It was the first unexpected turn of the evening, but Gabriel was certain it would not be the last. It therefore came as no surprise that the promised 6:00p.m.call from the kidnappers did not come through until half past.
“Do you have the money?” asked the automated female voice.
“We have it,” answered Gabriel. “All we need is the name of the bank and the account and routing numbers.”
“The bank is CyproBank of Nicosia.”
Gabriel knew it well. It was one of the world’s least reputable financial firms. “And the account and routing numbers?”
The automated female recited them. Gabriel jotted the numbers on a piece of hotel stationery, then read them aloud.
“Correct and correct,” said the voice.
“When would you like us to send the money?”
“Immediately.”
“No Alice, no money,” said Gabriel, and killed the connection. Then he looked at Ingrid and asked, “Do you think you can hack CyproBank of Nicosia?”
She opened her laptop and went to work.
20
Baur au Lac Hotel
The kidnappers waited only twenty minutes before calling again. The automated female voice repeated her demand that Gabriel transfer the $500 million at once, and for a second time he refused. The voice responded by issuing yet another threat to kill the captive, but even she seemed to realize her words rang hollow. The entire episode had been nothing more than a ploy on the part of the kidnappers to short-circuit the customary procedures of making the final exchange of ransom for victim. Gabriel had used their ill-advised gambit to his advantage. Ingrid was already knocking on the door of CyproBank’s data network.
“Where are you now?” asked the voice after a silence of nearly a minute.
“You mean you don’t know?”
“We aren’t following you, Mr. Allon.”
“You really should be, you know. That’s the way it usually works.”
She repeated her original question, and this time Gabriel informed her that he was in Zurich, where he had spent the better part of the day assembling a half billion dollars in cash. “All of which can be yours,” he added, “if you play your cards right.”
The connection died suddenly. Their three minutes had elapsed.
Ingrid looked up from her laptop. “Do you believe them?”
“That they don’t know where we are?” Gabriel shook his head. “I have a feeling they’ve been watching me since the first time I walked into Edward Knight’s office in London.”
Ingrid returned to work on her laptop.
“How much time do you need?” asked Gabriel.
“In a perfect world... forty-eight hours.”
“You have exactlyfourhours.”
The burner phone was ringing again. Gabriel waited a few seconds longer before answering. The automated voice tonelessly issued her instructions.
“There’s a train for Munich leaving Zurich at seven thirty-three. It’s the last Munich-bound train of the night, so we would advise you to hurry. You’ll hear from us again when you arrive.”
“I’m not terribly fond of Munich, if you must know.”
“Hurry, Mr. Allon,” the voice replied, and then the connection went dead.
