(1982) The Almighty

by Irving Wallace

  ‘Nick,’ she shouted after him, Til be waiting for you there!’

  Then he was gone.

  Animated once more, Victoria ran back to her room and the telephone to find a means of reaching St-Jean - that is, if they would let her, let anyone, leave San Sebastian or Spain itself on this violent day.

  Although St-Jean-de-Luz was only a short distance away, it had taken Victoria a long time to get there.

  For Victoria it had been a harrowing afternoon, because of the threats that had befallen her, and maddening in some respects because of numerous delays. Eager to get to a telephone to help Ramsey, bursting with her still exclusive story on the kidnapping of the king, she was taunted by the parade of hours.

  She had sought assistance from the hotel’s main concierge, buttering her request for transportation with a sizable tip. He had assured her that it would be time-consuming to go by train. At last the concierge had located a private car-rental service in San Sebastian that would have a BMW sedan and an English-speaking driver available in two hours to take her to France.

  Not thinking, she had tried to put through a call to the Chantaco Hotel in St-Jean, but had once more been reminded that no outgoing calls or communications of any kind were permitted from Sebastian. However, a local travel agent had assured her that as the resort season for St-Jean was almost over and the hotel would be closing down in a few weeks, it was probably no longer fully occupied. The agent was sure that she would find a room once she presented herself at the Chantaco.

  Impatiently watching the wall clock for the time her driver and car would arrive, she had busied herself making notes on the kidnapping of the king. She had wanted to be prepared to pour her story out to Armstead once she had him on the phone. Then, in the lobby, having found and purchased a travel guide on the area that gave several pages to St-Jean-de-Luz, she had returned to her room to read the book and have a snack.

  She had been packing her single bag, on the verge of leaving, when the police came.

  There had been two of them, both in plainclothes and both speaking English. The more aristocratic of the pair had flashed his identification and verified that she was Victoria Weston and recited what was in her American passport. He had proceeded to interrogate her closely. There had been this

  day, he had said, an act of terrorism in the city. Did she know that? Yes, she had replied forthrightly, she had been a witness to part of it. Why had she been at the cathedral? As a tourist to see the king? No, she had replied, as a newspaperwoman to write about the king’s visit. Could she prove that she was a bona fide member of the American press? She had shown him her press pass from the New York Record. He had returned her pass, remarking that it could be counterfeit. She had suggested that he contact her newspaper for verification that she worked for them. He had then gone off on another round of questions. There had been evidence that she had been nosing about San Sebastian in advance of the king’s visit, trying to find out his schedule. Why had she been so interested? Well, she had retorted, why not? She had been assigned to write a story about the king’s activities in San Sebastian. She had looked into his itinerary openly.

  The plainclothesman had described her own visits around the city accurately, and had wanted her to explain the purpose of each call. Then he had described her activities in the company of one Nick Ramsey, and inquired into their relationship.

  This questioning had gone on for over an hour. In the end she had been absolved of complicity. Hard as she had tried, she had not been able to learn more about the fate of Nick Ramsey.

  Her departure from San Sebastian had been aggravatingly late. Once in the BMW, she and her driver had been stopped three times. After getting on the A1 autoroute heading toward St-Jean-de-Luz, they had been brought to a halt by a roadblock just outside of town. Here they were questioned. When they reached the border and Irun, they had been held up by customs. And when they turned off the autoroute for the French town of Ciboure, they had been delayed yet again, this time by road construction and a detour.

  When they had crossed the bridge over the Nivelle River and entered St-Jean-de-Luz, Victoria had given an audible sigh of relief. It was midevening and there were lights and life in the gay port town, but Victoria had not been distracted from her main purpose. A mile from the downtown, they had arrived at the elegant Chantaco Hotel. The haven of the hotel with its two-story fireplace near the reception desk and its

  Moorish arches had no interest for Victoria. Only one thing: did they have a bedroom and bath for her, a room with a telephone, for at least two or three days? They did.

  Now in the room, despite hunger pangs there was only one thing on her mind. She put through her call to New York, to the Record, and in five minutes she had the newspaper and then Edward Armstead’s secretary, Estelle Rivkin, and Victoria’s excitement mounted. She must speak to Mr. Armstead immediately. She learned that he was out and could not be reached, and Estelle had no idea when he would be back. Victoria felt a lurch of disappointment, then asked for Harry Dietz, who was second-best. But Dietz was also out. Another disappointment. Victoria realized that she had wanted congratulations and praise at the highest level, but that was unimportant and she was pleased to settle for third-best, her managing editor.

  Ollie McAllister was on the phone.

  ‘Ollie, this is Victoria Weston. I’ve been trying all afternoon -‘

  ‘Vicky, how are you?’ He sounded surprisingly cheerful for a dour Scot. ‘Where in the devil are you?’

  ‘I’m calling from the Chantaco Hotel in St-Jean-de-Luz -‘

  ‘Where?’

  ‘The French resort town across the border from San Sebastian. I’m at the Chantaco Hotel.’

  ‘Yes, Mr. Armstead mentioned -‘

  ‘Ollie, I’ve got a tremendous scoop. No one has been able to phone it out of San Sebastian. That’s why I came here. The king of Spain was kidnapped this morning! I think we’ve got it alone!’

  ‘We sure have, Vicky,’ McAllister agreed. ‘We have it alone, a big exclusive. We hit the streets with it an hour ago. The king of Spain kidnapped in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in San Sebastian by a group of Basque terrorists. They were dressed as clergymen. They pulled off the abduction without a shot. We’ve headlined it, a clean beat. I’m told the Record is selling almost at the pace of the Yinger issue -‘

  ‘Ollie,’ she interrupted. ‘I can’t believe I heard you right. You know about the kidnapping of the king?’

  ‘I told you. It’s on the front page.’

  She sank down into the couch, deflated and bewildered.

  ‘But Ollie, I had it exclusively. No one’s been able to get it out of Spain.’

  ‘Well, someone did. Good try, young lady, but -‘

  ‘Who?’ she wanted to know. ‘How?’

  ‘It’s by-lined Mark Bradshaw. I’m told he’s a British hotshot Mr. Armstead hired to cover the Continent.’

  ‘How did he get it out?’

  ‘I don’t know precisely. It was filed through our London bureau. He must have found some means of getting it out. Maybe just as you tried.’

  ‘Mr. Armstead didn’t tell me he had someone else there.’

  ‘Publishers don’t always confide in reporters, or editors either.’

  She tried to protest once more. ‘But Nick Ramsey and I -‘ She remembered. ‘Oh, my God, Ollie, I nearly forgot to tell you. Nick Ramsey was picked up by the Spanish police around noon today. They dragged him out of the hotel for questioning about the kidnapping. They had spotted him earlier, meeting with an ETA sympathizer -‘

  McAllister chuckled, unconcerned. ‘Good old Nick. Here we go again.’

  ‘He’s been arrested, Ollie.’

  ‘He always is. Okay, the police in San Sebastian have him. You want us to try to get him free.’

  ‘He wanted Mr. Armstead to contact the United States ambassador in Madrid -‘

  T know. Nick always travels first-class. Don’t worry, I’ll get right on it.’

  �
�I’m supposed to wait here for him. Also, to stand by for our next assignment. You can get Nick out?’

  ‘Don’t worry, Vicky. Enjoy the sun while you can. You’ll see Nick soon enough, and you’ll hear from us.’

  After the call, Victoria broke into tears out of exhaustion and frustration. As a team player, she should have been happy that the Record had the story. But she was miserable that she had failed to make it alone, that she had been scooped by her own side. A few minutes later she recovered and picked up the telephone again, this time to call room service.

  The next day, except for one long walk on the busy Boulevard

  Thiers and the crowded shopping mall of Rue Gambetta in St-Jean-de-Luz and a stop at the waterfront to watch the blue-and-white tuna boats in the harbor and the sun-lovers before their cabanas on the broad beach, she confined herself to her room, awaiting a call from Ramsey.

  When the telephone rang, it brought her not a call from Ramsey but a longdistance call from Edward Armstead in New York.

  ‘I hear you phoned me yesterday with news of the kidnapping,’ Armstead said. ‘I appreciate your effort, and I wanted you to know it.’

  She bit her lip and forced herself to say, ‘Congratulations anyway for getting the story before I could get it to you. You must be very happy.’

  ‘I’m ecstatic,’ crowed Armstead. ‘We’re outselling every other paper in town. We’re running alone, way out in front, with this one. And this morning we’ve got another clean beat.’

  ‘What is it?’ she asked politely.

  ‘Bradshaw filed the kidnappers’ demands. He got hold of a communique they’ve just issued. Want to hear it?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘Let me read it to you,’ said Armstead proudly. ‘Here it is. “The Basque Socialist Revolutionary Organization for National Liberation, Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA, assume responsibility for taking into custody yesterday the king of Spain.”’

  ‘So it was the ETA.’

  ‘Naturally it was,’ said Armstead. ‘Who else could it have been? The communique goes on, “Our action against the king of Spain and the Spanish government constitutes a major step forward for socialism in Euzkadi in our struggle against national oppression, as well as for the liberation of the exploited and the oppressed in the Spanish state.”’ Armstead’s voice had drifted off. ‘Then they make their ransom demand. They want a half-dozen Basque political prisoners in Madrid released from jail. When they are assured that this has been done, they will return the king unharmed.’

  ‘No money?’ said Victoria, surprised.

  ‘This was purely a political kidnapping,’ said Armstead. ‘By the way, I really called to let you know I’ve got onto the Nick Ramsey matter. I just received word from our

  ambassador in Madrid. He’s been promised that Ramsey will be freed in the morning. You should see him sometime tomorrow.’

  ‘I’m certainly glad to hear that.’

  ‘When you’re together again, give me a ring. We’ll move ahead from there.’

  The next morning, rested and bathed and wearing a Harris tweed blazer, a ruffled fine linen blouse, and a wool flannel skirt, Victoria was having a late brunch in the dining patio of the Chantaco. She had almost finished her pot of coffee and had read the long story in the International Herald Tribune on the kidnapping of the king, which gave entire credit for the beat to the New York Record, when she heard her name called out.

  She looked up and there was Nick Ramsey, coming out from under a wisteria-bedecked archway and removing his new black beret to bow to her.

  He kissed her on the forehead and sat down. ‘How’s the keeper of the scoops?’ he said. He beckoned a waiter. ‘Ham and eggs and black coffee,’ he ordered.

  Victoria was staring at him. ‘Nick, are you all right?’

  He lifted his arms and inspected them. ‘Everything’s in place. No signs of police brutality. Just hours of the same questions over and over again, which is worse.’

  ‘Were you in jail?’

  ‘No such luck. Nothing picturesque. Just put back in my hotel room under armed guard. Thanks for getting me released. Well, did you scoop the world?’

  She poked the Herald Tribune at him, pointing to the lead story. ‘See for yourself.’

  He read the story in silence.

  ‘It’s not yours,’ he commented, when he had finished. ‘Who’s Mark Bradshaw?’

  ‘I thought you’d know.’

  ‘Never heard of him in my life.’

  ‘Ollie says he’s someone Armstead hired abroad.’

  ‘I wonder how on earth Bradshaw got it out ahead of you.’

  ‘That was sure a letdown.’

  ‘Well, anyway, Armstead had it all to himself. I do give him credit. Never thought him that smart or perceptive,

  anticipating that this might happen, sending us down there.’

  A loudspeaker crackled. Miss Victoria Weston was requested to come to the reception desk.

  She leaped to her feet and hastened to the desk. She was told that New York City was on the line asking for her, and was directed to a lobby telephone.

  It was Harry Dietz calling longdistance.

  ‘Hello, Victoria,’ he said. ‘It must be morning there. I tried your room, then had you paged.’

  ‘Here I am.’

  ‘Mr. Armstead asked me to find out if Nick Ramsey had arrived yet.’

  ‘He walked in moments ago. He’s safe and sound. We were just having brunch.’

  ‘Good,’ said Dietz.

  ‘Your story on the kidnapping - you broke big. Front page in the Paris Herald, with full credit to the New York Record.’

  ‘Wonderful. I’ll inform Mr. Armstead. Incidentally, you’ll be interested to know we’ve come up with another exclusive on the ETA kidnapping. The Spanish government capitulated to the ransom demand. The king was released quite dramatically. Flown by helicopter to an isolated hill outside San Sebastian, and lowered to the barren summit blindfolded and tied. After the helicopter had disappeared, the Spanish authorities received a phone call telling them where to find him. They found him, quite intact. We have it, totally exclusive, in our last edition off the presses for morning distribution.’

  ‘Congratulations again,’ said Victoria.

  ‘One more thing Mr. Armstead wanted me to tell you and Nick. You are to proceed to Paris today. You will be at the Plaza Athenee as before. Mr. Armstead will be in touch with you there tomorrow afternoon with your next assignment.’

  ‘Do you have any idea what?’ Victoria asked eagerly.

  ‘Go to Paris and wait.’

  After hanging up, she realized that she had forgotten to ask Dietz the one piece of information she wanted to know. She had wanted to ask him, Who is Mark Bradshaw? Maybe, she decided, she would find out in Paris.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  With one hand Dr. Carl Scharf brushed the bread crumbs off the front of his green turtleneck sweater into the cup formed by his other hand, and deposited the accumulated crumbs in the paper plate on his desk, which still held the crusts of a tomato and lettuce sandwich. ‘Edward,’ he said to Armstead, ‘do you realize you’ve gone through this entire session - it’s almost over - and you never once mentioned your father?’

  Armstead was not sure whether he was being praised or chastised. He decided that it was a compliment. ‘My father is dead,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘He’s no part of my life anymore.’ He reflected on this and added, ‘Actually, I will give him credit for one thing. He may not have had respect for his offspring, but he certainly had respect for power. He always knew that success was the name of the game. Now I can see that he was right. It is. All things considered, that’s the real orgasm.’

  ‘There’s room for both orgasms,’ said Scharf gently. ‘They’re both real.’

  ‘In my book,’ said Armstead, ‘success is the big one. The other is the little one - most anyone can have it.’

  Dr. Scharf locked his pudgy hands over the protrusion of his belly and re
garded his patient with benign pride. ‘Well, I’m pleased you’re pleased with yourself.’

  ‘That’s a rotten sentence,’ said Armstead. ‘You’d never make it on the Record.’ He sat back. ‘Yes, I’m damned pleased with myself. I always knew that I could do it if I had the chance, and now I’m doing it. You’ve got to admit, Carl, it’s no mean accomplishment - first the Yinger beat, and now the king of Spain blitz, two hot exclusives in a row. We’ve knocked everybody out of the box.’

  ‘You’ve certainly demonstrated a genius for your job.’

  ‘Only the beginning, Carl, only the beginning. I’m going to go right on. I don’t intend to stop.’

  ‘How do you explain your instinct for what’s going to happen, and being there when it happens?’

  Armstead smirked. ‘Luck and my crystal ball.’ He turned serious. ‘No, it’s more. It’s knowing where important people will be at the wrong time. It’s sensing when they’re vulnerable. It’s an awareness of what their enemies are thinking. In a way, it’s like being God. It’s like looking down from a high cloud and being able to see what’s ahead for mere mortals. And being able to act on it.’

  ‘I think you really mean it,’ said Scharf.

  ‘What?’

  ‘That you feel like God.’

  Armstead gave a shrug of embarrassment. ‘No, that’s not what I meant exactly. Don’t bait me. I just meant I am pretty good in the premonition department. I knew what was going to happen to the king of Spain, and it happened. I was there with it first. Circulation soared. I’ve been able to put the word “news” back into “newspaper.” Not bad. I’m enjoying the power.’ He looked down at his watch. ‘I’d better be going.’

  ‘No hurry,’ said Dr. Scharf, taking in the wall clock. ‘We still have some time. I’ll let you know when it’s time to go.’

  Armstead came to his feet. ‘I’m busy. I have to talk to someone in Paris.’ He hesitated. ‘In fact, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’m too busy to see you three times a week anymore. My life is pretty much under control, so once a week from now on should do it.’

  ‘If you’re sure you feel that way.’