The first to emerge was an elderly man named Auguste Kaprisky whom Ben and Jeff both knew well, due to the fact that hed been a client of theirs in the not-so-distant past. Born August Kaprisky in Rottweil, Germany, eighty-two years earlier, he had become a devoted Francophile in his middle age, moved his home and business to Le Mans and suffixed the e to his first name to make it sound more Gallic.
Kaprisky might be old, but he was still fit as a fiddle and as mentally sharp as the day hed wangled his first million, sixty years ago. He was currently ranked fourth on the Forbes list of Europes richest billionaires, although aside from his surname and flashy corporate logo painted on the side of the helicopter nothing about his appearance hinted remotely at vast wealth. Tall and stringy in the same tatty old green chequered suit Ben remembered from every time theyd met, he looked more like a hobo clinging on to dignity than one of the continents most powerful and influential tycoons.
His co-passenger, awkwardly climbing out of the chopper after him, was a woman a fraction of his age. She appeared expensively groomed and polished, with a mass of long fair hair tied up in an elaborate braid that must have taken a team of top-class beauticians eight hours to perfect. Ben had never seen her before; he wondered fleetingly whether Kaprisky, a widower for many years, might have finally succumbed to the same temptation as so many other fabulously rich old men and got himself a trophy wife.
Whoever she was, Ben noticed as he and Jeff got closer, she looked teary and distraught. The expression on the old mans face told Ben he wasnt very happy either. Auguste Kaprisky was known as the man who never laughs. Come to think of it, Ben had seldom seen even the faintest ghost of a smile bend his lips. Today he looked grimmer than ever. Clearly, this unannounced visit was no social call.
Ben reached him and put out a hand to shake. Auguste, what a surprise, he shouted over the diminishing yowl of the turbine. He and his client were in the habit of speaking French to one another, which Ben did fluently. Jeff was still struggling with the language, despite the best efforts of his new fiancée, a local teacher called Chantal.
Your staff told me I would find you here, Kaprisky shouted back, croaky and throaty. The woman was clutching at her braid to save it from being blasted to pieces by the hurricane. Kaprisky didnt have much hair left to protect, and probably wouldnt have cared anyway.
As the four of them moved out of the wind and noise of the helicopter, Kaprisky apologised for turning up so unexpectedly. I hope its not inconvenient. I would have called, but
Not at all, Ben replied. To what do we owe the pleasure?
Kapriskys lined face was as hard as concrete. I need your help.
Didnt they all.
This isnt a good place to talk, Ben said. Lets go back to the house.
They climbed into the Land Rovers Jeff, Tuesday and the four Belgians riding in the lead vehicle and Ben and the visitors following behind as they went bouncing and roaring over the meadows towards the main compound. Bens passengers were silent as he drove. He could feel their tension and wondered what this was about, but said nothing.
The old stone farmhouse, big and blocky and more than two hundred and fifty years old, was the central hub of Le Val, and the farmhouse kitchen was the central hub of the house. While Tuesday escorted the Belgians to the separate building used to accommodate trainees, Ben and Jeff led Auguste Kaprisky and his female companion inside. The kitchen was floored with original time-smoothed flagstones and lined with antique pine cupboards. The wine rack was always full, and there was always something delicious-smelling bubbling on the range courtesy of Marie-Claire, who lived in the nearby village and came in to cook for them. In the middle of the room was the pitted old pine table at which Ben, Jeff, Tuesday and a hundred Le Val trainees had spent countless hours talking, drinking, playing cards, planning strategies and (to Marie-Claires vociferous outrage) stripping and cleaning automatic weapons. It was all a far cry from the plush boardrooms out of which Kaprisky ran his multi-billion-euro empire, but the old man seemed too preoccupied to pay any notice to his surroundings.
They all sat around the table. Ben offered coffee, which was politely declined.
Now, Ben said, getting down to business. What is it that brings you here, Auguste?
The fair-haired woman still hadnt been introduced, nor spoken a word. Kaprisky touched her hand. This is my niece, Eloise. She speaks English, German and Dutch but very little French, having moved here relatively recently. I would like her to participate in this discussion, so may we switch to English for the remainder of the conversation?
Of course, Ben said in English. Jeff looked much relieved.
Kaprisky made the usual introductions, in his rather stiff and formal way. Eloise offered a small smile and a limp handshake, and said very little.
Again, I must apologise for this intrusion, Kaprisky said. My reason for being here is, as I said, that I we desperately need expert assistance with a matter of extreme urgency. I would have made contact to warn you in advance of our arrival, but what Im about to reveal to you is, well, most delicate.
Ben wasnt surprised by the lack of communication. Kaprisky was an inveterate paranoid who worried neurotically about phone taps and email hacking. Ever since the attempt on his life, when a disgruntled business rival had lost his mind and assaulted Kapriskys home with an Uzi submachine gun, hed spent untold fortunes turning his estate near Le Mans into a fortress within whose impenetrable walls the old man lived like a virtual recluse. When Jeff sometimes commented that Kaprisky was turning into Howard Hughes, he wasnt joking. Only a serious emergency could have prompted the billionaire to leave his stronghold.
Kaprisky paused, spread his hands out on the table, seemed about to speak, then threw a covert sideways glance at Jeff.
Am I a third wheel here? Jeff said, catching his look. No problem, I can make myself scarce.
Whatever youre about to tell me, Ben said to Kaprisky, understand that I have no secrets from my business partner and you need have none either. I trust this man with my life.
Kaprisky seemed satisfied with that. Eloise sat very still beside him, gazing at the table with a set frown wrinkling her brow.
Im guessing this matter has to do with Eloise? Ben prompted.
Kaprisky nodded. She is the only child of my late brother, Gustav. She is as dear to me as if she were my own daughter.
Ben said, Naturally. Then waited to hear what on earth this was about.
Talking as though his niece werent present in the room with them, Kaprisky went on, Her full name is Eloise Petrova. Personally, I thought Eloise Kaprisky sounded far better, but in fact anything would have. The reason for this unfortunate change is that she married a Russian. Kaprisky spat that last word out as though his niece had married an alien slime creature. Fortunately, she had the sense to split from him after a mere ten years. The divorce was an extremely acrimonious one. I will spare you the painful details.
Im sorry to hear of your family trouble, Ben said. Still wondering.
Kaprisky shook his head. Not I. I have never tried to conceal my conviction that the marriage was a disaster from the start. Yuri Petrov is, has always been, and as far as I am concerned will always be, with no possibility of redemption whatsoever should he live for all eternity, the worst kind of pathetic excuse for a human being.
Im sorry to hear of your family trouble, Ben said. Still wondering.
Kaprisky shook his head. Not I. I have never tried to conceal my conviction that the marriage was a disaster from the start. Yuri Petrov is, has always been, and as far as I am concerned will always be, with no possibility of redemption whatsoever should he live for all eternity, the worst kind of pathetic excuse for a human being.
So you dont think much of the guy, Jeff interjected.
There is no man alive more unsuited to be a husband to my precious Eloise, or the father of her child. He is the most indolent, self-seeking, worthless piece of
We get the general idea, Ben said.
Forgive me, Kaprisky said, collecting himself and wiping flecks of spittle from his lips. I get very worked up. Its just that this haunts our lives, even two years after the marriage ended. Things were bad enough when this moron whisked Eloise off to live for a decade in Amsterdam, where he apparently had some kind of employment, the nature of which has never been clear to me
If that was a cue for Eloise to step in and say something, she didnt respond to it. Her uncle carried on, She then had to tie herself forever to him by having a child with him, despite all my warnings that she would come to bitterly regret it. Kaprisky halted mid-stream and grimaced. I dont mean the child herself. She brings nothing but joy and we love her dearly.
I know what you mean, Ben said.
How I pleaded for her to see sense, but did she listen? No, no. Now she must deal with the fool every time they exchange custody of their daughter. To make matters even worse, the idiot has since returned to live in Russia. Land of the slime creatures, apparently.
Whats the girls name? Ben asked Kaprisky. There seemed little point in asking the mother, who still hadnt offered a word to the conversation.
Valentina. Shes twelve. Kaprisky sighed. As much as I despise her worthless father, I dote on that child. If anything should happen to her, I
Ben sensed the tone of desperation in his voice. Now, maybe, they were coming to the crux of the matter. This is about Valentina, isnt it? Is something wrong?
Eloise Petrova went on staring vacantly at the tabletop. Kaprisky slowly nodded, his eyes filling up like dark pools of despair.
Yes, this is about Valentina. It appears that she and her father have disappeared. And we know why. The brute has kidnapped her.
Chapter 6
Now Ben understood why Kaprisky had brought this to him.
For several years after hed quit the military, Ben had operated as a freelance crisis response consultant specialising in the area of what was known as K&R. The acronym stood for Kidnap and Ransom. The fast-growing industry of misery, terror and death perpetrated by cruel men against the innocent and the vulnerable. It was the most innocent and vulnerable victims of them all kidnapped kids whom Ben had most tried to help. The taking of a child, whether to extort money from the frantic family or for myriad other reasons, was the thing he despised the most. Hed have despised it, and its perpetrators, even if he hadnt gone through the anguish and horror of losing his nine-year-old sister to human traffickers when he was a teenager, and the catastrophic family breakdown that had followed.
Nothing hed done in his entire Special Forces career had driven him the way hed been driven to find those lost children, bring them home safe and punish the men whod snatched them from their families. To this day he could remember the names and faces of every single kid hed rescued. He often thought about them, what they were doing now that they were older, what life was like for them, whether they ever still had nightmares about being taken and held prisoner. For him, the memories of children locked in damp, filthy basements, imprisoned in cages, chained to beds, blindfolded in the dark, often drugged, too often abused in other ways, would never fade. Thinking about it now, he felt his fists clench tight.
I havent been involved in that for a long time, he said to Kaprisky. Im not even going to ask who youve been talking to. Its not exactly public knowledge what I used to do.
I have many connections, my young friend. And there are many people in this world, whose names you and I both know, who still regard you as their saviour. Rest assured they are extremely discreet to whom they divulge such information, but they will never forget what you did to reunite families torn apart by monsters.
Ben looked at Eloise, who still hadnt said a word since they were introduced, then back at her uncle. And thats what you believe Valentinas father is, a monster?
Kaprisky said, Parents have been known to kidnap their own children, have they not?
Ben had indeed known several cases of that happening. It was usually done to harm the other partner in some way, the ultimate expression of a catastrophically fragmented relationship. That variety of kidnapper seldom chained their own kids up in basements or deliberately harmed them although it wasnt unknown to happen; but there was nonetheless a serious risk of harm coming to the kids as the ring closed around the offending parent and they became increasingly desperate to get away. More than one had ended up endangering their childs life in a high-speed car chase or a volatile armed standoff with bullets flying in all directions.
That was why, in Bens experience, the often heavy-handed tactics of official law enforcement frequently did as much damage as good. Many of the stricken families who had come to him for help in the past had heard the horror stories and decided to forgo police involvement in favour of more unorthodox, yet far more effective, methods. Ben had no problem with bullets flying, but he liked them to be properly aimed where they were meant to go: into the kidnappers themselves, and preferably not into their hostages.
Have you reported this to the authorities? In his K&R rescue days it was always the first question hed asked prospective clients, bracing himself for the reply.
Kaprisky shook his head. Informing the police would, I agree, be the first and most obvious recourse. However, as you know, I value my privacy, and also that of what little family I have left. For that reason I would prefer not to have my nieces private affairs disclosed to strangers. He paused. I am also a highly cautious man, who has learned never to step on ground without having first made certain it was safe to walk on. It takes only the minimum of research to reveal that, if the many tragic reports of ineptly mishandled cases are true, involving the forces of conventional law and order in such instances is all too often the worst error one could possibly make.
Thats your choice, Ben said.
And so, that option must remain the very last resort, not the first. I would do anything to keep this in the family, so to speak, if at all possible. I consider that I owe you my life, Major Hope. That is as good as a blood connection for me. And that, as you have surmised, is why I am here.
Ben hated being called by his military rank, but the old man got some kick out of authority titles and nothing would dissuade him of the habit of addressing Ben that way. Im honoured, Auguste. But Ill only tell you what the police would have told you. Genuine kidnap cases are mercifully rare. There could be other possible reasons to eliminate before we start jumping to radical conclusions. Why dont you run through exactly what happened? From the beginning.