The Assassins by Alan Bardos (best novels in english txt) 📗

Breitner looked up to see that an aide was standing at their table. 'The Count will see you now.'

The aide showed Breitner and Johnny into a stylish suite, where they were greeted by the tall, dignified figure of Count Istvan Tisza, Hungary's Prime Minster. Breitner immediately stood to attention; he hadn't been expecting to report directly to such an esteemed person. As a true conservative, Breitner greatly admired the Count.

‘Thank you for coming so promptly, gentlemen. Please take a seat. My aide tells me that you found the restaurant to your liking,’ Tisza said, bemused.

Breitner glared at Johnny - they’d evidently taken advantage of the Count’s hospitality. ‘Yes, thank you, Your Excellency,’ Breitner stammered, embarrassed.

He considered Tisza the only Hungarian statesman to have the gravitas and strength to walk the difficult tightrope between keeping Hungary’s Austrian partners in the Dual Monarchy content whilst simultaneously dealing with the uncompromising nationalists at home. He was reviled by both sides and particularly by Franz Ferdinand, who’d been convinced that the Hungarian Prime Minister was plotting against him and the Monarchy as a whole. Breitner remembered Franz Ferdinand's rant at the Hotel Bosnia, the night before he was murdered, with distaste.

'Please, sit down. I apologise for the subterfuge,' Tisza said in German, for Johnny's benefit. 'It’s imperative that we keep this meeting strictly between ourselves and I’m told that this is the last place that anyone suspicious of your reasons for coming to Vienna would look for you.'

Breitner couldn’t detect any irony in Tisza’s statement; he wasn’t sure if the Count was referring to the exclusivity of the hotel or the unhappy memories it held. He supposed there were people in Vienna who might want to know why he’d returned.

Breitner managed to keep stony-faced and Tisza appeared satisfied with his reaction and so he continued. ‘I am in urgent need of accurate information. The reports that we've received from Sarajevo are confusing and contradictory.'

'Hopefully, we can clarify matters, Your Excellency,' Johnny said, in surprisingly good Hungarian. Tisza shot him a withering look, making it clear that he should only speak when spoken to, but the Count continued in Hungarian.

'However questionable these reports may be they are fuelling demands for war from many of the most powerful people in the Monarchy. I believe that in our current condition such a war would be disastrous for the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The army hasn’t seen action since we took charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, and it struggled to overcome the opposition it encountered even then. It is unlikely to fare any better now as it is woefully ill-equipped and undertrained. The nationalist situation within the Monarchy is also very delicate: any further drop in its prestige could tip the balance and renew calls for greater freedoms for minorities or worse.' Tisza paused for a moment to ensure that they understood what he was saying, which Breitner assumed was that if Austro-Hungary lost a war with Serbia, it would fall apart.

'Diplomatically, the Monarchy is also in a weak position. Romania, Bulgaria and Russia will be aligned against us should we attack Serbia. What I need, gentlemen, is solid information, something that can delay the pro-war party, so that I can find a diplomatic solution or create a situation that will give us a more favourable position, should we go to war.'

The great man finished and gestured that they could now speak. Breitner ran through what he knew for sure - that the Young Bosnians had planned the outrage in Belgrade and were trained and supplied by members of the 'Black Hand', a Serbian nationalist organisation, connected to Serbian Intelligence.

Tisza nodded. 'Are you able to elaborate further?'

'Johnny should be able to - he infiltrated the terrorists’ cell, Your Excellency,' Breitner answered.

Tisza turned and looked at Johnny. 'Yes, the spy. Come, speak - that is why you are here, after all.'

Johnny shifted uncomfortably; he didn't like Tisza's tone. 'I have been promised a certain recompense for the services I've performed for the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.'

'Payment! You want payment to help prevent a war?'

Breitner thought it opportune to intercede. 'If I may explain, Your Excellency. Johnny doesn't require money, merely a letter of commendation to show his superiors to demonstrate that he has been of service.'

Tisza nodded curtly, 'Let us hear what you have to say, then we shall discuss your "recompense".'

Johnny told Count Tisza that from what he'd observed of Princip and the rest of the cell in the weeks preceding the outrage, the influence anyone in Belgrade had over them was minimal. The Black Hand had even tried to cancel the plot at one point, provoking a full scale confrontation between the ringleaders. Johnny described how Princip had completely ignored the cancellation order. He had even got the impression that there was a great deal of antagonism between Princip and Belgrade, or one of the members of the Black Hand, to be precise.

'Interesting - certainly grounds for further investigation to verify what you have alleged,' Tisza said, deep in thought. 'There is a meeting of the Council of Joint Ministers of the Monarchy tomorrow, to discuss the matter. Breitner, I'm sure you will join me, and this gentleman should be on hand in case there is need for further clarification.'

'I would be honoured,' Breitner replied. ‘But I thought you wanted to keep our meeting a secret.’

Tisza smiled apologetically. ‘My dear chap, no one there will have the faintest idea who you are. This was the hotel where Redl shot himself, was it not?' Tisza asked shrewdly.

Breitner tensed. 'It was.'

'And in the ensuing scandal, you were exiled to Bosnia?’

'That is correct, Excellency.' Breitner suspected that the real reason for their meeting in the Hotel Klomser was so that Count Tisza could see how well he dealt with difficult situations.

'It is almost as if you've come full circle. I will have need of you as