The paths around the Neuersee were mostly deserted, just a couple of women with small children happily feeding the ducks. You must memorize the arrangements, Gert said, with the air of someone reading from a script. Your friend must be in the station buffet at Gorlitz at five oclock on Monday afternoon. He must wear workingmens clothes, with a blue scarf around his neck. He must not have a suitcase or bag of any kind. When a man asks him if he knows where the left luggage is he should say, Yes, but its easier to show you than explain, and walk out with that man. Understood?
Yes.
Then repeat what Ive just told you.
Russell did so.
Good. Now for your part. Your contact is in Kiel. Or in Gaarden, to be precise. You must be in the Germania Barits on the tram route to Wellingdorf, just outside the main entrance to the Deutsche Werke shipyardsat eight PM on Friday the tenth. With your
I made it clear to the comrade in Posen that I wouldn't collect your papers until I knew my friend was safe.
Gert gave an exasperated sigh. He will be in Czechoslovakia by Tuesday morning, Prague by the afternoon. You should hear from him that day. Either that, or some of our people have been captured or killed with him. And if that happens, we hope you will honor their memory by honoring the bargain.
Russell gave him a look. Lets hope it doesnt come to that.
Of course. Now, you will bring the papers back to Berlin, and then take them on to Prague as quickly as possible
I have to be in Berlin on that Sunday, Russell said.
It would be better if you traveled before that. The border guards tend to be less vigilant on a Saturday night.
Sorry, itll have to be Monday, Russell said. The Sunday was Pauls birthday.
Gert controlled himself with a visible effort. Very well, he agreed, as if hed made a huge concession.
And how do you suggest I carry them?
This was clearly in the script. We do not know how many papers there are. If it is a matter of a few sheets, they can be sewn into the lining of your coat or your jacket. If there are a lot, then that will not be possible. If they search you and your luggage they will probably find them. The best thing is not to be searched.
And how do I manage that?
You probably wont have to. They only search about one in ten, and foreigners very rarely. As long as you dont draw attention to yourself, everything should be fine. Now, once you reach Prague, you must check in to the Grand Hotel on Wenceslas Square. You will be contacted there. Is that clear? Now please repeat the details of your
Russell repeated them. What if no one approaches me on that day? he asked.
Then you return to Berlin. Any other questions? Gerts hands seemed to be writhing in his coat pockets.
He had none, or none that could be answered. At Bellevue Station they went their separate ways, Gert bounding up the stairs to the eastbound Stadtbahn platform, Russell ambling along the bank of the Spree to the kiosk beneath the Bellevue Schloss. He bought a cup of hot chocolate, took it to a riverside table, and watched a long train rumbling across the bridge to his left. Everything should be fine, he told himself in Gerts Bavarian accent. It was the
His next stop was the British Embassy. Rather than return for the car, he walked down the river to Kurfurstenplatz, and then along Zellenallee to the Brandenburg Gate and the western end of Unter den Linden. The queue outside the Embassy seemed longer than ever, the atmosphere inside the usual mix of irritation and self- righteousness. He asked to see Unsworth, and was shown up to his office. Once there, he admitted it was Trelawney-Smythe that he really wanted to see. But I didn't want to announce the fact in reception, he explained to Unsworth. I wouldn't put it past the Nazis to include an informer or two among the Jews.
Unsworth looked slightly shocked at the thought, but agreed to escort Russell to the MI6 mans door. Trelawney-Smythe looked startled to see him, and somewhat put out. I know why youre here, and the answer is no. We cannot make exceptions.
Russell sat himself down. I take it this rooms secure, he said.
We went over the whole building with a fine-tooth comb a few months ago, Trelawney-Smythe said proudly.
Russell looked up, half expecting to see a microphone hanging from the ceiling. How interested would the Admiralty be in the German Navys Baltic Fleet dispositions? he asked.
To his credit, Trelawney-Smythe didn't jump out of his seat. Instead, he reached for his pipe. Very, I should imagine. After all, if a ships in the Baltic it wont be in the North Sea.
Thats the conclusion I came to, Russell said. He smiled at the other man. Dont ask me how, but at some point in the next two weeks I should have my hands on those dispositions. Not to keep, mind you, and not for long. But long enough to copy them out.
Trelawney-Smythe lit his pipe, puffing vigorously out of the corner of his mouth.
A technique learned in spy school, Russell thought.
You would be doing a tremendous service to your country, the other man said in an almost torpid tone.
But not only for my country. Theres a price.
Ah. Trelawney-Smythes eyes narrowed. You want money, he said, with the air of a disappointed vicar.
I want you to make an exception, and come up with a visa for Eva Wiesner. And while youre at it, Id like an American passport.
That surprised the MI6 man. How on earth do you expect us to get you one of those?
Im sure youll have no trouble if you set your mind to it. I do have an American mother, you know, so its hardly a huge stretch.
Why do you want one?
Id have thought that was obvious. If theres a war in Europe, anyone with a British passport will be sent home. With an American passport I can stay.
Trelawney-Smythe puffed at his pipe, digesting the idea, and Russell watched the slight widening of the eyes as he appreciated the possibilitiesMI 6 would have a man in Germany once the war started!
Not that Russell had any intention of doing anything more for them, but they werent to know that.
In the next two weeks, you said.
Yes. But I want the visa for Eva Wiesner by Monday. That should give her time to arrange her exit visa, and she can travel with her daughters on Thursday. Theres no hurry about the passport, he added. So long as I have it before a war breaks out.
You must like this family, Trelawney-Smythe said, sounding almost human.
I do. The girls have only just lost their father, and theres no good reason why they should lose their mother as well. She left the communists twenty years ago, for Gods sake. Shes not going to start a revolution in Golders Green.
I hope not, Trelawney-Smythe said wryly. All right. I can get her a visa by Monday. The passport. . . . I cant promise anythingthe Yanks dig their heels in about the silliest thingsbut well do our best. You werent born in America, were you?
I was born in mid-Atlantic, if that helps. But on a British ship.
Probably not, then. He was sounding almost chummy now. If you come in on Monday morning Ill have the visa for you.
Ill see you then, Russell said, resisting the temptation to be churlish. On his way out he noticed that the reading room was empty, and took time to consult the Embassy atlas. Gorlitz was about two hundred kilometers southeast of Berlin, and about twenty from the Czech border. There were direct trains from Berlin, but they took most of the day and were probably checked as they neared the border area. If Albert got safely through the ticket barrier at this end hed probably be picked up at the other. Russell was going to have to take him in the car.
There were two obvious routes: He could stick to the old road or take the Silesian autobahn to just south of Kottbus, and join it there. He liked the idea of escaping Hitlers Germany by autobahn, but the old road, for reasons he couldn't explain, felt safer.
So, two hundred kilometerssay, three hours. Stick in an extra half-hour in case he had a puncture. If the car
