by Alan Bardos
Johnny turned on his heels and fled. He'd often fantasized about being dismissed from his job, but he'd always hoped it would be for something big, like having relations with the boss's wife, not by being made to look a total fool by the love of his life.
He wandered along the embankment, taking stock, and realised that he could probably have played that slightly better. If she had been the dancer from the cafe, she would hardly want him spreading it around a place where her father was a respected figure. Even so, he thought getting him sacked was uncalled for.
He should have kept his powder dry, no doubt about it, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. Johnny stopped and looked down at the bloody red mud of the Miljacka River. Too late for recriminations now, he reflected. Of all the mistakes he'd made with women recently, this one was relatively minor.
It had been worth getting sacked, just to talk to her. Johnny walked on towards the old town - he still had the more immediate problem of disabling the weapons. He considered just throwing them into the river and blaming Ilic, but the river was only a few inches deep and Ilic was too much in Gavrilo's pocket for anyone to believe he would do it.
Johnny was almost home, and realised that if he was going to do something, now was as good a time as any. Gavrilo would be at work all day and Ilic would probably be at 'The Bell', the newspaper he edited. He made up his mind to act as he got to his street: the Archduke's visit was only a few days away.
Mrs Ilic was pottering about in the kitchen when he got to the boarding house. Johnny shouted hello to her and went up to Gavrilo and Ilic's room. The door was shut, but not locked.
He went in and tried to walk silently across creaking floorboards and then pulled out the Gladstone bag from under Gavrilo's fold-down bed. He carefully opened the catch and took out one of the small Browning pistols. The plate on the side stated that it had been made under patent by Fabrique Nationale, in Belgium. Johnny had never held an automatic before; it was very different from the service revolvers he'd trained with, in the reserves.
He examined the beige cardboard boxes that held the twenty-two calibre bullets and could just make out, "Browning Colt USA" smudged on the front, under a picture of a Browning automatic. It felt strange to be reading English again, in this environment.
'25' was printed boldly next to the picture of the pistol and he wondered if these were all the bullets they had. Johnny considered just taking the bullets but Gavrilo and Ilic would be sure to notice they were missing before he completed his assignment.
He put the gun down and ruffled his shirt; his sweat was making it prickly. Johnny picked up one of the oblong bombs, wishing it was a hip flask full of brandy. It felt rough and uneven. Russian revolutionaries had used bombs to great effect, throwing them at leading personages as they drove down the street, the most notable being at Alexander II, the current Tsar's grandfather. Johnny wasn't about to let that happen here but he didn't have a clue how to stop it.
He unscrewed the cap on the top of the bomb - it made a click and he almost dropped the thing in fright. There was a small loop under the cap that Johnny thought must be the priming mechanism. When the loop was struck it would push down, lighting the fuse that set the whole thing off. He thought that if he could knobble the loop, then it wouldn't light the fuse. He was only guessing, as not having undergone ordnance training, he really had no bloody idea.
He looked around for something to use, but a hacksaw wasn't something Young Bosnians would keep in their bedrooms. Johnny remembered the curved knife he'd brought in Doboj. He still carried it around, just in case things turned nasty.
He started slicing away at the loop and eventually managed to make two small dents, which didn’t look too obvious, on either side of it. He hoped that anyone striking the loop would just snap it off without igniting the fuse.
He then placed the bomb back in the bag and took out another one. He had started to unscrew the lid when a knock on the street door made him jump. The bomb slipped, he fumbled it and it hit the floor with a loud clang. For a moment, Johnny thought he was dead.
'Jovo,Jovo - what are you doing up there?' Mrs Ilic shouted up at him.
'Nothing, nothing at all Mrs Ilic,' he managed to squeak.
'Didn't you hear the front door? There is a girl here to see you.'
Confused, Johnny shoved the bag back under the bed and fled downstairs. He had no idea what Mrs Ilic was talking about - he didn't know any girls. Then he saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs in a bright green veil. There was no mistaking the amber eyes mocking him.
Chapter 28
Johnny pressed himself into a corner outside the eastern end of the Catholic Cathedral and shivered. Its gothic design didn't offer much cover from the rain. He looked longingly across the street at the green domes of the Turkish baths and thought of the shimmering green silk of the belly dancer.
It had taken him a moment to recover from the shock of seeing her at the boarding house. By the time he'd regained his senses she'd ushered him out into the alley next to the house and slapped his hands away, as he simultaneously tried to lift her veil and robe. It was an instinctive reflex he'd perfected under his uncle's tutelage, but it was completely wasted on her.
'Laszlo sent me,' she said, removing the veil herself.
'Laszlo? Oh, you mean Breitner,' Johnny said, dejected. The name was like a bucket of cold water thrown in his face. 'You work for Breitner?'
‘Why else would I share my lunch with you and take the trouble of explaining Kropotkin, so that you could make friends with the other boys.’ Her eyes mocked his naivety.
Johnny's anger flared up. 'He told me he didn't have any chaps.'
'I thought you'd noticed. I'm not a "chap".' She rolled her eyes coyly.
'Well, yes, I have obviously....what I meant was...'
'I believe what Laszlo actually said was that he didn't have anyone suitable. I'm not suitable,' she explained.
Johnny smiled in spite of his rage and frustration. The thought of her trying to make friends with a puritan like Gavrilo was vaguely amusing. Then he remembered.
'You got me sacked.'
'Something had to be done to, "winkle you out". Laszlo thought you were getting far too comfortable. He needs your information, urgently.'
'So that was a trap? You knew I'd recognise you at the charity?'
'You are a man of certain crude predictabilities. It makes you very easy to manage.'
'Breitner planted you at the cafe!' Johnny couldn't believe he'd gone to that much trouble. Breitner must have known that if he stopped Johnny from following her through the side door at the cafe, he'd completely lose control the next time he saw her. The eye for detail staggered him. 'How did Breitner magic up your father?'
'My father?'
'The chap you were with, puffing cigar smoke all over the place.'
'My father, yes.' She seemed amused by the comment, as if he'd believe anything and everything. 'Oh, Krumpli - that particular "father" is a well known philanthropist, who I met at a Chamber of Commerce function. I pretended to be interested in such matters and he invited me to join him when he visited the Prosvjeta office.'
'How does he feel about you cavorting about as a showgirl?'
Her amber eyes flashed angrily. 'You are to wait by the tram stop behind the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart tonight, after last mass. Laszlo will be on one of the trams going past.'
'But I'd rather meet him at the cafe again.'
'Yes, I'm sure you would, but it will create less suspicion if you are on a tram rather than sitting together in a cafe - I shouldn’t have to tell you this. Now, you've detained me long enough.' He'd detained her! Johnny was so taken aback at her gall that he forgot to ask her name.
He had been waiting for hours, watching the trams rattle past, trailing sparks in the rain. Breitner hadn't been on any of them and Johnny wouldn't have put it past that spiteful little minx to have made the whole thing up. The thought gave him a warm feeling. She was magnificent. Schem
ing women were new to Johnny. Libby, for all her guile, was pretty no nonsense. You always knew where you were with her, and exactly what was expected. Johnny would have to raise his game if he was going to get anywhere with this sophisticated continental.
He nearly missed the tram when it finally came, battling its way through the heavy rain. He saw Breitner sitting at the window; there was no mistaking his ridiculous pince-nez. Johnny did a hundred yard dash through the rain and jumped on just as the doors slammed shut. Breitner nodded approvingly, obviously thinking it had all been part of an elaborate ruse to make sure he wasn't being followed.
He fell into the seat next to Breitner and said a little too begrudgingly, 'I got your message.'
Breitner smiled. 'You're cutting things a bit fine, Johnny. The Archduke arrived in Bosnia today and we have no idea how your friends plan to welcome him.'
'They're not going to do anything before Vidovdan, on Sunday. I've still got Friday and Saturday.'
'Vidovdan,' Breitner repeated the word, ponderously. 'I'd have thought that it would be a lot easier to shoot him during the manoeuvres, when he's standing around in a forest. There must be hundreds of ex-Partisans who could do it.'
'They want to slay the Sultan on their national day,' Johnny said curtly. He'd already told Breitner all of this. 'They'd hardly ignite a revolution skulking about in a forest.'
Breitner gave him a cold look. 'So, it's definitely a nationalist plot by the Young Bosnians - there's no one else involved?'
Johnny shrugged his sodden shoulders, inadvertently pressing cold water down his back. 'The whole thing seems to be their own idea.'
'You're sure?'
'The weapons were supplied by a group called 'The Black Hand' - whatever that is.'
'It's a Pan Slav extremist group, connected with Serbian Intelligence. Exactly the sort of people to mastermind something like this,' Breitner explained.
'They don't appear to have direct control over Gavrilo. In fact, he's very hostile to a Major Tankosic in their leadership.'
The tram went round a corner and Johnny fell onto Breitner. 'Have you managed to spike their weapons?' Breitner whispered into Johnny’s ear before he could sit back.
'One bomb.'
'One bomb, Johnny!' Breitner tried to keep his voice down.
That annoyed Johnny - it wasn't his fault. 'I was in the middle of doing it when your dancer turned up. Who is she anyway?'
Breitner shifted uncomfortably. Involving her was obviously distasteful to him. 'She's a compatriot of mine from Budapest. I have reason to find her useful from time to time.'
'I just bet you do.'
'There are more important things to worry about than the life story of one dancer.'
'Not to me there aren't.'
'Johnny, do you want your commendation or not?' Breitner grinned, and it was Johnny's turn to shift uncomfortably.
'I'm meeting the group tomorrow, so hopefully I can find out more. Now the itinerary's been announced they can start planning in detail. Oh, and I've met the other person in my cell, his name is Trifko Grabez.'
Breitner nodded, making a mental note of the name. 'And the other cell?'
'I've been angling to try and join it, but your little stunt at my work may have lost me some stock with Gavro.'
Breitner gave an indifferent flick of the wrist. 'These things can't be helped.'
'Why don't you just round everyone up - you must have enough evidence by now. and then just beat the rest of it out of them?' Johnny asked. 'Ilic is on a knife-edge, I'm sure he'd talk.'
Breitner looked irritated by the question, ‘I’m a civil servant, not a policeman. I tried to have the conspiracy dealt with before I ever involved you, Johnny. It doesn’t matter how much evidence I have, the authorities won’t listen to me. I explained to you that I have something of a past and anyone who involves themselves with me is likely to find their career ended - especially where the Archduke’s visit is concerned’
‘There must be something you can do, Breitner.’
'I have to see Governor Potiorek. No one else will dare interfere with the Archduke's visit.'
'Well, go and see the Governor then.'
'He's at the manoeuvres with the Archduke. I can't get to him until Saturday afternoon. Before that though, I want to know every detail there is to know about this plot, so you’d better complete your mission by then and come and meet me at the Governor's residence, around four thirty. I'll try and arrange an audience,' Breitner said, although he didn't look comfortable with the idea.
'And what happens if I can't?'
'Just come to his residence on Saturday. Hopefully we can talk the Governor into cancelling the visit.' The tram stopped and Breitner charged out into the rain.
It was still raining the following evening when Johnny met with Gavrilo, Trifko and Ilic at the boarding house. A dull light from an oil lamp cast a menacing glow over the assembled conspirators, hiding their faces in shadow.
Johnny hadn't spoken with Gavrilo since he'd been dismissed from the charity and he couldn't tell if he was still angry with him. All of Gavrilo's focus was on Ilic, who was continuing to bang on about postponing the assassination.
'Now is not a good time to act - we will not profit from it. We must wait until there is a proper political structure in place.'
'Whatever happens after the assassination will only be good for our cause,' Gavrilo replied abruptly, his mind made up.
Ilic held his hands up in surrender. He'd tried to stop it; he was no longer responsible for what happened, or the consequences.
Gavrilo passed Ilic the copy of the Bosnische Post that he'd been reading in the pastry shop. If Princip had any concerns about Ilic, he'd brushed them aside; they'd been friends far too long for him to harbour any serious doubts about Ilic's commitment.
Ilic opened the newspaper and started to study the itinerary of the Archduke's visit, with what little light he could get from the lamp. 'The Royal train will arrive at Sarajevo Station, at 9.50 a.m. and from there the tyrant and his wife will inspect the army barracks and meet senior military commanders. Then they drive to City Hall, via Appel Quay, for a reception and municipal welcome from 10.10 to 10.30, with drawing room dress required. After this they will tour the new museum between 10.40 and 11.40, followed by a nice, long luncheon with Potiorek at the Konak. Then a sightseeing tour and back to their hotel in Ilidze by special train.'
'We intend to ambush the Heir's motorcade, in the true spirit of our forefathers,' Gavrilo said quietly, his calm scarcely concealing the tension in his eyes.
'Surely it would be easier to act while he is walking around sightseeing, rather than when he is sitting in a moving car,' Johnny suggested. 'If we split up and position ourselves at different points on the tour, we'll increase our chances of success.' Johnny hoped this tactic would also make it a lot easier for him to slip away and warn Breitner.
'The station, barracks, City Hall, museum and Governor's residence will be too well guarded,' Gavrilo said, studying the route.
'One person may have a better chance of slipping through the cordon and destroying the Heir. We should draw lots to decide who,' Trifko said, exchanging a look with Ilic. Johnny thought that Ilic must have got to Trifko before the meeting, with another idea to divide the group and stop the assassination.
Gavrilo gave no quarter. 'It will be all of us. This can't be an act of a single person, but a collective action of a people taking revenge.' Gavrilo's word's steadied Trifko. 'We will make one concentrated effort while the tyrant is driven through Sarajevo and the gendarmes are most stretched.'
'All of us? Even the other cell?' Johnny said to remind Gavrilo of the concerns they'd discussed previously. 'What do we know of them, other than that they are young and enthusiastic?'
'You cannot use schoolchildren for a job of this kind; it is not right and it will end in a fiasco,' Trifko agreed.
'I have sent for an experienced person to bolster the other cell,' Ilic said.
'Who?' Johnny spoke louder than he'd intended - he'd been angling to fill that role.
'Jovo, you will also join the other cell,' Gavrilo said.
'Gavro, I will...' Gavrilo cut Johnny off before he could talk of the heroic acts he'd perform.
'That way we will have all the schoolboys together.'
'I don't follow…' Johnny said.
'I think perhaps they will bolster you.' Gavrilo glared at Johnny. 'I am not convinced that your heart is pure Jovo, not after the way you were dismissed for trifling with the dignity of that poor girl, but there is a role for you in the other cell.' Gavrilo looked away from Johnny in disgust. 'Ilic will let you know when you are needed.'
Chapter 29
Franz Ferdinand watched the mock battle with growing admiration. The army was demonstrating a high degree of morale and efficiency. He nodded to General Potiorek - the Governor had done a first rate job. The simulated battle between the blue and red armies, made up of elements of the 14th and 16th Army Corps was quite a sight, some twenty thousand men fighting across the rugged, wooded terrain of Western Bosnia.
It had been reported to him that the Serbian Government viewed these manoeuvres as a dress rehearsal for an invasion of their country, even though they were being conducted well away from their border. The Archduke smiled. A fortune teller had once told him that he would unleash a world war. Although these army corps were excellent, whether or not the rest of the army would be in any position to unleash anything other than a superbly executed waltz, was another question.
The field exercises that he was currently observing were a simulated attack on Sarajevo from the Adriatic, which the defenders had successfully repulsed. He kicked his horse to follow the 'stand in Italians' as they were driven back and thankfully, found that someone had thought to check the correct length for his stirrups. The Archduke viewed the Italians as a very real threat; it was well known that they harboured designs on the Monarchy’s territories of South Tyrol and Trieste.
