Meissenbach gave Anna an embarrassed glance. She waggled her eyebrows at him.
‘Please help me,’ Gabriella begged. ‘These men . . .’
‘Your people tried to kill me,’ Meissenbach pointed out. ‘And you were involved. Why did you do this, Gabriella?’
Gabriella bit her lip, and Feutlanger looked at Anna; it was his turn to raise his eyebrows.
‘Yes,’ Anna said. ‘With respect, Herr Meissenbach, we are wasting time. Every moment is important if this woman’s accomplices are not to get away.’
‘Yes,’ Meissenbach agreed. ‘Yes. What will you do to her?’
‘We will begin with a flogging. This often is all that is required, with a woman.’
‘Absolutely,’ Feutlanger said enthusiastically. ‘Strip the bitch.’
‘I will do it,’ Anna said. The men all looked at her, and she smiled at them. ‘I have my rights.’
Feutlanger and Meissenbach exchanged glances. As they did so Anna gave a little cough and put her hand to her mouth, slipping the capsule under her tongue. ‘Excuse me,’ she said and then bent over the woman. ‘What a pretty blouse,’ she said softly. ‘It goes with your pretty face, Gabriella. Do you think your face will still be pretty when we have finished with you? I should like to kiss you.’
Gabriella stared at her in a mixture of horror and consternation, as Anna took her face between her hands and kissed her very firmly. Gabriella’s lips parted, and Anna used her tongue to push the capsule into the woman’s mouth. With her right hand she appeared to be stroking Gabriella’s chin, but was actually holding her mouth closed, while with her left hand she stroked Gabriella’s cheek, following the fingers with her lips to reach her ear. ‘Bite,’ she whispered. ‘For God’s sake, bite.’
She straightened and stepped back. ‘Now then.’ She dug her fingers into Gabriella’s blouse and pulled, to tear the buttons open. ‘I will need a knife for the underclothes,’ she said.
‘Fraulein!’ shouted one of the agents. ‘Fraulein!’
Anna again straightened and watched Gabriella’s head droop.
‘What the . . .?’ Feutlanger pushed her out of the way, thrust his hand into Gabriella’s hair to pull her head up and looked into the staring eyes.
‘That is cyanide!’ Anna cried, apparently distraught. ‘My God, and I kissed her!’ Her knees gave way and Meissenbach had to hold her up.
‘How did this happen?’ the Secretary demanded.
Anna was recovering. ‘Was she not searched?’
‘Of course she was searched,’ Feutlanger snapped. But he was looking at his men for confirmation.
‘Yes, Herr Feutlanger,’ one of them said. ‘I searched her myself.’
‘You searched her mouth?’ Anna demanded.
‘Yes, Fraulein.’
‘Well, you were obviously not very efficient. This is a shitting awful mess. She was our only lead.’ She looked at Meissenbach. ‘Will you kindly arrange for me to return to Berlin immediately? This whole sorry business must be reported to General Heydrich.’
‘Fraulein,’ Feutlanger protested.
‘You will no doubt hear from General Heydrich in due course,’ Anna told him, and left the room.
*
Although it was late Saturday afternoon before Anna regained Berlin, Heydrich was still in his office. ‘There’s a pity,’ he remarked. ‘There can be no doubt it was a conspiracy. Now we shall never know who else was involved. I am not blaming you, Anna. I have no doubt that you have saved Meissenbach’s neck. Do you think Feutlanger will get any further?’
Anna’s nerves had settled down during the train journey, although her mind was still a mass of jumbled emotions. But her voice was as calmly composed as always. ‘I very much doubt it, after the mess he and his men made over the Hosek arrest. What I would like to know is what the conspirators had in mind. Surely if they were going to murder anybody, it should have been General von Tropa, not his First Secretary.’
‘Ah, but you see, von Tropa is an indecisive imbecile, and the Czechs know this. That they are kept in subjection is because of the ruthlessness of Heinz Meissenbach.’
Anna raised her eyebrows. ‘Herr Meissenbach is ruthless?’ She thought of the rather diffident Lothario who was apparently terrified of his wife.
‘You did not know this, eh? Tell me, did you sleep with him?’
‘Well . . .’ Anna could feel her cheeks burning. ‘He wanted to, and he is to be my boss. And he said you had given permission.’
‘I did, but I assumed he would not seek to use the permission until after you had got to Moscow. You must have turned his head completely. Was his lovemaking gentle or brutal?’
‘He actually found it difficult to get going at all. He had no idea, well . . .’
‘That you could be more deadly than a black mamba? That too is a pity. As you remember, I did not want him to know so much about you. I will have to have a chat with him when he arrives on Monday. However, I would not like you to underestimate him. He may have been temporarily overcome by your special skills, especially as he appears to have been entirely overcome by your looks, and he may also be somewhat afraid of his wife – she has the family money – but his record for quite savage behaviour towards those he regards as his enemies, or as enemies of the Reich, is unquestionable.’
‘You told me that he would not be able to touch me – I mean in a disciplinary manner.’
‘He has no powers to do so, certainly. But he is a man, as I have said, of rather deep instability. Just keep that in mind.’
‘May I ask, Herr General, why you did not warn me of this when giving me this assignment? And would you have warned me of it now, but for that incident on the platform?’
Heydrich shrugged. ‘What I do, or do not do, is not something I expect you to enquire into. Your job is to carry out your assignment and please me. However, I did not warn you because I did not suppose it would be necessary. You made it so. Now listen. General Himmler feels that it would be improper for us to leave Count von Schulenburg entirely in the dark, and that to do so may make your task more difficult than is necessary. The Count will not be informed of your exact mission, but he is being told that you are an SD agent who is carrying out a special and top-secret assignment.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘General Himmler also feels that, again to ease your position, it is necessary to put the head Gestapo agent in the Embassy into the picture. He will be told to lend you all assistance, and you are, of course, his senior. His name is Groener.’
‘Yes sir. I feel I should point out that Herr Feutlanger was not very happy at having to take orders from me. Will Herr Groener be more amenable?’
‘Whether he is or not, he is an agent of the Reich, and will obey his orders. As will you, Anna. Now, it may be necessary from time to time to give you additional information or instructions. These will come through Groener. However, he is not to be informed of your overall objective at any time. I expect great things of you. Now, off you go and get me some results.’
*
‘I am sorry, Fraulein,’ Bartoli said. ‘I have received nothing further from London. When do you leave for Moscow?’
‘Next week.’
‘Then we must assume that your orders stand. I will wish you good fortune. Will I be seeing you again?’
‘When I return to Berlin. But that may not be for a few months. I will wish you good fortune.’
She went to her apartment. She had gone straight to the boutique from Gestapo Headquarters knowing that as it was Saturday it would be open late. It had been one of the longest days of her life, and there had been quite a few of those.
She thought she could still taste Gabriella’s lips, and she was sure she could taste the capsule, although she knew that had to be impossible, or she would also be dead. But it would have to be replaced. Not that she supposed there was the least risk of her being arrested by the NKVD; she would be a fully accredited German Embassy official, and even if they found cause to be
suspicious of any of her activities, they could only deport her back to Germany.
She paid off the taxi and entered the lobby. ‘Countess?’ The concierge was agitated. ‘I did not expect you until Monday.’
‘Prague was rather boring,’ Anna said.
‘Ah. Yes. Shall I inform Fraulein Gessner?’
‘I gave her the weekend off; you mean she is there?’
‘Oh, yes, Countess.’
‘Well I am going straight up, so there is nothing for you to do.’ She frowned as she saw his eyes dilate. She rode up in the elevator, as was her custom whenever her suspicions were aroused, running over in her mind all the various possibilities. But there was only one. Was Birgit entertaining someone? The young woman had always appeared totally sexless. She thought it might be rather amusing.
She unlocked the apartment door, crossed the lobby and entered the drawing room. She gazed at the coffee table on which there were two empty schnapps glasses. She could hear voices coming from the kitchen, and again frowned, because both of them were female. Birgit and . . .?
She walked along the corridor. The kitchen door was open. She stood in the doorway, gazing at Birgit, who was in the midst of cooking, and Marlene, both of whom were naked. When the cat’s away, she thought.
They seemed to notice her at the same time.
‘Countess?’ Birgit gasped.
‘Anna!’ Marlene cried.
‘We . . .’ Birgit began.
‘Did not expect me back until Monday? When did you move in, Marlene?’
‘Well . . . I was so lonely . . .’ Marlene was blushing.
Anna’s heart was pounding. Coming on top of the Gabriella Hosek incident, seeing the two attractively naked young women in front of her, knowing what they must have been doing, had her emotions seething again. At the same time she was furious. The fury was mainly directed at herself for being turned on, but it still made her want to hurt, to destroy. And did this creature not deserve to be destroyed? It could be done now. All she had to do was pick up the telephone and tell Heydrich that the girl was again not measuring up, and she would be gone forever. In fact, she could execute her here and now, and explain to Heydrich afterwards.
Emotions apart, she had so many problems to be attended to that the removal of even a potential one would be a great relief. And what was she concerned about? Just twenty-four hours ago she had killed two men and destroyed a third. And nine hours ago she had executed Gabriella Hosek. Executing Marlene would certainly be protecting herself, and possibly other MI6 agents such as Bartoli.
And the girl was an SD operative, however much she might be on probation. But she knew she was not going to do it. The fact was that she was desperate to prove, if only to herself, that she was not an indiscriminate murderess.
Birgit and Marlene had insensibly moved towards each other and were now holding hands; if one was going to be punished, so would the other. Anna surveyed them, and realized that they both smelt faintly of her very expensive perfume. ‘Do I understand that you have been having sex in my bedroom?’
‘I . . . we . . . it is such a lovely bedroom,’ Marlene stammered.
Again Anna had a powerful desire to punish her, at least physically, to stretch her across the bed and whip her insensible. But she knew herself too well. If she once allowed that destructive urge to control her, she would do the girl a serious injury. And in fact her violent emotions were beginning to calm. But at the same time, she would need to keep a very close eye on her.
‘You were sent to me on probation. I wish you to remember that your very existence hangs by a thread. Now return to the barracks, collect your things and come back here. I will allow you an hour. You will remain here until we leave Berlin. I think the dinner is burning, Birgit. Turn off the stove, and then strip my bed and remake it with clean sheets. When Marlene returns she will clean the bathroom. When you have finished making the bed you will prepare a fresh meal. Remember that, as of now, you are also on probation.’
She went into the drawing room to pour herself a glass of schnapps. Then she sat on the settee. She had sat here for her first embrace with Clive Bartley. She had also sat here with her arm round Gottfreid Friedemann’s shoulders, her pistol resting on the nape of his neck, before executing him.
That had been just under two years ago. She wondered if she had advanced or declined since that day. She also wondered if she had just made a mistake. Only time would tell.
*
‘I just dropped in to say cheerio,’ Clive said. ‘They have at last got their act together, and I am off tomorrow. Gibraltar then Cairo.’
‘How is Belinda?’ Baxter asked.
‘Browned off.’
‘While you are like a dog with two tails. Before you push off, something has come in which I thought might interest you.’
Clive sat down and waited.
‘We heard this morning that Operation Tomorrow has collapsed.’
‘Just like that?’
‘There seems to have been some kind of battle at Prague central railway station. Janos and Petar were shot dead, Reiffel was taken prisoner and somehow the Gestapo got on to Hosek.’
‘Shit! Did they take her?’
‘Apparently not, thank God, but she’s also dead. She committed suicide when she was arrested.’
‘What a waste. Was it worth it? For Meissenbach?’
‘The Czechs thought it was. But that is not really what concerns me. The matter has been rather blanked out by the German news media, which means of course the Czech news media as well. But Razzak was at the station. He was not involved in Tomorrow, he was there as an observer. And naturally he made himself as scarce as possible. But he saw what happened. The shoot-out was a trifle one-sided. Janos and Petar did get off a shot each and one of Meissenbach’s bodyguards was hit, but before they could fire again they were both cut down by four shots, each of which hit. Those shots were fired by a young woman who had just got off the train from Dresden.’
Clive frowned.
‘She left the train,’ Baxter went on, ‘in the company of Reiffel. And then suddenly demolished him with a couple of highly sophisticated blows, took his pistol, and opened fire with, as I said, consummate speed and accuracy. Razzak says that Reiffel is not dead, but was paralysed by a blow to the neck, which has left him unable to articulate. Obviously the Gestapo are going to do their damnedest to fix him up, but at least that gives us time to pull the others out. I wonder if anything in this pattern of events is familiar to you?’
‘Shit!’ Clive muttered.
‘Just in case it isn’t,’ Baxter went on, ‘Razzak was able to give a description of the young lady who committed the mayhem: tall, slender, long golden hair, and strikingly handsome features.’ He stared at Clive.
‘What the devil was she doing in Prague?’
‘Killing our agents. You won’t believe how it happened. According to Razzak, Hosek learned that Meissenbach was planning to entertain a young woman he had met in Berlin, and told Hosek to arrange her train passage for the weekend. Razzak and his people immediately realized that this was their chance to get right up to the target. So Reiffel picked her up on the train. Can you believe it? I mean, if you were going duck-shooting in a swamp, would you take a crocodile as company?’
‘Hold on. You are not suggesting she was sent by the SD? There is no possible way they, or she, could have known of Tomorrow. She was protecting Meissenbach.’
‘Well there must be some kind of link. And I suggest you find out. All I can say is thank God she is going to Russia. That should at least keep her from bumping off any more of our people in Central Europe, however inadvertently. You know how the boffins are always chattering about how one day they will be able to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. They don’t realize that we already possess it, and that it is quite out of control. Anna is your baby, Clive. You virtually created her. Now it is up to you to sort her out. You had better get to Moscow before she does, just in case she takes a dislike to a
ny of our people there. I am thinking especially of poor Sprague. Have a good flight.’
Chapter Five – Moscow
‘Mr Bartley!’ The Flying Officer ticked Clive’s name off a list on his desk. ‘Welcome to Gibraltar. You’re for Cairo.’
‘That is correct. ASAP.’
‘Everyone wants everything ASAP. The problem letter is the P. However, you’re in luck. Your flight leaves at 1800.’
Clive looked at his watch: it was just after eleven, or as this bloke would have it, 2300. ‘That is nineteen hours away,’ he pointed out. ‘I really am in a hurry.’
‘Everyone is in a hurry. You really don’t want to go flying the length of the Mediterranean in daylight, old man. Musso may not be up to much, but he does have an air force, and you won’t have any fighter protection. Have a good night’s sleep and a restful day. I am sure Cairo can exist for another twenty-four hours without you.’
It’s not Cairo that bothers me, Clive thought. ‘And where do you recommend I have this good night’s sleep?’
‘Accommodation . . . Ah, Parkyn!’ he called.
‘Sir?’ A young woman, trim in her WAAF uniform, appeared in the doorway. She had pleasant features, a solid figure, and short yellow hair. Everyone’s concept of the girl next door, Clive supposed.
‘Would you attend to this gentleman, Mr . . .’ He checked his list again. ‘Mr Bartley. He needs accommodation until 1700. Perhaps you could also arrange to have him picked up at that time and brought back to the station.’
‘Of course, sir.’ Miss Parkyn smiled at Clive and then at her superior. ‘Will that be all for tonight, sir?’
‘Oh, indeed. You may go off then.’
‘If you’d come with me, sir.’
Clive picked up his suitcase and followed her into another office presently unoccupied. ‘Do sit down.’ She sat herself behind the desk.
Clive took a chair, glancing out of the open window. It was a brilliantly starry night, and so delightfully warm. He had a sudden feeling of relaxation. The flight over Biscay had been tensing because of the possibility of German planes coming out from the French coast. They had seen none, but he had still been very pleased to land. The airstrip lay across the neck of land between the fortress and the Spanish mainland, and to their left the lights of Algeciras had glowed with all the brightness of a typical Spanish evening.
Angel in Red_The thrilling sequel to Angel From Hell Page 10