The Rascal Pack

Another day, as the master sat with Baron von Stetten and Lieutenant Colonel Kunze, exploring the possibilities of having conversations with more intelligence people, his com chirped; it was Roxane, and the conversation was marked "private, urgent." He immediately answered the call and said "one moment, please," rose and walked out with an apologetic gesture. In the corridor, he said, "So, now I'm alone, what's up?"

"I think I found him! I've already sent you the address, and I hope you can keep me out of the further." Roxane sounded calm and her voice betrayed no nervousness. The master saw that a message had come in on his com. Of course he would try to keep her out of it, he promised, and said goodbye.

While re‐entering the room, he sent the address to Lieutenant Colonel Kunze, then said, "The wanted Dimitrov is probably at this address." The lieutenant colonel looked at the address, then said thoughtfully, "Libussagasse 10, that's a men's dormitory, isn't it?!" The master nodded in agreement and said, "An anonymous tip." Now the lieutenant colonel called police headquarters and gave instructions to follow up on this tip. Then he said to them, "It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes, they'll call me as soon as they have him."

They continued their discussion, and the Baron said he might find out later in the morning, or at the latest in the afternoon, when the next conversation between the intelligence people would take place. Then the lieutenant colonel received the expected call. They had been able to arrest Dimitrov without resistance, although he was registered in Libussagasse as Antonov. He would be taken immediately to police headquarters, the interrogation would begin in a good half hour, they expected to be present. Without even a moment's hesitation, the three rose, had a cab called, and drove to police headquarters.

On arriving there, they were met by a Commander Benedek, a short stocky man who, despite his slender stature and friendly looking eyes, made a definite determined impression. He said that he would conduct the interrogation and that they were welcome to watch and listen from the adjacent observation room. Then he escorted them to the first basement, where the interrogation rooms were.

After a few minutes, Dimitrov was led in. A beefy, tall man, he scowled and eyed his counterpart. Benedek read his file and began to read out his name, date of birth and other personal details and could see that Dimitrov nodded in agreement to everything. Now the interpreter also entered the interrogation room and sat down next to Dimitrov. They whispered briefly, then the interpreter said that Dimitrov understood German very well, but would only be able to answer in German very poorly and so he would translate everything word for word.

Benedek turned the page further and now went into detail about the murder of Buchner and Steidl. At first, Dimitrov denied all the facts. But Benedek presented him with the photos from various surveillance cameras and said that he and the Frenchman could be observed without gaps from Buchner's apartment to the Danube Canal and that it made no sense to deny everything. Dimitrov stared angrily at the images, then boldly looked Benedek in the face and said, "Innocent!" Benedek looked at him calmly, then took a plastic bag containing a pistol out of his pocket and put it on the table.

"This Makarov 58 we found in your quarters and it matches the bullet wounds very well." Now Benedict put two photos of the murdered next to the pistol and pointed his outstretched finger at Dimitrov: "It was you, you and the Frenchman, and no one else! " But Dimitrov did not admit defeat yet, shaking his head and repeating several times, "No!" Benedek pretended not to notice and repeated that he – Dimitrov – was clearly convicted. Then Benedek sat back.

"Who gave you the job?" he suddenly thundered, leaning forward again energetically. "I want to know who gave you the assignment!" The interpreter made an effort to whisper the question to Dimitrov in as similar a tone as possible. The latter only looked stubbornly at Benedek and remained silent.

Master Candor followed the scene with tense attention and directed all his concentration to Dimitrov. He suddenly saw images, again from the mosque, where Dimitrov was talking in whispers with a short, stocky man. The master became absorbed in this image and finally realized that this man was the mosque servant. The master looked questioningly at Kunze and whispered, "Can I contact Benedek?" Kunze bent down and pressed one of the many buttons, then nodded promptly to the master. The master said half aloud, "Ask him about the mosque servant!"

Benedek put a finger on the earpiece, seemed a bit puzzled, but he immediately asked, "This has something to do with the mosque servant, doesn't it?!" In Dimitrov's face now, clearly visible to all, was supreme surprise and confusion. Benedek sat back relaxed and thought up a new strategy in a flash. He now asked Dimitrov about his visits to the mosque, and the latter confirmed that he went there several times a week. That was a matter of course for a devout Muslim. Benedek had given a short hand signal, which Lieutenant Colonel Kunze understood immediately. Kunze immediately called the Operation Control and ordered to arrest and present the servant at the mosque in Favoritenstraße.

As much as Benedek now tried to get more out of Dimitrov, he remained persistently silent and did not answer any more questions. For at least 20 minutes, Benedek kept the ball rolling and tried everything imaginable, but could no longer get the silent Dimitrov to testify or reveal anything. Then he got up and had Dimitrov taken back to the cell.

Before they left back to the court, Benedek approached Master Candor and asked how he had come up with the idea. Master Candor, however, had already come up with a thought and said that he had noticed in many interviews that Muslims very often had contact with associations or other groups through the mosque and that very often through the mosque servant. Almost always, the latter was a central figure and one of the most important members of a mosque. So his reference was nothing out of the ordinary, pure experience. Benedek did not want to contradict the elder, who with his long gray‐white hair, the long black cloak and the oak staff as a walker gave an imposing impression – and evoked in Benedek a memory buried in the subconscious of the magician Gandalf (from the work "Lord of the Rings"), – and took his leave, but the master could clearly see the confusion and skepticism in his face. He was absolutely sure that the master had lied to him and did not intend to reveal his cards.

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The three discussed the further procedure with Benedek. Since the arrest and first interrogation of the mosque servant was to be expected within the next half hour, they arranged to wait in the neighboring "Café am Ring" and Benedek promised to have them picked up there. They had a snack and coffee there. During their discussion, Kunze was the first to voice his suspicion that a Turkish–Islamist group might be behind the whole thing. He immediately called the special commission and ordered that the extensive dossier on Islamist and Turkish groups be immediately supplemented with the latest findings and kept ready for him on call. Both the Baron and Candor agreed with this opinion, because it made sense.

The New Ottoman Empire in Turkey had been run more badly than well by several autocrats in succession. The economy, foreign policy and even society as a whole were run very sloppily, without concrete goals and objectives, bringing the country to the brink of disintegration. Extreme groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Grey Wolves and also the IS were officially banned as terrorist groups, but the ugly hydra had raised its head in plain sight and had seized large parts of Turkish society. In terms of foreign policy, Turkey became a pariah, Western investors were resolutely holding back, and the entire economy was slipping. Proximity to the Middle East, which had gone completely off the rails, exacerbated Turkey's slide. The economy was severely depressed, the population suffered greatly, and became increasingly susceptible to the extremist cause. The current President Enerlik, who was good friends with Sultan Mohammed XXI, was a brutal despot and more interested in increasing his wealth than in the Turkish people. It was no surprise to anyone when he banned the word "corruption" from the Turkish language by presidential decree, and its continued use automatically led to brutal punishment.

Nearly an hour passed, however, before a young policeman entered the café looking for someone and told the three that Commander Benedek would see them. They walked over to police headquarters and went down to the basement to the interrogation rooms. Through the glass pane, which was mirrored on one side, they looked at the suspect, a small, lively man whose dark eyes gazed unsteadily around, alternately eyeing Benedek, his two assessors, and the policeman on guard duty. He was slim and neatly dressed, his pitch‐black hair neatly combed. There was nothing to suggest that he was possibly a highly dangerous criminal. Benedek leafed through a thin File, flipping forward and back again, paying no attention to the suspect. Even though everyone was aware of this stalling tactic, it did not fail to have its effect. The mosque servant's growing nervousness manifested itself in increasing fidgeting and sliding back and forth on the chair. Master Candor focused on the man, but he was not yet getting a clear picture.

Benedek looked up and began, "What is your name?" – "Mehmet Karaman." – "Date and place of birth?" Karaman answered the standard questions in a calm tone, his tension easing slightly. He answered the question about his profession with, "Mosque servant at the Favoriten mosque," and Benedek followed up with, "So, you clean up at the mosque, vacuum and so on?" Now Karaman smiled and said, "That too, but there is more to do in the mosque." – Benedek: "Like what?" – Karaman: "Collecting the collection on Friday, distributing alms to the needy and dealing with any questions or problems from mosque visitors as directed by the Müdür, the Imam. The imam directs me on what to do."

Benedek asked for examples of the activities he had to carry out, and after some quite plausible answers he asked whether the Imam was responsible for virtually all agendas. Karaman confirmed this and Benedek inquired whether he was not also active outside the agendas set by the Imam. Karaman thought about an answer and then said that he did not have any activities outside of those given by the Imam. Outside of his work at the mosque, he said, he only had his family life and his widespread relatives.

Benedek sat back and said as if casually, "Then I can ask the Imam why you charged the Dimitrov and the Frenchman?". Benedek turned the page and continued, "the Frenchman Michel Duvier with the assassination and the murders of Buchner and Steidl?"

Karaman was surprised by the direct leap of thought and gasped. "The Imam has nothing to do with it!" he exclaimed, biting his upper lips, for he was immediately aware of his mistake. Benedek did not react at all, but continued asking, "Who gave you the order? Was it Ankara? Istanbul? – Ah, Istanbul. It would be quite wise to put all your cards on the table now, it might prove favorable to you in the trial."

But Karaman remained silent. A policeman entered and handed a file to Benedek, who opened it and read through the pages in detail. "Here are some more contacts you had with the Muslim Brotherhood and Gray Wolves, very interesting!" Benedek half‐read aloud some passages and Karaman became rather pale, for he was surprised how precisely the experts had worked and how close‐meshed the network of observers around him was. Benedek kept accusing him of having prepared the assassination and unabashedly speculated that Karaman, for example, had instructed the Turkish‐born workers who had set up the speaker's stand to place the bombs. Karaman continued to remain silent, but his body language was clear. Benedek hit the mark with each of his accusations, but a trial required more than accusations.

After it seemed clear that Karaman was adamant about remaining silent, Benedek ended the interrogation and had Karaman taken to a cell. Then Benedek went to the adjoining room and asked the three if they had any more ideas. But they all congratulated him on his apparent success and said that at the moment there was nothing more that could have been extracted. The rest, Benedek said, would be revealed by further investigations in the mosque servant's environment, he was very confident of that. The three said goodbye and went back to the Hofburg.

The three talked for a while longer, with Kunze assuring them that further investigation would be done by people he trusted. Benedek and his people were certainly not among those on the right Party. After all, they now had a good lead, which led abroad, but still into known territory. Even if their speculations had to be proven first, the investigation on the part of Master Candor and Baron von Stetten was completed. Since evening was already falling, Candor said that he would report to the queen dowager only tomorrow. Then they arranged to meet the next day, each going home.

Roxane and Marco were not there, a small note from Roxane informed him that Marco was staying with one of his classmates, she herself was in the East–West. Candor went straight to the bathroom under the shower, a technically perfect installation– the main jet came from above, small moving jets on the sides sprayed the body evenly. The glass cubicle closed silently, the body‐warm water did him a lot of good. For minutes he enjoyed the pleasant rays with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he saw Elaine standing in front of the cabin.

She let the white dress slide gently from her shoulders to the floor and entered the shower stall. He looked at her as if in a trance, sensing her closeness and feeling her snuggle against him, her head leaning against his chest. He could feel her body very clearly against his skin, but when he tried to put his arms around her, he reached into nothingness. So they stood in the shower, tightly entwined, for a long time, silent for minutes, and nothing could be heard but the rush of the water.

"Where have you been for so long?" the mirage asked him.

"I've been conducting a very complicated investigation, my dear, so I hardly found time for myself or to meet with you." he replied. He looked down at her, gazed at her delicate body full of love and smiled.

They talked about their wonderful vacation in Zakynthos, about the beautiful hilly landscape and the many friendly neighbors with whom they communicated, as best they could, with hands and feet. He enjoyed the wonderful feeling of happiness that this trip with Elaine gave him and kept his eyes closed to better feel her closeness.

It seemed like an endless eternity passed when she stood up and said to him, "Dearest, I don't know when I will see you again, I must leave now." As if through a veil of mist, he saw that her appearance was beginning to dissipate. "But I will tell you one thing: warn everyone, warn Italy. There will be a tremendous earthquake in the Apennines tomorrow at half past twelve, many will die – save as many as you can!" Her image gradually faded and then disappeared altogether.

Candor regained consciousness only after a long time. He was freezing, crouched on the floor of the shower stall and the water was flowing sparingly. "Lucy, how long was I in the shower?" he asked, and Lucy replied, "One hour 22 minutes." He shook his head in disbelief and reached for one of the preheated bath towels. "Make me a strong coffee" he ordered and dried himself off. After dressing, he sat down in the living room and carefully drank the hot coffee. He picked up the com and called the State Department. He relayed what he knew – tomorrow, at half past twelve, earthquake in the Apennines. The sleepy voice on the other end of the line made him angry; he demanded to be connected immediately with Schaller or Regner. Schaller was still on duty and recognized Candor immediately. When the latter repeated his warning, Schaller promised to do whatever was necessary.

To put it bluntly, things went wrong. Although Schaller had immediately called his Italian contacts and conveyed the most important information, they knew Schaller well enough to take his warning seriously. So a disaster alert plan went into action, all the mayors of the Apennine villages and the regional governors were informed that the population should be prepared for an earthquake at half past twelve. The population was to wait for it in the open air and remain calm. Then the waiting began. It became half past one, then half past two, then three. People looked at each other and waited. At seven they gave up waiting with a shrug of the shoulders and went back to everyday life. They had dinner, watched TV and chatted, some even scolded the obvious misinformation published by the Austrian Earthquake Research Center. Then they went to sleep.

And right then, between half and three quarters of one, the earth shook, ripping open the ground in many places, causing buildings and churches to collapse. The quake even ripped open a flank of Mount Vesuvius in faraway Naples, where glowing lava poured from the mountainside toward the city. Fortunately, the lava flow stopped before it reached densely populated areas.

The first news reported a few hundred victims, however, the number of dead increased hourly and by noon the next day was at least 2,500. Italy was plunged into deep mourning and relief programs – including those from abroad – immediately began their work.

But now back to Master Candor. After passing on his warnings to the State Department, he ordered Lucy to prepare dinner, for two, roast pork with potatoes, that would be fine with him. He took a cognac while he waited for Roxane. The news was already reporting that preparations were being made in Italy for an expected earthquake.

As always, he watched as the kitchen began to move as if by magic. Panels flipped open, lever arms moved to put the roast pork on the stove, which turned on automatically. Other lever arms took care of putting peeled potatoes into the hot water. The dining table also flipped open and their lever arms set the table for two. Candor leaned back contentedly, enjoying his cognac and cigarette.

Nearly an hour passed, however, before Roxane appeared. He could tell right away that something was wrong. She had reddened eyes and greeted him only with a nod, then went into her room to change. He followed her and stopped in the doorway. Benevolently his gaze slid over her slender body – he caught himself thinking that in many ways she resembled Elaine. What had happened, he asked, but remained silent in understanding when she did not answer him immediately. Then they went into the living room together.

"In the East–West they found out that I reported the Dimitrov. Then, after it became known that the latter was arrested, everyone pounced on me and accused me. I was a snitch, a traitor, that's what they all said. I defended myself as best I could and also said that if Dimitrov was innocent, he would soon be released." Roxane began to cry again and dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief. Candor put an arm around her shoulders and murmured softly soothing words.

Roxane calmed down and said it would be alright. She could very well hold her own in her club and even if everyone seemed to be against her at the moment, they would soon forget about it and she could continue her work. Candor promised to do everything he could, but not to interfere directly in the club.

After dinner, as the table tucked away the dishes and the dishwasher began to hum softly, Candor told Lucy to stop the dishwasher and not to start it up again until they had gone to bed. He then fetched a bottle of wine and two glasses, sat down again, and then told Roxane what had transpired that day.

At first she was very surprised, because the Islamists had not carried out a major attack for a long time, maybe 30 years. But then, when Candor reported what he had been able to read in the mosque servant's mind, she put piece after piece together and, after his report, said that it all made sense. He turned on the television to hear the latest news. The impending earthquake in Italy had moved to the second row, and the main news was the police chief's success in finding the assassins.

Candor had to smile when it was reported from "well‐informed sources" that apparently Islamists, Muslim Brothers and also Grey Wolves were the authors of the attacks. The reporters from Istanbul were joined by Turkish officials who once again condemned the attacks as an atrocious crime and assured that the Ottoman Empire of Turkey itself had nothing whatsoever to do with the attacks. Everything would be done to find those responsible and bring them to justice. The Turkish authorities would cooperate closely with the Austrian authorities and do everything in their power.

Candor turned off the device and now told Roxane about his latest vision. Yes, the advance warning for the earthquake in Italy had come from him, or rather from Elaine. With wide open eyes she listened to him as he reported how she had joined him in the shower stall. That he had felt her physicality very clearly on his skin, although when he tried to touch her, he couldn't because she wasn't there. And that it had completely confused him, because he had never felt such closeness in his visions before.

Roxana asked him to tell everything again in detail and hung on his lips as he reported again. He knew her well and knew how much she enjoyed listening to him talk about sex. How she sometimes closed her eyes and silently repeated his words, sighing softly when she could picture it well. He could see her arousal and feel very clearly that it lingered even after they went to bed.

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