I can see a solution. So for now, let’s ignore this part.’

  Always the consummate tactician, Teodora realised it was time for a break. An excellent lunch was about to be served, and the complicated and risky matters she had to raise would look a lot more doable, and less risky and dangerous after a good meal and a glass of wine or two.

  ‘In essence, this assignment is all about an abduction,’ began Teodora after the maid had cleared the table and withdrawn. ‘In a way, it isn’t all that different from what we did with that cleric in Istanbul a few years ago. However, this project is infinitely more complicated and dangerous. Why? Because of who the target is, and who is protecting him.’

  ‘Please continue,’ said Aladdin.

  Teodora opened a file on the table in front of her, took out a photo and pushed it into the middle of the table. It was a snapshot of a smiling Stolzfus giving a lecture to the CIA in Washington. ‘It’s all about this man, Professor Zachariah Stolzfus, a theoretical physicist, a genius, and one of the most influential scientists on the planet. He lives at the MSFC campus in Alabama, works for NASA, and is protected around the clock.’

  ‘Interesting guy,’ said Nadia. ‘Looks like a genius too ...’

  ‘And we are going to abduct him and hand him over to someone in Morocco?’ said Silvanus, incredulous.

  ‘Exactly,’ replied Teodora. ‘But there’s a lot more to it than that.’

  Silvanus sat back and watched Teodora carefully. For Teodora to make a recommendation in a complex matter like this, he knew she would have done her homework meticulously and had come up with a workable plan.

  ‘Stolzfus is single, lives like a hermit, virtually never travels, and certainly not outside the US. In fact, his contract doesn’t allow it.’

  ‘Great,’ said Aladdin.

  ‘Except on this one occasion,’ continued Teodora, smiling. ‘On the fifteenth of June, Professor Stolzfus will travel to London to attend a memorial service for his hero, the late Professor Steven Hawking, in Westminster Abbey together with several hundred illustrious invited guests, including representatives of the British Royal family.’

  For a while there was silence as the implications of what Teodora had just said began to sink in.

  ‘You obviously have a plan?’ asked Aladdin. ‘I can just imagine the security ...’

  Teodora gave him her best smile. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘And it was only possible because of a young hacker working in Ukraine whom we have used before. His fee is exorbitant, but he has been able to hack into all the necessary systems and sites and obtain all the information we need to make this work.’

  ‘Seriously?’ said Nadia, who hadn’t heard any of this before.

  ‘Thanks to our friend in Ukraine, we know exactly what Professor Stolzfus’s movements will be, when and how he will travel to London, the security arrangements, how he will get to Westminster Abbey, how long he will stay there, and how and when he will return to the US.’

  ‘Wow! You have been busy,’ said Silvanus. ‘Can you tell us more?’

  ‘Of course. Stolzfus will leave Joint Base Andrews, Maryland with his security detail late on the fourteenth of June in a plane provided by the US Air Force specifically for this journey. We’ll have the exact times. He will arrive at London Stansted Airport early in the morning on fifteen June, and will then be taken directly from the airport to Westminster Abbey to attend the service. Security will be provided by the Metropolitan Police and MI5. After the service he will return to Stansted, board his plane and fly back to Washington.’

  ‘Does this mean he will only be in the UK for a few hours? asked Aladdin.

  ‘Correct but—’

  ‘And we are going to abduct this man while he’s in the UK?’ interrupted Aladdin.

  ‘Oh yes and you, my friend, will play a pivotal role in all this.’

  ‘I will?’

  ‘Quite so,’ replied Teodora, enjoying herself. She took another photo out of her folder and put it next to the Stolzfus snapshot. It was a photo of an Eastern Orthodox priest with a long beard and wearing a flowing black cassock, a chain around his neck with a large gold cross, and a stiff black hat called a kamilavka. ‘This is Father Christos Alexopoulos from Athens. He is a prominent astronomer who will be attending the memorial service.’

  ‘And this is relevant because ...?’ asked Aladdin.

  ‘You will be taking his place.’

  ‘This is a joke, right?’ said Silvanus, shaking his head.

  ‘Far from it,’ replied Teodora, becoming serious. She knew it was time to play her trump card that would get everyone over the line. ‘We’ll have to come up with something ingenious and imaginative to earn the fee I’ve negotiated ...’

  ‘What kind of fee?’ asked Nadia.

  ‘Twenty-five million, US.’

  ‘What!’ Silvanus almost shouted. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Deadly!’

  8

  Port de Fontvieille, Monaco: 15 April

  Teodora left Villa Rosa just after sunrise that morning. She knew the drive to Monaco should take her no more than three hours, traffic permitting. Feeling elated after having persuaded Spiridon 4 to go ahead with the assignment, she was ready to meet with Alessandro on his yacht in Fontvieille harbour to tell him the good news, and to work out the remaining details.

  Named after the Greek goddess of speed, strength and victory, Nike, the Giordano family motor yacht – a magnificent, th
irty-metre customised Majesty 105 superyacht built by Gulf Craft in the United Arab Emirates – was permanently moored at Fontvieille and frequently used by Alessandro and his girlfriends to cruise the Mediterranean. During the summer he lived on the luxurious vessel for weeks and conducted his business from there.

  Teodora was on a high. She manoeuvred her powerful sports car – a Lamborghini Centenario roadster – carefully out of the garage and could hardly wait to take the stunning car with its powerful 6.5-litre V12 engine, which could go from zero to one hundred kilometres an hour in 2.8 seconds, through its paces. The winding road down to the coast would be perfect, and she was hoping that so early in the morning there wouldn’t be too much traffic to slow her down.

  Due to her exceptional driving skills and reflexes, Teodora was Spiridon 4’s designated driver. She was also the most accomplished at hand-to-hand combat. Nadia was the best shot by far and knew all about firearms. When it came to explosives and detonators, Silvanus’s expertise was second to none. Aladdin was the consummate actor with wonderful people skills, who could turn himself convincingly into another person at a moment’s notice, together with appropriate speech patterns, accent, appearance and mannerisms. He was a master of disguise and had also acquired excellent first-aid skills. These were just some of the valuable skills perfected over many years that had allowed Spiridon 4 to take on projects that would have been too daunting by far for others in their business to attempt.

  Teodora could still remember the day in 2016 when she’d placed an order with Lamborghini for a Centenario – and paid for it in cash. At that time she already owned an Aventador, another Lamborghini classic, on which the Centenario was based. Only forty Centenarios were built – twenty coupes, and twenty roadsters – to commemorate the one-hundredth birthday of Ferruccio Lamborghini, the famous founder of the company. Teodora preferred the roadster because driving with the roof down was the best way to experience speed, and the car’s exceptional performance. Teodora selected ‘sport’ mode and put her foot down, enjoying the roar and throb of the powerful engine as the car accelerated, heading south.

  Just after nine am Teodora turned into Fontvieille harbour and drove slowly along the waterfront, looking for the Nike. She had called Alessandro earlier on his mobile and he gave her directions to find the yacht. He also told her that one of the deckhands would be waiting for her on the footpath to park her car, which was apparently always a problem. It didn’t take Teodora long to spot the vessel moored in a prominent position along the waterfront.

  The deckhand, a wide-eyed young man, watched Teodora in awe as she got out of the car looking like a movie star and handed him the keys to the Centenario, which was already attracting the attention of passers-by, ogling the impressive car with interest.

  ‘Under three hours from Como; not bad,’ said Alessandro, helping Teodora to step on board. ‘But in that car, hardly surprising.’ He kissed her on both cheeks, Italian style, and took her by the hand. ‘I have a surprise for you,’ he said. ‘Come.’

  Teodora took off her headscarf and sunglasses, adjusted her hair and followed Alessandro into the mahogany-panelled saloon.

  Rodrigo was chatting to two young women seated on the lounge next to him as Teodora walked in. He put down his glass, stood up, and walked towards her. ‘Last time a surprise visit to my boring office in New York and now this,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘I think I prefer this, don’t you?’

  It took Teodora only a couple of seconds to adjust. She hadn’t expected to see Rodrigo that morning, but she suspected this had been carefully arranged by Alessandro, who obviously wanted Rodrigo to hear firsthand what she had to say.

  ‘I completely agree and I must say, this is very fortuitous.’

  They shook hands and Teodora let herself sink into the comfortable leather chair opposite. That’s when she noticed the two young women. One in particular took her breath away.

  ‘This is Claudia and Izabel,’ said Alessandro, pointing to the two women. ‘They arrived yesterday from Milan. Claudia just finished a fashion show.’ He reached for a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on the table in front of them and refilled their glasses. ‘Victoria’s Secret. Claudia is one of their angels. Izabel used to be one too, but is now one of the mentors looking after the younger girls,’ he added casually, and turned to face Teodora. ‘Champagne?’

  ‘Why not? Thank you. I don’t think I’ll be doing much more driving today,’ replied Teodora, sizing up the two women with interest.

  ‘What a gorgeous car,’ said Izabel. ‘We saw you arrive. Very impressive; very chic.’

  ‘A little passion of mine,’ replied Teodora casually. As she looked at Izabel she felt a shiver of excitement that she hadn’t experienced for a long time. So long in fact, that at first she hardly recognised it. It was a ripple of sheer desire triggered by the aura and the voice of the breathtaking woman sitting opposite, barefoot and with her long, tanned legs crossed. Teodora could just imagine Izabel strutting her stuff in front of the cameras in a striking, jewel-encrusted swimsuit.

  ‘Perhaps a little shopping this morning, darling,’ said Alessandro, addressing Claudia, ‘while Raul, Teodora and I have a little chat?’

  Claudia gave Alessandro a knowing smile. Being the girlfriend of a prominent Mafia boss, she was familiar with Cosa Nostra protocol. ‘Go shopping,’ was Mafia speak for leave us now and let us talk in private.

  ‘What a great idea,’ said Claudia and stood up. ‘Come, Izabel, let me show you my favourite shoe shop. I know you’ll love it.’

  ‘Lunch at twelve-thirty,’ said Alessandro as the two women left the saloon. ‘Make sure you are back by then.’

  Claudia stopped at the door, turned around and blew Alessandro a kiss. ‘Sure, darling,’ she said and followed Izabel onto the deck outside.

  ‘I invited Raul to join us,’ began Alessandro as soon as they were alone, ‘because of what you told me the other day ...’

  ‘That we’ve completed our assessment and were ready to give you our answer?’ Teodora cut in.

  ‘Precisely.’

  ‘I’m glad you did, because we have a little problem.’

  ‘Oh? What kind of problem?’ asked Alessandro, frowning. He didn’t like problems.

  ‘The delivery destination.’

  ‘Morocco?’ said Rodrigo, looking concerned. ‘Why is that a problem?’

  ‘This is a very complex and high-risk project,’ replied Teodora. ‘For that reason, we have decided not to involve outsiders. We’ll do everything ourselves, and we believe we can, except for one thing: taking the subject to Morocco. To do that, we would need to involve other parties and that, we believe, would be too risky in this case.’

  ‘How come?’ asked Alessandro. He didn’t like the way this was going.

  ‘Can you imagine what will happen when this high-profile celebrity is abducted while in the care of some of the best security services in the world that are supposed to protect him? MI5, CIA, the Metropolitan Police? In the middle of a much-publicised, world-class event, with live TV coverage reaching millions? Because that is precisely what we are planning to do, right? In this case, the getaway may be even more difficult than the abduction itself, because by then, we will have lost the element of surprise.’

  ‘Makes sense,’ said Rodrigo, nodding his head. He liked Teodora’s realistic, level-headed approach; she didn’t understate problems or brush aside obvious risks and danger. Rather than being disappointed, he found her candour encouraging; it inspired confidence.

  ‘I can tell you, all hell will break loose,’ continued Teodora. ‘Igniting a security frenzy and a blame game of finger-pointing with everyone running for cover. In a way, that’s good for us – we are always counting on chaos; it has served us well in the past. But this will immediately turn into a major political incident and the British Government will pull out all stops to get the good professor back and hunt down the perpetrators: us. To save face and avoid embarrassment, if nothing else. Believe me, this
will be huge and dangerous.’

  ‘But that’s not unusual. Most of your previous assignments, at least those we have been involved in, had such elements,’ said Alessandro. ‘Istanbul, Cairo, Rome ...’

  ‘True. But in this case, we cannot get the subject out of the country without involving outsiders. The problem here is transport. To fly him out is far too risky. All airports and even small airstrips will be off limits straight away. We would have to get him out by sea. It’s the only safe way and to do that, we need a suitable vessel, therefore, outsiders. As you know, Spiridon voted last night—’

  ‘I know,’ interjected Alessandro, ‘that’s why I asked Raul to join us.’

  ‘And I am glad you did. We have decided to take on the project, but only if we can hand over the subject in the UK.’

  ‘That won’t work for us,’ said Rodrigo, shaking his head and becoming agitated. ‘It’s Morocco or nothing. For the same reasons you have just outlined, the subject is useless to us in the UK.’

  ‘Understood. But there may be a solution,’ said Teodora, watching Alessandro carefully. He was an open book when it came to negotiations. His facial expressions and body language gave him away.

  ‘What kind of solution?’ he asked, sitting up like an eager schoolboy looking for answers.

  ‘It’s staring us in the face, Alessandro; literally.’

  Rodrigo smiled. He could see at once what Teodora was hinting.

  ‘We need the help of the goddess of speed, strength and victory,’ continued Teodora.

  ‘Nike!’ exclaimed Rodrigo.

  For a while there was a tense silence in the saloon as the implications of what she had proposed sank in.

  ‘Are you suggesting,’ began Alessandro, ‘that we use this vessel to take the professor out of the UK and then to Morocco?’

  ‘Precisely. If you agree to this, we’ll stay involved until he is safely delivered to Morocco as originally planned. For many reasons, Nike is the perfect choice. I believe you have a crew of five?’ asked Teodora, changing the subject. ‘Working for you, I’m sure the crew are most trustworthy, discreet and reliable. In short, the outsider risk goes away and we stay in control. We have already identified a suitable place on the south coast of England where we could rendezvous and take the subject out of the country, quickly. As usual, timing is everything here. We must stay a step ahead of the authorities at all times. That’s imperative! He could be on board the Nike and safely out to sea within a couple of hours. That’s all we would need. After that, we are a needle in a haystack in international waters.’