Elizabeth picked up her pen and began tapping it on her desktop. She realized what she was doing and set it aside.
"You're certain?"
"It has to be him," Steph said. "No one else could set up something like this. He moved that money without triggering any of the red flags that would cause concern. It's a unique pattern, the same thing I saw when I was looking at him and his organization before. He must be using assets hidden by AEON. They had a thousand years to build up their reserve. It looks like Gutenberg has decided to spend it."
"By sending it to Russia? Why?"
"That's beyond my pay grade," Stephanie said, "but I'm certain this is his work."
"AEON is out of business. Everyone that was part of it is dead. There were bodies to prove it."
"Gutenberg's body was never found."
"If he's alive he has to be stopped. Did you find anything that could tell us where he might be?"
"I don't think he's in the Caymans. Those banks are the last point of transfer to Russia. It seems unlikely that he'd be in Switzerland, not after what happened there. The Leipzig bank is the primary clearinghouse for the funds. The transfers are initiated from there. It's a private bank, hundreds of years old. At a guess I'd say Gutenberg is in Leipzig or somewhere nearby."
"It's a place to start. Good work, Steph."
"That's not all. I found a transfer from the Leipzig bank for a hundred thousand euros that went to Helmut Schmidt. Gutenberg was paying Schmidt for something."
That's what my intuition was about, Elizabeth thought. She picked up her pen and fiddled with it. "He must have hired Schmidt to go after Selena in Vienna. If it really is him, maybe he wants to get even."
"That's vicious."
"Gutenberg is a vicious man," Elizabeth said. "Vienna and Hamburg make sense now. Everybody thinks Gutenberg is dead. When Schmidt failed, Gutenberg must have killed him to eliminate any links back to him."
"He might try to come after us again."
"Now that we know who we're dealing with, we'll be ready for him."
"What do you think he's playing at in Russia?"
"I don't know. By backing Orlov he's set up a confrontation between Russia and the West. It all depends on what Orlov decides to do."
"Why would Gutenberg fund a military adventure that could lead to all-out war?"
"Why did he try to start a nuclear war between India and China?" Elizabeth said. "There isn't any rational explanation for how people like him think."
"What do you plan to do next?" Stephanie asked.
"Send Nick and the others to Leipzig."
CHAPTER 36
Nick and the others were in Leipzig, parked across from the bank Stephanie had identified as the key transfer point for the billions going to Russia. The building was old, built of quarried stone, a survivor of the bombings that destroyed much of the city in World War II. It had a staid German look of respectability. The only indication it was a bank was a small brass plaque set in the wall beside the entrance.
"I can't believe that son of a bitch is still alive," Nick said.
"He might not be," Selena said. "Steph could be wrong. It seems unbelievable that he could've survived that fire and explosion."
"Harker said Steph is certain. It explains a lot, once you admit the possibility. At least it explains why those people came after you in Vienna and why Schmidt was killed. It doesn't explain why he's pouring money into Russia. If Steph hadn't tracked down the transfers we wouldn't have a clue that he was still around."
"Gives us an advantage," Ronnie said. "He won't know we're coming after him."
"What's the plan?" Lamont asked.
"I haven't got one yet."
"Why don't we get some lunch and talk about it?" Lamont said.
"You ever stop thinking about food?" Ronnie asked.
"Only when I'm not hungry."
"I could use something to eat," Selena said. "I know just the place."
Nick looked at her. "You know Leipzig?"
"Not really. My uncle brought me here when I was fifteen. He took me to a restaurant Goethe liked when he was a student. It figures in a scene from Faust."
"I've heard of that," Lamont said. "Isn't that the one with the devil?"
"That's the one."
Selena entered the name of the restaurant on the car's GPS. Twenty minutes later they'd found it. Auerbach's Cellar was located in the historical district near the market, in the basement of a glass roofed shopping arcade called the Mädlerpassage. It had started life in the fourteenth century as a wine bar, a favorite haunt of students at the nearby University. Over the years it had expanded until now there were five dining rooms as well as a bar on the main floor of the arcade.
"We should go downstairs to the Cask cellar," Selena said.
Downstairs they were guided to a wooden table under an arched ceiling covered with 16th-century paintings, including the one that had inspired Goethe. It depicted Doctor Faust riding out of a cellar on a wine barrel. Legend held that the barrel had been powered by the devil.
Selena ordered for them. In a few minutes the waiter was back with three dark beers and a bottle of water for Ronnie. The restaurant was only partly full. They could talk freely.
Nick took a sip. "Good beer," he said. He set it down on the table. "I don't see much point in staking out that bank. There's no reason for Gutenberg to show up there."
"He doesn't even have to be in Leipzig." Lamont picked up a piece of bread and buttered it.
"If he is, I don't think he'd use his real name," Ronnie said.
"He has to control that bank," Nick said. "I asked Stephanie to find out more. The bank is owned by a corporation."
"A corporation has officers," Selena said. "One of them could be Gutenberg."
"That's what I thought. The chairman of the board is a man named Kepler. Stephanie couldn't find out anything about him. There are no pictures or articles about him, nothing on record."
Selena broke off a piece of bread and dipped it in a saucer holding olive oil and vinegar.
"That sounds off to me," she said. "Anyone who controls a corporation that runs an important bank in Germany would show up sooner or later in some financial magazine. Every bank gets government scrutiny. There has to be something."
"If Steph can't find it, it's not there," Ronnie said.
"Can she find out where this guy lives?" Lamont asked.
"I asked her. She's on it."
Lamont smiled. "Here comes the food."
The first course was a thick mushroom soup served in a white porcelain bowl. Next came the main dish of breaded chicken on a bed of mushrooms mixed with onions and cucumbers on noodles, all of it served with a creamy sauce. They began eating.
"I thought the chicken would be the best bet," Selena said. "The meat dishes tend to be pretty heavy and they always load everything up with potatoes."
"Kind of salty," Lamont said.
"That's very German. They like their salt here."
They passed on dessert. Nick signaled the waiter for the check.
Jaques Dupree watched the team leave the restaurant. There was no need to follow them. He knew where they were staying. He'd considered taking a room there for himself but decided against it. There was a chance they might recognize him. The only photo of him that existed in official records was blurred and out of date. Still, there was no point in taking chances.
Dupree had lasted as long as he had because he was always well prepared. He never made the mistake of underestimating the abilities of his victims. His employer had sent full reports on each of the four targets. The pictures failed to capture the air of wary tension that radiated from the group. Dupree had seen it before in experienced professionals who needed to stay alert if they wanted to stay alive, an underlying explosive tension consciously held in check.