found another hotel last night after your brush with Yosef?'
Hauer nodded reluctantly.
'And you returned here because ...
'Because our distraught young husband decided to lie to me. He made
contact with the kidnappers on his own.'
Stern closed his eyes.
'Oh,'no,' Natten-nan groaned. 'Why?'
'Because he realized that any attempt to free Ilse by force might well
bring about her death. I believe that was the same position you took
back in Germany, wasn't it, Professor? Also because Ilse is regnant.'
Natterman's eyes widened.
'Is the boy mad?' Stern asked. 'Doesn't he know the kidnappers will
kill both him and his wife no matter what he does?'
'No. I don't believe he does. He thinks with his heart, not his head.'
'An often fatal mistake,' Stern said dryly.
'Ilse is pregnant?' Natterman murmured.
Hauer walked to the window and opened the drapes. Van Der Walt Street
looked as calm as the Kurfijrstendamm on an early Sunday morning.
In the corner of the room, Aaron Haber picked up Hans's loaded crossbow
and showed it to his fellow commandos, an amused smile on his face.
Stern motioned for him to put it down.
'What had you planned to do before we arrived, Captain?' Stern asked.
'Play bait? Tell the kidnappers you had the missing pages of the
Spandau diary and try to turn their trap inside out?'
Hauer grunted. 'That's about it.'
'A dangerous game.'
'The only one left.'
'Not quite,' said Stern. 'You're forgetting something.'
am?'
'I really have the missing pages. I would think they rate -us an
invitation to the Kidnapper's Ball, wouldn't you?'
Hauer's lips slowly spread into a smile.
Everyone froze as the telephone rang, faded.
'You answer it,' Stern advised.
Hauer darted between the beds and picked up the receiver.
Yes?'
'Captain!'
Hauer kept his eyes on Stern. 'Where are you?' he asked through
gritted teeth.
'I can't say,' Hans replied. 'I'm not sure, anyway. Captain, I've got
to have those missing diary pages. I made a mistake in leaving you, I'm
sorry. But these men really will kill Ilse unless they get all the
pages. They're insane!'
Hauer thought silently. 'But I don't have the pages,' he said at
length, still watching Stern.
'I know,' Hans said quickly. 'But you can find them.
You've got to! Go back to Germany! To the cabin! You can find them,
Captain, you must. It's simple police work!'
'Not so simple,' Hauer stalled. 'Not when I'm wanted for murder in
Germany.'
'They can fix that!'
Hauer sealed the mouthpiece with his palm and whispered to Stern.
'Phoenix wants the rest of the diary. Do I tell them I have it?'
Stern shook his head vehemently. 'They won't believe that. If you'd
really had the other pages, Hans would have found a way to steal them
before he went to the rendezvous.'
'Hurry!' said Hauer, wondering why he was asking this strange old
Israeli for answers anyway.
Stern jabbed his finger at Professor Natterman. 'He's got them.
Tell them the professor followed you and Hans to' South Africa, and that
he brought the missing pages with him.'
Hauer shook his head angrily, but he could think of nothing else to say.
'Hans?'
'I'm here!'
'Can the kidnappers hear me?'
'Yes!'
'Don't hurt the girl,' Hauer said slowly. 'Do you hear me? Do not hurt
the girl. Her grandfather is here with me, and he has what you want.'
AL@'
Hans gasped..
A new voice came on the line. 'Listen well, Captain Hauer,' said Smuts.
'You will send the old man to the same place as before, the Voortrekker
Monument. He must be there thirty minutes from now, alone, with the
missing pages. After we are satisfied that no copies exist, we will
release our prisoners. If you attempt to follow the vehicle that picks
up the professor, the driver will shoot him on the spot.'
Smuts's voice went cold. 'And you will never leave this country alive.
Do you understand?'
'Ja, ' Hauer growled.
The phone went dead.
Hauer whirled on Stern. 'Well, Herr Master-Spy, you've painted us into
some damned corner. They want the professor to deliver our last
bargaining chip to them, and'if we try to follow, they'll kill him.
Now three hostages will die instead of two.'
Stern smiled enigmatically. 'Captain, where is your imagination?'
Hauer flushed with anger. 'I try to be practical when lives are at
stake.'
'As do I,' Stern said calmly. 'But pragmatism alone is never enough.
You should know that, Captain. It is imagination that wins the day.'
'And what miracle does your imagination suggest for this problem?'
'A simple one.' Stern's eyes had settled on a bedfuddled Professor
Natterman. 'Does your granddaughter carry any pictures of you in her
handbag, Professor?'
Natterman looked mystified. 'I ... I don't believe so.'
'Well,' Stern said brightly, 'there it is.'
Hauer's eyes widened in comprehension.
Stern smiled. 'It's the perfect solution, Captain. I become the
professor.'
Hauer was shaking his head, but he knew that he had been trapped by a
