فصل 14

Chapter 14: Fugitive

Bank of Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland

The flight from Lima to Geneva took a little more than fourteen hours. Wyss had cars waiting for them at the airport and the board was taken to the Metropole Hotel, on the bank of Lake Geneva, while Schema, in a separate car, went directly to the offices of the Bank of Geneva.

“It’s good to be back in Switzerland,” Schema said to the driver as they left the hotel.

“It is always good to be in Switzerland,” the driver replied. “Would you like me to wait for you?” “Yes,” Schema said. “I should only be an hour or so.” The car pulled up to the curb in front of the bank, and inside, Schema took the elevator to the seventh floor, to Wyss’s office. Wyss’s secretary, a mature Frenchwoman, greeted him as he entered.

“Bienvenue, Monsieur Schema. Mr. Wyss and his associates are expecting you. Please go on back.” “Merci,” Schema said as he walked past her desk. He suddenly turned back. “His associates?” “Yes, Monsieur.”

Schema walked past the reception area to Wyss’s office and opened the door. Florian Wyss was sitting at his desk. He looked up when Schema entered. His face was pale and his hand was wrapped in white gauze.

“Florian, what happened to your hand?”

Wyss shook his head. “I am very sorry, Giacomo. I had no choice.” Schema walked farther into the room. “What are you talking about?” “He gave me no choice.”

“Who?” Schema said.

“That would be me,” Hatch said. He walked into the office flanked by Torstyn and Tara and four Elgen guards. The guards immediately surrounded Schema. “And I believe Mr. Wyss is referring to the sizable transfers we just made.” Schema turned white. “Call security,” he said to Wyss.

“Giacomo, what kind of welcome is that?” Hatch said calmly. “After traveling halfway across the world I thought you would at least offer me a drink.” Schema glared at him, red with rage. He would have lunged at him were it not for the guards surrounding him.

“No?” Hatch said. “Then I’ll help myself.” He walked over to the credenza on the far side of the office and poured himself a drink from a crystal decanter. “Ah, the good stuff. No wonder you bank here.” He stepped back toward Schema. “Of course, I would have preferred that you had gone down with the Ampere, but, as it turns out, it is fortuitous that you didn’t. Otherwise I might have had some trouble locating a few of your accounts.” Schema looked back at Florian. “What have you done?” “I had no choice, Giacomo. All the money has been transferred.” Schema leaned in. “Surely not . . . everything.”

Florian grimaced. “Everything.”

“How could they have even known about those accounts?” Florian glanced over at Tara, who smiled darkly. “They have ways of getting into your head.” “It’s done, Giacomo,” Hatch said. “Everything is gone. Except you, of course. You’re still here. Now, I could easily remedy that and shoot you right now, but where would the fun be in that? So I propose a challenge. You are a fugitive from nearly every civilized country and now you have no money to run. Oh, and I put a million-dollar bounty on your head. Let’s see just how long you can survive. Florian, call Interpol. Inform them that a known fugitive has entered your bank.” Wyss blotted his forehead with a handkerchief. “Please, Admiral Hatch . . .” “Wrong answer,” Hatch said. “Torstyn .

“Yes, sir.”

“Help Mr. Wyss understand how much I dislike being disobeyed. He still has one hand with flesh.” “Please, no,” Florian said, lifting the phone. “I’ll call right now. I’ll alert Interpol immediately.” He pushed a button on his phone. “Connect me with security.” Hatch turned to Schema. “It’s pathetic, isn’t it, how quickly loyalties turn? You really can’t trust anyone these days. Now, if I were you, and thankfully I’m not, I would run. And joining the others isn’t in your best interest. I’ve already sent guards to the Metropole to collect them.” Hatch grinned. “Some of the EGGs and I have a bet on how long you can resist capture.” He flourished a hand. “It’s a game of sorts.” He turned to Wyss. “If you please.” Wyss spoke into the phone. “This is Florian Wyss of Bank of Geneva. I would like to report a known fugitive who has been seen in our bank. Yes. Immediately.” He hung up and looked at Schema. “I am very sorry.” “You will pay, Hatch,” Schema said.

“Yes, so you’ve said,” Hatch said. “But I’m still waiting for the bill.” His dark gaze turned to amusement. “Now please hurry. If you’re captured today I’ll lose the bet. And you of all people should know”he leaned forward and his voice dropped “that I hate to lose.” An alarm sounded. Schema glanced once more at Florian, then turned and ran out of the building.

Hatch laughed. “That went well.”

Wyss used his bandaged hand to blot the sweat from his forehead. “I’ve done everything you asked. You’ll release my wife and daughter now?” Hatch looked at him quizzically. “Of course not.” Florian blanched. “But you said that if I cooperated . . .” “Yes, I did,” Hatch said. “Allow me to explain. There is a fable about a man who comes to a riverbank and is about to cross when he sees a viper. The viper says to the man, ‘I would also like to cross the river. Would you please carry me across?’ The man replies, ‘No, you’re a viper. You’ll bite me and I’ll die.’ ‘Don’t be foolish,’ the viper says. ‘If I bite you, we’ll both drown.’ “The man, convinced by the snake’s reasoning, puts the viper on his back and swims across the river. As he reaches the opposite bank the viper bites the man and slithers off. As the man lies dying he says, ‘I carried you across. You said you wouldn’t bite me.’ ‘Sorry,’ the viper replied. ‘I’m a viper. It’s in my nature.’ ” A broad smile crossed Hatch’s face and he leaned forward. “Thanks for the lift, Florian, but I can’t really help myself. It’s in my nature.” “What will you do with my family?”

“Your wife and daughter will be held as GPs.”

“What are GPs?”

“They’ll find out soon enough. Unfortunately, you won’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re needed in Taiwan.” Hatch said to Torstyn, “We’ll be in the car. Finish him.” Hatch walked out of the office followed by Tara and his guards.

Wyss just stared at Torstyn in horror. “Please . . .” Torstyn reached out his hand. “It won’t hurt . . . for long.”