Robert Ludlum - Rhineman Exchange.txt

by The Rhineman Exchange [lit]

Two-Six-B. Tbree-Five-Y. Five-One-C.

  There were no personal histories, no individual backgrounds

  . no references to wives, children, fathers, mothers ... no countries;

  cities, hometowns, schools, universities; there were only bodies and minds

  and separate, specific, reacting intelligences.

  The lQcation was deep in the Virginia hunt country, 220 acres of fields and

  hills and mountain streams. There were sections of dense forest bordering

  stretches of fiat grasslands. Swamps - dangerous with body-sucking earth

  and hostile inhabitants, reptile and insect - were but feet from sudden

  masses of Virginia boulders fronting abrupt inclines.

  The area had been selected with care, with precision. It was bordered by a

  fifteen-foot-high hurricane fence through which a paralyzing - not lethal

  - electrical current flowed continuously; and every twelve feet there was

  a forbidding sign that warned observers that this particular section of the

  land . . . forest, swamp, grassland and hill ... was the exclusive property

  of the United States government. Trespassers were duly informed that entry

  was not only prohibited, it was exceedingly dangerous. Titles and sections

  of the specific laws pertaining to the exclusivity were spelled out along

  with the voltage in the fence.

  The terrain was as diverse as could be found within a reasonable distance

  from Washington. In one way or another - one place or another - it

  conformed remarkably to the topography of the locations projected for those

  training inside the enormous compound.

  The num followed by the letters.

  22

  No names.

  There was a single gate at the center of the north perimeter, reached by a

  back country road. Over the gate, between the opposing guard houses, was a

  metal sign. In block letters it read: FELD DrVISION HEADQUARTERS - FAIRFAX.

  No other description was given, no purpose identified.

  On the front of each guard house were identical signs, duplicates of the

  warnings placed every twelve feet in the fence, proclaiming the

  exclusivity, the laws and the voltage.

  No room for error.

  David Spaulding was assigned an identity - his Fairfax identity. He was

  Two-Five-L.

  No name. Only a number followed by a letter.

  7Wo - Five - L.

  Translation: his training was to be completed by the fifth day of the

  second month. His destination: Lisbon.

  It was incredible. In the space of four months a new way of life - of

  living - was to be absorbed with such totality that it strained acceptance.

  'You probably won't make it,' said Colonel Edmund Pace.

  'I'm not sure I want to,' had been Spaulding's reply.

  But part of the training was motivation. Deep, solid, ingrained beyond

  doubt ... but not beyond the psychological reality as perceived by the

  candidate.

  With Two-Five-L, the United States government did not wave flags and roar

  espousiMs of patriotic causes. Such methods would not be meaningful; the

  candidate had spent his formative years outside the country in a

  sophisticated, international environment. He spoke the language of the

  enemy-to-be; he knew them as people - taxi drivers, grocers, bankers,

  lawyers - and the vast majority of those he knew were not the Germans

  fictionalized by the propaganda machines. Instead - and this was Fairfax's

  legitimate hook - they were goddamned fools being led by psychopathic

  criminals. The leaders were, indeed, fanatics, and the overwhelming

  evidence clearly established their crimes beyond doubt. Those crimes

  included wanton, indiscriminate murder, torture and genocide.

  Beyond doubt.

  Criminals.

  Psychopaths.

  23

  Too, there was Adolf Hitler.

  Adolf Hitler killed Jews. By the thousands - soon to be millions if his

  final solutions were read accurately.

  Aaron Mandel was a Jew. His other 'father' was a Jew; the 'father' he loved

  more than the parent. And the goddamned fools tolerated an exclamation

  point after the word Juden!

  David Spaulding could bring himself to hate the goddarnned fools - the taxi

  drivers, the grocers, the bankers, the lawyers -without much compunction

  under the circumstances.

  Beyond this very rational approach, Fairfax utilized a secondary

  psychological 'weapon' that was standard in the compound; for some more

  than others, but it was never absent.

  The trainees at Fairfax had a common gift - or flaw - depending on one's

  approach. None was accepted without it.

  A highly developed sense of competition; a thrust to win.

  There was no question about it; arrogance was not a despised commodity at

  Fairfax.

  I With David Spaulding's psychological profile - a dossier increasingly

  accepted by the Intelligence Division - the Fairfax commanders recognized

  that the candidate-in-training for Lisbon had a soft core which the field

  might harden - undoubtedly would harden if he lived that long - but whatever

  advances could be made in the compound, so much the better. Especially for

  the subject.

  Spaulding was confident, independent, extremely versatile in his

  surroundings ... all to the very good; but Two-Five-L had a weakness. There

  was within his psyche a slowness to take immediate advantage, a hesitancy

  to spring to the kill when the odds were his. Both verbally and physically.

  Colonel Edmund Pace saw this inadequacy by the third week of training.

  Two-Five-L's abstract code of fairness would never do in Lisbon. And

  Colonel Pace knew the answer.

  The mental adjustment would be made through the physical processes.

  'Seizures, Holds and Releases' was the insipid tide of the course. It

  disguised the most arduous physical training at Fairfax: hand-to-hand

  combat. Knife, chain, wire, needle, rope, fingers, knees, elbows ... never

  a gun.

  Reaction, reaction, reaction.

  Except when one initiated the assault.

  24

  Two-Five-L had progressed nicely. He was a large man but possessed the

  quick coordination usually associated with a more compact person. Therefore

  his progress had to be stymied; the man himself humiliated. He would learn

  the practical advantages of the odds.

  From smaller, more arrogant men.

  Colonel Edmund Pace 'borrowed' from the British commando units the best

  they had in uniform. They were flown over by the Bomber Ferry Command;

  three bewildered 'specialists' who were subtly introduced to the Fairfax

  compound and given their instructions.

  'Kick the shit out of Two-Five-L.'

  They did. For many weeks of sessions.

  And then they could not do so with impunity any longer.

  David Spaulding would not accept the humiliation; he was becon-dng as good

  as the 'specialists.'

  The man for Lisbon was progressing.

  Colonel Edmund Pace received the reports in his War Department office.

  Everything was on schedule.

  The weeks became months. Every known portable offensive and defensive

  weapon, every sabotage device, every conceivable method of ingress and

  egress - apparent and covert - was exhaustive
ly studied by the Fairfax

  trainees. Codes and variations became fluent languages; instant

  fabrications second nature. And Two-Five-L continued to advance. Whenever

  there appeared a slackening, harsher instructions were given to the

  'specialists' in 'Seizures, Holds and Releases! The psychological key was

  in the observable, physical humiliation.

  Until it was no longer viable. The commandos were bested.

  Everything on schedule.

  'You may make it after all,' said the colonel.

  'I'm not sure what I've made,' replied David in his first lieutenant's

  uniform, over a drink in the Mayflower Cocktail Lounge. And then he laughed

  quietly. 'I suppose if they gave degrees in Advanced Criminal Activities,

  I'd probably qualify!

  Two-Five-L's training would be completed in ten days. His twenty-four-hour

  pass was an irregularity, but Pace had demanded it. He had to talk with

  Spaulding.

  'Does it bother youT asked Pace.

  25

  Spaulding looked across the small table at the colonel. 'If I had time to

  think about it, I'm sure it would. Doesn't it bother you?' 'No ...

  Because I understand the reasons.' 'O.K. Then so do V 'They'll become

  clearer in the field.' 'Sure,' agreed David tersely. Pace watched

  Spaulding closely. As was to be expected, the young man had changed. Gone

  was the slightly soft, slightly pampered grace of inflection and gesture.

  These had been replaced by a tautness, a conciseness of movement and

  speech. The transformation was not complete, but it was well in progress.

  The patina of the professional was beginning to show through. Lisbon

  would harden it further.

  4"k

  Lre you impressed by the fact that Fairfax skips you a rank? It took me

  eighteen months to get that silver bar.'

  'Again, time. I haven't had time to react. I haven't worn a uniform before

  today; I think it's uncomfortable! Spaulding flicked his hand over his

  tunic.

  'Good. Don't get used to it.'

  :That's a strange thing to say . .

  How do you feeff said Pace, interrupting.

  David looked at the colonel. For a moment or two, the grace, the softness

  - even the wry humor - returned. 'I'm not sure. ... As though I'd been

  manufactured on a very fast assembly line. A sort of high-speed treadmill,

  if you know what I mean.'

  ,in some ways that's an accurate description. Except that you brought a lot

  to the factory!

  Spaulding revolved his glass slowly. He stared at the floating cubes, then

  up at Pace. 'I wish I could accept that as a compliment,' he said softly.

  'I don't think I can. I know the people l9ve been training with. They're

  quite a collection!

  'They're highly motivated!

  'The Europeans are as crazy as those they want to fight. They've got their

  reasons; I can't question them. . . .'

  'Well,' interrupted the colonel, 'we don't have that many Americans. Not

  yet.'

  'Those you do are two steps from a penitentiary!

  'They're not army.'

  'I didn't know that,' said Spaulding quickly, adding the obvious with a

  srm*le. 'Naturally.'

  Pace was annoyed with himself. The indiscretion was minor

  26

  but still an indiscretion. 'It's not important. In ten days you'll be

  finished in Virginia. The uniform comes off then. To tell you the truth, it

  was a mistake to issue you one in the first place. We're still new at this

  kind of thing; rules of requisition and supply are hard to change.' Pace

  drank and avoided Spaulding's eyes.

  'I thought I was supposed to be a military attach6 at the embassy. One of

  several.'

  'For the record, yes. They'll build a file on you. But there's a

  difference; it's part of the cover. You're not partial to uniforms. We

  don't think you should wear one. Ever.' Pace put down his glass and looked

  at David. 'You hustled yourself a very safe, very comfortable job because

  of the languages, your residences and your family connections. In a

  nutshell, you ran as fast as you could when you thought there was a chance

  your pretty neck might be in the real army.'

  Spaulding thought for a moment. 'That sounds logical. Why does it bother

  youT

  'Because only one man at the embassy will know the truth. He'll identify

  himself... After a while others may suspect -after a long while. But they

  won't know. Not the ambassador, not the staff... What I'm trying to tell

  you is, you won't be very popular.'

  David laughed quietly. 'I trust you'll rotate me before I'm lynched.'

  Pace's reply was swift and quiet, almost curt. 'Others will be rotated. Not

  you.'

  Spaulding was silent as he responded to the colonel's look. 'I don't

  understand.'

  'I'm not sure I can be clear about it.' Pace put down his drink on the

  small cocktail table. 'You'll have to start slowly, with extreme caution.

  British MI-5 has given us a few names - not many but something to start

  with. You'll have to build up your own network, however. People who will

  maintain contact only with you, no one else. This will entail a great deal

  of traveling. We think you'll gravitate to the north country, across the

  borders into Spain. Basque country ... by and large anti-Falangist. We

  think those areas south of the Pyrenees will become the data and escape

  routes. . . . We're not kidding ourselves: the Maginot won't hold. France

  will fall. . . . '

  'Jesus,' interrupted David softly. 'You've done a lot of projecting.'

  27

  'That's almost all we do. It's the reason for Fairfax.'

  Spaulding leaned back in the chair, once more revolving his glass. 'I

  understand about the network; in one form or another it's what the

  compound's training all of us for. This is the first I've heard about the

  north of Spain, the Basque areas. I know that country.'

  'We could be wrong. It's only a theory. You might find the water routes .

  . . Mediterranean, Milaga, or Biscay, or the Portuguese coast ... more

  feasible. That's you for to decide. And develop.'

  'All right. I understand. . . . What's that got to do with rotation?'

  Pace smiled. 'You haven't reached your post. Are you angling for a leave

  already?'

  'You brought it up. Sort of abruptly, I think.'

  'Yes, I did.' The colonel shifted his position in the small chair.

  Spaulding was very quick; he locked in on words and used brief time spans

  to maximize their effectiveness. He would be good in interrogations. Quick,

  harsh inquiries. In the field. 'We've decided that you're to remain in

  Portugal for the duration. Whatever normal and "abnormal" leaves you take

  should be spent in the south. There's a string of colonies along the coast.

  Costa del Santiago among them,' interjected Spaulding under his breath.

  'Retreats for the international rich.'

  'That's right. Develop covers down there. Be seen with your parents. Become

  a fixture.' Pace smiled again; the smile was hesitant. 'I could think of

  worse duty.'

  'You don't know those colonies.... If I read you - as we say in Fairfax -

  Candidate Two-Five-L had better take a good, hard look at
the streets of

  Washington and New York because he's not going to see them again for a very

  long time.'

  'We can't risk bringing you back once you've developed a network, assuming

  you do develop one. If, for whatever reason, you flew out of Lisbon to

  Allied territory, there'd be an enemy scramble to microscopically trace

  every movement you made for months. It would jeopardize everything. You're

  safest - our interests are safest - if you remain permanent. The British

  taught us this. Some of their operatives have been local fixtures for

  years.'

  'That's not very comforting.'

  'You're not in MI-5. Your tour is for the duration. The war

  28

  won't last forever.'

  It was Spaulding's turn to smile; the smile of a man caught in a matrix

  he had not defined. 'There's something insane about

  that statement The war won't last forever

  6Why?'

  'We're not in it yet.'

  'You are,' Pace said.

  29

  Two

  SEPTEMBER 8,1943

  PEENEMUNDE, GERMANY

  The man in the pinstriped suit, styled by tailors in Alte Strasse, stared

  in disbelief at the three men across the table. He would have objected

  strenuously had the three laboratory experts not wom the square, red, metal

  insignias on the lapels of their starched white laboratory jackets, badges

  that said these three scientists were permitted to walk through passageways

  forbidden to all but the elite of PeenemUnde. He, too, had such a badge

  attached to his pinstriped lapel; it was a temporary clearance he was not

  sure he wanted.

  Certainly he did not want it now.

  'I can't accept your evaluation,' he said quietly. 'It's preposterous.'

  'Come with us,' replied the scientist in the center, nodding to his

  companion on the right.

  'There's no point procrastinating,' added the third man.

  The four men got out of their chairs and approached the steel door that was

  the single entrance to the room. Each man in succession unclipped his red

  badge and pressed it against a grey plate in the wall. At the instant of

  contact, a small white bulb was lighted, remained so for two seconds and

  then went off,~ a photograph had been taken. The last man - one of the

  Peenemiinde personnel - then opened the door and each went into the hall-