The Romanov Ransom (Fargo Adventures 9)

She waited.

“Lose your bodyguard.”

A flick of her head, and Viktor walked off. Even then, Rolfe hesitated. She crossed her arms. “I’m waiting.”

“What do you know of the Romanov Ransom?” he asked.

“That it was stolen by the Nazis, stored in the castle at Königsberg, then secreted away at the end of the war.”

“I mean, what it was intended to be used for.”

“I have no idea.”

“To fund Unternehmen Werwolf,” he told her. “To start the war again.”

She hid her surprise over this bit of news. “I’m listening.”

“The sole purpose of the Wolf Guard was to protect the Romanov Ransom so that it could be used to bring back the Third Reich. The plan was so secret that only a few in power knew.” His gaze flicked toward Viktor, and even though he was still out of earshot, Rolfe lowered his voice even more. “They divided the code into three parts so that if any one part was captured, it would be useless. The plane that went down in Marrakesh belonged to a Nazi pilot who was an Allied spy.”

“The pilot knew of the code?” Tatiana asked.

“Possibly. He’d found the first part in Königsberg, which would lead to the second part.”

“In the Project Riese tunnels.” She realized how very little she actually knew about what had happened to the Romanov Ransom after it’d been stolen from the Catherine Palace in Russia. If there was one thing she was good at, though, it was prodding for information. “Are you telling me that there’s more to this than what Durin found in the courier bag on the plane?”

“I am saying that we have nothing until we get all three boxes gathered in one place. Only then will it lead to the location of the Romanov Ransom.”

“Not even an educated guess?”

“I know this much. The war was over, and the Nazis were scurrying like rats to get out. Every treasure they hid was meant for their eventual return. The Romanov Ransom was the exception. It was smuggled out of Königsberg for one purpose only—to bring about Operation Werewolf.”

She glanced over at Leopold and his men, off in the distance. “That doesn’t make sense. They’re part of Operation Werewolf. So where’s the treasure?”

He laughed. “They’re the Wolf Guard, a big difference. Their primary duty is to protect the hidden caches that lead to the Romanov Ransom.”

“How do you know all this?”

“My father, who believed in the Nazi idealism, spent his life researching it.”

“I never would’ve taken you for a Nazi.”

He regarded her with a look of scorn. “I have no desire to resurrect that failed ideology. I’m in it for the money.”

“Do they know that?” she asked, nodding toward Leopold and his men.

“I’ve never pretended to be anything other than a capitalist, but why would I tell them?” he asked. “As long as it continues to be mutually beneficial for both parties, our respective motives and beliefs matter little.” A distant train whistle caught his attention. He picked up his radio, keying the mic. “Why is that train still moving? I don’t care if you have to blast everyone on that thing. Just get me what they took from the tunnels.”

Tatiana waited until he walked off before waving Viktor over.

“What’s your plan?” he asked.

“Find the Fargos and whatever they took from the tunnels before Rolfe does.”

39

Tell us something good, Selma,” Sam said into the phone over the steady rumble of the train as it sped along the tracks.