'Every piece of equipment was shattered. The tethered goat was dead – killed by the terrible screaming noise.'
'Then it does work. Let me think…'
Eve shoved the stethoscope back inside her shoulder bag. Drinking half the glass of vodka quickly, she held the glass as she left the room in case someone like Craig should be in the corridor. Back inside her room she sank onto a couch.
'What the hell was that all about?' she asked herself.
She didn't even know where Sion was. Then she had an idea. Jumping up, she remembered to hide the stethoscope before leaving her room. She had just quietly opened her door when she heard voices further down the corridor. She froze.
'How are the scientists behaving themselves, Luigi? It is vital none of them leave the laboratory. If one should escape…'
'No one will escape, Mr Brazil.'
She heard a door close. She rattled the key in her lock as though just opening it, walked out, locked it. A small fat man in an expensive grey business suit walked towards her. He had a plump face, sensuous lips and a dark moustache to match his thick hair. He looked at her with brazen interest as they passed each other, then stopped, came back alongside her.
'My name is Luigi, beautiful lady.'
'My name is I damn well don't know you…'
She left him with a nasty expression on his face and went down into the lobby. Strolling around, she checked to make sure none of Craig's thugs were about. Then she walked up to the concierge.
'A friend has suggested to me it might be interesting to visit Sion. I don't even know where it is.'
'In the Valais, Madame. Let me show you on the map.'
She studied the map as he went on talking to her.
'I can't recommend Sion at this time of the year.'
'Why not?'
'It is in the canton of the Valais. Very popular with winter sports enthusiasts during the season, but the season is almost over. The weather has turned bad down there. We have had several reports of avalanches. If you were thinking of walking in the mountains I would advise against it.'
'Thank you.'
Eve went back to her room, closed and locked the door. She lit a cigarette, folded one arm across her chest, supported the elbow of the other on her hand. She walked slowly back and forth.
It was curious that Brazil, always so security-conscious, should talk about scientists and a laboratory so publicly. Then she remembered the long corridor had been empty except for the fat man, Luigi. Doubtless Brazil had peered out before he began talking.
She recalled the weird conversation she had eavesdropped on. She could remember every word although she didn't understand the meaning. Newman and Tweed would, she felt sure, understand what had been said. It sounded like information they should have.
Tweed was waiting in the lobby of the Schweizerhof when Brazil arrived, stepped out of the limo, walked briskly into the hotel. He held out his hand and Tweed shook it.
'I have a room upstairs where we can talk.' Tweed said and led the way to the elevator.
Brazil wore a blue pin-stripe suit, a white shirt, and, unusually for him, a gaudy tie in exotic colours. He was brimful of energy, refused Tweed's offer of anything to drink.
'No alcohol when I'm discussing business.'
Tweed had arranged an armchair on either side of a long glass-topped table. They sat facing each other, like duellists. Tweed said nothing, taking off his glasses to clean them with his handkerchief.
'I've come to offer you a partnership with me in a great historic enterprise.' Brazil told him. 'A plan to change the whole balance of world power.'
'Sounds rather ambitious.'
'The West is going into a steep decline, is rendering itself defenceless, cutting its arms budgets almost daily. In Britain, as in other countries, people are demoralized, no longer have any sense of purpose. They are drifting, Mr Tweed. So law and order is breaking down everywhere. Criminals control the streets. We need the discipline we once had, the stability, the sense of purpose. We are collapsing into moral decadence, which produces a growing decay in our society. Or would you not agree?'
'So far what you have said makes sense.' Tweed replied as he put on his glasses. 'What is your solution?'
'We need strong, ruthless leadership. The only thing to wake people up is the return of fear. There was fear when Soviet Russia was strong. Then there was energy in the West, the building up of NATO. People were alert, on their guard. Only the revival of Russia as a great power will instil the sense of fear which is needed to give the West a sense of purpose. The battle for survival. Do you agree, Mr Tweed?'
'Do go on.'
'America is a shambles. Its President is a lazy lunatic. I know. I have met him. There is a widespread belief that Russia no longer counts. No longer counts!' His voice rose to a crescendo. 'They have a vast armoury of intercontinental missiles – which can reach London, Chicago, the world. Each month a new nuclear submarine of the silent, undetectable type, is launched from the secret shipyards at Murmansk, their ice-free port. Behind the Urals they have underground factories which are involved in new advances in nuclear warfare. An American diplomat who ventured in that region was expelled recently as a spy. Why? If there is nothing to spy on? Russia is a slumbering giant which will soon awake.'
'They say the Russian economy is in tatters,' Tweed commented.
'If that is really true how can they afford to produce the armaments I have listed?' Brazil demanded.
'It is a puzzle,' Tweed admitted.
'It is a gigantic smokescreen to blind the West. Behind their bumbling President, Ivan Marov pulls the strings, manipulating the existing President like a puppet. To give the West the impression Russia is finished while he - Marov – works with the generals and MOVAK to rebuild Russian power. You have heard of Marov?'
'The name seems familiar.'
'You are not a man I would play poker with, Mr Tweed. I am sure you know a great deal about Marov. A Georgian, he changed his name. I have met him. A Georgian, like Stalin. He looks rather like Stalin -especially when he turns on the charm. At the moment he is very careful to stay hidden behind the scenes. The Americans don't know he exists.' Brazil said contemptuously.
'You spent time in America, I believe.' remarked Tweed.
'I was born in Britain and as a young man went to America. I became chief executive of a huge conglomerate. I soon saw it should be broken down into six quite independent units. With such a vast organization the people at the top had no idea what was going on further down the line. I worked night and day to bring about what I knew must be done. You know what happened?'
'Tell me.'
'The other members of the board combined to force me to resign. Why? Because as fatcats controlling this huge dinosaur they had enormous salaries, plus big share option deals to make them millionaires. Ignorant Yanks. I returned to Britain.'
'You mentioned some organization called MOVAK.'
'That is Marov's invention. A secret unit to replace the hopelessly corrupt KGB. I am sure he will shoot every KGB officer when he takes over power in his own time.'
'I am still listening.' said Tweed.
'So the West needs a terrible shock to force it to become strong again. That shock will be the sudden rise of Russia as a world force. The groundwork has been laid. All frontier and customs controls between Russia and the republic of Belorus have been abolished. That means, quite simply, Russia has absorbed Belorus. The next objective is Ukraine.'
