Chapter 4
Chapter 4
New York City
They had been able to change the seat on Irina's Austrian Airlines flight to a first-class one that had become vacant, but couldn't find another for her husband, so they made the trip separately, although it was actually an overnight trip. For this reason, after passing Migrations and picking up luggage, they had the first opportunity to speak in the taxi that took them from New York International Airport to Irina's house in Gramercy Park.
“You are really full of surprises! I didn't know anything about a friend in the FBI.”
“You have become a grumpy man. We only met four months ago and I'm going to be thirty-nine years old. There are undoubtedly many things that you don't know about me yet. I could complain even more, I know next to nothing about you. I remember the faces of your parents from the wedding ceremony in the Russian church in New York, but I don't even remember the name of your red-haired brother.
“His name is Sebastian. But tell me. Who is this FBI Indian and how did you meet her?”
“In a purely accidental way. The FBI had reports of a suspected Chechen terrorist who wanted to infiltrate our community, whom they were finally able to apprehend. In that case, my connections allowed Lakshmi to accomplish her mission. Look, we're already coming home.”
As the marriage license had come to an end the previous day Thiago went to work as usual. At noon he received a text message from his wife.
"My friend Lakshmi and her husband are coming to dinner today."
To this the young man replied.
“I have a hell of a late job. I will arrive as soon as I can. Start without me.”
When he finally reached the Gramercy Park apartment and took the elevator up, Thiago checked the wrist watch and calculated that he would be arriving an hour late. He opened the door of the apartment and looking briefly in a large mirror he saw that he had been made a mess by the crowded trip in the Metro. Irina was already with a couple in the living room in front of some cups of coffee. A tall, attractive brunette and a very tall, stocky blond man with a Scandinavian look, both in their forties and dressed in casual clothes.
"Thankfully these are New Yorkers and not stretched out European nobles." The thought came to Thiago´s mind as he remembered his own image in the mirror. They both stood up as Irina met her husband. The presentations were done by her and were brief.
“My friend Lakshmi Dhawan, who I told you about and her husband.”
“Jack Berglund.” He introduced himself shaking the newcomer's hand.
Relieved by the spontaneous treatment of the visitors, Thiago joined the trio in the coffee round and Irina brought him up to date. In front of her was a notebook that she had taken at the presentation at Prince Golovkin's palace in Vienna and that she had obviously been consulting. She said.
“ I have already described in broad strokes the theme of the conference. They assure me that there are good chances that it is in the interest of the Bluthund Community. Just now they are about to begin to narrate a similar experience in Mongolia and the Gobi desert.”
A moment of silence let Jack to put his ideas in order and to start explaining the antecedent with his wife.*
(* op.cit)
“It happened a couple of years ago and it was the first experience of the Bluthund Community in the Far East. It was based on the story of an epic character named Roman Ungern von Sternberg, known as the Mad Baron. An adventurer who, in the fall of the Tsar government and the Bolshevik Revolution, formed in Mongolia a formidable army of horsemen who drove out the Communists and restored King Bogd Khan to power. When the adventure was concluding and he foresaw his defeat, he agreed with the king to save the royal treasure of Mongolia to preserve it from communist prey and make it available for a hypothetical monarchical restoration. The plan was to select their best men and send them with the treasure- which of course was not of the magnitude that you are now talking about- and hide it inside the tunnels that lead to the mythical underground city of Agartha of which they believed to know the portal.”
Jack took a breath and continued.
“By various missteps, the Baron's soldiers did not reach northern Tibet and had to bury the treasure in the Gobi Desert, along with the official documentation of the kingdom.”
Lakshmi Dhawan, so far silent, took over the explanation.
“As you will see, a whole fantastic story full of esotericism, of underground cities and utopian magical portals revealed to the Baron by mendicant lamas, typical product of the exuberant oriental fantasy, but that above this incredible narration led to the discovery of a very concrete treasure that was delivered to the heirs of Bogd Khan who are fighting to restore the Kingdom of Mongolia even today.”
Irina and Thiago were amazed. The last one was the first to react.
“Despite the parallelism between the characters, the differences between the half-mad Baron Ungern and the rigid Admiral Kolchak are enormous. The current case data seems to have much more support.”
Irina could not help but nod at her husband's words. She, too, was discovering in Thiago a thinking brain that knew how to synthesize complex situations in the right way.
"What do you think?" She asked her guests.
"There is definitely material to submit to the executive committee of the Bluthund Community with good chances of arousing their interest." Jack replied without hesitation.
“I'm going to do the following.” He added.” I will elaborate a minute in which I will summarize the essential that we have spoken today about the treasure of the tsars and the fantastic train that was transporting it. I will send it to you by email so that you can make amendments and additions and then we will present it to the council.” The phrase was addressed to Irina. “Are you willing to make yourself a preliminary presentation to the committee?
"Yes. Of course," Irina replied.
“I can prepare a presentation to be screened.” added Thiago. “Does the community have projection media?
“Yes. We have what you need.”
Once the preparations for the planned meeting were over, Irina served dinner and then they went to an adjoining living room for coffee.
“Tell me everything in your life since the last time we met.” Lakshmi expressed with interest.
"Well, apart from having fallen in love and married in the last three months, I didn't do anything important new," Irina replied with a smile.
“I have continued with my routine activities in the Association of Russian Nobility in America ...”
"What is that association doing?" Jack interrupted, a man interested in strange questions.
“They are simply exiled nobles crying their brilliant past one over the other's shoulder.” Thiago commented slyly.
Irina, ignoring her husband's outburst, answered the visitor's question.
“It has charitable purposes and maintains numerous shelters for homeless people. They also help settle descendants of Russian nobles who come to the country. Finally, there is a heraldry commission that studies the titles of all the applicants who claim to have noble ancestors.”
"And what are you doing?" Asked the Indian to Thiago.
“Something much more prosaic. I am a systems engineer and work in my profession at an international firm with headquarters in New York City. I travel abroad quite a bit for my work. And what about you both? I don't think you have an expedition to the Gobi Desert and Tibet every day as in the case of the Mongolian treasure.”
“No.” Jack replied.” What happens, as you will see in this case if the Executive Committee decides to accept it, is that before organizing an expedition, which is somewhat expensive and dangerous, there is a prolonged period of study by our experts in various disciplines. Sometimes the difficulty lies in defining what those disciplines are and who are the experts scattered throughout the world that the Community has.”
Lakshmi and her husband began to detail the type of tasks and investigations that they had to carry out in each case. The hosts, particularly Thiago, passionately followed the romantic life of their guests.
"So you're a specialist in extinct languages?" The young man's question was directed at Jack.
“I'm specifically a runologist. That is, a student of the writing of the ancient Scandinavians.
"And he is also an expert in the analysis of ancient documents," added Lakshmi.
“By the way, it would be good if you could send me the copies you find of all the documentation of the time that refers to Kolchak, the treasure and the trains”. Added Jack.
“They have been reviewed to the point of exhaustion.” Irina's sentence denoted her skepticism.
“But a professional analysis of documents as such always yields findings.” Replied convincingly the Indian lady.
“Context data, auxiliary notes not well interpreted.” Jack reinforced his wife's argument.
“Most are in imperial Russian and diplomatic French from the beginning of the 20th century.”
“Languages are not barriers for us.”
“I agree. Today I will request our partners in Vienna to send me scanned copies of the documentation, it is an immense mass of information.”
The guests prepared to leave. Lakshmi reiterated her offer to write a summary and send it to her friend for correction and editing before submitting it to the Bluthund Community Executive Committee.
When Lakshmi and Jack Berglund left the office and the Community Master William Richardson and his assistant Jerome Watkins were left alone, the latter expressed.
“What a case these people have brought us! In appearance it is one of the biggest we have ever had.”
Richardson nodded, as he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
“Who are you calling? Are you going to ask for help?” The ringmaster said in a jocular tone.
“Not exactly. I am calling Sir Edwin Clark. I must share the news with him.”
This time it was Watkins' turn to nod affirmatively. He knew the game; Sir Edwin Clark was the head of the British branch of the Bluthund Community; what linked him to Richardson's was their past in MI6, the British secret services, when Clark was the hierarchical superior of William Richardson.