"Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "The man you are looking at is Miguel De Varo, the liberal president of Costa Mateo." "Recently, De Varo announced a $40 million industrialization program for his country." "This program is to be financed solely from funds in the presidential vault." "However, this man, Phillipe Pereda, Costa Mateo's finance minister, secretly removed the money and deposited it in a Swiss bank." "Since it is reputed that the presidential vault can only be opened by De Varo, it is Pereda's plan to frame the president for embezzlement and take over the country." "De Varo considers Pereda to be his closest friend and would not believe that his minister of finance was planning such a move." "Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, would be to stop Pereda." "As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." " I can do it, Jim." " Good." "De Varo is one of those rare people with perfect pitch." "That's why the presidential safe was designed with a sonic combination." "Now, what De Varo doesn't know is that Pereda has stolen a tape recording of the correct pitches." " Barney?" " I'll need a lot of time, Jim." "The emergency escape passage from the main vault has two thick doors, both of which open from the vault side." "I'll have time to open the combination lock." "It's the heavy outer mechanical hatch which could be trouble." "I'll do my best to give you all the time you need, Barney." "How long will the auditing team Pereda called in be delayed, Jim?" "Just overnight, but that should be enough." "Jim, if we ruin Pereda's plan, what keeps him from running off with the $40 million?" "Pereda is driven by two compulsions, Cinnamon." "Power and personal wealth." "So we're gonna give him a reason not to run." "Will he see through our relationship?" "Yes, and he'll be reassured by his own cleverness." "The important thing is not so much to spoil Pereda's scheme, but to make sure that he tries it again." "A fine piece of equipment." "And at such a reasonable price too." "You realize, Phillipe, that with a modern rail system, we can pull the outlaying districts of the country within half a day's travel of the capital." "You said I will arrive in Chicago at 1 in the afternoon, correct?" "Yes, and I have arranged for the head of Ferris Industries to greet you personally at O'Hare Airport." "That is good." "You have done a good job, Phillipe." "Making the arrangements with the American manufacturer." "Thank you, Your Excellency." "Yes?" "The representatives of the People's Trade Commissariat are here." " Send them in." " What do they want?" "I do not know." "They telephoned earlier insisting on an appointment." "Please." "President De Varo, how good of you to see us." "I am Nikolai Validin." "This is my assistant, Irena Vorska." "Señora." "My minister of finance, Señor Pereda." " How do you do?" " Señor?" " Please be seated." " Thank you." "You seemed extremely anxious for this appointment, señor." "Yes." "Costa Mateo is interested in becoming industrially more progressive, is it not?" "That's the aim of every Latin American country." "Yes, but as we know, that takes money and equipment, technicians." "And there are very few sources of such aid." "Yes, with certain funding arrangements, the machinery and technicians could be made available to you for next to nothing." "Of course, we would like to travel freely in Costa Mateo." "Just exactly what is your proposal, Señora Vorska?" "I think this would be better further discussed by Comrade Validin." "Yes, we would need certain areas set aside for our own use." "Without interference from any other group in Western Hemisphere." "Other than yourselves, of course." "I know what you want." "I am not interested, señor." "Before you make a decision, Mr. President, I should tell you that we have made a similar offer to your neighbour Santo Tomas, which can be concluded within 24 hours." "Frankly, Costa Mateo offers us certain geographical advantages." "No." "Paulo." "Costa Mateo will not be the country to provide you with military bases in this part of the world, señor." "Now, if you will please excuse us." "Yes, of course." "We will be staying in Costa Mateo a few more hours." "If you should reconsider, Mr. President," "I will be staying at the Hotel San Cristobal." "Paulo, will you please show our guests out?" "Señora." " When did this arrive?" " About an hour and a half ago." "It says the auditors will be delayed for two hours and they should arrive shortly then." "Does De Varo know that you called in a private auditing firm?" "Certainly." "Why should he object to financial efficiency?" "The auditors will come to the presidential account this evening." "Such an important account should have priority." "And in the morning they would like to see the 40 million in De Varo's vault." "Which only he can open." "Be sure he gets to the airport before bringing him back." "Oh, yes." "And I will plant the Swiss bank account number on De Varo when we arrest him." "Very tidy." "De Varo will never be able to explain the nonexistent Ferris Industries." "Or why he is leaving Costa Mateo before the vault is to be opened." "And his account in the Zuricher Kreditbank will be the last piece of incriminating evidence." "Please, señor, could you keep people off my floor just a few minutes?" "It will dry in just a little while." "Herr Pereda." "Friedrich Vinder of Weltriken and Company." " Oh, yes." " How do you do?" "My associates." "I trust our delay did not inconvenience you too much." "Not at all." "Good." "Then we would like to begin immediately." "These two gentlemen will tell you what department they would like to work in." " Herr Steiner will be working with me." " Yes, of course." "If you will go to Mr. Marquez's desk please." "I believe you will find our work accurate and efficient." "Of course, we must have free access with no interference, you understand?" "Oh, yes." "I would not have it any other way." "This is the vault area." "Herr Steiner, you will work in here." "Señor, please." "This floor is still not dry." "Give it a couple of more minutes before you cross." "Just another minute, señor." "That's all I ask." "It's dry." "I've got to go through." "Hello." "Yes, Señor Pereda." "Yes, we will be there." "Yes?" "A Señor Validin and Señora Vorska to see you." "Send them up immediately." "Yes, sir." "Take the elevator to the sixth floor." "Thank you." "Señor Pereda, it was you who called us." "Naturally, we came." "Naturally, we are prepared to listen." "Frankly," "I am interested in your proposal." "Well, we are delighted with your interest." "Still your president was most emphatic in his refusal." "I have a great influence with the president." "Yes, well, I'm certain you have." "Still, what guarantee can you offer us?" "We have a firm understanding with the president of Santo Tomas." "The president, señor, if I may say, in such matters there is no one else to deal with." "What if De Varo was no longer president?" "Well, naturally that would change things." "But I'm afraid we do not have time for him to be voted out." "What if it were sooner?" "What if he was impeached?" "Well, I'm afraid it would have to be shortly." "As I say, our problem is time." "We have only a day." "I have good reason to believe that President De Varo will be arrested within 12 hours." "What reason?" "Good, very good," "Commissar Vorska or whoever you are." "Now we can stop playing this charade as who it is that I'm having this conversation with." "Agreed." "And you can stop circling the point and tell us precisely why it is you we should be speaking with." "Exactly how and why De Varo will be thrown out of office so that you can assume the presidency?" "All right." "I will admit that we are not a simple trade commissariat." "We are empowered to deal on quite a high level both politically and financially." "I, in turn, of course, must know if I'm speaking with the right man." "Oh, yes." "Prove it." "I have good reason to believe that tomorrow it will be discovered that President De Varo's vault has been emptied and the $40 million deposited in a Swiss bank account." "Also, that President De Varo is leaving the country for a meeting with an apocryphal American company." "And just exactly what ties De Varo to the Swiss bank account?" "Possibly his account number will be discovered in his pocket." "Nikolai?" "We are speaking with the right man." "To summarize, we will provide Costa Mateo with all of the equipment and technicians required, plus $100 million annually." "You, in return, will guarantee us certain rights in these marked areas." "Is not enough." "It is identical to the situation agreed upon by Santo Tomas." "You must admit that Costa Mateo's geographical location is superior." "You're getting value, pay for it." "Perhaps you can make both deals, you have the resources." "We can afford to buy but one country at a time." " Two hundred million." " No." "I think you better close the deal with Santo Tomas." "All right." "Do you really want your neighbour in possession of what we can supply him?" "How would the 100 million be paid?" "In cash naturally." "And to whom?" "We could arrange for the money to be delivered personally to you." "A hundred and 20 million." "All right, all right." "Yes, yes, that is as we discussed." "You understand I can put nothing in writing at this time." "Of course, and we, on our parts, will stall our arrangements with Santo Tomas." "And when I have signed, you will terminate that agreement." " Correct?" " Yes." " Have you seen anyone?" " No, no one." "Seal off that area." " You ready?" " Go." "So?" "You'd better explain." " So?" " I don't know." "I only saw one of them, come out of the vault." "What did the one look like?" "I don't know, general." "And you, Herr Vinder, what did you see?" "One of them running out the door carrying a sack." "And then I turned when the guard was hit, but there must have been others." " What did they look like?" " I don't know." "After all that work..." "Go back to your post." "Come with me." "Herr Vinder, I suggest you go back to your office for the moment." "Keep an eye on that guard and clear the area." " What about them?" " I'll take care of them." "Bring my tape recorder and the master list of combinations." "Yes, sir." "Does this affect what we have been discussing?" "Commissar, I suggest you forget our discussion." "That is impossible." "There is too much at stake." "Come in here, please." "Right through the tumbler and the time lock area, cancelling both." "They were very clever." "I am not interested in the thieves or how they got in, only in our arrangement." "I will not be in control of this country tomorrow." "Our arrangement has no meaning any more." "The money that was taken from the presidential vault, it will be dismissed as part of the bank robbery." "There must be a way out." " Hello." " This is Presidente De Varo." "What is this about the treasury vault?" "Why, yes, Señor Presidente, just a moment." "He wants to know what's going on." "Your Excellency, there has been an attempt to rob the vault." "And why was I not informed?" "We had no time to learn what was taken or who was involved." "I will call you when there is news." " What about my vault?" " I believe that it has not been touched." "Though I don't know for sure." "I'm coming over to inspect it, then we will know." "Hello?" "Hello?" "It is all over." "De Varo is coming to inspect the vault." "There is one way out." "What if he found the money safe?" "Lmpossible." "It is in a Zurich bank." "You could cover temporarily if you have enough cash at the treasury." "No, there is no time." "Not even for 120 million?" "Once it is officially established that the presidential vault was not looted in the robbery..." "I could remove the money again and proceed with the original plan." " You have the combinations?" " Yes, sir." "I cannot transfer the money while that man is here." "How much time will you need?" "To arrange everything..." " An hour and a half." " All right, you'll have the time." "That was very brave of you." "No, no." "It..." "It wasn't all that much." "You're still bleeding." "I really must finish this audit, fräulein." "Irena, Irena Vorska." "Irena Vorska?" "You know, I admire that very much in a man." "Dedication and courage." "That's a very attractive combination." "Herr Vinder." "Do your very close friends also call you Herr Vinder?" "Oh, no." "No..." "Friedrich." "Friedrich, Friedrich, Friedrich." "Do you always wear these?" "Yes." "No." "I wear it when I do very close work." "And at other times, I wear to..." "I'm really very concerned that you might be in great pain." "Oh, no, I'm fine." "Thank you." "You are being brave again, Friedrich." "I think you must go and lie down." "No arguments, I insist." "I really have an awful lot of work to do since the robbery." "I have to recheck all of..." "Friedrich." "Well, I suppose I..." "I could go to the hotel and..." "Tell me something, are you deliberately being obtuse?" " What?" " I said nothing about your hotel room." "Now say, "I'm coming with you right now, Irena. "" "I'm going to come right now, Irena." "That's right, come on." "Very lovely and sensitive hands, Friedrich." "And I don't believe you're an accountant at all." "I think you must be a poet." " See that they're followed." " Yes, sir." "I will go with your man." "All right, but don't interfere." "What is this?" "What you opened is the escape passage for someone trapped in the vault." "There's no way to get in from the other side." "Close it, open the next one." "That should clear the money." "Yes, sir." "The auditor." "I was there when it happened." "What about the presidential vault?" "Well, it was closed when I left, but I cannot guarantee its contents." "You wish a light?" "What I do not understand is why I was not informed about it earlier." " Can you explain that?" " No." "But I thought you should know that I do not approve of your country's method of investigation." "There is not one count being made." "Now, if you could open your vault, it would help." "I will meet you as soon as possible." "He's coming?" "It will take him 40 minutes." "That gives us 25." "Tight." " Where is De Varo?" " Don't worry, there's plenty of time." "Bring back one of the guards." "Your Excellency." "I would like to be in the vault alone, Pereda." "Please." "Guard." "The money in your vault, it is secure, Your Excellency." "Your judgment was correct as usual." "Thank you, Your Excellency." "May I suggest that until the other funds are counted, that you postpone your trip to Chicago?" "Whatever you think best, Phillipe." "Yes, Your Excellency." "Good night." "Ortega." "Ortega!" "Ortega!" "Ortega!" "Ortega!" "Friedrich Vinder, Herr President." "There's something very strange here." "I suggest you call the security officer." "You, come with me." "Teniente, come with me." "Ortega." "What is going on here?" "But, Your Excellency, it has already been explained to you." " Explained?" " Why, yes, just a few minutes ago." "I do not know what you're talking about." "Where is Pereda?" " Well, Your Excellency, he's..." " Where is he?" "He's in his office." "Call him." "Tell him to come down here." "I want to check my vault." "I assure you, You Excellency, it's perfectly all right." "Why..." "Why, nothing has been removed." "We..." "We explained all this before." "No one got inside, the robbers never got inside." " And the 40 million..." " I would still like to check it." "No one answers, Excellency." " No, Your Excellency." " Get out of my way." "Pereda." "L..." "I know how this must look, Your Excellency." "But I can explain everything." "Oh, yes, yes, Your Excellency." "He can explain everything." "Can he?" "According to your explanation the vault had never been touched." "And Pereda was supposed to be in his office." "Arrest them."