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EIGHTEEN
WASHINGTON, DC
7:30 AM
STEPHANIE DECIDED TO STAY IN THE CAPITAL THE MAJOR players were all here, and if she was going to help Malone she would need to be close to every one of theellan Billet headquarters through her laptop and cell phone and presently had three agents heading for Denmark Another tere already in London, a solo on the way to Washington Her hotel room, for noould be co for the past twenty , she s about Thorvaldsen, he was punctual She lifted the receiver "Yes, Henrik"
"So sure it was ht on time"
"Lateness is rude"
"I couldn’t agree h to knoe have a problem"
Yesterday Thorvaldsen had dispatched a squadron of investigators to back track the movements of the two ent, she was also able to muster Europol’s help
"Ever heard of der Orden des Goldenen Vliesses? The Order of the Golden Fleece?"
"It’s a European economic cartel I’m aware of it"
"I need an Internet connection to your laptop"
"That’s classified," she said lightheartedly
"I assure you, hat I know, I have all the clearances I need"
She told hiraphs materialized on her screen Three were head shots-two, full-body The five men ell into their seventies, faces like caricatures, full of dull angles, cold and expressionless, each casting a veneer of sophistication-the aristocratic bearing oftheir way
"The Order of the Golden Fleece was re-formed in the late forties, just after the coanized in Vienna, the initial roup of industrialists and financiers In the fifties it diversified, addingwith more financiers"
She slid a notepad closer and clicked open a ballpoint pen "What do you mean, re-formed?"
"The name coundy, created in 1430 But that group of knights lasted only a few decades Through the centuries reincarnations appeared, and a social Order of the Golden Fleece still exists in Austria But it’s the economic cartel of the same name that poses a threat"
Her eyes were locked on the screen, hergroup," Thorvaldsen said "A strict code of statutes governs the Order’s business Membership is restricted to seventy-one A Circle of five chairs governs What’s called the Blue Chair heads both the Circle and the Order These people wear criold ed with fire steels and flints eolden fleece Quite drareed
"You need to understand about the five on your screen The face at the top left is an Austrian industrialist, Alfred Hermann He presently occupies the Blue Chair A billionaire several times over, he’s the owner of European steel factories, Africanconcerns ide"
Thorvaldsen explained about the other four One owned a controlling interest in the VRN Bank that was nationwide in Austria, Ger with pharmaceutical and automobile companies Another dominated the European securities markets with investment firms that handled portfolios for many European Union nations A third wholly owned two French coian that, outside the United States, were the world’s leading aircraft producers The last was the self-designated "king of concrete," his cohout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
"That’s a forroup," she said
"To say the least A distinctive Aryan flavor permeates the Chairs, and always has-Ger The Chairs are elected from the membership and serve for life A Shadow is simultaneously chosen who can immediately step in and succeed at death The Blue Chair is elected by the Chairs and likewise serves for life"
"Efficient devils"
"They pride themselves on it The entire membership , the other just before winter, on a four-hundred-acre estate owned by Alfred Hermann outside Vienna The rest of the year business is conducted by the Chairs or through standing committees There’s a chancellor, treasurer, and secretary, along with a support staff that work out of Heranization is intentionally streamlined No unnecessary parliamentary delays"
She jotted notes on the pad
"The Blue Chair is not allowed a vote, either in the Circle or at Assembly, unless there’s a tie The odd numbers of seventy-one members and five Chairs create the possibility"
She had to adative efforts "Tell me about the membership"
"The majority are European, but four Americans, two Canadians, three Asians, a Brazilian, and an Australian are a the current seventy-one Men and woo Turnover is only occasional, but a waiting list ensures that seventy-one will always be maintained"
She was curious "Why be headquartered in Austria?"
"For the same reason many of us have money there An express provision in the national constitution forbids violations of bank secrecy Money is difficult to trace The Order is well financed Meet Last year’s topped one hundred fifty million euros"
"And what do they spend that kind of revenue on?"
"What people have sought for centuries-political influence, mainly toward the European Community’s efforts to centralize currency and reduce trade barriers The e the infrastructure of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Roh some carefully placed contributions, members have obtained more than their fair share of contracts"
"Still, Henrik, a hundred fiftycontracts and bribing politicians"
"You’re right There’s a greater purpose to what the group does"
She was getting i"
"The Middle East That’s their highest priority"
"How in the world do you know all this?"
Silence came from the other end of the phone
She waited
"I’m a member"
NINETEEN
LONDON
12:30 PM
MALONE WALKED WITH PAM DOWN THE RAMP AS THEY DEPLANED froht at Christiangade, then flown together froland, Paia, Malone as a final destination Gary was left with Thorvaldsen His son knew the Dane from the past two summers he’d spent in Den, Malone believed Christiangade the safest place for Gary For added measure, Thorvaldsen hired a cadre of private security to patrol the estate Paued Eventually she understood the wisdo what had happened in Atlanta With the crisis ended, she needed to get back to work She’d departed quickly with no notice to her fir Gary was not what she’d wanted, but finally she conceded that Malone could protect him better than she ever could
"Hope I still have a job," she said
"I iiveness You going to tell them what happened?"
"I’ll have to"
"It’s okay Tell the on with this?" she said "Why not let it alone?"
He noticed that she seelooized for yesterday and he’d brushed it aside He actually didn’t want to talk with her and, thanks to their late booking, they hadn’t sat together on the flight Which was good There were still things that needed to be said about Gary Unpleasant things But noas not the time
"It’s the only way to ain," he said "If I’m not the only one who knows about the link, then I’et anymore And by the way, neither are you or Gary"
"What do you plan to do?" Pam asked
He truly didn’t know, so he said, "I’ll figure that out when I get there"
They wove a path through the crowded concourse toward the ternals that they were better off apart Dormant senses, tuned froain alert He’d noticed so three rows ahead on the opposite side of the cabin A string-bean body, brown as a berry, his cheeks dark with stubble He’d boarded in Copenhagen, and so during the flight had been a probleh the man had deplaned ahead of them, he was now positioned at their rear
And that seemed a problem
"You shot that man yesterday without a hint of remorse," Pam said "That’s scary, Cotton"
"Gary’s safety was at stake"
"That what you used to do?"
"All the time"
"I’ve seen all the death I want to see"
So had he
They kept walking He could tell she was thinking He’d always knohen her brain was churning
"I didn’t mention it yesterday," she said, "with all that happened, but I have a new lad, but wondered why she was telling hi time since ere concerned with each other’s business"
"I know But he’s kind of special" She lifted her arave me this watch"
She seeed her "A TAG Heuer Not bad"
"I thought so, too Surprised the heck out of ood?"
She nodded "I enjoy my time with him"
He didn’t knohat to say