Edge of Tomorrow

by Wolf Wootan

  When the piece was finished, the applause was deafening. Hatch stood and bowed his head, then sat down and started a melodic German drinking song as the crowd yelled, “Trinklied!” As he sang in German, most of the crowd joined in, hoisting their steins of beer in the air. Syd wished she knew German so she could join in.

  After several more rousing German songs, Baron von Hüber introduced Syd to the crowd as his American fiancée. There was clapping, whistles, and some catcalls as she stood and waved. The baron said he and Syd would sing some songs in English now, since Syd did not speak German. Most of the crowd spoke some English, so they were thrilled that the beautiful woman was going to sing also. They opened with their favorite duet from Phantom that they had sung in Florida, then switched to some selections from The Student Prince by Sigmund Romberg. Even though he had been Hungarian, his music seemed appropriate to the surroundings. The crowd showed their appreciation with clapping and stomping, and even joined in on The Drinking Song.

  • • •

  Even though there was still a large crowd at 2 A.M., Syd and Hatch were both tired and decided to leave, much to the disappointment of the other patrons.

  Hatch asked Syd, “We might as well stay over so I can take my fencing lesson tomorrow—today it is, I guess. Do you want a hotel room, or should we go back to the plane and sleep there?”

  “Your choice, dear. There will be no hanky-panky either place,” laughed Syd. “However, there’ll be a shower at a hotel.”

  They took a taxi to the Hotel am Johannplatz and got a room as Baron von Hüber and wife. When they got to their magnificent room, Syd realized that their overnight bag was still on the GS-V.

  “I’ll call Janet in the morning and have her bring it over,” replied Hatch to her query about it. “Let’s just hit the sack now and get some rest.”

  “OK, but I don’t have a gown. Come to think of it, not even a bra.”

  “It’s not like you’ve never slept naked before, sweet thing,” laughed Hatch. “I’ll only look, not touch!”

  “Well, we could snuggle a little, I guess.”

  • • •

  The next morning, Janet delivered their bag to the hotel. They had breakfast in their room, then showered and dressed. Syd chose her lime green shift dress, which she belted at the waist. She was able to squeeze her breasts into her soft, cotton tee shirt bra. Her comfortable Easy Spirit flats completed her ensemble. Hatch called Baron Hans von Hochsburg, his Fencing Master, and made an appointment for 2 P.M. They hired a taxi and Hatch told the driver to go to St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Stephansdom, one of the outstanding attractions in Vienna. Syd had said she would like to see a little of the city while they were there. Hatch knew the city quite well, so he pointed out interesting landmarks out the taxi’s windows. When they reached Stephansdom, the taxi driver mentioned to Hatch that he was also a trained tour guide, and for a few extra schillings would show them around and explain interesting historical facts. Hatch didn’t think that was necessary, but hated to deprive the man of the extra money he would make, so he agreed. The driver pulled into a “No Parking” zone, waved to a watching policeman, and led them toward the entrance of the cathedral.

  The driver began his patter, in English as Hatch had requested, by saying, “This is the city’s symbol. It is called ‘Steffl’ by us locals. It can be seen from very far away. Construction began in 1303 and has been going on ever since. The south spire—Stephansturm—is believed by most to be Europe’s most beautiful gothic tower, and stands 137 meters high.”

  They climbed the 343 steps to the Turmerstube—the Tower Room. From there they enjoyed the view of the green hills of the Vienna Woods, as well as the historic city’s sea of roofs, and the famous ring road.

  On the street again, they followed their guide down Singerstrasse and saw medieval Vienna at its best. They finally crossed over Rotenturmstrasse and entered the famous “Bermuda Triangle” with its numerous bars and taverns.

  By noon, Syd was tired and hungry, albeit somewhat exhilarated by the historic sights she had seen. Hatch suggested they eat at the famous Cafe Landtmann where Freud had his morning coffee in earlier years.

  Syd answered, “That sounds historic and interesting, but you know what? I haven’t had a good old hamburger and fries since I met you! Don’t they have something like a McDonald’s around here?”

  “Actually, several. Let’s go!”

  The driver took them to the McDonald’s on Schwedenplatz and Syd’s mouth began to water as she spotted the golden arches.

  “You know,” mumbled Syd through a mouthful of French fries dripping catsup, “being with you this month has been like living in a travelogue! Let’s see. We’ve been to Israel, Turkey, Italy, Greece, the Cyclades, Austria …”

  Hatch interrupted, “I’ll show you the whole world if you let me! There are some places even I haven’t seen!”

  “My, my!” she said as she took another bite of her Big Mac.

  I said it has been like a travelogue, but it’s been a lot more like the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark! I hope things quiet down from now on!

  Little did she know that the adventure had just begun!

  • • •

  They arrived at Baron Hans von Hochsburg’s Salle d’Armes at 15 minutes till 2 P.M. When they entered, the Baron was on a long rubber strip giving a saber lesson to a student. Syd had never seen real fencing before—only the type used in swashbuckler movies. The student was dressed all in white, whereas the Baron was all in black. The Baron had a coat of arms embroidered on the left breast of his fencing jacket. They both wore wire-meshed fencing masks and the Baron was yelling instructions to the student as the student lunged, parried, and moved back and forth on the rubber strip.

  The Baron yelled, “Halt,” and whipped off his mask and saluted the student with his saber. The student returned the salute, sharply. The Baron then spotted Hatch and saluted him, did a slight bow, then said something in German to him. Hatch nodded his head in acknowledgment. The student left the piste—the rubber strip—and joined several other white-clad fencers who had been watching. There were other rubber strips in the large room where fencers were practicing with foils, epees, and sabers.

  The Baron approached Hatch and Syd and Hatch introduced Syd to the Baron as his fiancée. The Baron hung his fencing mask and saber on a rack on the wall, took off his glove, and took Syd’s hand. He raised it toward his lips, clicked his heels together, and bowed to her.

  “My extreme pleasure, Fräulein Steppe! I am sure you are too good for this rascal! Certainly more beautiful than he deserves!” said the Baron in accented English.

  “You’re too kind, Baron!” replied Syd, blushing, wondering if she should curtsy.

  “Careful, Baron,” laughed Hatch. “You’ll swell her head!”

  “I speak only the truth!” replied the Baron with mock seriousness. “Are you here to take your monthly thrashing?”

  “Yes. I’ll go get dressed. Syd, you can sit here. I have some fencing clothes in a locker in the dressing room. You can charm the Baron some more. I’ll be right back,” said Hatch.

  The Baron gave Syd the once over, the way men do, then said, “Many beautiful women have tried to snare Baron von Hüber. You are very lucky to be the one. He is quite a man!”

  “I know. I wasn’t trying to snare him. It just happened. I still can’t believe it! And I know he is not really von Hüber. I’ll keep up the pretense while we’re here, of course. He told me you preferred it that way,” replied Syd with a small smile.

  “Thank you, Fräulein Steppe. Steppe is a German name, is it not?” he said as he fussed with his gray, handle bar mustache, which was waxed on the ends.

  “Yes. My great-grandfather came to the U.S. from Germany in 1922. I’m sorry, but German is not one of my languages. It was never spoken at home, and I specialized in Arabic languages in school,” answered Syd. “Is Baron von Hüber as good at this fencing as he is everything else?”

  “He is very good! H
is lack of everyday practice hampers his ability to, say, win the World Championship. But I would not want to have a real duel with him. He has a killer instinct, and is very adept at reading his opponent’s weaknesses and finding the opening that kills. Ah, here he is. You watch, and judge for yourself!”

  Hatch was dressed in a white fencing jacket, pants, and shoes. He did some stretches and practice lunges, then went to a rack on the wall and took down a fencing mask and saber. Baron von Hochsburg motioned to one of the fencers to come over to where he and Syd were standing. He was introduced as Rudolph Brüner.

  The Baron said to him in English, “Rudy, Fräulein Steppe is not familiar with fencing. Perhaps you could answer her questions while I join Baron von Hüber on the strip?”

  “Ja! Of course! It would be my pleasure, Maestro,” Rudy replied.

  The Baron joined Hatch and started the lesson. He slashed at Hatch with his saber while yelling words such as tierce, seconde, prime, riposte, etc. Hatch parried each cut in turn. Things seemed to be moving much slower than what was going on with the fencers practicing on the other strips.

  Syd asked Rudy, “What’s happening now?”

  He replied, “They are warming up. The maestro is calling out parry positions: third, second, first, for example. They will speed up in a moment. They are very fast together when they go all out.”

  “I know some French. Isn’t the maestro calling out the positions in French, not German?” said Syd.

  “That is correct, Fräulein. It has become custom through the years to use French terms in fencing. Sometimes you will hear some Italian. The genesis of fencing began in the 15th century. I will not bore you with the history of the development of the rapier and the smallsword, but suffice it to say that there were two major schools of swordplay: French and Italian. Although the Spanish and the English had methods of their own, over time, the French and Italian schools became dominant. Most of the first written materials on swordplay were written by the French.”

  Syd heard the maestro yell “allez,” which she knew meant “commence,” and then Hatch and the maestro were fencing at full speed. First one, then the other, would yell, “Et la!” or “Touché!”

  Syd said to Rudy, “They are so fast now! It’s nothing like movie fencing!”

  “Nein! For a couple of reasons. In the movies, the blade movements must be slowed down in order to be captured on film. Also, fencing without a mask is very dangerous, so slower swordplay is safer for the untrained actors,” answered Rudy.

  “Are there any real duels anymore?” asked Syd.

  “Duels are illegal in most countries now. However, I have heard of secret duels taking place. They use the final version of the rapier, the smallsword, which became popular around 1635. It has a shorter blade than the rapier and is much closer in weight and size to today’s fencing saber. Some university students have duels to get scars: so-called marks of honor and bravery. Fairly stupid, I think!” explained Rudy with a shrug.

  • • •

  Hatch’s lesson came to a close and he went to the dressing room to shower and change clothes. Syd viewed the displays on one wall while waiting for him. There were several authentic rapiers, smallswords, and even some ancient broad swords. They all looked very deadly to Syd.

  • • •

  They returned to their hotel and checked out. The GS-V had them back in Rome by 5:30 P.M., and they were back at the castle by 6 o’clock. The chopper pilot told them that the Finellis had called him and released him for the night. They were spending the night at Tessitore’s castle in Sicily.

  I wonder what that means. mused Hatch.

  Chapter 32

  Il Castello di Bragno

  Tuesday, August 21, 2001

  10:00 A.M.

  The next morning at 10:00 A.M., Bruno called Hatch and said that the Don would see him at 2 P.M.—alone. Bruno told Hatch that the reunion of mother and father had gone well, and the old man had at least been polite to him. The Don was curious as to why the world’s richest man wanted an audience with him, but Bruno told him he had no idea. Bruno had stepped out on the balcony as requested by Hatch, so Coffer now knew where the Don’s audience room was located.

  Hatch called a meeting with Syd, Sara, and Colonel Coffer in the Computer/Comm room at 10:30. They pulled up the satellite live photos of Cremora, the Don’s castle and stronghold, and Coffer pointed out the balcony where he had spotted Bruno. As they watched the live feed, they spotted armed men in several of the parapets. There was also a radar dish slowly rotating, searching for intruders in the sky.

  “Well,” Hatch said, “I have an appointment with Tessitore at two o’clock. He will see me—but I must come alone.”

  Syd felt her heart skip a beat, then she exclaimed, “I don’t like that! I want to go with you! I don’t trust the old bastard!”

  “There shouldn’t be any danger. I’m only going to talk to him about Lucchese, then I’ll leave. Shadow-4 will be hovering outside, just in case. I can activate the signal in my watch if I need help,” answered Hatch. “He emphasized I had to be alone.”

  “Your watch?” queried Syd. “I just thought that was an international date/time thing so you can keep track of where you are—or a diving watch. It is really ugly! Definitely not a Rolex!”

  Hatch held out his wrist and showed her his watch, then said, “It has a couple of diamonds on it, and an 18 Karat gold band! Besides, it’s a very useful tool. It has a transmitter and a GPS chip in it. If I push this button, it sends out my position on the satellite network, and this button actually activates the voice transmitter.”

  Syd shook her head and said, “A regular Dick Tracy thing, eh? Does it receive voice, too?”

  “Yes. These two buttons alternate between send and receive,” explained Hatch. “The receiver is very small, so you have to hold it to your ear to hear anything. It’s just for emergencies. The GPS locator is the most important feature: it lets the system know where I am.”

  They discussed where Coffer and Sara would be with Shadow-4, and what Hatch would do in an emergency.

  Syd said, “I still think I should be with you!”

  “You can go as far as Palermo with me. After the meeting, we can do the town if you want, and you can add Sicily to your travelogue,” laughed Hatch, trying to diffuse her disappointment at not being able to accompany him to the meeting.

  Coffer and Sara left to get Shadow-4 and its crew ready for the trip back to Sicily. Hatch called the Triple Eye chopper pilot and made arrangements to leave for Palermo at 11:30 A.M.

  Hatch told Syd, “We can have a quick lunch in Palermo before I go to the Don’s castle. They have a lot of quaint sidewalk cafes.”

  “I’m telling you, Hatch, I don’t like this!” exclaimed Syd.

  • • •

  They had lunch at Dante’s Inferno, a small, hole-in-the-wall sidewalk cafe. They had an excellent fruity red wine and the specialty of the house, Sfincione, commonly known as Sicilian pizza. Its crust was an inch thick, and it was covered with anchovies, Italian sausages, and Parmesan cheese.

  Syd and Hatch had just finished lunch at 1:25 P.M. when the black Mercedes pulled up to the curb in front of the cafe where they sat at a table on the sidewalk, a bright umbrella protecting them from the sun. The front passenger door opened and a swarthy man got out and surveyed the tables. He had black, slicked-back hair, a thin face with a pencil mustache, and stood about 5 feet 7 inches tall. Hatch waved at him, and the man approached their table.

  “Signore Lincoln?” he asked.

  “Yes,” replied Hatch as he stood, towering over the man.

  “I am Antony. I will take you to Don Tessitore,” he said in fairly good English.

  Syd stood and said, “I’m going with you, Hatch!”

  “Now, Syd …”

  Antony interrupted, “That will be fine, signore. We will see that the signorina is entertained while you have your meeting.”

  That was exactly what Hatch had wanted to avoid! He had
a bad feeling now. Syd would be essentially a hostage while he was with the Don.

  Damn! That ties my hands for sure! An emergency quick exit out the balcony to Shadow-4 is out of the question now!

  “Are you sure, dear? You can take a taxi back to the chopper and wait there,” pleaded Hatch.

  Syd spun and walked toward the car without a word. Antony caught up with her and opened the rear door, and she slid in.

  Shit! She can be obstinate at times! thought Hatch.

  Hatch joined her in the back seat, and as the car pulled away from the curb, Syd said, “I can visit with Bruno and Blancha. They’re still there, aren’t they?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted Hatch, still not happy.

  Syd looked sideways at him and whispered, “Is this how it feels when you’re taken for a ride by the mob?”

  He looked at her and smiled, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  The black Mercedes took A19 east, and after about 20 miles, it exited and went north toward the sea. Ultimately, the car turned into an asphalt-paved road, and after a quarter of a mile, arrived at an iron gate with a guard booth. The guard gave them a cursory look, then the large gate began to slide slowly to the left. The driver took them up a long, winding road, and at the top they stopped in front of the castle’s main entrance. Like his own castle, Hatch knew there were many other doors one could use to gain access to the castle.

  The castle stood on a rocky spur and followed the contours of the cliff. It wrapped around the land on several levels. It was originally constructed in the 11th century, and was modified off and on until the 17th century. The influence of the Moors was clearly evident.