Page 19 of The Nameless Ones
‘If anyone ever arrests you,’ said Ross, ‘it won’t be at my instigation.’
‘Because you might end up taking the stand with me, and not as a witness?’
‘I’ll admit to an aversion to awkward questions where you and your friends are concerned.’
‘Then why are we here?’
‘I know exactly what was done to De Jaager and his people,’ said Ross, ‘and I know the reason, otherwise I wouldn’t have called to warn you about the contact between Armitage and whatever is left of that Serb syndicate in the Netherlands. De Jaager and his family died because, ten years ago, give or take, he conspired in the killing of a Zemun enforcer called Andrej Buha, also known as Timmerman. At the risk of being excessively blunt, I think you killed Buha, either on contract or as a favor to De Jaager.’
‘That must be some file you got,’ said Louis. ‘I’d like to see it someday. I might even recognize some of what’s in it, although it’s unlikely.’
‘Your denial is noted for the record,’ said Ross. ‘But De Jaager and the others died because of what was done to Buha, and now you’re going to find whoever killed them and put them down. In all likelihood, that means you’ll be looking for Spiridon and Radovan Vuksan, unless some of the Zemun old guard have decided to return to Amsterdam and settle scores. But my money is on the Vuksans.
‘This is the thing: There are people in law enforcement – here, and elsewhere – who wouldn’t shed too many tears if some grave misfortune were to befall the Vuksans. They’ve been sowing misery since the Balkan wars, but they’ve always had a particular interest in people trafficking. In the last five years, they’ve expanded into people smuggling, which is a different beast: container trucks, the holds of ships, fast boats across the Mediterranean from North Africa. There’s good money to be made, because the cargo pays upfront. If the cargo drowns, suffocates, or gets caught and put behind wire in a camp in Italy, Greece, or Cyprus, that’s their tough luck. It’s a high-volume, high-yield business, and casualties don’t impact on the bottom line.
‘At the other end of the scale, the Vuksans are moving low volumes with a significantly higher individual yield, and they’re not big on background checks. That form of cargo travels in more comfort, and has to arrive safe and sound, with not even a bruise. The Vuksans charge Iranian Kurds fifty thousand dollars per head to get to the United Kingdom via Serbia and France, and God bless those who make it. We fucked the Kurds over, so I don’t begrudge them a new start.
‘But the Vuksans are also taking money from people who don’t mean anyone any good, not unless you’re in the market for a holy war. Once these men get to Europe – and some of them may be returning after a few years in Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan – they vanish, and we don’t hear about them again until they blow themselves up on a bus or train, drive a truck through a crowded market, or turn a shopping mall into a shooting gallery.
‘And they’re not even the worst. The ones that really frighten us are those who will never get close to a gun or bomb. They’re the organizers, the recruiters, the moneymen. They were Al-Qaeda, then ISIS, and soon they’ll mutate and reappear with a new name but the same ideology. Meanwhile, the Vuksans and those like them are banking one hundred thousand dollars for every piece of delicate terrorist cargo landed safely, and that’s just the starting price. For a high-value target, and therefore high-risk, the Vuksans will ask for, and receive, a quarter of a million, sometimes more.’
‘So why doesn’t someone do something about it?’ said Louis.
‘There’s a rule of law, even down in the dirt.’
‘I know of some dead Stasi who might express a different opinion, if bones could talk.’
‘Suspicions aren’t sufficient cause to add a black tag to a file, and last time I checked, our European allies objected to drone strikes on Paris and London.’
‘Maybe so,’ said Louis, ‘but even if you kill the Vuksans, someone else will take their place.’
‘Possibly,’ said Ross, ‘and indeed the word is that the Vuksans are retiring from the game, although I’m not sure retirement is really in Spiridon Vuksan’s nature.’
‘So why bother with them at all?’
‘As punishment for past crimes, and a warning to those who might be of a mind to follow in their footsteps: If you do this, we will find you, and we will make you pay.’
Louis finished his martini and signaled for another.
‘Are you asking me to do the US government’s dirty work?’ said Louis.
‘I’m not asking you to do anything. Unless I’m misreading the runes, you’re going after the Vuksans one way or another. What I’m saying is that we may be in a position to facilitate your efforts.’
‘With “we” being …?’
‘Concerned citizens.’
‘The worst kind. And how would these concerned citizens facilitate me?’
‘Well, my first thought was that a clean phone might help, so I considered offering you one, but then I realized you probably wouldn’t be very comfortable carrying around a cell phone provided by law enforcement.’
‘You know,’ said Louis, ‘I wouldn’t be very comfortable with that at all.’
‘Great minds. I went with an alternative plan instead.’
‘Another crooked legat?’
Louis had the pleasure of watching the dart hit home. Armitage’s betrayal had left a mess, and everyone in the blast range had suffered damage. Ross wouldn’t have escaped unscathed. He offered Louis a thin smile.