That couldn’t possibly be it, could it?
Entering the seven digits, she winced as she pressed the return button, but was instantly rewarded as the PricewaterhouseCoopers logo went spinning around the screen before offering the usual buttons of the company intranet system. Her heart skipped a beat, as it furiously pumped more adrenalin-filled blood through her veins. A feeling of euphoria filled her brain, making her slightly dizzy. Logging out, she checked that everything was in place and went back to the office door. Cautiously pulling it open, she looked through the small crack at the open plan office beyond. Only one place had been taken since she had entered the room, and she could only see the top of a young man’s prematurely balding head. Slipping through as inconspicuously as possible, she locked the door and took off in the direction of the company library.
There were more desktops in the library, which allowed staff to browse the many shelves whilst working through the history they held. Lisa picked a terminal at the end of a row, filled with files that charted the Company’s financial history during the sixties. She sat with her back to the wall, giving her a clear view into the library’s centre. Logging back into the intranet as Steve Walker, she started the search.
If Meyer-Hofmann has anything to hide, I am going to find it, she assured herself.
The records stretched back over years, the bookshelves’ files duplicated for eternity on the company servers. She was not looking for tax avoidance schemes or bookkeeping irregularities. PricewaterhouseCoopers would not condone that. She was looking for money that was being syphoned off for unwarranted or strange, unrelated purposes. If Meyer-Hofmann were running any clandestine operations, it would need to fund them.
Time had flown, and a brief look at her watch told her it was almost midday.
I will have to stop soon, she said to herself, whilst rubbing her face and eyes.
Then she got her break.
A company called Phoenix IT had been invoicing over fifteen Meyer-Hofmann companies on a monthly basis at over 5,000 euros a month for the last five years. Before that, the company had been called Phoenix Office and had received similar sums. It was a service company owned by Meyer-Hofmann, delivering office supplies to almost every one of the company’s German-based holdings. After closer scrutiny, she found that the customers were regularly overcharged for the supplies, at anything up to five hundred percent. Since the company’s name change, their services had also changed, Computer Hardware and Software replaced the staplers and hole punches. The new products were far more difficult to price, allowing their billing to move off into the world of fantasy. Software installation and update orders did not describe what the software did, nor did it justify the benefits of the upgrades. Lisa was sure she had found the leak she was looking for, but she needed more time to find out what Phoenix was doing with the money. Her iPhone was vibrating, and she knew that Steve was in the building. She had made a friend of the doorman, who alerted her to his arrival. Unfortunately, not the fact that he was heading towards the library. She was just getting up from the terminal as a nonchalant Steve Walker came into view. He headed in her direction with a small wave and a smile.
“Hello, Beautiful, what are you doing down here?”
“Oh, I prefer it down here. It’s quiet, and I am not as likely to be disturbed.”
“Got something to hide?” he asked mischievously.
“A girl always has something to hide, Steve, you know that.” Giving him her best smile, she pressed past him and headed back towards her office. She was sure that Steve knew what the company was up to, and it made her feelings for the man turn cold.
“Fancy some lunch?” he called after her.
Turning, she gave him another smile and a shake of the head.
“No, thanks. I am watching my figure.”
“No need for that, darling, it looks just great from here.”
Another smile and she was around the bookshelves and on her way out of the library.
32
Michael needed to know what Von Klitzing was up to, and a trip to visit his troops in their Austrian barracks would give him the perfect opportunity.
Von Klitzing was going to collect him at the club. From there, they would drive the hour and a half to Ellmau. That would be his biggest test. Should Von Klitzing guess that Hofmann was no longer in control, Michael was sure that it would not end happily. He was still able to speak fluent German, but had no idea how. The main problem was Hofmann’s thought processes. They were so different from his own, that Michael doubted his ability to impersonate the man. It would all depend on how well Von Klitzing knew and remembered Hofmann. Michael decided that bravado was the best policy, and he greeted Von Klitzing with a ticking off.
“We said we would meet at 8:00 am.”
Von Klitzing was taken off-guard, as he had never seen himself as being a subordinate to anyone. Hofmann was one of the few men he had ever accepted as his superior.
“I apologise, Herr Hofmann. We were delayed by traffic.”
Michael got into the car without saying any more. Heinz was driving, and, as usual, there was no greeting, but the saw haircut made it obvious who it was.
“Tell me, Von Klitzing, how ready are we?”
The question was as ambiguous as Michael could make it, and his intention was to chase it around for next two hours, leaving as much of the talking to Von Klitzing as possible.
“I am not sure what you mean, sir?”
“What has the company done to prepare itself for its mission?”
“I have done my best, sir, but it has not been easy. I have been searching for you and the other board members for years, but I have had little support on other fronts. Only Dr Ecker has been of any real help to our primary goal. He has taken his father’s work so much further, it is incredible. With the things that he has achieved combined with your leadership, I am sure we can be more confident of our ultimate success.”
“What are you talking about?” Michael was able to feed on Hofmann’s broken memories, but they gave him only a fragmented picture of what they were planning. “Look, Von Klitzing, you are going to have to help me. My memory is still not completely restored. I need to know everything that you have been doing.”
This pleased Von Klitzing. It was an opportunity to give his new boss his version of events. But he was keen not to give away any of his surprises in the car.
“Professor Furtner just started the ball rolling with his research; Dr Ecker has turned much of it into reality. I think you are going to like what you see, Herr Hofmann. I have never lost sight of our real goal—the Führer’s words still echo in my mind. ‘Don’t give the people what they think they need, give them what they need!’ I have been busy myself, making arrangements for the birth of a new Political Party. As well as grouping our forces to make a decisive strike against our enemies.”
“What have you done, exactly?”
“Herr Hofmann, if you don’t mind, would it be all right if I explained this once we have reached our destination? It will be far easier for you to understand, when you have seen our preparations with your own eyes.”
In truth, Michael needed a break. Desperate not to give away his real identity, he saw a few minutes of silence as a salvation.
“Very well.” He turned his head to the car window and watched the Austrian scenery go by. Michael hoped for some time to think.
The car left the motorway and started to make its way up into the Austrian Alps. Watching a signpost for Kitzbuehl zip past them, Michael remembered a ski trip he had made there with Lisa and their friends only two years earlier. Austria was just as beautiful without the snow, and as they drove past the lift station in Ellmau, he wondered where the Meyer-Hofmann facility had been built.