JК
The English Assassin :: Silva Daniel
Страница: 193 из 209”
“Why keep them?”
“I think of myselfrather like an impotent man. Just because I am unable to lie with my wife does not mean that I am willing to give her body to others.”
“So you’re married?”
“An admirable attempt, Mr. Allon, but in Switzerland the right to privacy is very sacred. You might say that I’ve taken it somewhat to the extreme, but it’s how I’ve chosen to live my life.”
“Have you always been blind?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“I came to offer you a proposition for ending this affair, but I can see now that you would never agree to it. You are the Hermann Göring of the twenty-first century. Your greed knows no bounds.”
“Yes, but unlike Herr Göring, whom I knew well, I am not guilty of looting.”
“What would you call this?”
“I’m a collector. It’s a very special collection, a very private one, but a collection nonetheless.”
“I’m not the only one who knows about this. Anna Rolfe knows, and so does my service. You can kill me, but eventually, someone is going to find out what you have buried up here.”
Gessler laughed, a dry, humorless laugh.
“Mr. Allon, no one is ever going to find out what’s in this room. We Swiss take our privacy rights very seriously. No one will ever be able to open these doors without my consent. But just to make certain of that fact, I’ve taken an additional step. Using a little-known loophole in Swiss law, I declared this entire property a private bank. These rooms are part of that bank-vaults, if you will. The property contained in them is therefore covered by the banking secrecy laws of Switzerland, and under no circumstance can I ever be forced to open them or reveal their contents.”
“And this pleases you?”
“Indeed,” he said without reservation. “Even if I was forced to open these rooms, I could be prosecuted for no wrongdoing. You see, each of these objects was acquired legally under Swiss law, and morally under the laws of God and nature. Even if someone could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a work in my collection had been stolen from their ancestor by the Germans, they would have to reimburse me at fair market value. Obviously, the cost of repatriation would be astonishing. You and your friends in Tel Aviv can screech as much as you like, but I will never be forced to open the steel doors that lead to these rooms.”
“You’re a son of a bitch, Gessler.”
“Ah, now you resort to curses and foul language. You blame the Swiss for this situation, but we are not to blame. The Germans started the war.
“Why keep them?”
“I think of myselfrather like an impotent man. Just because I am unable to lie with my wife does not mean that I am willing to give her body to others.”
“So you’re married?”
“An admirable attempt, Mr. Allon, but in Switzerland the right to privacy is very sacred. You might say that I’ve taken it somewhat to the extreme, but it’s how I’ve chosen to live my life.”
“Have you always been blind?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“I came to offer you a proposition for ending this affair, but I can see now that you would never agree to it. You are the Hermann Göring of the twenty-first century. Your greed knows no bounds.”
“Yes, but unlike Herr Göring, whom I knew well, I am not guilty of looting.”
“What would you call this?”
“I’m a collector. It’s a very special collection, a very private one, but a collection nonetheless.”
“I’m not the only one who knows about this. Anna Rolfe knows, and so does my service. You can kill me, but eventually, someone is going to find out what you have buried up here.”
Gessler laughed, a dry, humorless laugh.
“Mr. Allon, no one is ever going to find out what’s in this room. We Swiss take our privacy rights very seriously. No one will ever be able to open these doors without my consent. But just to make certain of that fact, I’ve taken an additional step. Using a little-known loophole in Swiss law, I declared this entire property a private bank. These rooms are part of that bank-vaults, if you will. The property contained in them is therefore covered by the banking secrecy laws of Switzerland, and under no circumstance can I ever be forced to open them or reveal their contents.”
“And this pleases you?”
“Indeed,” he said without reservation. “Even if I was forced to open these rooms, I could be prosecuted for no wrongdoing. You see, each of these objects was acquired legally under Swiss law, and morally under the laws of God and nature. Even if someone could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a work in my collection had been stolen from their ancestor by the Germans, they would have to reimburse me at fair market value. Obviously, the cost of repatriation would be astonishing. You and your friends in Tel Aviv can screech as much as you like, but I will never be forced to open the steel doors that lead to these rooms.”
“You’re a son of a bitch, Gessler.”
“Ah, now you resort to curses and foul language. You blame the Swiss for this situation, but we are not to blame. The Germans started the war.