Page 41 of The Atlas Maneuver

He heard an engine crank outside, rushed to the windows, and saw a woman and another man at the BMW consulate car. The man was dropping Kelly’s limp body into the trunk, slamming it shut, then they both climbed into the car, which sped toward the gate.

Now he knew.

The other fella had been left here to buy time.

He fled the room and descended the stairs. Once outside he saw the BMW clearing the gate, speeding away.

He darted to the van, spotted the keys in the ignition—thank God—then climbed inside and roared the engine to life.

CHAPTER 24

CASSIOPEIA WAS IMPRESSED WITH HOWKOGER HANDLED HIMSELF, moving toward trouble, never hesitating. Say what you want about him, the man was no coward. The stairway was a beautiful curve of polished wood that rose to a landing where it turned and ascended to the next floor. She followed him up, keeping a close watch behind. He seemed to know his way around the house. Good thing. As she was at a loss. Her senses, though, were at full alert as they steadily advanced toward the source of the sound.

They passed bedrooms that had each been tossed like the parlor downstairs. Somebody had definitely been looking for something. What? She had no idea, but Koger surely knew. A set of double doors were partially open at the end of the corridor. Solid wood panels carved in bas-relief. Koger flanked to one side, she to the other. Their gazes met and she understood that, like downstairs, he was going in first and she was to watch his back. Ordinarily she liked to lead the parade, but this was Koger’s show so she deferred to the big man. He pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

Movement caught her attention.

She angled the gun toward it.

A large tan-and-white cat raced past them, out into the corridor.A vase lay shattered into pieces on the hardwood floor. Apparently the source of the noise.

“I hate that damn cat,” Koger muttered, lowering the weapon.

She did the same.

They stood in a large bedchamber that had also been thoroughly searched.

“What’s going on here?” she asked Koger.

“The man who owns this house, Robert Citrone, knows more about World War II gold than anyone on the planet. He was the CIA’s resident expert and managed the Black Eagle Trust. Of course, that was back when the agency, the bank, and Citrone were all on the same page.”

“I didn’t realize CIA officers made the kind of money needed to afford an estate like this?”

Koger was pacing. “They don’t. But like I said, Citrone knew where the gold was buried. I assume he dug some of it up for himself.”

“And that was okay?”

“When it came to Yamashita’s gold there were no rules. In return for deniability Langley granted its people a wide latitude. Too damn wide, though. Which is why this whole thing is a cluster—”

“I get the point,” she said. “Who did this?”

“I have an idea.”

But he did not offer anything more. So she asked, “What were they looking for?”

“Let’s find out.”

He left the room and she followed him back down the corridor to the staircase.

“When Yamashita created the 175 underground vaults, each one was added to a map,” he said. “One map. No copies. Trillions in wealth hidden in booby-trapped underground vaults, and the only way to find them was with that sole map. It was taken back to Japan from the Philippines, by Prince Chichibu, in June 1945 when he fled the islands. Chichibu was the emperor’s brother, a general in the Imperial Army who headed up Golden Lily, though the officialversion was that he spent the war convalescing from tuberculosis and had nothin’ to do with anything. Along with every other high Japanese official, the prince was pardoned by MacArthur for war crimes and lived until 1953. After the war he became Mr. Wonderful. He headed up a lot of athletic organizations, promoting skiing, rugby, and other sports in Japan. He was a big supporter of the Boy Scouts in Japan. There’s even a stadium named after him and statues of him everywhere. A regular ‘prince’ of a man.”

“I assume he was a cold-blooded killer too?”

“In every sense of the word. He ordered hundreds of workers and engineers murdered. Chichibu cared about one thing and one thing only. Securing all the gold, silver, gems, and platinum for the imperial family. He spent every day from 1945 to 1953 trying to get it all back. But failed.”

“And the map he had?”

“It passed through a lot of hands and eventually ended up at the CIA. That’s where Rob Citrone got his hands on it.”