NINE – The Devil’s Kingdom
1
Michael heard the train whistle. Was it retreating on the tracks, coming back at him for another race? If so, he knew it would beat him this time. His bones ached, and his head felt like a blister on the edge of bursting. The train’s whistle faded. He tried to look back over his shoulder, through the darkness, but could see nothing. Where was the moon? It had been there a moment before, hadn’t it?
There was a soft tapping sound. Then again. “Baron? Are you awake, sir?”
A man’s voice, speaking in German. Michael’s eyes opened. He was staring up at a ceiling of dark, varnished wood.
“Baron? May I come in, please?” The tapping was insistent this time. A doorknob turned, and a narrow door opened. Michael lifted his head, his temples throbbing. “Ah! You’re awake!” the man said with a pleasant smile. He was thin and bald, with a neatly trimmed blond mustache. He wore a pin-striped suit and a red velvet vest. Scarlet light glowed around him, as if he were standing on the rim of a blast furnace. “Herr Sandler wishes you to join him for breakfast.”
Michael sat up slowly. His head pounded like hell’s anvil, and what was that clacking racket? He remembered the blackjack; its blows must’ve unhinged his sense of balance as well as his hearing, because the entire room seemed to be gently rocking back and forth.
“Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes,” the man said, a cheerful announcement. “Would you prefer apple or grapefruit juice?”
“What is this place?” He realized he was on a bed. His shirt collar was open, his white bow tie unknotted, his shoes unlaced and on the floor. They looked as if they’d been freshly polished. The room-a cramped little chamber- held a brown leather chair and a table on which rested a white bowlful of water. Where the window should have been was a square of metal bolted down. He heard the train’s whistle again: a high, piercing note from somewhere far ahead. Well, he knew where he was now, and why the room was rocking, but where was the train headed?
“Herr Sandler’s waiting,” the man said. Michael saw movement behind him. In the corridor, where a curtained window let in a little crack of scarlet light, stood a Nazi soldier with a pistol.
What the hell was going on? Michael wondered. He decided it was prudent to play along. “I’ll have apple juice,” he said, and put his feet on the floor. He stood up carefully, testing his balance. His legs held him.
“Very good, sir.” The man-obviously a butler-started to leave.
“One moment,” Michael said. “I also want a pot of coffee. Black, no sugar. And three eggs; do you have those?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I want three eggs, still in their shells.”
The man’s expression indicated he didn’t register the request. “I beg your pardon?”
“Three eggs. Raw. In their shells. Is that clear?”
“Uh… yes, sir. Very clear.” He backed out the door, and closed it firmly.
Michael went to the square of metal and tried to hook his fingers underneath it. The thing wouldn’t budge, its bolts driven deep. He found a pull cord and yanked it, turning on a small light globe at the ceiling. A closet held his gray coat with the black velvet lapels, but no other clothes. He looked around. It was a Spartan room, a moving prison cell. Certainly the soldier outside the door was guarding him; were there more soldiers aboard? How far from Berlin were they? Where were Chesna and Mouse? He didn’t even know how much time had elapsed since the ambush, but he doubted that he’d been unconscious for more than a few hours. So if the sun was coming up, the Brimstone Club gathering had been last night. Had Sandler found what was left of his hawk? And if Michael was on his way to a Gestapo interrogation as a spy, then why had the butler still referred to him as “Baron”?
Questions, questions. None of them answerable yet. Michael walked two paces to the table, cupped water in his hands, and put it to his face. A clean white towel was folded next to the bowl, and he used it to dry his face. Then he cupped more water in his hands and lapped up a few swallows. A mirror hung on the wall nearby. Michael looked at his reflection. The whites of his eyes were a little bloodshot, but he bore no marks of the blackjack blows. With careful fingers he found the lumps on his skull, one just above his left temple and the other on the back of his head. The blows, either one of which could have killed him, had been delivered with restraint. Which meant Sandler-or someone else-wanted him alive.
His vision was still hazy. He would have to shake off the grogginess and do it fast because he had no idea what lay ahead of him. Back in the Reichkronen’s courtyard he’d made the error of letting his instincts falter. He should’ve picked up the fact that Sandler’s drunkenness was a sham, and he should have heard the man coming up behind him long before he did. Well, the lesson was learned. He would not underestimate Harry Sandler again.
He buttoned his collar and tied his white bow tie. No use going to breakfast looking unpresentable. He thought of the photographs he’d found in Colonel Jerek Blok’s suite, the ravaged faces of victims of some horrible testing program on Skarpa Island. How much did Sandler know about Dr. Hildebrand’s new project? Or about Iron Fist, and Frankewitz’s labors to paint bullet holes on green metal. It was time to find out.
Michael took the coat from the closet, put it on, checked his tie again in the mirror, and then took a deep, head-clearing breath and opened the door.
The soldier who’d been waiting outside instantly drew his Luger from its holster. He aimed it at Michael’s face.
Michael smiled tightly and lifted his hands. He waggled his fingers. “Nothing up my sleeves,” he said.
“Move.” The soldier motioned to his left with the gun, and Michael went along the swaying corridor with the soldier a few paces behind. The car held several other rooms that looked to be about the size of the one Michael had occupied. It wasn’t a prison train, Michael realized; it was too clean, the wooden walls polished and brass fixtures gleaming. Still, there was a musty scent in the air: the lingering aromas of sweat and fear. Whatever went on in this train, it wasn’t healthy.
A second soldier, also armed with a Luger, was waiting at the entrance to the next car. Michael was motioned to keep going, and he pushed through a doorway and found himself in luxury’s lap.
It was a beautiful dining car, with walls and ceiling of dark rosewood and a red and gold Persian carpet on the floor. A brass chandelier hung from above, and along the walls were brass carriage lamps. Beneath the chandelier was a table covered with white linen, where Michael’s host sat.
“Ah! Good morning, Baron!” Harry Sandler stood up, smiling broadly. He appeared well rested and wore a red silk robe with his initials in Gothic script over his heart. “Please, join me!”
Michael glanced back over his shoulder. One of the soldiers had entered, and stood beside the door, Luger in hand. Michael walked to the breakfast table and sat down across from Sandler, where a place setting of dark blue china was arranged for him. Sandler returned to his seat. “I hope you slept well. Some people have difficulty sleeping on trains.”
“After the first couple of bumps, I slept like a baby,” Michael said.
Sandler laughed. “Oh, that’s great! You’ve kept your sense of humor. Very refreshing, Baron.”
Michael unrolled his napkin. He had plastic eating utensils, whereas Sandler’s were sterling silver.
“You never know how people will respond,” Sandler went on. “Sometimes the scenes are… well… unpleasant.”
“I’m shocked!” Michael said, with mock dismay. “Hit on the head in the middle of the night, shoved into a car’s trunk, dragged away God knows where to wake up on a moving train? Some people would call that unpleasant?”
“I fear it’s so. There’s no accounting for taste, is there?” He laughed again, but his eyes were cold. “Ah! Here’s Hugo, with our coffee!” The butler who had come to Michael’s room emerged from a door that must’ve led to a kitchen, and he brought two small silver pots and two cups on a tray. “This is my train,” Sandler said as Hugo poured the coffee for them. “A gift from the Reich. Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Michael glanced around. He’d already noticed that the windows were covered with metal shutters. “Yes, it is. But do you have an aversion to light?”
“Not at all! As a matter of fact, we need some morning sun, don’t we? Hugo, open these two.” He motioned to the windows on either side of their table. Hugo produced a key from his vest, inserted it into a lock beneath one window, and turned it. There was a soft click as the lock disengaged, and then Hugo opened the shutters with a hand crank. Dawn light streamed through the window. Hugo unlocked the second window and cranked the shutters open the same way, then he pocketed his key and went back to the kitchen. Michael sipped his coffee-black and
