by Robbie, Vic
50
They set off for Fort Desaix at ten-minute intervals so there would be no suggestion of a convoy of vehicles that would attract attention. Ben rode with Raymond and Paradiso in one car and they didn’t speak, so focused were they on the task ahead. The fort had two main entrances – the heavily guarded main gate through which all vehicular traffic passed and rear access near the National Gendarmerie at Marchal LeClerc. Less well known was a side entrance close by Hopital Clarac. Soldiers often used this gate, which was for pedestrians only, to slip in and out, bringing in alcohol and women to while away the tedium of guard duty on long, hot nights. Usually, two guards manned the gate, but on this night they were deployed elsewhere.
When they neared the fort, with the headlamps off they drove downhill alongside its walls and pulled off to the right and then up a slight incline until the gates blocked their way. ‘Pull over here,’ Raymond ordered his driver, turning around in the front seat to speak to both of them. ‘Here we’ll meet our guide who knows the layout intimately.’
Although the fort was above them and surrounded by high walls and trees, they could see the tops of some buildings and Tricolours flying from the roofs caught in the beam of sweeping searchlights. To Ben, it looked like a zoo or an animal park although inside there were creatures far meaner than wild animals. He reckoned he had a good idea of the layout from studying the map and his previous visits, and if necessary he could lead them to where Natalie was being held. He wished now he had the gun she’d given him. If they were going to be involved in a firefight, he would be happier with something to defend himself.
Raymond told them to get out of the car and Paradiso wandered off and lit up a Lucky.
He hadn’t seen the figure in the shadows under a tree. Raymond called to it and beckoned it over. Dressed in combat gear like the others, Ronnie stepped forward and smiled apologetically at Ben, and he felt as though he’d been hit in the stomach with a hammer.
Paradiso rejoined them and Raymond made the introductions. ‘This is Ronnie. She knows every twist and turn of the Fort and will lead us to where we need to go.’
He felt cheated and he stared at her, wondering how someone apparently so sweet and innocent had been able to deceive him. His disappointment soon gave way to a rising anger that he had allowed himself to be taken in by her. It was obvious by the way Raymond spoke to her she wasn’t just a guide to the Fort. When his mind flashed back over recent days, he began to piece together the jigsaw of deception, and he kicked himself for being naive. She saw the distrust in his eyes and looked away. ‘My father was a soldier here. When he was on duty, I often came to visit him, using this gate.’
She had used him just like the others and he reckoned she’d been keeping watch on him all the time and even led him knowingly into his abduction at the cafe. It left a bitter taste in his mouth and he spat on the ground in an attempt to rid himself of it.
Beckoning them to kneel down in the dirt, Raymond spread out a map of the fort and illuminated it with the flame from his cigarette lighter that flickered in a light breeze. ‘This is where we are,’ he said, pointing out their present location. ‘Some of my men have already entered through this gate and have made contact with the officers who are friendly to us. They’ll radio my people and yours’– he looked at Paradiso – ‘waiting at the main gate to alert them as to when they can enter. Remember, French soldiers mustn’t be involved, unless it’s a case of returning fire. They’ll keep out of our way and, anyway, there’s only a skeleton force on duty tonight so we shouldn’t have any problems. The Nazis are a different problem. They are quartered here’ – again he jabbed a finger at the map – ‘and your men, Paradiso, will need to neutralise them, but not until we’re ready. We have to synchronise our attacks so the General and his Gestapo henchmen aren’t alerted or it’ll cause major problems for us. Clear?’
A relaxed Paradiso grunted. ‘No problem. Benny and Joey and the rest of my men will take care of the Krauts. Let’s get moving, I’m looking forward to meeting this Nazi general.’
Ronnie led the way up an embankment followed by Raymond, Ben and Paradiso, accompanied by a radio operator and four Resistance fighters carrying sub-machine guns. The moon, which had come out from behind the clouds, illuminated their path. But it also made them more visible when they crossed the open areas of the Fort where any of the guards might spot them and raise the alarm. When they reached the top, Raymond ordered them to take shelter under trees before going over to the radio operator and speaking into the mouthpiece.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you were involved in this?’ Ben grabbed Ronnie’s arm and pulled her away from the others.
‘I can lie, too.’ She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her feet like a child being reprimanded. ‘You didn’t tell me you were an American agent.’
He shook her arm a little harder than he meant to and she pulled away from him. ‘I couldn’t tell you. We’re all sworn to secrecy. Talk can cost lives.’
‘I thought we were on the same side.’
‘Perhaps. It’s difficult to tell who is on what side and what their aims are. Even you Americans are not all on the same side.’
‘But you and I had an understanding.’
‘Don’t you see?’ She laid a hand on his arm and her eyes widened. ‘I was trying to protect you. The more you knew, the more danger you’d be in.’
He ignored that. ‘Don’t you think I can look after myself?’
‘It’s not that. I’m committed to our cause to make Martinique free again. I want to avenge my father. I’ll do anything to achieve it and I’ll not allow anyone to stop me. Not even you, although you’re the last person I wanted to lie to. Despite what you might think, I have real feelings for you.’
Raymond interrupted their conversation. ‘Our men at the main gate have been allowed to enter unhindered as planned and they’re making their way to the barracks where the Nazi soldiers are based. Now, Ronnie, show us where the German general is located.’
Paradiso and Raymond drew their pistols and Ben felt surprisingly naked. She slipped in and out of the shadows and they followed her in single file, Raymond first, Paradiso, then Ben, and the four Resistance fighters with the radio operator bringing up the rear. With a considerable amount of open ground between them and the General’s residence, they had to keep as invisible as possible. They couldn’t afford to be sighted by any of the Nazis who might have stepped out for a cigarette or to gaze at the stars. It was a circuitous route and it took them within fifty yards of the large residence without raising any alarms. Even though it was in the early hours, lights still showed through the residence’s shuttered windows on both the ground and first floors.
‘Don’t like the look of this,’ Raymond whispered. ‘They should all be asleep at this time.’
‘So who’s in the house?’ Paradiso asked.
‘Tonight it’s just the General, his Gestapo sidekick, Horst, and two of his men,’ Ronnie said. ‘The General has a butler, cook and a couple of maids, but they’re usually only there during the day. So it should be four we have to take care of.’
‘Where’s Admiral Robert?’ he asked.
‘His residence is on the other side,’ Raymond answered. And he pointed away into the darkness. ‘Some of the officers are leading our men there. It’s unguarded as it is within the confines of the Fort so we won’t have any trouble in placing the Admiral under arrest.’
‘The General is a different case altogether,’ Ben said. ‘His henchmen are armed to the teeth, and if they’re not all in the same room, it’s going to make things a bit messy.’
Raymond sneered, thinking he was stating the obvious. ‘The General is likely to be on his own. He’s not the kind to share time with his men. At best, he could be discussing plans with Horst–’
‘Where, eh?’ hissed Paradiso.
Raymond pointed to a large window on the left of the building on the ground floor.
‘And the two henchmen, eh?’
> ‘They have bedrooms upstairs at the back of the house.’
Ben glanced over to where Natalie was being held and wondered if she could still be alive.
Deep in thought, Paradiso appeared to be calculating his next move. The only sounds were the incessant chatter of the tree frogs, the flapping of the Tricolours in the breeze, and the rhythmic breathing of the men around them. As hard as he listened, Ben could hear nothing else. Were the Resistance fighters and Paradiso’s mercenaries in place to make their strike on the Nazis?
A guttural German voice carried in the night air ‘Halt, who is there?’ And then a single shot that Ben presumed was from someone in the invading party who had silenced the Nazi. Seconds later a fusillade of carbine and machine gun fire illuminated the night in flashes of blue.
‘The dumbfucks; it’s too soon,’ Paradiso said and turned as the double doors of the General’s house swung open. No one came out. They held their breath and lay prostrate on the lawn damp with dew and watched as a pistol followed by an arm then the full body of a man emerged from the house. Gaining in confidence, the Nazi slid to the side of the house so he wouldn’t be silhouetted in the light coming from the door. When he saw no danger, he waved for his partner to join him. The second man slipped out the door and stood on the other side and peered into the night. Now there were only the sounds of sporadic firing which he guessed were the Resistance fighters and the Mafia finishing off any remaining Nazis. And down by the bay there were more shots as the Resistance took out the submariners at Fort St Louis. He felt a hand on his shoulder forcing him to keep down.
Paradiso moved slowly until he was poised on one knee and holding his Colt with both hands. ‘Hey, you Krauts,’ he shouted.
The Germans squinted, accustoming their eyes to the dark as they attempted to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. As one, they lifted their pistols to shoulder height and scanned the area in front of them.
‘I’ve got something for you, you dumbfucks,’ Paradiso shouted and he was laughing. He fired two shots in quick succession and the Germans flopped to the ground, each with a bullet hole in the middle of their foreheads. ‘Two down, two to go.’ He turned to Ben: ‘Let’s go.’
‘We’ve got to get into the house.’ Raymond shouted at the Resistance fighters: ‘You men stay here. Don’t let anyone in.’ And he was already on his feet leading the sprint through the doors and then turning left into the main sitting-room and sweeping his gun around.
‘Ah, there you are. I have been expecting you.’ The General sat in an armchair facing the door. He had changed into his uniform and he wasn’t alone. Smoke spiralled up to the ceiling from another chair in front of him and Ben couldn’t see who was sitting in it because of its high wings.
‘Quite a show you have put on for us tonight.’ Von Bayerstein silently clapped his hands together. ‘And I must congratulate Peters for bringing Raymond, the famous Resistance leader, to me as promised.’
Raymond and Paradiso moved closer to the General and both turned to see the other person sitting in the chair and then stared at Ben in disbelief.
‘Now, let me put on a show of my own,’ the General said and barked an order. There was a click as floodlights lit up the lawns in front of the house in bright white light, freezing Raymond’s five men. After a pause of only seconds, a machine gun opened up and the men fell almost in slow motion. And, although they died instantly, salvoes of bullets continued to tear into their bodies flinging them around like rag dolls.
As the firing stopped acrid smoke wafted through the house. ‘Very satisfactory.’ Von Bayerstein smiled smugly.
The execution of his men appeared to stun Raymond, but Paradiso was shouting: ‘You bastard, I’ll make you pay.’
‘Oh, no, I do not think you will,’ von Bayerstein said and looked past them towards the door. ‘Good work, why do you not come and join us?’ Horst stood there with his lopsided sneer, covering them with a still-smoking 9mm MP40 Schmeisser machine pistol.
‘I suggest you put down your guns before Horst does some real damage,’ he said and turned to Ben. ‘As you can see, I am a man of my word, Peters.’
He gestured for Ben to come forward and when he drew level with the chair, he turned to see who was sitting there.
Immediately, he sensed a mixture of elation and suspicion in equal measure. She was sitting there in a long blue dress complementing the violet of her eyes. Her legs were crossed and she held a cigarette in an ebony holder. Her black hair gleamed in the low lights and her face showed no effects of the earlier ordeal. And as if attempting to anticipate the reflexes of an unpredictable animal, her eyes never left his.
Natalie had never looked better.
51
Von Bayerstein laughed at their surprise. Even in a jovial mood, his face couldn’t lose a brutal look, and Ben reckoned he could beat someone to death with his own fists to the soundtrack of his own sneering laughter. He almost choked on his own merriment as he scrambled in a cigarette box for another Black Russian and spluttered as he lit it.
Raymond and Paradiso stared at Ben with hatred shining out of their eyes. ‘You lied about the woman,’ Raymond said. ‘You’ve betrayed me, betrayed my people.’
Between extravagant puffs on his cigarette, von Bayerstein continued laughing, although it was winding down to more of a gentle chuckle as though it had run out of steam. ‘Gentlemen, gentlemen,’ he appealed as if pacifying two opponents in a debating society. ‘Peters knew nothing about it.’
Ben replayed recent events in his mind. He had seen Natalie in the barrel. She’d appeared close to death, but now she looked as though it had never happened. ‘What does this mean?’ he swivelled to look at her, incredulous she could have betrayed them, but she coloured and looked away. ‘You set me up.’
‘It was simple really.’ Von Bayerstein got to his feet. ‘We could have worked on you until you told us everything although it would not have eradicated the threat of the Resistance. I believed if you thought Natalie would die a dreadful death you would do anything to save her, even if it meant betraying Raymond. I realised your desire for her would overcome reason.’ He slowly shook his head as though unable to believe anyone would have fallen for it.
‘She played along with you?’ Ben asked.
‘After a little persuasion. She was put in the barrel at first although she was not there for long. There were other reasons also to keep her alive. She is beautiful, and it would have been a great waste.’ He took his monocle out and puffed on his cigarette. ‘I told her if she did this for me I would spare her life if you were successful in bringing Raymond to me. And it worked.’
‘Raymond,’ he stuttered, I’m sorry–’
‘No need for apologies,’ von Bayerstein said. ‘They were not coming here to save the woman. Raymond and his mercenaries planned to kidnap Admiral Robert and destabilise the island. If they had succeeded, it would have opened the door for De Gaulle’s Free French to move in and take over. An agent of ours in New York, whose network monitors all cables and radio messages sent by your various security services, deciphered one that puzzled him. You have to realise there is an element of bluff and counter bluff. War is not necessarily fought on the battlefield but in secret behind enemy lines. Once decoded, a message may say one thing and mean the exact opposite. This message was different, it was as if they wanted it to be known Raymond and his men were planning a coup. In other words, someone on your own side has betrayed you. So we were waiting for you. The French soldiers were persuaded it was in their own interests, and for those of their families and friends, that they should remain loyal to Vichy. Your men walked into a trap. Apart from a couple that raised the alarm, my soldiers were removed from their barracks and were waiting for your men just inside the tree line. All the shooting you heard was your men being exterminated.’ He turned to Paradiso. ‘That includes your so-called Puerto Rican mercenaries.’ He coughed and studied his cigarette before sitting back down in his chair and stubbing it out in the ashtray. �
�It is why we are winning the war. We Germans are superior in every way.’
‘You fuckin dumbfuck,’ Paradiso shouted and flung himself at the General, who was knocked off his chair and ended up on his hands and knees. And Paradiso rolled past him as he struggled to get back on his feet. In the confines of the room, the noise was deafening as Horst fired one shot blowing a hole in Paradiso’s right shoulder and spinning him around.
With the aid of the chair, von Bayerstein pulled himself up and dusted down his uniform. His face was bright red and the scar even redder and his eyes glowed with a toxic mix of fear and anger. ‘You can be sure now if any of your men are still alive they will be executed.’ He spat out the words as sharp as knives.
Paradiso groaned in pain and Ronnie moved to help him, but Horst waved her back with his gun.
Ben again turned to Natalie. ‘I can’t believe you helped him.’ She didn’t meet his stare. Instead, her eyes were fixed somewhere on the ceiling. ‘I didn’t have any option, they were going to kill you.’
‘I knew that.’
‘I made a deal with the General that if he saved your life I would stay here on the island with him.’
‘Enough of this.’ Von Bayerstein clapped his hands together. ‘You have failed.’
‘Where’s the Admiral?’ Ben asked.
‘We moved him out of the Fort under armed guard to a place of safety when we discovered you were sent to kill him and Raymond was planning his coup. The British are desperate. They know they cannot survive without American help. Despite opposition in his country, Roosevelt has been helping the British. He is one of the few to understand our Führer’s master plan. The misguided isolationists do not want to get involved in Britain’s little war, as they put it, and are more concerned with the Japanese threat in the Pacific. But Roosevelt fears us and he is right to do so.’
He glanced at each of their faces, wondering if his message was getting through, but they showed no emotion. ‘You think it is all about the gold, and it may be the case for those mercenaries.’ And he waved an arm as if they were of no consequence. ‘They are fools and criminals. We can take the gold whenever we want.’ He was looking at Ben and it was as though his eyes were empty, not seeing him at all but something else like a vision. ‘There is a much bigger prize.’