Angel in Red_The thrilling sequel to Angel From Hell

by Christopher Nicole

  ‘And you are a professional assassin,’ he said thoughtfully.

  ‘I have been trained to kill,’ Anna said carefully. ‘When it is necessary to do so. It is not my prime function. But I am not prepared to continue this conversation in this direction. I am sorry, but as you have gathered, I am controlled by the head of the Secret Service.’

  ‘I do understand, my dear Anna. But you must forgive me for wondering . . . What is the purpose of your visit to Prague?’

  ‘Why, Heinz, I came here to sleep with you. Is that not what you had in mind?’

  Meissenbach drank some wine. ‘Well, I did have that in mind.’

  ‘But?’

  ‘Well, let me put it this way. You are not exactly the young woman whom I thought I was . . . How shall I put it?’

  ‘Attempting to seduce? I suppose older men often misjudge the character of young women they attempt to pick up. Would you like me to return to Berlin?’

  ‘Well, no, of course not. It’s just that . . .’

  Now that she had had a bath and a glass of wine, the adrenaline was racing through her arteries once again. ‘Would you like me to seduce you, Heinz? A lot of men find this a good idea.’

  *

  ‘Did you make up that list?’ Anna asked. The room was still dark, but there were chinks of light beyond the curtains.

  Meissenbach rolled on to his side to nuzzle her. ‘Will you answer a question?’

  ‘Another one? If it is not to do with my job.’

  ‘Did you feel any passion at all? I almost thought you had an orgasm.’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘But you were thinking of other things.’

  ‘When I am making love, Heinz, I am making love. Nothing else matters. Were you not satisfied?’

  ‘I have never had an experience like that in my life.’ He reached for her, rolling her on to her side to hold her against him. ‘Will you do it again?’

  Anna kissed him. ‘Of course. But we must not be long; we have work to do.’

  ‘And when you are working, you are working. Just as when you are killing someone, you are killing someone. I am beginning to understand certain things about you. But I doubt I could ever understand what is your driving force.’

  Anna threw a leg across his and studied him. ‘I think you probably could. But I am not going to tell you.’ She felt beneath her. ‘Let us love some more and then leave it for the day.’

  He was like a very young man, at that moment, although she knew she was exhausting him and it took a long time. Then she lay on his chest and allowed her hair to trickle across his face. ‘You are supreme,’ he muttered, his hands caressing her buttocks. ‘An absolute goddess.’

  ‘You say the sweetest things.’

  ‘I have fallen in love with you.’

  She swung her legs off the bed and sat up. ‘That would be very unwise of you, Heinz. It would also be very dangerous. You have me, for the next few months. Enjoy them. Love my body. But my mind is not a lovable place.’

  She went into the bathroom, ran the water. He joined her a moment later. ‘May I watch you?’

  ‘There is room for two.’ She sank into the foam. ‘Then we must prepare that list. General Heydrich will expect to hear from us by lunchtime.’

  He sat in the tub opposite her. ‘There is no list. I told no one you were coming. The staff here only knew that I was expecting a guest for the weekend. They had no idea who the guest was.’ He smiled at her. ‘Neither did I.’

  Anna soaked. ‘But you sent me the tickets. Did you get the tickets and write the envelope yourself?’

  ‘Well, no. My secretary did that.’

  ‘Just as she also telephoned my apartment to set up our first date.’

  ‘But she has been with me for the past year.’

  ‘Which is probably at least eleven months too long,’ Anna remarked. ‘Will she come in today?’

  ‘She does not come in on Saturdays, no. She will be in on Monday.’

  ‘And that is forty-eight hours too late. You know where she lives?’

  ‘Yes,’ he muttered. ‘You wish her picked up? Gabriella! I cannot believe it. What will you do to her?’

  Anna got out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel. ‘Believe me, Heinz, I dislike the idea of doing anything to her. I would like to think she will be cooperative. But it would seem that she is a member of some resistance organization. She will have to be very cooperative if she is to save herself a lot of unpleasantness.’

  Heinz also got out of the bath. ‘But at the end of it . . .’

  ‘She will either die or be sent to a concentration camp. I would say death is the preferable alternative. But she may think differently.’

  ‘I am glad we did not have this conversation before . . . well . . .’

  Anna went into the bedroom and put on a flowered summer dress and high heels, added her ring and earrings and also her crucifix, then strapped on her watch. ‘We do what we have to do to survive. I do, anyway. She must be picked up right away. But I wish her brought to me first.’

  *

  Anna was given a small office of her own, and was promptly visited by a little man in plain clothes who made her think of a ferret. ‘I am Herr Feutlanger,’ he announced importantly. ‘Gestapo Commander in Prague.’

  ‘Then do sit down,’ Anna invited.

  He did so, peering at her. ‘You are Anna Fehrbach?’

  ‘I am afraid so.’

  He stared at her dress and jewellery. ‘You are not what I expected.’

  ‘The story of my life,’ Anna said sadly.

  ‘I have been told that I am to treat you as a senior officer in the SD.’ His tone suggested that he could not believe what he was saying.

  ‘I am a senior officer in the SD.’

  ‘But you are a young girl.’

  ‘I began early. Is this a social call, or do you have something for me? I would like to know how the business is being handled.’

  Feutlanger gazed at her for several seconds. ‘It is reported in the press as an assassination attempt which was handled by Herr Meissenbach’s bodyguards. I gather quite a few people saw you with a gun in your hand but it all happened so very quickly that no one can be certain who fired the shots. In any event, you will be kept anonymous. Those are my instructions from Berlin.’

  ‘Thank you, that is very satisfactory. But I did not kill the third man.’

  ‘That is what I wish to speak to you about. We would, under normal circumstances, expect to obtain vital information from this man, as regards his principals and other members of his group. Unfortunately, these are not normal circumstances.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘His neck is broken.’

  ‘Surely not. I did not—’

  ‘Hit him that hard? In that case, Fraulein, he is probably fortunate that his head is still on his shoulders. The fact remains that three vertebrae in his neck are shattered, he is breathing with great difficulty, and he cannot articulate at all. The doctor tells me he may regain some speech in the future, although he is likely to be paralysed from the neck down. However, the future is of no use to us.’

  ‘I am sorry. I acted instinctively.’ Feutlanger looked sceptical, so she continued. ‘However, we have another lead, a woman called Gabriella Hosek.’

  ‘You are speaking of Herr Meissenbach’s secretary? We have no information that she is involved in any subversive activity.’

  ‘Nevertheless, she is the only person, apart from Herr Meissenbach himself, who knew that I was coming to Prague. I do not mean that she knew anything about me, apart from my address, which presumably allowed me to be placed under surveillance, and my description given to the assassination squad so that I could be picked up and used as a shield for Reiffel to get close to Herr Meissenbach.’

  ‘Which was unlucky for him,’ Feutlanger observed. ‘I had an uncle who worked in West Africa. One day he thrust his hand into a laundry basket to find something he thought he had left in the pocket of a
dirty shirt, and pulled it out attached to a very large scorpion. He nearly died from the sting.’

  Anna regarded him in turn for some seconds, then she said, ‘You say the sweetest things. We must hope that Herr Reiffel is as fortunate as your uncle. Herr Meissenbach has sent some of his people to tell Fraulein Hosek that she is needed. I will interview her when she is brought in, but perhaps you would like to be present.’

  ‘If she has a radio or reads a newspaper, she will know what has happened, and has probably already left Prague.’

  ‘In which case I expect you to find her and bring her to me. But I would like her to be in one piece and able to speak.’

  Feutlanger nodded, and stood up. ‘She will be found and brought to you. I will do this personally. But tell me, Fraulein, are there many women like you employed by the SD?’

  ‘No,’ Anna said. ‘I am unique.’

  *

  Feutlanger closed the door, and she remained gazing at it for some seconds. Again she was aware of some most peculiar sensations. She supposed she could be developing a split personality. Her reactions to what had happened yesterday afternoon had been absolutely instantaneous. She had acted as a dedicated SD agent to the great gratification of her superiors, however much Heydrich might feel she had been overzealous.

  But she was not a dedicated SD agent. She was working for MI6. And there was every possibility that the assassination attempt on Meissenbach had been set up by MI6. Why London should wish to eliminate Meissenbach, who did not appear to be a vital cog in the Nazi war machine, she could not imagine. The important point was that she had foiled the plot. There had, of course, been no reason whatsoever for London to inform her that there was a plot; they had no idea she had ever met Meissenbach, quite apart from the possibility that she might be setting off to spend this particular weekend with him. She had to wonder what Billy Baxter’s reaction would be when the news of what had happened filtered back, as it certainly would.

  And now she was committed to torturing some unfortunate female to find out, for the benefit of her Nazi superiors, just where, and from whom, the plot had emanated. Having herself suffered the sort of treatment she knew the Gestapo could inflict, the thought gave her goose-pimples.

  There was a way to avoid that, but that was horrifyingly distasteful as well. On the other hand, whether or not Gabriella Hosek was a fellow MI6 employee, she could be quite sure that the woman would not be able to withstand the treatment, and would therefore reveal everything she knew, which might well jeopardize a much larger network than appeared on the surface.

  Shit, shit, shit! she thought. She remembered her Shakespeare, how Richard III had been tormented by the shades of all the people he had sent to their deaths, innocent or guilty. Just how many shades would surround her when this was over?

  Her head jerked as the door opened. But it was Meissenbach. ‘We have lost her.’

  ‘Obviously she heard or was informed. Feutlanger is after her.’ Pray to God, she thought, she either uses her capsule or is killed trying to avoid arrest.

  ‘So you also give orders to the Gestapo.’

  She shrugged. ‘Essentially they work for the SD, and I am the only SD representative in Prague at this moment.’

  ‘So do you intend to spend the entire day sitting here? I had hoped we would be able to do things together. I mean,’ he hastily added, ‘like riding together, or going to the museum. Or the cathedral; it is only just up the hill.’

  ‘I think I should stay here, Heinz, until at least lunchtime. We can go sightseeing this afternoon. Unless you think someone else may be waiting to take a pot shot at you?’

  ‘You find all this amusing,’ he suggested.

  ‘It is interesting. I try to find all aspects of life interesting.’

  ‘But it is always work before play.’

  ‘Yes. It has to be.’

  The telephone on the desk jangled and she picked up the receiver. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Who is this speaking?’ a woman asked.

  ‘Who do you wish to speak to?’ Anna countered.

  ‘Why, my husband of course, you silly girl.’

  ‘Ah!’ Anna said, and held out the telephone. ‘Your wife.’

  Meissenbach gulped as he took it. ‘My dear!’

  ‘Are you all right? I have just heard the news.’

  ‘I am quite all right, my dear.’

  ‘People were shooting at you, the radio said.’

  ‘But they all missed.’

  ‘Good heavens!’ Frau Meissenbach’s voice was every bit as penetrating as Heydrich’s. Anna couldn’t decide whether she was pleased or sorry at the turn in events. ‘I shall of course return immediately. Expect me for lunch.’

  ‘Ah . . . Yes, my dear. It is good of you to cut short your holiday.’

  ‘You are my husband. My place is at your side in this hour of need. By the way, who answered the telephone? It did not sound like Fraulein Hosek.’

  ‘It was one of the maids.’

  ‘Well, she deserves a good caning. Her tone was quite brusque.’

  ‘Ah. Yes, my dear.’

  ‘Have a car meet me at the station.’

  The telephone went dead and Meissenbach gazed at Anna. ‘That seems rather to spoil your plans for the weekend,’ she said. ‘Unless you propose to attempt to carry out her suggestion?’

  ‘My dear Anna, it is just her manner.’

  ‘I was sure of it.’

  ‘But, I suppose you should leave here before lunch.’

  Anna smiled at him. ‘I am not in a position to do that, sir. I have been ordered by General Heydrich to carry out an investigation into the attempted assassination of a German official. And, as I am sure you understand, I do not propose to disobey my master. If Feutlanger is at all efficient, he will bring in Fraulein Hosek sometime today, so I should be able to leave either tonight or tomorrow morning. However, I agree that I should lunch alone. Perhaps you could have a sandwich and a glass of wine sent in to me?’

  ‘Yes, yes, of course. Anna . . .’

  ‘Nil desperandum! We shall be in Moscow together. But I do suggest you learn how to cope with your wife by then.’ She smiled at him. ‘I am sure you appreciate that it would be most unfortunate were she and I to, shall I say, come to blows.’

  *

  Left alone, Anna paced the room. The mood she had known in Berlin was back. She had again been catapulted into a position of supreme power, only this time she was not going to be able to side-step it, to let events take their course. That course was already delineated. And it was attracting her, that was the terrifying thought. I am a monster, she told herself. I am not yet twenty-one, and I am a monster. Then she told herself, I am doing what has to be done. As long as I remember that, and do not use it for personal gratification, I surely can still, one day, become a human being again.

  The telephone jangled. ‘Feutlanger here, Fraulein. We have found the woman.’

  Breath rushed through Anna’s nostrils. ‘Where is she?’

  ‘She is here, in our downstairs department.’

  ‘Is she badly hurt?’

  ‘She is not hurt at all. Well, a few bruises.’

  ‘Have you interrogated her?’

  ‘Not as yet. I was under the impression that you wished to do that, personally.’

  ‘Yes,’ Anna said. ‘I will be right down.’

  She replaced the phone, remained sitting absolutely still for several minutes. She felt vaguely sick. There could be no doubt about what she had to do; even Gabriella Hosek would know she was being saved hours of agony and a horrible death. But that did not relieve her of the guilt. She had to kill in the coldest of blood. She had only ever done that twice before; all her other victims had been in immediate and dynamic response to a certain situation which could only be resolved by force. The two men she had executed had been on direct orders from her superiors. But if Clive could somehow be here, would he not command her to prevent this woman from revealing the names of her accomplices? She had to
believe that. Hosek should have attended to the matter herself. But as she had not . . .

  She opened her handbag and took out the cyanide capsule she always kept secreted in a special little pocket. Then she closed the handbag and slung it on her arm. The capsule she palmed inside her closed left hand, got up and went down the stairs.

  *

  She had reached the ground floor when she was suddenly joined by Meissenbach.

  ‘Anna! I am told they have brought in Gabriella.’

  ‘Yes. I am going to see her now.’

  ‘When you say “see” . . .’

  ‘Yes, Heinz. I am going to ask her to give us the names of her associates in this plot.’

  ‘Do you think she will tell you?’

  Anna gazed at him. ‘They always do.’

  ‘You are a devil from hell.’

  ‘I am a servant of the Reich, who has been taught to do her duty.’

  He licked his lips. ‘I should like to be present.’

  ‘It gives you pleasure to see a woman tortured?’

  ‘I wish to see you at work.’

  Anna considered. But his presence might just provide the distraction she needed for Feutlanger and his people. She did not suppose a man so essentially uncertain in his relations with women would be unable at least to comment, if not actually interfere. ‘If you wish,’ she agreed. But she could not resist adding, ‘And if you are sure your wife will not object.’

  ‘She need not know of it.’

  Anna shrugged and led him down the next flight of stairs as indicated by the Gestapo agent who was waiting for them. At the bottom there was a corridor and several closed doors. But one of these was guarded by another agent, who opened it for her.

  ‘Fraulein!’ Feutlanger beamed at her, then looked past her at Meissenbach. ‘Herr Secretary?’

  ‘Fraulein Hosek happens to be my secretary,’ Meissenbach said.

  ‘Yes, sir. Well . . .’

  He stepped aside and Anna led Meissenbach into the room. Having been in a Gestapo interrogation chamber before, she was not affected by the rows of unpleasant-looking instruments on the walls, or hanging from the ceiling. But she was interested in the woman who was sitting in a straight chair before the desk, her hands cuffed behind her back. She wore a skirt and blouse, both somewhat dishevelled, and had lost her shoes. She was quite an attractive woman, with short fair hair and good features. Her eyes lit up as she saw her employer. ‘Herr Meissenbach! Heinz!’