Treason in the Secret City

by Diane Fanning

  Hansrote laughed.

  Mabel answered. ‘It’s Jessie.’

  Teddy started towards the sound when Hansrote shouted, ‘She’s armed.’

  Mabel said, ‘She is not.’

  Hansrote laughed again. ‘What’s behind the door, Teddy? The tiger or the lady?’

  Teddy handed the rolling pin to Joe, grabbed the gun from Charlie and raced into the other room. Hinges creaked and the noises grew louder and then stilled. ‘Oh, Jessie. Oh, you poor thing.’

  ‘Help me! Help me! Help me!’

  ‘Calm down, girl. That’s why we’re here. Let me get you untied.’

  ‘Libby? Libby? Where’s Libby?’

  ‘She’s okay. She’s in the other room.’

  ‘Is she alive?’

  ‘Yes, Jessie. Please stop squirming. Thata girl.’

  ‘Is she hurt?’

  ‘Yes, but she’s going to be okay.’

  ‘I have to see her.’

  ‘Okay, hold on. One more knot.’

  I heard her limping gait before I saw her. Just as her feet came into view, I noticed the blood seeping through Charlie’s shirt. My arm still felt too heavy to lift. I left it lying limp on the floor and pointed my index finger towards the injured man and said, ‘Charlie’ as loudly as I could.

  Joe and Teddy turned in his direction while Jessie fell to the floor beside me. ‘Oh poor Libby,’ she moaned.

  Jessie’s face was bruised and swollen. One of her front teeth was missing and her hair was clotted with blood. ‘I couldn’t look worse than you,’ I said.

  Jessie, a possessor of perpetual sunshine, giggled. ‘I imagine I do look a fright. See, Mama was right. I shouldn’t be spendin’ time with girls like Mabel.’

  On the other side of the room, Joe barked into a telephone. ‘We need an ambulance and officers. There’s been a shooting.’

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  Moments later, the apartment supervisor appeared in the doorway, stared at the door frame, and said, ‘What seems to be the problem here?’

  Everyone started talking at once but Hansrote’s authoritative voice stood out from the rest. ‘My name is on the lease for this apartment. These people broke in and attacked me.’

  The manager stepped toward Hansrote. ‘I am sorry, sir. We’ve never had this kind of trouble here before. I assure you that we will handle all repairs and cleaning and—’

  Joe stepped between the two men, placed his palm on the chest of the newly arrived man, and said, ‘Stop right there. The police are on the way.’

  The supervisor looked ready to challenge Joe’s authority to stop him in his own building until he caught sight of Charlie, leaning against the wall who, once again, was in possession of Hansrote’s gun. ‘Okay. Don’t want any trouble here. I’ll just go back downstairs and escort the officers up when they arrive.’ With his elbows bent up and his palms facing the room, he backed out. Once he was out of sight, the sound of his running footsteps echoed through the hall and down the stairs.

  ‘Call Crenshaw right away,’ Charlie said. ‘Everything could get very messy before this is all sorted out. You never know which way locals will see things when it comes to dealing with us.’

  Teddy placed the call. ‘This is Teddy Mullins calling from Knoxville. We need Crenshaw and we need him now. A scientist has been shot and another has been wounded.’ After a pause, he said, ‘I don’t care what kind of meeting he is in, Nichols. There are, let me see, five scientists here and we are all apt to be arrested when the local law enforcement gets here – if we’re all still alive.’ Teddy turned to the room and said, ‘Nichols is informing Crenshaw of the situation but not making any promises.’ His attention was drawn back to the phone. ‘Yes. Yes? Yes, Libby Clark is here, too. Yes, she is injured.’ Putting his hand over the mouthpiece, he said, ‘Well, Libby, Crenshaw is only interested in you. Not sure if he wants to rescue you or lock you up.’

  I wanted to sit up but the pain was too strong. I wanted to ask a question but all that came out was a moan. It felt as if every move was driving a knife into my lungs.

  A moment later, Teddy said, ‘Okay,’ and disconnected the call.

  ‘What? What?’ Joe asked.

  ‘I was just told to make sure no further harm is done to Miss Clark or I’d be scrubbing pots in the desert next week.’

  ‘You’re not military. He can’t send you anywhere,’ Joe objected.

  ‘I bet if he was mad enough, he could get me conscripted against my will. Besides, I have my own personal reasons for not letting any more harm befall Libby, don’t you?’ Teddy said.

  ‘Yes, indeed. Is there anything we can do to make Libby more comfortable?’

  Laying on my side on the floor, I did the only thing I could without raising an angry red cloud of pain. I squeezed Jessie’s hand.

  ‘Libby hears you – she just squeezed my hand. I don’t think she should be moved at all until the ambulance arrives. Yeah, she just squeezed my hand again. So she agrees. But Joe, grab the seat cushion off of that easy chair and put it behind her. If she falls back, I don’t want her hitting the hard floor.’

  ‘Charlie?’ I forced through my lips in a whisper.

  ‘Yes,’ Jessie said, ‘Charlie’s hanging in there – aren’t you Charlie?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am. I’d probably keel over if I tried to stand but I’m doing fine right here.’

  ‘I hear a siren,’ Joe said, rushing to the windows. ‘An ambulance just pulled up in front of the building and there are two running patrolmen just crossing the street. Now, they’re coming inside.’

  Pounding feet echoed in the stairwell like a herd of stampeding cattle. I could see through the broken doorway as two uniformed officers entered with drawn guns and slitted eyes.

  Charlie stretched out an arm with the gun held upside down with the tips of his fingers on the grip. ‘This is the gun that injured me.’

  An officer stepped forward and took it from him and Charlie pointed to the bound Hansrote and added, ‘That is the man who shot me.’

  ‘He’s lying,’ Hansrote shouted. ‘Ask the manager. This is my apartment. They came in and attacked me. Tell them, Mabel. We’re the victims here.’

  I couldn’t see Mabel’s face but the delay in her response told me that she was reassessing the situation and figuring the odds of escaping the trap with Hansrote if she readjusted her position again. In defiance of Joe and Teddy, she rose to her feet and said, ‘Yes, officer. These crazy people broke in here – you see the door. They forced their way in and attacked us. All I want to do is get out of here alive. Thank God, you’ve come to our rescue.’

  From the doorway, the apartment manager said, ‘That’s the truth. That woman lives here. The tied-up man’s name is on the lease. You need to let them go and arrest these young hoodlums.’

  I had to admit that was a first. I’d been called a lot of things in my life but never a hoodlum. The involuntary chuckle that escaped made the pain swirl and throb in my chest.

  The one officer who had control of the weapon that fired the shot into Charlie kept his distance from all of us as if afraid we’d jump him for it. The other approached Hansrote, kneeled on the floor and untied his knots, grumbling about the tightness as he did. He talked under his breath to Hansrote, who mumbled responses to him. I couldn’t understand what was being said but it sounded almost conspiratorial. And that was not good.

  Suddenly a shout, ‘What are you doing? Give me back my gun.’ And another shot fired. The officer slumped from his knees down to all fours, then fell flat on his face. Hansrote was on his feet, gun in hand. He swung the weapon toward the other officer and ordered him to drop the pistol in his hand as well as his half-drawn service revolver and put his hands on top of his head.

  ‘Everybody, keep back,’ Hansrote ordered.

  Mabel took two steps forward. ‘Oh, Eddie, I knew you’d get us out of this mess.’

  Hansrote pointed the gun at her and said, ‘You, too, stop it right there.’

  �
�But, Eddie …’

  ‘Take another step and I’ll shoot you, too, girl.’ He kicked the pieces of rope towards her. ‘You want to help, Mabel – go tie up that policeman.’

  ‘Oh Eddie, you won’t regret taking me with you,’ Mabel said.

  ‘Shut up and do what I tell you. I need a hostage. Sounds like Clark here is the only one the brass care about. Get her to her feet.’ When no one moved, Hansrote shouted at Jessie. ‘You, stupid girl, you heard what I said. Get Clark on her feet. Move it.’

  With the barrel of the gun pointing at her forehead, Jessie just sat there on the floor beside me. She folded her arms across her chest and sat up straight while glaring at Hansrote.

  Hansrote fired another shot that pierced the wood floor inches from Jessie’s knees. Jessie flinched at the noise but stayed in place. Unbelievably, she smiled at him. ‘You can shoot me if you want but you can’t force me to help you,’ she said.

  ‘Mabel, are you finished over there yet?’ Hansrote demanded.

  ‘Yes, Eddie, he’s all tied up.’

  ‘Then get over here, dammit. Get that Clark woman up on her feet. I need to get out of here.’

  Mabel grabbed one of my wrists and jerked upward. Everything went black streaked with red. I thought I’d pass out but I struggled to hold onto my consciousness, then my knees gave out. As I fell, Mabel pushed my body toward the sofa where I landed with a soft plop. Breathing was difficult. Each inhalation and exhalation sent stabs of pain jolting through my ribcage. But if I held my breath the agony was even worse.

  ‘I’ll be your hostage,’ Jessie said. ‘Let the medics outside the door come in and take her to the hospital and I’m all yours.’

  Hansrote laughed. ‘No one cares what happens to you, stupid girl. All they care about is that nosy little smart aleck Clark. You can come with her, though – you can be her crutch. Get her to her feet,’ he said swinging the barrel in my direction.

  A scuffling noise in the hallway drew his attention away from me. ‘What’s going on out there? Mabel, go check.’

  A moment later, the barrels of an Enfield Rifle and a Thompson submachine gun swung into the doorway. Crenshaw appeared behind the soldiers and boomed out a command, ‘Drop the damn gun, Hansrote. You’re outnumbered, outgunned and out of time.’

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Time seemed to freeze in place for a moment, then Hansrote stepped backwards and trained his weapon on Crenshaw’s head.

  ‘Go ahead and pull the trigger, Hansrote. The split second you do, my men will open fire and you will die without knowing if you even hit your target.’

  Hansrote laughed. ‘Ah, Lieutenant Colonel Crenshaw, relax. You might get a promotion out of this. Just remember, you may be able to stop me but you can’t stop us all. We’re everywhere. Some of us are in it for the money, others are involved because of deeply-held principles – they are the really dangerous ones. You’ll never break them.’ He did not change his aim but swiveled his head slightly away. ‘Joe?’

  ‘Yes,’ Joe said.

  ‘Say goodbye to Henrietta for me,’ Hansrote said before putting the barrel to his head.

  I heard yells of ‘no’, and the sharp retort of one more gunshot. Hansrote’s blood and brain matter spattered on the wall behind him and his body crumpled down to the floor. Jessie sobbed and Mabel shrieked, ‘Don’t you leave me alone, Eddie. Don’t you dare!’

  The sounds reverberated in a now silent room. Crenshaw broke the spell by barking orders. ‘Corporal, secure that woman,’ he said pointing at Mabel. ‘Medics, get in here and care for the wounded.’

  It seemed as if everyone started moving at once. I drifted in and out of consciousness – at first, from the intensity of the pain; later on a cloud of morphine.

  The first real awareness I had of anything around me was the feeling of someone’s hand wrapped around mine and the sight of a brown head resting on the mattress beside me. I looked at my physical surroundings. I was no longer in the apartment. Everything was white and spartan. Was I in a hospital?

  The head rose, the eyes blinked – it was Teddy. ‘Libby! It’s so good to see you open your eyes. I was so worried. Do you feel okay?’

  ‘I feel confused and foggy,’ I said in a voice that didn’t quite sound like mine.

  ‘Do you need anything? Should I call the nurse?’

  ‘Water. Just some water please.’

  Teddy grabbed the pitcher on the nightstand and poured a glass. I swallowed as much as I could but held on to the glass. ‘Okay. How’s Charlie?’

  ‘He’s just down the hall. The surgery went well. If nothing bad happens, he’ll go home in a couple of days.’

  ‘What about Jessie?’

  ‘She’s been treated and released. She’s seeing the dentist tomorrow because a couple of her teeth were knocked out.’

  ‘And wasn’t a police officer shot?’

  ‘Yeah …’

  ‘Well, is he okay?’

  ‘No. No. He didn’t make it. He died right there in the apartment.’

  ‘Did they arrest Mabel?’

  ‘Yes. Crenshaw’s men did. She’s being questioned about the others.’

  ‘How did you all know to come looking for me?’

  ‘Gary.’

  ‘You found Gary? Is he okay?’

  ‘Sort of. We’ll have to decide what to do with him.’

  ‘What do you mean? What happened?’

  ‘Well, Monday morning, he showed up at Y-12. He sent a message into our lab for Tom saying there’d been a tragedy in his family. When Tom came back in, he was furious.’

  ‘Why? Was there a death in his family?’

  ‘No. That family tragedy business was just his way to get Tom to come outside. Gary told his story to him and Tom came inside and told Joe and then they both went to Charlie. Charlie got me out of my lab.’

  ‘You still haven’t said why Tom was so angry.’

  ‘That’s because of what Gary said. He said that just a block away from Joe’s, he was approached by a federal agent who took him to an office building in Knoxville. The agent asked him about our group and Frannie’s location. He said that he told them nothing.’

  ‘So what’s the problem? Even if he had, his information was outdated. Crenshaw had already picked up Gregg and Frannie.’

  ‘True but Gary didn’t know that he was in on the latest development. And it didn’t end there. Another federal agent came in and knocked him around a bit – he’s got a black eye and his glasses are now held together with tape. He still told them nothing except that the person they needed to arrest was Hansrote because he was a spy. The next thing he knew, he woke up in a dark room somewhere else. That’s when Gary went off the rails.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Gary is sitting out in the hall waiting for permission to come in to talk to you. Might be best if he tells you the rest.’

  ‘Why should I talk to him if he thinks I’m a spy?’ I asked.

  ‘He’s been sitting out there all night and all morning because he now realizes he’s been manipulated and used and he wants to apologize and explain himself.’

  ‘All right. Send him in.’

  Teddy stepped to the door and said Gary’s name.

  Gary entered, his head hanging low. When he looked up, he appeared ready to cry. ‘I’m sorry, Libby. So sorry. I’m sorry I doubted you. I’m sorry I thought the worst of you. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Why don’t you tell me what happened after you woke up in that dark room.’

  THIRTY-NINE

  Gary woke up with no idea of where he was or what he was doing there. His face hurt and his arm throbbed. He cringed when the door flew open.

  A man rushed in and said, ‘Oh my God, here you are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you.’

  ‘Who are you?’ Gary asked.

  ‘I’m a federal agent,’ he said.

  Gary shrunk away from him. ‘Get away from me. Leave me alone.’

  ‘Hey, hey, calm down. You got somethin
g against federal agents?’

  ‘Considering two of them tricked me and beat me up, not very much.’

  ‘Those two men were not federal agents. They are working for the spy ring.’

  ‘For Hansrote?’

  ‘Oh no. The real spy ring framed Hansrote because he was trying to find the evidence to expose them. They killed your friend, Marvin, too, because he betrayed them.’

  ‘Who are the real spies?’ Gary asked.

  ‘A bunch of crazed women who are dedicated to making sure the Nazis win the war.’

  ‘Do I know them?’

  ‘I’m sure you know one of them – she’s a lady scientist named Libby Clark.’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘That’s not possible.’

  ‘I know you don’t want to believe it, Gary, but it’s true. That woman has fooled a lot of people. Frannie Snowden and some other girl working at K-25 are working with her. That Clark woman is the one who got you and your group involved in framing Hansrote, isn’t she?’

  ‘I–I–I,’ Gary stammered.

  ‘Yes. She’s a tricky one. Teddy Mullins thought he was in love with her. Now he knows the truth, too. He’s devastated.’

  ‘Teddy believes she’s a spy?’

  ‘Teddy knows it. We need to find that Clark woman right away before she hurts anyone else. We think she’s planning on eliminating another enemy today. God help anyone who gets in her way. Now, let me check out the damages. You have a real shiner coming up on your right eye. I’ll get some tape and put your glasses back together so you can see until you get a new pair. Your right arm might be broken. You need to have it checked out in a hospital.’

  The pain and swelling in Gary’s arm made him accept that he needed to have his arm set and the building agony of that injury, and the man’s concern about it, amplified Gary’s willingness to believe everything he said. ‘Can we go now? I’m in a lot of pain.’

  ‘Do you know where Snowden is?’

  Gary told him what he thought to be true at the time of his abduction, that Frannie was staying at the Andrew Johnson Hotel.