Angel in Jeopardy: The thrilling sequel to Angel of Vengeance (Anna Fehrbach Book 4)

by Christopher Nicole

  The General accompanied Baxter into the lobby. ‘I am sorry, Billy. I know you regard Fehrbach as a prize, but she is there to serve a purpose, and now this has come up . . .’

  ‘I am very inclined to hand you my resignation here and now.’

  ‘My dear fellow, what good would that do? She would still receive the orders, and from a less sympathetic source.’

  ‘Do you have any idea what they will do to her if she’s caught trying to assassinate Hitler?’

  ‘Yes, I do. But she has her capsule.’

  The two men gazed at each other. ‘If this goes wrong,’ Baxter said, ‘may the Devil have mercy on our souls. God certainly will not.’

  *

  Clive stared across the desk at his boss. ‘Are they mad?’

  ‘Just desperate.’

  ‘Aren’t we winning the war, with or without Hitler?’

  ‘Perhaps we are. But it is still costing several thousand lives a day. And if we have to carry out an invasion of the continent, that cost is going to go up tenfold. While if Germany is truly on the verge of developing secret weapons of mass destruction – well, perhaps then a victorious end would not be quite as guaranteed as it presently appears.’

  ‘You are asking me to condemn Anna to death.’

  ‘I understand what we are being asked to do, Clive. And I hate it as much as you do. But as the man says, it is her profession, and she must long ago have realized that the day would come when she would not be able to shoot or charm or love her way out of trouble. In any event, we have received a direct order from the very top, and we are going to carry it out. The first thing we need to do is contact Anna.’

  Clive sighed. ‘Belinda indicated that she might be willing to go back.’

  ‘That’s out.’

  ‘She volunteered.’

  ‘Maybe. But things have changed.’

  ‘You mean because Badoglio has declared neutrality? Belinda’s cover is that she is a fervent supporter of Mussolini, and now that Hitler’s boy Skorzeny has got Musso out of hock . . .’

  ‘That may be, but – and this is top secret – Badoglio is about to declare Italy’s re-entry into the war as a member of the Allies. The date of the announcement is, as I say, being kept secret for the moment, to allow the Allies to get a good grip on the Toe while the Germans are unsure who are their friends and who are their enemies. We don’t know exactly what their reaction will be when Italy becomes an active enemy, but we can be pretty sure it is going to be drastic, and it will encompass every Italian they can lay hands on, whether or not they declare allegiance to Il Duce. After all, right this moment he is just a problem. What do they do with an ex-dictator who has no one to dictate to? No, I’m sorry to say we are going to have to use Johannsson.’

  ‘But that will mean—’

  ‘Bringing the OSS into full partnership. But that’s going to happen anyway, when Winston puts the situation fully to the President. Andrews is still here, isn’t he?’

  Clive nodded.

  ‘Then get on to him right away.’

  ‘I don’t imagine he will be any happier than we are, at having to put Anna in such a spot.’

  ‘But if I know my Americans, he’ll do it. But listen: I have an idea.’

  ‘I’m glad of that.’

  ‘Whether Anna can find a substitute, or whether she has to do it herself, I am not thinking in terms of an old-fashioned bullet in the gut or knife in the back. That is not necessary.’

  ‘You have an alternative?’

  ‘Come with me.’

  The two men descended the several flights of stairs to the basement, watched by curious staff members: Baxter and Clive did not often go anywhere together. The cellars beneath the building were not used only for file storage, but also as research laboratories. In one of these there was a little man, bald and somewhat overweight, wearing white overalls and sitting at a cluttered desk studying a sheet of paper.

  ‘James!’ Baxter announced enthusiastically. ‘Hard at work, as always.’

  ‘Someone has to do it.’

  ‘Absolutely. You know Clive Bartley?’

  ‘Well, of course I know Clive. What’s on your mind?’

  ‘We would like to commit a murder.’

  ‘You have my blessing.’

  ‘But we don’t want to be present when our subject dies.’

  ‘I assume you have some access to the victim. Pop a pill in his milk.’

  ‘Won’t work. This man is very carefully protected, and all his food is tasted before he eats or drinks it.’

  ‘You’ll be making me think you are talking about someone named Adolf.’ He raised his head as there was no immediate reply.

  ‘Just don’t think about it,’ Baxter recommended. ‘We believe we can obtain access to our target. We want our man to be able to place an explosive device close enough to blow the target to bits, but we also want him to have sufficient time to leave the scene before the bang.’

  ‘You are thinking of a timer.’

  ‘But it obviously can’t be something that ticks,’ Clive said. ‘Nor can it be an obvious explosive. Anyone approaching the target is carefully searched.’

  James considered for a few seconds. ‘I don’t see a problem.’

  ‘You don’t?’ Baxter asked in surprise.

  ‘Your man will need a good-sized bag, or an attaché case.’

  ‘We can manage that. But you do realize that the bag will also be searched?’

  James ignored what he clearly regarded as an unnecessary interjection. ‘He should also be vain enough to touch up his hair from time to time.’

  ‘Can do.’

  ‘I will give you a bottle of what appears to be hydrogen peroxide, but into which I will introduce a certain catalyst. This is not detectable by anything less than a complete chemical analysis. Now, this liquid is, by itself, entirely harmless in an explosive sense. If you spill it on your clothing, it will probably rot the material. It wouldn’t do your hair any good either, if you actually used it. However, if a certain acid is introduced to it, there will be a very big bang indeed.’

  ‘How big?’ Baxter asked.

  ‘The bottle I will give you would, if it went off here, destroy this room and everything in it.’

  ‘Sounds perfect. But how is our agent to introduce the acid without going up with everything, and everyone, else?’

  ‘This is the secret,’ James said. ‘The acid attacks glass, but cannot penetrate metal, and its penetration of glass is a slow and regular process. So it is carried in a metal container. The screw top has a pin. When your agent is ready to go, he presses on the top, the pin pierces the container, and the acid leaks. Please note that to avoid the risk of an accident, the pin must be pressed in very hard. Now, once this is done, if the container is placed next to the bottle, the acid will eat through the glass and, as I say, once it reaches the explosive liquid, it will go off. The carrier bag has to be written off, of course. I will give you an exact calculation, but off the top of my head, I would say it would take about half an hour to complete the penetration. If, as soon as the bag is placed, your man found it necessary to leave the room, say to go to the toilet, he would have that amount of time to remove himself far enough away from the scene to be safe, and indeed to remove himself from the area.’

  Baxter looked at Clive. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It sounds ingenious. But there is a caveat. As we told you, James, our man will be thoroughly searched – certainly any bag he may be carrying – before he will be admitted. The container for the acid will have to be commonplace and unremarkable.’

  ‘That is hardly a problem,’ James said, somewhat contemptuously. ‘Just about every man carries a cigarette lighter.’

  ‘And that will contain enough of the acid?’ Baxter asked.

  ‘Certainly.’

  Again Baxter looked at Clive.

  ‘Tell you what,’ Clive said. ‘Make it a lipstick and you’re on.’

  *

  ‘You
can’t be serious,’ Joe said, sipping wine. The two men were lunching together at the Café Royal. ‘I thought you had something going for that girl.’

  ‘I have more going for Anna than for anyone else in the world,’ Clive said. ‘But this is an order from the top. I have an idea you are going to be told to cooperate.’

  ‘In writing her off.’

  ‘That may not be unavoidable,’ Clive said, and told him what James was preparing.

  ‘That is still asking her to take one hell of a risk.’

  ‘It’s the best we can do. What I need is the use of your man Johannsson. Our communication chain has broken down, and Johannsson is already involved.’

  ‘We don’t aim to lose him.’

  ‘There is no reason why you should. Didn’t he make contact with Anna once before?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Joe played with his wine glass. ‘You know, old buddy, if I told you that Johannsson wasn’t available, you’d have no means of getting in touch with Anna; she wouldn’t receive any instructions, or the bomb, therefore . . .’ He gazed at his friend. ‘But you won’t buy that.’

  ‘I’d hate to have to go over your head to Wild Bill. Anyway, she’s already involved. If we don’t give her positive instructions, and the necessary means to carry them out, God alone knows what she’ll do, how far she’ll stick her neck out.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Joe said. ‘OK, you got him. Give me the stuff, and I’ll take it across to Sweden personally.’

  ‘Just remember not to fiddle with it,’ Clive advised.

  *

  ‘There,’ Himmler said. ‘What did I tell you, Anna. Not content with dropping out, the Italians have now declared war on us. The effrontery of these people is amazing.’ He raised his head as Anna, standing in front of his desk, made no reply. ‘Is something the matter?’

  ‘Ah . . . no, Herr Reichsführer. But is this not serious news?’

  ‘As I said before, this will make it easier to deal with them.’ He pointed with his pencil. ‘I know what’s bothering you: that your little friend Ratosi is now an enemy of the Reich.’

  ‘Well,’ Anna said. ‘I am disappointed, of course.’ There goes another contact, she thought. And Belinda, once she had recovered from her ordeal, had proved stimulating company.

  ‘You are incorrigible. And a very naughty girl. But you may well be able to see her again. Did you not say she is a supporter of Il Duce?’

  ‘Yes, she is. But Il Duce—’

  ‘I know. At the moment he is a completely broken man. But you do not suppose that the Führer went to all the trouble of sending Skorzeny and a picked squad of commandos to pull him out of that mountain prison just for the sake of old comradeship. It is our intention to set him up in northern Italy with a new Fascist state. Frankly, I don’t expect it to amount to much, or be of much value, but if Ratosi is an honest Fascist, I see no reason why she should not be welcome here.’

  ‘It would be nice to see her again,’ Anna said, wondering if Clive would be prepared to take the risk. But if he was not, she was completely cut off from any communication with London, while as she had heard nothing from Johannsson since their single meeting, she had no means of communicating with Washington either.

  ‘Now,’ Himmler said, ‘it is time for you to go on your travels again.’

  Oh, Lord, Anna thought. At such a time! ‘To Geneva, sir?’

  ‘No. We agreed that might be a little risky. You will go to Lucerne. The hotel is the Lakeview. I assume it overlooks the lake. Laurent will contact you there.’

  ‘Will I again be Anna O’Brien?’

  ‘No, no. That would be far too risky. This time you will be a Swedish lady. Anna Borkman.’

  ‘Laurent will know who I am when he sees me.’

  ‘Laurent is my agent, and absolutely trustworthy. The important thing is that no one, either inside or outside Germany, should know that you are the Countess von Widerstand, my PA. Or they might draw the obvious conclusion.’

  How little you know, Anna thought. Neither that, to Laurent, you are just another client, not exclusive, nor that Goebbels is watching, and aware of, your every movement. But she said, ‘Yes, sir. When will this be?’

  ‘You will leave tomorrow, and he should come to you on Wednesday. But you are booked in for two days, just in case he is delayed. You will return here on Friday. Here are your passport, your tickets and your carte blanche. And, of course, the case.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Anna took the case; it seemed even heavier than the last. ‘May I ask a question, sir?’

  ‘Certainly.’

  ‘It is only two months since my trip to Geneva. Where does all this money come from in so short a space of time?’

  ‘Ah, well, we have greatly increased our arrests of Jews and undesirables. We have extended our net to cover all of Europe we control. That fellow Eichmann . . . Have you ever met him?’

  ‘Yes,’ Anna said, unenthusiastically. ‘Here in this building.’

  ‘Of course. And you did not like him. Few people do. But he is doing a splendid job of ferreting these people out. And getting hold of their money, eh?’

  ‘Which is always brought here.’

  ‘Well, of course. It is our responsibility.’

  ‘Yes, but doesn’t it belong to the state?’

  Himmler regarded her for several seconds. Then he said, ‘I would never like to think that you and I do not operate with one mind, Anna.’

  I am a spy, and an assassin, Anna thought. Those may both be reprehensible professions. But I am not a common thief. ‘I should like that also, sir.’

  ‘Well, then, we understand each other, and you understand why this operation has to be carried out in the utmost secrecy. Always remember that you have a share in this. I am protecting your future.’

  ‘I do understand that, sir. And I appreciate it.’

  ‘Good girl. Now, take the rest of the day off and prepare for your trip. Essermann will pick you up at eight tomorrow morning. And I will see you on Friday night.’

  ‘Yes, Herr Reichsführer. Heil Hitler.’

  Anna took a taxi to her apartment building, the attaché case resting against her side. She paid the driver, stepped on to the pavement, and a voice said, ‘Countess! How very nice to see you again. May I offer you a cup of coffee?’

  She turned her head, feeling an immediate tension. ‘Why, Herr Johannsson, I thought you had forgotten my existence.’

  ‘No man could ever do that,’ he said gallantly.

  ‘Then I would love to have a cup of coffee.’

  They sat together, and were served by Franz.

  ‘What have you got there?’ he asked. ‘It looks big enough, and heavy enough, to hold all the secrets of the Reich.’

  ‘Perhaps it does,’ she agreed. ‘Have you seen Steinberg?’

  ‘Yes. He has a prospect. Do you know of this?’

  ‘I have not seen him for a couple of weeks. I understand that he has been away from Berlin.’ Or he would certainly have tried to return to my bed, she reflected.

  ‘Yes. And as I say, he has come up with a prospective candidate. As to whether anything will come of it, I cannot say. But we are not going to wait.’

  ‘Uncle Sam is getting impatient? I think I should remind you that I have two employers. And frankly, the other is the more important. Until I hear from them, I cannot become involved.’

  ‘At this moment, Countess, you have only one employer.’

  Anna gave him her most imperious stare. ‘Then I think we had better terminate this conversation, and you can tell Joe that unilateral control was not part of the deal.’

  She put down her coffee cup and started to rise, and he said. ‘Belinda agrees with you.’

  Anna sank back into her seat.

  ‘It has been decided,’ Johannsson went on, ‘that this project is too big for rivalry. Thus from this moment, and until the project is completed, Belinda and Joe are as one.’

  Anna continued to regard him for some seconds. Then she said, ‘I am afraid
I must ask for proof of that.’

  ‘Suppose I were to say that Belinda’s best friend is named Clive, who is now in charge of the project, and who sends you his everlasting love.’

  Breath rushed through Anna’s nostrils, and she knew she was flushing.

  ‘Joe sends his as well,’ Johannsson added.

  ‘Herr Johannsson, you could grow on me. May I therefore presume that Belinda got back safely?’

  Franz was hovering ‘Two more coffees, please,’ Johannsson said, and he went away again. ‘Do you think he was listening?’

  ‘I doubt it,’ Anna said. ‘Anyway, we haven’t said anything incriminating yet.’

  ‘And you reported our earlier meeting to your superiors.’

  ‘Of course. I reported that I had been approached by a correspondent from the Stockholm Gazette for an interview, but that I refused. Now you are trying again.’ She smiled. ‘With no more success. They will suppose that you are falling in love with me.’

  ‘That would not be difficult to do,’ he said, seriously.

  ‘Business before pleasure, Herr Johannsson. Tell me the reaction to Belinda’s information.’

  ‘It caused quite a stir. But they went for it. Especially as you are involved.’

  Franz brought the coffee, and Anna stirred, slowly. ‘What exactly are you telling me?’

  ‘It seems that they did not realize that you might have access to the subject.’

  ‘The word is “might”, Herr Johannsson. I cannot guarantee it.’

  ‘They have tremendous faith in you. They want you to take control, and carry the project through. I understand you have done this kind of thing before.’

  Anna sipped; the initial tension was being replaced by a curious feeling of lightness spreading through her body. ‘They wish me to join this group?’

  ‘They do not wish you to become involved in the conspiracy until its success is guaranteed. But you need to communicate with Steinberg, certainly.’

  ‘Yes,’ Anna said thoughtfully.

  ‘This link is important, because it is necessary to have the succession arranged before the event. Belinda will accept the Field Marshal as head of state, but this must be certain.’