When he was finished, Harry said, “I knew that Rossi was bad news.”
Dillon’s phone sounded and Roper said, “No question, Sean, it’s Neustadt they’re aiming for. Everything all right with you? The extra man?”
“We’ll see.”
“I’m sure you will.” He switched off.
Dillon said, “Billy. You heard the story. I’m going to go in like a Vopo on a Cossack. It’s a good thing I speak German.”
“Which I don’t, but you need a gun, and I can wear one of these Vopo uniforms as well as you can.” Billy had that cold, pale smile on his face.
It was Harry who cut in. “We’d better get sorted, Dillon. We can’t leave Ferguson in the hands of these bastards. Anyway, I like the old sod. You and Billy do it. Billy’s come on a bit since you took him in hand. Right, Billy? Likes doing something because it’s the right thing to do.”
“I should say so.” Billy got up. “I’ll go and pack.” He smiled at Dillon. “This is getting to be a habit.”
At Farley Field, Dillon arrived to surprises. First of all, the presence of Hannah Bernstein. He said, “What in the hell are you doing here?”
“I speak German, Sean, and it’s my boss at the sharp end. I think I should be here.”
Then the Salter Rolls appeared and disgorged not only Billy, but Harry, both with hand luggage.
Dillon said, “What is this?”
“This German police thing. I’m going with you. I’ll stay back at base with the superintendent, if you want, but you always want to do it on your own. Well, this time you can’t. It’s too important.”
Dillon said, “Fine, just don’t get in the way.” He walked toward the Citation, and Lacey came out, dressed in anonymous flying overalls. “You know what we’re up to here?”
“The superintendent filled us in. You’ll notice we’ve sprayed over our RAF rondels. Don’t want anybody identifying us.”
“You know where we’re going?”
“Roper’s filled us in. Sean, this is something else. I mean, the general.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back, I swear it. I don’t want crew, just you and Parry. Board and I’ll see the quartermaster with Billy.”
The department’s quartermaster waited with his list.
“All loaded, Mr. Dillon. Walthers and Carswell silencers, three MP40 machine pistols.”
“That’s going back a bit.”
“I’ve checked, Mr. Dillon, and the police in the Holstein Heath area are rather old-fashioned. I would point out that the Schmeisser is still an extremely efficient weapon. Some stun grenades. Some smoke. That should do you in the present circumstances.”
“You know what they are?”
“Mr. Dillon,” the sergeant major said, “twenty-five years ago in the Grenadier Guards, I was trying to hunt you down in the IRA in South Armagh, and failed. I’m glad, because it means you’re here to save the general, who is one of the finest men I’ve ever known. Now, I’ll load these items for you, sir, and you’ll return them to me when you get back.”
Dillon walked out with Billy, who said, “Well, he’s got faith in you.”
“A lot of people do. It can be a burden, Billy. Come on, let’s go. We’re not saving the world; this time, we’re saving Charles Ferguson.”
He went up the Airstairs door, followed by Billy. Parry closed the door as they joined Harry and Hannah. A few moments later, the engines turned over on the Citation and it lifted up into the sky.
14.
CHARLES FERGUSON CAME back to the real world to find himself on a bed in a period-looking bedroom. The door was locked, and when he went to the window, the fall was at least a hundred feet down. It was immediately apparent that there was nowhere he could go. He was standing at the window, looking out, when the door opened. Derry Gibson came in.
“Ah, there you are, General. You look well.”
“Well, I’ve felt better. Where’s Rossi?”
“Busy elsewhere. You’ll have to compose yourself, the grand man you are. I’ll see you get some food.”
The door closed, and Ferguson looked out the window again, suddenly more alone than he’d ever felt.
At the same time, Rossi found his father in the Great Hall. The Baron was sitting by the fire, a drink at his hand.
Marco said, “Father, I think we should talk.”
“I think we should, too. Have you succeeded in your endeavor?”
“If you mean have I lifted Ferguson, yes. He’s here in the Schloss.”
“And you intend your purpose?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“And Dillon?”
“Hot on the trail.”
“And that’s what you want? A face-to-face confrontation?”
“Any time he likes.”
The Baron nodded. “I’ve given things a great deal of thought. I just don’t know if I agree.”
“It’s in motion, Father. Everything. I must see it through.”
“Must you? Unless I am mistaken, this is still Schloss Adler. I am still the Baron. Let me think about this, Marco. Me, your father.” And at that moment, the young SS
Hans Klein had gone in at the lowest end of the Schloss and found what he called the chamber entrance, a great grill overgrown by shrubbery. It was a legacy of German army engineering, when the Schloss had been used as a command headquarters and the whole drainage system had been modernized.
Klein lifted the grill, moved in and switched on his light. The concrete tunnel was dry, except for a steady stream of water down a center channel. Klein walked along one of the sides, reached a steel ladder and climbed up, raising the manhole cover at the top.
He emerged into a basement area that he knew well, filled with storage rooms and kitchen areas, gradually reaching up to the glories of the Great Hall. He often penetrated that far, when the Baron and Rossi were away. It always gave him a feeling of power.
Now, he hovered in the basement area, was aware of voices resonating, and withdrew and went back down the ladder. When he emerged into the wooded area, he replaced the grill, moved away, squatted down by a tree and called Kubel.
Afterward, Kubel spoke to Roper. “All systems go. His secret way into the Schloss works. When the Gulfstream landed, he saw Rossi, and four other men, one of them being supported between two others.”
“The General. Probably Newton and Cook holding him up, plus Derry Gibson.”
“That would make sense.”
“Are you going to be ready for us, Max? The right gear?”
“All here, so I won’t need help, which means security will be nice and tight. We’ll be ready, Roper, whenever your friends are.”
It was a couple of hours later that a key rattled in the door. Ferguson turned and Rossi came in, with Derry
