Red Alert (6 page)

The streets of Rome were still quiet when Kolchinsky! parked the hired Peugeot 405 in front of a small cafeteriaj on the via Nazionale.

Sabrina looked through the passenger window. 'Gt/-| zone Caffe, that's it all right.'

Graham, who was seated in the back, glanced at hi&| watch. Two minutes to seven. Perfect timing.'

5°

Kolchinsky switched off the engine. They got out and locked the doors behind them. The card hanging in the window read Chiuso. Closed. He waited until a couple had walked past then knocked sharply on the door. A

\ corner of the red curtain which spanned the window was pulled back and a moment later the door was unlocked and opened. It was locked again behind them. Apart from the man who had let them in, there was only one other person in the room. He was seated at one of the tables, a copy of Paese Sera spread out in front of him. An empty coffee cup stood on the next table.

'Please, come in,' he said, without looking up from the

I newspaper.

I 'Major Paluzzi?' Kolchinsky said, approaching the

I table.

I The man held up his hand, continuing to study the page

I in front of him. He finally shook his head and sat back in the chair, a bemused smile touching the corners of his wide mouth. 'I hate the stock market. That's the third day in a row that my shares have gone down. I should have listened to my father when he told me to dump them.' He

^suddenly grinned and got to his feet, pushing back the ; chair, his hand extended. 'Fabio Paluzzi, Nucleo Operiativo Centrale di Sicurezza.'

They each shook his hand in turn. Paluzzi was thirty-six years old with a gaunt, pallid face which, together with his cropped brown hair, made im look more like an emaciated prisoner on a hunger Strike than one of the most respected officers in the elite Italian antiterrorist squad, the NOCS, better known as

'Please, sit down,' Paluzzi said, indicating the table. |Have you eaten this morning?'

'We had dinner on the plane,' Kolchinsky replied, pull-J ing up a chair.

'You mean breakfast?'

'Dinner, breakfast, it's the same thing. We're six hours! behind you in New York.' Sabrina stifled a yawn as if to | make her point. 'It's really disorientating.'

'I can believe it. How about some coffee?'

'The magic word,' Kolchinsky replied. 'We checked! into the Quirinale Hotel, dumped our things, and dashed] over here. Not even time for a coffee.'

'That's easily rectified,' Paluzzi said, and signalled to j the man who had let them in. He held up three fingers. 'Tre tazze di caffe.'

The man pointed to Paluzzi's empty cup.

'S/, grazie,' Paluzzi said, nodding his head. He gestured I after the retreating man. 'Giancarlo's completely deaf. He used to be with the NOGS. His eardrums were shattered in a freak accident when a limpet mine detonated prema-1 turely during an underwater exercise. He bought the cafe when he was discharged from hospital. I thought it would | be the perfect place for us to meet. He can lip-read, but j don't worry, he can't understand a word of English. We j can talk freely in front of him.'

'Where did you learn to speak English?' Sabrina asked, j

'My mother's English,' Paluzzi replied. He took a telex j from his pocket and gave it to Kolchinsky. 'Your Colonel j Philpott asked me to give you this. It came through about j four hours ago.'

Kolchinsky unfolded the telex and read it.

Have held further discussions with the Secretary-General and the Italian Ambassador to the UN. It has been agreed, in view of the gravity of the situation, that the Red Brigades

5*

should be given the facts about the missing vial. I have asked Major Paluzzi to make the necessary arrangements.

Philpott

Sabrina read it, then handed it to Graham.

'But this is playing straight into their hands,' Graham said, tapping the paper with his finger. 'Once they know 'what's really in the vial it could push it even further (underground. Who knows what they might use it for in §the future?'

s 'I think we should hear what Major Paluzzi has to say 'before we start jumping to conclusions,' Kolchinsky said. Paluzzi waited until Giancarlo had deposited the four Icups of coffee on the table. 'I've already spoken to Nicola |Pisani, the leader of the Red Brigades. He's agreed to fco-operate fully with us.' I 'And you believe him?' Graham asked incredulously.

'How much do you know about the Red Brigades, Mr SGraham?'

' 'Enough to know that I wouldn't trust the bastards an jinch.'

'I know them inside out. I should do after eight years, was my idea in the first place to contact Pisani.' Paluzzi ;ld up his hand when Graham opened his mouth to speak. 'Give me a chance and I'll explain to you why I did it. We have a senior Brigatista on our payroll. A brigade chief, to be exact. He gets to attend all the executive Committee meetings. He told us that Pisani called an jfcmergency meeting yesterday. It turned out that the breakin hadn't been sanctioned by the committee. In fact, the first Pisani knew about it was when he turned on his dio yesterday morning and heard that the Red Brigades

53

had claimed responsibility for it. It was obvious thatj Zocchi was behind it - '

'Why?' Graham challenged.

'Two reasons. Firstly, because Riccardo Ubrino wasl involved. He's been Zocchi's right-hand man for the lastj six years. They were inseparable.'

'Couldn't Ubrino have pulled it off by himself?'} Kolchinsky asked.

Paluzzi shook his head. 'It was too well planned.! Ubrino's a hatchet man, he doesn't have the brains tof plan a raid like that. Zocchi did.'

'And the second reason?' Sabrina asked..

'It's a bit more complicated. Pisani found out at the be-1 ginning of the year that he had cancer. The doctors doubt] he'll see out the year. This has naturally sparked a bitter! power struggle amongst the brigade chiefs to appoint his I successor. It came down to two men: Zocchi and Tonino 1 Calvieri, Milan's brigade chief. Calvieri is a so-called "mod-j erate". He has the unanimous support of the other brigade j chiefs. He's been Pisani's blue-eyed boy for years. But Zoc-1 chi had the money behind him. The Rome cell is wealthier j than all the other cells put together. And that meant he had j the backing of many of the rich irregulars.'

'Irregulars?' Kolchinski asked.

'It's what the Brigatisti call sympathizers. They don'tl have a say at committee level but they can easily makej their presence felt by withholding donations if they don't I agree with committee policy. And if enough donations are j withheld, it would cripple the organization financially.'

'Was this happening?' Kolchinsky asked.

'It was being threatened. And that was something Pisani j had to take into consideration when choosing his sucj cessor. Then Zocchi was arrested for his part in the I attempted murder of a Rome judge. The other brigade j

54

liefs were only too pleased to see the prison gates close hind him. They certainly wouldn't have wanted to iring him. Which leaves Zocchi himself.'

'I still don't see why Pisani has agreed to cooperate ith us,' Sabrina said.

'Because the vial could end up being used against him, id the committee, forcing them to concede power to the ome cell/ Paluzzi held out his hand towards Graham. Is you said, who knows what use they might find for it

the future.'

"f

I 'But Zocchi's dead,' Sabrina said.

I 'But Ubrino isn't, and the Rome cell regard him as Zocchi's

jatural successor. That frightens Pisani and his brigade chiefs

bough for them to agree to help us get the vial back.'

f 'Surely they could negotiate with him themselves?

[hen, once they had the vial, they could kill him and

iistall this Calvieri.'

'Nice scenario, Mr Graham, but you're overlooking a buple of points. Firstly, they don't know where Ubrino i, that much we do know from our mole. And secondly, y killing him, the donations from foreign irregulars could :ry up. But if we were to kill him, or jail him, for that latter, they would have neatly sidestepped the responsiility. As far as they're concerned, the vial's a small price 3 pay if it means keeping the Red Brigades intact.'

Graham drank the remainder of his coffee and replaced ie cup in the saucer. 'I've got to hand it to you, Paluzzi, bu know your business.'

'That's why I was assigned to help you. I know how leir devious minds work. And Pisani's sending us their kost devious mind of all to help us find the vial. Calvieri.'

'I thought you said he was a moderate?'

'He is, Miss Carver, and that's what makes him all the tore dangerous. He and Zocchi were like chalk and

55

cheese. Zocchi, the brash, arrogant radical who us violence against anyone opposing the cause. And CalvieJ the polite, mild-mannered intellectual. He speaks fiť languages fluently and has been in charge of their department for the past four years. At least with Zocc you knew what to expect. But not with Calvieri. It] impossible to know what's going on in his mind. It's wonder he's held in such high regard in the Brigades.'

'When do we meet him?' Kolchinsky asked.

'Eight o'clock at the Quirinale.'

Kolchinsky finished his coffee. 'Any news of the hel( copter that was used by Zocchi's killers?'

'Still nothing. But we are certain it wasn't a genuiii police helicopter. The markings on the fuselage were fals

'What about the wounded terrorist?' Kolchinsky asked

'Conte? He's still in a critical condition in hospital.' doctors removed eight bullets from his body. It's a mirac he's still alive.' Paluzzi took another sheet of paper from 1 pocket and handed it to Kolchinsky. 'The ballistics rep on the bullets taken from Conte and Nardi. They all car from the submachine-gun found next to Nardi's body. 1 was clean, so we can only presume that Ubrino had instru

'What can you tell us about Ubrino?' Sabrina asked 'We don't have much on him at the Command Centre.'

'Grew up in the same slums as Zocchi. Believed passic ately in the cause from an early age. Zocchi recruited hir He started out as Zocchi's personal bodyguard but slow worked his way up through the ranks to his pres position of senior cell commander. That meant he wsi only answerable to Zocchi. We know he's been personalf p responsible for atleastfourmurdersandcountless kneecaj pings here in Rome but we've never had enough evide to make it stick. He's always had Zocchi to bail him out<

56

I trouble.' Paluzzi glanced at his watch. 'I think we should go f if we're going to make the Quirinale by eight.'

Kolchinsky was the first on his feet and he led the way i out to the Peugeot.

A receptionist at the Quirinale Hotel told them that Calvieri had checked in less than half an hour earlier. She gave them his room number and they rode the lift to the

s third floor where Paluzzi rapped sharply on the bedroom door.

; Calvieri opened it and gestured for them to enter his room. He was a handsome 41 -year-old with finely chiselled features, piercing blue eyes and a neatly trimmed brown moustache. His long dark brown hair was combed away from his forehead and secured in a ponytail behind his head. He closed the door after them and stopped in front of Paluzzi. They each tried to stare the other out like two

I boxers before a big fight, both oblivious to those around

them. Kolchinsky was about to speak but Graham put a ; hand on his arm to silence him. The movement broke Paluzzi's concentration and he turned away sharply, furious with himself for allowing his feelings to surface so I easily. He introduced them to Calvieri. Kolchinsky and Sabrina shook Calvieri's extended hand. Graham refused. 'What organization do you work for?' 'That doesn't concern you, Mr Calvieri,' Kolchinsky | replied as he crossed to one of the armchairs and sat down. 'Let's just say we're working with Major Paluzzi and leave it at that.'

'Very well,' Calvieri replied, the resentment obvious in

his face.

'<; Kolchinsky took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket

;and offered one to Paluzzi, who refused with a quick

57

shake of his head. Calvieri took one. Kolchinsky lit it for j him, then his own, and discarded the match in the ashtray beside him.

'Has Pisani briefed you?' Paluzzi asked, sitting on the bed beside Graham.

Calvieri nodded. 'I called him when I got here. He wanted to be here in person but he wasn't up to it. He's deteriorating fast. The doctors are doubtful he'll see out the year. At this rate he won't see out the summer. You did tell them about him?'

'They know,' Paluzzi replied.

'He asked me to put myself completely at your disposal. We're just as concerned as you are about getting the vial back safely.'

'That's good coming from you,' Graham snapped. 'It's a bit late to lock the stable door. The horse bolted two days ago.'

'It was an unauthorized operation, Mr Graham. The committee didn't know anything about it until the following day.'

'And that's your excuse? Your organization is in such a shambles that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing any more?'

Calvieri inhaled deeply on the cigarette and moved to the window. A school bus had stopped on the other side of the street. He could see several of the children inside laughing as they play-fought on the back seat. How many of them would die if the virus were to be released into the atmosphere? He turned away, unable to look at their innocent faces.

'Where do you think Ubrino's hiding?' Kolchinsky asked Calvieri.

'I'd say he is still in Rome. His friends are here. They'll shield him. Unfortunately the Rome cell has always been

58

he maverick in the organization. That's how someone ike Zocchi became their brigade chief. It could.never have lappened in any of the other cities.'

'He could also be in Venice,' Paluzzi said.

'Venice?' Calvieri asked in surprise.

'He was posted up there for a few months a couple of rears ago. It's about the only time he and Zocchi were ever apart.'