The Shadow Project

were getting ready for bed, when it suddenly occurred to me that the person he reminded me of was our own Luna.’

‘So you did more poking around,’ Ben said to Steiner. ‘All you had to do was check out my website.’

‘That is what I did, and I soon realised that Captain Shannon had misinformed me about your name. I thought back to what I had seen that day in the woods – the way you let the kidnapper escape so easily, as though you had suddenly been stunned by something you had seen. It seemed strange to me, and stranger still that this could have been the result of mere incompetence as I had initially assumed. Why would a man of such skill and training have done such a thing? Only when I discovered your real name did I realise the truth.’

‘And you never thought to share this with me?’ Silvia asked him.

‘He wanted to tell you,’ Dorenkamp replied. ‘It was me who warned him against it.’

‘We decided to wait and see what happened,’ Steiner explained. ‘I had a feeling that Luna’s brother would go searching for her. That is his expertise. If anyone could find her, it would be him. I thought it would help to bring our family back together.’

Ruth’s eyes were narrowed with fury. ‘Don’t listen to his bullshit, Mother. He wanted Ben to find me so that he could have us both killed. The easiest way to cover up all his lies and take me out of the picture at the same time. Nice and neat.’

Steiner’s eyes opened wide as he listened to her words, and the colour drained from his face. ‘No,’ he quavered. ‘You don’t understand. I love you. I wanted you back. I … I swear I would never harm you. On my mother’s grave …’

Silvia slapped him across the face. ‘What did you do, Max?’

‘Nothing!’ Steiner protested. ‘I don’t know what she’s talking about. I never—’

‘Six professional assassins were sent to my home in France,’ Ben said, looking hard at him. ‘Their mission was to kill the two of us. They’re not coming back. Before the last one died, he told me Steiner had sent him. And I know he was telling the truth. Men tend to do that, when they’re about to have their legs chewed off.’

Steiner said nothing.

‘Lie your way out of that one, Maximilian,’ Ruth spat at him. ‘You fucker.’

‘It’s the truth,’ said a voice behind them. They all turned.

Otto had stepped away from the window. ‘It’s true,’ he repeated. ‘Steiner did send them.’ He pointed down the length of the conference table at his uncle. ‘But I’m not talking about that sack of shit over there. It wasn’t that Steiner. It was the Steiner that everyone forgets about. This one right here. Me.’

Then Otto dipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a .380 Beretta. Pointed it right at them and the strange little smile on his face spread out into a grin.

Chapter Fifty-Four

‘Have you gone totally insane?’ Ruth yelled.

Otto’s grin broadened even more. ‘Actually, I’ve got you to thank for this, cousin. Remember that time you came to me, wanting me to help you steal the old man’s papers out of his safe? Well, that got me thinking. What was there about a bunch of antique documents that could be so valuable? Why was the old fucker keeping them a secret? So I had a little sneak peek and made a few photocopies. Very interesting. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so, either.’

‘You stupid bastard, Otto,’ Ruth shouted. ‘You have no idea what you’re messing with.’

Otto’s eyes bulged in sudden anger, the grin evaporating. ‘Don’t call me stupid,’ he screamed. ‘Everyone thinks I’m stupid. Otto the loser. Poor Otto, have to humour him.’ He jabbed his chest with his left thumb, still holding the pistol steady in his right fist. ‘But I’m the fucking smart one here. I know important people. People who respect me for just how fucking smart I am. So you call me stupid one more time and I’ll kill you all right now.’

His rant had left him breathless. He wiped the spittle from his mouth with the back of his free hand, then went on.

‘Yeah, that’s right. I talked to people. Put the word out. And it wasn’t long before I got a call. See, golf isn’t just about hitting balls. It’s about networking. Getting shit done. When you lot think “Oh, there’s Otto out there playing his silly little game again,” guess what? I’m organising. Planning.’

‘Planning kidnap and murder,’ Ben said quietly. The connections were flying together in his mind now. ‘Using the Steiner resources and transport links to move people around the world.’

‘I’m a businessman,’ Otto smirked. ‘So we did business. They wanted the documents, they got them faxed through pronto. They paid me a lot of money. Trusted me to run the show. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Snatch a few fucking science geeks. So what? Who’s going to miss them anyway?’

Ruth groaned. ‘Jesus, Otto. Who are these people?’

‘I don’t think he even knows the answer to that,’ Ben said. ‘You think they’d trust him with that knowledge? They’re just using him, setting him up to take the rap if anything goes wrong. As soon as they’re done with him, they’ll swat him like a bluebottle. But he can’t see that. Can you, Otto?’

Otto shrugged. ‘There you go again. Underestimating me. But that’s OK, because you’ll all be dead pretty soon anyway.’

‘So where does a guy like you hire a mercenary team? What did you do, reply to an ad in the back of Soldier of Fortune magazine? Some rag-tag crew floating about Eastern Europe looking for easy work? You should have picked better.’

‘Oh, you really think you know it all, don’t you?’

‘I know a lot,’ Ben said. ‘I know that these associates of yours are holding a young boy hostage to coerce his father into working for them. I know that whoever is payrolling this is after the weapons technology in those Kammler documents. I’m pretty sure you found the location of the Bell. And I also know that you can still make this all OK. Just put the gun down and tell me where your people are keeping Adam and Rory O’Connor.’

Otto sneered at him. ‘Somewhere you’ll never find them.’

‘Do what he says, Otto,’ Dorenkamp implored. ‘It’s the only way.’

‘Yes, Otto,’ Silvia said. ‘Put the gun down.’ She moved towards him tentatively.

Otto swung the pistol in her direction. His fingers were twitchy on its hard black rubber grip. ‘Back, bitch.’

She stared at him, and at the weapon he was pointing at her. ‘Am I dreaming this? You would pay to have your own cousin murdered?’

‘Luna’s not the only one in this family who listens in to other people’s conversations,’ Otto said. He wagged a finger at Dorenkamp, then at Steiner. ‘I know you’ve been plotting to cut me out so I don’t take over the business when you retire.’ The finger pointed across at Ruth. ‘And that you wanted to reconcile your differences with this little twit here, and make her your heir over me. Me! She’s not even your flesh and blood. What, am I the one who fucking ran off, spat in your face, tried to kidnap you for Christ’s sake? No. I was loyal to you. All these years, I’ve been taking your shit. Then what do I hear? I could hardly believe my fucking ears. That the long lost brother is back and he’s going looking for his little sister. How sweet.’ He grinned. ‘And how convenient for me. All I had to do was wait and watch, and send in the Ninjas at the right moment. Problem solved.’

Ben took a step closer to him. Watching the muzzle of the .380. Assessing the distance and Otto’s reaction time. If he could get a few steps closer, he might be able to get the pistol off him. ‘Didn’t quite work out that way, did it?’ he said. ‘Not for you, and not for your Ninjas either.’ Another step.

But Otto wasn’t that stupid. ‘Back off, Major Hope.’ Ben stopped.

Otto looked pleased. ‘Not so dangerous now, are you? Fine, so you managed to get out of it first time round. But a smart guy like me always has a Plan B. Why do you think I agreed to come up here today? Because I’m some little heel-hound at your beck and call that you can just order about? Think again. I came here to kill you all. And then I’m going to shoot myself.’

‘Otto!’ Silvia screamed.

‘Don’t worry, Aunt Silvia. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to put one in my arm. Nothing too bad.’