“I hate to break it to you,” Richard said, “but we don’t exactly have any tender spots. We’re mostly covered with callouses from the rough journeys we’ve been on. It’s what gives us character, the kind of character that will sit here with steely resolve and let you know that even your fiercest interrogation tactics will result in a failure.”
Wilhelm lowered his head, jamming his forehead up against Richard’s. “You talk a good game, but it counts as nothing but idle chatter now. You’re in my domain, and I’m going to get you to tell me what I want to know—or else you’re going to pay a steep price.”
Richard narrowed his eyes and glared at Wilhelm. “I invite you to try.”
Wilhelm withdrew and spun toward the door. He stopped just before exiting and looked back at Richard and David.
“When I return, you’ll experience a wrath unlike any other,” Wilhelm said before vanishing up the stairs.
Moments later, the soldier guarding Richard and David also eased up the steps and left the two Americans alone. Richard felt the hole being bored into him by David’s eyes.
“Is there any reason for you to stare at me like that while you’re seething?” Richard asked.
David spoke in a slow and measured pace. “Are you out of your mind?”
“You ask me that so much that I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps one of us actually is,” Richard said.
“You’ve only irritated Wilhelm further with your bravado shtick. He’s going to come down on us hard—or quite possibly kill us—thanks to your inability to keep your mouth shut.”
“As long as he doesn’t have the treasure, we’re fine,” Richard said. “And he needs us to get it, which is an inescapable fact.”
“What’s also inescapable is this dungeon they’ve put us in.”
“It certainly appears that way, though I’m not inclined to accept that as fact just yet.”
David sighed. “This isn’t some fantastical fairy world we’re living in right now. It’s very real—as is our danger. You can’t simply wish things away or pretend like they’re different than they are. I’m sorry that no one told you this before you agreed to serve with Army Intelligence, but what we do matters. And the consequences for our mistakes can be grave for ourselves and others.”
“Are you finished?” Richard asked.
David nodded and hung his head, kicking at the dirt floor.
“Good, because I have a knife, and all I need to do is figure out a way to use it.”
“You have a knife?” David asked, his mouth falling agape. “They stripped us down and took everything out of our pockets.”
“Mine wasn’t in my pocket,” Richard said. “It’s in my belt buckle.”
“What on Earth?”
“I can’t show it to you now because my hands are tied behind my back, but if you help me get it, I can cut us free and get out of here.”
Richard explained how to release the blade from the buckle. David stood with his back to Richard’s chest and followed his directions. In a matter of seconds, David was holding the knife. He gripped the handle tightly as Richard turned back to back with David and cut through the rope. Once free, they devised a scheme to break out of their prison.
Richard stood at the bottom of the stairs with his hand tied loosely behind his back and called for the guard.
“Please, sir,” Richard said. “I need to relieve myself, and I’m afraid that’s impossible since my hands are tied behind me. Would you be so kind to help me?”
After a few seconds, the door swung open and one of the Reichswehr agents lumbered down the steps while clutching a dagger.
“You two are more trouble than you’re worth,” he said before muttering a few curse words in German.
When he reached the bottom step, Richard turned his back so the man could untie him. The guard chuckled.
“You don’t expect me to cut you free, do you?” he asked. “Wilhelm would kill me. Go stand in the corner, and I’ll drop your trousers for you.” Then he turned to David, pointing the knife at him. “And you stay right where you are.”
Richard complied with the guard’s orders and marched toward one corner and waited. When the guard reached around to unbuckle Richard’s pants, David crashed into the German, slamming him into the wall. Before he knew what hit him, Richard and David had knocked the man unconscious. They stripped him of his gun and knife then secured him with ropes before quietly heading upstairs.
At the top, they found another Reichswehr operative sitting in the kitchen with his feet propped up and reading a book. He didn’t look up when he asked a question in German.
Richard nodded knowingly at David and they rushed the man, hitting him several times in the face before he had a chance to fight back. With their captors out cold and stripped of their guns, Richard and David armed themselves and eased through the rest of the house. After they were satisfied that no one else was here, they slipped out the back door and tried to get their bearings.
“We need to get back to the market to find that woman,” Richard said.
David agreed, and they started their trip through Jaipur in search of the lady who had agreed to hide their two burlap sacks.
“Maybe it was a mistake not to tell her what was in them,” David said. “Because by now, I’m sure she was wondering what was so important and has probably looked by now.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Richard said. “She seemed like the honest type.”
“And what makes you think you can just look at a person and tell if they’re being straight with you or not?”
“I did run with quite a crew of characters at Princeton. You wouldn’t believe some of the ways those rascals behaved at times. I had a good training ground there.”
David sighed. “Princeton is a long way from India and vastly different, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“People are people,” Richard said. “But if you felt so strongly about this, perhaps you should’ve voiced your concerns before we handed over an enormous fortune to her.”
“We didn’t have a choice. We were fortunate the Reichswehr troops passed right by us the first time and didn’t see us when we were making that initial exchange.”
“You always need a bit of good luck in whatever you do if you’re going to succeed, particularly if your success hinges upon evading capture.”
David cocked his head and looked at Richard. “You seem to have an inordinate amount of experience getting away from people. Do you feel like this is normal?”
Richard laughed. “When you’re the worst rascal in a gang of them, it becomes a regular part of life.”
A smile crept over David’s lips as he shook his head. “And it seems as though you haven’t changed.”
Richard nodded. “There’s something strangely freeing about getting into mischief for your country.”
“At the moment, I’ll settle for keeping these jewels out of the hands of the Germans and getting home in one piece.”
“It’s never easy, is it?”
They plodded along until they reached the market place. Striding up to the kiosk where they met the woman who’d stashed the treasure for them, Richard stared wide-eyed at an elderly gentleman standing there in her place.
“Would you gentlemen be interested in any of our baskets?” he asked.
Richard furrowed his brow. “There was a woman working here earlier named Sarita. Do you perhaps know where she went?”
The man shook his head. “I’m afraid you must be mistaken. This is my store—and I’m the only one who has been here all day.”
Chapter 29
WILHELM RETURNED TO the Reichswehr’s makeshift headquarters with both Reinhard and Ludwig in tow. After discussing the appropriate way to pressure Richard Halliburton and his accomplice into giving up the location of the treasure, Wilhelm was itching to get to work. However, his anticipation quickly gave way to outrage when he saw two of his agents bound on the kitchen floor.
“Where are they?” Wilhelm
demanded.
“They left a half hour ago,” one of the men said.
“What happened?” Wilhelm asked before putting his hand in the air. “Never mind. It’s obvious they pulled one over on you imbeciles. I asked Seeckt to send me some of the best men he had available to replace the other agents I’d lost, and this is what I get. Neither of you are worthy to be a part of my wolfsrudel.”
Wilhelm kicked a wooden chair, splintering it against the wall.
“Sir, we’ll find them,” Reinhard said. “They can’t get out of the city using the trains—and it’s obvious they were trying to hide the treasure somewhere in the fort. Now that they can’t do either of those things, they’re in quite a predicament.”
“Let’s make sure of that,” Wilhelm said. “I want you to spread the word that I’m offering five hundred pounds for their capture.”
“Five hundred pounds? But, sir, you just can’t—”
“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. I want every man, woman, child, monkey, donkey, elephant, and cow in Jaipur to be overturning every stone in search of these American agents. Five hundred pounds will definitely stir the interest of everyone with a pulse. If we’re lucky, we might even have some fortune hunters pour into Jaipur to assist with the hunt.”
“But where are you going to get that kind of money?” Reinhard asked. “You know Seeckt won’t be happy to see our resources drained like that.”
“Seeckt won’t care when he looks at this fortune,” Wilhelm said. “He’ll throw me a parade right down the middle of Berlin.”
“We’re a long way from parades,” Ludwig said. “We need to find those two thieves and make them pay.”
Wilhelm nodded. “Go make it happen. And, Reinhard, you’re with me.”
Ludwig untied the two men on the floor before they darted toward the door.
“Don’t you dare disappoint me again like that,” Wilhelm called out as they hustled away.
Reinhard sat down. “I’m sorry, sir. I thought those two men would’ve been competent enough to hold Mr. Halliburton and his associate for at least an hour.”
“No, it’s my fault,” Wilhelm said as he grabbed a couple glasses from the cabinet along with a bottle of brandy. “I should’ve never left and just sent you to secure Ludwig and our secret weapons. I lacked the confidence in my skills to extract a confession, and I have no one to blame but myself now.”
“Sir, it’s quite understandable. We’re still dealing with an enemy that we know very little about. From every report I’ve read, Mr. Halliburton is little more than a vagabond who’s in the middle of wandering across Europe, Africa, and Asia with no real purpose. None of our agents in Berlin have ever heard of him. The dossier we have on him was literally cobbled together overnight when we first encountered Mr. Halliburton—and there’s nothing new to report according to the intelligence briefing sent by telegram yesterday.”
“How are we supposed to deal with this man?”
“Quickly and discreetly.”
Wilhelm took a swig from his glass. “If he goes missing, we might incite the ire of the Americans. And the last thing we want is for them to be more closely inspecting our adherence to the Treaty of Versailles. Our presence here is enough to let them know that we’re operating outside the bounds of that agreement.”
“Yes, but no official complaint has been lodged yet, which would seem to suggest that the Americans don’t want word to get out that they’re tracking us. That would communicate a serious mistrust among their foreign allies, who are still clueless regarding our presence abroad.”
“Exactly,” Wilhelm said, “which means we can handle them in whatever manner we choose. If the American government was going to say something, they already would have. And they certainly wouldn’t out themselves now after losing a pair of agents in the field and, along with them, a method of tracking our team.”
“So, we’re back to quickly and discreetly?” Reinhard asked.
“Quickly and discreetly,” Wilhelm said before throwing back the rest of his drink. “Once we find them, we eliminate them.”
“Let me handle this for you,” Reinhard said. “I’ll make sure there aren’t any mistakes.”
“Very well then,” Wilhelm said. “I’ll leave their disposal in your very capable hands.”
“Are you ready to go back to the market, sir?” Reinhard asked.
“Let’s go.”
Wilhelm and Reinhard exited the house, entering the busy streets which bustled with more activity in the afternoon. Men pulling carts squeezed past one another, while other merchants drifted in and out of the throng of women searching for ingredients for their evening meals.
After meandering through the people for a few minutes, Wilhelm felt the buzz in the air. The excitement seemed almost palpable. He was certain the atmosphere was due to the large reward he’d offered, but he wanted to make sure his hunch was correct.
“What is everyone talking about?” Wilhelm asked a man leaning against a wall.
“There’s a reward out for two Americans,” the man said. “Five hundred pounds!”
“Five hundred?”
The man nodded. “That’s right. Five hundred pounds. If these owners felt comfortable enough to close up their shops to go search for those two thieves, I’m certain we would be the only people standing here in a matter of minutes.”
“Well, why don’t they?”
“Why don’t they do what?” the man asked.
“Close up their shops and hunt for the pair of Americans?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. The idea of getting five hundred pounds is enough to get everyone talking, but only some people to spring into action. But a thousand pounds? If the reward was raised that high, I’m sure everyone in this country would begin hunting for them.”
Wilhelm eyed the man closely then glanced at Reinhard, who subtly shook his head. “It’s disappointing to hear that. Money shouldn’t be what motivates us to take action.”
“Then what should?”
“Desire,” Wilhelm said.
“Or fear,” the man added. “If the two Americans were murderers instead of thieves, I’m sure more people would join the search.”
“If you only knew,” Wilhelm said under his breath before nodding at the man as they veered down a side street.
“What is your name?” Wilhelm asked.
“Manish,” the man said. “And I make the best curry in all of Jaipur. Come see me in the market sometime.”
“Perhaps I will,” Wilhelm said.
A few minutes later, another man rushed up to Wilhelm.
“Are you the man paying the ransom for the two Americans?”
Wilhelm shrugged. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I know who they’ve been working with and where to find her.”
“Her?” Wilhelm questioned as he cocked his head to the side.
The man nodded. “So, are you the person I’m looking for?”
“You’ve found him,” Wilhelm said. “Now lead me to the two Americans and the reward is yours.”
The man broke into a wide grin before spinning around and striking off toward the eastern side of the city.
Wilhelm also began to smile. Five hundred pounds was more than enough to properly motivate the people of Jaipur. And it wouldn’t be long before he exacted retribution on Mr. Halliburton and his colleague—and eliminated them forever.
Chapter 30
RICHARD SIGHED AS HE pondered what course of action might lead them to Sarita, the enchantress who David imagined was lavishly spending all the money she’d acquired from them. While Richard knew it wasn’t his fortune, he wanted to make sure it remained where it belonged—in the hands of the Indian people—instead of being squandered. And David’s suggestion that she was probably tossing priceless jewels at street merchants to get what she wanted made Richard cringe.
“How could we have been so stupid?” Richard asked aloud.
David shook his head. “We?”
“No, you suggested we give everything to her. This wasn’t a discussion in the least bit.”
“Okay, perhaps you’re right,” Richard said. “I may have been a little pushy in wanting to let Sarita watch all the riches for us, but she appeared to be as innocent as they come.”
“And yet you boast about your ability to sense the truth about who people really are.”
“Sometimes I make mistakes,” Richard said, forcing a grin. “Nobody’s perfect.”
“This wasn’t just some mistake. This was a vast fortune that we worked hard to procure, prying it out of the hands of the greedy and vengeful Germans. If the Reichswehr was able to liquidate everything we found into their currency, we would have a burgeoning crisis on our hands. You insisted that this Sarita woman was going to work diligently to ensure no one found out about what we discovered. But instead, she’s nowhere to be found—and neither is our treasure.”
Richard held up his hands in a gesture to calm a seething David. “I understand you’re upset. And so am I, but I’m just choosing to maintain my composure right now.In the worst case scenario, she makes off with the fortune, while the Reichswehr are left empty handed,” Richard said. “Besides, you shouldn’t get all bent out of shape just yet. We might still find her.”
“If I found out what was inside those baskets, I would’ve stuffed as much as I could into a suitcase and boarded the next train out of here,” David said.
Richard shrugged. “Not everyone sees the world the same way you do. You don’t know Sarita. Maybe she’s an honest soul.”
David laughed and shook his head. “I’m not much older than you, but you still have a lot to learn about this world. People aren’t nearly as virtuous as you believe them to be. Trust me on this one.”
“I suppose you would rather me think the worst about everyone I meet then?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just that . . .”
“It’s just what?” Richard asked.
“This isn’t Tennessee, Richard. Not everyone has a heart of gold and a splash of genuine care for their fellow man. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in a portion of the world that’s only as advanced as it is because of the influence of its occupiers. If England wasn’t here, India would be unbearable to visit.”
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