[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Bormann stared at him.Jaeger had just finished his phone call to Mayr and also stood watching.'There are so many rumours we have to check.It is wartime.' he rambled.'Gruber!' Bormann's voice dripped sarcasm.'I could have told you myself it is wartime.We all labour under that same handicap but we still do our duty.''A specific group, I mean, Gruber,' Hartmann persisted gently.'They could be saboteurs - in which case you may have discovered explosives.They could be spies - in which case your signals section may have detected unauthorized radio transmissions.They could be subversives - in which case you may have found anti-Nazi propaganda.Well?'Even Bormann felt a grudging admiration for the way the Abwehr officer was spearing Gruber to the wall.Gruber sucked in a deep breath, his palms moist with sweat as he replied.'We know of no such group,' he snapped.'Obviously these assassins came into the city from a long distance, rescued the Englishman and departed.''Obviously!' roared Jaeger.'How could they be sure when Lindsay would escape? He has been inside Germany for some time - and most of that time he was at the Wolf's Lair! Clearly these men have been waiting inside Munich for him to make his break - and the Gestapo hadn't an idea they existed! Criminal incompetence!''I shall report that slander to Reichsfuhrer Himmler, blazed Gruber.'Your remark verges on treason.'So!' Jaeger made a contemptuous gesture.'While you enjoy a cosy chat with Himmler I will devote my energies to tracking down not only the Englishman — but also we will scoop up in our net this trio of subversives and spies who have been operating under your nose!'Only Hartmann observed the smug satisfaction on Bormann's face.Divide and neutralize the power of all potential rivals.He sat motionless as Gruber and Jaeger glared at each other and Bormann intervened, his tone of voice now reasonable and soothing.'I do agree that Colonel Jaeger's plan for sealing off the Swiss border sounds reasonable.On the other hand, I am sure with all the resources at its disposal the Gestapo has a major contribution to make.This meeting is adjourned.'The three men walked out of the room, leaving Hartmann alone.Standing up, he crouched over the large-scale map Jaeger had spread on the table.A solitary man, Hartmann had developed the habit of murmuring to himself to clear his mind.'The last thing anyone would expect would be for Lindsay and his rescuers to move from Munich to Salzburg.After all, Lindsay has just left Salzburg.It depends on how good their intelligence is.'He used his pipe stem to trace the route from Munich to Salzburg and let it continue on.The next destination was Vienna.'Now, Wing Commander Lindsay, you are safe - you fit the description we have been given,' Paco told him.They had also exchanged the quaint password Browne had provided in London.'And if I hadn't?' Lindsay enquired.'I would have 'strangled you.It is quieter and saves bullets.'The man who had acted as chauffeur gave this morale-raising reply.Paco, who seemed to command the group, turned on him.'You will not talk like that again to our guest.He is a very important man.The nephew of a British duke.Half an hour had passed since Lindsay was bundled into the Mercedes and taken on the mad drive through Munich which ended inside a garage.A concealed door inside a cupboard at the back of the garage led to a staircase which they had descended to a basement - a large room with two double-tiered bunks against separate walls.Once the concealed door had been closed - it was made of sheet steel faced with heavy wood so no amount of tapping inside the garage would have produced a hollow sound - Paco introduced her companions.'This,' she said, indicating the hard-faced `chauffeur', 'is Bora.He speaks good English.Shake hands, Bora.'He was as tall as Lindsay, about thirty years old, his eyes were hostile and the Englishman instantly disliked him.Fortunately he had the foresight to stiffen his hand because Bora had a grip like a wrestler's and exerted full pressure.`Do behave, Bora,' Paco said softly.'I saw that.'Bora is the name of a strong dry wind which blows up the Adriatic,' Lindsay observed.'Now you know why we gave him that code-name.' She turned to the second man - maybe forty years old with a weather-beaten face and a humorous glint in his shrewd eyes.'This is Milic.He also speaks English, but do not expect perfection.''Milic is most pleased to meet the Englishman.the girl bulleted by the Nazi was very close friend?''He means, Paco interjected in her direct manner, 'were you in love with her.Were you?''No,' Lindsay said tersely.'But I think she was in love with you,' Paco continued.She had a soft, appealing voice which contrasted strangely with her poise, the erect way she held herself.Her slow-moving, wary eyes watched him closely.'It was a tragedy,' Lindsay replied.'There is so often one who loves, one who is loved - I think your writer, Somerset Maugham, said something like that.' She changed the subject abruptly.'I will tell you a little about myself.'Paco - it was a code-name - was twenty-seven years old.She had been born of an English mother and a Serbian father, a professor of languages at Belgrade University.Educated at the Godolphin, an English boarding-school, she had gone on to a Swiss finishing-school and then returned to Yugoslavia.She was fluent in English, German and Serbo-Croat.'When Hitler bombed Belgrade both my parents were killed.In one night I became an orphan.No need for sympathy, Wing Commander - it has happened to so many in England also.I joined the Partisans.In Yugoslavia it is almost as common for a woman to carry a gun as a man.And my German is useful - it allows me to operate inside the Third Reich.'You must have contact with London,' Lindsay suggested.'There is a limit to what you need to know,' Paco said brusquely.'But a little information about the people your life now depends on - and equally whose lives may depend on you at a critical time - will help us to work as a team.You know, Wing Commander, I have to point out you are a novice at this dangerous game.''I did escape from the Berghof,' Lindsay snapped.'True.' Her greenish eyes surveyed him.'I do findthat a most promising omen for the future.' She became stern again.'Bora.He has killed many Germans and trusts no one.His wife was killed in the bombing the same night as my parents died.But I think he found his natural vocation as a fighter.You would not believe it - he was a furniture-maker, carving fine chairs
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]