‘Have you noticed anything strange happening around him? Have the Americans tried to get close to him?’
‘Not for the time being. They just pour his money into a Berne bank account.’
‘Any information could be very precious.’
Azzoni rubbed his thumb and index finger. ‘You pay, we inform. The first piece of news is that the Emperor is about to leave Evian.’
The man gave an involuntary jerk of the head. ‘He wasn’t expected to leave town before the end of the conference.’
‘We know. But Bao is dying to go and enrich the casinos of the Côte d’Azur. He leaves in a few days, and we’re going with him.’
‘How did you plan to stay in touch with me?’
Mariani butted in. ‘What do you think of homing pigeons, Monsieur Verne? I’ve always been fascinated by the way they find their bearings. I’ve always wondered whether they can only find their way home, or whether they can go in the other direction as well.’
Azzoni silenced him with a gesture. ‘We will communicate our movements by phone, with the code that you used to contact us. Although beforehand, we will check the payments into our current account, obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ repeated the man.
Mariani did a half-military salute, bringing his hand to his straw hat. ‘Agents Vladimir and Estragon, ready and waiting.’
The man smiled, it would not be easy to write a report on these two.
General Serov would disapprove.
He got to his feet, brushed down his raincoat and rolled up his bag.
‘It’s a shame you no longer believe in history, gentlemen. Because you are fighting for the right side. If you were aware of it, you would do it better, and it would fill you with pride.’
Azzoni took his straw hat and put it over his heart. ‘Did you hear that, Lucien, I want you to write this on my tombstone: “Here lies a fool who fought on the right side and never knew it”.’
His friend did the same thing and, with a contrite air, almost weeping, said, ‘Poor Jean, while waiting for Godot he made a pile of money and never knew why. He died sad and broken, without a cause to fight for. And nonetheless they will bury him in the Kremlin.’
The man didn’t know whether to laugh or tell them to go to hell.
‘Goodbye, gentlemen. Enjoy your day.’
The two men waved their hats in unison.
Mariani spoke in an affected voice. ‘Pass on our greetings to the Central Committee, and tell all the comrades there’s one author they really must read, his name is Karl Marx, remember that!’
The man did not turn around.
General Serov would disapprove.
Chapter 15
KGB archive, report no. 22227 Classified: level 1 Decryption code: 43 From: resident 04, ‘Jules Verne’, Geneva, Switzerland Date: 22.5.54 Object: information recruitment
I communicate that information recruitment concerning Operation Indochina has taken place according to orders received.
There are two subjects at issue.
Jean Azzoni, born in Lyons on 14.2.1920 to a French mother and Italian father, higher education, bachelor, declared profession: actor.
Of communist family, he has always declared himself to be such, but has never been a member of the French Communist Party or any other left-wing organisation. On more than one occasion he has shown his disapproval of the policies of the Soviet Union. Studied for three years at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Paris (1937–40). When the Nazi invasion took place he escaped to the south and lived by his wits, until he joined the partisan formations. Between 1942 and 1944 he was involved in several undercover spying operations on behalf of the Resistance. Has demonstrated the same qualities working as an actor in a popular Parisian theatre between 1947 and 1953. His flaunted opposition towards the French colonial occupation of Indochina is sincere and tested. He declares himself to be an admirer of Ho Chi Minh, and equates the Foreign Legion with Hitler’s SS. In 1952 he was approached by French resident no. 03, and showed an interest in working for us. He skilfully exploited the infatuation of a young admirer employed by the French Ministry of the Interior to acquire information and pass it on to our resident in exchange for an agreed fee. He currently lives off smuggling and fraud at the expense of wealthy businessmen and Parisian entrepreneurs.
*
Lucien Mariani, born in Nantes on 22.5.1921 to Italian parents, bachelor, declared profession: actor.
Of libertine tendencies, he professes himself to be a ‘communist and libertarian’. He spent eighteen months in a reform school for theft (1937–38). In 1940 he joined the French army. When the Maginot Line was broken, he deserted and went into hiding. Under the Nazi occupation he survived for a few months by stealing from blackmarket traders. Subsequently he moved to the South and joined the Resistance, among the ranks of the ‘maquis’, where he met J.A. Together they carried out some sabotage operations against the German army, showing great inspiration and cunning. A reasonably good expert on explosives, known for his loose tongue and eccentric manners, between 1948 and 1952 he scraped a living by performing as a character actor in a Parisian bar of ill repute frequented by intellectuals and decadent artists. His irreverent imitation of Marshal de Gaulle was reported to the police. From 1952 he has been associated with J.A. in the same semi-illegal activities. L.M. also entertains a profound hatred for French policy in Indochina.
Recently the two subjects have been responsible for an act of sabotage against the Foreign Legion in Marseille, selling a consignment of tins of contaminated beans to a military transport ship leaving for Saigon. Dysentery decimated the crew, forcing the vessel to disembark many of the troops in Suez to allow them to recover in hospital.
There can be no doubt that these are two ambiguous figures, parasites without any ethical principles. Nonetheless, it should be stressed that for this very reason they are perfect for the task that they are to perform. This is proved by the extreme ease with which they managed to infiltrate the entourage of Emperor Bao Dai. Furthermore, the personal experience of the two subjects should guarantee their operational ability and allow us to keep the Emperor under constant and total observation, at least until the work at the conference is finished.
J.A. (in subsequent communications ‘Vladimir’) and L.M. (in subsequent communications ‘Estragon’) will follow Bao Dai’s every move and report to the undersigned on a weekly basis. Payments will be made to an anonymous account in a Geneva bank (see Appendix 1).
Chapter 16
Bologna, Bar Aurora, 23 May
‘Come on then, let’s get going.’ The spoon rings out against the bottle and Capponi’s rough voice grates out its comments. Hungary 7, England 1, straight from the radio. Hard to think about anything else.
‘I spoke to Benassi this morning, and this is his suggestion: he pays the subscription, we pay for the set and the aerial.’ He quickly raises a hand and stifles everyone’s protests. ‘Silence! We’re not in the marketplace! Listen: as comrade Bortolotti suggests, on important occasions the price of drinks will be upped. Benassi suggests that this money be used to cover the subscription, until each of us has paid his quota.’
Sunday. Extraordinary opening. Absent without justification: no one. No one can remember more than two such meetings at the Bar Aurora. The first one in 1945, to decide whether the bar was going to return to its glorious old name or find another, more modern one. And the second during the days of the attack on Togliatti, on a more delicate matter.