Angel in Red_The thrilling sequel to Angel From Hell

by Christopher Nicole

  ‘That, Herr Groener, is your prerogative. But if General Heydrich does not receive that letter tomorrow, I will not answer for your future.’

  She returned to her office and found Meissenbach waiting, a terrified Marlene cowering behind her desk. ‘Where were you last night?’ he demanded.

  ‘Out.’

  ‘You walked out in the middle of the party with one of those Russian louts. I saw you go. I could not believe my eyes. And you had not returned three hours later.’

  ‘You know this because you checked. I will not be spied on, Heinz. Spying is my business, not yours. Nor will I be treated like some schoolgirl Cinderella. What I do, and whom I do it with, is my business. If it will reassure you, it is also the business of the Reich.’

  Meissenbach stared at her with his mouth open, his cheeks turning red. ‘And you expect me to continue the charade of having you work for me?’

  ‘Of course. That also is for the Reich.’

  The telephone jangled. Marlene hurried across the room to pick it up. ‘Countess von Widerstand’s office . . . Oh. Ah . . . Yes of course. Immediately.’ She replaced the receiver and looked at Anna. ‘That was Count von Schulenburg’s secretary. The Ambassador wishes to see you immediately, Countess.’

  ‘I would say your days are numbered,’ Meissenbach said smugly. ‘Or are you going to attempt to tell the Ambassador to mind his own business?’

  ‘If I have to,’ Anna said.

  *

  ‘Sit down, Countess,’ Schulenburg invited.

  Anna did so and crossed her knees.

  ‘I have received a most serious complaint from Herr Groener. Would you like to explain it to me?’

  ‘I had to go out last night, for a prolonged period, sir.’

  ‘With a senior Russian official?’

  ‘Yes sir.’

  Schulenburg looked down at the paper on his desk. ‘Groener states here that his security people reported that you did not return until three o’clock this morning, and that you were . . .’ He hesitated. ‘. . . in a dishevelled state.’

  ‘I’m afraid I was. Yes sir.’

  ‘And you do not feel able to give me an explanation?’

  ‘I cannot, sir.’

  Schulenburg leaned back in his chair. ‘That you absented yourself for some seven hours, at night, in the company of a commissar, is apparently known throughout the Embassy. Which means, I have no doubt, that it is rapidly becoming well known throughout Moscow. I warned you that I would not tolerate any scandal that could bring this Embassy into disrepute. I regard your behaviour as being unacceptable.’

  ‘Are you placing me under arrest, Your Excellency?’ Anna asked in her most dulcet tone.

  ‘I am today going to make a full report of this incident to Herr von Ribbentrop, and request that he instruct General Himmler immediately to recall you from Moscow.’ He stared at her.

  ‘You will do as you think fit, Your Excellency.’ Anna looked at her watch. It was ten o’clock. ‘Now, sir, if you will excuse me, I must leave the Embassy again.’

  ‘And if I refuse you permission to do so?’

  Anna stood up. ‘I would reflect very seriously as to whether that would be a wise step to take, Your Excellency, in the absence of any instructions from Berlin.’ She stood to attention. ‘Heil Hitler!’

  *

  It was a great relief to get out of the Embassy, even if it was well below freezing outside. Anna was thoroughly wrapped up; apart from her furs, she wound a thick woollen scarf round her face from the nose down, and she wore dark glasses and ear-muffs. But the pleasure was more than physical. She actually disliked verbal confrontations, and to have three in rapid succession was disturbing. Nor did she truly know what the outcome would be. But she was carrying out her orders as faithfully as she could.

  The park was deserted, save for the odd keeper, and she saw the unmistakable figure of Clive at a distance. ‘Isn’t this a terribly public place?’ he asked.

  ‘Not today. And we are meeting by accident, are we not? Did you enjoy last night?’

  ‘No. Did you?’

  She fell into step beside him. ‘I was working.’

  ‘I sincerely hope so. I understand that Russian chap you left with is quite important.’

  ‘He is very important.’

  ‘And you seduced him.’

  ‘As I said, I was working. I hope you are not going to carp?’

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of it. Even if . . . Shit, Anna, the thought of you in another man’s arms makes me, well . . .’

  She squeezed his hand. ‘Listen. Matters are a little fraught right now, but I hope they will be resolved within three days at the most. By the end of that time I shall either have been recalled to Berlin, or my position here will be unchallengeable. I am, of course, anticipating the latter. Now, that being so, I must continue and build on my relationship with Chalyapov. If it will relieve your mind, this is not a very entertaining prospect.’

  ‘But you will carry it out to the best of your ability.’

  ‘I do what has to be done, Clive, to the best of my ability at all times. That is my motto, and it is the key to my survival.’

  ‘Even if it involves shooting two of our people in Prague.’

  ‘I did not know they were your people. And in any event I was in my capacity as an SD agent. I hope you did not come here to quarrel.’

  ‘I came here officially to find out just what you are at. And to see you. And . . .’

  ‘You will, and I will give you a complete account of what I have been, and am, doing. But there is no need for me to see Chalyapov every night. What you must do is take a hotel room somewhere in Moscow, and I will come to you whenever I can.’

  ‘You will be able to do this?’

  ‘I’ve told you. In three days’ time I shall either be back in Berlin, or my own mistress.’ She squeezed his fingers. ‘I would rather be your mistress. If you will walk here again in four days’ time, I will be here, if I am still in Moscow. If I am not here, you will know that I have been recalled. If I am here, you will give me the address to go to, and I will come to you whenever I can.’

  ‘Four days’ time is Christmas Day.’

  ‘Well then, we shall be a Christmas present to each other.’

  He stopped walking and gazed at her. ‘If the Russians . . .’

  ‘All they can do is expel me.’ Another smile. ‘And you, perhaps.’

  ‘You know, I am supposed to be controlling you.’

  ‘Try it from the other side, just for once. You may enjoy it.’

  ‘Anna, I adore you.’

  ‘And I look forward to adoring you.’ She released him and walked away.

  *

  ‘Dicey,’ Sprague commented. ‘She could be setting you up.’

  ‘She isn’t.’

  Sprague regarded Clive for several seconds. ‘It is highly irregular for one of our people to live in a hotel instead of the Embassy. You do understand that the Reds have almost every hotel room bugged, and also make irregular checks.’

  Clive grinned. ‘The mysterious midnight phone call. I know a bit about bugs.’

  ‘Well, I will have to inform the Ambassador. He may not like it.’

  ‘I am travelling as an ordinary businessman,’ Clive pointed out. ‘If anything happens to me, you simply deny all knowledge of me.’

  ‘Even if we know you are on your way to a gulag via the Lubianka. These chaps play pretty rough.’

  ‘So do I,’ Clive said. ‘When I have to.’

  *

  Groener entered Anna’s office, and without a word placed the envelope on her desk. Then he stared at her for several seconds, turned and left the room again.

  ‘Ooh!’ Marlene said. ‘I thought he was going to arrest you.’

  ‘In which case he would have arrested you as well,’ Anna told her, and broke the seal on the envelope.

  Congratulations! I have cleared the air for you. These instructions are not to be confided to anyone, even your assista
nt. Circumstances continue to change every day, and your position must change with them. The political attitude of the Soviets towards Germany is no longer of great importance. We wish you to obtain information about the dispositions, morale, and commanding officers of the Soviet Army, particularly those on the Western frontier. You will of course be discreet. It is also important that you gain access to Marshal Stalin, which will require a working knowledge of the interior of the Kremlin. Inform me the moment this has been achieved. Burn this immediately. Heydrich.

  Anna remained gazing at the note for some time. She was aware of a peculiarly chilled sensation across her shoulders. Heydrich could have no doubt that she was an intellectual genius. Therefore he must know that she would be able to interpret what he had just told her. Therefore the matter had to be urgent.

  She struck a match and carefully burned the paper. As she did so the telephone jangled. Marlene picked it up. ‘The Countess von Widerstand’s office. Yes, sir,’ she put her hand over the mouthpiece. ‘Herr Meissenbach,’ she hissed.

  She took the receiver. ‘Good morning, Heinz.’

  ‘I wish to see you.’

  ‘In your office?’

  ‘Yes. Now.’

  ‘Now.’ She handed the phone back to Marlene.

  ‘Is there going to be trouble?’ the girl asked.

  ‘No,’ Anna said, and went to the door.

  *

  ‘This is an intolerable situation,’ Meissenbach announced.

  Anna sat before his desk and crossed her knees. ‘In what way, Heinz?’

  ‘Berlin has virtually placed you in charge of the Embassy.’

  ‘Of course they have not. They merely wish me to be allowed to carry out my duties without interference.’

  ‘The Ambassador is furious. He is seeking further clarification from the Foreign Minister. It is quite unacceptable that he should not have ultimate jurisdiction over every member of his staff.’

  ‘I am sure any clarification he requires will be provided. As you know, I can only carry out my orders, and this I intend to do.’

  ‘By seducing every commissar you can lay hands on, is that it? Do you intend to turn the German Embassy into a brothel?’

  ‘You have my word, Heinz, that I intend to seduce no one within these walls. But I would appreciate it if your interference in my affairs ceases now. And you should also require Herr Groener to do the same.’ She smiled at him. ‘I am sure this new arrangement will make Greta very happy.’

  Chapter Seven – The Betrayal

  Clive, with his irrepressible sense of humour, had chosen the Hotel Berlin as his Moscow residence, but there was method in his madness. It was a large, bustling place, its foyer dominated by a huge stuffed brown bear. There was always a crowd of people coming and going, even after dinner. No one paid the least attention to Anna when she entered; wrapped up against the cold as she was, even her beauty could not be noticed, while her obviously expensive clothes – she was wearing her mink – precluded any suggestion that she might be a prostitute looking for business.

  Clive had given her his room number when they had met on Christmas Day. She crossed the foyer to the lifts. ‘Five,’ she told the attendant.

  ‘Yes, comrade.’ He pressed the appropriate button and they rode up. He gazed at her, but she did not remove any of her protective clothing, not even the scarf over her nose and mouth, although it was perfectly warm inside the hotel.

  She left the lift and walked along the empty corridor. She knocked on the door, and was soon in his arms. He lifted her from the floor and carried her into the room, kicked the door shut while he kissed her mouth as she pulled the scarf away. ‘I think I have waited all my life for this moment.’

  He released her and she unwrapped herself, took off her hat, and shook out her hair. ‘What actually kept you?’

  ‘Would you believe that I was shot down?’

  She had been laying her mink across a chair, but now she turned sharply. ‘Where?’

  ‘Over the Med.’

  ‘But you’re all right?’

  ‘Well, obviously; I’m here. But I was a bit bashed up at the time. I stopped a bullet in the back of my thigh, and as it was a couple of days before I was rescued, I needed God knows how many blood transfusions. I spent a couple of months in a Maltese hospital, which put things back a bit.’

  ‘God, I have been so worried, not knowing if you were coming at all.’

  He stood against her, to slide his hands over her dress and down her back to caress her buttocks. ‘Were you worried for me or for you?’

  She kissed him. ‘I have never lied to you. Are we alone?’

  ‘I’ve taken out two rather obvious bugs.’

  ‘Which you were meant to find. I think we need to be up close and personal.’

  ‘I won’t say no to that.’

  They undressed facing each other, and then she was again in his arms. ‘The thought of you in—’

  She kissed him. ‘No names. Let’s get into bed.’ He slid in beside her, and she put her hands down to hold him. ‘We should have sex first. Or this chap will get in the way. How long is it since you had a woman?’

  ‘I told you, I’ve been in hospital or recuperating for the last few months.’

  ‘Umm. That means you’re going to be away in seconds.’

  ‘But we have all night. Haven’t we?’

  ‘Most of it. So, how would you like to start?’

  ‘Well . . . Do you know, I have no idea what you do. What turns you on?’

  ‘Everything turns me on, when I wish to be turned on. And I do everything. And I love you. You must not be shy with me. You want something we have not done before, and perhaps you do not do with Belinda. So do it with me.’

  Clive took a deep breath. ‘Would you suck me?’

  She raised her head. ‘You do not do that with Belinda?’

  ‘Belinda is a rather old-fashioned woman. Don’t get the wrong idea. She enjoys sex, but she likes to, well, close her eyes and let events take their course.’

  ‘I think you were sex-starved even before your swim in the Med. Of course I will fellate you. But I think you wish to watch.’

  She threw back the covers, and he caught her hand. ‘What I would like most is . . . ah . . . well . . .’

  Anna gazed at him for several seconds, and then gave a gurgle of laughter. ‘You shall have what you wish, sir, and we will see who can get the other off first.’ She rose to her knees, turned her back on him, swung her leg across his chest to straddle him, and tossed hair from her eyes before lowering her head.

  *

  He lay with his arm round her, her head on his shoulder; for the moment their passion was spent. ‘Tell me about Chalyapov.’

  ‘He is a job of work.’

  ‘Which is also my work.’

  ‘Of course. What do you wish to know?’

  ‘What precisely are your instructions?’

  ‘They have changed, but I do not know how important you will think them. I came here to gain what information I could about Soviet feelings towards the Reich.’

  ‘You did not find this odd?’

  ‘Why should I?’

  ‘Well, my darling, with the greatest possible respect, you are twenty years old, you have been trained to seduce men and you have been trained to kill. I don’t think any of those accomplishments can have properly prepared you for evaluating political currents.’

  ‘Perhaps you are right. In any event my instructions have now been changed, as I told you. I am now to use my intimacy with Chalyapov to discover as much as I can about Soviet troop concentrations.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Well, I have not actually started yet. I am going to work on him the next time I meet him, which is the day after tomorrow.’

  ‘He can provide this information?’

  ‘According to Heydrich, he is one of Stalin’s closest associates, and has access to the most sensitive information.’

  ‘And have you drawn any conclusions from
this?’

  ‘Yes. I think Hitler is preparing for a war with Russia.’

  ‘It certainly seems like it.’

  ‘Will that help Great Britain?’

  ‘Well, obviously, if Germany and Russia went to war it would take the heat off us, at least for a while.’ He stroked her hair.

  ‘Would it not provide you with an ally? A very powerful ally?’

  ‘That’s difficult to say. As to whether the Soviets would prove a worthwhile ally, I have no idea. They lost all their top generals in 1937, and they made very little impression on the Finns last year.’

  ‘There are an awful lot of them.’

  ‘A lot of men do not automatically make a successful army. And then there is the question of whether the Government, our Government, will ever consider an alliance with Communist Russia. I think Winston hates them even more than he hates Nazi Germany. Still, that is a pretty important piece of news, and I shall certainly relay it. What happens if your friend suspects what you are after? I mean, how does he regard you?’

  She laughed. ‘Ewfim Chalyapov believes that he is God’s gift to the female sex. He selects every beautiful woman who drifts into his orbit, and expects them to fall madly in love with him. I am just following fashion. He knows absolutely nothing about me except that I am an employee of the Embassy.’

  Clive hugged her protectively. ‘And is he God’s gift to womankind?’

  ‘He is very virile. But he is also very rough and ready, and totally uncouth in his personal habits. And he smokes like a chimney and stinks of tobacco. Every time I have been with him, I stink too.’

  She sat bolt upright as there was a knock on the door. Clive squeezed her hand as he got out of bed and put on a dressing gown. ‘It’s only the night porter.’

  ‘What? Checking up?’

  Clive grinned. ‘No. I told him to bring up a bottle of champagne at midnight.’

  ‘Suppose I hadn’t come?’

  ‘Then I’d have drunk myself insensible. But you did come. Now we are going to toast the future. Our future. You just snuggle down beneath the covers and keep out of sight.’

  He went to the door.

  *

  It was three in the morning when she sat up again. ‘I think I should be getting back.’