“No, I haven’t had the pleasure. I hear their women are quite subservient. Very much into seeing to the needs and the pleasures of their men. Much like the Japanese or the Chinese. What wonderful cultures the Asians have, but that’s not why you asked me to lunch, is it?”
“It’s part of it. You see, I’m very interested in your travel habits. There are some other destinations I wonder if you’ve visited lately. How about Greece?”
“Of course, I was just there on vacation.”
“Along with Italy and France as well?” asked Claudia.
“You’ve done your homework. Yes, along with Italy and France as well. I took a lovely cruise from Greece to Venice and then-”
“Rode the train up through France and back home. First class all the way,” interrupted Claudia. “Of course you have all of the appropriate stamps in your passport to prove it, as well as canceled train and boat tickets and credit card receipts.”
Miner was surprised by what they knew, but he didn’t let on. He forced himself to smile. “Yes, I do. I’m curious, Fraulein Mueller, are you contemplating a job change? Maybe employment as a travel agent?”
“That depends, Gerry. I think arms dealer might be a better job for her. You keep supplying her with the stolen goods; we’ll sell them and cut you in. How does that sound?” offered Scot.
“It was most unfortunate to hear that part of the same cache of missing armaments turned up in the family barn of the case’s lead investigator. It must not look very good.”
“If you want to talk about something that won’t look very good, it’s you and your cousin,” said Scot. “Somehow, I don’t think prison uniforms will flatter either of your figures. The fall of the cloth is all wrong these days, and prison tailors just never can keep up with the latest trends from Milan.”
Miner’s smile became very strained. “Agent Harvath, one phone call and I can have you immediately taken into custody. Your government is very anxious to have you back. I’m not sure what for, but it must be serious.”
“Do you want to talk serious, Gerry? Serious is you using your cousin to pose as you around Europe while you’re actually in my country kidnapping our president. How much did you make? A million? Five million? Ten maybe?”
“Kidnapping your president? Agent Harvath, don’t be ridiculous. I was nowhere near America when the kidnapping happened. As a matter of fact, I haven’t been there for several years.”
“Not since cross-training at Little Creek?” asked Scot. A slight pulling back of Miner’s head told Scot that he had surprised him. He pressed on. “Oh, yeah. I know a lot about you too, Gerry. I know, for example, that they won’t put you and your cousin in the same cell. No, two handsome guys like you-they’ll want to make sure you both have a chance to share your love. You seem pretty tough, though. My guess is that you’ll get to be the husband, but you never know. They put a big enough guy in there with you and you might have to be the wife.”
“Agent Harvath, this is hardly the kind of talk that we as gentlemen should be exposing Fraulein Mueller to.”
“You see, that’s where you and I are going to have to agree to disagree, Gerry. My career and my life are basically through. It’s funny how being a gentleman doesn’t seem so important when that happens. I have nothing to lose, and that makes me very, very dangerous. Not to mention, unstable. I’ve got you and your friends in the States to thank for that. Now let’s talk some more about you.”
“Agent Harvath, there is no question in my mind that you are a disturbed individual. I think the best thing for us to do-”
“Chutee!” hissed Scot. The command stopped Miner in midsentence. “That’s right, you slimy son of a bitch. You know, you are one dumb motherfucker. Who do you think you’ve been playing with? Did you actually think we weren’t going to nail you and the rest of your little pussycats? Whoops, I’m sorry, it’s Lions, isn’t it?
“Your men are a disgrace. What kind of a sorry-ass unit are you running? If they’re not leaving clues at the farmhouse you used as a staging ground for the kidnapping, they’re running their mouths off at the Jungfraujoch in Serbian while their bullets were hitting everything but the intended targets. You might want to work with them on that. And while you’re at it, I’d seriously think about how long Senator Snyder will hold out before he rolls over on you. You think you have him over the barrel as an accessory, but if he asks to cut a deal before you do, you’re out of luck, my fine Swiss brother. How’s all that sit with you? Or do you want to hear about the photographs and evidence we have relating to your little assignments in Kosovo and thereabouts, as well as how my country is going to have every PLO whacko on your ass for the murder of Hassan Useff? You really know how to bury yourself, don’t you?”
Miner was absolutely silent. For once in his life, he had nothing to say. Every single element had been planned…each and every piece of the equation calculated, weighed, and anticipated. Everything had been thought out, except this free-floating rogue Secret Service agent that had somehow managed to connect with Claudia Mueller. How in a million, trillion years did these two ever find each other? he wondered.
“What’s wrong, Gerry? Cat, I mean, Lion got your tongue?”
Miner composed himself. “You know, Agent Harvath, Fraulein Mueller has been a little too quiet and you have been a little too vocal. Do you know what this tells me?”
“No, what does it tell you? I’m dying to know.”
“It tells me you have nothing. You have no concrete evidence at all. You dragged my poor cousin into this to try to intimidate me. I came here to meet with you and you have nothing but spurious accusations grounded in fantasy. If you really had something, you would have used it. Why bother coming to me?
“I also think Fraulein Mueller is in very serious trouble and will undoubtedly be facing an inquiry and most likely a trial. Somehow in all of this, she got connected with you, which is not going to help her career. I think you are a deeply disturbed individual and she would do well to get as far away from you as possible.”
Miner reached across the white-linen-covered table and retrieved the silver box. Turning it off, he retracted the antenna and put it back in his blazer pocket. Looking at Claudia, he said, “Fraulein Mueller, I am very sorry for your circumstances. I am also sorry that this man was able to cloud what I had thought was sound investigative judgment on your part. A word of advice. Enjoy your lunch together. It will be my treat, but walk out of this restaurant and never see this man again. You are in enough trouble already. Good-bye.” Miner placed his napkin on the table, slid his chair back, and stood up.
“You know, Gerry, there’s one thing that bothers me…humor me for a moment. How is it that you can kidnap, smuggle out of the country, and then hide one of the most recognizable men in the world?”
“Well, Agent Harvath, I once again maintain my innocence and can only say that in my life I have learned that under God all things are possible. It is my sincere hope that we do not meet again.”
67
“It appears as if we are no further along than we were when we started,” said Claudia.
“C’mon, Claudia. You don’t believe that. Of course we are. We aren’t exactly where we want to be, but we certainly have made progress. We talked to the cousin, and we know he’s involved. We can be sure Miner used him as cover so he could be out of the country with a perfect alibi. Why else would he have to come to meet us for lunch if he didn’t want to find out exactly what we know?”
“Well, now he knows. I think it did him more good than us.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Say what?”
“‘Maybe, maybe not.’ Why don’t you just say what you are thinking?” Claudia sounded irritated.
“What’s bothering you?”
“The way you talked to him.”
“He was taunting us.”
“What were you thinking? You sounded crazy. And the language you used was awful. Is that standard law enforcement practice in America?”
“It can be. I didn’t mean to offend you. Miner is used to being in control and having people follow his orders.
