Man on Fire by A. J. Quinnell Read Free Book Online Page A

mind. We've just spent half an hour discussing my financial position-or lack of it. One of the reasons for this lunch was to ask you, as my friend and lawyer, and as Rika's friend, to explain to her the realities of the situation."
    Vico reached forward and patted Ettore's hand.
    "My talking to Rika will not save her face and that's the immediate problem. Besides when I suggested you hire a bodyguard, I didn't specify what type of bodyguard."
    They were interrupted by the waiter with the coffee.
    "What do you mean?" Ettore asked when they were alone again. Vico leaned forward, speaking more quietly now.
    "Ettore, there are many sides and angles to this kidnap business. You know that it's highly organized and nearly always carried out under the auspices of organized crime. It has become a huge business-eighteen billion lire last year. The big boys control it."
    Ettore nodded. "The Mafia."
    Vico winced. "Such a melodramatic word. It conjures up a bunch of Sicilian peasants stealing olive oil."
    He caught the waiter's eye again, and ordered two cognacs, then took a leather case from an inside pocket and extracted two cigars. A small gold guillotine appeared from his fob pocket and the cigars were meticulously beheaded. He passed one over to Ettore, and the waiter returned with the cognacs and a light. Vico favored him with a smile, puffed contentedly, and resumed his lecture.
    "Most families who feel threatened either send their children abroad, usually to Switzerland, or arrange very elaborate protection-specially guarded schools, bullet-proof cars-and, of course, highly competent bodyguards."
    "Expensive bodyguards," Ettore said.
    Vico agreed. "About thirty million lire a year. All told."
    Ettore raised his eyes expressively, but the lawyer went on unperturbed.
    "Such bodyguards are supplied through specialized agencies. The best are even international, with branches in several cities, including Milan and Rome. There is, however, a shortage brought about by all the terrorism going on in Europe-Red Brigades, Red Army, Basque Nationalists, and so on. So really good bodyguards are hard to find, and the price is rising accordingly."
    "I understand," interrupted Ettore, "and it doesn't solve my problem. Just the opposite."
    Vico held up a hand. "Be patient, my friend. There is another aspect to this business. As an additional and purely financial consideration, many wealthy families take out insurance against having to pay ransoms. The government does not allow Italian insurance companies to write that kind of policy. They believe, quite reasonably, that it might encourage kidnapping. However, insurance companies abroad are not so restricted. In fact, Lloyd's of London leads the world in this type of coverage. Last year they collected over one hundred million pounds in premiums. Two of their underwriting partnerships specialize. One even has a subsidiary that will negotiate with the kidnappers. It's all very civilized and British. There are two conditions. One, that the premiums must be paid outside of Italy, and the other, that the insured must never disclose that he is insured. The reason is obvious."
    Ettore was slightly bored. "It's very interesting, Vico, but what's it got to do with my problem?"
    Vico pointed his cigar at him. "Is your factory insured?"
    "Of course it is, and the beneficiary is the bank."
    "Right," said Vico, "but when you negotiated the premium, the rate depended on the amount of security you provided-correct?" Ettore nodded, and Vico continued.
    "Of course they insist on burglar alarms and so on, but if you provide a security service-watchmen, even guard dogs, the premium rate is much reduced. Well, the same thing applies to kidnap premiums, and because the rate is so high, and the amounts very large, any saving is a major factor."
    He warmed to his subject.
    "Consider a typical case. An industrialist takes out kidnap insurance for one billion lire. The rate could be as high as five percent, or fifty