The Assassins by Alan Bardos (read novel full .TXT) 📕

said, cutting the tension. She got up and took the postcard down from the mantelpiece and passed it to her husband, who avidly studied the gothic spires of Vienna's City Hall.

'Wonderful draftsmanship,' his stepfather said and then gave Johnny an approving look for the first time since his return from the continent.

'Did you buy it from the painter, in person?' his mother asked.

'No'. Johnny couldn't tell them he'd brought the postcard from a down and out, desperate for a drink. 'No, from a friend of his; they lived in the same pension, I believe. They have since fallen out, but he believed the painter moved to Munich.' The front doorbell sounded before his parents could ask any more questions. The outline of a telegraph boy could be seen through the frosted window of the front door.

'It's just a shame you can’t see the faces of the people,' his mother said, before going to answer the front door.

‘That will be your call up,’ his stepfather said with glee as his mother came back with a worried expression and a telegram.

Johnny opened it and smiled smugly. ‘I’ve been summoned, by the Foreign Secretary.’

The light was starting to fade over the crowded streets of Whitehall. Johnny could hear the mumble from the waves of people as he sat inside Sir Edward Grey’s office.

Johnny revelled in his new found glory; he’d left his stepfather speechless for the first time in his life and was now sitting in one of the key centres of power in the world, watching Sir George present his big idea to the austere Foreign Secretary and Sir Arthur Nicolson, the senior Foreign Office mandarin.

'I anticipated a Balkan crisis at the end of May when I learned of the Archduke’s visit to Sarajevo and so I dispatched young Swift here, to see what could be done. I’m sensible of the fact that you place some importance on the region for the security of the Entente, Foreign Secretary,’ Sir George said.

Grey gave Johnny a weary glance. 'Very commendable. A first-hand account of events would have been most interesting I'm sure, were we not in the presence of a European conflagration,' the Foreign Secretary said dryly. He was famously mistrustful of foreign travel, feeling anything worth knowing could be gleaned from his official papers.

Johnny knew that Sir George had pulled every string he could to get this interview and he wasn't going to be made to look an ass. 'The situation over there is very clear, Foreign Secretary. Austro-Hungary intends to punish Serbia for the assassination - nothing will pacify them,' Sir George insisted.

Grey was doing his best to appear interested, but Johnny thought he looked wrung out; by all accounts he'd had a very trying day. Sir George persevered, desperate to keep his audience.

'What I suggest, drawing from my sources in Vienna, the Balkans and the Russian Diplomatic Corps, is that Great Britain and the rest of Europe be persuaded to stay out of any conflict and let Serbia and Austro-Hungary fight it out. I’m told that Count Tisza, the Hungarian Prime Minster, doesn't think the Austro-Hungarian Army will stand a chance. Serbia will beat them off. The Austrians are unprepared, ill equipped and badly led.'

Grey and Nicolson looked astonished. 'That is simply incredible,' Grey said. 'How can such a small country possibly beat one of the world's great powers?'

'Serbia has been hardened by two recent bitter wars, both of which it won. It's a new, resurgent country, deeply patriotic, even more so now they've recaptured Kosovo, their spiritual home. The Serbs are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to unite the South Slav people, as I believe, Gavrilo Princip, the assassin, has demonstrated. The Austrians on the other hand, haven't been in a major conflict since they pacified Bosnia and Herzegovina over thirty years ago and they made very hard work of that against irregular troops, armed largely with obsolete weapons.' Sir George smiled. 'Imagine how they would stand up against a veteran army, with modern arms.’

Nicolson and Grey didn't respond to Sir George's attempt at levity, but they weren't looking at him as if he was insane anymore. Johnny wondered if they were remembering the trouble Great Britain had had beating the Boers in South Africa.

'However, the key piece of information I received from a former Austrian Intelligence officer is that the Serbs are familiar with the Austrian plan of attack, which the Russians obtained from a mole in Austrian Intelligence. Although the Austrian general staff may have now amended the plan, the Serbians will have a good crib to guess where the Austrians are likely to attack. We can be sure the Serbs will be ready and waiting for them.'

Nicolson spoke for the first time. 'Surely, the Austrians will beat Serbia through overwhelming firepower and sheer weight of numbers.'

'Eventually, yes, but Serbia will win the opening bouts, by which time we can intercede to set up a peace conference, as we are trying to do now. The Austrians are convinced that they'll have an easy victory; when they see that is unlikely the hawks in the Austro-Hungarian Council of Joint Ministers will be more receptive to negotiation. If Russia doesn't get involved, neither will Germany, and then France won't have any reason for declaring war. The whole thing can be resolved as a local squabble,' Sir George replied.

'And how can we prevail upon Russia and Germany to mind their own business?' Grey asked.

'We assure the Russians that we won't allow Serbia to be overrun by Austro-Hungary and we give the Russians the key to their own backdoor - a free hand in the Bosporus. I know we've traditionally tried to avoid that but it's better than letting Austro-Hungary and Germany have a bigger influence in the Balkans.'

'Germany won’t allow themselves to be sidelined,' Grey said. 'They want total hegemony in Europe and to have that they need