Games of State - Tom Clancy [95]
As Jean-Michel listened, he was struck with the numbing realization of what he had wrought, how he had let M. Dominique down. For a moment, the Frenchman forgot his fear.
Jean-Michel said quietly, "Herr Richter. M. Dominique has plans of his own. Grand plans, better financed and farther along than yours. If he can throw the United States into turmoil-- and he can, and will-- he can certainly fight you."
"I expect him to try," said Richter. "But he won't take Germany from me. What will he use? Money? Some Germans can be bought, but not all. We are not French. Force? If he attacks me, he creates a hero. If he kills me he has to deal with Karin Doring, who will find him, I promise you. Do you remember how effective the Algerians were paralyzing Paris in 1995, bombing the subways and threatening the Eiffel Tower? If Dominique moves against us, the National Fire will move against France. Dominique's organization is large, a very easy target. Our operation is smaller and more mobile. He can destroy a business today or an office tomorrow, and I'll simply relocate. And each time, I'll exact a greater price from his big elephant's hide."
The limousine had been driving south from Hamburg, and day was fast becoming night. The world outside the darkened windows reflected the blackening feeling in Jean-Michel's soul.
Richter took a long breath, then said barely above a whisper, "In just a few years this country will be mine. Mine to restore, just as Hitler built the Reich on the wreckage of the Weimar Republic. And the irony is that you, M. Horne, were the architect. You showed me that I was facing an enemy I didn't anticipate."
Jean-Michel said, "Hen Richter, you mustn't regard M. Dominique as an enemy. He can help you, still."
Richter sneered, "You are the perfect diplomat, M. Horne. A man burns down my business. Then you not only tell me but actually believe he is my ally. No," said Richter. "I think it's fair to say that my goals are different from those of Dominique."
"You're wrong, Herr Richter," Jean-Michel said. He found courage in his desire not to disappoint M. Dominique. "Your dream is to restore German pride. M. Dominique supports that goal. A stronger Germany strengthens all of Europe. The enemies are not here but in Asia and across the Atlantic. This alliance means a great deal to him. You know his love of history, of reestablishing old bonds--"
"Stop." Richter held up his hand. "I saw, this afternoon, what our alliance means. It means that he commands and I serve."
"Only because he has a master plan!"
Fury seemed to envelope Richter. He exploded from his seat. "Master plan!" he roared. "While I was sitting in my office, shaking with anger and calling my supporters and trying to resurrect my dignity, I asked myself, 'If Dominique is not the supporter of my cause, as he represented himself to be, then what is he?' And I realized that he is a beekeeper. He is raising us here in Germany and America and Britain to buzz through the corridors of power to sting, to distract, to disorient. Why? So that the backbone of each nation, its business and industry, invests its capital and future in the only stable site in the west: France." Richter calmed, but his eyes remained fierce. "I believe that Dominique wants to create an industrial oligarchy with himself at its head."
Jean-Michel said, "M. Dominique wants to expand