“You think he is ready to leave?”
Ludwig pondered the question for a moment. Vierhaus had recruited the colonel from the SD, the intelligence department of the SS, where he was considered too tall to be an effective field agent. It was an unfortunate loss to the SD for Ludwig was one of the shrewdest men Vierhaus had ever met. He was an honor graduate from the university in Berlin and an excellent judge of character. Vierhaus had put him in charge of training— or eliminating —the agents Vierhaus recruited and Ludwig had devised a program which was both physically and mentally exhausting, designed to break the toughest of men.
“Perhaps,” Ludwig said finally. “Perhaps a little longer. Just to make sure he’s perfect. After all, we originally planned the course for one year. It has only been seven months.”
“There is no rush,” Vierhaus said. “Any task, understand Ludwig,
“Cold as an iceberg. Nothing bothers him. He survived three weeks alone in the mountains and we set him loose with nothing but his weapons. I honestly believe he
“Weapons?”
“A remarkable marksman and he wields a knife like a circus performer. The Okinawan, Ashita, says Swan is the best jujitsu student he has ever had. The man has hands of iron.”
“Will he kill if the time comes?”
“In the blink of an eye. He would kill his own mother if it were expedient.”
“Interesting. And you think he will follow orders, this loner?”
“He will do whatever is necessary to complete his mission. Quite simply, he has turned himself into a machine.”
“And those things you cannot teach a man?”
“He is sly, wily, quick, dangerous. An adroit liar. And like I said, quite an actor. He is just paranoid enough to be properly cautious. And as you can see, not only an expert skier, but absolutely fearless. Quite a find,
“And the other one? Kraft?”
“He has his specialties. A quiet killer that one, but not as versatile as Swan. He is almost as good in some areas.”
“How canny is he, Ludwig?”
“Canny? Not in a class with Swan. Let me give you an example. We had an exercise—to blow up a warehouse which was very heavily guarded. Three of the men were caught trying to invade the building but as far as we could tell, Swan never went near the place. Then he came to me and told me to get the guards out of the place, it was going to blow up. Two hours later, boom! It was gone. Pulverized!”
“How did he do it?”
“A rat bomb.”
“Really?” Vierhaus said with surprise.
“You are familiar with the rat bomb?”
“I have heard of it,” Vierhaus said alter a moment.
“He crawled up the sewer line under the place and set the trap. He used Limburger cheese to make sure the rat would smell it. It worked like a charm.”
“Do any of the other trainees show Swan’s promise?”
Swan shot out of the thicket of pines at the foot of the mountain, leaning forward on bent knees to keep up his speed, moving soundlessly toward them.
“Does he scare you, Ludwig?” Vierhaus asked casually.
Colonel Ludwig smiled and shook his head. “Nobody scares me, Professor, I am beyond that. No, I marvel at him. He was only here a week and I realized he could bypass desensitization training. My God, he could teach it! He is the perfect SD officer. What the Fuhrer
“Would you like to go up against him?”
Ludwig stared quizzically at Vierhaus for a moment or two before he nodded slowly.
“Does he learn from his mistakes?”
“Swan does not make mistakes.”
“What are his weaknesses, Ludwig?’’
“His only weakness that I can determine is impatience. When he learns something he means to test himself immediately.”
“Hmm. That could be a serious problem. This man may be undercover for years before he is activated.”
“Then you will have to find other ways to keep him occupied. He has a taste for danger.”
