Angel in Red

by Christopher Nicole

  ‘I think I can manage that, Herr General. Am I being sent to Russia?’

  ‘You will become Personal Assistant to Herr Meissenbach, who is currently Chief Secretary to the Governor General of Czechoslovakia, but who will shortly be taking up a new post as Chief Secretary at the Moscow Embassy. You will accompany him and I have no doubt you will rapidly become an important part of the social scene.’ He gave a brief smile. ‘I am informed that there is a social scene, even in Moscow, amongst the commissars and the diplomatic corps at any rate.’

  ‘And you think they will divulge important information to a member of the German Embassy?’

  ‘Probably not. But you have a target.’ He opened a drawer, took out a photograph and held it out.

  Anna studied it. The man was in his forties, she estimated. As it was head and shoulders only, she could not deduce his height, but he was clearly well built. His features were heavy but by no means ugly, and he had lively eyes. His thick black hair was brushed straight back from his high forehead. He wore what appeared to be a military tunic, but with no trace of insignia or medal ribbons.

  ‘What do you think of him?’ Heydrich asked.

  ‘He looks quite pleasant.’

  ‘Let us hope he is. You are to become his mistress.’

  Anna raised her head sharply. ‘Sir?’

  ‘I think he will prove a far superior lover to Bordman. He has a great reputation for virility.’

  Oh Lord, Anna thought. ‘And he is an important man?’

  ‘Very. His name is Ewfim Chalyapov, and he is one of Marshal Stalin’s closest associates. A sort of trouble-shooter. As such he has access to the innermost workings of Stalin’s mind. Your business will be to gain access to his mind, and what he knows.’

  ‘But are the Russians not our friends, Herr General?’

  ‘I never thought of you as naïve, Anna. The Russians are above all our enemies. We needed their alliance, or at least their acceptance of our wish for peace between our two nations, to give us a free hand in the west. Now that we have won the war, we must look east. The Bear cannot have expected us to win so quickly and so completely. He now finds himself facing a Europe that is united under the Swastika. He will undoubtedly be disturbed by this development. We need to know how disturbed, and if he has any plans for doing anything about it.’

  Anna could not resist the temptation. ‘Is England now a part of this united Europe?’

  ‘England is no longer of any importance. It will either have been invaded and forced to surrender or have made peace by the end of this year.’

  ‘And you think that this man Chalyapov will go for me?’

  Heydrich smiled. ‘My dear Anna, you are too modest. We have done our homework on Herr Chalyapov. He is unmarried, but goes for women rather than men. He changes his mistress roughly once a year. He likes them young, well built, intelligent, and blonde. Do you think he will not regard you as a gift from the gods? He also likes them to be able to match his virility, and I at least can vouch for that. In fact, I would like to test you again for myself. We will go down to my country house in Bavaria for this weekend. Does that please you?’

  Shit, Anna thought; she had hoped for a couple of days at home just in case Antoinette’s Boutique wished to get in touch with her. ‘That would please me very much, Herr General. There is just one point: under what name will I be going to Moscow? Surely the Russians have heard of the infamous Mrs Bordman, the German spy?’

  ‘They may have heard of you in that capacity, Anna. They may even have obtained a photograph of Mrs Bordman. But I doubt it will be a very good one. In any event you are going as the Countess von Widerstand. They may be Bolsheviks and claim to be classless, but they remain fascinated by titles.’

  ‘And you think this man will pick me up and then cast me down again. Within a year?’

  ‘Do I detect a touch of feminine pride? I have no doubt that he will “pick you up”, as you put it. How you handle that is up to you, but perhaps you could be a little hard to get, in the beginning. Above all be patient. Be at your vibrant best when in his company, but he must make the first move. There must be no risk of his suspecting that you are anything more than an innocent, if perhaps amoral, young woman. As to whether he will throw you out after a year or so, I would say that also will be up to you. But if by then you have milked him for all the information you can, would that not be the perfect solution? Then you would return to Berlin in a huff and no one would be any the wiser. I will have additional instructions for you before you leave. For the time being concentrate on your Russian. My car will pick you up tomorrow afternoon at five.’

  ‘I look forward to it, Herr General. May I ask a question?’

  ‘Certainly.’

  ‘How much does Herr Meissenbach know of me?’

  ‘Good point. Obviously, in view of the publicity we have given to your escape from England, he knows that you have been a spy, and may still be. But he knows nothing of your’ – he smiled – ‘special skills or accomplishments. To him you will be Anna, Countess von Widerstand, a very lovely and compliant young woman, who works for the SD. It would be better if you did nothing to enlighten him as to your secrets. Unless, of course’ – he smiled again – ‘it should become a matter of life and death.’

  ‘But will he know I am going to Moscow to seduce this man Chalyapov? I mean, I have to have some reason for being there at all.’

  ‘Herr Meissenbach is to know nothing of your mission. He will be told only that he has to find some employment for you during office hours, but that he is not to interfere with or restrict your social activities.’

  ‘But if I am officially in his employ, isn’t it possible he may disapprove of my taking up with a Russian commissar? What happens if he attempts to prevent this?’

  ‘You will remind him that your social life is no concern of his.’

  ‘And if he wishes to dismiss me? Or at least report me to the Ambassador?’

  ‘The Ambassador can do nothing without the approval of the SD. And he will be told to keep his hands off. Does that satisfy you?’

  ‘If it satisfies you, Herr General, it satisfies me. I look forward to tomorrow afternoon.’

  *

  ‘What do you think of the Gehrig girl?’ Heydrich asked, running his fingers up and down Anna’s spine.

  She had actually nodded off, enjoying the warm sunlight on her naked body. In a life as filled with tension as hers, she had had to cultivate the ability to empty her mind and relax whenever possible, and this was certainly the most delightfully relaxing of places, at least in the summer, with the distant snow caps of the Alps providing such a scenic background. But it had been less easy to relax than usual, not only because being with Heydrich was a stressful business, but because she had so much on her mind.

  It was now coming up to two months since she had fled England, and there had not been a word from Clive; there had been no message waiting for her from the Boutique. She kept telling herself it was pointless to expect it so soon, but if she was being sent off to Moscow, MI6 simply had to be informed immediately.

  And now, just as she had managed to drift away, this damned man had brought her back into her problems with a bump. ‘I did not know you knew of her,’ she said.

  ‘Didn’t you? I thought Hannah was a close friend of yours. I know she was forced to punish you for that breach of discipline last year, but she was only doing her duty.’

  ‘I understand that, Herr General. And I do not hold it against her.’ One should never hold grudges against people when one has broken their necks.

  ‘And you were very close when you served together in London, were you not? She never mentioned her family to you?’

  ‘No, sir. She was always very conscious of her superior rank.’

  ‘Well, answer my question about the girl.’

  ‘She seemed very enthusiastic,’ Anna ventured. ‘And she certainly knew a lot about me.’

  ‘You resent this?’

  Anna rolled
over and allowed him to have a go at her breasts and stomach; there was no harm in causing his mind to wander. ‘I did not resent it, Herr General. But it is an uneasy position to be in, meeting someone who knows so much about you, while you never knew she existed.’

  ‘That is a good point. She is a problem.’

  ‘Sir? She did not fail the course?’

  Heydrich sat up. ‘As you say, she was very enthusiastic, very eager. But she was just not up to it. Do you know, she emptied three magazines against her target in the final lesson, and did not succeed in killing him?’

  Anna sat up in turn, memory flooding back to two years before, when the helpless condemned prisoner had been forced to run across the firing range so that they could prove their proficiency with the pistol. Her fellow pupil, Karen, had been unable to shoot him, for which lapse she had been condemned to an SS brothel. That Anna had obeyed her orders with deadly proficiency had earned her the position she now held. But Marlene . . . ‘She has not been degraded?’

  ‘Cleiner wished to do so, certainly. But the fact is that the girl really tried. She hit the target several times, but could not do so fatally. And being Hannah Gehrig’s daughter . . . Well, he referred the matter to me.’

  ‘And what was your decision, Herr General?’

  ‘I have not yet made a decision. It is difficult, you see. Once a girl has been accepted for the training camp and has been subject to our training methods, she cannot be returned to what might be called a normal civilian life. Women do talk to each other and seem to have a compulsion to share their experiences and seek a sympathetic ear. But as I say, to condemn Hannah’s daughter to a military brothel, or worse, is really not something I wish to contemplate.’

  Anna was surprised. She had no idea he possessed that much humanity. ‘I would not like to see her degraded either, Herr General, but I cannot offer an answer to the problem.’

  ‘You can provide the answer, Anna.’

  Anna turned her head.

  ‘You are going to Moscow as PA to Herr Meissenbach, which is an important and senior position. No one could question your possessing a PA of your own.’

  Anna gulped.

  ‘That way she would be employed within the SD, understanding the secrecy that is required, and you would be able both to guide her and teach her, and at the same time assess her. If she failed you, you would inform me and her position would be terminated. While under your guidance it is entirely probable she may turn out to be a valuable servant of the Reich. Just like yourself. I think that would be an ideal solution to our problem. Don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, Herr General. Has she received complete training?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘After I had completed my initial training, Herr General, you may remember that I spent a month under the tutelage of Frau Mayers, being schooled not only in the Party philosophy, but also in how to behave and dress in the highest circles, and how to hold my liquor. Only when Frau Mayers was satisfied did I attend Doctor Cleiner’s course.’

  ‘Ah. Marlene Gehrig needs no schooling in the Party philosophy. She is, after all, Hannah’s daughter. But she has not been educated in the social graces. You will attend to that. It may amuse you.’

  I am sure it will, Anna thought. ‘And will she speak Russian?’

  ‘She will attend your course with you. You will be friends.’

  Anna reflected that having disobeyed so many orders given her by her German superiors, one more was unlikely to make much difference.

  *

  What a foul-up, Anna thought as she got into a taxi at the station.

  She really had no time for Marlene Gehrig, but she had killed the girl’s mother. So did that mean she owed the girl anything? She might like to feel that she was not a monster, but she was entirely alone in an ocean filled with sharks, not one of whom would hesitate for a moment to take a bite out of her if they felt it necessary.

  The temptation to stop at the boutique and see if there was anything for her was overwhelming. She needed a shoulder to cry on. But again she reminded herself that she had been instructed to wait for them to contact her. So she let the taxi drive by.

  ‘Oh, Countess!’ Birgit’s greeting was as enthusiastic as ever. ‘Did you have a pleasant weekend?’

  ‘I was sharing a bed,’ Anna told her, and left her to make what she could of the reply.

  She went into the bedroom and began undressing. Then she discovered that Birgit was hovering in the doorway. ‘Herr Toler called. He wished to know if you would be joining the class tomorrow?’

  ‘And you told him yes, I hope.’

  ‘Yes, Countess. And the secretary of a man called Herr Meissenbach called. She made him sound terribly grand.’

  ‘I suppose he is terribly grand,’ Anna agreed as she began running a bath.

  ‘She said that Herr Meissenbach wished to take you out to dinner.’

  So soon? Anna thought. And she had not been ordered to seduce him.

  ‘I told her I could not agree a date until you returned, and she said she would call back.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Anna added bath foam and sank into the suds. ‘I must try to be out then, too. Anything else?’

  ‘Yes, Countess. The Antoinette’s Boutique telephoned. They said the gown you ordered is ready for a fitting, and wished you to come in at your convenience.’

  Bath water scattered as Anna leapt from the tub.

  Chapter Three – Incident in Prague

  Anna telephoned the boutique, but it was closed. She had had to wait until nine the next morning. Toler’s Russian class began at nine, but he would have to wait too.

  ‘Countess von Widerstand,’ the woman said. ‘When would suit you?’

  ‘As soon as possible. I look forward to seeing the dress.’

  ‘Ah, yes. Would eleven o’clock be satisfactory?’

  ‘Eleven o’clock. Yes. That would be quite convenient.’ She replaced the receiver and immediately telephoned the SS school to inform the tutor that something important had cropped up and she would not be able to attend class until after lunch. He sounded somewhat disgruntled, but had to accept the decision of so important an agent.

  ‘Will you be in for lunch, Countess?’ Birgit asked.

  ‘Probably not.’ Anna picked up her handbag, went to the door, and the telephone jangled. ‘I’ll take it,’ she said as Birgit hurried into the hall. She was surprised at how anxious she was; if this was the boutique calling back . . . ‘Yes?’

  ‘Would I be speaking with the Countess von Widerstand?’ the man asked.

  Anna drew a deep breath. ‘This is she.’

  ‘Countess! I am so pleased to make your acquaintance, even at a distance. My name is Heinz Meissenbach. Perhaps you have heard of me?’

  Released breath rushed through Anna’s nostrils. ‘Of course, Herr Meissenbach. I am told we are to work together. I am looking forward to that. Are you calling from Prague?’

  Meissenbach also seemed to be taking deep breaths. ‘No, no. I am in Berlin for only a few days, and I also am looking forward to our . . . working relationship. I think it is necessary for us to get to know each other, if we are to adventure together.’

  ‘I understood you – we – would not be going to Moscow until next month, Herr Meissenbach?’

  ‘That is so, my dear lady. But it is essential that when we do go to Moscow, we are totally au fait with each other. I suggest we begin by having dinner tonight.’

  ‘Tonight? Ah . . .’ That was the very last thing she wanted.

  ‘It is a convenient date for me,’ Meissenbach said. ‘My wife is joining me tomorrow.’

  ‘Your wife,’ Anna said thoughtfully. The situation was growing more fraught by the second. If in addition to seducing Chalyapov she was going to have to fight off the advances of this lout, she suspected it was going to be a rather busy year ahead. But she had to continue acting her role as an SD agent who, at least until the crunch, was totally obedient to her superiors. ‘In that case, Herr Mei
ssenbach, I shall be delighted.’

  ‘Then I shall pick you up at seven.’

  Anna thought that if the boutique had indeed prepared that absurd dress for her, she might well wear it.

  *

  ‘Ah, Countess, how nice to see you,’ the woman said. Her tone was far warmer than on the occasion of their first meeting. ‘Signor Bartoli is waiting for you.’

  Anna followed her through a door at the rear of the showroom, and down a corridor into a surprisingly large room that contained several dummies and a variety of clothes and uncut cloth scattered about various trestle tables. There were also three sewing-machine tables, but currently no seamstresses. The only occupant was a small, dapper man, with a long nose and even longer hair. He was in his shirtsleeves, and appropriately had a tape measure draped around his neck. He looked Anna up and down appreciatively: she was wearing her best, with a picture hat.

  ‘Countess von Widerstand! How nice to meet you.’ His German was very heavily accented.

  ‘My pleasure, Signor Bartoli. You have something for me?’

  ‘Indeed. That will be all, thank you, Edda.’

  The woman hesitated, as if reluctant to leave Anna alone with him. Then she left, closing the door.

  Bartoli held up the blue dress with the red trim. ‘One would almost suppose, Countess, that you are trying to fly some sort of flag.’ His voice had dropped several octaves.

  ‘I wanted to be quite sure I was brought to your attention, Signor.’

  ‘You should not have come here at all, Anna. You do not mind if I call you Anna, I hope?’

  ‘So what do I call you?’ Anna asked.

  ‘I think sir would be appropriate. I am your Controller in Germany.’

  Anna sat down and crossed her knees; this war was growing longer by the minute. ‘I do not even call my London Controller “sir”.’

  Bartoli regarded her for some moments. ‘I was told you were a spirited young lady. You may call me Luigi.’