Poseidon's Ransom

Chapter Twenty Eight

As the train passed through the outskirts of Sarajevo, Jack watched as the still ruined and burnt out buildings, flashed past, the legacy from one of the most brutal conflicts in modern history. Jack thought he saw the slightest of tears in his friend’s eyes, as he too took in the derelict and forgotten home-ships.

‘Back in the badlands, buddy.’

The big man nodded and said nothing.

‘Lost friends?’

Bogdan nodded again in silence.

Jack’s smartphone beeped, breaking into the pair’s reveries. He swiped the screen and said, ‘Mitri. How are you? Everything okay?’

‘Hello, my boy. I’m fine, everything’s fine with me. How about you?’

Bogdan saw the puzzled look on his friend’s face.

‘Whatsup, Mitri?’

‘Where are you, Jack?’

‘We’re just coming into Sarajevo. Why, what is it, sir?

‘We’ve received a rather cryptic message.’

‘Okay? About what?’

‘You, Jack.’

Jack frowned. ‘Saying what?’

‘Olga’s forwarding it to your phone as we speak.’

‘Okay, hold on please.’

Bogdan said quietly, ‘Problem?’

Jack shrugged, as his smartphone pinged the incoming message. He opened the photo, then turned the screen to Bogdan. Jack read the message, and it too was shown to his friend.

‘Where did you get this, Mitri?’

‘Came into Olga’s company email.’

‘Okay. Can’t really talk here, we’re still on the train. I’ll call you back when we get someplace a little more private, sir.’

‘Very well. Take care, my boy.’

Sarajevo Central looks more like an old-fashioned airport terminal, than a rail station. Built in the 70’s by the Former Soviet Union and, with its curved central structure and high arched roof, speaks to an era long gone. Nowadays, this rather large edifice is far too big for the number of trains it services.

Their train pulled into the unwelcoming platform and Jack and Bogdan disembarked with the rest of the arriving passengers. The weather was warm and pleasant, and the morning sun shone in a cloudless sky. They made their way to the exit and across the large square at the front of the terminal.

‘There,’ said Bogdan, pointing to a small hotel on the far side of the main road.

Jack nodded, and they headed for the hostelry.

The interior had been modernised and was far more hospitable than the exterior would suggest. At the rear was a large garden area, which was set out as a restaurant and currently serving breakfast.

‘This’ll do, buddy,’ said Jack

‘Da,’ said the big man, ‘I’m starving.’

They took a table in the corner, under the shade of a small olive tree.

In broken English, a young woman bid them good morning, then, pointing to a small service counter, said, ‘Please help to buffet. I bring tea coffee?’

‘Tea, please. Two,’ said Jack, showing two fingers to ensure understanding.

The woman smiled and left.

‘You gonna eat, boss?’

‘Yeah, in a minute, buddy. I’ll call Dimitri first. You go ahead.’

The phone rang once. ‘Jack.’

‘Mitri, Hello again, sir.’

‘What are you up to over there, Jack?’

‘Can’t say too much, sir. This line is not totally secure.’

‘I understand. So, what do you think about the message?’

Jack paused for a few seconds, then said, ‘I had some unwelcome guest in my room last night.’

‘Are you okay, my boy?’

‘A few bruises and a sore head, but nothing serious.’

‘I don’t know why you still get involved with this kind of thing, Jack.?’

‘With respect, Mitri, now’s not the time.’

‘No, of course. You were saying?’

‘Just a second, sir.’ Jack waited as the woman left the tea-pot. He nodded thanks and put the phone back to his ear. ‘So I guess we were being watched, but by whom? The message was not threatening, so maybe they do wish to help? But who are they?’

‘I’ve been thinking about that, Jack. Olga managed to source the origin of the email. She tells me the IP address was somewhere in Italy. Most likely Florence.’

‘Okay. Not sure what that means, Mitri.’

‘I think I might. Can you give me an hour or so?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Good. Sit tight and I’ll get back to you.’

‘Will do. Thank you Mitri. Oh, and, sir.’

‘Yes?’

‘No mention of this if you’re speaking to Nicole.’

‘No, of course not, my boy.’

The line went silent.

Bogdan returned with a large plate piled high with cheese, smoked sausage, olives, boiled eggs and bread. A second plate held half a dozen Danish pastries.

Jack grinned. ‘A bit peckish are we, big man?’

Bogdan took his seat and poured some tea. ‘Da.’

Jack poured some tea and helped himself to one of the pastries. Bogdan looked like he was about to cry. ‘Calm down I’ll go and get some more.’

The Russian grinned as he loaded cheese and sausage onto a thick slice of crusty bread.

‘What did Orlov say?’

‘He’s gonna make some enquires, getting back to us. We’ll sit it out here before we make our next move.’

Bogdan nodded as he chomped away on his food.

Jack swiped his smartphone screen and waited. ‘Jack.’

‘Good morning. darling.’

‘You ok, Zaikin?’

‘I’m fine babe. How’s the girls.’

‘Playing up this morning. Svetlana is having trouble getting them ready. And I have to go into London for a meeting.’

Jack smiled. ‘Svetlana’s been their nanny since the day they were born, babe. She’ll cope.’

‘Where are you, darling?’

‘Still in the Balkans. Moving on soon.’

‘To where?’

‘Not sure yet but I’ll stay in touch.’

‘Okay. Be careful, Zaikin. I love you.’

‘Love you too Nikki. Kiss the twins.’

‘Okay, bye.’

He tapped out a message and then made a second call. ‘Jack. Good morning.’

‘Morning Matt. How y’doin?’

‘Fine, but what about you? You okay?’

‘Yeah, okay. Few bruises, a sore head.’

‘What’s this you’ve just sent, Jack?’

‘That picture and message was sent to Dimitri.’

‘From whom?’

‘Dimitri’s working on that as we speak.’

‘Right.’ The line went quiet…

‘Matt?’

‘Yes, Jack. Okay, I think you should get back here for the moment. You’ve discovered where the funds went, so there’s a good chance the government can get them back. Or at least most of it.’

‘It’s your call, Mathew. You’re the boss. But let’s wait and see what Dimitri comes up with first, eh?’

‘Fair enough. You secure for the moment?’

‘Sure. We’re sitting in the sunshine having breakfast. Bogdan thinks he’s on holiday.’

Mathew laughed. ‘How’s he doing?’

‘He’s good. Saved my arse last night.’

‘Give him my regards.’

‘Talking about last night, we saw on the news that Silvio Schlovan and his wife were murdered.’

‘Jesus, Jack. That’s it, get back here.’

‘Calm down, bro.’

‘Don’t you see, Jack? To all intents and purposes, you were the last to see them alive. It could look like you killed them.’

‘Never thought of that. Thought they’d been killed because he gave us information. Was surprised how fast he was taken out though.’

The line was silent again…

‘Mathew?’

‘Yes, I’m here. The bank must have a ghost server somewhere.’

‘Ghost server? What the hell’s that?’

‘It’s a duplicate server that monitors every transaction, every log-in, anything that has gone through the bank’s server is mirrored on the ghost server.’

‘Right, like a Big-Brother overwatch.’

‘Yes. With operatives monitoring 24/7.’

‘Silvio must have known they would be able to see what he was doing.’

‘Yes. And they killed him for it, Jack.’