Page 35 of The Atlas Maneuver

“When will the bank know that we are involved?” he asked.

“Quite soon.”

“Excellent.I no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu.”

She’d not heard that saying in a long time.

A frog in a well knows nothing of the sea.

“We have for so long viewed the world through a limitedperspective,” the old man said. “It is hard not to. We are quick to judge and think big of ourselves. Such arrogance comes from living an exalted life. But like that frog in the well, there are things bigger than us in the world. Things we never saw before. But we have stumbled upon a sea, Ejima-san. A massive, sprawling, limitless sea that almost no one knows exists.”

She knew what he meant.

The Atlas Maneuver.

“Obtain it,” he said. “For us. For Japan. And we will set things right.”

She bowed her head in respect. “I shall do that.”

The screen went blank as the video call ended.

A swell of elation swept through her.

What a feeling.

CHAPTER 21

CASSIOPEIA WATCHED ASKOGER KEPT THE CAR IN LOW GEAR ALONGa twisting roadway, the grade steep up into the Alpine foothills through dense Swiss woods. They passed more farms andgasthauses, then began climbing with increasing steepness to where the road became more a shelf, a bank on one side, a sharp drop on the other. Eventually, they motored out onto a level plain with a magnificent view reaching kilometers to the south and highlighting the dull grays and muted greens of trees and shrubs, with an occasional eruption of flowers. The road continued until Koger turned into a narrow entrance set between brick columns supporting statues of a man atop a horse sporting a lance.

“St. George?” she asked Koger.

“The one and only.”

“As in the Bank of St. George?”

Koger nodded.

They drove toward a rambling stone mansion, three stories tall, topped by a steeply pitched slate roof studded with dormers. Interesting were the satellite antennas that dotted the roof, the kind that facilitated contacting anyone around the globe.

Koger stopped the car and they both stepped out.

A chilly light fog had settled, with a wind blowing in off thefaraway Alps that stung as it swirled around her. She closed her eyes and braced herself against the biting wetness. In the distance she heard the steady, strong, somehow reassuring boom of a bell.

“Somethin’s wrong,” Koger said. “I’ve been here several times before. Always the curtains were closed. Even in the middle of the day.”

She focused on the many windows. Ivy had invaded the stone exterior, framing each one in thick leafy vines. And yes, past the paneled panes, nothing obstructed the glass.

“The person who lives here is not one for open windows,” he said. “Just the opposite, in fact.”

Koger stepped back to the car and opened the rear door. He fished through a leather attaché case and removed an automatic pistol. He slammed the car door and handed her the gun.

“Do I need this?” she asked.

He reached beneath his jacket and unholstered his own weapon. “I don’t know. But I want to be ready.”

She did not like the sound of that.

He marched toward the front door and she followed.

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