Duty and Honor

26

As far as Jack was concerned, Munich was a closed door to them, and he wanted to spend as little time in Zurich as possible. They were prey, and their only advantage right now was mobility.

Jack wanted to accomplish two things in Zurich: one, investigate the villa to which Effrem had tracked Eric Schrader; and two, do some digging into Alexander Bossard, the owner of the plane that had rescued Stephan Möller from the airstrip in Vermont. For Jack the question wasn’t so much whether Bossard was connected to Jürgen Rostock, but how exactly.

It was an hour before dawn, and ahead Jack could see the glow of Zurich’s skyline on the horizon. They’d made the two-hundred-mile trip from Munich in just over two hours; Jack had been on the autobahn before, but never at night. He’d found the experience at once exhilarating and exhausting.

After escaping the cabin and reaching the car, Jack had driven south to Munich, where he’d picked up Effrem and their luggage; they’d then gotten on the autobahn and headed west at top speed. Belinda, still suffering the effects of either the propane exposure or the shock of the incident or both, lay curled up in the Citroën’s backseat, a sweater tucked under her chin. Here and there, singed hairs jutted from her head like bent electrical wires.

Effrem was also asleep, his head resting against the passenger-seat window.

Jack hit a bump in the road and Effrem bolted forward, hands reaching for the dashboard. He blinked rapidly and looked around.

Jack said, “You’re okay. We’re a few miles outside Zurich.”

“Thank Cronkite,” Effrem said.

“Pardon?”

“Something I picked up from my mother. She’s an atheist. Walter Cronkite is as close to a God as she allowed in her life.”

“Were you dreaming about Möller?” Jack asked.

Effrem nodded. “I was still in the SUV. It was on its side and Möller was pouring gas through the sunroof.”

Jack decided to use this as a segue. “We need to talk about what happened at Kultfabrik.”

“About what?”

“I told you not to get out of the car. You got out of the car.”

“So? I was trying to help, Jack. I wasn’t about to let Möller—”

“What you did was hand yourself to him, and now we’ll be damned lucky if the Munich police aren’t hunting for us. If Möller had gotten you alone—”

“But he didn’t, did he? Things turned out okay.”

Jack felt a knot of anger forming in his belly. “That’s not the point, damn it. The point is I had a reason for telling you to stay put.”

“Which was?”

“One, to keep you out of the line of fire; two, to have you as another pair of eyes; three, as backup in case I needed someone followed.”

Effrem took a few seconds to answer. “I hadn’t thought about two and three.”

The irony of this conversation wasn’t lost on Jack. Change the words and the setting and it could have easily been an exchange between him and John Clark or Gerry Hendley. Plenty of times Jack had acted on well-intentioned impulse, but in tight spots good intentions didn’t make either you or those around you bulletproof. The difference between “Things turning out okay” and catastrophe often sat balanced on a knife’s edge waiting for that Guatemalan butterfly to flap its wings.

Now, suddenly seeing himself from the outside looking in, Jack felt his stomach churn. My God, how many times had he come close to getting someone killed without realizing it? Or almost blown an operation because he refused to pause, take a breath, and listen to someone else? Effrem was young and eager, and perhaps only now was he realizing the deadly seriousness of what they were doing. Jack had no such excuses. He’d had years to outgrow his impulsivity and yet he hadn’t. Why?

In fact, wasn’t this one of those times he should be pausing to reassess the situation? They were flying by the seat of their pants and Jack was at the stick. Was it time to make a call to Clark or Hendley? he wondered. And tell them what, exactly? The truth was, beyond being able to make a marginal case that Stephan Möller was a murderer, he had nothing but hunches and an ever-growing list of questions.

And now it was too late to call a halt. He had two lives in his hands. If he went home, Effrem and Belinda were as good as dead. The only help Gerry Hendley would — and could — offer was an escort to get them back to the United States safely, and a few well-placed phone calls to a higher authority. And then what? he thought. Hope someone else solved the problem? No. They were in the thick of it now. They had to keep moving and keep digging until Jack found a way to end it.

He realized he was gripping the Citroën’s wheel so tightly his hands were shaking. He was one of those idiot swimmers who paddle into the ocean only to realize they’ve gotten caught in a riptide.

Jack said, “Listen, Effrem, a lot of this is my fault. You shouldn’t be here. Back in Alexandria, I should have said no.”

“It wouldn’t have stopped me.”

“Maybe not.” Jack shrugged. “Either way, you need to hear what I’m saying: These people have tried to kill both of us, and they’re going to keep trying. We either stop now and call for help or we get our shit together and do this right.”

“I vote for that, the shit-together option.”

“Fine, but that means listening to me and doing what I tell you. If there’s time to explain, I will. Otherwise, just do it.”

Effrem nodded, then grinned. “So, when you say ‘Jump,’ I ask ‘How high?’”

“When I say ‘Jump,’ you do it, then ask when you can come back down.”

From the backseat Belinda called groggily, “What stinks in here?”

“Your hair,” Effrem replied.

“Right. And who are you again?”

“Effrem.” He jerked a thumb toward Jack. “I’m with him.”

Jack drove around the northern outskirts of Zurich until he found a suitable hotel, mid-priced and transient-friendly near the airport, then booked a room and put Belinda inside with a stash of food and water.

Her facial expression told Jack she wasn’t happy about the sequestration, but neither did she argue. Belinda Hahn had taken some body blows recently: her father murdered, a stranger arriving on her doorstep to suggest her own boss may be involved, and her cabin blown out from under her. Whether she herself recognized it, Jack knew she was still in shock. Sleep was the best thing for her right now.

Once satisfied with her promise to stay in the room, Jack drove the Citroën into downtown Zurich, where he picked up Alfred Escher Strasse and followed it to Lake Zurich. The sun was fully up and the lake’s flat surface acted as a mirror. Jack pivoted the Citroën’s visor to block the glare coming through his side window. In the hills surrounding the city, the pine trees were sprinkled with snow, and the lake ice had melted, save for a few car-size bergs.

The villa to which Effrem had tracked Eric Schrader sat on a stub of land jutting into the lake about halfway down its western shore and was sandwiched between two gated yacht clubs. With the exception of the latter, the location vaguely reminded Jack of his condo in Alexandria. That, and a price difference of five or six million, he estimated.

At Effrem’s direction, Jack turned right on Seestrasse, or Lake Road, then followed its meandering tree-lined course south until they reached the outskirts of the village of Wädenswil. Two more turns brought them to a frontage road not twenty feet from the shoreline.

“Out your window,” Effrem said. “See the stone pillars and the black wrought-iron gate?”

Jack did, but just barely. The villa’s driveway was obscured by tall, tightly packed hedgerows and overhanging pine boughs. Without slowing the Citroën, Jack scanned the entrance for signs of security but saw only a card reader mounted on a stone pillar. No cameras, no post for an attendant, and the ivy-covered wall on either side of the entrance was barely six feet tall, its crest made of smooth stone. Nor did Jack see any address placard. Ten feet through the gate, the driveway curved out of view.

Jack kept driving and the villa’s entrance disappeared in his side mirror. “And this is where Schrader stayed?” he asked.

“Like he owned the place,” Effrem replied. “Used the card reader to get in.”

“Have you done anything to find out who it belongs to?”

“Tried. When it comes to places like this, the Swiss treat property ownership the same way they treat their banking — with rigid privacy standards.”

“Unless I missed seeing something, the perimeter is a piece of cake. Whether there’s a security system on the house itself is another question.”

“I can’t believe I’m the voice of reason on this one, but what would we gain from breaking into the place? I’m guessing our hunch is right and it belongs to Alexander Bossard. What would we hope to find inside?”

It was a good question, and Jack didn’t have an answer to it. They were unlikely to find a cardboard box labeled “Clues” in one of the villa’s closets, but they had few leads, and only two in Zurich: this villa and Alexander Bossard. He wasn’t going to brush aside either of them without some due diligence first.

That reminded Jack of something: “Have we heard back from Hacker Mitch yet on his hunt for Gerhard Klugmann?”

“Hold on,” Effrem replied. He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text. The reply was immediate. He read it, then said, “He’s getting close. Today or tomorrow, he hopes.”

“Push him a little bit.”

After Zurich, unless they decided to knock on the front door of Rostock Security Group’s headquarters and ask to see Jürgen himself, they were out of leads. Getting to Klugmann was the kind of break they needed.

To kill time before nightfall Jack drove into Zurich’s Altstadt, or Old Town, to put eyes on Bossard’s office building. The Altstadt, also known as District 1, was a collection of perfectly restored medieval buildings, Romanesque churches, postage-stamp parks, and boutique shops and restaurants all contained within a maze of alleys and streets sitting astride the Limmat River. The place reminded Jack of a real-life Santa’s village. Jack saw few cars, but the sidewalks were crowded with what looked like locals and tourists alike, the former hurrying about their business, the latter stopping every few feet to take pictures or gape at their surroundings.

They found Bossard’s building near the Grossmünster — Great Minster — church, one of the city’s oldest and most recognizable landmarks.

“Built by the very hand of Charlemagne himself,” Effrem read from his phone’s screen. “Or at least he commissioned the original church on the site. It’s almost a thousand years old, if you can believe it.”

The bright morning sun highlighted a façade and stonework that were obviously well cared for. Jack replied, “Doesn’t look a day over eight hundred.”

“Turn left here.”

Jack made the turn, then one more, and pulled onto Limmatquai, which ran abreast of the river. As they approached it, Jack found himself surprised. Rather than a model of imposing medieval architecture, Bossard’s eight-story office building was just one among a line of unremarkable structures with cream or white façades and sharply pitched red-tiled roofs. If he hadn’t known better he might have mistaken them for hotels. The entrance to Bossard’s building was a lone bronze door beneath a green awning. A small gold plaque beside the door read 94 LIMMATQUAI.

“Did you ever go inside?” Jack asked.

“No, you want me to?”

“You feel up to it?”

Effrem nodded. “What am I looking for?”

Jack passed the building, found an open parking spot at the curb, and pulled in.

“Security cameras and/or guards, whether there’s a manned reception desk and if so what’s on it — computer, telephone, intercom, and so on. Are the elevators open or access-controlled—”

“You mean by key?”

“Or card. Same question if there’s only a stairwell. Also, is there a visible emergency exit or any doors that look like they might lead to a utility room or closet? When you get inside, if there’s a desk, just walk past it and head toward the stairs or elevators. See if you get a reaction, but don’t push it. Don’t be memorable.”

“And while I’m collecting this plethora of intelligence, what’s my excuse for being there?”

“Confused tourist.”

“If there are cameras, do I hide my face?”

Jack shook his head and smiled. “No, don’t do that. I also need a rough map of the lobby and its approximate dimensions. And if you see a business directory, find out which businesses are directly above and below Bossard’s floor.”

“Jeez, anything else?”

“No.”

Effrem pursed his lips and exhaled heavily. “I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got a stellar memory.”

“Don’t spend more than three minutes in there. Get moving.”

Jack had chosen Effrem’s time limit arbitrarily. He’d seen John Clark milk a first reconnoiter for twenty or thirty minutes and walk out best friends with the person he’d just subtly interrogated. In this case, Jack wanted to see if Effrem was going to follow orders.

Two and a half minutes later he emerged from the bronze door, walked back to the car, and climbed in. “Got it.”

They drove a few blocks and found a café overlooking the Quay Bridge, which separated Lake Zurich from the Limmat River.

“Let’s hear it.”

As though he’d given a surveillance report a hundred times before, Effrem described the building’s lobby: “Forty feet square, with a long horseshoe reception desk to the right, manned by a receptionist and a man in a business suit.”

“Did he stand when you came in?”

“Yes.”

“Did he smooth his tie or fiddle with his buttons when he stood up?”

Effrem frowned. “Uh, yes, actually. Why?”

“Habit. A lot of bodyguards pick it up. In a controlled environment, when someone unfamiliar pops onto their radar it’s a way of having their shooting hand halfway to their weapon. Keep going.”

“On the reception desk, there’s two telephones, one computer workstation, and a key-card reader mounted on the raised counter. Past the desk, a bank of elevators, stairwell door, and an emergency exit. I counted three cameras: one overlooking the reception desk, one over the front door pointing inward, and one at the elevators.”

The waitress returned with their coffee, then left again.

Jack asked, “Panning cameras or stationary?”

“Stationary.”

“Exposed or shielded by a hood?”

“The latter,” Effrem replied. “It didn’t look like the elevators or stairs required a key or card, but I didn’t get very close to them before the guard called me back to the desk. He was very polite, but very firm: This wasn’t the place I was looking for; please leave now.”

“Business directory?”

“None in sight.”

Jack took all this in and nodded. “Good job.”

“Thanks. What’s all that info mean?”

“That unless we want to go in hard, breaking into Bossard’s office after hours would probably get us caught, or killed, or both. Let’s hope the villa pans out.”

They sipped their coffee in silence for a while, watching the boats on the lake and soaking in the sun. Finally Jack asked, “What did that security guard look like?”

“Six-two, maybe, broad shoulders and blond hair. Why?”

“In the past ten minutes a green Opel cargo van has passed us three times. Now it’s parked down the street and across from that Starbucks. No one’s gotten out.”

To his credit, Effrem resisted the urge to turn around and look. He asked, “Can you see anyone inside?”

“Just one behind the wheel, but the sun’s on the windshield. I can’t see his face.” Jack wondered how many men could fit in the back of the van.

“What do we do?”

“Drink our coffee and wait.”

Their shadow belonged to either Rostock or Bossard, but how had Jack and the others been tracked here? While their foray to Zurich wasn’t unpredictable, the city was sizable and the bad guys had picked up their trail in record time.

Belinda. Jack dialed her cell phone, this one a burner she had no choice but to use, and waited through four rings before she answered. “Just checking in,” Jack said. “Everything okay?”

“Yes. Why? When are you coming back?”

“Soon as we can. Just make sure the door is locked. Don’t answer it for anyone but us.”

Jack disconnected. What now? He wasn’t about to lead this van back to the motel. The trick would be to either turn the tables on their shadow or shake him in such a way that it appeared unintentional. Once again here was a task where many hands would make short work, but Jack had limited hands, only one vehicle, and too little time for an elaborate plan.

He said to Effrem, “Get on your phone. I need a place that’s remote, but within fifteen or twenty minutes of here. Preferably somewhere with dead ends.”

“I doubt I’ll find it on Yelp, but I’ll have a look,” Effrem replied. He browsed for a few minutes then said, “There are a lot of little villages in the mountains west of here. The roads up there look pretty snaky.”

“That’ll do.”

They took their time finishing their coffee, then paid the bill and walked back to the Citroën. “Don’t look for him,” Jack warned Effrem as they climbed in and Jack started the engine.

With Effrem navigating again, Jack crossed the Quay Bridge, merged onto Bederstrasse with the rest of the lunch traffic, and headed west toward the foothills.

“He’s with us,” Jack said, glancing in his side mirror. “Four cars back, lane one.”

“Anyone in the passenger seat?”

“No.”

For the next ten minutes Jack kept heading west until finally they left the city behind and began climbing into the mountains. Almost immediately the van began losing ground. It pulled onto the shoulder, waited for a line of cars to go by, then did a U-turn and headed back toward Zurich.

“He’s not playing,” Jack announced.

“Or he wasn’t following us,” Effrem replied.

“Maybe.”