"Brad Thor - Harvath 01 -The Lions Of Lucerne" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thor Brad)

was moved up because the closing had to be moved up. ThatтАЩs the nature of the
business. WeтАЩre all professionals here, so letтАЩs get our acts together and get on with
the deal. NowтАЭ тАФ Fawcett rubbed his hands together in anticipation and leaned
forward over his desk тАФ тАЬwhatтАЩs the word from Star Gazer?тАЭ Two sets of eyes fell
upon Senator Snyder and awaited his report.
Snyder took a deep breath and, smoothing the crease in his left trouser leg, began to
speak. тАЬAs we expected, he has agreed to become a player in the deal, but he did
have some reservations.тАЭ
тАЬHe didnтАЩt have any objections other than those we forecasted, is that correct?тАЭ
тАЬThat is correct,тАЭ said Snyder.
This was the part of the game that Fawcett loved, the psychology. He had known
exactly how Star Gazer would react. He would be indignant at first, considering the
proposal out of the question. Then the stroke and sting, as Fawcett liked to call
them, would begin. First his ego would be stroked and then his fears would be
stung. It was an age-old tactic, but it worked every single time. The more
self-absorbed the personality, the greater the success. Star Gazer was about as
self-absorbed as they came, although he hid it very, very well. This camouflage
ability was Star GazerтАЩs greatest strength. Seeing people for exactly who they were,
knowing what motivated them and how to turn those motivations to his advantage,
was Donald FawcettтАЩs.
тАЬWhat are you two talking about?тАЭ demanded Rolander.
тАЬWhat weтАЩre talking about,тАЭ answered Snyder, тАЬis that Mr. Fawcett read Star Gazer
like an open book. He accurately forecasted what Star GazerтАЩs objections and areas
of concern would be. He knew which cards should be played, and in which order, to
successfully bring him on board. Star Gazer has left us with a brief list of
тАШdemands,тАЩ our full agreement with which being the only way he will participate. The
list is exactly as Mr. Fawcett predicted.тАЭ
Rolander looked at Fawcett, impressed. тАЬHe agreed to come aboard?тАЭ
тАЬIndeed he did,тАЭ replied Snyder. тАЬNow, as to his conditions.тАЭ
Fawcett leaned back in his chair and smiled.
тАЬCondition number one: after the deal is closed, the president is to be returned to his
officeтАЭ тАФ Snyder paused before finishing his sentence тАФ тАЬalive.тАЭ


1
The exterior ice chime sounded, warning of potential ice on the roadway, and
Gerhard Miner gripped the leather steering wheel of his black Audi A6 a little tighter.
His Gucci-clad foot pressed down harder on the accelerator. The sun was setting
over Lake Lucerne, and a chill wind, blowing since lunch, began to pick up. Ah,
what a lunch that was today, Miner thought to himself as the sleek black sedan
hugged the shores of the choppy Swiss lake. It was absolutely exquisite.
Claudia Mueller, an investigator from the Federal AttorneyтАЩs Office, had been
pressing Miner for a face-to-face meeting to discuss a cache of armaments missing
from a military base outside of Basel. Crates of special night-vision goggles, flash
bang grenades, Swiss SWAT assault rifles, antitank missiles, plastique, and a couple
of next-generation nonlethal weapons known as glare guns had all mysteriously
disappeared.
Though Claudia had insisted her questions were just routine, Miner had been putting
her off for over two months. He claimed his caseload didnтАЩt provide a single extra
moment to meet with her. Surely the security of Switzerland, which Miner was