which demonstrated that he was at ease, in charge and back on balance
again – assuming, that is, that he had ever been off it in the fint
place. ‘Cash is the basis, gentlemen, and only cash. Precisely how it is
the basis I am not yet permitted to divulge but you have my assurance
that it is the sole and only motivation. And you also have my assurance
-which you can take or leave as you choose – that we have no intention
of bringing harm to anyone. And, quite honestly, in saying so we are not
so moved, perhaps, by humanitarian considerations as you are. Organized
crime on a large scale is big business and we run our affairs on a
business-like basis. Emotion is nothing, calculation all. Killing not
only pays no dividends, it is counter-productive. A robber is pursued by
the law, but only within reasonable linuts: but he who kills in the
process of robbery is relentlessly pursued. No, no, gentlemen, we are in
the business of conducting a purely psychological warfare.’
George reached across the table and touched another headline. ‘Kidnapping
young ladies is another form of psychological warfare?’
‘But of course. One of the most effective of all psychological
210 –
forms of blackmail. It touches the strings of one’s heart, you understand.’ ‘You are a cold-blooded basta-rd,’George said genially. When George was at
his most genial he was at his most menacing and the slight compression of
Agnelli’s lips. showed that he realized that he was in the presence of
menace. ‘I wonder how you would like it if your wife, sister or daughter
were held with a gun at their heads or a knife at their throats? And don’t
throw up your hands in horror. Blackmailers never hold hostages without
accompanying threats of what will happen if tbeir blackm2iling ends are not
achieved. As often as not such threats are carried out. What would it be in
this case? Turninc, them over to some of the less uninhibited among your
employees for a few hours’ innocent pleasure? Torture? Or the ultimate? We
are, as we have repeatedly told you, not men of violence. But if any harm
were to come in any way to those young ladies, totally harmless and
innocent as we believe them to be, we would be capable of actions that you
would regard as being acts of unimaginable violence. I do wish you would
believe me, Mr Agnelli.’
Agnelli believed him all right. The atmosphere in the Trianon’s lounge was
acceptably cool but a sheen of sweat had suddenly appeared on Agnelli’s
forchead.
George said: ‘Why, for instance, did you kidnap this Anne Meijer? Is it
because her father runs a minor kingdom of his own and may be presumed to
have a powerful voice in government?’ Agnelli nodded silently. ‘And this’
– lie twisted the paper to have a glance at it -‘this Julie van Effen.
She’s only a policeman’s sister. There are thousands of policemen in the
Netherlands.’
‘There’s only one van Effen.’ Agnelli spoke with a considerable depth of
feeling. ‘We know there’s a nationwide hunt up for us but we also know
who’s leading it. Van Effen. If we have his sister, and we do, we may clip
his wings a bit. ~
‘You don’t sound as if you care for this man very much?’ Agnelli said
nothing, the look in his eyes said it for him. ‘And you still ask me to
believe that you wouldn’t subject those girls to some subtle or not so
subtle forms of persuasion to achieve your ends?’
211
‘I don’t really care whether you believe me or not.’ Once again Agnelli was
beginning to sound more than a little tired. ‘I believe you are quite
capable of doing what you say you would do if you found out we are
deceiving you. I have no doubt that you are heavily armed. I suggrest you
come along and see and believe for yourselves. That includes seeing our
hostages this afternoon. If you don’t like what you see you can leave or
take any other measures you think appropriate. There’s nothing else I can
say and I can’t speak fairer than that.’
George said: ‘Stephan?’
‘We’ll go along. Mr Agnelli’s explanations may be a bit thin, but if we are
to believe in the essence of what he says-and I have no reason to think
that we sbouldn’t – then I think we all may have a great dc9l to lose if we
are raising objections to a state of affairs that do not exist. It wouldn’t
be very bright of us to cut off our own Poscs. As Mr Agnelli says, let’s go
and see for ourselves.’
‘Thank you, gentlemen,’ Agnelli didn’t mop his brow, perhaps because he
wasn’t the brow-mopping kind, but almost certainly because he would not
have regarded it as a very politic thing to do. ‘I was by no means
convinced that you would come to see it my way – you are exceptionally
difficult negotiators, if I may say so – but I am glad you have done.’
Moderation, reasonableness, courtesy – Agnelli could generously afford all
of those now that he had had, as he thought, his own way. ‘Now, where’s the
truck?’
‘Nearby garage.’
‘Garage? Is it safe-‘
‘I own it,’ George said. ‘Goodness sake, do you think this is the first
time?’
‘Of course. Silly question.’
‘We have one or two questions,’ van Effen said. ‘We’re committed now and
we’ve no more wish to takc chances than you have. I don’t for a moment
suppose we’ll know where this place is until we get there. Have you a place
of concealment for this truck?’
‘Yes.’
‘How many people are going out there?’
212
‘Apart from yourselves? The three of us, Mr Riordan whom you haven’t met
but have read about, Joop, and Joachim. Why?’
‘flease. My turn for questions. You travel in the mini-bus?’
‘Well, no. We’d hoped there would be plenty of room in the truck.,
No, indeed, van Effen thought. They wanted to keep the closest possible eye
on the three of them and the precious contents of the truck. ‘How many
cars?’
‘Cars?’Agnelh looked faintly surprised. ‘No cars. Why?’
‘Why?’ Van Effen looked at the ceiling, then at George, then back at
Agnelli. ‘Why? Tell me, Mr Agnelli, have you ever transported stolen
Government property before?’
‘This will be a new experience for me.’
‘I want two cars. One to follow the truck at two or three hundred metres,
the other to follow the first car at a similar distance.’
‘Ah! Well, now, I appreciate this. You do not wish to be followed.’
‘I have a rooted objection to being followed. One chance in a million. We
do not take that chance.’
‘Good, good. Joop and Joachim. I’ll phone now.’
41,ast question. We forgot to discuss ihis. Do we return’to the city
tonight?’
‘No.’
‘You should have told us. We do require a tooth-brush or two. However, we
guessed right and packed some gear. Three minutes in the lobby.’
Back in his room van Effen said: ‘George, I’ve said it before and say it
again. Your career has been a wasted one, ruined and misplaced. That was
splendid, quite splendid.’
George made a mock-modest gesture of depreciation. ‘It was nothing.’
‘How to establish a moral ascendancy in one easy lesson. They’re going to
go out of their way not to step on our toes. And did you gather the
impression, George, that they need us more than we need them. Or, at least,
that they think so?’
‘Yes. Intriguing.’
213
‘Very. Second, they know that they’re not going to be followed. It was our
suggestion, so that makes us trustworthy?’
‘Anyone can see that. It will also, we trust, make them relax their
vigilance.’
‘We trust. Third, a&n thanks to you, it is certain that Agnelli has no idea
whatsoever who I am. Agnelli is sadly in need of a course of instruction
froin you. He’s a poor dissembler and over-reacts too easily. it is not
possible, that, knowing who I was, he could have sat at the same table
without giving himself away. Lastly, it seems fairly certain that we’ll be
safe until or unless they find out who we are or until we are no longer of
any use to them – when they have achieved whatever it is they want to
achieve, that is. But I think the latter unlikely. I could understand them
wanting to dispose of us if we were to betray their identity but their
identity is already well known – the names of those in Dessens’ house last
night will probably be in every major newspaper in Europe this morning. Or
by nightfall. And the TV and radio. I asked Mr Wieringa to make specially
sure about that. And didn’t you love all this talk about limiting
themselves solely to pure psychology and being interested only in cash
returns? You believed him, of course?’