The Infant of Prague
- Автор: Granger Bill
- Серия: November Man #8
- Год: 1987
- Язык: французский
- Год: Warner
- ISBN: 0446347809
- Жанр: Триллеры
Электронная книга - «The Infant of Prague». Краткое содержание книги:
For in a humble Chicago parish church, the sacred statue of the Infant of Prague is found weeping real tears. A visiting Czech child star actress, transfigured by the wondrous event, declares, on live television, her intent to remain in American in the name of Christ and freedom.
Only an operative as cynical and seasoned as the November Man can sense the sinister link between two dramatic, yet apparently unrelated defections. A miracle has plunged him into a vast global adventure. And it will take a miracle to get him through it alive.
The defection of a highly visible Czech sparks an international crisis, and the November Man is caught in the middle.
“Yes. Why you? I thought. He named you, you know. How does such a great and respected servant of the Republic as Henkin know of an insignificant person such as yourself? I mean you no disrespect, of course. But Henkin is at a level so much higher than you — than me, even. We only spend money, pan Cernan, and we get little for it, and every time America receives one of our new tennis stars we are diminished that much more. Henkin produces money for the beloved Republic, pan Cernan. He brings in visitors, he brings us film companies, he presents the beauty of our great city to the outside world.”
Cernan waited because Gorkeho was only amusing himself. He really hated Henkin, Cernan thought. You could tell it by the words, even if the soft voice imparted nothing.
“But where was I? I asked him how he knew of you and he said he had followed the matter of Anna Jelinak and her little miracle from the beginning because, after all, Anna was one of the coming stars of the Czech theater. And he thought the matter was very badly handled, down to the selection of Anton Huss to protect Anna from the blandishments of America or the devious plots of the FBI or the CIA. So, he had me there, although I do not blame you or Anton Huss for what has happened. Who would be able to foresee the power of the Christ Child to touch the heart of the little girl?”
Gorkeho was smiling now, Cernan thought, but there would be no change in his expression.
“So if you have failed in one assignment, why give you this assignment? That is the question I had in mind. I put it to comrade Henkin. Why select a failure from the ranks of the Ministry for Secret Services when we have so many other agents who have not failed? Or, at least, who have not failed recently? You see, Cernan, I had your best interests at heart.”
Cernan took out his package of cigarettes. He looked at Gorkeho. Gorkeho nodded. Cernan lit the bitter-smelling cigarette with a wooden match and blew a cloud of brown smoke across the desk.
Gorkeho said, “Henkin was impatient with me because I did not understand the world as he understood it. He said he had decided the matter of Anna Jelinak is receiving too much scrutiny. Too much ‘publicity’ in the American press. He said this was going to harm not only tourism but his ‘complex’ relationships with several companies preparing to film here. He said I did not appreciate the extreme nervousness of the ‘Hollywood community,’ that all creative people were sensitive to stressful situations and that Anna Jelinak’s defection was a stressful situation.”
To Cernan’s surprise, Gorkeho smiled. It lit the room. “He wants you to leave the matter of Anna in abeyance for the time being. He wants the matter pursued in the courts, of course, but he wants no more extraordinary measures, such as the use of Anna’s mother to appeal to the better instincts of the American public.”
“But why? Doesn’t he want her to return?” Cernan gaped.
“I ventured that question a bit more delicately than you have stated it. When he was through glaring at me, he said the matters of Miki and Anna were somehow mixed together and he had every assurance that if Miki is returned to Prague, the matter of Anna Jelinak will resolve itself quietly.”
“This is absurd,” Cernan said.
“So much is,” Gorkeho agreed. “Does he have some secret contact with the CIA that assures him of this? I do not know, I am not expected to know.”
“But his Ministry is not authorized… to act as intelligence agents, to—”
“I can assure you, Cernan, that I was surprised as you seem to be by the extent of Henkin’s influence. He educated me in one afternoon. You will go to Brussels and you will carry seventy-five ounces of gold with you and you will report to me and I shall report to Henkin until the matter is resolved. That is how influential this man is.”
Cernan bit his lip. He thought of Anna Jelinak, suddenly cut off. He thought of Anna far away. He tried to think of the little girl as she had been that summer day in the shadow of Hradcany, but the image was fading.
“He chose me because he wants to leave Anna alone. Why? Is it not important to get Anna back and to get Miki? Both important?”
“Yes. That is logical. But there is something else at work here that has nothing to do with logic. It is Henkin’s game and he has made it clear to me that it does not involve you or me.”
“But what do you think?” Cernan raised his voice almost to a shout.
Gorkeho looked at him. “Too much passion, Cernan. Sit down and try to calm yourself. What I think is beside the point. What I think is that Henkin, through very unusual channels we know nothing about, has struck a delicate bargain with one or more private parties to have Miki returned to us, and it involves using you — not someone like you but you yourself — to act as the errand boy. If I probe into this, it is not profitable to me. Or you. I will probe, I assure you, comrade Cernan, but delicately and with some grace. Not blundering ahead as you would do. We will know the truth but it will take a little while.” His voice was so soft now that Cernan strained to hear him.
“Take Henkin’s gold and orders and do as he said. But be careful, Cernan. Be very careful how you proceed. I do not trust Henkin, I do not trust Miki, I do not trust the Americans who arranged all this. Poke the ground with a stick before you take a step. And leave a trail so that I can follow you in everything you are doing.”
“There is no danger to me,” Cernan began.
“Yes. To you. The moment Henkin used your name, you were in danger. And a little danger to me but it only interests me, it makes me wary.”
“And Anna.”
“Yes.” The old soldier sighed. “Yes. Danger to Anna Jelinak, I think, most of all.”
11
If Henkin was worried, he didn’t show it. The plane banked and descended over the fields of southern Germany and bumped rudely to a landing in the rural airport outside of Nürnberg. The taxi ride in the stately old Mercedes to the walled city took exactly nineteen minutes. In all, Henkin had traveled two hours from Prague by the time he checked into the Victoria Hotel just inside the city wall. Two minutes later, he placed the telephone call to New York. It was absurd to think about, but even a high-level government official like Henkin was subject to tapped telephone lines. Which is why he was suddenly called to make an overnight visit in Nürnberg.
The worry he had held in on the fifty-two-minute plane ride from Prague broke now in a line of perspiration across his cold, pale face. The telephone relays clicked and whirred and Henkin tapped his fingers on the desk at the side of his bed until he heard the ringing begin.
The American voice sounded distant.
“It’s me,” Henkin said.
The other man waited.
“Our mutual friend has been located,” Henkin said. “It’s all arranged. At least, I assume it is arranged.”
“What does that mean?”
“He is to be handed over to my government in exchange for a certain… ransom. This was a very near thing. The Americans had arranged for his defection. That would have been a disaster. For you, for me. I assure you, we are allies in this matter.”
“We had our doubts,” said the other man. It was the same soft, sure voice that had instructed Ben Herguth seven hours earlier. It was just after dawn now in New York City, early afternoon in Germany. “I’m glad to hear that our doubts will be put to rest.” Another pause. “When will you have Miki in hand?”
“I think in forty-eight hours, perhaps a little more or less. The problem is not getting Miki, it is getting a satisfactory solution… to our problem. Miki has shown he is not to be trusted.”
“Yes. I’m afraid that’s the case.”
“The problem is that if he is brought back to Prague… well, he might be in a position to bargain his… knowledge to certain authorities in order to escape his punishment. You see how delicate it is.”