Bernie, absorbed in a different crime? And then oddly enough, he realized he was already where he needed to go. Don’t forget whose uniform you have on. The cavalry was just down the street, scratching at a bandage.
Breimer had joined Shaeffer for dinner, the two of them sitting with trays on their laps. Jake stopped halfway through the door.
“What?” Shaeffer said, reading his face.
“I need to see you.”
“Shoot. We don’t have any secrets, do we, congressman?”
Breimer looked up expectantly, fork in hand.
“Sikorsky has him,” Jake said.
“Has who?” Breimer said.
“Brandt,” Shaeffer answered absently, without looking at him. “How do you know?”
“He met Tully at the airport. Liz took a picture-no mistake. Sikorsky’s had him all along.”
“Fuck,” Shaeffer said, pushing away the tray.
“That’s what you thought, isn’t it?” Breimer said to him.
“I thought ‘might.’”
“Well, now you know,” Jake said. “Has.”
“Great. Now what do we do?” Shaeffer said, not really a question.
“Get him back. That’s your specialty, isn’t it?”
Shaeffer looked up at him. “It would be nice to know where.”
“Moscow,” Breimer said. “The Russians don’t have to go through the damn State Department to get things done-they just do it. Well, that’s that,” he said, leaning back. “And after all we—”
“No, he’s in Berlin,” Jake said.
“What makes you say that?”
“They’re still looking for his wife. Brandt’s no good to them if h^e won’t cooperate-they want to keep him happy.”
“Any suggestions?” Shaeffer said.
“That’s your department. Put some men on Sikorsky. It’s just a matter of time before he goes visiting.”
Shaeffer shook his head, thinking. “That might be a little unfriendly.”
“Since when did that stop you?”
“You boys don’t want to go starting anything,” Breimer said unexpectedly. “Now that we’re in bed again.” He picked up the Stars and Stripes on the windowsill. Russia joins war on japs. “Just in time for the kill, the bastards. Who asked them?” He put his fork down, as if the thought had ruined his appetite. “So now we play nicey-nicey and they’d just as soon slit your throat as look at you. If you ask me, we picked the wrong fight.”
Jake looked at him, disturbed. “Not if you read the Nordhausen files,” he said. “Anyway, maybe you’ll get another chance.”
“Oh, it’s coming,” Breimer said, ignoring Jake’s tone. “Don’t you worry about that. Godless bastards.” He looked over at Shaeffer. “But meanwhile you’d better keep the cowboy stuff to a minimum, I guess. MG’ll be bending over for the Russians now.” He paused. “For a while.”
“It’s no good anyway,” Shaeffer said, still thoughtful. “We can’t tail Sikorsky. They’d pick it up in a minute.”
“Not if you had the right tail,” Jake said, leaning against the bookshelf, arms folded.
“Such as?”
“I know a German who knows him. Professional. He might be interested, for a price.”
“How much?”
“A persil”
“What’s that?” Breimer said, but nobody answered. Instead, Shaeffer reached for a cigarette, staring at Jake.
“I can’t promise that,” he said, flicking his lighter. “My signature doesn’t mean shit. He’d have to work on spec. Of course, if he actually located Brandt—”
“You’d find a better signature. I’ll ask.”
“You’re talking about hiring a German?” Breimer said.
“Why not? You do,” Jake said.
Breimer’s head snapped back, as if he’d been slapped. “That’s an entirely different matter.”
“Yeah, I know, reparations.”
“You don’t want to get mixed up with Germans,” Breimer said to Shaeffer. “FIAT’s an American operation.”
“Suit yourself,” Jake said. “Somebody’s got to get to Sikorsky__ he’s the only lead we’ve got.“
Shaeffer looked at him through the smoke, not saying anything.
“Well, you guys think it over,” Jake said, moving away from the shelf, impatient. “You wanted me to find Brandt. I found him. At least how to find him. Now the ball’s in your court. Meanwhile, can I borrow some ammo?” He patted the gun. “Liz was fresh out. Same Colt, too,” he said to Shaeffer.
“I thought press weren’t allowed to carry arms,” Breimer said, missing the look between them.
“That’s before I started working for FIAT. Now I get nervous. I notice you carry one.” He nodded toward the bulge in Breimer’s pocket.
“For your information, this is going to a boy’s father in my district.”
Shaeffer opened the drawer to his nightstand, took out a box, and threw it to Jake.
“Careful you don’t shoot yourself with it,” Jake said to Breimer. “Hell of a way to lose an election.” He sat on the bed and fit the bullets into the gun, then snapped it closed. “There, that’s better. Now all I have to do is learn how to use it.”
Shaeffer, who’d been quiet, running the tip of his cigarette around the ashtray, now looked up. “Geismar, this isn’t going to work, you know.”
“I was kidding. I know how—”
“No, with Sikorsky. We’re not going to get anywhere with a tail, yours or ours. I know him. If he’s got Brandt stashed away, even his own men aren’t going to know where. He’s careful.”
“They must have their own Kransberg. Start there.”
Shaeffer looked down at the ashtray again, avoiding eye contact. “You have to bring her in.”
“Bring who in?” Breimer said.
“Geismar’s a friend of the wife’s.”
“Well, for Christ’s sake—”
“No,” Jake said. “She’s not going anywhere.”
“Yes, she is,” Shaeffer said quietly, jaw set. “She’s going to see her husband. And we’ll be right behind her. It’s the only way. We’ve been waiting for Brandt to come to her. Now the fun’s over. We have to give Sikorsky what he wants. It’s the only way to flush him out.“
“Like hell it is. When did you get this bright idea?”
“I’ve been thinking it over. There’s a way to work it, but we need her. You set it up with Sikorsky-or get your friend to do it, even better. That might be worth a persil. She goes to visit, we’ll have a team on her the whole time. There’s no danger to her, none. We get them both back. I guarantee it.”
“You guarantee it. With bullets all over the place. Not a chance. Think again.”
“No bullets. I said, there’s a way to work it. All she has to do is get us there.”
“She’s not bait. Got it? Not bait. She won’t do it.”
“She’d do it if you asked her,” Shaeffer said calmly.
Jake got up from the bed, looking from one to the other, both sets of eyes fixed on him. “I won’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“And risk her? I don’t want him back that much.”
“But I do,” Shaeffer said. “Look, the best way to do this is nicemakes for a better team effort. But it’s not the only way. If you won’t bring her in, I’ll do it myself.”
“After you find her.”
“I know where she is. Right across from KaDeWe. You think we didn’t watch you?” he said, almost
