‘And why was he so dirty?’ Ulster wondered.
‘If he escaped through the grotto, he had to jump into the water to reach the secret hatch. That means he would have been soaking wet when he left this tunnel and hit the nearby woods. Dirt would have stuck to him like lint on a sweater.’
‘Where did he go?’ Heidi asked.
Payne laughed. ‘How should I know? You’re the expert, not me. But if I had to guess, I’d say he was meeting one of his co-conspirators – someone he didn’t want to be seen with. Otherwise, why go to all this trouble?’
Ulster offered a possibility. ‘Unless, of course, he did this sort of thing all the time. After all, Ludwig was nocturnal and a tad crazy. Who knows what he liked to do after dark?’
‘Or who he liked to do,’ Jones cracked.
‘Either way,’ Payne said, ‘he could’ve used this tunnel to get away.’
Heidi challenged him. ‘You seem pretty confident for a tourist.’
As they walked forward, Payne shone his light on the wall that ended the tunnel. An iron ladder, which had been attached to the concrete, disappeared in the darkness of the vertical shaft. ‘Who knows? I could be wrong about everything. Maybe this is a mechanical tunnel that leads to all those generators you told us about. If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to bet on the answer. Care to wager your share of the treasure? That is, if there’s a treasure.’
She shook her head. ‘Not a chance.’
‘In other words, you think I’m right.’
‘No,’ she said with a giggle. ‘Well, maybe.’
When they reached the end of the tunnel, he examined the shaft above him. It looked identical to the one from the grotto, except it was half the height – a fact he had expected since they had been walking uphill the entire time. ‘I guess we’ll find out soon enough.’
‘Should I light your way?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Thanks. That would help.’
Payne put his flashlight in his pocket and started his climb through all the spider webs that had collected in the shaft over the years. In certain parts of the world – especially warm-weather locations where some spiders were deadly – he would have taken more precautions, but he didn’t have much to fear in Germany, so he simply brushed the webs aside as he climbed. Meanwhile, Heidi watched from the tunnel floor and nearly went into convulsions. Few things in life freaked her out more than spiders. Jones quickly recognized her fear and was tempted to tickle the back of her neck, but decided against it. In the long run, he figured his amusement wouldn’t be worth the physical damage she would inflict upon him.
A few seconds later, Payne reached the top of the steps and studied the hatch. Attached to its centre was a circular handle resembling the mechanism on a submarine door. He could loosen or tighten the lock by spinning the handle one way or the other. To make things easier, a lever had been mounted on the right side of the wheel – probably to help Ludwig open the door while he was hanging from the steps.
‘Be careful,’ Jones teased. ‘For all we know, it might open on the highway. I’d hate to see a truck take off your head.’
Payne grabbed the lever. ‘Somehow I doubt that’s going to happen.’
‘If it does, can I have your house?’
Payne smiled and yanked on the handle. First, there was a hiss, then a clank, and then the hatch popped open. A burst of fresh air came rushing into the shaft, which caused the remnants of the spiders’ webs to dance in the breeze.
Heidi felt the wind. ‘Where does it go?’
‘Be patient! I don’t know yet.’
With thoughts of trucks still fresh in his mind, Payne pushed it open slowly. One inch. Then two. Then five. Then ten. The more he opened it, the more sunlight leaked into the shaft. Before long, flashlights weren’t needed below, and Payne’s theory was proven correct. ‘Just as I thought. We’re in the woods beyond the castle’s grounds.’
Ulster called up to him. ‘How was the hatch concealed?’
‘Good question. Let me check.’ Payne climbed out of the shaft and examined the outside of the hatch. A moment later, his smiling face appeared above the shaft. ‘You’re not going to believe this. It was sculpted to look like a tree stump. The damn thing’s pretty realistic. I wouldn’t have given it a second glance.’
Heidi stared up at him. ‘Can I take a look?’
Payne nodded. ‘All of you can. But let’s make this quick. I have a feeling the other end of the tunnel is going to be even better.’
62
The Pentagon
Arlington, Virginia
Randy Raskin sat in his windowless office, surrounded by next-generation computers and paper-thin digital screens that would be the envy of every hacker in the world. Unfortunately, due to his classified position at the Pentagon, he wasn’t allowed to mention anything about his work or equipment to most of his friends. As far as they knew, he was nothing more than a low-level programmer, working a dead-end job in the world’s largest office building – because that’s what he was required to tell them. But in reality, he was a high-tech maestro, able to track down just about anything in the world of cyberspace.
As a computer researcher at the Pentagon, Raskin was privy to many of the government’s biggest secrets, a mountain of classified data that was there for the taking if someone knew how to access it. His job was to make sure the latest information got into the right hands at the right time. And he was great at it. Over the years, Payne and Jones had used his services on many occasions, and that had eventually led to a friendship.
An infamous workaholic, who consumed enough caffeine on a typical working day to jumpstart a car battery, Raskin often pretended he didn’t have time for Payne and Jones, or their bimonthly favours. But the truth was he admired them greatly and would do just about anything to help them. In fact, one of his biggest joys in life was living vicariously through them – whether that was during their time with the MANIACs or their recent adventures round the globe. Sometimes, especially when he was bored at work, he would tap into the GPS on their phones and try to figure out what they were doing. Then he would determine if he could assist them in any way.
For some, it would be considered stalking.
For Raskin, it was a perk of his job.
Over the past forty-eight hours, he had checked their location on several occasions. At first they were in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Then Innsbruck. Then Küsendorf. Now back in Bavaria. Not surprisingly, when he cross-referenced their GPS data with his countless databases, he had discovered a pile of bodies and no arrest warrants.
Obviously, Payne and Jones had remembered their training.
In a twisted kind of way, it made him proud to be an American.
Raskin considered giving them a call to see if he could help but decided to do a little more research before he offered. Based on their brief stop in Küsendorf, he knew the Ulster Archives were involved. That meant whatever they were doing was historical in nature. Curious about the Archives’ latest projects, Raskin entered Petr Ulster’s name into his classified search engine and got an immediate hit. Ulster’s personal helicopter had been reported stolen earlier that day.
Raskin laughed at his screen. ‘What are you guys up to now?’
After inspecting the fake tree stump, they returned to the tunnel energized. None of them knew what they were going to find in the opposite direction, but they sensed it would be significant. Payne closed and sealed the hatch, then led them on their journey.
Whether it was the downhill slope of the tunnel or the adrenaline surging through their veins, their stride and pace increased significantly. Even Ulster, who tended to lumber along like a water buffalo, managed to stay on Payne’s heels. Before they knew it, they were passing the shaft to the grotto and covering new ground.
Jones spoke from the back. ‘Based on the angle of this tunnel, we’re heading directly towards the castle. I bet we’re underneath that trail we took from the arbour to the secret entrance.’
Heidi shook her head in amazement. ‘How do you do that?’
‘Do what?’ he asked.
‘Figure out which direction we’re walking underground?’
Jones shrugged. ‘It’s a gift.’
She glanced over her shoulder. ‘I’m serious.’
‘I am, too. I have a great internal compass. I just know which way we’re going. You can blindfold me, drug me and spin me around. When I wake up, I’ll know which way is north.’
Payne defended him. ‘Believe it or not, he’s telling the truth. We once did that to him at a bachelor party. He woke up in the back of a van in Tijuana but he knew how to get to Canada.’
She laughed. ‘That’s impressive.’
Jones waved off the compliment. ‘Actually, it was pretty easy. It was the middle of the afternoon, so I whipped out my sundial. Trust me, that thing casts a shadow like a sequoia.’
She didn’t miss a beat. ‘And yet, it’s not nearly as big as your ego.’
Jones couldn’t help but laugh. ‘You know what? You’re pretty cool for a white girl. I vote we don’t kill you at the end of this mission.’
Ulster chuckled. ‘Me, too.’
Payne looked back at her. ‘I’m still undecided.’
She gave him a playful shove. ‘It doesn’t matter. Majority wins.’
‘Fine! We’ll let you live, but you have to buy us dinner. This is your homeland after all. It’s the least you should do for your guests.’
She smiled at him. ‘Only if you return the favour when I visit the States.’
‘When is that?’ Payne wondered.
‘That depends. When are you going to invite me?’
Payne flirted back. ‘I guess that depends on what I have for dinner.’
She blushed and bit her lip, but didn’t respond – even though she wanted to.
After a lengthy pause, Ulster cleared his throat. ‘May I change the subject?’
‘Please,’ she said, relieved.
‘Speaking of compasses,’ Ulster said, completely oblivious to all the flirting that had been going on, ‘my moral compass is spinning out of control right now, and I’m not sure what to do. May I pose a dilemma to the group?’
Payne shone his flashlight down the tunnel in front of them. As far as he could tell, there was nothing on the horizon – no hatches, no intersections, no secret rooms – nothing but a concrete tunnel that sloped downhill and curved out of sight. Based on his earlier view of the castle grounds from the window of the chopper, he guessed there was at least 300 yards between the fake tree stump and the castle itself. Ultimately, if that’s where the tunnel was leading, they still had plenty of time to kill. ‘What’s bugging you?’
Ulster swallowed hard. ‘For argument’s sake, let’s say we discover a massive treasure at the end of this tunnel. If that happens, what are your intentions?’
‘What do you mean?’ Payne asked.
Ulster explained his concern. ‘We’re assuming Ludwig designed this tunnel for one purpose or another, which means we’re technically on castle grounds. I’d like to know what we intend to do if we discover a treasure?’
Jones laughed. ‘Do you even have to ask?’
‘I guess so, because that’s what I’m doing right now.’
‘Personally,’ Payne said, ‘I don’t think there’s a dilemma. We’re on castle grounds, so the treasure belongs to the estate. We’re not going to try to steal it.’
‘Do you mean it?’ Ulster demanded.
‘Of course I mean it! We’re not thieves.’
Ulster breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Oh, thank heavens! You had me worried there for a while when you wagered your share of the treasure. I thought perhaps you were serious.’
Jones shook his head in mock disgust. ‘Damn, Petr, I thought you knew us better than that. Did you really think we’d try to steal it?’
‘I hoped you wouldn’t, but I wasn’t quite sure if Kaiser had rubbed off on you.’
Payne laughed at the suggestion. ‘Believe it or not, Kaiser wouldn’t steal it either. At least, I don’t think he would steal it. Then again, well, who the hell knows?’ Payne hoped to ask Kaiser someday, assuming his friend was still alive. ‘But that’s neither here nor there. The point is we won’t try to steal it.’
Jones picked up from there. ‘And to make sure we don’t break any laws, we kidnapped an employee of the Bavarian Palace Department to watch our every move.’
Heidi smiled. ‘Is that why I’m here? To watch over you?’
‘That and your butt. You have a great butt.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Well, you should know – since you’re an ass.’
Jones laughed. ‘Heidi, you crack me up. We’re definitely not killing you.’
Sensing a face slap in Jones’s future, Payne slowed his pace and eventually stopped. Not only to bail out his friend, but also to clarify his previous statement. ‘Before we go any further, I’d like to make sure we’re in total agreement about our current objective. If we find a treasure at the end of this tunnel, the treasure belongs to Bavaria. Is that what we’re saying?’
Everyone nodded in unison.
Payne continued. ‘On the other hand, if we find something of value – like a map or a journal – that leads us off the castle grounds, then whatever treasure we might find is fair game. I don’t care if it’s six inches past the castle wall. If it isn’t on the castle grounds, we claim it as our own. Does that sound fair?’
Everyone nodded once again.
‘Are you sure?’ Payne demanded.
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ Ulster replied.
Heidi nodded. ‘Sounds fair to me.’
Jones stared at him. ‘Duh!’
Payne smiled and pointed over his shoulder. ‘Good, I’m glad to hear it. Because I spotted something up ahead.’
63
At the end of the tunnel, there was a thick, wooden door that had been closed since Ludwig’s death. Its handle was black and shaped like a swan. Payne brushed away a century’s worth of cobwebs and pounded on the wood. It felt as solid as steel. It was the type of door that would laugh at a battering ram. It was meant to keep people out.
Payne knew the odds were long, but he tried the latch.
As expected, the door was locked.
Jones patted him on the shoulder. ‘I believe that’s my job.’
Payne suddenly remembered the golden key they had discovered inside the statue of cupid. The bow of the key resembled the swan on the door handle. With any luck, it would get them access to the room. ‘I believe you’re right.’
They switched positions without complaint while the others looked on. Enjoying the group’s attention, Jones milked the moment for all it was worth. He stuck the key in the hole, then pulled back his hand and blew on his fingertips like he was preparing to crack a safe. The tension in the tunnel was so great that Heidi linked her elbow with Ulster’s and buried her face on his shoulder. She simply couldn’t bear to look. Finally, after a few more seconds of drama, Jones grabbed the key and gave it a twist.
Click.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Instead of rushing into the room, Jones showed remarkable restraint. He had been involved in too many missions to act without thought. He glanced back at Heidi. ‘You said Ludwig built secret passageways in all of his castles. Were any of them booby trapped?’
She shook her head. ‘None that I know of.’
Jones glanced at Ulster. ‘Petr?’
‘I don’t believe so,’ he replied.
‘Just checking.’
With gun in hand, Jones gave the door a shove. It squeaked open on its ancient hinges and hit the concrete wall behind it with a thump. In unison they shone their lights into the darkness, hoping to see mountains of jewels and gold.
What they saw next was tough to comprehend.
Nearly every inch of wall space in the rectangular room was covered with stuff – a wide assortment of blueprints, sketches, letters and more. Some of the items were att
ached with glue. Others were attached with nails. Every once in a while there were drawings made directly on the walls, as if Ludwig had run out of paper but didn’t have time to stop. The entire place looked as though his brain had exploded and these were the ideas that stuck.
Jones gasped at the sight. ‘Holy shit! Ludwig was a serial killer.’
Heidi took exception to the joke. ‘Disturbed, maybe. But certainly not violent.’
Payne glanced round the room, trying to make sense of things. The only furniture was a fancy desk and chair in the centre of the space. ‘Violent or not, this guy had a lot on his mind. The last time I saw something like this …’ He paused in thought. ‘Actually, I’ve never seen something like this before. The PSYOP guys would have a field day.’
‘The who?’ she asked.
‘It’s a unit in the US Army. It stands for Psychological Operations. Their job is to study the human brain and figure out how to break it.’
Jones smiled. ‘In this case, they’re a little too late. Ludwig’s brain was already broken.’
‘I’m not sure about that,’ Ulster declared from the back of the room. He was staring at a series of letters ranging from 1873 to 1886. There were so many pages they filled half the wall. ‘I think I know what’s going on.’
Payne walked towards him, sceptical. ‘We’ve been here less than a minute, and you know what’s going on? I find that hard to believe.’
Jones agreed with Payne. ‘It looks like a scrapbook puked in here. How does any of this make sense?’
Ulster scanned the documents, doing his best to translate them. ‘Believe what you want to believe, but I’m not exaggerating. I think I know what we’re looking at.’
Heidi hurried to his side. ‘What did you find?’
‘Letters to Franz von Löher.’
‘From who?’
‘A team of global researchers.’
She blinked a few times. ‘Are you serious? I thought that was a myth.’
‘So did I,’ Ulster exclaimed. ‘Several years ago, a scholar friend of mine gained access to the Geheimes Hausarchiv in Munich and searched through Löher’s papers, but he never found what he was looking for. Now I know why. The letters were hidden down here.’
The Secret Crown Page 30