The Lions Of Lucerne

60

They rode in silence toward the Munich airport as the long mono-wiper of Herman’s Mercedes beat a steady rhythm against the windshield and the steadily falling snow. Scot was processing the information Herman had spent the last hour sharing with him.

When NATO forces had been brought in to keep the peace in Kosovo, it had been divided into several sectors-French, German, Italian, and so forth. Despite the presence of NATO, emotions and tempers on both sides still raged very hot. Serbians had hit lists of Albanians they wanted dead and vice-versa. Much of this involved the ordinary citizenry, but there were also very high ranking military, political, and business people who had extremely nasty bones to pick with their enemies, but who were being watched so closely that they didn’t dare act.

Realizing there was a need for their services, a band of highly trained killers put themselves on the market in Yugoslavia. Nothing was beneath them. They had no problem killing, raping, torturing, or maiming men, women, or children…anyone was fair game as long as the price was right. What’s more, they specialized in assignments that were considered impossible. There was no security system they could not breach. No hiding place that couldn’t be uncovered. Once they had your scent, it was said, it was time to make your peace with God.

“You’re sure the killers were Swiss?” said Harvath, breaking their silence. “And the NATO soldiers acted as go-betweens?”

“That’s what my contact told me. Remember that much like Berlin after World War Two, Kosovo was divided into sectors controlled by troops from specific countries. As Swiss, the assassins were fluent in French, German, Italian, and English. They only interacted with the people right below the top of the different military commands. The ‘seconds.’ These soldiers were hungry for profit, and the killers took very good care of them. If there was an Albanian, a Serb…anyone in their sector that needed a job done, these soldiers arranged it.”

Scot had seen it before, and it made him sick. “Those soldiers were there to keep the peace, not to facilitate murders for hire.”

“What are you Americans so fond of saying, ‘War is hell’? Most of the NATO soldiers were risking their lives daily in a country that they hadn’t even heard of or thought about since geography class in primary school. Lots of people were getting rich. Why not them? And if a couple of bad guys want to rub each other out, who cares?”

“I understand the mentality, Herman; I just never agreed with it.”

“No, but that’s not what we’re talking about.”

“You’re right. I’m getting away from the point. So, we know that the hired killers were a group of Swiss. Do we know where they were from in Switzerland? Were they military? Police of some sort?”

Herman pulled at his large nose. “My contact stated that no one seemed to know where in Switzerland these men were from or what they looked like. No one knew what their background was, only that they were extremely qualified.”

“How were they contacted when a hit was to be ordered?”

“Through a series of dead drops.”

“What else did your contact tell you?”

“Apparently, the killers were known as the Lions.”

“The Lions? Why Lions?”

“I thought maybe the NATO soldiers gave the name to them to put more of a ‘face’ on the people they were dealing with, but my contact made it very clear that it was how the killers identified themselves. Just a whisper of the word was enough to send people into hiding.”

“Can you get any more information about them for me?”

“I don’t think so. The Lions supposedly stopped operating in Yugoslavia and could be dead for all we know.”

“Dead? They might be, but I doubt it. One thing is for certain, though, if they are alive and if these are the people I’m looking for, I promise you, they will be dead very soon.”