Page 64 of Licence To Howl
Moretti waved him off. ‘This has not been a good night for Rome,’ he said stiffly. ‘Or for Europe. Vissier was right, you know. My contacts tell me that three hours before the bombs went off, an anonymous message was left. It was a demand for one thousand bitcoin to be paid into an online wallet or Rome would suffer the consequences. I am told that such methods of money transfer are virtually untraceable and that the dollar equivalent is close to sixty million. In any case, the demand was ignored.’ He sniffed. ‘As one would have expected. We all know what happened after that.’
Devereau’s stomach tightened. ‘The die has already been cast and the operation is under way.’
‘Indeed it is.’ Moretti clenched his fists. ‘We have passed custody of Vissier to the Italian police. Given what he has been involved in, we had to do so. It won’t be long before the authorities across Europe know everything that we do. Vissier was already screaming Avanopoulos’s name when we handed him over.’
That was good. The more people on the lookout for the Greek fucker, the less chance there was that more bombs would go off. Organisations like MI5 had the means to track the explosives used and look at how security at the Pantheon had been breached. Such information could lead directly to the money hungry terrorists. It would also be far harder for Stefan Avanopoulos to escape detection if everyone was searching for him. And at least Greensmith wouldn’t be able to accuse him of withholding vital details. They were still on the same team at the end of the day.
‘Do not let them win, Englishman,’ Moretti said. ‘Not under any circumstances. These bastards will not waste time and they will make their next move swiftly. They are counting on a domino effect for their plans to work and they will not allow any country or any security services the chance to find them and stop them. Speed is their ally and your enemy.’
‘In which case,’ Scarlett said, ‘We ought to go now.’ She stepped forward and kissed Moretti on the cheek. Devereau fought a flare of irrational jealousy. ‘Take care.’
The Italian nodded. ‘Arsenio will take you to the air strip immediately. He has your suitcases all ready to go.’ Moretti paused. ‘Happy hunting.’
Devereau grimaced. It wouldn’t be happy at all, but it would certainly be a hunt. And an increasingly desperate one. He couldn’t fail again; he wouldn’t have more innocent blood on his hands. Not for the world.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Berlin felt colder than Rome.In fact it had an entirely different atmosphere to the Italian capital, although it was no less striking. If Rome was an educated statesman in a sharp suit and with impeccable manners, Berlin was a brash, kooky teenager with edge and undeniable levels of cool. On any other occasion, he would have relished wandering around the city but Devereau wasn’t interested in seeing the sights this time around. The situation had escalated dramatically in the last twelve hours and, when he stared out of the window of the taxi at what Berlin had to offer, it was with unseeing eyes. He was in yet another unfamiliar city tracking down an unfamiliar man. And time was against them.
‘You are English?’ the taxi driver asked, in a bid to make small talk and pass the journey time quicker.
It was Scarlett who answered. ‘Yes.’
‘Vampire, yes?’
‘Yes.’
His eyes slid to Devereau who wasn’t in the mood for any chat. ‘You are here for business or pleasure? Because today is not a good day to be a tourist in Berlin.’
Now, Devereau was interested. ‘What do you mean?’
‘The government they close all the tourist buildings. All the public places.’ He gestured towards the radio. ‘It was on news. Charlottenburg Palace closed. Berlin Cathedral closed. Holocaust Memorial. Closed. Even Brandenburg Gate. You cannot get close to it today. It all closed.’ He took a hand off the steering wheel and waved it around to indicate his bafflement. ‘I do not understand why. They say maybe because of what happened in Rome last night. That maybe next attack will be here.’ He shook his head in dismay, causing his shaggy silver hair to bounce. ‘I am sorry you come here today. My friend told me police and army are everywhere. They are checking IDs and passports and bags. They close Christmas markets.’ He sucked air in through the gap in his teeth. ‘These terrorists. They ruin everything.’
‘You got that right,’ Scarlett murmured. She glanced at Devereau. ‘So all potential targets are closed. And being searched. It will be very difficult for anyone to plant a bomb somewhere. If not impossible. At least we know that MI5 are taking the information we found seriously and they’re working with other authorities instead of sneaking around on their own.’
Devereau scratched his chin. ‘On the surface, that would be a good thing. But now it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that Berlin has been identified as the next target. Avanopoulos or Alina Bonnet or whoever else is now running Solentino’s show must know that we’re onto RBPL. That could be disastrous. If they alter their plans to avoid detection, we won’t know about it until it’s too late.’
‘Unless your theory about Bonnet leaving Vissier alive so he could point the finger at Avanopoulos is correct,’ Scarlett said. ‘Because if that’s the case, then she would already know he would also confirm what RBPL meant. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that we found that scrap of paper at Solentino’s place. Maybe we’re supposed to know where they’re targeting. Terrorists spread terror by definition and there’s nothing more terrifying than waiting for an inevitable attack to happenandknowing where it’s going to happen but still being unable to stop it. Advance knowledge also gives governments enough time to get the money together that they need to meet the demands and prevent the attacks from happening.’
Hmm. ‘Advertising the targets in advance would be an incredibly risky move on her part,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘but the entire operation is risky beyond belief. Either Alina Bonnet is incredibly smart and has planned for every eventuality or we’re barking up the wrong tree completely and she’s already dead in a ditch somewhere.’
The taxi driver gave them a nervous look in the mirror. Devereau and Scarlett exchanged glances then, by silent mutual agreement, stayed quiet until he dropped them off near the train station at Potsdamer Platz.
He had certainly been right about the increased security. Everywhere Devereau looked, he could see armed police and soldiers. Their presence didn’t reassure him; if anything they only increased his sense of dread.
‘Fraulein Cook? Herr Webb?’
They both turned. Standing a few metres away was quite the welcome party. Three vampires, three werewolves, a pixie and a gremlin. And a human woman. Devereau stared hard at the woman. She smiled faintly back. Then one of the vampires stepped forward.
‘Meister Meyer,’ Scarlett said, with considerable respect in her voice. ‘Thank you for coming to meet us.’
‘I have told you before to call me Jurgen,’ the German replied. He glanced at Devereau. He didn’t smile but his expression wasn’t unfriendly. ‘I have heard a great deal about you, Herr Webb. It is good to finally make your acquaintance.’
Devereau nodded soberly back and then addressed the werewolves specifically. ‘I understand,’ he said, ‘that there will be considerable protocol that should be addressed concerning my presence here in Berlin. I hope that under the circumstances, we can set aside such traditions for now.’ The last thing he needed right now was a similar situation to the one he’d ended up in at the Colosseum.
All three werewolves stared at him. Then they burst out laughing. ‘You’ve just come from Rome,’ the tall female wolf said. ‘Don’t worry. We’re more relaxed here about such things. We don’t tend to adhere to the old ways like Nicolo Moretti does. Outsiders always think that us Germans are sticklers for the rules when the truth could not be more different.’ She shrugged ambivalently. ‘I am Mila, alpha of the Konig clan. This is Franz, the Fuchs alpha,’ she said, ‘and Tomas, the alpha of the Jager clan.’
No prizes for guessing which German clan was the strongest. Devereau greeted them all, making sure to be particularly deferential towards Mila Konig, before the pixie introduced himself as Rosafarben. The gremlin merely grunted and the remaining two vampires only bowed their heads in greeting.
