the Valhalla Exchange (v5)

by Jack Higgins

  They moved outside. Finebaum said, 'What about the kraut? We take him along?'

  'Voss stays with me,' Gaillard said firmly. 'I'll very probably need him.'

  'Anything you say, Doctor.' Howard shoved Finebaum up into the cab of the ambulance. 'Finebaum's survived on the idea the only good one is a dead one for so long, it's become a way of life.'

  'So what does that make me, some kind of animal? It means I'm alive, doesn't it?' Finebaum leaned down to Gaillard as Hoover started the engine. 'You look like a philosopher, Doc. Here's some philosophy for you. A funny thing about war. It gets easier as you go along.'

  The ambulance drove away across the square. Meyer, who was standing in the porch, said in German. 'What did he say, the small one, Herr Doktor?'

  'He said a terrible thing, my friend.'

  Gaillard smiled sadly. 'But true, unfortunately. And now, I think, we'll take another look at this boy of yours.'

  Hesser was seated at his desk writing a letter to his wife when the door was flung open unceremoniously and Schneider rushed in. He had the Alsatian with him and his excitement had even infected the dog, which circled him, whining, so that the lead got tangled in his legs.

  'What is it, man?' Hesser demanded. 'What's wrong with you?'

  'They're coming, Herr Oberst. A British vehicle has just started up the hill.'

  'Only one? You are certain?'

  'They've just phoned through from the guardhouse, Herr Oberst. An ambulance, apparently.'

  'Strange,' Hesser said. 'However, we must prepare to receive them with all speed. Turn out the garrison and notify General Canning and the others. I'll be down myself directly.'

  Schneider went out and Hesser sat there, hand flat on the table, a slight frown on his face. Now that the moment had come he felt curiously deflated, but then that was only to be expected. The end of something, after all, and what did he have to show for it? One arm, one eye. But there was still Gerda - and the children - and it was over now. Soon he could go home. When he got up and reached for his cap and belt he was actually smiling.

  As the ambulance came out of the last bend and Schloss Arlberg loomed above them, Finebaum leaned out of the cab and looked up at the pointed roofs of the towers in awe.

  'Hey, I seen this place before. The moat, the drawbridge - everything. The Prisoner of Zenda. Ronald Coleman swam across and some dame helped him in through the window.'

  'That was Hollywood, this is for real, man,' Hoover said. 'This place was built to stand a siege. Those walls must be ten feet thick.'

  'They're hospitable enough, that's for sure,' Howard said. 'They've left the gate open for us. Straight in, Harry, nice and slow, and let's see what we've got here.'

  Hoover dropped into bottom gear and they trundled across the drawbridge. The ironbound gates stood open and they moved on through the darkness of the entrance tunnel and emerged into the great inner courtyard.

  The garrison was drawn up in a single line, all eighteen of them, Colonel Hesser at the front. General Canning, Colonel Birr, Claire and Madame Chevalier stood together at the top of the steps leading up to the main entrance.

  The ambulance rolled to a halt and Howard got out. Hesser called his men to attention and saluted politely. 'My name is Hesser - Oberstleutnant, 42nd Panzer Grenadiers, at present in command of this establishment. And you, sir?'

  'Captain John H. Howard, 2nd Ranger Battalion, United States Army.'

  Hesser turned and called, 'General Canning - Colonel Birr. Will you join me, please?'

  They came down the steps and crossed the yard. It was snowing quite hard now. Howard saluted and Canning held out his hand. 'We're certainly pleased to see you, son, believe me.'

  'Our pleasure, General.'

  Hesser said, 'Then, in the presence of these officers as witnesses, I formally surrender this establishment, Captain Howard.' He saluted, turned and said to Schneider, 'Have the men lay down their arms.'

  There was a flurry of movement. Within a matter of seconds, the men were back in line, their rifles standing in three triangular stacks before them.

  Hesser saluted again. 'Very well, Captain,' he said. 'What are your orders?'

  Sorsa headed the German column in one of the armoured half-tracks, Ritter and Hoffer, Strasser and Earl Jackson next in line in their field car, the rest of the Finns trailing behind.

  Just after noon they emerged from a side-road to join the road from Innsbruck to Arlberg, the road along which the ambulance had passed a short time before. As they reached the crest of the hill above the village, Sorsa signalled a halt. Ritter, Strasser and Jackson got out of the field car and went to join him.

  'What is it?' Ritter demanded.

  'Something's passed along this road very recently. Heavy vehicle. See the tyre marks. It stopped here before starting down to the village.'

  There was fresh oil on the snow. Ritter looked down the hill. 'So this is Arlberg?'

  'Quiet little place, isn't it?' Earl Jackson said. 'They're certainly out of the way down there.'

  Ritter held out his hand for Sorsa's field-glasses and trained them on the turrets of Schloss Arlberg peeping above the crest of the far ridge. He handed them back to Strasser. 'Nothing worth seeing. The vehicle which has preceded us could be anything, but under the circumstances, I think we should press on.'

  'I agree,' Strasser said, and for the first time seemed less calm than usual, filled with a kind of nervous excitement. 'Let's get there as fast as possible and get things sewn up. We've come too far for anything to be allowed to go wrong now.'

  They got back into the vehicle, Sorsa waved the column on and they started down the hill.

  It was Meyer who saw them first when they were half-way down; sheer luck that he'd gone to the landing window to close it. He took one look, then hurried to the bedroom where Gaillard was checking on the boy, who was still unconscious.

  'There's an SS column coming down the hill,' Meyer said. 'Three half-tracks, two field cars. About forty men in all.'

  Voss's face turned deathly pale. Gaillard said, 'You're certain?'

  Meyer opened a cupboard and took out an old brass telescope. 'See for yourself.'

  They all went out on to the landing and Meyer levelled the telescope on the lead halftrack. Immediately the divisional signs on the vehicle leapt into view, the SS runes, the death's head painted in white. He moved on to the field car, picking out Ritter first, then Strasser.

  He frowned and Meyer said, 'What is it, Herr Doktor?'

  'Nothing,' Gaillard said. 'There's a civilian with them I thought I knew for a moment, but I must be wrong. They're mountain troops judging by their uniform and the skis they carry in the half-tracks.'

  He closed the telescope and handed it to Meyer. Voss plucked at his sleeve. 'What are we going to do, Herr Doktor? Those devils are capable of anything.'

  'No need to panic,' Gaillard said. 'Keep calm above all things.' He turned to Meyer. 'They'll be here within the next two or three minutes. Go out and meet them.'

  'And what about the Americans? Look, the tracks of the ambulance are plain in the snow. What if they ask me who made them?'

  'Play it by ear, that one. Whatever happens don't tell them Voss and I are here. We'll keep out of sight for the time being. We can always clear off the back way if we have to, but I want to see how the situation develops here first, and besides, Arnie is going to need me when he wakes up.'

  'As you say.' Meyer took a deep breath and started downstairs as the first vehicle braked to a halt outside. Gaillard and Voss, peering round the edge of the curtain, saw Ritter, Strasser and Earl Jackson get out of the field car.

  'Strange,' Gaillard said. 'One of the SS officers has a Stars and Stripes shield sewn on to his left sleeve below the eagle. What on earth does that mean?'

  'I don't know, Herr Doktor,' Voss whispered. 'Where the SS are concerned, I've always kept well out of the way. Who's the one in the leather coat speaking to Meyer now? Gestapo, perhaps!'

  'I don't know,
' Gaillard said. 'I still have that irritating feeling we've met somewhere before.' He eased the window open in time to hear Sorsa shout an order to Matti Gestrin in the rear half-track. 'My God,' Gaillard whispered, 'they're Finns.'

  He peered down at them, suddenly fearful. Hard, tough, competent-looking men, armed to the teeth, and there was only one road up to the castle, one road down. He turned and grabbed Voss by the shirt-front.

  'Right, my friend, your chance to be a hero for the first time in your miserable life. Out of the back door, through the trees and take the woodcutter's track up to the castle and run till your heart bursts. Tell Hesser the SS are coming. Now get moving!' And he shoved Voss violently along the landing towards the back stairs.

  As he turned to the window again, Ritter was saying to Meyer, 'From these tracks a vehicle would seem to have passed this way during the past half-hour. A heavy vehicle. What was it?'

  The direct question, and in the circumstances there was only one answer Meyer could give. 'It was an ambulance, Sturmbannfuhrer. '

  'A German ambulance?' Strasser asked.

  'No, Mein Herr. A British Army ambulance. There were three American soldiers in the cab. One was an officer - a captain, I think.'

  'And they took that street there out of the square?' Ritter nodded. 'Which leads to?'

  'Schloss Arlberg.'

  'And is there any other way up or down?'

  'Only on foot.'

  'One more question. How many men in the garrison at Schloss Arlberg now?'

  Meyer hesitated, but he was a simple man with his son to consider, and Ritter's pale face, the dark eyes under the silver death's-head, were too much.

  'Eighteen, Sturmbannfuhrer. Nineteen with the commandant.'

  Ritter turned to the others. 'What you might call a damn close thing.'

  'No problem, surely,' Strasser said.

  'Let's go and see, shall we?' Ritter replied calmly, and he turned back to the field car.

  Meyer waited on the step until the last half-track in the column had disappeared up the narrow street before going back inside. Gaillard was at the bottom of the stairs.

  'Well?' the Frenchman demanded.

  'What could I do? I had to tell them.' Meyer shivered. 'But now what, Herr Doktor? I mean, what can they do up there in the castle? Colonel Hesser has no option but to turn your friends over to the SS now.'

  But before Gaillard could reply, Arnie called out feverishly from the bedroom and Gaillard turned and hurried upstairs.

  In the courtyard, the prominenti were making ready to leave. Schenck had been left on board the ambulance and three German soldiers were loading the prisoners' personal belongings. Claire and Madame Chevalier waited in the porch while Hesser, Birr and Canning stood at the bottom of the steps, smoking cigarettes. Beyond the ambulance, the rest of the tiny garrison still stood in line before their stacked rifles.

  It was Magda, Schneider's Alsatian, who first showed signs of agitation, whining and straining at her leash and then breaking into furious barking.

  Canning frowned. 'What is it, old girl? What's wrong with you?'

  There was the hollow booming of feet thundering across the drawbridge and Voss staggered out of the tunnel.

  'Herr Oberst!' he called weakly, lurching from side to side like a drunken man. 'The SS are coming! The SS are coming!'

  Hesser reached out his one good arm to steady Voss as he almost fell, chest heaving, sweat pouring down his face.

  'What are you telling me, man?'

  'SS, Herr Oberst. On their way up from the village. It's true. Finnish mountain troops in the charge of a Sturmbannfuhrer in Panzer uniform.'

  Canning caught him by the arm and pulled him round. 'How many?'

  'Forty or so all together. Three half-tracks and two field cars.'

  'What kind of armaments did they carry?'

  'There was a heavy machine gun with each vehicle, Herr General, I noticed that. The rest was just the usual hand stuff. Schmeissers, rifles and so on.'

  Finebaum said to Hoover, 'They keep telling me the war's over, but here we are, the three of us, with nineteen kraut prisoners on our hands and forty of those SS bastards coming round the bend fast.'

  Howard turned to Canning. 'It's an impossible situation, sir, and even if we tried to make a run for it, we'd just run slap into them. There's only one road in and out of here.'

  Canning turned to face Hesser, trying to think of the right words, but strangely enough, it was Madame Chevalier who played a hand now.

  'Well, Max,' she called. 'What's it to be? Checkmate or have you still got enough juice left in you to act like a man?' She moved forward, leaning on Claire's shoulder. 'Not for us, Max, not even for yourself. For Gerda, for your children.'

  Max Hesser stared up at her wildly for a moment, then he turned to the garrison. 'Grab your rifles, quick as you like, Schneider - take two men, get to the guardroom on the double and shut the gates.'

  There was a sudden flurry of activity. He turned to Canning, drew himself up and saluted formally. 'General Canning, as you are the senior Allied officer here, I place myself and my men at your command. What are your orders, sir?'

  Canning's nostrils flared, his eyes sparkled, tension erupting from deep inside him in a harsh laugh. 'By God, that's more like it. All right, for the time being, deploy your men on the walls above the guardroom and let's see what these bastards want.' He clapped his hands together and shouted furiously, 'Come on, come on, come on! Let's get this show on the road.'

  11

  The column, Sorsa still leading the way in the front half-track, was no more than fifty yards from the castle entrance when the gates clanged shut. Sorsa immediately signalled a halt.

  Ritter stood up in the field car and called, 'Line of assault. Quickly now.'

  The Finns moved into action instantly. The other two half-tracks took up position on either side of Sorsa, the machine-gun crews made themselves ready for action, the rest of the men jumped to the ground and fanned out.

  There was silence for a moment after the engines were cut. Ritter raised his field-glasses and looked to where there was movement on the wall.

  'What is it? What's happening?' Strasser demanded.

  'Interesting,' Ritter said softly. 'I see American helmets up there together with German ones. Perhaps the Third World War has started?'

  On the wall, Canning, Birr, Hesser and Howard grouped together in the shelter of the west guardroom turret and peered out.

  'Now what?' Birr said. He carried a Schmeisser in one hand, and Canning a Walther pistol.

  'We'll stir things up a bit, just to show them we mean business.' Canning moved to where Schneider crouched beside the machine-gun crew who had positioned their weapons to point out through an embrasure beside one of the castle's eighteenth-century cannon. 'I want you to fire a long burst into the ground about ten yards in front of the lead half-track,' he said in German.

  Schneider turned in alarm and looked to Hesser. 'Herr Oberst, what do I do?'

  'As General Canning commands,' Hesser said. 'We are under his orders now.'

  Schneider patted the lead gunner on the shoulder. He was another reservist, a man named Strang, who like most of them had never in his life fired a shot in anger. He hesitated, sweat on his face, and Finebaum slung his M1, pushed him out of the way and grabbed for the handles.

  'Maybe you got qualms, Uncle, but not me.'

  He squeezed off a long burst, swinging the barrel so that snow and gravel spurted in a darting line right across the front of the halftracks.

  Ritter turned, arms flung wide. 'No return fire. It's a warning only.'

  Hoover whispered to Howard, 'Did you see that? Those guys didn't even move.'

  Finebaum got up and turned. 'They're hot stuff, Harry, believe me. I tell you, this thing could get very interesting.'

  Ritter jumped down from the field car and Sorsa moved to meet him. 'Do we go in?'

  'No, first we talk. They'll want to talk, I think.' He turned to S
trasser. 'You agree?'

  'Yes, I think so. Hesser will already be beginning to have second thoughts. Let's give him a chance to change his mind.'

  'Good,' Ritter said, and called to Hoffer, 'Over here, Erich. We'll go for a little walk, you and I.'

  'Zu befehl, Sturmbannfuhrer,' Hoffer replied crisply.

  'I, too, could do with some exercise, I think,' Strasser said. 'If you've no objection, Major Ritter?'

  'As you like.'

  Strasser turned to Earl Jackson. 'You stay back out of the way. Borrow a parka and get the hood up. I don't want them to see you, you understand?'

  Jackson frowned, but did as he was told, moving back to one of the half-tracks.

  Sorsa said, 'What if they open fire?'

  'Then you'll have to take command, won't you?' Ritter said and started forward.

  Their feet crunched in the snow. Ritter took out his case, selected a cigarette and offered one to Strasser.

  'No thank you. I never use them. You are surprised, I think, that I felt the need for exercise?'

  'Perhaps. On the other hand I could say that it shows confidence in my judgement.'

  'Or a belief in my own destiny, have you considered that?'

  'A point of view, I suppose. If it's of any comfort, good luck to you.'

  On the wall, Canning said, 'By God, he's a cool one, the devil in black out there. Obviously in need of conversation.'

  'What do we do, General?' Hesser asked.

  'Why, accommodate him, of course. You, me and Captain Howard here. Not you Justin. You stay up here in command, just in case some trigger-happy jerk in one of the half-tracks decides to open up.' He smiled savagely, giving every appearance of thoroughly enjoying himself. 'All right, gentlemen. Let's see what they have to say.'

  Ritter, Strasser and Erich Hoffer paused at their side of the drawbridge and waited. After a while, the small judas in the main gate opened and Canning stepped out, followed by Hesser and Howard. As they came forward, Ritter and his party moved also and they met in the middle of the drawbridge.