And the four murders we were investigating?
Gang bosses who didnt want to play ball. They were killed in a hurry to stop them from forming some kind of rival, non-KGB coalition.
Telders eyes widened, but he remained silent. He was pretending to take notes from a caption inside one of the showcases. What are the mafiosi supposed to get out of the partnership? he finally asked.
Money, Bolan said. More than they ever dreamed of, even in their slime-bucket business. And I think theyre dumb enough to believe theyll be allowed to exist, even to warrant special treatment, after the takeover!
Stupid asses, Telder said. Theyd get special treatment, all right. A private room in the Lubyanka. Can you imagine the comrades setting up a directorate for social-realist crime? Hell, they dont even admit they have any crime!
Theyve got crime, Bolan said soberly. For export only. Its labeled KGB.
The Swiss smiled faintly. Very well. What do we do about it? he asked.
Theres nothing you can do about it, Bolan said. You and Chamson, that is. No public crimes officially been committed... yet. Theres only one line to take, and Im the fall guy in the hot seat. It has to be done from the inside. And right now thats where Im at.
Done how? Telder queried. Killing all the family chiefs who are in on the deal? Even unofficially, I cant give a go-ahead on that.
Bolan shook his head. They would be replaced, anyway. Same goes for the Russian masterminding the scheme. No, the only way is for the Mob as a whole to be unwilling to go through with it. That would choke off the KGB, make them see its a no-go situation.
But you said the Mafia already had agreed?..
Sure, for the moment. But to make it work, they have to be solid for this one-Mob, one-leader routine. Like the Nazis under Hitler. Without that, the KGB wont play. So the way I figure it, the Mob must be disunited.
But how? Telder asked again.
Play one family against another. Arrange it so theyre gunning for each other rather than the law. There were enough dissenters left to raid La Rocaille, even without leaders. It shouldnt be too difficult to play on existing rivalries and find a few more. Its been done before, back home. Working from the inside, I think I can do it here.
But its got to be quick. The whole deal has to fall apart while Antonins still down here.
Youll need help, then, Telder said. What can we do?
There is something, Bolan said. I have to keep my nose clean with my new boss. I already know of several contracts that Sondermanns been hired for. But I dont want to take out innocent guys just to keep my cover secure.
The Swiss was still looking at him expectantly.
Theyll have to disappear all the same, Bolan said. It has to look as if I really did zap them. But I cant fake gunning them down, maybe in front of witnesses. If I handed them over to your people, could you keep them under wraps, totally out of circulation, until the ball games over?
Its strictly illegal, but... yes. We could even arrange news items reporting that the bodies had been found floating in the river, out at sea, whatever.
Great. That should keep my hardman image intact. And if the victims dont like being held incommunicado, you can tell them theyre damned lucky not to be incommunicado forever.
I think you can leave the details to us, Telder said.
Bolan said, As for the rest... well, Ive made enemies already inside the organization. I can make more. Then its just a question of pitting one group against the other.
We are aware of the risks you run, Telder said. We are most... appreciative. His voice sank to a more conspiratorial note. When you want us, you know the number to call. He nodded briefly, turned and walked out of the room.
Ten minutes later Bolan emerged from the museum and made his way toward the railroad station.
Well, well. If it isnt the big man himself! And what are you doing in a dusty old museum in Aix? a voice exclaimed just behind him.
Bolan swung around... and found himself face-to-face with Coralie Sanguinetti.
8
Bolan sat with the girl at a cafe table drinking pastis. Bright shafts of sunlight speared the shade beneath the broad leaves of the plane trees.
I could ask you the same question, he said.
Bolan wondered if she had been ordered to shadow him.
Im studying philosophy, Coralie said. Here at the university in Aix. She was friendly again now. Bolan didnt have the time to figure out why. Im not just a poor little rich girl, you know. I shall have to earn my own living sometime.
Not taking over Daddys business?
Do I look like that kind of person?
Frankly, Bolan said, Im not exactly sure what business your father is in. Were kind of sheltered up in northern Germany.
She flashed him a suspicious look. He has the biggest machine-tool factory in Italy, she said. He has controlling interest in a company that manufactures digital watches and calculators in Alsace. He imports computer hardware from Japan, and hes on the board of two major oil companies.
But why would a guy that successful have friends like... like the people I work for? Bolan queried.
Let me ask you a question, Coralie said. Why are you badmouthing people like Jean-Paul a man with your reputation? Ive heard about you, Herr Sondermann: youre what they call a hit man; you kill people for money. They tell me you murdered nine already.
Only folks I didnt like, Bolan said gravely. He would dearly have liked to set the girl straight, but the words he wanted to say would come uneasily from the mouth of a Teutonic killer... and if he allowed himself to show her what he really felt about the mafiosi, his cover would be blown for good. He tried to change the subject.
Do you know Jean-Paul well? he asked.
Since I was in diapers.
I work for him, but I dont really know him yet. What is he like?
Hes nice, Coralie said defensively. Bolan remembered the way the gang leader had taken her arm the night before. Hes got a better brain than most of the others. Hes generous. And hes a caring man.
But he hires a guy like me to come down all the way from Hamburg. For what?
Oh, she said with a pout, tossing back her hair. She drained her glass and set it carefully on the wrought-iron table. When I first saw you in that gallery, before I knew who you were, I thought you might be... Oh, well. I guess one can misjudge people.
Bolan suddenly realized the truth behind her mood swings. He was not a vain man, but he was objectively aware that he was attractive to many women. Coralie Sanguinetti was trying and failing so far to relate a natural liking for him to her own instinctive distrust of anyone in Sondermanns line of business.
He felt sorry for the girl sorrier still because she was also fighting another, harder, battle: loyalty to her father on one side, loathing for his associates on the other but there was nothing he could do to help her. Have another drink? he asked.
She shook her head. Thank you. I have a class at two oclock.
Bolan watched her get up from the table. Many other eyes followed her as she walked to her car parked by the curb. A white Porsche 928 what else?
The Executioner frowned. He had a gut feeling that, given the right approach and the right conditions, he could make her into an ally. But right now hed have to play it by ear. The one thing he knew was that any help she might offer in the future would not be to Kurt Sondermann...
For the moment, however, it was better that he reinforced that alter ego in her eyes. Back in character, he called out as she unlocked the door of the Porsche, Dont do anything I wouldnt do!