He shrugged. “I haven’t the slightest idea. Back to Italy?”
Dore shook his head. “Yer both being paranoid. Fleming’s not gonna kill us. Why would he?”
She sighed. “Because of the Adler, Jock. And because Pernass is my stepfather. And because it’s easier than informing the people of London that they were almost obliterated by an atomic bomb.”
“So what’s the point of talking to Pernass? Why take an even greater risk? We may as well go back to Italy. At least we’ll know where we stand.”
“Because something very odd is going on. How did Fleming know that Pernass would be here, and on this exact date? The Germans are extremely secretive, Pernass especially. Even Hitler doesn’t know what Pernass is up to half the time. Fleming’s been fed this information, but by who? And why? Because Pernass is here. What’s more, if Pernass knows that Fleming knows he knows, my stepfather’s planning something.”
“You really think he knows yer here?”
She gave Dore a wry smile. “All things considered, yes, I do.”
Kelly twisted around and waved at Stewart and Capetti. “Guys, would you like to be a part of this conversation?”
“We were trying to ignore you,” Capetti said, slumping into a comfortable chair.
“Well don’t. Kat, can I suggest something?”
“Go on then,” she said. “Blow me away. I’m all out of ideas.”
He snorted a laugh. “That’ll be the day.” He took a sip of her lemonade and gave it back again. “I didn’t tell you this because I didn’t want to freak you out. I don’t think Fleming planned any of this. He just thinks he did because he thought he could kill two birds with one stone. Pernass isn’t just clever. He’s the wiliest old fox you’ve ever met. He’s much sharper than Fleming. Knowing what the stakes were with the Adler and that Fleming would need to silence us, I think he planned this operation. Which means that you’re probably right, he’s sitting in the bar waiting for us.”
“Didn’t I just say all that?”
“You missed the bit about Fleming being the patsy. I propose that we do exactly what you suggest, which is to go downstairs and talk to Pernass, but it would slow the whole thing down if Jock, Harry, and Sandro were there as well. I think they should wait in the restaurant. Because as soon as we’ve spoken to Pernass and eaten something, we’re leaving.”
“To where?”
He smiled that Kelly smile. “To wherever Pernass tells us to go. Because I’m pretty sure, that’s what this is about. Pernass has a plan.”
“Yes, to kill us.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think he wants to kill us. We’re too valuable. We’re the only spies in Europe who’ve got our feet in both camps… without being traitors to the Brits.”
She looked around the room and realized for the first time that everyone’s bags were here. They were sitting neatly by the door. Moreover, Stewart wore a silly smile on his face.
“Do they already know about this?” she asked Kelly, accusingly.
“I did sort of… mention it.”
“You’re a bugger, Sam. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“As I said, I didn’t want to freak you out.” He looked at his watch. “So… shall we go? We’ve just got time to talk to Pernass, have a sumptuous meal, and piss off… in whichever direction we’re asked to go.”
“And if you’re completely wrong about all this and we find ourselves surrounded by NAZIs?”
“Then its been terrific knowing you.”
The hotel’s reception room buzzed with murmuring voices. Women swayed and chatted in elegant dresses, the echo of laughter, proud men telling tales of bravery in immaculate NAZI uniforms. Kat choked back a grim laugh. How proud they must all be to be celebrating the annexation of Austria, to have government ministers cleaning toilets, and Jews scrubbing the streets on their hands and knees. Brushing past them with a sigh of disgust, she made her way to the bar.
It was a spacious, low-ceilinged room with comfortable leather chairs and coffee tables, not at all like the rest of the hotel, with its lofty ceilings and chandeliers. In many ways, it reminded her of the men-only lounge at Shepheard’s hotel. Waiters in black waistcoats took drink orders. Most of the customers were civilians. There were a few NAZIs in the room, but no sign of a trap. She glanced at Kelly. He scanned the room with only his eyes, standing there stiffly as if waiting to be served.
“Sam,” she whispered.
Not turning to look at her, he said, “I see him.”
She followed his gaze. Pernass sat on his own and gazing into space, no doubt waiting for them to make an appearance.
“Let me speak first, Sam.”
He shook his head. “Sure, if that’s what you prefer. Did you see the others go into the dining room?”
“Yes, I did. Why?”
“Because Jock looked very uncomfortable. He’s used to protecting you.”
“Yes, I know, but we’ve never had a situation like this. I’m not sure if he’d handle it very well.”
“No, probably not. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
As she made her way across the room, she felt the Browning brushing against her ribs, so she half unzipped the side of her dress. She doubted she’d have to use the gun, but better safe than sorry. It felt strange seeing her stepfather sitting there. Except when she’d eavesdropped his conversation in Algeria, they hadn’t been this physically close for over a year. She was only twenty feet away now, as he continued to read his magazine.
“My dear Katelyn,” he said, not looking up. “You’re late.”
Easing herself into an opposite chair, she waited until Kelly sat. “I gather you were expecting us.”
He looked at her. He didn’t smile. “Yes, I was, although I was told you were arriving yesterday.”
“By who?”
He laughed. “I’m sure you’d rather not know.” He looked across at Kelly, studying him as if considering something. “So, young Samuel, you became a pilot, quite a good one from what I hear. You even fly Messerschmitts.”
“What makes you think that?” Kelly asked, knowing his uncle must be referring to their operations with the SAS.
“Oh, you’d be surprised by how much I know. I’ve got spies everywhere, including the SOE. Commander Fleming should be more careful. It doesn’t take a genius to know what Katelyn’s up to. Who else would think of stealing planes instead of blowing them up?”
“And now we’re here,” Kat said. “It seems that you knew about that as well. Would you mind explaining how?”
Leaning back in his chair, Pernass waved for a waiter. “Can I get you both a drink?”
“I’ll have a tomato juice with Worcester sauce. Samuel will have the same.”
“You’re not drinking?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” When the waiter took their order, she said, “So how did you know?”
Pernass gazed at her for a moment, carefully lit a cigar and blew a long plume of smoke towards the ceiling. “I’ve been manipulating Fleming for quite some time, ever since you stole the Adler in fact.” He stopped speaking for a moment. “He wants you dead. Did you know that?”
She shrugged. “Stands to reason, I suppose. He wants you dead. And so does Hitler. You’re not very popular these days.”
“Yes, I know. I’m far more valuable alive to Fleming. As for my boss, let’s just say, we’re having a difference of opinion.”
They were getting close now, she could feel it. “How so? I would have thought you’d be far more valuable to Fleming if you were dead.”
Pernass wrinkled his eyes, pressed a finger against his upper lip and sneezed. “Damn cigars,” he wheezed. “That’s because Fleming doesn’t know what I want. I mean, what I really want.”
Kat stared at her stepfather. He’d never been the sort of man to confess his inner feelings. “And what do you really want?”
“I want to end the war. That’s why the Adler was so important. It would have stopped the war at a single stroke. But you put a stop to that.”
A memory of the Adler flitted into her thoughts, mortars exploding, bullets peppering the fuselage as the giant plane thundered down the runway. “Well, you’re not alone. We all want to end the war.”
Pernass smiled a deadly smile. “Yes, but I really can.”
The last time she’d seen Pernass smile like that, he’d been on the verge of shooting her. “You… can end the war? Single-handedly?”
“No. I can’t do it on my own. I’ll need your help. Which is why you’re still breathing.”
So that’s what Pernass was really up to, he wanted their help, but for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine how. On Fleming’s orders, they were here to kill him, not help in some twisted deception.
“What on earth do you want to do?”
Pernass fell silent for a moment, pulling a piece of tobacco from his pale lips. Eventually, he looked at her, nailing her with a cold stare.
“I want to kill Hitler.”
CHAPTER 21
Agreeing, for the sake of privacy, Kat invited Pernass to her hotel suite, although she was a little uncomfortable about the idea. How hard would it be for his men to storm her room with impunity? Kelly argued otherwise. Pernass was in far greater danger, and he wasn’t the kind of man to take unnecessary risks. Also, if he were telling the truth about wanting to kill Hitler, after all the failed attempts on the Führer’s life, he would certainly need Kat’s help.
She gazed at her stepfather across the coffee table. Regardless of his immaculate uniform, he looked older than when she’d last seen him. His frown lines were deeper, and there were pronounced bags under his eyes. There was a granite grimness about the man. Even his eyebrows were going gray.
“So how do you propose we kill dear Adolph?” she asked, breaking the tense silence. “Your Generals have already tried… twice, from what I hear. His bunker in Berlin must be heavily guarded now.”
Pernass re-lit his cigar. “He’s not in Berlin anymore. It’s too dangerous. In fact, he’s not even in Germany. He’s in Rastenburg in northeast Poland, which is surrounded by mountains and extremely hard to reach. English bombers can’t fly that far.”
“So how are we supposed to find it?”
Glancing at Kelly, he smiled. “I believe my nephew has become a talented plane thief. You can parachute in there.”
“Oh, nothing risky. We just drop in out of the blue and torch the place.”
“Katelyn, you’re famous for blowing things up. I’m surprised Buckingham Palace is still standing after your last escapade.”
Kat looked at Pernass innocently, “I didn’t blow up Buckingham Palace… I only burned it a little…”
Giving Pernass her I love to blow shit up look, and asking, “so, what do you want me to blow up?”
Pernass hesitated. “It’s Hitler’s concrete bunker.”
“Are we talking mortars or a simple assault? Because if we’re parachuting in…”
“You’re the expert in blowing stuff up. I’ll leave the details to you on how to do it.”
“What, exactly will you be doing?”
Flicking his ash into the cut-glass ashtray, he sighed. “I’m going to orchestrate the operation from Berlin. By the time you reach Cologne, I’ll have all the answers. Maps, plans, location bearings.”
Kat squinted at him. Pernass was a wily old fox, and she didn’t trust him. “And why would we go to Cologne? The Brits are bombing the hell out of it.”
“You may have noticed that there are no Generals in Vienna. Because of Fleming, I needed to move the meeting place. We’re now gathering in Cologne.”
“Gathering,” she repeated. “Sounds like a gathering of crows. You’re meeting in a city that the English are taking apart? That doesn’t sound very wise.”
“The meeting will take place on a yacht on the River Rhine. They never bomb the river.”
She frowned. Why did Pernass give them information that they could relay to Fleming? It didn’t make sense. “They might… now that you’ve told me.”
“If you told them… I doubt you will.”
“I still don’t understand. Why would we go to Cologne when they’re carpet-bombing the place?”
“Because I’ll be in Cologne, where I’ll be creating all the paperwork you need to enter Berlin and Poland. It’s very complicated. There are checkpoints all across Germany now, and your identity papers are out of date. They might be fine in Italy, but not Berlin. You’ll also need a truck. You won’t get anywhere near Poland in a Bentley.”
“How did you know we were in Italy?” she asked, indignantly.
Pernass gave a sly smile. “I’ve been following your movements ever since you parachuted into Pistoia. I know you killed that revolting kleine scheiße, Reinhard Heydrich, and I know you killed everyone at the roadblock in Padova. I’d be very careful what you tell Fleming if I were you. The SOE is full of spies.”
She looked at him in horror. “You’re not serious? You’ve infiltrated the SOE?”
“We’ve infiltrated more than the SOE.” He laughed a croaky, smoker’s laugh. “Then again, we need your help to kill Hitler. The man’s a maniac. If we don’t stop him, there’ll be nothing left of Germany. You think the average German wants Hitler? They despise the man.” He laughed again. “Can you imagine the irony? We need the English to save our country.”
“Actually, I can,” Kelly said. “My aunt is not a NAZI, and nor are any of her friends. But we also need to trust you, and I’m not sure if we can.”
Pernass looked at his watch. “I can tell you how to trust me, young man. In exactly one hour, a single Lancaster bomber… dispatched by Commander Fleming, I might add… is going to destroy this hotel. You’d be advised not to be in the vicinity. I certainly won’t be.”
Standing up, he brushed the ash from his immaculate uniform, straightened his iron cross and headed for the door, but Kelly blocked his path.
“Not so fast, uncle. What’s the name of this yacht and what date are you going to be there?”
“The name of the yacht is The Excelsior,” Pernass said, brushing past him, “and I’ll be there from the 8th to the 10th, which is tomorrow. You have one hour, young man.” Pernass opened the door and departed.
The banquet was in full swing when they left the hotel. A band played Blaue Hausaren as people danced. Kat had never seen such a display of opulence. Urging Kelly down the steps, they met the others by the Bentley. They were all wearing SS uniforms again.
It didn’t take long to explain what took place with Pernass, or why they were in such a hurry to leave.
Jock Dore was furious. “Ya invited Pernass to yer room?” he said angrily. “Are you mad? He could have killed ya both. With all the trouble I’ve been to keep ya alive, and ya do a thing like that?”
“We did talk about it, Jock. Pernass also took a risk. Anyway, shall we go? We’ve got fifteen minutes to clear the area.”
“Ya really think Fleming’s going to blow up the hotel?”
“I don’t know, Jock, but I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“If hotel blow up,” Capetti growled, “I send Mafia to SOE. They chop Fleming into many bite-sized pieces and feed him to fishes.”
“Need look after Commanding Officer… Even if she crazy…”
Climbing into the car, they drove away. They were still looking for the road to Munich when bombs began to fall. For safety reasons, they should have kept going, but they wanted to stop and see if the Imperial Hotel was still standing. At first, it was difficult to tell. There were so many explosions. Half the city seemed to be on fire. Stewart pointed to a fire just north of the river. The Imperial Hotel was ablaze. Kat could only hope that the guests heard the siren and taken to the air raid shelters, but as they continued, she envisioned all the women in their beautiful dresses lying amongst the ruins.
What got to her was that Fleming ordered the bombing mission to destroy the hotel. Despite all the other missions, it remained intact. Now it was gone. Was it just collateral damage, or had it been an air strike to take her, the team, and her stepfather out? Which presented a dilemma, what was she supposed to do now? Should she continue to Cologne to meet up with Pernass and plan the killing of Hitler, or should she hi-jack a German radio room and call Fleming? Because regardless of not trusting her stepfather, she no longer trusted Fleming either. For the first time in two years, Kat’s Rats were on their own.
They were approaching Stuttgart when the first checkpoint appeared. Pernass warned them about checkpoints. They would become more and more rigorous as they drove north, and their papers might not be accepted. Stuttgart wasn’t a large town, but it had the Daimler car plant and an important rail hub, and was heavily bombed. Still half a mile away, she brought the Bentley to a complete stop. If the guards were difficult and didn’t accept their papers, they needed to prepare.
“Why are we stopping?” Kelly asked. “It’s 0300, and we’re SS Officers.”
Pernass said our papers are out of date.”
“So? Even if our papers are out of date, they’re not going to arrest us.”
Kat and Die Wolfsschanze Page 16
