The Tightrope Men / The Enemy

by Desmond Bagley

  That led to another long discussion in which plans were hammered out and roles allocated. Kidnapping a man can be complicated. ‘What about Benson?’ asked Gregory. ‘Is he included in the deal?’

  ‘I rather think so,’ said Ogilvie. ‘I’m becoming interested in Benson. But the primary target is Ashton. If it ever comes to a choice between taking Ashton or Benson, then drop Benson.’ He turned to Michaelis. ‘How long do you need?’

  ‘If we use Plan Three we don’t need a house, and the closed van I can hire inside an hour. But I’ll have to go to Helsingborg or Malmo to arrange for the boat and that will take time. Say three days.’

  ‘How long to cross the strait to Denmark?’

  ‘Less than an hour; you can nearly spit across it. But someone will have to organize a receiving committee in Denmark.’

  ‘I’ll do that.’ Ogilvie stood up and said with finality, ‘Three days, then; and we don’t tell Cutler anything about it.’

  Three days later the operation began as planned and started well. The situation in Gamla Stan was becoming positively ridiculous: two of Cutler’s men were idling away their time in antique shops ready for the emergence of Ashton and Benson and unaware that they were being watched by a couple of Russians who, in their turn, were not aware of being under the surveillance of the department. It could have been a Peter Sellers comedy.

  Each of our men was issued with a miniature walkietalkie with strict instructions to stay off the air unless it was absolutely necessary to pass on the word. We didn’t want to alert the Swedes that an undercover operation was under way: if they joined in there’d be so many secret agents in those narrow streets there’d be no room for tourists.

  I sat in my car, strategically placed to cover the bridges leading from Gamla Stan to the central city area, and kept a listening watch. Ogilvie stayed in his room in the hotel next to the telephone.

  At ten-thirty someone came on the air. ‘Bluebird Two. Redbird walking north along Västerlånggatan.’ Ashton was coming my way so I twisted in my seat to look for him. Presently he rounded the corner and walked up the road next to the Royal Palace. He passed within ten feet of me, striding out briskly. I watched him until he turned to go over Helgeandsholmen by way of Norrbro, then switched on the car engine. Ahead I saw Larry slide out of his parking place and roll along to turn on to Norrbro. His job was to get ahead of Ashton.

  I followed behind, passing Ashton who was already carrying a tail like a comet, crossed Norrbro and did a couple of turns around Gustav Adolfs Torg, making sure that everything was in order. I saw Gregory leave his parking place to make room for Larry; it was important that Larry should be in the right place at the right time. Michaelis was reserving a place further west should Ashton have decided to go into town via the Vasabron. I switched on my transmitter and said to him, ‘Bluebird Four to Bluebird Three; you may quit.’

  At that point I quit myself because there was nothing left to do - everything now depended on Larry. I drove the short distance to the Grand Hotel, parked the car, and went to Ogilvie’s room. He was nervous under his apparent placidity. After a few minutes’ chat he said abruptly, ‘Do you think Godwin is up to it? He’s not very experienced.’

  ‘And he never will be if he’s not given the chance.’ I smiled. ‘He’ll be all right. Any moment from now he’ll be giving his celebrated imitation of an inexperienced KGB man. From that point of view his inexperience is an asset.’

  Time wore on. At twelve-thirty Ogilvie had smörgåsbord sent up to the room. ‘We might as well eat. If anything breaks you’ll be eating on the run from now on.’

  At five to one the telephone rang. Ogilvie handed me a pair of earphones before he picked up the receiver. It was Brent, who said, ‘Redbird is lunching at the Opera - so am I and so is everyone else concerned. He’s looking a bit jumpy.’

  ‘How did Godwin handle first contact?’

  ‘Redbird went into that corner bookshop on the Nybroplan. Godwin was standing next to him when he barked his shin on a shelf; Larry swore a blue streak in Russian and Redbird jumped a foot. Then Larry faded out as planned.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘Redbird wandered around for a bit and then came here. I saw him get settled, then signalled Larry to come in. He took a table right in front of Redbird who looked worried when he saw him. Larry has just had a hell of a row with a waiter in very bad, Russian-accented Swedish - all very noisy. Redbird is definitely becoming uncomfortable.’

  ‘How are the others taking it?’

  ‘The real Russians look bloody surprised. Cutler’s chap…wait a minute.’ After a pause Brent chuckled. ‘Cutler’s chap is heading for the telephones right now. I think he wants to report that the Russians have arrived. I think I’ll let him have this telephone.’

  ‘Stay with it,’ said Ogilvie. ‘Stick to Ashton.’ He replaced the receiver and looked up. ‘It’s starting.’

  ‘Everything is ready,’ I said soothingly. I picked up the telephone and asked the hotel operator to transfer my calls to Ogilvie’s room.

  We had not long to wait. The telephone rang and I answered. Cutler said, ‘Jaggard, there may be an important development.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said seriously. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘My man with Ashton seems to think the Russians are interested.’

  ‘In Ashton?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Oh. That’s bad! Where is Ashton now?’

  ‘Lunching at the Opera. Shall I put someone on to the Russian? There may be time.’

  Ogilvie had the earphone to his ear and shook his head violently. I grinned, and said, ‘I think not. In fact I think you’d better pull out all your men as soon as you can get word to them. You don’t want the Russians to know you’re on to Ashton, do you?’

  ‘My God, no!’ said Cutler quickly. ‘We can’t have the Embassy involved. I’ll do as you say at once.’ He rang off, seemingly relieved.

  Ogilvie grunted. ‘The man’s an idiot. He’s well out of it.’

  ‘It does clear the field,’ I said, and put on my jacket. ‘I’m going over to Gamla Stan for the beginning of the second act. If Larry does his stuff we should get a firm reaction from Ashton,’ I paused. ‘I don’t like doing it this way, you know. I’d much prefer we talk to him.’

  ‘I know,’ said Ogilvie sombrely. ‘But your preferences don’t count. Get on with it, Malcolm.’

  So I got on with it. I went to Gamla Stan and met Henty in a bar-restaurant in Västerlånggatan, joining him in a snack of herring and aquavit. He had been watching the flat, so I said, ‘Where’s Benson?’

  ‘Safe at home. His Russian is still with him but Cutler’s boy has vanished. Maybe Benson lost him.’

  ‘No. Cutler is no longer with us.’ I described what had happened.

  Henty grinned. ‘Something should break any moment then.’ He finished his beer and stood up. ‘I’d better get back.’

  ‘I’ll come with you.’ As we left I said, ‘You’re our Swedish expert. Supposing Ashton makes a break - how can he do it?’

  ‘By air from Bromma or Arlanda, depending on where he’s going. He can also take a train. He doesn’t have a car.’

  ‘Not that we know of. He could also leave by sea.’

  Henty shook his head. At this time of year I doubt it. There’s a lot of ice in the Baltic this year - the Saltsjön was frozen over this morning. It plays hell with their schedules. If I were Ashton I wouldn’t risk it; he could get stuck on a ship which didn’t move for hours.’

  The bone-conduction contraption behind my ear came to life. ‘Bluebird Two. Redbird by Palace heading for Västerlånggatan and moving fast.’ Bluebird Two was Brent.

  I said to Henty, ‘He’s coming now. You go on ahead, spot him and tag that bloody Russian. I don’t want Ashton to see me.’

  He quickened his pace while I slowed down, strolling from one shop window to the next. Presently there came the news that Ashton was safely back home, and then Henty came back with Larry
Godwin. Both were grinning, and Henty remarked, ‘Ashton’s in a mucksweat.’

  I said to Larry, ‘What happened?’

  ‘I followed Ashton from the Opera - very obviously. He tried to shake me; in fact, he did shake me twice, but Brent was able to steer me back on course.’

  Henty chuckled. ‘Ashton came along Västerlånggatan doing heel-and-toe as though he was in a walking race, with Godwin trying hard for second place. He went through his doorway like a rabbit going down a hole.’

  ‘Did you speak to him, Larry?’

  ‘Well, towards the end I called out, “Grazhdaninu Ashton - ostanovites!” as though I wanted him to stop. It just made him go faster.’

  I smiled slightly. I doubt if Ashton relished being called ‘citizen’ in Russian, especially when coupled with his English name. ‘The ball is now in Ashton’s court, but I doubt he’ll move before nightfall. Larry, go and do an ostentatious patrol before Ashton’s flat. Be a bit haphazard - reappear at irregular intervals.’

  I had a last word with Henty, and then did the rounds, checking that every man was in his place and the Russians were covered. After that I reported by telephone to Ogilvie. Larry caught up with me in about an hour. ‘One of those bloody Russians tackled me,’ he said. ‘He asked me what the hell I thought I was doing.’

  ‘In Russian?’

  ‘Yes. I asked him for his authority and he referred me to a Comrade Latiev in the Russian Embassy. So I got a bit shirty and told him that Latiev’s authority had been superseded, and if Latiev didn’t know that himself he was even more stupid than Moscow thought. Then I said I didn’t have time to waste and did a quick disappearing act.’

  ‘Not bad,’ I said. ‘It ought to hold Comrade Latiev for a while. Any reaction from the fiat?’

  ‘A curtain did twitch a bit.’

  ‘Okay. Now, if Ashton makes his break I don’t want him to see you - we don’t want to panic him more than necessary. Take over Gregory’s car, ask him what the score is, and send him to me.’

  It was a long wait and a cold wait. The snow came down steadily and, as darkness fell, a raw mist swept over Gamla Stan from the Riddarfjärden, haloing the street lights and cutting down visibility. I spent the time running over and over in my mind the avenues of escape open to Ashton and wondering if my contingency planning was good enough. With Henty there were six of us, surely enough to take out the two Russians and still keep up with Ashton wherever he went. As the mist thickened I thought of the possibility of taking Ashton there and then, but thought better of it. A quiet kidnapping in a major city is hard enough at the best of times and certainly not the subject for improvization. Better to follow the plan and isolate Ashton.

  It happened at ten to nine. Gregory reported Ashton and Benson on Lilla Nygatan moving south, and both had bags. Michaelis chipped in and said that both Russians were also on the move. I summoned up my mental map of Gamla Stan and concluded that our targets were heading for the taxi rank on the Centralbron, so I ordered the cars south ready to follow. More interestingly, on the other side of the Centralbron, in the main city, was Stockholm’s Central Railway Station.

  Then I ordered Michaelis and Henty, our best strong-arm men, to take the Russians out of the game. They reported that, because of the mist, it was easy and that two Russians would have sore heads the following morning.

  After that things became a bit confused. When Ashton and Benson reached the taxi rank they took separate cabs, Benson going over the Centralbron towards the railway station, and Ashton going in the dead opposite direction towards Södermalm. Larry followed Benson, and Brent went after Ashton. I got busy and ordered the rest of the team to assemble at the railway station which seemed the best bet under the circumstances.

  At the station I stayed in the car and sent in Henty to find out if Larry was around. He came back with Larry who got into the car, and said, ‘Benson bought two tickets for Göteborg.’

  They were heading west. From my point of view that was a relief; better west than east. I said, ‘When does the train leave?’

  Larry checked his watch. ‘In a little over half an hour. I bought us four tickets - and I got a timetable.’

  I studied the timetable and thought out loud. ‘First stop - Södertälje; next stop - Eskilstuna. Right.’ I gave a ticket each to Gregory and Henty. ‘You two get on that train: spot Ashton and Benson and report back by radio. Then stick with them.’

  They went into the station, and Larry said, ‘What do we do?’

  ‘You and I lie as low as Br’er Rabbit,’ I turned to Michaelis. ‘Scout around in the station and see if you can spot Ashton. Make sure he’s on that train when it leaves, then come back here.’

  He went away and I wondered how Brent was getting on. Presently Gregory radioed in. ‘We’re on the train - spotted Redbird Two - but no Redbird One.’

  We’d lost Ashton. ‘Stay with it.’

  The time ticked by. At five minutes to train-time I became uneasy, wondering what had happened to Ashton. At two minutes to train-time Brent pitched up. ‘I lost him,’ he said hollowly.

  ‘Where did he go?’

  ‘He went bloody island-hopping - Södermalm - Långholmen - Kungsholmen; that’s where I lost him. He seemed to be heading in this general direction at the time so I took a chance and came here.’

  ‘We haven’t seen him and he’s not on the train so far. Benson is, though; with two tickets to Göteborg.’

  ‘When does it leave?’

  I looked over his shoulder and saw Michaelis coming towards the car. He was shaking his head. I said, ‘It’s just left - and Ashton wasn’t on it.’

  ‘Oh, Christ! What do we do now?’

  ‘The only thing we can do - stick with Benson and pray. And this is how we do it. Get yourself a timetable like this one, and check the stops of that train. You and Michaelis take the first stop - that’s Södertälje, you check with Gregory and Henty on the train and you team up if Benson gets off. You also report to Ogilvie. In the meantime Larry and I will be heading for the next stop at Eskilstuna - same procedure. And we leapfrog up the line until the train arrives at Göteborg or anything else happens. Got that?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Reporting to Ogilvie is very important because he can keep us all tied in. I’m going to ring him now.’

  Ogilvie wasn’t at all pleased but he didn’t say much - not then. I told him how I was handling it and he just grunted. ‘Carry on - and keep me posted.’

  I went back to the car, slumped into the passenger’s seat, and said to Larry, ‘Drive to Eskilstuna - and beat that train.’

  TWENTY-TWO

  From Stockholm to Eskilstuna is about 100 kilometres. The first 40 kilometres are of motorway standard and we were able to make good time, but after that it became more of an ordinary road with opposing traffic and our average speed dropped. It was very dark - a moonless night - but even if there had been a moon it wouldn’t have helped because there was a thick layer of cloud from which descended a heavy and continuous fall of snow.

  Like all modern Swedish cars ours was well equipped for this kind of weather. The tyres had tungsten-steel studs for traction and the headlights had wipers to clear the encrusting snow, but that didn’t mean fast driving and I suppose we didn’t average more than 70 KPH and that was a shade fast for the conditions. Neither Larry nor I could be classed as rally drivers, and I was very much afraid the train would be faster. Fortunately, I saw by the map that it had further to go, the track sweeping round in a loop. Also it would stop at Södertälje.

  After an hour I told Larry to pull into a filling station where he refuelled while I phoned Ogilvie. When I got back to the car I was smiling, and Larry said, ‘Good news?’

  ‘The best. I’ll drive.’ As we pulled away I said, ‘Ashton tried to pull a fast one. When Brent lost him he wasn’t on his way to the railway station in Stockholm; he took a taxi ride to the Södertälje station and got on the train there. We’ve got them both now.’

  Thus it was
that I was quite happy when we pulled up outside the railway station at Eskilstuna to find the train standing on the platform. I switched on my transmitter, and said, ‘Any Bluebirds there? Come in, Bluebirds.’

  A voice in my ear. ‘Redbird and friend jumped train.’

  ‘What the hell?’

  Henty said, ‘What do you want me to do?’

  ‘Get off that bloody train and come here. We’re parked outside the station.’ Even as I spoke the train clanked and began to move slowly. I was beginning to wonder if Henty had made it when I saw him running towards the car. I wound down the side window. ‘Get in and tell me what, for Christ’s sake, happened.’

  Henty got into the back seat. ‘The train pulled up at some bloody whistle-stop called Åkers-styckebruk, and don’t ask me why. Nothing happened until it began to move out, then Ashton and Benson jumped for it. Gregory went after them but it was too late for me - and the way he went he was like to break a leg.’

  I got out the road map and studied it. ‘Åkers-styckebruk! The place isn’t even on the map. Have you reported to Ogilvie?’

  ‘No. I was just going to when you called me.’

  ‘Then I suppose I have to.’

  I went into the station and rang Stockholm, and Ogilvie said testily, ‘What the devil’s going on? I’ve just had a call from Gregory in some God-forsaken place. He’s either broken or sprained his ankle and he’s lost Ashton. He thinks they’ve gone to somewhere called Strängnäs.’

  Strängnäs was back along the road; we’d skirted around the edges. I said, ‘We’ll be there in an hour.’

  ‘An hour may be too late,’ he snapped. ‘But get on with it.’

  I ran back to the car. ‘Get weaving, Larry - back where we came from.’ He moved over into the driving seat and I hadn’t closed the door before he took off. I twisted around and said to Henty, ‘What can you tell me about Strängnäs? Anything there we ought to know about?’

  He snapped his fingers. ‘Of course! There’s a spur-line going into Strängnäs from Åkers-styckebruk - no passenger trains, just the occasional räslbuss.’