Free Red Alert by Alistair MacLean

not, I've got work to do.'
    Chidenko replaced the paper inside the envelope and handed it silently back to Paluzzi.
    Graham followed Paluzzi into the corridor. 'What the hell's in the envelope?'
    'A letter, signed by the Prime Minister, which, roughly translated, gives me carte blanche to use any methods I deem necessary to recover the vial. It also says that any complaints about my methods should be reported to him in person.'
    'So why didn't you show it to Chidenko straight away? It would have saved us all a lot of trouble.'
    'I don't like to tempt fate. That's why I only use it as \. a last resort.'
    Graham stopped in the middle of the corridor. 'What do you mean, you don't like to tempt fate?'
    'It's a forgery. The notepaper's genuine, we get that from a mole inside the Prime Minister's office. We write the text ourselves, depending on the nature of the assignment.'
    'And you do it for every assignment?'
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    'Every difficult assignment. And let's face it, they don't come much more difficult than this one. As I said, it's only used as a last resort.'
    'Has anyone ever challenged its authenticity?'
    'Not up to now. But I'm sure there will be a first time. That's when I'll start thinking about writing my memoirs.'
    'I like it,' Graham muttered thoughtfully. 'I wonder how I can get hold of some White House stationery?'
    Marco looked out from a doorway. 'Are you coming, sir?'
    Paluzzi patted Graham on the shoulder. 'Come on, Mike.'
    Dragotti was standing in front of his open wallsafe, checking through his personal papers, when Graham and Paluzzi entered the room.
    'Looking for these?' Paluzzi asked, holding up the bank statements.
    Dragotti looked round, momentarily startled by Paluzzi's use of English. He closed the safe and approached Paluzzi. 'Who are you?'
    Paluzzi introduced himself and said that Graham was from the company's headquarters in New York, sent out to help with the investigation. Marco spoke softly to Paluzzi, then left the room, closing the door behind him.
    'Where's Signore Chidenko?'
    'Busy,' Paluzzi replied. 'Now sit down, we've got some questions to ask you.'
    'I'm not answering any of your questions until I know why my wallsafe was opened last night. It's an outrage.'
    'Call Chidenko, he knows what's going on.'
    Dragotti picked up the receiver hesitantly and rang Chidenko's office. He turned away from them as he spoke softly into the mouthpiece.
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    'What did Chidenko say?' Paluzzi asked once Dragotti had finished his conversation.
    'He told me to cooperate with you. What do you want to know?'
    'Why has Nikki Karos been paying eighty million lire into your account every month for the past four months?' Paluzzi demanded, dropping the bank statements on the desk in front of Dragotti. 'And why did you withdraw eighty per cent of the money in cash on the same day that each of the cheques was cleared?'
    'We had a business deal,' Dragotti replied, fingering the nearest bank statement nervously. 'I should have known it would backfire on me. I told him to pay me in cash but he wouldn't hear of it. He insisted on payment by cheque.'
    'Karos never deals in currency,' Paluzzi told Graham. 'It's an idiosyncrasy that's lost him a lot of business in the past.' He turned back to Dragotti. 'So you kept twenty per cent as a commission and paid the balance to Wiseman in cash?'
    'Wiseman?' Dragotti replied in surprise. 'I had nothing to do with Wiseman.'
    'Don't lie!' Paluzzi snapped.
    'I'm not lying. Have you ever heard of phosgene?'
    'Of course,' Paluzzi replied. 'It's a nerve gas made up from a mixture of chlorine and phosphorus.'
    Dragotti nodded. 'Karos was put in touch with me because he needed large quantities of chlorine for one of his clients so that they could make phosgene themselves.'
    'Who?' Graham demanded.
    'He never told me. All I knew was that he had a source for phosphorus and he needed the chlorine to complete the deal. I have a reliable contact who could supply him with as much chlorine as he