Global Strike by Chris Ryan

Author:Chris Ryan [Ryan, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Thrillers, Fiction, Suspense
ISBN: 9781444783803
Publisher: Coronet
Published: 2018-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FIVE

No one said anything for a few seconds.

Bald watched Cooper intently. On the TV, the president gave the thumbs-up sign to the cameras before marching off the stage, cheerfully slapping the Russian president on the back.

Porter craved a drink. Like nothing he’d ever craved before.

He tried to shut out the voice and refocused on the agent. ‘That’s what Street found out?’ he said. ‘That the Russians have got a dodgy sex tape on the president?’

‘That’s what Charles’s source claimed.’

‘Fuck me,’ Bald said. ‘He must be knocking back the Viagra like Smarties, bloke his age. Ain’t as if he’s a model of health, either.’

‘I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen the tape. Neither has Charles.’

‘If that’s the case,’ Porter said, ‘how can you be sure it even exists?’

‘There’ve been rumours floating around DC for months. Everyone in the intelligence community has heard them.’

‘What rumours?’

‘Claims that the Russians have got incriminating material on the new man in the White House. Everyone’s been looking hard. The president’s enemies at the FBI and CIA included. But no one could produce any tangible proof. Not until Charles’s source came forward with his claims.’

‘Who is he?’

‘Charles won’t reveal his name. But he’s a high-ranking Russian criminal who fell out of favour with the Kremlin after they seized his assets. He knows all the dark secrets.’

‘He might be bullshitting.’

‘He might. But his story adds up.’

Bald said, ‘How did the Russian mafia get their hands on the tape in the first place?’

Cooper said, ‘According to the dossier, the president made several trips to Moscow four years ago, before the election. His various businesses were in trouble, and one of his associates had agreed to introduce him to potential new investors. Among them were several key figures in the Russian criminal underworld.’

‘Why would the president risk going into business with Russian crime bosses?’ Porter asked.

‘He didn’t have a choice. The recession had hit his businesses hard. He lost a lot of money. He was sitting on a lot of devalued real-estate and construction projects with spiralling budgets, and the banks wouldn’t lend a penny.’

‘But he must have known taking money from the mafia would look bad.’

‘The money was hidden. No one would ever know about it. It was acid-washed and fronted by shell corporations and private foundations.’

Cooper took a sip of his gin and tonic before he continued. ‘According to the dossier, while the president was being wined and dined in Moscow, the mafia learned about his addiction to prostitutes.’

‘The president’s got a thing for hookers?’ Porter asked.

Bald grinned. ‘Can’t say I’m surprised.’

Cooper said, ‘Charles’s source reckons this was common knowledge among the Russians. Every time the president flew in to Moscow, the crime bosses would set him up in a plush apartment, a penthouse just off Red Square. Then they’d supply him with the girls.’

‘Why would he agree to that arrangement?’

‘For reasons of secrecy.’

Porter nodded at that. It was well known that the Russian security services had sources inside every major hotel in the country, tipping them off about the activity of any high-profile guests.

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