Angel Rising, page 22
part #6 of Anna Fehrbach Series
‘You are a bastard.’ The strapping was finished, and the pain, if still severe, seemed to be under control. Anna stood up, towelled herself. ‘But thank God you’re a bastard. And today?’
‘When you left the hotel, we followed. We had to keep out of sight of Andrews, who was also following you.’
‘He was supposed to be looking after me,’ Anna said. ‘But he lost me.’
‘I figured that. We passed him coming back. They didn’t recognize us. We had no idea where you were, but then we got a radio call from one of our two stakes-out that you had just entered this property. So we came on here, considered the situation, and decided on executive action.’
‘Even if you knew I was doing something for the Yanks?’
‘Call it a gut feeling. There were three men in the car with Andrews. That is not ordinary surveillance. That is a back-up squad. So they were expecting you to run into trouble. Then there was that shoot-out, night before last. It seemed to me that you were operating in pretty dicey conditions. I was sent here to bring you back on two legs, not in a box.’
‘And thank God for that. You mean Baxter approved this?’
‘Baxter doesn’t know about it yet.’
‘Ah! And how did you get through that electrified fence?’
‘We had to cut it. That was the most tricky part of the entire operation.’
‘And that’s when the lights went out.’ She put on the knickers he had found. ‘Show me these dressing gowns.’
He helped her into the next bedroom. ‘Now you tell me exactly what you were doing here.’
‘I’ll take the green,’ Anna decided. ‘I told you, I was locating Bormann.’
‘The CIA sent you to kill him?’
‘No. They wanted him in Nuremberg. I was grinding my own axe.’
‘And now . . .’
‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘We have some things to sort out.’
*
‘Senorita?’ The reception clerk peered at Anna; Clive’s two assistants had dropped them off before disappearing – only two, for all of Ohlmann’s hysterical exaggeration. ‘Oh, senorita!’
‘I know,’ Anna agreed. ‘Another accident. I seem to be prone.’
‘Anna?’ Joe Andrews had been seated on the far side of the lobby. ‘What the sh— hell is going on? Where have you been? In a dressing gown? And . . .’ He gazed at Clive.
‘Just protecting my property, old buddy.’
Two other clerks had by now turned up behind the counter, intrigued by the exchanges.
‘I don’t think it is something we need to discuss in public,’ Anna said. ‘And I need to lie down.’
Andrews peered at the bandaged foot. ‘You’re hurt!’
‘Nice of you to notice. We’ll go up to my room.’ She turned to the clerks. ‘Senors, I have not had any lunch. Kindly have a full meal, for three, sent up. And two bottles of Freixenet. No, make that three.’
They rode up in the lift, Andrews glowering, Clive smiling, and Anna still trying to work out how to handle the situation. ‘This room,’ she announced, as the door closed behind them, ‘is becoming an absolute haven of peace and tranquillity. I aim to keep it that way.’ She discarded the borrowed dressing gown, and then the gun belt as well. ‘I’m becoming quite fond of this little chap.’
‘You mean . . . Bormann . . .’
Anna lay on the bed with a sigh. ‘Bormann is dead. I warned you that might happen. He is dead along with . . .’ She looked at Clive.
‘There were only the two chaps outside and one inside. And the dogs, of course. Pity about the dogs. There was another chap, but he got through the steel door. Did you . . .?’
‘Yes,’ Anna said. ‘Along with eight of his cohorts, Joe. I think you can say that this particular Nazi cell has been wiped out.’
‘You . . . nine men?’
‘Of course not. One was a woman. And I was only responsible for four. Two were internal affairs. And Clive’s lot did for the other three. And the dogs. As you say, Clive, sad about the dogs, they were splendid animals.’
‘Fuck the dogs,’ Andrews shouted. ‘I want to know what happened.’
Anna got up and put on her own dressing gown, peered at herself in the mirror. If there was still a faint aroma of petrol and wine, at least she did not seem to have accumulated any new bruises, apart from her ankle. What she really felt like was a couple of aspirins to ease the pain, but as that might also dull her brain, she supposed it would have to keep. ‘Well, then, sit down and I’ll tell you.’
She was in the middle of her account when lunch arrived, a four course meal distributed over three trolleys, with the required three bottles of wine. Marshalling the three waiters was Manuelo, whose eyes as always rolled as he discovered Anna in her dressing gown, although he was distinctly disgruntled to discover that she was intending to share the meal with two men while in such a state of dishabille.
‘Isn’t he sweet?’ Anna asked. ‘Let’s eat. And drink.’
Which they did while she finished her story. ‘You realize you could be in deep shit,’ Andrews remarked when she had finished. ‘Your instructions were to locate Bormann. Nothing more.’
‘I warned you that there might have to be more,’ Anna reminded him. ‘And what was I supposed to do, sit there and let him burn my pussy?’
‘From what you have just told me, you were going to be rescued anyway.’
‘I didn’t know that, did I? And even when I knew someone was there, I couldn’t be sure they’d get to me in time. It was Gutemann set the rescue ball going, from my point of view.’
‘Why don’t you admit it, Anna? From the very beginning you were determined to kill Bormann, regardless of your instructions from us.’
‘Well,’ Anna conceded, drinking wine. ‘I did have that in mind. But he made my mind up for me.’
‘And like I said, you have probably landed us all in the cart.’
‘Not if we act promptly,’ Clive pointed out. ‘Those fellows kept themselves so much to themselves that I would say their bodies are unlikely to be found for a day or two, and it’s going to take the local police a lot longer than that to connect what happened to us, if they ever can. I have a plane standing by at the airport; Anna and I can be out of here tonight. I recommend you do the same.’
‘You’ve lost the plot,’ Andrews remarked. ‘Anna works for us.’
‘She has carried out this highly dangerous assignment for you. With no help from you. Be satisfied.’
‘I don’t think you understand the plot at all,’ Andrews said, and looked at Anna.
‘You remind me of two schoolboys squabbling over a toy,’ Anna commented. ‘Only you are grown men, and I am not a toy. However, Clive, you must understand that when I realized I had to leave England, Joe was my only way out, and he is right to say that I did take on a commitment.’
‘You did not have to leave England, Anna. You could have come to us . . .’
‘And you would have protected me from the law? Do you think you could possibly have done that?’
‘Well . . . we would have done our best.’
‘Not good enough, with my life at the end of it. And whatever your intentions, had I come to you I would have had to face a trial . . .’
‘You shot those men in self-defence. Didn’t you?’
‘Yes, I did. But I would still have had to stand trial, and while I was doing so the MGB would have known exactly where to find me.’
‘We would have protected you.’
‘In a society where you are not allowed to shoot first, even if you know the other guy is a killer on the job? You weren’t too good at protecting me in London in 1940, as I recall. I had to take care of those three Gestapo thugs myself.’
‘We let you get away with it.’
‘Because you were already at war with Germany. Unfortunately, you are not at war with the Soviet Union. Or do you have plans for that?’
‘Touché,’ Andrews commented. He had been following the exchange with amused interest.
‘So you are turning your back on England,’ Clive said bitterly. ‘And me.’
‘The last thing I want to do is to turn my back on you, Clive. England, now, they are going to have to prove that they haven’t turned their backs on me.’
‘And your parents?’
Anna frowned. ‘Just what are you saying?’
‘Don’t get agitated. Their safety is guaranteed. But if you’re not coming back to England, you won’t be able to see them.’
‘I’ll have to make arrangements for them to join me when I’m settled somewhere else.’
‘You mean somewhere in America.’
‘That seems likely.’
‘Working for the CIA.’ His tone was more bitter yet.
‘I’m afraid so,’ Anna said. ‘When the second half of our initial agreement is completed. I hope you remember that, Joe.’
‘Sure I remember that. Just as soon as it can be done.’
‘Uh-uh. The deal was, I deliver Bormann, you help me complete my private business.’
It was Clive’s turn to look from face to face. ‘I seem to have missed something.’
‘Nothing to do with you, old buddy.’
But Anna had been thinking, during the discussion. She still could not bring herself entirely to trust Joe, and certainly his employers, who, as he had suggested, might well take the view that she had exceeded her instructions. Whereas Clive, whatever the limitations imposed on him by Baxter and Baxter’s bosses, was at bottom, she was certain, one hundred per cent on her side. So she said, ‘It’s a small matter of ten million dollars I’m keen on reclaiming.’
Clive stared at her in consternation. ‘What? You have . . .?’
‘Now wait a minute,’ Joe protested. ‘We agreed—’
‘That you would give me all the assistance I need to get that money, providing I agreed to work for you, and handed over the rest. However, if you haven’t already guessed, it’s not something you and I can do on our own. So I’m recruiting.’
Clive was still trying to get his facts straight. ‘You have ten million dollars waiting to be picked up? You mean in that Swiss bank account? I hadn’t realized it was that much.’
‘The money in that account doesn’t belong to me. This is something different.’
He gazed at her for several seconds, then snapped his fingers. ‘The gold reserves. You know where they are.’
‘I put them there.’
‘Holy hell! But only ten million?’
‘That’s my share. And that is somewhere else. As you will have gathered, I need help to get it. Once we’ve done that, I’ll tell you where the main body is.’
‘Now, hold on,’ Joe said. ‘That was a deal between you and Uncle Sam.’
‘No,’ Anna said. ‘That I’d find Bormann was the deal with Uncle Sam. Recovering my nest egg was a deal between you and me. Well, I’ve found Bormann for you. Now I want my half of the deal.’
‘Half? What about the rest?’
‘So I agreed to work for the CIA. I won’t renege on that. But the contract doesn’t begin until I get my money.’
He looked at Clive, who grinned at him. ‘There are those who would say the contract has been rendered void by bringing in MI6.’
‘I’m not bringing in MI6. I’m bringing in Clive as my back-up. I’ve an idea he may be slightly more useful than Jerry Smitten.’
Joe grimaced. ‘I’m going to have to clear this with Washington.’
‘No way. This is a private deal.’
‘They already know of it. I had to tell them.’
‘And they gave you the go ahead, providing I got Bormann. Now they have to deliver their side of the bargain. I’m not asking them to help, except maybe in smoothing the ground. I don’t want them getting involved.’
‘And you think the three of us can pull it off?’
‘That depends. Are either of you any good at underwater stuff?’
‘You are saying that the bullion was dumped under water?’
‘Only my share.’
Again Joe looked at Clive.
‘I can raise a couple of divers.’
‘Who’ll want a cut.’
‘Who will be employed on a contract,’ Anna said. ‘To recover certain items from the bottom of a river.’
‘And you don’t think, when they discover just what these items are . . .’
‘No,’ Anna said, ‘I do not think they will try anything. I hope they do not.’
Joe gulped. ‘The guys who originally put it there . . .’
‘Are both dead.’
‘And the guys who helped you put away the main stuff?’
‘Are also dead.’
‘Holy shit! You did all of that?’
‘I had a little help.’
‘And?’
‘He is also dead.’
‘Great God Almighty.’
‘But I did not kill him,’ Anna said. ‘He was shot by the Russians when we were trying to escape from Berlin.’
‘He wasn’t Edert, then.’
‘Joe, you tell me that Edert is still alive.’
Joe again looked at Clive. ‘You happy with all this?’
‘What he means,’ Clive said, ‘is, are we going to be alive after we have recovered your money?’
‘You’re my partners,’ Anna said. ‘My lovers. But we’ll need a little more help than a couple of divers. I’ll tell you when we’re on our way.’
*
They wheeled the trolleys out.
‘What happens now?’ Joe asked.
‘You give me time to get dressed and pack, and then I think we should get out of here. We want to be well out of the country before anyone calls on that villa. I assume you have transport standing by?’
‘I came down by scheduled flight,’ Andrews said.
‘Then I think your best bet is to come with us.’
‘Seems to me you guys are calling the shots,’ he complained.
‘As of now, I am calling the shots,’ Anna said. ‘I assume this plane of yours will get us back to Europe, Clive?’
‘It will. By a somewhat roundabout route.’
‘That’s right,’ Joe said. ‘We have to go via the States first.’
‘No chance,’ Anna said,.
‘I have to report on this Bormann business.’
‘Joe, until, you arrived here yesterday, you had no idea how close I was to getting to Bormann. All you, and therefore your superiors know is what was in my telegram, that I had lost contact with my target. No one can expect me, and therefore you, to have picked up the trail again so rapidly. You can be back in the States in another week, and explain what happened then. I’m sure Clive won’t object to your getting the kudos.’
‘Be my guest,’ Clive said. ‘I’m not supposed to be here, anyway.’
‘So let’s move it. I’ll be ready in half an hour. There isn’t that much to pack. You owe me two complete new outfits, one dinner gown and one sundress.’
‘You didn’t lose that fur?’ He was anxious.
‘No I did not. So if you gentlemen . . .’
‘No packing,’ Clive said.
‘What?’
‘From what you told me, the police aren’t entirely happy with your account of what happened the other night. And again from what you told me, they ascertained that you would be here for at least the next few weeks. If you check out now, you can bet your bottom dollar that the hotel staff will feel obliged to inform them.’
‘But who will pay the bill?’
‘If that really bothers you, you can send them a cheque.’
Anna looked at Joe, who shrugged. ‘Makes sense.’
‘But . . . you mean, abandon all of these new clothes? Abandon my sable? I’ve only ever worn it once, on the flight down here.’
‘Shit!’ Joe commented.
‘Anna,’ Clive said patiently. ‘When we get hold of your money, if it really is ten million dollars, you will be able to buy yourself a dozen sable coats. Now, I think we get out, while everyone is having a siesta.’
*
‘Lavrenty,’ Josef Stalin said, regarding his chief of police from benevolently sleepy eyes. ‘How good of you to come up to see me, at such short notice. I know how busy you are, but I need your help. I do not understand this report. I would be so grateful if you could explain it to me.’
Beria lowered himself into the chair before the desk, situated in the Premier’s private office in the Kremlin. Although he would have admitted it to no one, he was apprehensive. He regarded himself as indispensable to his master, and even a friend: he had stayed with him at his dacha in the Crimea, had taken tea with him and his children in an atmosphere of the utmost relaxed geniality. But he also knew that this man, after no doubt a pleasant interview, had condemned one of his predecessors to death by simply ringing a bell. Just as he knew that the kindly old gentleman now smiling at him had similarly condemned something like ten million people to death during his twenty-odd years of power, and that did not include those killed, or executed, or simply worked to death, during the recent war. Stalin’s views on humanity were expressed in one of his own sayings, that one death is a tragedy, a thousand is a statistic.
Thus it was necessary to choose his words with care. ‘I have to confess that I do not understand it myself. I am still seeking answers.’
‘From Major Kovotnov? Or the embassy?’
‘Both. But they are as confused as I. Kovotnov piloted the plane that took Kamarov and his squad to Brazil. He was instructed to wait for them until they were ready to come home, but that they would not be longer than three days. When the third day had elapsed and he had heard nothing from them, he approached the embassy. But as the mission was entirely secret, and, frankly, illegal, we had not advised the embassy of it, only that the aircraft was on a goodwill visit to Brazil. They had actually arranged for the crew to be entertained by the Brazilian air force. However, when Kovotnov returned there on the third day, he felt obliged to confide in the ambassador, whereupon the ambassador virtually ordered him to leave Brazil immediately. It seems that he had been visited by the police, who were investigating the mysterious deaths of five men on a lonely road outside of the city.’
