‘But I thought Viva Angelina was the call of AA?’
‘Yes, but AA and the Black Hand are associated, as are other Serbian secretive organisations like Omladina and Narodna Odbrana. Many of their members are staunchly Catholic and happily belong to AA. Their common desire, in those days, was to rid themselves of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.’
‘But the two Serbians who tried to kill us today acted as though they despised AA.’
‘Of course! Those underlings know nothing of the intricate nature of these associations.’
‘But I thought England was at odds with Russia?’ Deodat kept him talking while Rahn tried to reach for his penknife but realised he didn’t have it!
‘Of course we are at odds with them, but if a British commercial empire is to be founded, there has to be an opposite pole of consumers – and the Russians do so hate commerce. We leveraged off the animosity that has always existed between Austrians and Serbs and that’s how the assassination came about – it had to look like a Serbian assault on the Austrian Empire. Austria then demanded that the assassins were handed over, Serbia refused and Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia. This now meant that Serbia had to ask Russia for help since they were allies, and in turn, France, having a treaty with Russia, was pulled in; on the other side of things Austria had to call on Germany, and Germany declared war on France and Russia and invaded Belgium, which brought us into the war, of course. We had a moral obligation to help Belgium, and also France. As Sherlock Holmes would say, elementary! You see, in the end, the fall of the Hapsburgs and Germany, as a central power, the curbing of Russia in her desire to expand towards India, and the reconfiguration of the Balkan states to give Russia her winter ports as consolation, was essential for the splitting up of Europe into two distinct regions – east and west. The commercial and industrial monarchy that we are wishing to establish meant we needed to get rid of the middle.
However, things did not go so smoothly, there were complications. Groups began sprouting up all over Europe: there was the revolution in Russia and the rise of the Bolsheviks; the Fascist movement in our own country; as well as an intrusion from the annoying American Freemasons who wanted to get what they could from the spoils. In the end the true aim was not reached, you see? Too many cooks stirring the pot! So a decision was made to make the best of a bad situation and that is how the Treaty of Versailles came into existence – as the seedbed of another war. The stab in the back was a good slogan, it stuck, and when it was combined with the Communist threat, inflation and unemployment . . . well, it was simple, really. The ordinary people are always led by the nose, all they need is a charismatic leader,’ he said. ‘The Germans, for instance, will follow Hitler into a bloodbath, while they sing a chorus of: “Deutschland erwache!”’
Rahn was fuming. ‘You bastards!’ he said.
‘Your people, old chap, will welcome the destruction of their precious Germany rather than see it conquered. And when it is fully destroyed, we’ll step in, of course, and with the help of the Americans, the Russians and the French, we’ll change all the borders of Europe, once and for all!’
There was the strong smell of gasoline now, and Rahn assumed the men upstairs were preparing their cremation.
‘So, you are saying Hitler is your man?’ Deodat said, completely oblivious to everything around him.
‘Hitler is an experiment, that’s all.’
‘And you think you can control him? He might turn on you, what then?’ Deodat said.
‘We have Himmler – and Hess – up our sleeves . . .’
‘What?’ Rahn exclaimed.
‘Oh yes, Monsieur Rahn, the man you are working for wants the top job for himself, but of course we will doublecross him and Hess before the end.’
‘But you haven’t answered my question. How can you be certain you can control Hitler?’ Deodat said.
‘That is why we need the key found in this book, and why it is so important that it fall into our hands. We wouldn’t want it to end up in the hands of the Nazis, or the different French Nationalist groups, or the Russians, or even the Jesuits! You see, Hitler and the Vatican are well connected. Why else do you think the present pope never speaks out against Hitler’s crimes against the Jews and the disabled and mentally ill? They do not count in their mutual plans. Look at Goebbels – he was brought up in a Jesuit college, not to mention the fact that Himmler’s father was a director of a Catholic school in Munich and his brother was a Benedictine monk!’ he said, pleased with himself. ‘All the popes since Honorius have known about Le Serpent Rouge and all of them have been after the key that completes it . . . And they still are, as you know. You see, when Pope Honorius made his pact with the Devil, he soiled the papal chair with excrement forever!’ He laughed.