Read Online All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer - Free Book Online Page B

were still on the street like Henry, who’s probably drinking coffee with a source, sharing a joke and a smoke. But no—I am by nature built for four walls and central heating. Both Henry and I are where we’re supposed to be.
    Vick—Victor Wallinger—smiles gaudily from behind his too-clean desk. “You hear from Bill, Cee?”
    I shake my head.
    â€œApparently Sally’s taken ill.”
    I try to appear concerned. Leslie goes so far as to say, “Nothing serious, I hope?”
    â€œFainted, Bill said. Stress, maybe, but they’re checking her out at the Krankenhaus. We should expect him by eleven, latest.”
    I nod at this, wishing Bill had phoned to warn me. Maybe, though, it really is something serious. Maybe Sally is at this moment in the throes of her final hours, and Bill is unable to see the joy that will soon be his.
    â€œOur prayers,” Ernst mutters unconvincingly, nose in a folder.
    â€œOf course,” Vick says before raising his eyebrows. “So? Aslim Taslam in our backyard. What’s our take?”
    Ernst is ready with an unequivocal opinion. “In Germany, maybe. But Austria? Impossible.” When we look at him, waiting for more, he closes his folder. “It’s a question of what they want. Troops out of Afghanistan?” He shakes his head and continues professorially. “The Austrians have maybe a hundred there. The Germans have the third-largest presence in the ISAF—over four thousand. Maybe they want to get some comrades out of jail? Same thing. There’s only a handful of militants in Austrian prisons—which are, by the way, not unlike resorts—while Germany’s holding more than its fair share. Do they want money?” Again, the head shakes. “Not these days. They don’t need it, not with Tehran bankrolling them. What else?”
    No one this morning seems up to standing against Ernst’s unflagging self-confidence, so I say, “We’re talking EU now. Not separate nations. Pick the softest target and then demand whatever you want from any of the Euro countries. You don’t need to land in Frankfurt or Berlin to speak to the Germans.”
    Vick nods. “Good point. Ernst, you have to admit it’s a good point.”
    Ernst shrugs, unwilling to admit anything this morning. He’s sometimes like that.
    Unexpectedly, Owen speaks, though he does so through the hand covering his mouth, and we have to lean forward to understand. “The online chatter suggests something broader. By necessity, TRIPWIRE is only knowledgeable about a portion of the operation. It’s possible they’ll use both Austria and Germany in a coordinated attack. It wouldn’t be unprecedented.”
    All of us, except for Ernst, nod our appreciation of this rare event: an opinion from Owen. Vick says, “More good points. Leslie?”
    She grins and waves a hand. She looks like a jolly but eccentric aunt. “Don’t ask me, Vick. Until we have something more, I’d say we’re shooting in the dark.”
    â€œThe ability to admit ignorance,” Vick says philosophically, “is a rare and beautiful virtue.”

 
    3
    The world doesn’t wait for TRIPWIRE, nor does Langley, so I spend the rest of the morning finishing a lengthy report on the fallout from the Austrian legislative election back in October. The Social Democrats gained enough votes to break the ninety-two-seat majority coalition of the conservative People’s Party, the nationalist Freedom Party, and the Alliance for the Future of Austria that has in various forms ruled Austria since 1999. This has left the government without a ruling coalition.
    For us, there’s the favorable result that Jörg Haider’s Alliance has been sidelined out of governance, but now all our efforts are focused on finding out what’s really going on in the negotiations between the Social Democrats and the People’s Party