The Berlin Vendetta: Book 3 in the series 'The Enigmatic Defection'

by Sylvia Wheatley

  “I will, liebling.” They smiled at each other weakly, he went and Helen walked through to the lounge. She felt so helpless but maybe not totally. Her mobile rang and she took it from her pocket.

  “Hello, Helen.” She heard the voice with relief. “I’m within spitting distance of Schmidt but he’s being followed so I’m going to follow him until he loses his tail. I think he will soon because he’s used to this sort of thing.”

  “He will. The problem is he’ll take your mobile from you once he gets hold of you.”

  “Yes, I know, so I’m giving you another number though I don’t want you to ring me on it. Just send a text and I’ll pick it up as soon as I can get to it.”

  “You got it installed?”

  “Before we came to Germany. Have you heard from Connie?”

  “She’s not likely to ring,” Helen said.

  “Which means you’ve heard. Please let’s both be totally honest with each other. It’s the only way to get through this.”

  “The Sylvans was broken into last night. Connie says they will stay in hiding until the third when they are coming here. She says she’s not going to keep hiding and there’s no way she’s missing your concert. She says the kids are enjoying themselves.”

  “By the time of the concert things should be resolved, God willing. Thank you, Helen. I’ll contact you when I can.”

  The tables were turning, Helen thought as she began to wash up before leaving for the hospital. Now it was the women being cagey and not the men though she wasn’t even convinced that they were sharing everything they knew. She began to wash up and her mobile rang again. Not a number she knew, she thought as she answered it.

  “Is Shirley with you?” Hugh Laing asked.

  “No. Can I help you?”

  “I’m not sure. I think I have a bit of information which might help her and you though she won’t admit any of you know anything. Did she tell you what I said to her?”

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “Anna thinks there’s going to be trouble. I gleaned something from Anna’s father. Well, not exactly from him but I did a bit of snooping when he was showing Anna something in the garden. I took some photos of some documents with my camera and developed them myself. I wanted to give them to Shirley. I’m not sure if I should be telling you this because it sounds disloyal but I think Joshua was influenced by his grandparents. We didn’t live in Germany for most of his life but he was very up on everything that was going on there and showed a great interest in such things from an early age. He was often in touch with Anna’s parents.”

  “I’m sorry,” Helen said. “But for the rest I am not sure to what you are referring. I will, however, contact Shirley and ask where you can meet her or leave what you have. How did you know my mobile phone number?”

  “You have it on your doctor’s business card.”

  “Oh, yes. I forgot. I’ll ring you soon or get Shirley to ring you.”

  “Thank you. I am not sure of anything at this moment and all I want to do is go back to England.”

  “Yes. Goodbye, Mr. Laing.”

  “Goodbye.”

  Helen closed the phone, her expression pensive. Whatever Hugh had could be of interest but even him Helen was not sure she could trust. This kind of thing brought suspicions she did not like, even of people she respected and loved. Would it be safe to ring Shirley? She dialed and was relieved to hear her voice.

  “I’m sorry,” Helen said. “But Hugh just rang. He says he photographed some papers in his father-in-law’s house and wants to get them to you. Can you talk?”

  “Yes. I’m still watching Schmidt but his tail is following him.”

  “Could you text me when you actually start letting him see you?”

  “Yes, of course I will. Hugh just sent me a text telling me he’s seen you. I told him where to leave the papers and will pick them up as soon as I can. Have you heard from Daniel? Is he spitting mad?”

  “He rang and he wasn’t happy. He’s more worried than anything.”

  “I can handle Daniel. A text is coming in. I’ll contact you later.”

  “Be careful.”

  “I will.” Shirley read the text. A long one and it was confirmation that something really was soon to happen, Shirley thought as she watched Schmidt walking along the pavement. Information on where guns were hidden. Instructions on where assassins would be posted. A few names. How she hoped Hugh was as much on the level as he appeared to be. Even as she thought of it the back door of her car opened and someone got in behind her.

  She would have normally locked the car but she had anticipated something like this. Schmidt was good at his job which meant he could have been watching her or got someone else to do it. The man from behind jammed a gun into the back of her neck.

  “Drive,” he said. “And pick up Schmidt on your way past him.”

  “I will not,” she replied.

  “You will because if you don’t I shall shoot you.”

  “And bring attention to yourself? Drive the car yourself.” Shirley got out, ran towards a shop and Schmidt turned and saw her. As he started towards her Daniel appeared from just in front of Schmidt and grabbed his arm.

  “Leave her,” he said.

  “Leave who?”

  “My wife. If you do anything at all to hurt her I will have you arrested again and this time you will stay in prison for life.”

  Daniel, Shirley thought, and that she had not expected. Somehow she had to elude him and let Schmidt get her. But to appear willing to be arrested she had not wanted which was why she left the car. She ran down the stairs of the u-bahn, grabbed a ticket from the machine and knew as she hurtled onto a train that she was being followed. She sat and was relieved that Daniel hadn’t reached her. A tall man with dark glasses sat beside her.

  “Hello, Miss Manning,” he said.

  “Mrs. Fitzgerald,” she replied. “Hello, Herr Gros.” Chief of Intelligence in 1989 and Shirley had saved his life when a plot had been made to kill him and Daniel’s boss, André Fiedler. She had not seen him since though he had sent a letter of thanks at the time and after the borders were opened.

  “You recognise me?”

  “I know your voice. How are you?”

  “Well, thank you, and you?”

  “Equally well. What are you doing nowadays?”

  “I have a post in the government. I am looking forward to your concert. My wife and I have tickets for it,” Gros said. “You are a very talented woman.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How are your children?”

  “Very well and beautiful.” Shirley stood as the train began to slow. “It was nice to see you. Goodbye, Herr Gros.”

  “I did appreciate what you did for me,” he said, standing as well. “I am sorry that I might have sounded ungrateful when you wanted Mr. Fitzgerald’s body. I was under some constraint and had to do as I was told.. Will you forgive me?”

  “You told me that before and there is nothing to forgive,” Shirley said. She walked towards the door and alighted from the train, not at all sure what to think. Herr Gros followed her.

  “And I am sorry for what I am going to do now. It does not give me any pleasure but there are some things in life one has to do. Will you come with me, please?”

  “Come where?” Shirley asked.

  “I have a car waiting for us near the u-bahn exit. I want you to get in it when we get there.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “I will have to force you. Whether you come quietly now or later won’t make a lot of difference because you will come in the end. Please keep walking and do not make a fuss. I do not want to hurt you.”

  “But Schmidt will,” Shirley said. “Because I know you are tied up with him somehow. Are you going to stand by like you did before and not do anything about it?”

  “I was only doing my duty,” Gros said. “I am now.”

  “Duty to or for whom? I am certain it is not for the general public.”

>   “Just walk,” he said and there was nothing else she could do apart from running from him. Which was what she wanted to do but if she did the running would never stop, she felt sure, and there was too much at stake. And, anyway, she had been willing for Schmidt to abduct her so what difference did it make if it was Gros? She walked from the u-bahn into the road above and got in the car as she was asked.

  They drove towards The Teufelsberg, German for Devil's Mountain and Shirley had seen it though from a distance. Rising about eighty metres it stood above the surrounding Teltow plateau and was north of Berlin's Grunewald Forest.. It was named after the Teufelssee or Devil's lake which was in its southerly vicinity. An artificial hill it had been heaped up after the second world war and was used as a dump until 1972. When the site was closed to dumping the Senate of West Berlin decided to plant greenery on it. A twenty four metre ski jump had been put there in 1955. In 1962 a bigger one was opened. But they drove beyond it into the forest, a beautiful place and rarely visited. They stopped but there was no building nor apparently anything that denoted habitation of any kind.

  Shirley got out with the rest and looked round with interest. How she would love to photograph and she would, she thought, taking a camera from her pocket. She photographed quickly as the men made their way across the field, ejected the photos and bent as she passed a bush to push them and the camera in. Gros turned, she walked on and at the side of the field was an opening. She was virtually pushed down the steps by one of the men.

  It was cleverly hidden, she thought as she looked round the hall into which they entered. Maybe it had been a bunker during the war. The floor was highly polished. The furniture was obviously carefully chosen. They made their way across it to a room which had bookshelves round it and a couple of desks. A library obviously and she would love to explore the place, she knew. Instead she looked at the men in the room.

  No Schmidt, Nagel, Brandt or Loesel as she was expecting and she did not look properly at the rest of the men, her attention riveted on one of them.

  “I am sorry for the dramatics,” Abel Schneider said. “It was the only way to get you here. Have a seat.”

  Shirley looked at Gros then back at Abel. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “We didn’t want Schmidt to get hold of you before you were prepared,” Abel said.

  “We? Since when did you two have anything in common?”

  “Since I realised the regime in East Germany would fall,” Gros replied. “That may sound cowardly but I have a wife and family who I wanted to protect. I want to protect them now. I work for the government and I want to keep my job.”

  “So why am I here? It’s not going to help you find out what’s going on.”

  “We feel you are not prepared properly for Schmidt to abduct you.”

  “Was I not prepared when I went to pick up Daniel’s body?”

  “I must admit you were.” Gros walked over to where a pot of coffee stood and lifted it to pour into a couple of mugs. “Can I give you some coffee or tea?”

  “Water, please.”

  “A sandwich?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “I doubt you will share any information with us,” Gros said. “But there are a few things we would like to tell you.” He spread a paper on the table. “Firstly I want you to see where it has been reported the assassins will place themselves. We gleaned this from someone who has been doing a bit of spying.”

  Shirley looked at the drawing, familiar with it from the web site. Four buildings had been pinpointed but she was not at all convinced those would be the ones which would be used. Putting it on a website was not very clever but maybe it was. Maybe those who did it wanted people to see it. She was not even sure of the codes though she had worked out what they meant.

  “If you know all this surely you can do something about it,” she said.

  “We intend to do so,” Gros replied. “But we are not convinced that the information is complete.”

  “And how do you want me to help?” Shirley asked.

  “Mostly we feel it would be better for you to go home,” Abel replied. “But I have a feeling you won’t do that.”

  “It’s a tempting thought,” Shirley said.

  “What we want to do is give you information which might help if you are abducted by Schmidt. That is, if Daniel hasn’t had him arrested yet. We don’t want you to be abducted but we know you are determined to go through with what you have planned. We also have a few weapons of defence you can take with you.”

  “007,” Shirley said.

  “Pardon?” The two men spoke at once.

  “James Bond. Have you seen any of the films?”

  “All of them,” Gros replied. “Our family are great fans. Maybe a bit like James Bond though not quite as sophisticated.” He held out a dainty gold watch. “That will get you in contact with us and enable us to pinpoint where you are if you are in trouble.”

  “How does it work?” Shirley asked, taking off her own and putting it on.

  She listened carefully as Gros explained and wasn’t at all certain what to think of it all. She had trusted Abel and she felt he probably was trustworthy but of Gros she was not at all sure. If she called in the cavalry at any time it might not be the kind who would help her. He lifted a pair of trainers and pressed a button. From it shot a dart which went into one of the men. The man fell to the floor.

  “It will render him unconscious for two minutes,” Gros said.

  “You could have just told me,” Shirley replied.

  “Sorry. There are ten darts. I will replace that one.”

  “I wouldn’t have time to bend so I could press the button to work it,” Shirley said.

  “You can do it with your other foot. Your other shoe has four bullets in it which you activate the same way but that needs a lot of practice because you have to aim your foot accurately. Try it now so we can replace the bullets.”

  “I don’t kill people,” Shirley said. “Who invented these things?”

  “We have a department in the government who deals with such things. I had quite a lot to do with their invention. Would you try the bullets, please?”

  Shirley put on the shoes, stood on one foot and aimed with the other at the fireplace. She pressed the appropriate place as she was directed to it and the bullet whizzed to the place she wanted it.

  “I’m not very good at aiming,” she said.

  Gros smiled. “You hit Schmidt twice,” he replied.

  “He was very close. It was impossible to miss him. Is there anything that happens to me about which people don’t know? What else have you got?”

  “There is a camera in the watch and a pager. The pager is on the strap.” Gros pointed.

  “And how do I know I can trust you?” Shirley asked.

  “I don’t suppose you will but I am on the level. That is what you say, don’t you?”

  “It is what we say,” Shirley said. She took the shoes. “Do you have a toilet?”

  “Yes, of course.” She needed to get her mobile phone into them somehow, she thought as she went into it, because it was in the sole of her own trainers. She examined the shoes and there was a slot at the bottom. Fingering it gently she felt in it. A mobile phone but she would replace it later with hers. She walked back into the room a few minutes later wearing the new trainers.

  “Did you find the mobile phone?” Gros asked.

  “Mobile phone?”

  “At the bottom of the shoe.”

  “Show me,” she said. “Which foot?”

  Abel smiled as he made his way over to make more coffee. She knew it was there, he felt sure, and he was more than impressed. He knew how Johann regarded her and British Intelligence. There wasn’t much that would get past her, he felt sure. Gros showed her, she ate a sandwich and stood.

  “Can I go now?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course. We will return you to the outskirts of Berlin. Schmidt is near Friedrichstrasse. We are keeping tabs on him. Do you
have your own mobile phone on you?”

  Shirley took it from her jeans pocket. “Yes. Is Daniel near the station?”

  “He went down to one of the platforms. We’ve lost track of him. Can I take down your mobile number?”

  “Yes, of course.” Shirley looked over to the man at whom Gros had shot the dart. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine. The dart leaves no side effects. Are you telling your husband where you will be?”

  “I’m not sure. If you are on the level thank you. If you’re not know that I can aim very well.”

  Gros smiled. “I can believe that. Thank you, Miss Manning, or can I call you Shirley? Please call me Antony.”

  “I’ll defer that until I know if you are what you say you are. Because of Abel I hope so because I trust him. Goodbye, Herr Gros. Goodbye, Abel.”

  She was taken to the car and did not know if she felt any better about things than she had before. She was not convinced at all that everything was above board. Maybe she would just go back to Daniel and let Gros and Abel work things out themselves. Abel ran after her.

  “We could probably find out what’s going on without you being involved,” he said.

  “Except that you can’t get near Schmidt but I can if he really does abduct me.”

  “Yes, but you have a family who needs you. If you decide to back out we will understand.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” Shirley got in the car, it pulled away and an hour later she alighted from the u-bahn at Friedrichstrasse after boarding the train further down the line. She began to walk towards the tower and a car pulled up beside her.

  “Get in,” Schmidt said through the window.

  “I will not.”

  “You will, either here or further down the road. I am not going to hurt you. I just want to speak to you.”

  “Get out and walk with me then.”

  “No. I do not want to do that.”

  “No conversation then,” Shirley said, walking on.

  “I will follow you all day if necessary.”

  “You do that.” She kept walking, the car passed her slowly and Schmidt reached out. He pulled her in and the car speeded up. Shirley fell sideways.

  “You are a real bully,” she said, straightening. “I’m surprised you didn’t use someone else to pull me in. It’s usually your way to look on while others do your dirty work.”