Red Alert (11 page)

Philpott hung up, then asked Sarah to get him Kolchinsky's hotel in Rome.

tPaluzzi had called Nikki Karos from Rome to find out whether he would be able to see them that afternoon. He bad refused to elaborate further over the telephone and Caros had told him they were welcome to fly to the island see him, though he doubted he would be of much sistance to them.

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They had flown in a NOCS Cessna as far as the capital, Corfu, where they had transferred to an Alouette helicopter and completed the twelve miles to Karos's mansion on the slopes of Mount Aji Deka, arriving mid afternoon.

Marco executed a perfect landing within a few feet of the white Mercedes parked on the edge of the helipad. The driver stood beside it, a holstered Bernadelli visible on his belt. Graham and Paluzzi alighted from the helicopter. The driver took their Berettas, saying they would be returned when they left the island. He ushered them into the car, then got behind the wheel and drove the five hundred yards to the Spanish-style mansion which was set against the side of the mountain and supported by four thick concrete pylons driven down forty feet into the base of the rock. A butler, complete with white gloves, accompanied them to a glass-walled lift which ran up the end wall of the building. He pressed a button and they were transported to the roof. The doors opened on to a spacious terrace dominated by an Olympic-size swimming pool. The butler retreated to bring drinks, and they crossed to a railing which ran the length of the terrace to examine the breathtaking view. The village and the tranquil Khalikiopoulos Lagoon stood in the foreground, with Mount Pandokrator, the island's highest mountain, and the rugged Albanian ranges in the distance. It all seemed very peaceful.

Graham moved to the swimming pool and tested the water with his fingertips. It was warm. Then, as he stood up, he noticed the row of glass tanks built into the wall to the left of the lift. Each of the six tanks contained a pair of snakes. A plaque attached to each tank identified the species: Bushmaster, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Green Mamba, Gabon Viper, King Cobra and

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Saw-scaled Adder. Six of the most deadly species known to man.

'Beautiful, aren't they?'

Graham swung round to face the man who had emerged silently from the lift behind him. He was in his fifties with a large nose prominent in an asymmetrical face. He was dressed in a white suit with a panama tugged over his grey hair.

'Karos. Nikki Karos,' the man said, extending a hand towards Graham. 'Paluzzi?'

'Graham. State Department.'

'Ah, the American,' Karos replied, shaking Graham's hand.

Paluzzi crossed to where they were standing and shook Karos's hand.

'The great survivors,' Karos said, looking at the snakes. 'Reptiles have been on this earth, in one form or another, for three hundred million years. From them came the dinosaur, the ichthyosaur, the plesiosaur and all the rest of those magnificent prehistoric creatures. From those prototypes came the mammals and the birds. And when man does finally destroy himself, the reptiles will still be here to start the evolutionary process all over again.'

'Why snakes? Why not crocodiles or lizards?'

'Where's the beauty in the lumbering crocodile, Mr Graham? Or the scurrying lizard? There is, however, ; immense beauty in the snake. The sleek, streamlined body. The speed with which it strikes its prey. I sit out here for hours watching them.' Karos smiled. 'I'm sorry, I know you didn't come all this way to discuss snakes. Please, ; won't you sit down.'

They crossed to a table beside the pool and each took a chair. It was pleasantly warm in the thin March sun. The butler returned with a tray and deposited their drinks

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on the table, along with a plate of loukanika, small spicy sausages. It was only when Graham glanced after his retreating figure that he saw a second man standing by the lift, his arms folded across his chest. He was black and a muscular six-foot-five, with a shaven head and a gold sleeper in his left ear. He reminded Graham of an extra from one of Errol Flynn's buccaneering films.

Karos followed Graham's eyes. 'Don't worry about Boudien. He's been my personal bodyguard for the past five years. He's an Algerian. He doesn't say much, but when he does speak, people tend to listen to him.'

'I'm not surprised,' Graham replied, then drank a mouthful of the cordial the butler had brought for him.

'Well, gentlemen, what can I do for you? I must say I'm a little intrigued as to why the State Department should send someone out here to see me. I have no business interests in your country, Mr Graham.'

'It's got nothing to do with my country. What can you tell us about Vittore Dragotti?'

Graham and Paluzzi watched Karos closely, hoping to" see a flicker of recognition in his eyes. There was nothing.; Not that it surprised them. Karos was very much thel professional.

Karos took a sip of his iced tea then shook his head.1 'Sorry, I can't say I know the name.'

Paluzzi then put into action the plan they had devise on the plane. He took the bank statements from his jacke pocket and extended them towards Karos. 'These wer found in Dragotti's wallsafe. Four of the payments havf been traced to you. Perhaps you can explain that?'

Frowning, Karos took the statements from Paluzzi ar laid them out neatly on the table in front of him. He removed a pair of reading glasses from his pocket ar slipped them on. Having studied the entries Paluzzi ha

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marked in red, he looked up and shrugged. 'It's certainly a mystery to me. I've never done any business with him. Am I allowed to know what he does, or where he works?' ; 'He's the sales manager at Neo-Chem Industries in Rome,' Paluzzi said.

'Neo-Chem? That's the pharmaceutical company.' Karos smiled faintly. 'We're hardly in the same line of business, are we? All I can suggest is that one of my associates has been doing some business with him - '

'You can cut the act, Karos,' Paluzzi snapped. 'I know for a fact that no payment is authorized without your signature. If one of your associates had been doing business with him, you'd have known about it.' 'Come on, Fabio, stop treating the guy with kid gloves,' I Graham said, bringing the next bit of the plan into play. , 'Why waste time? Tell him that Dragotti's confessed.' 'Let me handle it my way, okay?' Paluzzi retorted. Graham turned to Karos. 'Let's cut the crap. We've ^already seen Dragotti this morning. He agreed to cooperate with us in return for a shorter sentence. He's iadmitted being the middleman between you and Wiseman. |How do you think we got hold of those bank statements?' A drop of sweat ran down the side of Karos's face. He |wiped it away quickly then looked round at the approach rag Boudien who had been alerted by the raised voices. ie shook his head and waved him away. 'We've got the confession all neatly documented back f Rome,' Graham said. 'It's enough to put you away for venty years.'

Til make a deal with you,' Karos said, once Boudien ad disappeared into the lift.

'You're in no position to make deals, Karos,' Graham torted. 'I can't go to jail, I've got too many enemies there.'

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'You should have thought about that before you got involved,' Graham said.

Karos crossed to the railing and looked across the Khalikiopoulos Lagoon. Til take you to Ubrino. In return you give me a twelve-hour head start once the vial's been recovered. It's a small price to pay with so much at stake.'

Graham looked at Paluzzi. 'What do you think?'

Paluzzi stared at his empty glass and finally nodded. He looked at Karos. 'It's a deal. When can you take us to him?'

'Tonight. I'm meeting him outside Sant'Ivo in Rome at eight o'clock.'

'And he'll have the vial with him?' Paluzzi asked, making notes on the pad he had taken from his pocket.

'I can only presume so. He was told never to let it out of his sight.'

'You know this place?' Graham asked Paluzzi.

Paluzzi nodded. 'It's a church near the Pantheon.'

'Why are you meeting him there?'

Karos shrugged. 'He was the one who called the meet-J ing. He just said it was important and for me to meet him| there.'

Graham eyed Karos suspiciously, then pointed a fmger| of warning at him. 'You'd better be on the level becau if you're leading us on a wild-goose chase you'll be in ja so quickly your feet won't touch the ground.'

'Why should I deceive you? I've got nothing to gain by it. Not now.'

'Who are you working for?' Paluzzi asked, breakir, the silence.

'I'm not working for anybody, I'm working with Zocchi, head of the Rome cell of the Red Brigades.'

'Why did he come to you?' Paluzzi asked.

'Because he knew the committee wouldn't sanction i

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operation. And he needed money to finance it. I had the capital.'

'How much was Wiseman paid altogether?' Graham asked.

'A hundred thousand dollars. Chicken feed, really, when you think about what he created. That virus is ; priceless. Priceless.'

'Whose idea was the sleeping gas?' Paluzzi asked. 'Zocchi's. It was a diversion, nothing more.' 'So Ubrino knows he's got the virus?' Paluzzi said. 'Of course he does. As I said, the sleeping gas was just I a red herring.'

'What are you going to get out of this?' Paluzzi asked. 'Twenty million pounds sterling.' Graham whistled softly. 'Did Zocchi say how he in nded to get the money?'

Karos shook his head, then noticed the forty-foot white |Gazelle helicopter crossing the lagoon towards the house. 'Are you going to admire the scenery all day?' Graham apped.

Karos turned to him. 'No, he never said. I just presumed : would be some kind of deal which included his release i well as a sum of money in return for the vial.' Graham's eyes flickered past Karos. The helicopter was sing in fast. Too fast. Then he saw the two 30 mm annons mounted on either side of the fuselage. There wasn't even time to shout a warning. He lashed out deways, knocking Paluzzi and his chair backwards into : swimming pool. He flung himself into the water as the Machine-guns opened fire. Karos's body jerked groquely and blood spurted from the bullet holes in his imaculate white jacket. He stumbled against the railing, i disappeared over the side. The pilot raked the terrace another few seconds then banked the helicopter

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sharply to the left and headed back towards the capital, Corfu.

Graham and Paluzzi held their breath underwater for another ten seconds after the firing had stopped, then swam across the pool to the safety of the steps, where they surfaced, gasping for air. Graham was the first out of the pool and he ran straight to the railing. Paluzzi was close behind him. Karos lay sprawled on the rocks eighty feet below them, his white jacket startling against the grey of the stone. Paluzzi cursed furiously in Italian, then wiped his hand over his face. There was blood on his fingers.

Graham noticed his frown and gestured to his bleeding lip. 'I didn't exactly have time to choose my spot.'

Paluzzi patted Graham lightly on the arm. 'I owe you my life.'

'Forget it,' Graham replied, stripping off his wet shirt. 'You don't owe me anything.'

Boudien emerged from the lift followed by two guards. Both were armed with Spectre submachine-guns. They^ ran to the railing and peered down at Karos on the rocks 5 below. The two guards, glancing repeatedly at Graham| and Paluzzi, spoke softly to Boudien.

'They think we set him up,' Paluzzi said, interpreting! the Greek for Graham.

Boudien turned to Paluzzi. 'Did you see what kind i helicopter it was?'

'No,' Paluzzi lied. 'All I saw was that it was white' a single figure at the controls.'

'Did you see his face?' Boudien asked.

'You must be joking,' Paluzzi said incredulously, second later I was underwater.'

Boudien gripped the railing tightly and stared out ac the Khalikiopoulos Lagoon.

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'Who do you think did it?' Paluzzi asked, casting a sidelong glance at him.

'Signore Karos had many enemies. It could have been set up by any one of them.'

'How about Lino Zocchi?' Paluzzi asked, watching for a reaction.

Boudien's face remained impassive. 'I don't know him. Signore Karos never discussed his work with me.' He suddenly eyed Paluzzi suspiciously. 'Is that why you and the American came here, to ask Signore Karos about this man Zocchi?'

'He did come into the conversation.' 'The police will be here shortly,' Boudien said. 'You can tell them about it. You can also tell them how the two of you managed to come out of all this unscathed.'

'You think we had something to do with Karos's murder?' Paluzzi demanded.

'That's for the police to decide. The two guards will btay here. They have orders to shoot if either of you |attempts to escape.'

Paluzzi watched Boudien return to the lift, then turned |to Graham and told him what was happening.

'And there is only one way out of here,' Graham said, [lancing at the lift.

'Angelo should have heard the gunfire from the helicopr.' 'What can he do?'

'There's a rope ladder attached to the side of the passen er seat. If he dropped it we could conceivably grab hold as the helicopter passed overhead. I know it's a long got but it's our only real chance." Graham looked at his watch. 'It's 4.17. We'll give him Mil 4.20. No longer. Then we'll have to take our chances jfith the lift. We have to be out of here before the cops

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arrive, especially if they are already in Karos's back pocket.'

'What about the guards? We'd be dead before we got anywhere near the lift.'

'We'd be dead before we got anywhere near the rope ladder as well. We've got to take them out, whatever happens.' Graham shaded his eyes as he looked up at the approaching helicopter. 'Looks like the cavalry's just arrived.'

Paluzzi followed his gaze. 'What about the guards?'

'Let them come to us. They're bound to be suspicious of the helicopter. You take the short one on the left. I'll take his friend.'

The guards moved towards them. The short guard: gestured for them to move away from the railing. Paluzzi j and Graham stepped back, their hands raised above their j heads. The second guard crossed to the railing, the Spectre! gripped in both hands, waiting for the helicopter to come| into firing range. The lift began to descend from the terraces. Boudien had seen the helicopter and was sending up more guards to deal with it. Graham and Pali exchanged glances. There was no time to lose. Pali lunged at the short guard, parrying the Spectre with left arm, and brought his knee up savagely into the guar groin. The Spectre slipped from his fingers. Graham picke it up and shot the second guard even as he turned, raised, to fire. Paluzzi grabbed the second Spectre turned towards the lift, waiting for the other guards' arrive.