As they drove toward Le Râleur, Harvath and Alcott filled Claudia and Schroeder in on everything that had happened to them. The tale took almost the entire drive, and had Claudia not known Harvath and been through as much with him as she had, she would have been hard-pressed to believe him. It wasn’t until they were less than two kilometers away from the village that Harvath began to outline his immediate plan. In the end, there was no telling if Rayburn would take the bait, but if nothing else, at least Schroeder would get a good look at the security that was in place at the base of the funicular.
They all agreed that Claudia should be the one to make the drop. She was a native French speaker, and though Rayburn would be extremely apprehensive about what she was going to ask him to do, she was the most believable person they could send.
Parking the car on the outskirts of the village, Harvath pulled one of the wrist cuffs from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Claudia stared at it, awed by the history and the terror that it represented. As if the golden cuff might somehow have the power to harm her, she affixed it to her wrist with great care.
“You know what to do when you get to the base of the funicular, right?” asked Harvath.
Claudia nodded her head. “I give the police the message, then remove the cuff, put it in the bag along with the note, and hand it to them.”
“And if anything goes wrong? How do you let us know you’re in trouble?”
“I switch my purse from my left shoulder to my right.”
“Good,” said Harvath. “Where is everyone going to be positioned?”
“Jillian and Horst will be on the terrace of the La Bergère café directly opposite. And you. “She paused. “I actually don’t know where you’ll be.”
“I’ll be close, very close. Don’t worry.”
With both Harvath and Horst to watch out for her, Claudia wasn’t worried at all, at least not for her own safety. What she was worried about was whether or not the plan was possible to pull off. Harvath had been right to invoke the memory of Otto Skorzeny, because in every one of his greatest missions his superiors had seriously doubted the man had even the slightest chance for success.
Claudia studied her watch, and after the final few minutes had ticked away, she emerged from between two buildings at the far end of the square and headed straight toward the funicular. She took her time, strolling casually, letting the four policemen who were leaning against their squad cars get a good long look at her as she approached.
Harvath watched from beneath the overhang of a nearby building and couldn’t help but notice how the men had stopping talking among themselves and how their eyes were glued to Claudia. She really was incredible. Not only was she extremely gorgeous, she was smart and could hold her own without help from anybody else. Harvath was about to berate himself again for having lost her when he saw her flip her hair over her shoulder, turn on her megawattage smile, and cover the last several yards to where the police were standing. It was show time.
Though Jillian easily could have delivered the bracelet, Claudia understood why Harvath had wanted her to do it. Alcott wasn’t an operator, and though according to Harvath’s account of their time together she had more than proven herself, they needed to be as cautious as possible baiting their trap. Rayburn was already going to be extremely apprehensive, but if he smelled anything, especially Harvath coming, he’d bolt and they’d lose their chance.
Claudia kept the smile coming as she approached the officers at the base of the funicular. After she flirted with them for several moments, Harvath watched her finger the bracelet and then remove from her purse the note he had dictated in the car. She then slid the bracelet off, placed it in a small bag along with the note, and handed it to one of the policemen. After a little more flirting, she turned, walked back across the square, and disappeared.
Fifteen minutes later, they all met back at the car and headed back to Sion.
“How did it go?” asked Jillian.
“Perfectly,” replied Claudia. “They reacted just the way Scot said they would.”
Harvath adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see her better as he drove. “Tell me everything that happened.”
“When they saw me coming, I think they thought I was a tourist interested in the Aga Khan. I had the feeling they get that a lot. But when I mentioned Tim Rayburn, everything changed.”
“How so?”
“They knew exactly who I was talking about. That was for sure. But when I asked them if they could give something to him, they told me they weren’t allowed to receive packages for the Aga Khan or anyone on his staff. That’s when I pulled the note and the paper sack from my purse. One of the policemen made a joke about why a nice girl like me would want anything to do with a man like Tim Rayburn. That was the man I focused in on.
“Knowing that the Aga Khan spends a lot of time in Geneva, I told him that I had met Rayburn there and that he had told me if I was ever in Le Râleur, that I should look him up. I slid off the bracelet, dropped it in the bag, and told the officer that if my note didn’t jog his memory the bracelet surely would.”
“And were they convinced?”
“They seemed to be, “Claudia replied. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the minute I left, they were ringing him up at Aiglemont.”
“She’s good, eh, Horst?” said Harvath.
Schroeder didn’t seem very happy with his fiancée playing the role of the sexy single woman back for a little more action with Tim Rayburn, even if it was for the good of the mission. In response, the commando simply nodded his head and looked out the window into the night sky.
“So we’ve got about three hours until the rendezvous,” continued Harvath, “but I can guarantee you that Rayburn and some of his men will arrive early to try and position themselves with the advantage.”
“In the note you told him to come alone,” said Claudia. “How can you be so sure he’ll bring reinforcements?”
“Because it’s exactly what I would do.”