The Devil's Banker (49 page)

Utaybi had not slept the entire night. Televisions tuned to CNN, Al-Jazeera, and the BBC still burned in the command tent. As yet, there was no news on any of the stations, nor on any of a half-dozen radio frequencies being monitored, of an attack on the American Capitol.

It was nine
P.M.
in Washington, D.C. By now, Noor was to have completed her task. Her instructions had been precise. She was to wait until the Saudi impostor entered the White House and then detonate the device. If for any reason she was denied access or threatened with capture, she was to immediately sacrifice herself. If any other eventuality ensued, she was to position herself as close to the White House as possible and set off the weapon.

Noor had phoned two hours earlier in jubilant spirits. Glendenning was dead. She was proceeding to the White House. She foresaw no difficulties. In parting, she had wished him a prosperous life and many more children, and said she hoped to see him in a better world. There was no question of her will. He could not imagine what had happened.

Closing his eyes, Utaybi offered a silent prayer for his youngest sister. Yet even as he completed his blessing, his phone rang.

“Noor,” he cried, recognizing her number on his phone’s digital screen. “What has happened? I have no word of the attack.”

“Noor is dead,” said the emotionless voice of an English female.

“Who is this?”

“We have the bomb. You failed.”

“What do you want?”

“This is your wake-up call, Omar al-Utaybi. Time to go to hell.”

Desperately, Utaybi tried to turn off his phone. He could not. Somewhere high in the sky a satellite had acquired the signal and was jamming his frequency. It was too late. He knew the technology. They had triangulated his position. His fate was cast.

Dropping the phone, he turned to run down the hill. He had only covered a hundred yards when he caught the cruise missile’s silver streak, its blazing black-orange flame rushing at him.

The sun, he thought, reflecting off a limestone bluff.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many members of the United States law enforcement community contributed to the writing of this book. Due to their positions and the confidential nature of their work, I find it best not to give their names. I can only offer my thanks. I would like to thank Director James Sloan and the staff of the Financial Enforcement Network for their invaluable assistance. As well, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Department of the Treasury, the United States Customs Service, and the Internal Revenue Service. Dan Starer of Research for Writers in New York City was a huge help. He can be reached at
Researchforwriters.com
.

At Bantam Dell, my thanks to Irwyn Applebaum, Nita Taublib, Betsy Hulsebosch, Susan Corcoran, Carolyn Schwartz, Andrea Nicolay, and, of course, to my editor extraordinaire, Bill Massey.

At Headline UK, thanks to Martin Fletcher and his band of merry men for a great night in Zurich. Let’s do it again!

At Arthur Pine and Associates, hats off to Lori Andiman. As always to my agent, Richard Pine, a very big “thank-you” for your enthusiasm, counsel, and unwavering support.

Finally, to my wife, Sue, and my two wonderful daughters, Noelle and Katja, you make it all worthwhile.

Also by Christopher Reich

NUMBERED ACCOUNT

THE RUNNER

THE FIRST BILLION

CHRISTOPHER REICH DISCUSSES HIS INSPIRATION FOR
THE DEVIL’S BANKER
IN THE FOLLOWING ESSAY.

Follow the money
. . . that’s the new slogan in the war against terrorism. The idea’s simple: One way to catch the bad guys is to track how and where they spend their money. The execution is a lot harder. With terrorism (unlike organized crime and narcotics trafficking), the culprits spend their money first and then commit the crime. Still, the theory is sound. If you can just follow the money, maybe you can prevent an act of terror from being committed.

The idea for
The Devil’s Banker
came to me in the first terrible days following 9/11. As I learned about the shadowy underground banking system called Hawala and the intricate manner in which Al Qaeda shifted their funds around the world, I grew determined to write a book about it.

Before turning to writing, I worked as an investment banker in Switzerland. Part of that time I spent as a private banker, basically catering to the whims and worries of a very rich clientele. It was nothing to see deposits and transfers among your clients of a couple of hundred million dollars . . . a day! Many of these individuals held numbered accounts. Whenever they called, they simply gave us the account number and instructed us what to do with their money. Most had never been obliged to provide their names, addresses, phone numbers, and the like. And while many bankers built up-close-and-personal relationships with their clients—going so far as to vacation at their homes in St. Tropez or accept rides in private jets to New York or Hong Kong—it was not unusual for some to have little idea with whom they were speaking. If you’ve read my first book,
Numbered Account,
you’ll know the kinds of trouble that can lead to.

The Devil’s Banker
goes it a step further, looking at the problem from another side of the prism. Namely, how does a terrorist
supremo
finance his operations without drawing the attention of the law enforcement community? And how does a sharp U.S. Treasury agent find him, force him into the open, and nail him?

To conduct my research, I called on some friends at the Treasury Department and at Customs. I wanted to talk about one thing: terrorist finance. I guess one or two had actually read my books, because (to my amazement and everlasting gratitude) they rolled out the red carpet for me. Last April, I found myself jetting to Washington, D.C., to spend two weeks checking out our government’s newly constructed counterterrorism apparatus from the inside. You can read about what I saw in the new book, but let me summarize it in one word:
absolutelyfrigginincredible
! I would not want to be in the government’s crosshairs. Our law enforcement officers are whip smart, dedicated, and when need be, meanass muthas. It made me seriously reconsider my career path. These Americans were doing something positive for our country and for the world.

Oh, I did learn one other thing: Do not cheat on your taxes! Under the Patriot Act, all our enforcement agencies have finally been allowed to link their databases together. The IRS will find you. They will prosecute you. And you will pay!

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPHER REICH

1. Where do you get your ideas?

Reading. I read and read and read. Newspapers, magazines, the Internet—you name it, I try to suck it up and find something interesting inside it. I like to think of international finance as my bailiwick, so I start from there. Usually, a story will catch my interest and I’ll wonder if there’s enough material there to sustain a book. Then I start on the personal angle. What’s the “hook”? The crux of the story that will drive a reader to gulp down 450 pages. From there, it’s hopscotch all over the place. First I do the research, then I construct the story around interesting, knowledgeable people. The hardest part is always the character stuff—making the hero grow and come out a better person for his experiences. Without a really compelling hero or heroine, the best hook is never more than that—a quirky little attention-getter. By the way, I don’t own a television set. As parents of two young daughters, my wife and I feel strongly that TV is a wildly negative influence on kids’ minds . . . and on adults’, too, most of the time. The only stuff I used to watch was the news and
Biography
on A&E, but now even CNN’s hard to look at, with all that gibberish dancing on every available square inch of the screen. Mostly what I hate is how dumb the news is. It’s time our media gave us the benefit of the doubt. We’re smarter than that.

2. How do you work?

Writing is a job, just like anything else. Often I think the deciding factor as to who can make a career as a successful author is the ability to sit in a chair for eight hours a day (or however long one needs to write) and simply get the book written. There are so many distractions, and a writer can’t wait for the “muse” to land on his shoulder. I try to hit my desk by 8:15 and will work until noon. Usually, I eat lunch out somewhere nearby with my wife, then get back to it at 1:30 or 2. Those are the hardest hours. Frankly, I’d rather be napping, or playing golf. Then around 4:00 the engine really starts up again, and I’m able to get a solid ninety minutes in before dinner. The thing about writing is that it isn’t constant or linear. What I mean is that you can start the day writing four great pages and then not be able to add a single thing to them. Or you can crank out an entire chapter in two hours and then spend the next two days getting it right. Usually, though, it’s slow and steady. Two pages in the morning. Two in the afternoon. After six months, you’ve got a good stack of paper on your desk. Still, I can’t think of a better way to make a living. I used to be an investment banker, and the thought of those fourteen-hour days cooped up inside a skyscraper is enough to give me the shivers. No, thanks. You can keep your five-million-dollar salaries . . .
then again, five mil is pretty good. . . .

3. What do you do to relax?

By nature I’m a high-strung person. One of those guys who can’t stand still for too long. I love to golf, but it’s hard to find six hours to just disappear, especially with two awesome daughters whom I love to play with. I try to run a few times a week . . . nothing serious, a quick ten-mile loop, then a few dozen wind sprints.
Just kidding!
If I make it three miles before wimping out, I’m lucky. I like to get to the gym, too, but that seems to be happening ever less frequently. My wife and I love the movies. Whenever there’s something that does not center around car chases, evil cops, towering infernos, or anything with the word “matrix” in it, we jump at the chance to go see it. Our favorite film last year was
Unfaithful
starring Diane Lane, Richard Gere, and that French guy whose name my wife keeps mumbling when she’s asleep. Talk about a hard-hitting movie! And if Diane Lane ever reads this: “Girl, you was robbed!” I’m looking forward to the new Tom Cruise movie,
The Last Samurai
.

Music-wise, I’m digging the live version of U2’s “Beautiful Day,” John Mayer’s album
Room for Squares
, and from the oldies bin,
Physical Graffiti
by Led Zeppelin. And, of course, anything by Oscar Peterson, my all-time favorite.

Naturally, I love to read, too. I just polished off
Ghost Soldiers
by Hampton Sides and loved it.
The Human Stain
by Philip Roth was a great read. Genius at work! I’m waiting with bated breath for the new le Carré. Everything stops around our house when his books hit the stands. Everything I learned about writing, I got from le Carré.

4. What’s the next one about?

I’m just starting digging on the new one, but it will center around these giant private equity firms that currently control a lot of the biggest U.S. defense companies and employ former U.S. government officials. The potential for conflict of interest is so huge, the smell of corruption so rank, even if these guys aren’t guilty, they should be! So far, I’ve got the best villain I’ve come up with and a great hero. The rest is a work in progress!

THE DEVIL’S BANKER

A Delacorte Press Book / September 2003

Published by Bantam Dell

A Division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2003 by Christopher Reich

Visit our website at
www.bantamdell.com

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

Delacorte Press is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.,

and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reich, Christopher.

The devil’s banker / Christopher Reich.

p. cm.

e-ISBN 0-440-33454-3

1. Terrorism—Prevention—Fiction. 2. Government investigators—Fiction. 3. International finance—Fiction. 4. Forensic accounting—Fiction. 5. Accountants—Fiction.

I. Title.

PS3568.E476284 D48 2003

813′.54—dc21 2003055075

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