After searching a few screens on his iPhone, Sean hit the link to a number. ‘Ah hello, my name is Sean McManus, I’m a journalist from the UK and I was meant to have a meeting with Frau Faustein today, but she isn’t in the Parliament, or at her hotel. Could you tell me where she is, please?’ He heard some muffled speaking in the background.
‘I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know where she is. Please leave a number and I’ll pass on your message.’ Sean quickly passed on his number and hung up.
‘Her constituency office doesn’t know where she is either,’ he said to Liz and Clive.
‘That doesn’t sound good,’ Liz replied.
‘We need to find her. We need to know what Allsop was onto that got him killed,’ Sean said, after checking in the rear window and noting that they were still being followed by the same taxi.
‘And to warn her that she’s in danger, if she doesn’t already know,’ Liz said.
‘Don’t jump the gun. She could be the killer,’ Clive added.
That hadn’t crossed Sean’s mind but, as usual, Clive was right. What if Anna Faustein had killed Allsop and gone on the run, maybe because she knew he’d passed the USB to him? If so, it wasn’t her that was in danger, it was him, and by association, Liz and Clive. He looked back at the following car again quickly, now with more fear of its purpose. ‘He’s still there,’ he said.
‘I know. Just let him follow us; there’s nothing we can do at the moment,’ Clive said, calmly reassuring Sean.
‘I don’t think we’re just going to bump into her on the street. We should go back to London and try to make sense of everything. She could be anywhere,’ Sean suggested.
‘Makes sense,’ Clive replied.
‘Would your mum be okay to keep Praew for a few more days?’ Sean asked Liz.
‘I think so. Why?’
‘Just a precaution, until we know what’s going on.’
When they pulled up outside their small hotel, the following taxi stopped. Clive quickly sheltered Liz into the doorway and Sean followed behind. When he turned to close the door, the taxi behind sped away, with the passenger still in it.
Author's Note
The doctrine of supremacy places EU law above national law; it has been ruled upon many times by courts in the EU and in the UK. Each time, it was held that EU law takes precedence.
The reason cited for these decisions: as the member state parliaments agreed to join the EU, then they voluntarily ceded their sovereignty.
Chapter Seven
Thursday, 24th September. Strasbourg, France.
‘We need to get out of here fast. Get your things and let’s go to the airport,’ Clive said.
It took Liz and Sean less than five minutes to grab everything they had and return to the lobby, where Clive was already waiting for them.
‘Terry’s bringing the car around,’ Clive said. ‘When I give you the nod, run and get straight into it.’ Clive was scrutinizing the area opposite the hotel.
‘He’s here. Go!’ Clive instructed.
Sean stepped out of the door first and took Liz by the hand, sheltering her from the road. As they reached the bottom of the small flight of steps, an ear-shattering bang rang out in front of them. Instinctively, Sean pulled Liz to the ground and pushed her behind a parked car.
When he rolled to the side to see what had happened, he saw that an old jeep had rammed into the back of Terry’s car and smoke was billowing from its grill. Just then a gunshot split the air and Sean heard it ricochet off the wall next to the door where Clive was crouching. When he looked back to the jeep, a man was leaning out of the window gripping a pistol, taking aim.
Clive rolled onto the ground and down the steps, to join Liz and Sean. ‘We need to go out the back way,’ he said.
‘What about Terry?’ Sean said.
‘He’s got two men covering the position; they’re closing in on the car now. He’ll be okay, but all hell is about to break loose here, depending upon how many of them there are. When the shooting starts, you need to be ready to get back into the hotel.’
Both Sean and Liz nodded their agreement. Their lives had been saved by Clive in the past and their trust in him was unquestionable.
It was impossible for Sean to see what was happening, but as predicted, staccato gunfire soon started, emanating from the direction of the jeep.
‘Now!’ Clive said.
Pulling Liz up and using his body to shelter her, Sean started to run. The door was only a few metres away, but the gunfire was becoming more intense. Resisting the urge to look around, he dashed straight for the door as two loud cracks came out, sending bullets in their direction. He was holding Liz so tightly that he almost carried her up the steps and into the lobby, before diving onto the tiled floor.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked Liz.
‘Yes, but I’m scared.’
Just then, Clive came crashing into the lobby and dived onto the floor next to them. ‘Right, slide on your stomach to the back door. I’m just going to check what’s going on here. I’ll see you there in a few seconds.
Following Clive’s instructions they held their bodies as close as they could to the cold tiles and shuffled across to the rear of the hotel. On the way, Sean glanced into the dining room where they’d eaten breakfast. Four of the hotel staff were huddled together in the corner, taking shelter.
In no time at all, Clive joined them by the rear door. ‘Terry’s guys have dealt with them, but I’d guess back-up might be on the way and we need to get out of here before we have to explain all of this to the police.’
‘What about Terry?’ Liz asked.
‘He looks fine; a few cuts from what I could see, but he’s walking. He’s a pro though and he’ll already be heading out of France with his guys, so we need to get moving.’
Leaning out of the rear door, Clive scanned the area at the back of the hotel. ‘It looks clear. Let’s go.’ He stood and walked out of the door first, followed quickly by Liz, Sean still holding her hand as tightly as he could.
Once outside, they sprinted in the opposite direction from the hotel, as police sirens started to fill the air. Then at a main road, they slowed their pace and joined the throng of shoppers on the pavement. After walking about 200 metres along the busy street, Clive flagged a taxi.
‘Kehl, s’il vous plaît,’ Clive said.
Again Sean marvelled at the speed of Clive’s thought process. Kehl was a German city just on the other side of the Rhine from Strasbourg. It would be way too soon for any cross-border police force cooperation.
The short journey over the border into Germany took just fifteen minutes before Clive told the taxi driver to stop. Once out of the car, they walked back in the direction they had driven, before Clive went into a car rental outlet. ‘I saw it when we passed earlier, but I didn’t want the taxi driver to know where we were going,’ he said.
It wasn’t long before they were speeding away in the rented Volkswagen Golf. To Sean’s surprise, Clive turned straight back into France, just north of Strasbourg and headed towards Metz. ‘Channel tunnel,’ he said, seeing Sean’s expression.
‘What about the car?’ Liz said.
‘Least of my worries right now. I can always send somebody back with it.’
Six hours later, Clive pulled the rented car up outside Sean and Liz’s Fulham flat. ‘I’ll see you in the morning in my office. Get some sleep,’ he said, before pulling away.
Once inside, Liz called her mother and asked if Praew could stay a few more days, then climbed into bed beside Sean. She sidled over to him and put her arms around his waist.
‘I love you,’ she said, before falling asleep on his shoulder.
Author's Note
The functioning of the European Union is governed by a series of treaties. In order to change an existing treaty, or bring a new treaty into effect, a unanimous vote of the European Council must be obtained. Neither the European Parliament, nor the Council of the European Union, have any power to block or appro
ve treaty changes, or add new treaties.
Chapter Eight
Friday, 25th September. London, England.
The news was filled with the death of Nick Allsop. MPs spoke highly of his commitment, avoiding actually saying that they agreed with his views. The police were still saying that it was a suicide and experts in male depression were dragged onto the TV screens, all seemingly knowing why Allsop took his own life.
Sitting around the small wooden meeting table in Clive’s office, Sean, Liz and Clive tried to work out what to do next.
‘I had a visit from the police this morning, who said that they were helping the French police with a shooting incident in Strasbourg and the hotel had given them our names. I just said that we were caught in the crossfire of some local gang war and I got you out of the back door. I know the investigating officer well, and I think he believed me. They didn’t come to see you, did they?’ Clive asked.
‘No,’ Sean said shaking his head.
‘That’s good. The other good news is that Terry’s alive and well. He got back into England about the same time as us,’ Clive said. ‘The bad news is that there’s still no sign of Anna Faustein. She’s not at her office in Brussels, her office in Munich, or at home. She’s just vanished.’
‘Probably dead, given what we went through,’ Sean added.
‘Maybe, but as I said, we shouldn’t ignore the possibility that she killed Allsop and put them onto us,’ Clive responded.
‘You know, I was getting to quite like him. He was very charismatic, you know, and surprisingly intelligent,’ Sean said.
‘For a Nazi,’ Liz added.
‘Did you get anywhere with that mumbo-jumbo he left us? It must be the key to why he was killed and why somebody tried to kill us,’ Clive suggested.
‘Not really, we got—’ Sean was interrupted as his phone rang. After looking at the screen he chose not to answer. ‘I don’t know the number,’ he said.
‘Answer it,’ Clive insisted.
Sean picked up the phone again. ‘Hello?’
The faint voice on the other end of the line was tinged with a German accent. ‘Hello, can I speak to Sean McManus, please?’
‘Speaking.’
‘Mr McManus, It’s Anna Faustein. You left a message at my office. We need to talk.’
‘Okay, that sounds good,’ Sean said.
‘Not on the phone. I’m in London. Can we meet?’
‘Okay, where are you?’
‘Meet me in the lobby of the May Fair Hotel in one hour.’
Suddenly the line went dead and Sean relayed the conversation to the others.
‘What if she is the killer? How did she know that you were back in London?’ Liz said.
‘Why would she contact me if she was?’ Sean asked.
‘To kill you before you publish the contents of the USB?’ Liz questioned.
‘Publish what? It’d take me a year to understand it first,’ Sean laughed.
‘Well, somebody tried to kill us all for it,’ Liz noted.
‘We can cover you when you meet her in the hotel. Then bring her here. We’ll make sure you’re not being followed.’ Clive said.
*
At thirty-eight Anna Faustein was young for an MEP. Her short blonde hair was covered with a large floppy hat and she wore tight jeans and a long woollen jumper pulled down to her thighs. She was looking around the lobby, nervously assessing the people coming in and out of the doors, when Sean approached her from the side, having entered via the door from the bar. ‘Frau Faustein?’ he said quietly.
She immediately swivelled to the side, as if touched by a cattle prod. ‘Hello… er, Mr McManus?’ she said, looking at him, her eyes dancing with fear.
‘Yes, are you okay?’ Sean asked.
‘I’m scared. They killed Nick,’ she said, still assessing the people coming and going from the lobby.
‘Why come here, not to the police?’ Sean asked.
‘Nick said that he trusted you, and that’s more than I can say for the French police,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, but I had nowhere else to go.’
‘Come with me,’ Sean said calmly.
‘Where to?’
‘Somewhere safe,’ Sean added. He nodded to Clive and they left the lobby of the hotel, walking quickly towards Piccadilly, then turned left onto Dover Street. Within five minutes they were seated around Clive’s meeting table.
‘Please call me Anna,’ she said forcing a smile, when Liz addressed her as Frau Faustein.
‘Anna,’ Sean said. ‘You said they killed Nick. Who did you mean?’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know; whoever is perverting the legislation.’
‘Perverting the legislation? You mean they’re changing the bills after they’ve passed Parliament?’ Liz asked.
‘No… well, sort of. The translations are not always the same as the original version of the bill,’ Anna said.
‘What do you mean?’ Sean asked.
‘It’s very subtle in the wording, but changes some powers in the bills.’
‘Is that what was on the USB stick that Nick gave us?’ Sean asked.
‘Yes, the original version was in German and that’s the version that will become law. But the English, Swedish, Danish and Polish translations have been interpreted slightly differently from the original.’
‘How so?’ Liz asked.
‘There’s a single line about halfway through the text in the original version that clearly gives the President of the Commission the authority to invoke Article 7 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, if a member state defaults on an EU debt obligation. In the four translated versions that permission is more vague, and although the power is granted, it seems to require European Council approval. The actual wording difference is very subtle and very clever, so nobody could obviously point to fraud, but when scrutinised, the meaning is quite different.’
‘What’s Article 7?’ Liz asked.
‘It’s the mechanism by which a member state can be temporarily suspended from the EU,’ Anna replied.
‘That seems fair. People are getting tired of constant bailouts that aren’t repaid,’ Sean said.
‘Why shouldn’t they be suspended if they don’t pay?’ Clive said.
Anna frowned. ‘Maybe they should, but should that much power rest with one person, especially one who doesn’t face election?’
‘Probably not, but isn’t it just to cut out bureaucracy and get quick action?’ Liz asked. ‘After all, we are talking about countries that are in default on their debts, and quick action could be vital to stop the situation slipping further.’
‘Hmm… whether it’s the right thing to do or not is irrelevant. It certainly doesn’t justify the means, changing the translations like that,’ Sean said. ‘Why only the four languages though?’
‘Because they’re the languages of the members most likely to object to a bill like this, and block it. In general, they’re the countries that are opposed to anything which strengthens the power of EU, or pushes it closer to federalization,’ Anna answered.
‘It seems like a pretty minor risk to the countries mentioned, none of which are at risk of debt default,’ Sean said.
‘Maybe, but we don’t know how many other clauses there are like this. This is just the one that we found.’ Anna’s expression conveyed her seriousness.
‘She’s got a point, Sean. If this was just something small, why would they need to kill Allsop?’ Clive said.
Sean noted that Clive didn’t mention that they were also nearly killed. He’d said that he’d use it at an agreed time to measure the response of Anna Faustein, in an attempt to gauge her surprise.
‘Exactly,’ Anna agreed.
‘If he was killed, that is. The police are still saying that it was suicide. Do you have any idea who might be involved?’ Sean asked.
‘There would have to be a few people, but it wouldn’t work unless somebody senior in the Commission’s translation services directorate was i
nvolved, maybe even Henrik Blom, the Commissioner himself.’ Anna shrugged.
‘Blom? He sounds Swedish. Why would he change his own country’s translation?’ Liz asked.
‘He’s a staunch pro-federalist and for those people, Europe comes first, country second. He doesn’t agree with his own government’s sceptical views,’ Anna answered.
‘It’s a good place to start. Do you think he’s capable of killing somebody?’ Clive asked.
Anna lifted her shoulders again. ‘Maybe,’ she said quietly.
‘Well, it looks like the Belgian police just want to sweep this under the carpet, so I think we should take a closer look at it,’ Sean said.
‘Agreed. I didn’t particularly like Allsop, but if he was murdered then he deserves justice,’ Clive said. ‘And, of course, I’d like to know who was shooting at us, and why,’ he added.
Sean studied the features on Anna’s face carefully.
‘What? You mean somebody tried to kill you?’ she said, but Sean couldn’t tell whether she was lying or not: her shock seemed genuine, but it was easy to fake.
‘Yes, somebody took a few pot shots at us in the city,’ Clive said, adding no more detail.
‘Liz, what do you think?’ Sean asked.
‘Well, it’s a major change from our original plan, but I agree: he deserves justice if he was killed. One proviso though, if it gets too dangerous, we pass our findings to the police and get out.’
‘Agreed,’ Sean said.
Author's Note
The EU doesn’t operate in any specific language. All members and bureaucrats present in their native language, and all bills are presented in the language of the originator.
The EU employs an army of people to immediately translate everything into the twenty-four official languages of the European Union. With a spend of over €1.5 billion per year on translation services alone, the EU is the largest employer of translators in the world.
sThe Quiet Wart Page 5
