Behind Enemy Lines (8 page)

S
ERA HAD
intended to call Riq that first evening. She felt desperate to know how he was, and whether Dak had made it to Germany safely. But she had the chilling feeling somebody was watching her, most likely that creepy Clauss. It wasn’t worth the risk to make a phone call.

She did, however, discover a surprising fact that made her want to call Riq even more. One of their first adventures had been on board Christopher Columbus’s ship as it sailed for the new world. This Spanish city, Huelva, had looked familiar to her from the start, but it was only after she began wandering the busy port town that she realized why. Four hundred and fifty years had changed a lot of things, but not the basic landscape. She was now less than ten miles from where she, Dak, and Riq had boarded Columbus’s ship. For such a small coastal lagoon in the big world, it had seen its share of history. Dak would completely geek out about that. But not tonight, not until she was sure it was safe to call.

In the meantime, she had to live the life of a spy. And that meant lying, something that Sera wasn’t altogether comfortable with. It was one thing to lie to Clauss, but the doctor seemed like a good man, and Sera took no pleasure in deceiving him. She’d managed to convince him that she’d come to town from an impoverished village in order to pursue her love of science, something her family didn’t understand. He allowed her to stay the night in a small room above his garage — but warned her that he would be putting her on the next bus out of town. “A girl’s place is with her family,” he had said.

Sera hadn’t had to fake the lump in her throat at hearing that. Until then, she had managed to avoid thinking about how her parents had been SQ. But now she felt torn. Her mind struggled to understand how they could have aligned themselves with such evil people. And her heart longed for an explanation that would make everything okay. Despite everything, she still wanted to see them again.

Sera spent the following day hoping to bump into Clauss, but he was nowhere to be found. The day after that was a funeral for Major Martin attended by the same British officer who had been at the postmortem, some disinterested Spanish officers, and a few curious people from the town. Even if she hadn’t been there on spy duty, Sera wanted to attend the ceremony. She might’ve been the only person there who knew Major Martin was really a homeless man who’d died a few months ago from eating rat poison. He may not have given his life for his country, but he had given his death. For that, he deserved to be honored.

A couple of times during the funeral, she saw the top of Clauss’s crisp blond hair poking into people’s whispered conversations as if eavesdropping for anything suspicious. Perhaps he was hoping Martin’s briefcase might somehow fall from the sky and land in his lap. But it wasn’t until the guests left that he found her, sitting on a bench near the cemetery. Just to have him beside her felt like a cold wind had blown in. But she kept her calm.

“I heard a rumor that Major Martin drowned at sea,” he said. “Probably after his plane crashed.”

“That’s what the doctor decided.”

“Why didn’t any other bodies wash up on shore? Where’s the plane wreckage?”

Don’t appear too obvious,
Sera reminded herself. If she was supposed to be on Germany’s side, then she should be hopeful, but not yet convinced.

“That’s a good point,” she said. “You should probably wait another week or two and see if anything else washes up.”

“Stupid girl!” Clauss crossed his legs and turned away from her. “If Martin was carrying information, we can’t wait two weeks to get it.”

Sera tried to hide her smile. That’s what she’d hoped he’d think. Who was stupid now?

“Martin had papers with him, correct? In a briefcase?”

Sera nodded. She wanted to tell him the entire fake plan, to convince him right then that Martin was real, that Britain was invading Greece and not Sicily, and that he should tell Hitler just to surrender now. But the truth was that she hadn’t seen anything written on the papers. Right now, it was more important to make Clauss trust
her
. And to get that trust, she had to tell him the truth.

“He had papers,” she said. “But I couldn’t see what they said. There were envelopes inside the briefcase, too, and they were sealed.” Then, just in case it helped, she added, “The British officer in the room didn’t seem very happy that Spain has them.”

Clauss smiled. “That’s because many officials in Spain quietly support Germany in this war. But they can’t just hand the papers over to us. Our work must be . . . subtler.” He stood and withdrew from his pocket a single coin. “That’s for your trouble.”

“Only one?” Sera said. “This won’t buy anything.”

“Then find me more information,” Clauss said.

Sera nodded and he left. Only then did her heart begin to beat normally again. Had she done enough? Would the papers really make their way into German hands without any further effort on her part?

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t realize the doctor was approaching her until he sat on the bench where Clauss had just been. “Sera, why were you speaking with that man?” he asked.

“Clauss?” Sera tried to keep her cool, but her heart rate was already back up again. “He was curious about Major Martin. He wanted to know what happened to the briefcase. I . . .” She decided to go for it. “I told him I was curious about that, too. Do you know what the man who took it will do with it?”

The doctor scowled. “He will keep it under lock and key until he’s ordered to take it to his superiors in Madrid. It’s none of my business, and if you’re smart, you’ll leave it alone, too.”

“But —”

The doctor grabbed her shoulders and nearly shook her. “Right now, Martin’s papers are at the center of a world war. If you meddle, you will get in the way of some very dangerous people.” He released her and then pulled some money from his pocket, which he shoved into her hands. “Clauss isn’t fooling anyone. He’s almost certainly spying for Berlin. If you need money, it isn’t worth making a devil’s bargain with him. Take this instead. Use it to leave town, return to your family while you can. The Nazi spies will know you saw those papers. I never should have allowed you in that room. I wish
I
had not been in that room!”

Sera pocketed the money and thanked him, promising she would consider what he’d said. Then she made her way back into town. The worry in the doctor’s voice bothered her more than she wanted to admit. Obviously, she knew this was dangerous, but hadn’t she been playing a dangerous game since the moment she and Dak stumbled into time travel? What made anything different now?

Sera knew the answer. On past missions, she had Riq with her, or Dak, or both of them. Now they were all separated, all fighting their individual battles, and she felt totally cut off from even knowing whether both boys were still okay.

Focus
, Sera told herself. Focus on the job that had to be done. For now, that was the most important thing.

So she went back to hunting for any information that might be useful to Clauss. She hoped to hear some gossip or rumors about what was happening to Martin’s papers, but if anyone had something worth sharing, they didn’t let her in on the conversation. It was strange to be in the spy business, pretending to want one thing when she really wanted the very opposite. It was exhausting, actually.

The following evening, Sera decided to take the risk and call Riq. It had been five days since she’d arrived in Spain, and she hadn’t dared make a phone call. But she couldn’t go without hearing news any longer.

She found a pay phone not far from a fruit stand and dialed the number Riq had given her. She let it ring once, then hung up, then retrieved her coin and dialed again. It rang only once before someone picked up.

“Hello?” Riq asked.

Sera was so happy to hear a friendly voice, her words came out in an explosion of information. She told him about the postmortem examination, Clauss, and even Columbus’s ship. Finally, she drew in a breath long enough to hear him telling her to stop talking. “Why?” she asked. “What’s wrong? Is Dak okay? Are you?”

Now that she was listening, Riq’s voice was clearly strained. “Do you still have the Infinity Ring?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. Why?”

“You need to leave Spain. Go anywhere. Get —” Then his words ended in a groan and the phone went silent.

“Riq!” Sera yelled. “Riq!”

Someone on the other end of the line picked up the phone. She heard breathing before any words were spoken. Then someone whispered, “Sera.” The voice was like she imagined a snake would sound. “Sera, do you know who I am?”

“Tilda.” Sera’s hand began shaking so hard she almost dropped the phone.

“If you leave the country with that Infinity Ring, what do you think will happen to Riq?”

“Leave him alone!”

“Tomorrow, Riq and I will be in Madrid, the capital of Spain. If you want him back, then meet me in Retiro Park at noon with the Infinity Ring. Beside the lake is a large monument. Be there, or you will never see Riq again.”

Sera started to answer but the line went dead. She hung up her phone and clutched the sack holding the Infinity Ring in her hands. What was she supposed to do now?

There wasn’t time for her to answer her own question. Only seconds after she left the phone booth, Clauss appeared and gripped her arm so tightly it made her wince. He dug into her pocket and pulled out the money from the doctor.

“Who gave you this?”

“The doctor at the morgue.”

“And who were you talking to just now?”

Sera tried to break free, but it did no good. “A friend of mine who’s coming to Madrid. I have to go see him. Now let me go!”

“Madrid?” Clauss released her arm but stepped closer to her. “You don’t have enough money to get there.”

No, she didn’t. And she couldn’t use the Infinity Ring again, not so soon. There had to be another way.

“I’m trying to get you more information,” Sera said. “You could pay me now, and then —”

“I have a better plan.” Clauss withdrew an envelope from his suit jacket and held it out to her. “If you safely deliver this letter for me, I will help you get to Madrid.”

“Deliver the letter to who?” Sera figured she was already in enough trouble, and so was Riq. Mincemeat Man would have to wait until she knew what to do about Tilda.

Clauss sighed. “I tried everything I could think of to get Major Martin’s papers these past few days. No matter what I try, the officials here are protecting them far too well. So well, in fact, that I am sure they must contain some important information.”

Very important,
Sera thought. So important that it was driving her crazy. Spain was supposed to hand the papers over to the Nazis, not protect them!

Clauss continued, “Martin’s briefcase is being sent to Madrid today. It is very embarrassing to me to lose access to it, and the Führer will be disappointed in my failures. This letter is for my friend in Madrid. It explains why I could not get the briefcase and hopefully he can explain to the Führer.”

“Why not just mail it, or deliver it yourself?” Sera asked.

“Letters such as these do not go through the mail, and this town is my post. I’m not allowed to leave.”

Sera folded her arms and stared up at him. “So you’ll pay my way to Madrid, and then trust me to carry that letter there?”

Clauss shook his head. “I don’t trust anyone. But I also know that if there’s any trouble along the way, the Allies will never search a young girl. And if you fail to deliver this letter, or if you open it yourself, my friend in Madrid will find you, and please believe me when I say that he is more desperate and far less kind than I am.”

Sera reached for the letter but saw nothing written for the address. “Who is it for?”

“Major Karl-Erich Kuhlenthal. He is one of Hitler’s most trusted men in Spain, or he once was. If he doesn’t get Martin’s papers, then his career is finished.”

“What does he think about Major Martin?”

Clauss shrugged. “If Kuhlenthal can get the papers, and if they’re real, then he will save his career. So for his sake, I hope they are real.”

For safekeeping, Sera stuffed the letter in the bag holding the Infinity Ring. Before dropping her off at the train station, Clauss even bought her a small suitcase to help her look more like a traveler, then put her on a train to Madrid.

“Major Kuhlenthal should meet you at the train station, but if he doesn’t, then you can always find him at the Spanish Ministry. Give him this letter, and then stay out of his way if you want to be safe.”

Sera nodded, and ran his words through her mind as the train pulled away from the station. She would give Kuhlenthal the letter, and she definitely wanted to be safe. But if Mincemeat Man was going to succeed, the last thing she could do was stay out of his way.

S
ERA ARRIVED
at the Madrid train station early the next morning. The air was cool, but the skies were clear. Hopefully, it would warm up before she turned into a PopSQicle.

She had the letter for Major Kuhlenthal clutched in her hand. For most of the train ride, that’s where it had been, so she would be sure not to lose it. The ride here had been crowded and miserable, with people speaking so many languages that it drove the translator in her ear nuts. At one point she had been pushed into a small kitchen area where she was nearly burned by a hot coffeepot. For a few moments she stared at it as she considered using it to steam open the envelope. Then she could know what the letter said. However, Dak had once told her about an old spy trick of leaving something inconspicuous in the seal of an envelope, such as an eyelash or hair, to test whether someone else had opened it. She wondered if Clauss had done that to the letter for Major Kuhlenthal, or for that matter, whether the British had done that with Major Martin’s sealed letters.

Clauss hadn’t been clear on where she was supposed to meet Kuhlenthal, only that he would meet her at the train station. And that question was answered the instant she stepped off the train.

The tall man standing on the train platform immediately reminded her of a hawk. His sharp blue eyes were on her the moment she emerged, and the weight of his glare made her feet drag as she shuffled forward. He looked her over like he was examining a moldy piece of bread.

“You’re the child sent by Clauss?” he asked.

Sera tried not to let her irritation show. “Yes.”

“What does it say about the Nazis that we need the help of a young girl?”

Sera had more than a few ideas of what she’d say about the Nazis, but she only straightened up tall and said, “I saw the postmortem and the papers inside the briefcase. Nobody would suspect someone like me.”

“I hope he didn’t pay you too much for that useless information,” Kuhlenthal said. “Those papers are probably fakes anyway. We are suspicious.”

“It’s good that you are,” Sera said. “Because I think Captain Clauss believes they’re real. You should let him write to the Führer about the papers. If he’s wrong, he’ll get the blame.”

“And if he’s right, he’ll get the credit!” Kuhlenthal shook his head sharply. “No. If the Führer is going to reward one of his officers, it must be me.”

Sera glanced at a clock on the wall of the station. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for her to get to Retiro Park from here, but she didn’t see the point of sticking around just to get insulted again.

“Listen, I’ve got to go,” Sera said. “If you don’t need my help —”

“I don’t,” Kuhlenthal said. “Not unless you can read English well. I speak the language, but once I get those papers, it might help to have another set of eyes on them.”

Sera smiled. “I read it as well as if I’d grown up with it.” She eyed the clock again. “I’d really better go, but I’ll try to stay close to the Ministry. If you need to find me, that’s where I’ll be.”

Kuhlenthal dismissed her, but she felt his attention still on her as she ran off. Hopefully, she could shake off his eyes in time to take care of some quick business at the train station and then make the exchange with Tilda.

With so many other passengers getting off in Madrid, it took Sera some time to locate a taxi to take her to the park, and it cost her all the money the doctor had given her a few days earlier. She was getting hungry, and the food from the markets she passed only made the hunger worse, but nothing could be done about that.

Once she arrived at Retiro Park, Sera took time to become familiar with the area and gather a few things in preparation for meeting Tilda. Then she found a quiet hiding place by the lake where she could see everyone who came and went. While she waited, it was hard not to get distracted by the majesty of the park. A series of Roman columns arched around an open gathering place. In the center of it, overlooking the lake, was a huge marble monument with several statues surrounding it. The largest statue on top was done in bronze, and was a tribute to a former Spanish king astride his horse.

At exactly twelve o’clock, Tilda whisked right past Sera’s hiding place, strode through the marble columns, and stood impatiently beside the monument. Sera watched her for a few minutes, checking whether she was there alone, and whether enough people were around that she could call for help if needed. But where was Riq? Did Tilda really expect to get the Infinity Ring without Riq there to trade?

Of course she did. Tilda was controlling this exchange. To save Riq, Tilda expected Sera to do anything Tilda demanded.

Sera emerged from her hiding place with the suitcase Clauss had given her in both hands. She passed through the marble columns and caught Tilda’s eye.

Tilda didn’t smile, didn’t even flinch a muscle. She simply stood as expressionless as the statue above her.

“There’s no point in you taking the Infinity Ring,” Sera said. “I’m the only one who can operate it because it works off my DNA.”

“Let me worry about that.”

Tilda reached for the suitcase, but Sera clutched it to her chest and locked her arms around it.

Tilda reached out a spiny hand and plucked a hair from Sera’s head, then folded it into her palm. “Problem solved.”

Sera gritted her teeth. She should’ve seen that one coming. “You still don’t get the Ring until I get Riq back.”

“And you don’t get to set the terms here!” Tilda’s eyes darted around as other people took notice of their conversation. Lowering her voice, she said, “Hand that over, and I’ll tell you where to find your friend.”

“Maybe I’ve changed my mind.” Sera back stepped away from Tilda. “You just want the Ring so you can control time, but that doesn’t work! The fabric of reality can’t take that kind of abuse. All you can do is make your own place in history.”

Tilda grabbed the suitcase. “Oh, that’s exactly what I plan to do. Trust me.”

Sera tugged back, but Tilda had a strong hold on it. “You won’t be able to figure it out!” Sera said.

“Then maybe you should come and help me.” By then Tilda had the suitcase handle in one hand, and the other locked around Sera’s arm. Sera tried pulling away, but Tilda wasn’t giving in. And for Sera’s plan to work, she
had
to give this creep the slip.

She had come to save Riq, but now it looked as if she was going to be captured right along with him!