Free The Secret Crown (2010) by Chris Kuzneski

asked.
    ‘For everything. My yelling, my suspicions, my threats. I shouldn’t have acted that way. I hope you can forgive me.’
    ‘Of course I forgive you. I gave you every right to be paranoid. I realize I kept you in the dark for a very long time, but like I said earlier, there was a method to my madness. If word got out about this bunker, it would destroy Petr. And me, too.’
    Payne furrowed his brow. ‘You? How could it destroy you?’
    ‘You know what I do for a living. In my line of work, I’m forced to bend laws all the time. The last thing I need is for the German government to be snooping around my life. Seriously, if word
ever
got out that I had anything to do with a Nazi cache - if that’s what this is - then I’d be fucked for ever.’
    ‘And if it isn’t?’ Jones asked.
    ‘That depends.’
    ‘On what?’ Payne wondered.
    ‘On what’s in the crates,’ Kaiser said, smiling. ‘If we crack them open and they’re filled with items that can’t be traced to a rightful owner, then in my opinion, the stuff belongs to me. Finders keepers, you know?’
    Payne didn’t have a problem with that. ‘And the items that
can
be traced?’
    Kaiser shrugged. ‘Whatever you and Petr decide is fine. All I ask is that you keep my name out of it. Seriously, I don’t want to be linked to Nazi loot in any way. Agreed?’
    ‘Agreed,’ Payne said, as he shook Kaiser’s hand. ‘Not to pry, but I’m sensing this is a sore subject for you. Did you lose a loved one to the Nazis, or …’
    Kaiser winced. ‘Damn, Jon, how old do you think I am?’
    ‘Don’t take it personally. Jon sucks at math,’ Jones teased.
    Payne nodded. ‘I even need my fingers to count to one. Here, let me show you.’
    Then he flipped off Jones for making the comment.
    Kaiser smiled but didn’t laugh, the gravity of the topic still weighing on his mind. ‘What can I say? Everyone has their boundaries, even men like me. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of chances to sell Nazi plunder - for
serious
money - but my conscience wouldn’t let me. Who knows? Maybe I’ve been in Germany a little too long. I must be turning native.’
    The comment confused Payne. ‘Meaning?’
    Kaiser stared at him. ‘Were you ever stationed here?’
    Payne shook his head. ‘Passed through, but never stayed.’
    Kaiser nodded, as if Payne’s confusion should have tipped him off. ‘Outsiders find this hard to believe, but ninety-nine per cent of all Germans are embarrassed by their homeland’s role in World War Two. Actually, I take that back.
Embarrassed
doesn’t even begin to describe it. Humiliated, ashamed, horrified, mortified - you get the idea. I’m talking about Germans who weren’t even alive during that era, yet they carry round the guilt like a stain on their DNA . Sure, I might be an American, but I’ve lived in this country long enough to recognize their pain. And out of respect to my German friends, I refuse to profit from Nazi loot.’
    ‘Is there a big market for that stuff?’ Payne asked.
    ‘Sadly, yes,’ Kaiser admitted. ‘Then again, I know people who will sell
anything
- including their daughters’ virginity.’
    ‘Damn. That’s harsh,’ Jones interjected.
    Kaiser nodded. ‘Obviously, I refuse to deal with such lowlifes, but our paths still cross from time to time. And when they do, it’s rarely pretty. Truth be told, men like that are another reason I didn’t tell you about this bunker until you were here. If word ever leaked to one of those men, this mountain would be a war zone before morning.’
    Petr Ulster, a round man with a thick brown beard that covered his multiple chins, was napping in his office at the Ulster Archives. Sprawled on a comfortable leather couch, he snored loudly as he clutched an Italian book called
Il Trono di Dio
to his chest. A passionate academic, Ulster tried to follow the example of inventor Thomas Edison, who took power naps during the course of the day in order to forego sleep at night.