Victor Simoyan looked at the men assembled once more on the screens at the end of the room. They had been waiting for news following his call – and now he had it, the final confirmation they had all been waiting for.
‘Gentlemen,’ he announced almost breezily, ‘we have played our best cards and I am pleased to report that there will be no meeting between the traitor Tzorekov and … anybody else. He will no doubt go back to London with his tail between his legs.’
The faces on the screens smiled in satisfaction, some applauding, some rapping the desks or tables before them with their knuckles in appreciation. If there had been a line open to Moscow Exchange right now, they would undoubtedly have been fantasizing about a marked jump in figures against their various company interests. Not that that would happen for a while just yet – but it would, he was certain of it.
‘Fantastic!’ said Maltsev. ‘Now I can go to Monaco as planned and deal with some important business.’ He grinned widely, the light flashing off his spectacles.
‘You be careful you don’t burst a blood vessel filling in all those forms,’ warned one of the others with a wry look.
‘Gentlemen, please.’ Simoyan hated to ruin their pleasure, but he had a duty to remind these men about some practical facts. ‘I am sorry to burden you with messy details, but there are one or two items we need to be clear on before we go any further.’
‘What kind of items?’ Solov, the deputy defence minister was looking at his cell phone. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to go. A meeting …’
‘I won’t take long, Lev, I promise. First of all, we have to ensure that nothing of what we arranged, or what we discussed here, will ever leak out. If it does, you can be assured that we will feel the full force of the state. And like each one of you,’ he added softly, looking at each man in turn, ‘I have enemies who would be happy to contribute to my downfall.’
There was a short silence, then Maltsev said, ‘What could they do to us? We have clean hands; we haven’t raised a single finger against the state. Tzorekov was an outsider.’
One or two of the others nodded in agreement and Simoyan looked at them, barely managing to hide his contempt. Typical of so many businessmen, he reflected. They were painfully naïve when it came to matters of political and legal interpretation, and seemed unaware of how easily the house could come tumbling down around their ears.
‘You think that argument will save us?’ he retorted. ‘Have you not heard of the charge of conspiracy? We used armed mercenaries, we “borrowed” a military helicopter and equipment, we paid off certain people to assist us by looking the other way, we paid others to openly conspire with us in a plan that some would interpret as raising a hand against the highest office in the land. You think if the president had agreed to finally attend this meeting in person he would have been quite so understanding of us conspiring to eliminate his old friend, Tzorekov? Somehow, I don’t think so.’
‘What are you saying, then?’ Kushka was wearing his usual schoolmasterly expression. ‘What else do we have to do?’
The others murmured in agreement, the mood in the room changing dramatically as they sensed some unwelcome developments ahead.
‘I’m saying we have to clean up behind us. Dispose of any liabilities.’
‘You mean the two men who were wounded earlier?’ said Oblovsky.
‘Already dealt with.’
‘What about the others?’ Solov tapped the table softly. ‘They’re still out there, are they not? What do you intend doing about them?’
‘I’ve already taken steps to ensure that none of them returns. All links back to us will be severed. This matter, gentlemen, simply never took place.’
‘How will you do that?’ asked Oblovsky. ‘We don’t even know where they are until they report back, do we?’
‘Actually, I do.’ After calling Gretsky and confirming that the Ansat was sending out an ADSB beacon code showing its altitude and location, he’d had an idea for wrapping up this business in one fell swoop. The beacon was like writing the Ansat’s position in the sky for all to see. Especially those with the ability to arrange for an attack helicopter to follow the signal and make a pass, blowing it out of the sky.
End of problem.
‘So?’
‘So it is my sad duty to report that an Ansat-U helicopter with a number of criminals on board today strayed into a live firing range with tragic consequences for all concerned.’ He waited for reactions or protests but they were all too stunned to speak. He searched their faces for dissent, for weakness, for even a hint that one of them might buckle and lead to disaster for them all.
‘God almighty,’ whispered Maltsev. ‘All of them?’
‘You don’t fool around, do you?’ said Solov.
‘Me? I don’t know what you mean. It was an unfortunate accident, that’s all.’ Simoyan sounded innocent, but his next words belied that completely. ‘Just bear in mind, gentlemen, that such accidents happen every day … and in all walks of life.’
The silence from the men on the screens was total.