"The courier from Geneva is here, Herr General." "To be delivered to Manfredi and nobody else." "Thank you for calling Holcroft Associates." "Please hold." "Noel Holcroft's office." "Miss Wilson speaking." "Mr Holcroft is on a building site and can't be reached." "Mr Holcroft?" "Geneva, Switzerland calling." "They said it was urgent." "Holcroft." "Your attention, please." "Immediate departure for Geneva." "Pier number 2." "All aboard, please." "Mr Holcroft." "Mr Holcroft, I'm Ernst Manfredi." "We spoke on the phone yesterday." "Please sit down." "How good of you to make so long a journey on short notice and then agree to meet me in such an unusual setting." "Mr Manfredi." "I have an excellent working relationship with the Chase Manhattan Bank, but David Rockefeller has never asked me to fly 4,000 miles to meet him on a ferry boat." "Really charming fellow, David." "Don't you agree?" "You told me on the phone that you had information for me that was so important it would change the course of my life." "So I checked you out." "You are apparently a serious and highly respected banker." "So I got on a plane." "I am here." "I have a ticket on the plane back tonight, so if we could just get down to business." "Mr Holcroft, what I have to tell you concerns your father." "Yes?" "I'm speaking of your real father, General Heinrich Clausen." "I was afraid of that, Mr Manfredi." "I was 18 months old when my mother and I left Germany." "I never knew Clausen." "I have never acknowledged him as my father." "He has nothing to do with me, my mother or my life!" "Shall we stroll around the deck?" "When one raises one's voice, one tends to attract attention." "Nicely, now." "Arm in arm." "Two old friends chatting happily." "When you hear me out, you will understand the need for precautions." "Why it would have been unwise, for example, to meet at the bank." "May I ask... what do you actually know about Clausen?" " Is this necessary?" " I'm afraid so." "Yes." "Well, his name was General Heinrich Clausen." "He was a Nazi and financial genius who with others helped to make Hitler possible." "Now that's all I know about him, and that's more than I ever wanted to." "Mr Holcroft, your father was a complicated man and the word complicated does not begin to describe him." "I knew him slightly in those last terrible days." "Yes, I was a young man, a Swiss, a neutral, an apprentice in the bank." "I was once sent to meet your father and bring him to this same ferry where certain negotiations between him and my own father were carried out." "Heinrich Clausen was one of the Generals who had turned against Hitler." "He had become obsessed by guilt." "By the horrors that were being committed." "Horrors that he himself had helped to bring about." "And he, in his own way, attempted to make amends." "Monies were intercepted." "Wehrmacht payrolls diverted." "Millions were stolen." "A foundation was set up here in Geneva in the bank of which I am director to help those whose lives have been shattered, and their children and grandchildren." " What has this got to do with me?" " You, Clausen's only son, are to be chairman of the foundation." "You will make all decisions concerning the disposition of the funds." "Sorry." "I'm an architect, not a financial genius." "Give it to charity." "You may feel differently when you discover the amount involved." " I doubt it." " Mr Holcroft." "I'm talking of you having absolute, well, almost absolute control of four and a half billion dollars." "Four and a half billion?" "Four and a half million I can understand, but..." "Four and a half billion." "Let me help you visualise the difference." "There are 60 seconds to the minute." "3,600 seconds to one hour." "One million seconds is twelve days." "And Mr Holcroft, one billion seconds is 32 years." "You said almost complete control." "What does that mean?" "Well, there are two other members on the board." "The eldest surviving children of Erich Kessler and Wilhelm von Tiebolt." "Your father's partners in this most extraordinary endeavour." "Decisions concerning the disposition of money will be made by you in concert with them, but you will be chairman and spokesman." " Why would I be the chairman?" " By the time the covenant was drawn up, your mother was in England, married to an American, Richard Holcroft." "You are an American citizen, above suspicion." "The others are children of Nazis." "Does my mother know about this?" "She would have no way of knowing." "The first thing to be done is to trace the surviving children of Kessler and von Tiebolt." "And that will take time." "We have no idea where they are or under what names they may be living." "I don't believe this." "But you want to." "Yes, I do." "A letter from your father, written to you in the last days of the war." "An hour after it arrived in Geneva, your father and his two comrades took their own lives." "By the terms of the covenant, it could not be opened until now." "You will notice the seals are unbroken." "Berlin." "April 20th, 1945." "My son, my only son, it is hard to believe that I am writing this to a man my own age, a man I knew only as a baby in his mother's arms." "I'm writing to you in English, as that is your native tongue." "As I write, my beloved Berlin is a city of raging flames." "The Third Reich, which Kessler Tiebolt and I so mindlessly served is dying." "Tell your mother, if she is still living, that she was right, and I was wrong." "Tell her that I, through you, am trying to make amends." "But be warned..." "By the time you receive this letter there will be people, perhaps groups of people, even organisations not yet dreamed of, who will know about the covenant and will try and stop you by whatever means necessary." " Look to the car." " Very well, sir." "You will need great courage, as well as great wisdom, but I have faith." "I am your father, you are my son." "However lacking I have been in wisdom, history will, I hope, prove that I was not without courage." "The Manfredis have been financial geniuses for generations." "Trust them." "And trust the sons of my colleagues Kessler and von Tiebolt who join me now on this our journey to Valhalla." "Now it is time for you and the sons of Kessler and von Tiebolt to begin to repair the harm your fathers have done." "This is our covenant." "It is an honourable one." "It is an honourable thing I ask you to do." "It is the dying wish of your father, Heinrich Clausen." " What happened?" " Who knows?" "The world is full of lunatics shooting at each other." "Can your driver take me to the airport?" "There's one person I wanna show this to." "Come on." "Go." "Yes, yes." "This is his handwriting, but that doesn't mean that what it says is true." "He always was a consummate liar." "I know that you want very much for this to be true, don't you?" "But there's something wrong there." "Something very wrong." "Look, the money is right there in the bank." "A huge sum." "Money that Clausen risked his life to steal from the Nazis to be used to..." "What does he say?" "Make amends." "Noel, I was married to the man." "I knew him inside out, and I tell you, this miraculous change is impossible." "I can't believe it." "I don't believe it." "All right, he..." "He was a sort of genius in a way, but mad." "A fanatic like the rest of them." "He believed with all his heart he had helped build a 1,000 year Reich." "Well, 40 years within 1,000, that's very little, isn't it?" "I beg you, have nothing whatever to do with this." "What you're saying, Mother, just doesn't make sense." "There are four and a half billion dollars in a Swiss bank, put there by my father for me to use in any way to make amends." "Yeah, but the others?" "The von Tiebolts and Kesslers?" "Tiebolt and Kessler were Nazis." "What are their children like?" "This document can't even be activated until I've signed it and even after I do, no one can spend a nickel unless I say so." "I am chairman and spokesman." "I mean, Kessler and von Tiebolt are only there as advisers or unless I didn't reach the age of 43," " which I do seem to have done." " Noel." "Your job." "You're an architect." "Administering four billion dollars..." "That's a lifetime's job." "But that's not a bad way to spend a lifetime either." "A man with that kind of money, he can do a great amount of good." "And I do think New York can survive without another office building." "I know..." "I know I can't stop you." "I can only beg you with all my heart." "That's right, Mother, you can't stop me, but I do love you, so please don't try." " Sorry, sir, you can't go in there." " Why not?" "I live here." " May I have your name, please?" " Noel Holcroft." "Apartment 10 D." "Just wait a second, OK?" " Mr Holcroft?" " Yeah." "Come on in." "I'm Lieutenant Miles." " You been out of town?" " Out of the country." " I got back two hours ago." " I realise you're pretty tired." "But a man's been murdered." "I won't keep you a minute, but do you happen to know someone called Peter Baldwin?" "Baldwin." "Peter Baldwin." "No, I don't." " You're sure?" " Absolutely." "Uh-huh." "You don't have to, but would you mind taking a look at the body?" "You might recognise him without knowing his name." "How was he murdered?" "He was garrotted." "Very professional job." "Mr Holcroft." "Mr Sussman called from the job site." "He is furious..." "Noel?" "I thought we were having dinner tonight..." "Mr Holcroft." "My name is Peter Baldwin." "It's extremely urgent that I talk to you at once." "Please call me at the St Regis Hotel as soon as you get in. 753-4100." "I repeat, it's most urgent." "St. Regis." "Good evening." "Could I speak to Mr Peter Baldwin, please?" "He's in room 411." "One moment, please." "Sorry, Mr Baldwin has checked out." "Thank you." "Mr Holcroft." "Sussman and Mr Condon himself called." "They feel like..." "Mr Holcroft." "Peter Baldwin again." "Since you've obviously not returned, let me try and explain on your damn machine." "For your own safety, we've been keeping track of your movements." "It was a near thing on the ferry this morning." "You are in terrible danger." "Von Tiebolt's daughter, Helden, is living in London." "It's vital that you meet with her." "Listen carefully." "My colleague, Leighton, will meet you in Trafalgar Square at Nelson's column at 5 p.m. London time tomorrow and for three days." "Do not look for him." "I repeat." "Do not look for him, he will find you." "I will try to meet you tonight, but if anything goes wrong destroy this tape." "Goddamn it, Holcroft." "This is Bernie Sussman." " Hello?" " Miss Wilson." " You must be exhausted." " No, I'm fine, fine." "Would you get me on the next plane to London, please?" "Mr Leighton." "We meet at last." "Naughty, naughty, Mr Holcroft." "You mustn't speak to strangers." "Could be harmful to the health." "You were told that I would find you." "In this business, strict attention to detail is much the best policy." " Leighton?" " Exactly." "Commander Leighton." "British Military Intelligence." "Five Branch." "I'm sorry." "I'm so punchy." "I've been on and off of aeroplanes, but that other guy..." "I'm sure I know him." "He's been following me, which is why I assumed he was you." "Assumption, Mr Holcroft, is, as we say in my profession, the mother of fuck up." "He was on the Geneva ferry." "There was a murder on the dock, and he... brushed past me." "And he had blood on his clothes." "He's usually more fastidious." "His name in England is Beaumont." "He's one of the highest paid hit men in the world." " Why don't you pick him up?" " Nothing would give me greater pleasure." "But a shoot-out in Trafalgar Square is something that just isn't done." "I think it's about time we're moving on." "Miss Tennyson, née von Tiebolt, is waiting." "And there are a lot of villainous characters lurking about." "I'm glad to say most of them are mine." "Shall we go now?" "About Baldwin." "I gather you never actually met?" " He was dead when I got there." " Poor Peter." "What a nuisance for you." "What a shocking business we're in." "I'm not in any business." "I'm just here to..." "Front pew." "On the right." "I'm not religious, but if I were you, I might just say a small prayer." "And you could put in a word for old Peter if you like." "Doesn't do to brood, does it?" "Off you go, then." " Don't turn around." " What?" "Don't speak for a moment." "Just listen." "These precautions may seem foolish to you, but they are necessary." "Listen, lady." "Three days ago, I was 40 storeys in the air over New York, hiding from an insane building contractor." "Let me tell you," "I felt safer then than now, so any precautions you want to take are OK with me." "Next question?" "I was going to ask if you were American, but we've answered that." "I'm a foreign born American citizen." "My father was Heinrich Clausen, but my name is Holcroft." "I am British." "My father was Wilhelm von Tiebolt." "My name is Tennyson." " Did you know Peter Baldwin?" " No, but I know who he is." " You said, "Did I know"?" " Yeah, he's dead." "He was murdered." "Do you know about Manfredi and the covenant...?" " Peter Baldwin was murdered?" " Yes." " Any brothers or sisters?" " An older brother, Johann." " Murdered by whom?" " I have no idea." "I should be talking to Johann." "How do I get in touch with him?" "We cannot possibly talk here." " This wasn't my idea." " Don't look at me." "I don't meet people in churches." "I meet people in their offices." "I have to talk to you." "Can't we go somewhere else?" "Let me buy you a drink." "It's all been arranged, but we can't leave together." "When I go, get up casually." "Go out by the side door." " Turn right at the corner." " Do we have to go through this?" "There are very serious people who think so." "You will meet one of them tonight." "Mr Holcroft." "Will you please come here and get in the car?" " Drive." "I'll tell you exactly where to go." " I beg your pardon?" " That is the steering wheel." " I don't drive a car." "What do you mean?" "Everybody drives." "Not if they live in New York." "The traffic's terrible and you can't park." "Do you realise you're endangering our lives by your incompetence?" " Get out." " A friend has a house in the country." "It's supposed to be an hour from 42nd Street." "A lie." "The only thing that's an hour from 42nd Street is 43rd Street." "I apologise, Mr Holcroft." "As I told you, my life is in danger." "Mr Leighton and others are trying to protect me." "If you are in danger and MI5 is protecting you, how come they were dumb enough to let you go off in a car with me?" "Suppose I turned out to be one of the bad guys." "Let's just say it would have been a terrible nuisance." "Oh, an excruciatingly uncomfortable journey." "We should get larger cars." "Or smaller agents." "Oh, well, all in a day's work." "Mustn't grumble." "Mustn't grumble." "Better?" "Much." "Shall we go in, Mr Holcroft?" " Herr Oberst is waiting." " Who the hell is Herr Oberst?" "He is the head of the organisation I work for." "Good evening, Herr Oberst." "May I introduce Mr Holcroft?" "I really must apologise for the way you were brought here." "But four and a half billion dollars, even in these inflationary times, is a great deal of money." "You'd be amazed how badly some people behave when faced with just the concept of such a sum." "Better safe than sorry." "Good evening, Herr Holcroft." "Please, sit down." " Do you speak German?" " No." "Of course not." "Why should you?" "Oberst means colonel, which was not my rank." "It is a code name that we have used for some years." " I see you..." " Herr Oberst." "I am trying to stay calm." "But if somebody doesn't tell me why I'm here, what British intelligence..." "Mr Holcroft." "Let me be brief and to the point." "You are here to reassure me that your four and a half billions will not be used for any purpose of which I disapprove." "As far as I know, the covenant doesn't say anything about a Mr Oberst having to countersign my cheques." " How the hell do you know about this?" " Mr Holcroft." "Do you honestly imagine that a sum of money of that size could remain undetected even in a Swiss bank?" "I assure you that the amount in the trust is known to our Inland Revenue, to your IRS, to the Russians..." "In any case, it is certainly known to my organisation." "To enlighten you, sir," "I'm the head of Wolfsschanze." "It is our function to make sure the horrors of the Third Reich are never repeated again anywhere in the world." "Herr Clausen, indulge an old man." "Convince me that you are not a member of the neo-Nazis." "Indeed, that you are not their anointed leader." "And that these vast sums will not be spent to create a Fourth Reich." "I don't believe this." "I do not believe what I am hearing." "My name is Noel Holcroft." "I am an architect." "I'm a foreign born American citizen, which means that I can do anything over there except become President." " You are as obsessed as my mother." " Convince me, please." "Tell for example how you plan to use this money." "I don't have to tell you one goddam thing!" "But my dear sir, you do." "You do." "Otherwise, I will kill you." "Tell me." "How will you spend the money?" "Mr Holcroft, I am a very serious man." "And you have a gun." "And it is pointed at me." "And you are certifiably insane." "But I must admit it does add a certain urgency to the situation." "To begin with, high... high on my list of things that I am not going to do with it is start a new Nazi party." "I'm pretty sure on that one." "Neither am I going to finance a redesigned Edsel or a Broadway musical or shave my head and give it to the Moonies." "Could you point that gun the other way?" "You are making me nervous." "But it does wonders for your eloquence." "Continue." "Look, I'm supposed to use this money to make reparations." "That's pretty difficult to do on an individual basis after all this time." "So, what I'll probably do is endow medical schools in Israel or in Poland, if they'll let me." "I..." "I'll set up universities in Africa." "I don't know." "I haven't had time to work out the details." "For this kind of money, the US put 15 guys and a mashie niblick on the moon." "It's a six iron." "It's a very useful club, especially on a short par 3." " Did you really...?" " OK, right." "Now, take it easy and do exactly as I say." "What do you want us to do, Mr Holcroft?" "Put your hands in the air." "I don't know." "The usual things." "Some kind of Nazi, huh?" "Got a gun and can't figure out what to do with it." "I don't know about the Wolfsschanze, Herr Oberst, but Her Majesty's Government is convinced that Mr Holcroft is not the new fuhrer." "Do give me the gun, Mr Holcroft." "You'll be less use to humanity if, in a burst of boyish enthusiasm, you accidentally shoot off a toe." "Thank you." "I, too, am convinced." "Mr Holcroft, you may go." "Miss Tennyson will drive you back to London." "Goodbye, Mr Holcroft." "And my apologies." "I think we were wrong." "I'm glad now that he wasn't killed in Geneva." "The less said about Geneva the better." "Now we must keep him alive." "So he can lead us to the list." " Where are we?" "What are you doing?" " Battersea." "At the foot of the Albert Bridge." "And I'm parking in a non-existent parking space." " We get out here." " What?" " Have you got an umbrella?" " Where would I get that?" "I don't know." "Men have umbrellas." "They carry them." "This is Leighton's car, he must have one." "Would you have a look in the boot?" "The trunk." "It's open." " That's out there." " Yeah." "This umbrella's for the beach." "It's a golf umbrella." "Leighton's a scratch golfer." "He shot a 68 at St Andrews once, or so he says." "Come on." "This is definitely not my game." "You know what I think, don't you?" "I think I should get a gun." "There are a lot of crazy people about and they're all attracted to me." "Do you think that you or Oberst or somebody could get me a gun?" "I'd get one myself, except I don't know how to go about it." "All I want to do is to meet your brother Johann." " So when can I see him?" " I don't know." "He's a journalist." "He writes brilliant but mysterious articles on international finance for The Guardian." "He's the world's second foremost authority on the price of the pound." "Whatever that means." "Actually, what it means is that he's not easy to find." "Holcroft Bookshop." "Speaking." "Yes, this is she." "Who's that?" "Yes, of course." "I understand perfectly." "You're right." "I have arrangements to make about the shop." "But I will get the first possible plane." "And meet you tomorrow afternoon." "I agree, my son must be stopped." "Damn!" "We didn't know when to expect you and the windscreen is festooned with parking tickets." "!" "shall get 20 years to life at least." "Into the car and out of sight while I call Johann." "Call Johann?" "What happened?" "How come suddenly he's so easy to find?" "It's been an hour since we left Herr Oberst." "The car's still here." "That means they've decided it's safe for you to meet him." "It'll take me a few minutes to get through, and congratulations." "Seems you passed the test." " Test?" "There was a test?" " Yeah." " And I passed it?" " Yeah." " What if I hadn't?" " To use Mr Leighton's phrase, it would've been a terrible nuisance." " What kind of place is this?" " It's a riding club." "Johann and I are members." "We had beautiful horses in South America when we were children." "It was terrible having to give them up when we came to England." "Come on, we'll find you some gear." " You do ride, don't you?" " Miss Tennyson." "It is 11.30 at night." "I do not go horseback riding at 11.30 at night." "Nobody goes horseback riding at 11.30 at night." "I wanna talk to your brother." "Tell him to get off the horse..." "And do you know something?" "I've always wanted to go horseback riding at 11.30 at night." " You have ridden before, haven't you?" " Certainly." "Twice." "You sure this is the slowest horse they've got?" "Mr Holcroft." "Welcome to London." "Mr Holcroft, my brother Johann." "Listen, Johann, there's a gentleman in the bar." "He's been following me." "I've been told he is a hit man." " I must apologise..." " We've no time for good manners." "We've got to get out of here, so we can talk." "If we are being watched, and it's safest to assume we are, then we should behave as naturally as possible." "May I suggest that it is extremely difficult for a man in a grey flannel suit to behave naturally while riding on a horse at night waiting for someone to shoot at him." "A sense of humour under pressure." "I appreciate that." "If I said something humorous, it's purely unintentional." "I have never felt less humorous in my life." "Should we dismount?" "I think perhaps you might be a bit more comfortable." " It would be a start." " And incidentally, the horses do provide excellent cover." "You're right, Mr Holcroft." "We are in danger and we do need to talk." "I've known about the covenant since I was a child." "I didn't know the amount involved, nor who my two partners were to be." "Though I was told that one might be an American." "Now, tonight Helden tells me that Kessler's son is the third." "That makes absolute sense." "Shall we walk the horses a little?" "Cool them off?" "You understand, the reason why it makes such sense is that Clausen, von Tiebolt and Kessler were a triumvirate." "What we must discover is if Kessler's son is still alive and if he is, where he's living and under what name." "The best place to do that is the Central Archives in Berlin." "You two should fly to Berlin tomorrow." " But travel separately, of course." " Separately?" "I've been on the run and in hiding most of my life." "I'm a bit more experienced at this than you are." "Do you remember the hotel on Falkensteinstrasse?" " The Schönfahr." " Not the most fashionable place." "But in the old days we used it as a safe house." "Helden will give you the address." "I'll make what enquiries I can here and then I'll call you." "It is absolutely imperative that you travel separately." "None of us is safe until that covenant is signed." "Yeah, you should leave now." "There's a back way out, and Helden will show you the way." "Ciao." "My shop!" " But, uh..." " Shh!" "Danke schön." " Liebchen!" " Holy shit." "70 marks. 80 if we want a hand towel." "I think we can afford a hand towel." "Welcome to Berlin, Mr Holcroft." "Homey." "Very homey." "I like it." "I really do." "The crumbling plaster is a nice touch." "And the mirror over the bed..." " I sleep on that, right?" " Right." " It's Johann." " Don't answer it." "If it's him he'll ring three times, hang up, and call back." " Oh, come on, Helden." " These precautions are necessary." "Do you think I love being dressed like this?" "Our lives are in danger." "There are people who are trying to kill us." "This room with its crumbling plaster is safe." "They didn't ask to see our passports." "We're completely anonymous." "If that was Johann, he should be calling back just about... now." "Hello?" "How good of you to call." "That means it's safe to talk." "You're joking." "You're not serious." "I'll call you back at 11 your time." "Three rings, thirty seconds, two rings." "Three rings, thirty seconds, two rings?" "This is all... part of what we call the drill." "You must remember that Johann and I spent most of our lives in hiding." "Most girls worried about what to wear, but I was memorising the drill." "Use false names, rooms changed daily, hotel twice a week." "Phone calls must be placed from outside booths, never from residences." "Calls may be answered only by conforming to a continuously changing code." "In airports guns must be dismantled, barrels separated from handles, firing pins removed, etc, etc." "On arrival they are to be reassembled as quickly as possible." "The gun you asked for, Mr Holcroft." "And now, let me tell you what that mysterious phone call was all about." "We don't have to go to the archives." "Johann has tracked down Erich Kessler." "You'll never guess who he is." "What a brilliant way to hide." "Just become a world famous public figure." " Isn't this sensational?" " Yeah." "I have his recording of this, but it's so much better live." "Ladies and gentlemen, better." "Much better." "Maybe tonight you can actually get it right." "Thank you." " Mr Holcroft." " Magnificent, Maestro." "Truly magnificent." "The sound of one Holcroft clapping." "Very gratifying, sir." "Very gratifying." "Let me introduce myself." " Jürgen Maas." " How do you do?" "Splendid name for a conductor, don't you think?" "I would have called myself Arturo Toscanini." "But I realised they already had one." "I do not have the warm Italianate nature so necessary for the operas of Verdi." "Please, sit down." "Let me look at you both." "So you're the daughter of von Tiebolt?" "And the son of Clausen." "How wonderful." "Wonderful!" "Wonderful!" "Forgive me." "I'm always slightly hyper after rehearsal." "Also, as you see, I sweat like a pig." "They say conductors live to enormous ages." "Comes from all the sweating and waving the arms." "I hope they're right." "Crocodiles, on the other hand, live several hundred years by doing nothing." "It's hard to know what to believe any more." "This has been the most exciting 24 hours of my life." "First that call yesterday from Jonathan Tennyson of The Guardian." "The newspaper that's never given me a decent review, except, of course, for the Beethoven cycle." "Bringing me this most astonishing news." "It did not come as a complete surprise." "My mother had over the years hinted about it, but to be truthful, I thought it was an old woman's fantasy." "So it is true then?" "It is all true?" "It seems so." "However..." "However." "Alas, there is always a however." "Tell me about this however." "Well, there are people, quite a few apparently, who would like to stop me, and you and Johann from signing the papers and putting it all in motion." "My mother's against it." "She thinks it's an evil plot of my father's." "And a man named Oberst is against it." "Field Marshal Falkenheim." "A man named Falkenheim, he's against it because he thinks that it's the neo-Nazis, or whoever they are." "He thinks that they are grooming me as a new Hitler." "Now I know it's nuts, absolutely nuts, but there has been some honest-to-God danger." "People have been killed." "Two in Geneva and one in New York." " Herr Maas or Kessler." "What shall I say?" " Please, call me Erich." "Erich, this has all happened so fast, but look..." "That money's been sitting there for 40 years, it can sit there a little longer." "We have no idea what is going on, but we do know that something is wrong." "I don't think anyone should do anything or sign anything until we find out what is actually happening." "I think that everything should be delayed." "Take six months or a year just thinking and planning and getting the best possible advice." "Leave it where it is." "So we can all get to know each other." "Helden and I should get the next plane to London and talk to Johann again." "You are right." "But at least you should stop and catch your breath." "Why not come to the concert tonight?" "I start with the Schubert you just heard, then a daring leap into Bartok, and to restore order I will finish with some soothing Brahms." " Thank you, Erich." "I'd love that." " Please, do come." "And if you doze off..." "Schubert taken subliminally is better than not at all." "Ulrich." "Ulrich will take you out." "You don't have a car?" "He'll find you a taxi." "Mr Holcroft." "Miss Tennyson." "Helden." "I would embrace you." "Not until I've had a shower." "I'm beginning to offend even myself." " See you this evening." " Thank you very much." "I'm dancing on air." "You made me a very happy genius." "Idiot..." "Bungler." "Four people, a high powered motor car and a bomb... and you can't deal with one tottering old lady." "Now, as I feared, he is becoming a problem." "If you had handled his mother tonight's adventure would not have been necessary." "However, one word of advice:" "Don't fail again." "It's the Festival of St Selena." "She is the patron and guardian angel of the oldest and most noble of all professions." "There is a parade through the red light district followed by the orgy." " Germany is very beautiful, no?" " Yes." " You need date for orgy later?" " He's spoken for." "Sorry." " Hi there." "My name is Fritzl." " Look, it's Fritzl." " Who?" " Fritzl." "The man who's acting as if he knows us." "Where are your manners?" " Hello, Fritzl." " Hello." "I only do this for a living." "I really want to direct films." "Mr Holcroft, you'll get us both killed." "I'm Hartman." "I'm on your side." "Go to the hotel." "This is no concern of yours." "It's not easy keeping you alive, Mr Holcroft." "What is this?" "A nine millimetre Browning." "At least let me show you how to use it." "You're not going to shoot anyone with this." "You've got the return spring in wrong." "Now it's fixed." " Have you seen a man and a woman?" " Many, many times." "Down there." "I'll go here." "No!" "Get down!" "Get down!" " He's dead." " Are you all right?" "We've got to get out of here." "The hotel." "No!" "No!" " No!" " Please, no." "Oh, my God." "Oh God." "Noel, Noel." "It's all right." "It's all right." "I'm sorry, Helden." "I was having a nightmare." "I dreamt that..." "I wasn't dreaming, was I?" "I just killed a man, didn't I?" "I mean, it really did just happen." "Oh, my God." "I killed him." "Noel." "Noel, you did what you had to do." "You were wonderful." "You were very brave." "He was trying to kill us and you saved us." "You were very brave and very wonderful." "I love you, Noel." "I really love you." "I've never met a man like you before." "So kind." "So brave." "So crazy." "So wonderful." "Noel, make love to me." "Is that him?" "Yes." " You sure?" " Yes, it's him." "Johann!" "I am a fool." "I was sure Berlin was safe." "The cover was perfect." "I don't know how it was blown." "But now you can see how imperative it is that the covenant is signed at once." "Four people were killed tonight and my sister's life was in danger." "With four billion dollars we can hunt down these criminals, these fanatics." "I haven't fought and run and hidden all this time to have something happen to Helden now." "Should we be standing here like this?" "The Brandenburg Gate is the most heavily guarded place in the world." "Noel, we must talk quickly." " You've met with Kessler?" " This afternoon." "Good." "Now..." " The banker, can he be trusted?" " Manfredi?" "I think so." "So does my mother." " What about Oberst?" " On no account." "He's mad." "He's still fighting some obscure, stupid war of his own." "We must trust no one, except ourselves." "Just you, Kessler, me and of course Helden." " We must get to Geneva." " We can take a plane." "No, the airport is not safe." "I suggest you two drive to Geneva taking the back roads." "I'll go by train." "Kessler, as Jürgen Maas, is almost untouchable." "Call him on a public phone and tell him to fly to Geneva and meet us there in, say, three days." "We must stay in separate hotels." "I'll stay at the Royale." "I'll be there on Wednesday afternoon." "Helden can meet me there at six exactly and tell me what I need to know." "And I can relay any message that I have for you." "The three of us must not talk on the telephone." "Call Manfredi and tell him we will meet and sign the covenant on Thursday at eleven." " And Noel..." " Yes, Johann." "Just one thing." "I must know..." "I must believe that you are truly and seriously committed." "Are you?" "I killed a man tonight." "In that case, we have another common bond." "I too was forced to kill someone." "A long time ago in South America." "We're brothers." "We are truly brothers." "Damn Heinrich Clausen." "Damn him." "I hope he's twisting and turning in some special hell." "Didn't he do enough harm while he was alive?" "Does he have to ruin my son's life from the grave?" "Try please to be calm." "The question is:" "Can you persuade your son not to sign?" "How do I know?" "There's someone, somewhere who thinks you can." "Otherwise why yesterday's attempt on your life?" "You know about that?" "I wasn't going to tell you." "It was horrible." "My bookshop in ruins." "I should have stayed of course, but if my son's life is in dang..." "It was you." "It was your man who saved my life." "Field Marshal, you're a marvel." "No wonder I was in love with you as a child." "You were very beautiful." "But like all young girls in those days, insane for uniforms." "My only excuse is that I was 17 when I married Clausen." "And he was so handsome and terrifying in his black uniform." "I was flattered by the attentions of someone so exalted." "Where is my son now?" "Yesterday he was in Berlin with von Tiebolt's daughter." "There was a gun battle in the street." "Four men died." "It is possible that your son killed one or more of them." "My Noel... killed?" "Where is he now?" "Noel, there's a huge Mercedes behind us." "It's been following us for three miles and now it's starting to close in." "Probably just another Sunday driver." "But on the other hand, as it is Tuesday... why don't you put your foot on the gas and see what happens?" "Don't any of you bastards speak English?" "I thought English was the international language." "I thought you all learned it in the goddam first grade." "Ah, Mr Holcroft." "As for you, you bastard." "I never trusted you." "Not to worry." "Everything can be explained." "Please do not attempt anything too vividly cinematic." "Lee, thank God it's you." "I don't blame you for being distraught." "Such a ghastly night for you." "And of course for poor Hartman." "I don't suppose there's any whisky about?" "You'd have no way of knowing, would you?" "The Germans, Mr Holcroft, are such a literal people." "When I radioed for them to detain you," "I had no idea they'd turn it into the last act of Götterdämmerung." "If there is any whisky, it would be in here." "In the locked cabinet, no doubt." "Very mean about drink, the Germans." "Worse than the English, really." "Shall we go?" " How the hell did you find us?" " Tip from a professional, Mr Holcroft:" "When you want to disappear, don't rent cars with credit cards." " I tried to pay cash." " Why did you want to stop us?" "It was important." "Herr Oberst wants to see you." "Just a minute." "He has a guest who flew all the way from America to talk to you." "My mother?" "That's impossible." "We have to be in Geneva." "I have to be at Johann's hotel room tomorrow at six." "It's no bad thing for you to travel separately." "I'll spirit Mr Holcroft to England." "You take the car to Geneva." "We'll join you tomorrow." "Just fetch your cases out of the car." "If we hurry, we can be in England in time for tea." "Good afternoon." "Jonathan Tennyson from The Guardian." "May I have a word with Herr Oberst?" "Herr Oberst does not see journalists." "I think if you mention my name, he might change his mind." " What was your name?" " Tennyson." "The von Tiebolt boy?" "Were you expecting him?" "No." " Do you know him?" " No." "But I know about him." "Two years ago, when we heard rumours of the covenant, we recruited his sister." "An intelligent, honest girl." "Useful when we need a pretty face." "She worships her brother and talks freely about him." "She has no idea we are using her to monitor his movements." "You should get one in colour." "I'd have to talk to him sooner or later." "It's good that he is here." "A handsome boy." "I loathed his father." "Despicable man." "For all I know, the son is exactly what he seems." "On the other hand..." "Mr Tennyson, please come in." "Herr Oberst, forgive my bursting in uninvited." "And during your luncheon too." "I can take a walk until you're finished." "Please." "Your sister is a member of the family, so to speak." "Therefore, so are you." "This is Althene Holcroft." "Althene, may I present Jonathan Tennyson." "Mr Tennyson, I knew your father a thousand years ago." "So you're Noel's mother." "What a pleasure." " You know my son?" " We only just met, but... we're going to be firm friends, I know it." " We went riding the other night." " Horseback riding?" "Noel?" "With my sister." "He was nervous at first, but he enjoyed it." "I think we'll have him jumping in no time." "Frau Clausen..." "I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you're here." "I'm pleased that you're pleased, but I am Mrs Holcroft." "Please, do sit down now." "I'm sorry I interrupted you." "Frau Clausen." "Feldmarschall." " I do find it warm." " Warm?" "Yes, I find it very warm in here." "Almost..." "Almost unbearably warm in here." "Far too warm, I think, for a thick, heavy blanket on your knees." "You senile old fool." "Why are you here?" "It has come to my attention... that both of you disapprove... of Noel Holcroft signing the covenant." "And that you're prepared to do anything... in your happily limited power... to stop him." "The potato salad is excellent." "Did you make it, Frau Clausen?" "It's delicious." "Just a hint of tarragon." "No wonder Noel loves his mummy." "Keep your nasty, trembling, liver-spotted hands away from those buttons, and in your lap, where they belong." "There's a good Feldmarschall." "Frau Clausen, do not move." "And do not speak." "Now to business." "Unfortunately, the covenant cannot be activated without Noel's signature." "And sign it he will, as scheduled." "Eleven o'clock on Thursday morning." "After which, he, like yourselves, will become... redundant." "I wonder you disgusting, redundant old man... how many other people know about the list." "Frau Clausen?" "What about you?" "Do you understand what is going on?" "Or are you merely acting upon some perverse form of woman's intuition?" "I knew it would come to this." "Clausen, I knew him." "You thought you knew him." "Did you understand how much he hated you?" "For leaving him, for taking his son." "Can you imagine a hate so strong, that it can wait years for revenge?" "A man so filled with hate that he would sacrifice the life of his only son." "What...?" "What do you hope to achieve?" "Oh, Frau Clausen..." "Like my father, I am an idealist." "Like my father, I too dream of a better world." "It's been 40 years since Nuremberg." "40 years of so-called enlightenment and democracy." "And what has it accomplished?" "Mr Truman drops atomic bombs on women and children and it is my father who is posthumously adjudged the war criminal." "At Yalta, with the sweep of a pen a senile president condemns a third of the world to communism." "Europe, with the zeal of a missionary gone mad, hands over the wealth and resources of Africa to savages who have barely learned to beat a drum." "Then you... give them tanks and arms to replace their bows and arrows." "And when your freezers arrive, they use them to store their enemies for dinner." "I have the grace not to mention Vietnam." "All over your brave new democratic world inflation spirals as literacy drops." "And in America?" "They vote for law and order whilst shooting down presidents, schoolchildren and rock stars in the streets." "You see, the world must not be run by the frightened, the ignorant and the weak." "And because of my father... and because of Kessler and because of Clausen... it will not be much longer." "The list?" "The list you were so interested in." "Oh, it does exist." "It's in my pocket." "It's an ordinary list." "One that any journalist might carry." "A list of a thousand names." "But the right thousand names." "A thousand names that will change the world." "Bloody bastard!" "Right." "Let's see who signed that visitor's book." "I thought he was in Berlin." "On his way to Geneva." "What about Helden?" "She's supposed to be seeing him tomorrow." "Tell her about the murder, but not the murderer." "I doubt she'll go through with it if she knew." " Why?" "I don't understand why." " The list." "Oberst knew about the list." "The list?" "What list?" "There's a man been murdered here and you, the British government..." "In the first place I am not the British government." "I am no more MI5 than you are." "I worked for Oberst." "More or less the same line of business as the late Mr Beaumont." "More often than not, I'm on the right side." "You must go to Geneva as scheduled." "And you must face the bastard." "When the covenant is signed, I'll kill him, of course." "Or you can... if you like." "I like." "It's open." "Johann, you're wonderful." "And you were right." "He's whimpering for his mother like a child." "He'll sign without question." " They suspect nothing?" " Nothing." "Take me." "Take me in your arms and say the words." "Please Johann, say the words." "Helden... my love." "My sister." "My spouse." "I slept with him." "I had to." "But I pretended it was you." "My love." "My brother." "My spouse." "I can only conclude he has the list on his person." "Carries it with him at all times." "That sort of thing." "We've searched everywhere else." "It could be in a bank vault somewhere, I suppose." "It's unlikely." "Most unlikely." "Here, drink this." "Touch of the giant killer." "She's risking her life and I can't do a thing." "By this time tomorrow, the covenant will be signed." "It'd be a terrible nuisance if the fucker has found out." " Who is it?" " It's me, Helden." " Come in." " Hello, Lee." "You all right?" " You told him about..." " He was shocked." "Genuinely shocked." "He never trusted Herr Oberst, but something like this..." "He was heartsick about your mother." "He sends you love and wishes you courage." "I described the scene like you did." "The bodies, that horrible business with the dog..." "And he wept." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "We all need a little time to mourn our dead." "What is it, Mr Holcroft?" "When I told her about it," "I never mentioned the dog." "I see." "Eleven o'clock." "A historic moment." "I wish my father were here with us today." "A wish, a dream." "A heroic dream dreamed 40 years ago in a city in flames is about to become reality." " Mr Manfredi..." " Yes, Mr von Tiebolt?" "If we could perhaps proceed with the signing." "Well, forgive me, but this is an occasion of sentimental importance to me." " My father..." " It is a great moment for all of us." "A great moment indeed." "But I have a concert tonight." " I'm playing the Mahler tonight." " Ah, the Mahler." "Champagne." "Gentlemen, you're right." "Let's proceed." "Mr von Tiebolt if you'd be kind!" "enough to sign at the bottom of this page." "To our father." "Wilhelm von Tiebolt." "To my father, Erich Kessler." "No toast, Noel?" "To my father, Heinrich Clausen." "Miss von Tiebolt, gentlemen..." "The covenant." "The covenant." "Wait a minute." "What the hell is all this?" "I called a press conference." "Did I forget to tell you?" "Forgive me, Noel, but I think this is a grave mistake." "We've made no plans." "We've formulated no statements." "Surely as a journalist you would defend to the death the public's right to know." "Of course... of course." "But until we have something to announce, all this is grotesque." "Premature." "And it must be stopped." "What do you say, Erich?" "I am good with the press." "I'll talk about humanity and hungry children." "We'll pose for some photographs and go about our business to great applause." " Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." " Good morning." "My name is Noel Holcroft and my father was General Heinrich Clausen." "I have an extremely important announcement to make." "This morning a covenant drawn up in the last days of the war by Heinrich Clausen, Erich Kessler and Wilhelm von Tiebolt was signed by their three oldest sons:" "Jonathan Tennyson." "Jürgen Maas." "And myself." "A sum of money has been handed to us which over the years has grown into four and a half billion dollars." "How much?" " Four and a half billion." " Pounds or dollars?" " Dollars." " What?" " Can you say how it is to be used?" " Yes, I can." "It is to be used by the three of us to carry out our fathers' wishes." "He's doing nicely." "He has their attention." "You moron, can't you see what he's doing?" "Can't you see he knows?" " Helden..." " He knows nothing." "I swear." "He lied all his life, and now he is lying from the grave." "What I signed this morning was not just a covenant," " but my own death warrant." " A death warrant?" "Yes, I did." "What do you mean "death warrant"?" "I will explain." "Two days ago, my mother was murdered because of this document." "Six other people have been killed." "And the only reason I am here today is because I couldn't be killed until I signed this document." "And now that I have, if I could be conveniently taken care of, then the true wishes of Clausen, Kessler and von Tiebolt a plan that my father so brilliantly conceived 40 years ago, can be carried out." "That's right." "Wait." "Hold it, hold it." "It's a wonderful idea." "Gloriously simple." "To consolidate every terrorist group in the world into one cohesive, overwhelming force in order to create international crises and political chaos." "With four and a half billion dollars behind them and working under inspired leadership, they could blow up ten planes a week, assassinate any world leader anywhere, turn any religion, race, colour or creed against each other," "start bloody riots in any city, at any time." "Until suddenly the world is reduced to a state of anarchy and panic." "Ready to accept a strong, new leader who can restore order and take command." "And that new leader has already been chosen." "I will tell you." "He, Johann von Tiebolt, has been trained for this job since childhood." "He also has the names and contacts for every terrorist leader in the world." "Johann, if you do something foolish now, it's the end of us." "The end of everything." "Johann!" "This is the list." "This is what all the killing has been about." "Billion dollars behind them and working under inspired leadership, they could blow up ten planes a week, assassinate any world leader anywhere, turn classes, religions, races and creeds against each other and cause riots in any city at any time." "Oh God, turn it off, please." "I can't watch." "Johann!" "It's gonna be all right, isn't it?" "Tell me it's gonna be all right." "Everything is gonna be all right." "And different too." "I love you." "I love you very much." "Maybe we can get married." " We don't have to, of course." " Was that part of the plan?" "For us to get married?" "It was hardly a plan." "I've only known you less than a week." "It would have been nice, though." "Would have?" "While it lasted." "But how long would it have lasted?" "Six months?" "A year maybe?" "Five years would have been safer, but you couldn't keep your people in line that long." "What are you talking about?" "And how was it to have happened?" "A heart attack, I suppose?" "Peacefully in my sleep?" "Or on the street?" "The gear is wonderfully sophisticated these days." "A man is accidentally poked with an umbrella in a crowded subway." "Two hours later he has a massive coronary and dies." "Was that the plan?" " Did you think it would be that simple?" " Noel..." "Did you think I didn't know the kidnapping was faked?" "When we made love, did you think that I thought you really meant it?" "Yes." "Yeah?" "Did you honestly believe that I was in love with you?" "Yes." "Well, you were right." "I didn't know." "But then last night you told me yourself." "The dog." "I knew it as I said it." "As the words came out of my mouth." "The worst part of it is..." "I was in love with you." "I still am." "Noel, if that's true, maybe..." "You're not gonna shoot anybody with this." "I did the same thing to the return spring as you did... when you gave it to me in Berlin." "Now it works."