'Ah — I thought you had not forgotten. It was cold that night. The harbour water was black and full of oil and dirt. It tasted very unpleasant. I did not enjoy that swim.' He smiled. 'And now we drink together. Do you not find that strange?'
'It's not always possible to choose one's drinking company,' Engles replied blandly.
Keramikos gave a fat chuckle and his little eyes twinkled behind the thick lenses. 'That is life,' he said. 'You serve your Government. I serve mine. Our meetings should be dramatic moments — with pistols, like Valdini. Instead, we drink.'
'Don't be absurd, Keramikos,' Engles said. 'You have no government left to serve.'
Keramikos sighed. 'That is true. That is very true. For the moment there is nothing left — just a loose organisation under the ground. But there are many Germans working, like myself, all over the world. We work without direction and without funds. That will change in time. At the moment our energy is wasted in the search for money. That is why I am here. I have an organisation in Greece. It must be paid, if it is to continue. Four million dollars in gold would help. But it will not always be like this. Some day Germany will begin to organise again. And next time — the third time — perhaps we shall not fail. Already you are saying that Germany must be prosperous so that she can take her place in the economic plan of Europe. We have no national debt like you. Each war has been paid for in the ruins of defeat. We starve now, and that means that the old people die. And that again is good for a nation. Our industry is destroyed. That, too, is good. Our industry, when we rebuild it, will be new and up-to-date, not old works adjusted to meet the changing needs, like yours. It will be the same with our armed forces. You will see. Last time it was twenty years. Twenty years is a long time. There will be a new generation then who will not remember that war is horrible.'
'You're very frank about it,' Engles said.
'And why not? You are a Colonel in the British Intelligence.'
'Was,' Engles corrected him. 'I'm a civilian now.'
Keramikos shrugged his shoulders. 'What does it matter what you call yourself? I call myself a shipping agent. But you remain of the Intelligence, and you must know that your people are aware that we exist. But what can they do? For example, what can they do about me? I am a Greek national. Greece is a free country. They cannot arrest me. And I shall do nothing foolish here in Italy. I shall get the gold. But I shall be careful. I shall not kill any one — if it can be avoided. Mayne and Valdini are different. They are both gangsters, and dangerous. Mayne is a deserter, as I told Blair.'
'Yes, I know all about Mayne,' Engles said. 'What I am interested in is how you found out about this gold. You couldn't have learned about it in Greece.'