Ironside: Of Spies, Thieves and Other Nice People
set Season 4, January 1971
Ironside has to babysit 400 "precious" kings plus their queens… in Switzerland.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ironside.
This story is purely fictional. Of course I thought of the "WEF", the "World Economic Forum" writing it ("WDF" in my story). But any parallels to the real Forum or to real persons are unintended and coincidental.
Facts about the WEF (from Wikipedia):
The Forum was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German-born business professor at the University of Geneva. Originally named the "European Management Forum", it changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987 and sought to broaden its vision further to include providing a platform for resolving international conflicts.
In the summer of 1971, Schwab invited 444 executives from Western European firms to the first European Management Symposium held in the Davos Congress Centre under the patronage of the European Commission and European industrial associations, where Schwab sought to introduce European firms to American management practices. He then founded the WEF as a non-profit organization based in Geneva and drew European business leaders to Davos for the annual meetings each January.
Today, thousands of soldiers are on duty during the WEF (for instance 2005: 5,500 soldiers).
The first "Open Forum" took place in 2003. It was instigated by the churches of Switzerland.
Prologue
The door to Chief Robert T. Ironside's office-apartment opened and Commissioner Dennis Randall walked in. This was not unusual: After the successful closure of a case he often came up to – kind of – congratulate Ironside and his people. But today, something was different: Randall seemed somewhat hesitating.
Ironside noticed it instantly. "Commissioner – you aren't afraid of telling me what the flamin' problem is, are you? I won't bite off your flamin' head – or have I ever done so?"
Strangely enough, Ironside's familiar grumpiness made the Commissioner feel more comfortable.
"Your usual friendliness encourages me to come out with this. Does the abbreviation 'WDF' ring a bell for you?"
"The 'World Development Forum'? Yes, I've heard of it. There's a big symposium of that organization planned in about a week or so. What about it?"
Officer Eve Whitfield, Sgt. Ed Brown and Mark Sanger left their work and approached curiously.
Randall kepthemming and hawing before he came out with his issue:
"See, Kurt Schwarz, the young business professor who founded the WDF, has invited more than 400 important politicians and business leaders to this meeting in Davos in Switzerland. They are going to discuss questions about world-wide development and politics. Well... this Kurt Schwarz is the son of my college roommate Heinrich Schwarz. And Heinrich is worried, because he thinks that the Davos police are desperately overstretched to provide the security for such a huge symposium."
Eve pictured important men and women in beautiful clothes attending posh receptions catered by their hotels. "Who would want to hurt those people? It's a good idea to bring them together in order to discuss possibilities of progress, isn't it?"
"This meeting is a symbol of western management and lifestyle. The Russians might try to attack it to show their predominance. Or terrorists might try to torpedo any unofficial peace negotiations that might take place."
"And what do you expect us to do?" For Ironside it was evident that the Commissioner hadn't come up just to share his concern with them.
"I would like you to go there and help the local police."
That came as a real bombshell.
As it was to be expected Ironside was the first to recover: "And how do you figure that we should do that? We just go there and explain to the police Chief of Davos how to babysit 400 "precious" business kings and their queens?
Randall obviously felt very uncomfortable. "I have no idea. But who could possibly do it if not you?"
Ironside tried not to be sensible to flattery, but not even he was immune.
And the prospect of another trip to Switzerland was quite seductive: It was a beautiful country, and this time he had the chance of travelling across it without a blindfold.*
"Well, let's not say 'no' straight off..."
It was one of the rare struggles with Ironside Randall came out of as the winner.
"So it's settled then – you travel as soon as possible."
Ed had kept exchanging letters with Rebecca, the little girl they had met one year ago and who had been helpful as an interpreter. Ed had been practicing his German while she had written in English. Now he sent a telegram asking if she would be able to come with them: With her knowledge of the country and her English and German skills she might be a big help, however young she was. And he had felt that this somewhat neglected child enjoyed being with them – so he wanted to give her a break again. Ironside agreed, trusting Ed's judgment. Just before they left the next morning, the response came back: "Meet at Zurich airport. When?"
Eight year old Rebecca was awaiting Ironside and his team in the baggage claim area. When she got to see Ed she ran into his arms and he picked her up at full speed. She had grown two or three inches, but she was even skinnier than a year earlier, and rather pale. But the overwhelming joy of meeting her friends lit up her small, plain face.
"How did you get free since your holidays are in February, not in January, if I remember well?" the Chief wanted to know.
"Well, last year I got tuberculosis. You know where many children with tuberculosis are sent? To Davos. I'm perfectly fine now. But when I got your invitation I just had to cough a little more than necessary in order to remind people I'd been sick. Then my teacher and parents agreed to send me with you for the time of your being here."
Ironside wasn't quite sure if this was the right thing to do, but like his co-workers he couldn't withstand this little person's charm.
"But, young lady," Ironside thundered in his famous Ironside-manner, "you will obey unquestioningly every command of my staff or myself!"
Every man and woman in the SFPD – almost up to the Commissioner – would have paled with fear under the Chief's stare, but this girl, who had been so timid the previous year, looked straight into his eyes and grinned: "Yessir!"
Eve, Ed and Mark exchanged astonished glances. There was no giveaway like a dimple in his cheek… but perhaps a tiny glint in his eyes? The grumpy man and his unique way with children kept amazing them.
Ironside's first and foremost duty in Davos was a meeting with the Chief of the small Davos police, Feldweibel (Sergeant) Nik Heldstab. Commissioner Randall had used his connections to make this meeting possible. After that, Ironside would have to fend for himself. He took Sgt. Brown with him as a possible interpreter since Rebecca was definitely inadequate for this business. But it turned out that Heldstab's English was actually quite good: There were traditionally many English speaking guests and patients in Davos, so English was a commonly known language.
Ergo the understanding should not have been a problem – but nevertheless it was: They just didn't talk about the same issue.
Heldstab pointed out: "You see, not even the President of Switzerland has one single bodyguard. He is President for one year only, so why would somebody go through the trouble of murdering him? His Vice-President would take over, and another member of the Bundesrat, the Federal Council, would be elected. Nobody kills anybody in Switzerland because of political reasons. And why protect managers? We have lots of bank managers, but nobody kills them, not to mention a professor."
"Feldweibel – there will be important executives from different countries all over the world. Most of them have enemies. And this meeting is a symbol of the western economic system. Russia has quite different convictions. May I remind you that there is a cold war between Russia and the U.S.A.? It is possible that Russian agents would organize attacks for propaganda purposes. Of course there are other possibilities like terrorists or maybe also burglars, where so many rich people are together."
"Okay, if you are so anxious: I will tell my men to keep their eyes open."
"That's a start. But they need at least teargas and rubber pellets. And on the roads the standard are barricades of rolls of barbed wire so you can check who comes into the critical area. Another problem is vulnerable installations like the congress centre itself, the telephone exchange or important transmission lines."
Heldstab's head seemed to redden with every additional request.
"Perhaps you have enough police officers in America to provide such a level of security. As for me I just don't have the personnel for all that!"
"Can't you recruit soldiers? Switzerland has a militia army. So you have thousands of men ready to be enlisted."
Heldstab shook his head in resignation. "In peacetime not within a few days. But I will do my very best."
"Would it be possible to allow my people to carry weapons?" Ironside asked.
"You must understand that this would be far too dangerous, not only for your officers, but also for mine: Our policemen know one another. But if they were to encounter somebody else with a gun in his hands, they wouldn't know if that somebody was a member of your staff or a criminal. They could kill your officers or get killed themselves because they hesitate. No, we can't take that chance."
Ironside and his team settled in a nice middle-class hotel in the centre of Davos Platz. Ironside had a suite with a bath. They used his living room as headquarters, as it was their biggest room.
They remained in contact with Heldstab and his staff.
Davos was considered as a 'Kreis', something like a small district by itself with the structure of a town. It consisted of the 'town' Davos: Davos Platz and Davos Dorf, and the surrounding little villages and homesteads.
Ironside studied the map thoroughly and traveled around in a rented car driven by one of his co-workers. The roads were covered with snow of course, but because of the deep temperatures – always below -10°Celsius or 10-15°Farenheid – they had a good grip, and Mark as well as Ed drove carefully. They tried to find the best places for road blocks and also the weak points of the infrastructure. Heldstab accepted some of their suggestions, like installing rolls of barbed wire between the villages of Frauenkirch and Glaris and on Wolfgang Pass, but he didn't want to go as far as to guard important facilities.
One evening while they were checking security in the congress center, they ran into professor Kurt Schwarz. He was an externally unimpressive young man of medium built with a small, intelligent face and a receding hairline. He knew why they were present, and he was grateful for their dedication.
After leaving him, Mark elbowed Ed in the ribs: "Hey man, that guy is only a couple years older than you, and look what he's achieved already! If you ever want to be somebody, you should start putting your mind into it!"
Ed straightened his back. Then he tilted his head slightly and out of his full height he answered jovially: "I'll wait until you are somebody so I can tell that I've seen your potential before you were famous!"
First Day of the Meeting
The participants of the congress arrived: some in their big limousines, others by airplane and taxi, some even by helicopter. The gentlemen bought Swiss watches and pocket knives at excessive prices. The beautiful ladies in their fur coats bought chocolate and savored the marvelous view from the mountain railways, but in their high heels they had trouble with the snow on the sidewalks and kept complaining about it.
Little Rebecca watched and marveled. She lived in modest conditions. The behavior of these rich, supposedly important people didn't impress her at all. "There's no difference. Any man or woman or child is equally important. The only difference is that some know it and others don't," she concluded philosophically.
The night of the opening of the congress hundreds of guests poured into the congress centre. Ironside tried to monitor their comings and goings, but the entrance door was large enough to allow several people to enter at the same time, and the control by uniformed police officers was a farce. Eve, Ed and Mark were circulating around in the big foyer, Rebecca stayed with the Chief to serve as a messenger if need be.
As supporting programme, the 'Buendner Youth Symphony Orchestra' would play. The young people with their instruments and their fresh faces were easily distinguishable from the participants of the forum: They were clad in simple black pants or skirts and white shirts or blouses. Some of them looked rather nervous, others seemed to look forward to their big appearance. A young man of about twenty-two with a viola was courting a pretty violinist who looked no more than seventeen. Then entered a man in his early thirties, his black suit rather shabby around the elbows, without an instrument but with a briefcase and a music stand under his right arm. Ironside thought that this might be the conductor of the orchestra. "Rebecca, ask him what they are going to play tonight!" he ordered in a low voice.
Tiny as she was she was able to slip between people. The conductor seemed to be pleased about the child's interest.
"They are only going to play as start of the opening," Rebecca reported. "It's Mozart: The 'Haffner' symphony, KV 385. The conductor is very proud because he was able to find the original combination of instrumentalists to perform it. His musicians aren't professionals, you must know, but the best young amateurs to be found in the whole canton – province - , he says. The symphony will last about twenty minutes."
Ironside nodded. The organization of the music looked more professional than the security…
Suddenly the Chief saw him: The man with the trombone case. There was no trombone in the original arrangement of the Haffner symphony. Anything could be in that trombone case…anything but a trombone…
(*FF story 'WHN Return to Fiji')