Crossword (17 page)

When he got back to Bern it was after the dinner hour but he
went directly to the building on Herrengasse hoping to find Julian there so he
could report the events of the day. He was surprised to find Victoria still at
her desk, but she brushed aside his questions saying only that Dulles had asked
her to take care of a few things for him and, in response to his inquiry about
Julian, replied, "He's still in his office." Kent two stepped it up
the stairs, knocked on Templeton's door, then entered and sat down in the chair
across from the large desk, constructed, like much of the other furnishings, of
some dark wood with various carvings. Aside from the desk and two comfortable
chairs, one occupied by a slightly out of breathe Kent Mallory, the room was
fairly Spartan. A picture of Julian alone by some lake with a snow covered
mountain in the background hung on the wall as the only adornment, with no
indication of where or when it had been taken, and one might wonder who was on
the other side of the camera and what significance the place held for Julian.
There was nothing in the small office to offer any insight into the man who
occupied it, where they called home, their likes, their family; not even a name
to attach to the person who sat behind the desk, and that was precisely the
intention of the resident. He could be whoever he wanted to any contact or
visitor who sat opposite him, and that included the current young man sitting
across from him, anxious to tell his tale, for although Kent knew Julian's name
and something of his government service, he actually knew hardly anything about
the man, his aspirations, what he was about or even the real details of the
plan he had spawned. Kent was fed what he needed to know, or more accurately,
what Templeton wanted him to know.

Julian looked up when Kent entered, held up a finger to
silence him while he finished jotting something down in an open notebook, then
looked up and said, "OK, so what did Herr General have for us that was so
important?"

Kent reviewed their meeting, including his concerns about
General Schroeder and Waldman's response. He then produced the manila envelope,
laying the photograph on the desk for Templeton to see. "The recognition
code needs to be added to the back of it. She is one good-looking Nazi who, by
the way, was hanging out around the café. I noticed her on the way from the
station, about a hundred meters from where we met; you can't help noticing
someone so damned cute, but I had no idea who she was until I looked at the
picture in the train on the way back."

"If she's a friend of Waldman's I don't think the word
'cute' would be the adjective I'd use to describe her. She was keeping a
lookout for him, making sure we didn't try to pull a fast one on him. It's good
to know who he works with. Nice going, Kent. And you are certainly right about
her being one fucking good-looking Teutonic bitch. As a matter of fact, I
wouldn't mind getting up close and trying some of my own 'goose steps' on
her."

"Speaking of which, how'd your date go with
Victoria?"

He glanced over to make sure the door was closed before
replying, "My dick is still sore. She fucks like she was brought up in the
gutter. I knew under her prim English exterior she was a whore at heart."

"Whoa, what about 'a gentleman never tells'?"

"That's only if you don't nail them. Besides, that
weren't no lady, pardner. But enough of my sexual conquests, let's get on with
business. We don't have anything yet from Schroeder, but I would expect to be
getting some sort of package from him any day now. One of his officers has
acted as a courier before and he knows how to find me. When I get the picture
of his girl and the code, I'll make the switch and take it to the field agent
myself."

"Good. I hope you don't mind me talking to Waldman
about Schroeder; I just thought he might be trouble."

"No, you're right, he certainly could be. Let's see
what our General comes up with."

"OK then. I'm heading back to the apartment. All this
traveling is exhausting. Good night. Stud."

Julian smiled good naturedly until the door closed behind
Kent, then he sighed softly, sucked on his lower lip in thought while he
drummed his fingers on the desk top. After a few minutes he picked up an
intercom phone and pressed a switch. Victoria's voice sounded in his ear,
"Yes Mr. Templeton?"

"Before you come over tonight would you stop by the
station and get me a ticket on the early train to Lugano tomorrow so I could
tie up some loose ends. This is work related and the usual discretion and
precaution will be needed. However, Victoria, your visit will not be work
related although the greatest of discretion will nonetheless be involved,
especially when it comes to me having to stop myself from shouting to all of
Bern how wonderful you are. I'll have a nice bottle of wine waiting."

"Thank you, Mr. Templeton. I shall look forward to
it."

* *

During the train ride to Lugano Julian mostly slept. The night
before had been later than he wanted, but the sex with Vickie was so intense he
could not pass up the opportunity even if it meant only a few hours rest before
he had to leave for the station. He made sure she was out of the apartment when
he left so he could lock it, kissed her goodbye at the front door and was
fortunate enough to find a taxi almost immediately. When he boarded, Julian
asked the conductor to wake him 15 minutes before arrival so he would have time
for some cold water to the face and a quick cup of coffee. By the time the
train came to a stop in Lugano, he felt alert and ready for his meeting with SS
General Gerhard Waldman.

The trip back seemed shorter than the outbound journey even
though he had slept most of the way to Lugano. Returning to Bern his mind was
in high gear, and although he had had little sleep in the last 24 hours, Julian
was evaluating his conversation with Gerhard, going over plans, changes in
plans and contingencies, oblivious to any fatigue. Waldman was an efficient,
calculating, strategic planner. Like Julian, he was a believer in leaving
nothing to chance and was willing to do not only what was necessary, but what
was most expedient to accomplish his objectives. He was, perhaps, more ruthless
than Julian, but his situation was more desperate. Templeton thought they could
be a great team or worthy adversaries. He was still not sure which it was to
be.

"Bern. Bern in five minutes," the conductor called
as he walked through the club car.

As Julian detrained he realized that he would have to make
some revisions to his basic plan, that is, the plan that involved Waldman. It
would have several possible permutations, some known to Gerhard, others
Julian's private contingencies. Moreover, it would be very difficult for him to
control the ebb and flow of the mission once it was set in motion since
information from the field would be negligible and he would have little real
time control. It would take extreme finesse and intricate planning, a challenge
that he welcomed, the culmination of his career and the beginning of his life
as an expatriate.
There were contacts in Munich and also a few along the
route from the north shore of the lake,
he thought. People who might be
able to analyze the situation and initiate certain predetermined actions
depending on what they find.
Of course most of them are simply thugs that
I've hired from time to time. Except for our man in Munich; he could be useful.
Templeton turned the possibilities over in his mind, especially the
reliability of the personnel. He had to use those he trusted, on whose judgment
he could count, for even though he would send them a simple algorithm, he was
experienced enough to know that in the field, expediency often dictated
unplanned actions and decisions. And on those choices, especially as to which
of the players were killed, his fortunes might rise or fall. Julian wanted
every possible outcome to be a winner for him but he was too realistic to
believe that even he could arrange that. He knew that as a fallback position
the best he could hope for was for the mission to end without him being
incriminated in any wrong doing and for all the other personnel in his scheme
to die in the line of duty or in some unfortunate mishap. Walking back to his
apartment the accumulated fatigue of the day caught up with him and thoughts of
operational planning were replaced by a desire to slip quietly into bed and
lose himself to the anodyne of sleep. Tomorrow he would give his full attention
to the final, crucial details. The original operation, the one known to the
members of the OSS team, would be presented to Dulles pretty much unchanged
from its first conception.

* *

Templeton was at his desk early in the morning before most of the
others had arrived, including Vickie, which saved him the effort of the charade
that he was smitten by her, and was able to work until almost midday before
anyone interrupted him. That distraction was in the form of Mallory sticking
his head in the door and asking, "Do we need to get together?"

"I'm just working on some details. Why don't we go to
lunch in about an hour."

"I'll be in my office; just stop by." He pulled
the door closed as his torso, which had been protruding into the room, receded
into the hallway. If he wondered about Julian's whereabouts the day before, he
kept it to himself. It was not considered proper to ask those kinds of
questions, and even if he had, the inquiry would have yielded only
dissimulation.

Julian opened the top drawer of his desk and removed a plain
white envelope that the duty officer had given him when he arrived that
morning, saying "A young man left this for you about 5 AM, Mr. Templeton.
He seemed to be in quite a rush but was very emphatic that I should hand this
over to you directly upon seeing you, and said you were expecting it. I've seen
him before, dropping off something else; a courier I assume, and military by
his bearing." Templeton had opened the envelope as soon as he reached his
office, briefly glancing at the contents before placing it in his desk. He now
extracted the single picture that was the only item inside, held it between
thumb and forefinger and stared at the waist-up image of an attractive young woman
with large eyes that seemed to radiate a smile to the same degree as did her
mouth and enticing lips, turned up at the corners, seemingly on the verge of
laughing. Her skin had a smooth dark complexion that spoke of a Mediterranean
origin and her closely cropped hair was worn parted and brushed to the side,
imparting a boyish look, although the well formed, breasts and delicate waist
precluded anyone from mistaking her for anything other than a woman that any
man would find most desirable. This was Maria, General Schroeder's ward,
girlfriend, concubine or whatever word might be used to describe a relationship
that was not entirely clear to Julian, but obviously was of great importance to
Schroeder. Julian flipped the picture over and read the first of two sentences
printed neatly on the back, "I have often admired you." A single line
had been drawn below this. There followed, "I hope you still have the
picture my mother gave you." He reached into the inside pocket of his
jacket, which he had hung over his chair, took out the photograph that Waldman
had given Kent in Lugano and copied the recognition code and response onto the
back. When he was finished he held up both pictures and stared at the two
women. They both looked beautiful; a man would have no difficulty fantasizing
about making love to either one of them. But there was a difference. Gerhard's
lady had an edge about her, a hard look that said "Don't mess with
me!" He imagined that she would try to be dominant in sex as well as in
all her endeavors, that in her lay the capacity for the unusual, the extreme
and the daring. She made you afraid yet, at the same time, there was an
irresistible attraction about her. Maria, no less attractive, had a soft
sensuality that one could see in her almost pouting lips and in her eyes with
their sultry lids and long lashes. She would be no quick tumble in bed; no
purveyor of sex that became a contest of wills. It would take commitment and
patience, the development of a relationship and mutual trust before she could
give herself to a man. But, he thought, when she did, she would surrender
herself completely, in a way that Eva would find both incomprehensible and
unattainable.

Julian sighed at the choices that life forced on one.
Putting down one of the pictures he struck a match, and with the pungent odor
of sulfur in his nostrils he touched the flame to the photograph of Maria, held
gingerly in his hand, arm extended over the metal trash can, and watched while
the paper blackened and writhed as the fire enveloped and consumed the lovely
image until, just before the flame reached his fingers, he dropped the burning
ashes into the trash.

He grabbed his jacket, pulled on his coat and left his
office with the last wisps of smoke still curling slowly in the still air. Down
the hall Kent's door was ajar, nothing of much importance going on there.
Julian slowly shook his head at what he considered the general incompetence of
so many with whom he had to work, and included in his thoughts was just a
twinge of remorse for Kent, a fleeting reflection and the barest touch of
sadness. "Hey there, ready for some lunch?"

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"The 'Alpine' won't be crowded now, we can talk in one
of the booths in the back"

At the first sound of Julian's voice Kent had stood up and
was now almost out the door, his coat in hand. They walked in silence, along
the hall, down the steps and out the front door, a brief nod to Vickie the only
acknowledgement to any of the other workers. Cold air and a gray sky greeted
them and neither spoke as they covered the two blocks to the café at a brisk
pace. When they arrived at the 'Alpine' the headwaiter greeted them as regular
customers, and knowing their sometime desire for privacy motioned them to sit
wherever they liked. Wasting no time, Templeton began talking as soon as they
sat down, beginning with an explanation of how Kent had to show the field agent
the picture of Eva, that was the name Waldman had used at their meeting the day
before, and tell him it was the picture of Maria that General Schroeder has
sent. He was to memorize the face on the picture and the code written on the
back. Proper tradecraft dictated that the photograph had to be destroyed
immediately thereafter. Julian impressed this on his young protégé, making sure
that he understood that it was to be done right after the agent had studied it,
and that no one else was to see it. "You also need to memorize the codes
and transmit them to Waldman. I'm sorry but you'll have to make one more trip
to Lugano. Do the final briefing of the field agent first."