The Secret Crown (2010)

by Chris Kuzneski

  Ulster shrugged but said nothing.

  Payne lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Petr, what is she doing here?’

  Heidi heard the question and yelled over Ulster’s shoulder. ‘You’re doing it again! Talk to me, Jon. Not Petr.’

  Payne gently pushed Ulster back into his seat and focused his attention on Heidi. ‘Fine! I’ll talk to you directly since you’re not giving me any other choice. Why in the hell are you on this chopper?’

  ‘Why? Because I figured out what you’re doing.’

  ‘Really? And what the hell is that?’

  She smirked. ‘You’re looking for the black swan treasure.’

  Payne took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat. After staying silent for a few seconds, he turned towards Huber, who was sitting next to him. Both of them were covered in blood and grime after spending the last hour fighting for their lives. ‘Can you believe this shit? She’s yelling at me after everything we just went through. This is why I’m not married.’

  Huber shook his head. ‘Typical woman.’

  Heidi reacted instantly. The comment upset her so much she nearly jumped out of the front seat to get in Huber’s face. The only things that kept her in place were her shoulder harness and the reprimand from the pilot, who was trying to fly the chopper out of the valley.

  Huber laughed at her behaviour. ‘The defence rests.’

  She twisted in her seat and pointed at Huber. ‘I don’t like you.’

  Huber shrugged and closed his eyes. ‘The feeling’s mutual.’

  Then she pointed at Payne. ‘And I expected more from you.’

  He pointed at himself. ‘You expected more from me? What the hell does that mean?’

  ‘You were so nice and sweet up at the house. Now you’re acting like a jerk.’

  Payne took another deep breath, trying to calm the anger that was bubbling inside. Adrenaline from the battlefield was still flowing through his veins, making it difficult to control his emotions. It was one of the reasons the US military had instituted a cool-down period before missions were debriefed. ‘Listen, I don’t know what you said or did to con your way onto this chopper, but you don’t know jack shit about what we’re doing.’

  ‘Sure, I do!’ she snapped. ‘You’re looking for a treasure, just like the one you found in Greece. Trust me, Jon, I know all about you, David and Petr. I know everything.’

  For Payne, that was the final straw. He simply couldn’t take any more of her chirping. So he leapt out of his seat, pushed his way past Ulster who was sitting in the middle row, and knelt in the aisle behind Heidi. From his position on the floor, he pointed at the blood on the front of his shirt. ‘You think you know everything, huh? Do you know about Collins? He was minding his own business, driving our ATV through the woods, when a gunman shot him in the side of the head. The bullet ploughed through his skull and brain, killing him instantly.’

  She gulped at the description.

  He pointed at a different stain. ‘Then there was Lange. Do you know about Lange? Ten seconds after Collins died, Lange was killed by automatic fire from an assault rifle. Hit him right in the throat. Good soldier, that Lange. He lost his life while trying to save ours.’

  ‘Hooah!’ Huber said from the back.

  ‘Then there was Schneider. Do you know what happened to Schneider? I’m going to guess you don’t because I don’t even know what happened to Schneider. One minute he was calling in a status report, the next he wasn’t. Just like that, his radio went silent. Of course, we’re assuming he’s dead because his weapon was the one that killed Lange!’

  Her face turned ashen as horror filled her eyes. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

  ‘Why? Because you think this is a game. You think we’re looking for a treasure! We’re not looking for a fucking treasure. We’re trying to leave Germany before someone else gets killed. And guess what? Since you managed to talk your way onto the escape chopper, you’re coming with us - whether you want to or not.’

  She nodded but said nothing.

  Payne was about to return to his seat when he thought of one final thing to say. When he spoke, his voice was much calmer than a moment before. ‘So, you want to know why I’m angry and acting like a jerk? It’s not because I hate you. It’s because you talked your way into something that you know nothing about. Now your life is in danger like the rest of us. I wish that wasn’t the case - I truly do. But those are the cards we’ve been dealt, and we have no choice but to play them.’

  She grimaced at the poker analogy. Somehow it seemed fitting.

  He pointed towards the rear of the chopper. ‘Now, unless you have something else to say, I’m going back there to decompress. After the morning I’ve had, I’m pretty sure I’ve earned it.’

  When Payne opened his eyes, the chopper was on the ground somewhere in Austria. He didn’t know where and didn’t really care as long as they were safe. Glancing out of the open hatch, he saw Jones standing in the middle of a spacious hangar. Crates filled a third of the place while the rest of it was empty. From the looks of things, they were in one of Kaiser’s storage facilities.

  Payne stood, stretched and felt like a new man. Although the loss of life had taken an emotional toll, it was the two-mile sprint that had wiped him out.

  Jones saw him and approached. ‘Look who’s back from the dead.’

  ‘How long was I out?’

  ‘Unfortunately, you missed Christmas.’

  ‘Did you get me something nice?’

  ‘A sweater made from reindeer fur. You’ll love it!’

  Payne smiled. ‘How’s Kaiser doing?’

  ‘He’s okay. He’s on his way to some private medical facility that’s on retainer. Huber and Richter just left. They pulled out about five minutes ago.’

  ‘Why didn’t you wake me?’

  Jones laughed. ‘Why? Because I heard you had a hissy fit on the way here. Petr thought it might be best if we let you rest.’

  Payne shook his head. ‘Give me a break. I didn’t have a hissy fit. I gave an impassioned account of our current status. No more, no less.’

  ‘Like I said, a hissy fit!’

  ‘Whatever.’

  Jones patted him on the back. ‘I have to admit, I was kind of surprised when I saw Heidi. That’s a curveball I didn’t expect.’

  ‘The question is, what do we do with her?’

  Jones made sure no one else was listening. ‘I’ll tell you what I’d like to do to her. That girl is gorgeous!’

  ‘For the record, I said with her. I didn’t say to her.’

  ‘With her, to her, in her, behind her - they’re all prepositions. As long as she’s having fun, what’s the difference?’

  Payne rolled his eyes. ‘Before you run to the store to buy whipped cream, don’t you think we should clean up our mess first?’

  ‘I thought I did that when I torched the bunker.’

  ‘Did you wipe down the ATV?’

  Jones shook his head. ‘Nope.’

  ‘What about that guy you shot?

  ‘Which guy?’

  ‘The one in the car park.’

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘Did you get the slug from his head?’

  ‘Nope. Not enough time.’

  ‘Which gun did you use?’

  Jones grimaced. ‘My Sig.’

  ‘Like I said, we’ve got a mess to clean up.’

  ‘I guess you’re right. What did you have in mind?’

  Payne smiled. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.’

  48

  Kaiser’s Warehouse

  Innsbruck, Austria

  After punching in the code to unlock his encrypted cell phone, Payne entered the phone number from memory. In his line of work, contact lists could get people killed.

  His friend answered on the third ring. ‘This is Dial.’

  ‘Hey, Nick, it’s Jonathon Payne.’

  Nick Dial leaned back in his office chair and grinned. He hadn’t spoken to Payne in almos
t a month, which was normal for them since their hectic schedules got in the way of their friendship. Born in America but stationed in France, Dial ran the homicide division at Interpol, the largest international crime-fighting organization in the world. His job was to coordinate the flow of information between police departments any time a murder investigation crossed national boundaries. All told he was in charge of 186 member countries, filled with billions of people and hundreds of languages.

  Dial asked, ‘Are you calling to give me shit about your party?’

  Payne laughed. Every year he sent Dial an invitation to his end of summer boat party, even though he knew Dial wouldn’t be able to attend. The journey to Pittsburgh was a tad too long. ‘Come on, Nick. When was the last time I gave you shit about anything?’

  ‘Let me think. When was the last time we talked?’

  ‘Touche.’

  Dial smiled at his word choice. ‘Finally, a French word I can understand! I swear, I’d like this country a whole lot better if everyone spoke English.’

  ‘Hold up. You live in France and can’t speak French?’

  ‘I can speak it just fine. I simply prefer English.’

  ‘What about German? Can you speak German?’

  ‘My German is okay, but not great. Why do you ask?’

  ‘Because DJ and I are headed to Oktoberfest.’

  ‘Really? Wow, you two party a lot. When are you going?’

  ‘We left Pittsburgh yesterday. We should be in Munich by the end of the week.’

  Dial pondered the timeline. Something didn’t add up. ‘Please tell me you’re not going by boat. If so, I’ve got some horrible news. Germany is not on the water.’

  Payne played along. ‘Are you positive? My instructors at the Naval Academy assured me it was. If you’re right about this, the Pentagon has several invasion plans they have to change.’

  Dial laughed. ‘Glad I could help.’

  ‘Speaking of help, something big has come up. Do you have a few minutes to talk?’

  ‘Of course. How sensitive is the information?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘In that case, let me call you from a secure line. Give me two minutes.’

  ‘Thanks, Nick. I appreciate it.’

  Payne hung up, dreading the conversation he was about to have. Over the years, Dial had tied up a lot of loose ends for Payne and Jones. Not because they were his friends or because they had saved his life in Greece while he was investigating the deaths of several monks - although those things didn’t hurt. He did it because they were highly trained soldiers whose adventures often got them into sticky situations. They weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, and he was more than willing to clean up their mess. In fact, Dial had told them on multiple occasions that he wished he had the freedom to do the same thing as them, dispensing justice around the globe.

  Regrettably, he spent most of his time in the office, not in the field.

  One of the biggest misconceptions about Interpol was their role in stopping crime. They seldom sent agents to investigate a case. Instead, they used local offices called National Central Bureaus in the member countries. The NCBs monitored their territory and reported pertinent information to Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France. From there, facts were entered into a central database that could be accessed via Interpol’s computer network.

  But sometimes that wasn’t enough. Sometimes the head of a division (Drugs, Counterfeiting, Terrorism, etc.) was forced to take control of a case, possibly to cut through red tape, or to handle a border dispute, or to deal with the international media. All the things that Dial hated to do. In his line of work, the only thing that mattered to him was justice - righting a wrong in the fairest way possible. That was the creed he had lived by when he was an investigator, and it was the creed he followed in his head position at Interpol.

  Unfortunately, Payne realized the mess in Bavaria was different to anything he had faced in recent years. Not because he and Jones had done anything wrong - after all, they had been attacked by gunmen and had simply fought back - but unlike previous cases, one of their allies was a well-known criminal whose involvement would put Dial in a difficult spot.

  The question was: how would Dial react?

  Payne sat on one of the wooden crates, trying to figure out what he could and couldn’t say. His goal was to tell the truth about everything while omitting a few details. He wanted Dial to know what had happened in Bavaria without telling him too much about the bunker. Whether or not he could pull that off remained to be seen. It would depend on Dial’s mood.

  When his phone rang a few minutes later, the ringtone was no longer the Menudo song it had been in Pittsburgh. It had been replaced by a popular children’s song called ‘Little Bunny Foo Foo’, sung by a nursery school teacher who sounded a lot like Angela Lansbury.

  Little bunny Foo Foo

  Hopping through the forest

  Scooping up the field mice

  And boppin’ them on the head.

  Payne growled softly. When he found out who was messing with his phone, he was going to bop them on the head - with the butt of a rifle.

  ‘Fucking ringtones,’ mumbled Payne as he answered.

  ‘Ringtones? You made me call you on a secure line to talk about ringtones? I thought this was important.’

  ‘Sorry, Nick, it’s been a long day. DJ and I are lucky to be alive.’

  ‘What happened this time?’

  Payne explained. ‘One of my contacts informed me about a possible discovery in the mountains of Germany, one with significant historical value. I notified Petr Ulster, who met us at the site early this morning. About three hours later, we were attacked by a hit squad.’

  ‘A hit squad?’

  ‘Multiple gunmen, multiple weapons, no conversation. They simply opened fire.’

  ‘Was anybody killed?’

  ‘Some of mine, all of theirs.’

  Dial groaned. ‘I’m assuming you’re okay. What about DJ and Petr?’

  ‘Both of them are fine.’

  ‘Where did this happen?’

  ‘A town called Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It’s near the Austrian border.’

  Dial nodded. ‘I’m familiar with it.’

  ‘They attacked us in the woods, about halfway up the mountain. After that, the battle spread all over the valley. It ended in town near the Olympic ski stadium. A man killed our chopper pilot as we were attempting to leave. We had no choice but to defend ourselves.’

  ‘Where are you now?’

  ‘Not there.’

  Dial read between the lines. For some reason, Payne didn’t want to answer. ‘Give me some numbers. How many suspects?’

  ‘Six, possibly more. Like I said, the battle spread.’

  ‘Six confirmed dead?’

  ‘Six of theirs, three of ours.’

  ‘But they ambushed you?’

  Payne shrugged. ‘They struck first. We struck back.’

  Dial took notes, using a cryptic style of shorthand that only he could understand. ‘Who were these guys? Any ideas?’

  ‘I can send you their names and addresses.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘What can I say? The mountains are huge and filled with wolves. You’ll be lucky to find the bodies. We had some time, so we grabbed their IDs. We figured it would help your cause.’

  ‘And yours.’

  Payne smiled. ‘The thought had crossed my mind.’

  ‘What about motivation? Did that cross your mind?’

  ‘As a matter of fact, it did. Unfortunately, that’s where things get messy.’

  Dial sighed. ‘Let me see if I got this straight: nine bodies scattered across a mountain isn’t messy, but their motivation is. Do I even want to know?’

  ‘Trust me, I’d prefer not to tell you because I’m not quite sure how you’re going to react to it. But this is something you need to hear.’

  49

  Payne tried to ease the sting of the information about Kaiser by framing
it in the best possible way. ‘Back when DJ and I were in the military, we had contacts around the globe - people who gave us intelligence or sold us supplies when we were behind enemy lines. Some of them were the scum of the earth - the kind of guys who made your skin crawl - but some of them were pretty solid. Over the years, a few of them even became our friends.’

  ‘Where are you going with this?’

  ‘One of those friends is the person who notified us about the possible discovery. He knew we had contacts in the world of antiquities and asked us to contact Petr on his behalf. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided to get involved despite his recent ventures.’

  Dial connected the dots. ‘In other words, he’s a criminal.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you think the ambush has to do with him?’

  ‘I know it does. One of the gunmen told me.’

  ‘He told you? Do I even want to know how you obtained this information?’

  ‘Probably not.’

  ‘Yeah, you’re right.’

  Payne smiled. So far the conversation had gone better than he had expected. Then again, he still hadn’t mentioned the name of his contact. ‘Here’s where things get tricky. The gunman gave me the name of his boss. Apparently he has a major vendetta against my friend. I don’t know the specifics, but it sounds like these two are bitter rivals.’

  ‘Why don’t you ask your friend?’

  ‘I can’t. He was seriously hurt during the ambush.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, really. You might find this hard to believe, but I’ve befriended a few criminals during my lifetime as well. Back when I was in the Bureau, I had a weekly dinner with this mid-level Mafioso. He gave me info about his rivals while I gorged myself with the best pasta I ever ate in my life. After a while, a bond was forged - even though I knew what he did for a living.’

  ‘Then you know how it goes.’

  ‘Yes, I do. And yet, if I had seen him shoot a man, I would have arrested him. In my mind, there are certain lines that can’t be crossed.’

  ‘In that case, I’m glad you didn’t see me shoot anyone.’