The Krakow Klub Page 8

  Jim would have to join the effort freely. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work. He would call Jim and invite him to Scott Key for a visit. Jim’s life in Washington, DC, was at somewhat of a standstill at the moment. Furthermore, ever since that fateful meeting in the Situation Room of the White House, he and his boss were no longer seeing eye-to-eye on much of anything. The timing was perfect to tempt him to leave the Washington, DC, rat race.

  Then he would have to get Sylvia McDonald to Scott Key at the same time as Jim. That would present more difficulties and would require far more finesse. But he had a plan, and he had the money to make it work. John had never been exactly poor, but having the money to do anything he desired was a new feeling, and he did enjoy it very much.

  Jim and Sylvia had attended Oxford together and were lovers there. Unfortunately, the romance faded from neglect and ended badly. Each went their separate ways.

  After learning about Sylvia, John had studied her intently. She was now a highly respected professional in London, and he would simply find a reason to hire her.

  After consulting with Maxxine, he finalized his plan. He decided to purchase a bullion storage facility in London and hire Sylvia to run his operations there. The gold mining operations had been quite successful so far, and he intended to expand them. Maybe he would even begin mining other precious metals. The possibilities seemed endless.

  He would hire a London executive recruiting firm to contact her for interviews. Afterward, she would be offered the job and given her first assignment of negotiating with the current owner of the bullion storage facility.

  If all went well, and it would, he would invite her to Scott Key to discuss a long-term business relationship. He would suggest a weeklong visit, and she would travel first class, of course.

  He authorized the executive search firm to make her a generous offer and to arrange for her to visit him in the US the following week.

  She would arrive at noon on Monday, and the island would be the setting for a romantic reunion. He could even imagine that they would live happily ever afterward following a fairy tale wedding.

  Somewhere along the way he must have forgotten the adage about the “best-laid plans of mice and men.”

  Chapter 3: The Krakow Klub

  “Two principles have stood face-to-face from the beginning of time, and they will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings.”

  - Abraham Lincoln

  Erik Stoellar was one of the richest men in the world. But he was also a man of mystery. He had made several fortunes in his lifetime, but, unlike many, he managed to hold on to all of his wealth and make it grow. In spite of this enormous wealth, he had an insatiable lust for power. In his mind, he was destined to rule the world.

  By his own admission, he was not the most brilliant businessman in the world, but he possessed a keen insight into assessing other people. He never failed to select the right person for the right job at the right time. On top of that, he had an uncanny skill in manipulating people. At that, he was an artist without peer.

  Stoellar was tall and slender with a muscular build that indicated he had been an athlete in his youth. He knew the value of appearance, so he always dressed impeccably in clothing custom-made for him on Seville Row. His dark hair, touched by only a few strands of gray at the temples, added to his distinguished good looks. As for his eyes, they were a steely blue, but he usually wore aviator style sunglasses that obscured them.

  Stoellar always guarded his private life jealously. He had dated and escorted many women in the past but had never married. He was not willing to share his privacy with anyone. He allowed no one to be close enough to him to cause him to second guess ordering their death, should that situation ever arise. He would allow no one into his life that was not expendable.

  Having a family was totally out of the question. To Erik Stoellar, people were nothing more than pawns in the chess game of life. They were there to protect the king. Sacrificing them at will was the purpose of the game. Stoellar was a master at the game of chess, but he would never play an opponent that he did not think that he could beat. He played the game of life in the same manner, carefully selecting his opponents and crafting a plan that would assure his victory. Winning was not the most important thing in his life—it was the only thing. He would do anything to win, whatever the game.

  He currently lived in one of the most expensive penthouses in New York City, but he almost never entertained at home, preferring to use hotels and restaurants for mandatory social events and business meetings. Even the other residents of that exclusive address knew little, if anything, about their neighbor.

  Stoellar had offices in many locations, as well as New York City. But for his residence, he employed only one full-time assistant, Ivan Petrovich. Ivan had been with Stoellar many years, long before his move from Europe to New York. Petrovich had his private room at the penthouse, but he almost never left the building, unless, of course, Stoellar had outside work for him to do.

  Ivan had grown up in the same part of Eastern Europe as Stoellar, and the two had become fast friends while still in grade school. Stoellar was the brains, and Petrovich was the brawn. The man was powerfully built and had no qualms about using his skills in martial arts whenever the need arose. He had an oddly handsome face that seemed to attract women of all ages. He had expensive taste in clothes but never flaunted it. His blonde hair was always tied in a neat ponytail, and his nails professionally manicured. Together, he and Erik Stoellar made an imposing pair.

  Petrovich was never without one of his favorite weapons: a knife that he had personally commissioned in the Ukraine. It was exquisitely balanced for throwing, and he could hit his target dead on from impressive distances. In addition to his prized knife, he was never without a small but deadly pistol that had been made especially for him in Italy.

  As Stoellar’s assistant, he followed orders without question and was more than capable of inflicting serious bodily harm to anyone who might offend his master. His fierce reputation, well known throughout Stoellar’s circle, insured that no one dared cross him or his master. It was rumored that the last person many unfortunate Stoellar acquaintances ever encountered in their life was Ivan Petrovich.

  In addition to Petrovich, Stoellar allowed a cleaning lady into his domain five mornings a week. The lady spoke little English and wisely didn’t care to learn. It was certainly in her best interests to be ignorant of what went on in the penthouse. She communicated exclusively with Petrovich, who spoke her native Eastern European tongue fluently.

  In return for her loyalty, and more importantly her lack of curiosity, Stoellar provided her with a generous salary and a small condominium. She lacked for nothing. Nevertheless, Stoellar, being Stoellar, monitored her actions constantly through the use of a sophisticated surveillance system in the penthouse and in her condo. Her actions never caused any concern for him, but he did suspect that she was probably more than a little fond of Ivan.

  Stoellar rarely attended social events and was photographed even more rarely. He wasn’t an actual recluse, but he was extremely private. Even his circle of associates knew little about the man. He enjoyed the luxuries of life, spent freely on the finest art and antiques, bought the fastest automobiles, and, most importantly, indulged in the latest and greatest technologies.

  There were many fantastic stories about Stoellar and how he made his vast fortune. There were those who swore that he inherited a huge amount of money from his father, a German/Polish industrialist who had been killed in the bombing of Berlin in World War II. Another tale proposed that he had embezzled massive government funds from one of the Russian satellite nations. The most bizarre theory was that he had made millions by using his skills to rig an important election in Illinois.

  None of these stories had a shred of truth, and that pleased him greatly. In fact, Stoellar leaked false information on occasion just to see what might appear in print. He made significant pol
itical contributions to various candidates of both parties. Such contributions were, of course, always cloaked in secrecy.

  Stoellar wanted to have power and influence over people, but he was satisfied with only the subject and himself knowing of that power. He not only had no desire for publicity but he shunned it whenever possible.

  Over the years, Stoellar had become more and more fascinated with political processes. He concluded that most governments were laughably incompetent. Most were also easily corruptible, even at the highest levels. One evening, after a particularly contentious national election, he sat in his penthouse, mulling over the event when he had a brilliant idea. It wasn’t a new idea. He had had the thought in the back of his mind since he realized that the Soviet Union would soon implode leaving the United States as the single superpower in the world.

  If he could somehow gain control of the United States government, then he would possess the power that would enable him to gain control of the whole world. Yes, he concluded, it was just that simple. Take the US, the world’s only superpower, and the rest of the world can be yours as well.

  With the right group, the right planning, and the right funding, it could become a reality. American politicians could be bought and controlled. With enough money and time, anything was possible.

  Stoellar then began to devote all of his energies to building and funding an organization to accomplish his goal of world domination. That organization finally became a reality and was named the Krakow Klub. It would be an extremely secretive organization with a small number of carefully selected members from around the globe. He decided that twelve members would be sufficient. Each member must be extremely wealthy, very powerful, and without social or moral conscience. Over the next couple of years, he recruited his little band that would one day, at least in his mind, enable him to rule the world.

  The first meeting to seal the pact was in Krakow, Poland. The meeting was secret and took place at a renovated castle in an isolated area north of the city. The hired staff was told that the castle was being rented by a group of wealthy international financiers who needed a private location for a business meeting. It was essentially a true statement. No one was ever the wiser.

  After two days, the overall plan had been perfected and approved by the group. It was not formally agreed upon, but generally understood by all, that membership in the organization was for life and transfers were not possible.

  As a sign of loyalty and dedication to the cause, each member had a tiny stylized “KK” along with their membership number tattooed on the outside of the left wrist. The mark would be covered at all times by a wristwatch or other item of jewelry. But, even if noticed, the very small tattoo appeared quite innocent and would most likely attract no attention.

  They all agreed that communications between them, henceforth, would be by a secure website or a satellite phone, and each member would be referenced solely by his or her number in all such communications. Stoellar was designated Number One, and each additional member was assigned a succeeding number, according to their acceptance into the organization. All members were closely monitored by Stoellar to ensure that their loyalty remained unabated.

  ****

  Two of the original members, a German and an American, eventually became disenchanted and asked to resign their memberships. Almost immediately after that, the German was killed in an avalanche while skiing in Bavaria. Another skier on the same slope believed that he had heard a loud pop, like a gunshot. A gunshot could have started the avalanche, but nothing unusual was ever proved. The mangled body was buried deep in the snow. No one suspected that the avalanche transponder that he wore had been deactivated that morning before he left his chalet for his last downhill run. At autopsy, the pathologist noted a strange looking cut on the left wrist but she had no idea that a tiny tattoo had been rather inelegantly removed with a large serrated knife. The cut just appeared to be a result of being brutally thrown about by the powerful avalanche. The death was ruled to be an unfortunate accident.

  The American member lost control of his car while driving at high speed along the Pacific Coast highway, and it careened through a guardrail and over a cliff. The car exploded and burned on impact, so there was no remaining evidence to cause suspicion that the brake lines and throttle mechanism of the Ferrari had been tampered with in any way. As in the case of the avalanche victim, the death was ruled accidental.

  After that, Number One, Stoellar, tightened his selection process for replacement members and increased his surveillance procedures to a higher level for the remaining members.

  Soon, the two departed members, numbers eight and ten were replaced. The new members received the number fourteen and fifteen. The numbers eight and ten were “retired.” For some reason, the number thirteen was skipped over. Superstition is a strange bedfellow.

  Stoellar was also well aware that the other members would eventually suspect that the German and the American’s deaths were not accidents. He wanted them to believe it. There would be no further attempted desertions from the flock. Ever.

  ****

  Funding for operations of the Krakow Klub group was provided by the membership fee and a subsequent annual contribution. In addition to the annual fees from the twelve members, there were earnings from their rather large accumulated nest egg of unspent past contributions. Membership and annual fees were not the same for each member in amount. All fees and contributions were calculated on the basis of total wealth and current income. Stoellar was the only one that knew about the differences in contributions.

  Stoellar, being a financial manager of international repute, managed the funds, investing them in international ventures that offered a generous return and small risk. The Krakow Klub prospered financially and their “war chest” was currently in the double-digit billions of dollars.

  Over the years, in spite of the considerable annual expenditures, the Krakow Klub’s funds had reached such a level that members agreed to stop the annual contributions. Their budget ran into the billions each year, but Stoellar’s astute investments over the years had amassed a financial juggernaut worth more than a hundred billion dollars. It was one of the world’s largest and most secretive money funds.

  Like Stoellar, the Krakow Klub, as a group, had an appetite for power that was insatiable. The group had already managed to ensnare several heads of state and make them subject to the will of the organization. These were, in the overall scheme of things, countries that were insignificant to their long-range plans. However, they did offer an opportunity to hone their manipulative skills to the highest level before embarking on taking over the major powers. Practice makes perfect, and there were bigger fish to fry.

  The organization had expanded to recruit agents and associates who worked in the field. Potential candidates were from diverse professions and backgrounds. Each was screened exhaustively with a lengthy and complex character analysis that went back to childhood. Every weakness, every temptation, every character flaw was studied and analyzed carefully. Those who exhibited any sign of true honesty or integrity were quickly rejected.

  Those selected often received monetary support from the organization, either as a stipend or a political contribution. A few were virtual captives, held by blackmail and threats. But a small number served because they desired to do so. All were aware of the danger to themselves should they attempt to double-cross the cabal or refuse to carry out instructions.

  Number One handled all final selections based on results of the screening process. He matched each recruit to a member of the Krakow Klub who would be in charge of mentoring, reporting, and controlling. The mentor then would guide the candidate with promises of vast wealth and power. The training process was a time-consuming process, but they had the time and the patience. And they had an ultimate goal.

  Politicians were prime targets. Many political aspirants were carefully studied, and most were not candidates for the organization. Those whose psychological profiles looked promising were stud
ied even further to determine if they could be bought or intimidated by bribery or threats.

  Most of the political recruits accepted were young, overly aggressive go-getters starting out in small, local elections. They were given financial backing and training in the powers of persuasion. Soon, they moved on to more important offices until they achieved their goals of being members of Congress, governors, prime ministers, or whatever another country’s governing group might be. By now, they were smooth, articulate, personable, charming, and totally corrupt in every way.

  Like a giant squid, the tentacles of corruption began to spread all over the world, and the United States of America was no exception. Time, money and dedication were paying off for the Krakow Klub.

  The results he had attained so far were most gratifying to Stoellar. He felt that his goal was, at last, within reach. His carefully planned and executed strategy had finally resulted in the group having placed their man in the White House. Soon, very soon, he, Erik Stoellar, would be the most powerful man in the world. And it was power that drove Stoellar. Unlike many, he did not crave fame. He had all the fortune he needed. He preferred to work from the sidelines, leaving the limelight to others. Power was his narcotic, and he was totally addicted.

  The Krakow Klub was an organization bathed in secrecy. Stoellar was the only one with the knowledge of the identity of every person in the Krakow Klub’s large group of associates and its network of political minions.

  Communications among members had to happen through an extremely complex and secure website that was untraceable. For urgent messages, they used secure satellite phones.

  Periodically, Stoellar would meet with each Krakow Klub member personally to review the progress of their recruits.