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.“ ’Course, you’re Neumann.Who else would I be waiting for?” The sandy-haired man thrust out his hand and gave a vigorous shake.“I’m Peter Sprecher.Don’t let the accent fool you.I’m Swiss as William Tell.Did my schooling in England.Still know the words to ‘God Save the Queen.’ ” He pulled at an expensive cuff and winked.“Old Man Cerruti is just back from his Christmas run.I call it his yearly Crusade: Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai, and then off to points unknown—probably a sunny port where he can work on his tan while the rest of us back at head office wilt.Guess it didn’t work out as planned.Word’s come down he’ll be out at least a week.The bad news is you’re with me.” Nick listened to the rambling outpouring of information, doing his best to digest it all.“And the good news?”But Peter Sprecher had disappeared down a narrow corridor.“Ah, yes, the good news,” he called over his shoulder.“Well, the good news is that there is a mountain of work to be done.We’re a bit shorthanded at the moment, so you won’t be sitting on your duff reading a sackful of annual reports.We’re sending you out into the blue, pronto.”“Into the blue?”Sprecher stopped at a closed door on the left-hand side of the hallway.“Clients, chum.We have to put somebody’s pretty mug in front of our trusting customers.You look like an honest type.Got all your teeth, do you? Should be able to fool them.”“Today?” Nick asked, ruffled.“No, not today,” Sprecher answered, grinning.“The bank usually likes to provide a little training.You can count on at least a month to learn the ropes.” He leaned on the handle and opened the door.He walked inside the small meeting room and tossed the manila envelope he’d been carrying onto the conference table.“Take a seat,” he said, flinging himself into one of the quilted leather chairs.“Make yourself at home.”Nick pulled out a chair and sat across the table from his new boss.His momentary panic settled, giving way to the usual vague unease that accompanied his arrival at a new post.But he recognized a new sensation, too—a stubborn disbelief that he was actually there.You’re in, Nick told himself in the admonishing tone that had belonged to his father.Keep your mouth closed and your ears open.Become one of them.Peter Sprecher pulled a sheaf of papers from the envelope.“Your life in four lines, single spaced.Says here you’re from Los Angeles.”“I grew up there, but I haven’t called it home for a while.”“Ah, Sodom and Gomorrah rolled into one.Love the place, myself.” Sprecher shook loose a Marlboro and offered the pack to Nick, who declined.“Didn’t figure you for a tobacco fiend.You look fit enough to run a damned marathon.Some advice? Calm down, boy.You’re in Switzerland.Slow and steady, that’s our motto.Remember that.”“I’ll keep it in mind.”“Liar,” Sprecher laughed.“I can see you’ve got a bee buzzing about your bonnet.Sit too damn straight.That will be Cerruti’s problem, not mine.” He lowered his head and puffed on his cigarette while studying the new employee’s papers.“Marine, eh? An officer.That explains it.”“Four years,” said Nick.He was trying hard to sit more casually—drop a shoulder, maybe slouch a little.It wasn’t easy.“What d’ya do?”“Infantry.I had a reconnaissance platoon.Half the time we trained.The other half we floated around the Pacific waiting for a crisis to flare up so that we could put our training to use.We never did.” That was the company line, and he’d been sworn to keep it.“Says here you worked in New York.Four months only.What happened?”Nick kept his answer brief.When lying, he knew it best to stay within the shadow of the truth.“It wasn’t what I had expected.I didn’t feel at home there, at work or in the city.”“So you decided to seek your fortune abroad?”“I’ve lived in the States my whole life.One day I realized that it was time for something new.Once I made the decision, I got out as quickly as I could.”“Wish I’d had the guts to do something like that.Alas, for me it’s too late.” Sprecher exhaled a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling.“Been here before?”“To the bank?”“To Switzerland.Someone in your family is Swiss, isn’t he? Hard to pick up a passport any other way
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