Paradise Gold: The Mafia and Nazis battle for the biggest prize of World War II (Ben Peters Thriller series Book 2) (24 page)

V
on Bayerstein laughed
at their surprise. Even in a jovial mood, his face couldn’t lose a brutal look, and Ben reckoned he could beat someone to death with his own fists to the soundtrack of his own sneering laughter. He almost choked on his own merriment as he scrambled in a cigarette box for another Black Russian and spluttered as he lit it.

Raymond and Paradiso stared at Ben with hatred shining out of their eyes. ‘You lied about the woman,’ Raymond said. ‘You’ve betrayed me, betrayed my people.’

Between extravagant puffs on his cigarette, von Bayerstein continued laughing, although it was winding down to more of a gentle chuckle as though it had run out of steam. ‘Gentlemen, gentlemen,’ he appealed as if pacifying two opponents in a debating society. ‘Peters knew nothing about it.’

Ben replayed recent events in his mind. He had seen Natalie in the barrel. She’d appeared close to death, but now she looked as though it had never happened. ‘What does this mean?’ he swivelled to look at her, incredulous she could have betrayed them, but she coloured and looked away. ‘You set me up.’

‘It was simple really.’ Von Bayerstein got to his feet. ‘We could have worked on you until you told us everything although it would not have eradicated the threat of the Resistance. I believed if you thought Natalie would die a dreadful death you would do anything to save her, even if it meant betraying Raymond. I realised your desire for her would overcome reason.’ He slowly shook his head as though unable to believe anyone would have fallen for it.

‘She played along with you?’ Ben asked.

‘After a little persuasion. She was put in the barrel at first although she was not there for long. There were other reasons also to keep her alive. She is beautiful, and it would have been a great waste.’ He took his monocle out and puffed on his cigarette. ‘I told her if she did this for me I would spare her life if you were successful in bringing Raymond to me. And it worked.’

‘Raymond,’ he stuttered, I’m sorry–’

‘No need for apologies,’ von Bayerstein said. ‘They were not coming here to save the woman. Raymond and his mercenaries planned to kidnap Admiral Robert and destabilise the island. If they had succeeded, it would have opened the door for De Gaulle’s Free French to move in and take over. An agent of ours in New York, whose network monitors all cables and radio messages sent by your various security services, deciphered one that puzzled him. You have to realise there is an element of bluff and counter bluff. War is not necessarily fought on the battlefield but in secret behind enemy lines. Once decoded, a message may say one thing and mean the exact opposite. This message was different, it was as if they wanted it to be known Raymond and his men were planning a coup. In other words, someone on your own side has betrayed you. So we were waiting for you. The French soldiers were persuaded it was in their own interests, and for those of their families and friends, that they should remain loyal to Vichy. Your men walked into a trap. Apart from a couple that raised the alarm, my soldiers were removed from their barracks and were waiting for your men just inside the tree line. All the shooting you heard was your men being exterminated.’ He turned to Paradiso. ‘That includes your so-called Puerto Rican mercenaries.’ He coughed and studied his cigarette before sitting back down in his chair and stubbing it out in the ashtray. ‘It is why we are winning the war. We Germans are superior in every way.’

‘You fuckin dumbfuck,’ Paradiso shouted and flung himself at the General, who was knocked off his chair and ended up on his hands and knees. And Paradiso rolled past him as he struggled to get back on his feet. In the confines of the room, the noise was deafening as Horst fired one shot blowing a hole in Paradiso’s right shoulder and spinning him around.

With the aid of the chair, von Bayerstein pulled himself up and dusted down his uniform. His face was bright red and the scar even redder and his eyes glowed with a toxic mix of fear and anger. ‘You can be sure now if any of your men are still alive they will be executed.’ He spat out the words as sharp as knives.

Paradiso groaned in pain and Ronnie moved to help him, but Horst waved her back with his gun.

Ben again turned to Natalie. ‘I can’t believe you helped him.’ She didn’t meet his stare. Instead, her eyes were fixed somewhere on the ceiling. ‘I didn’t have any option, they were going to kill you.’

‘I knew that.’

‘I made a deal with the General that if he saved your life I would stay here on the island with him.’

‘Enough of this.’ Von Bayerstein clapped his hands together. ‘You have failed.’

‘Where’s the Admiral?’ Ben asked.

‘We moved him out of the Fort under armed guard to a place of safety when we discovered you were sent to kill him and Raymond was planning his coup. The British are desperate. They know they cannot survive without American help. Despite opposition in his country, Roosevelt has been helping the British. He is one of the few to understand our
Führer’s
master plan. The misguided isolationists do not want to get involved in Britain’s little war, as they put it, and are more concerned with the Japanese threat in the Pacific. But Roosevelt fears us and he is right to do so.’

He glanced at each of their faces, wondering if his message was getting through, but they showed no emotion. ‘You think it is all about the gold, and it may be the case for those mercenaries.’ And he waved an arm as if they were of no consequence. ‘They are fools and criminals. We can take the gold whenever we want.’ He was looking at Ben and it was as though his eyes were empty, not seeing him at all but something else like a vision. ‘There is a much bigger prize.’

‘Herr General,’ Horst interrupted, but von Bayerstein waved him away.

‘As you are aware, our U-boats are sinking thousands of tonnes of shipping in the Atlantic and the Caribbean every day. Martinique will become a major base for our wolf packs. They are already coming into the island at night to refuel. And we are refitting them to take our latest weapon.’

‘Herr General–‘

He paused, but he didn’t appear to have heard the protest. He was now standing almost to attention and his chest was puffed out with pride and a light shone from his eyes. ‘We are now leading the way in rocket science. Soon our V-1 rockets will rain down on your cities and there will be no escape.’

‘They have a range of only 150 miles,’ Ben interrupted him, ‘so the damage you do to Britain or the United States will be limited.’

With a triumphant laugh, the General dismissed him. ‘Our people have been working on a new way of launching the rockets and now after many trials we have perfected it. Our rockets will be fired from our U-boats. They can even be launched from underwater. We are refitting our wolf packs here in Martinique so they can carry the rockets. Our U-boats can already get so close to the American coast they can see the lights of the cities so your people will be sitting targets.’

‘So you’ll fire a few rockets. I doubt it will change anything. You didn’t succeed with the London Blitz.’

‘Don’t underestimate the Reich; our
Führer
wanted a wonder weapon to crush our enemies and change the course of the war. Now we have it thanks to our work in producing heavy water in Norway–‘

Horst coughed another warning. ‘Herr General, you must not–‘

‘Silence.’

Horst persisted. ‘This is a project of the SS and as such you have no authority.’ And he waved the sub-machine gun impatiently for them to move against the wall.

‘Where would we Germans be without our friends from the Gestapo telling us what to do?’ Von Bayerstein smiled sarcastically. ‘
Kriminalkommissar
, I want our guests to know what is to become of their families, friends and allies after they depart this world so they understand the power of the Third Reich and realise it is futile to oppose us.’

Horst sighed and stepped back although he kept his machine gun trained on his prisoners.

‘It could be true what you say, Peters, about the V-1 rockets, but our scientists have also been working on the
Vergeltungswaffe 2,
the vengeance weapon or the V-2, which is an altogether more powerful beast. This will be the first rocket to enter space and re-enter our atmosphere at such a speed nothing will be able to stop it. Its range will be far superior to the V-1 and we will also be able to launch it using our U-boats. The game-changer is–‘ and he gave a broad smile ‘– it will be fitted with a nuclear warhead. Welcome to the atomic age. Britain will be devastated and from here in Martinique our wolf pack will sail to the Eastern seaboard of the United States to launch more nuclear missiles. There will be many thousands of casualties. New York, in particular, will be an easy target.’

Ronnie put a hand to her mouth and gasped.

Annoyed his superior was revealing too much, Horst rasped. ‘Herr General, this is wasting valuable time. This information is of no use to them.’

‘Very well,’ von Bayerstein sighed. ’Let’s get on with it.’

Horst gestured for Natalie to join them and she rose slowly from her seat clutching a small handbag. Von Bayerstein waved her back. ‘No, not you, we have some unfinished business.’ She smiled sweetly and moved to his side, whispering ‘
merci
,
chéri.
’

Again Horst wore a lopsided smile as he searched into their eyes as if burning his image into their brains so they would carry it into death and beyond.

Ronnie was shaking and Ben grasped her hand and held it tight, reassuring her wherever they were going they would always be together.

The Gestapo officer’s grin widened and he licked his lips as his finger tightened on the trigger, intending to cut them down with a sweep of his machine gun.

The slightest of movements caught Ben’s eye. ‘Horst, tell me why–‘ he shouted as Natalie opened her bag and pulled out something resembling a large darning needle and in one fluent movement jabbed it into the side of the General’s neck. Von Bayerstein reeled away, and his eyes were wide open in shock as blood bubbled out of the wound. His knees buckled, and she reached again for the needle, pulling it out and plunging it once more deep into the side of his head.

Ben lunged at Horst, and the German swivelled, loosening off a fusillade of shots that missed Natalie but caught the dying General in the chest. Raymond leapt forward and, using his superior height and strength, hit down with all his power on the back of Horst’s head. The German staggered away, but as he swung around, his sub-machine sprayed the room with bullets. The Resistance leader jumped on the Nazi, wrapping his arms around him and smothering the firing gun, and they both fell with Horst catching the edge of the General’s desk with his head.

‘Get out,’ Ben shouted, grabbing Natalie and Ronnie and making for the door, ‘before the rest of them get here.’

Ronnie pulled him back. ‘Raymond needs help,’ she said. He was lying on his side, holding his stomach, and blood was seeping through his fingers. He’d taken several rounds in the gut and knew there was no hope.

‘Go,’ he gasped. ‘Save yourselves.’

Paradiso, too, was leaning against a wall, his face deathly white and bathed in sweat, and clutching a weeping wound to his shoulder.

B
en half
-carried Paradiso out of the room, switching off all the lights so they wouldn’t be sitting targets for any snipers waiting outside. Somewhere in the near distance the tracers of sporadic firing lit up the night sky and the occasional crump of hand grenades suggested the Resistance fighters and the remnants of Paradiso’s men were not giving up without a fight. He made them stay just inside the front door while he reconnoitred outside in case some of the soldiers were on their way to the General’s quarters.

‘Coast seems to be clear.’ He popped his head back in. ‘Quick, we have little time.’

They crossed the lawn in front of the house, expecting at any moment searchlights to catch them in their glare and machine gunners to gun them down like a turkey shoot. Although it took less than a minute, it seemed an eternity before they reached the cover of the tree line. The effort had exhausted the remains of Paradiso’s strength and he slumped to the ground despite their efforts to keep him moving.

‘Let him rest,’ he said and went on ahead to scout a possible path through the trees. When he returned, Ronnie pulled him aside. ‘It’s not looking good,’ she said and glanced back at Paradiso, who was lying shaking on the ground. ‘Don’t think he’s going to make it.’

In the darkness, it was almost impossible to find a path through the undergrowth. By now, the guards would have sealed off all the gates, including their entry point. Forts were very efficient in barring intruders but also in keeping the occupants in. He had no idea what forces were lined up against them. Was it just the Nazis, that was bad enough, or were the French troops also looking for them?

‘I’m beginning to wonder whether we will make it either,’ he said and bit his tongue.

‘What are you two whispering about?’ Natalie rasped. ‘It’s no time for a
tête-à-tête
.’

Still not trusting her, Ronnie snapped back. ‘Keep your voice down and watch Paradiso.’ Her voice dropped and she leant in close to him. ‘Do we need her? She set you up as a fall guy. She’s the enemy. She killed my cousin.’

He stared at her in disbelief.

‘My cousin was a member of the Resistance, too, and she was following Natalie. She simply disappeared. We never found a body although we know she is dead, killed by that woman.’

He glanced at Natalie. Whatever her motives, she had tried to save his life and it was not an argument he wanted to consider at this moment.

‘If she hadn’t killed von Bayerstein, we’d all be dead by now,’ he said.

‘She keeps changing sides,’ Ronnie insisted. ‘I don’t trust her.’

‘I don’t know if I do,’ he said, ‘but we’ve got to get out of here or else nothing matters.’

‘Dumbfuck, you’re a fuckin dumbfuck, Paradiso, you’ve gone and fucked up this time.’ Paradiso’s voice sounded like a drunk remonstrating with himself for drinking too much.

‘Shut him up,’ Ben hissed, and Natalie flung herself on him to smother the sound.

And he heard Paradiso’s muffled reply. ‘Why couldn’t you have done that the other night, sister, eh?’

He took Ronnie’s arm. ‘It’s useless; I can’t see a way out. You’re supposed to know your way around here. Is there any way to escape?’

Even in the darkness he could tell she was smiling as if she’d remembered something that might help. ‘It’ll be dawn soon and once the light comes up there’ll be no escape,’ she said. ‘When I was little, I used to play nearby although what I’m looking for may no longer be here. Wait while I check it out.’ And with a rustle she disappeared into the brush.

He went back to see how Paradiso was coping and lay down by his side, checking his pulse while Natalie used a handkerchief in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood from his shoulder.

‘Hang on, Paradiso, we’re going to get you out of here,’ he said and Paradiso flashed him a look suggesting he didn’t believe him either.

Soft but in control, Natalie’s voice came out of the darkness. ‘Please take me with you. I’m on your side, believe me.’

He said nothing and concentrated on listening for Ronnie and their pursuers, but the only sound was Paradiso’s ragged breathing reminding him how fast their time was running out.

A faint rustling in the undergrowth and they both froze and held their breath. To their relief Ronnie appeared and she sounded upbeat. ‘Come on,’ she ordered them, ‘follow me and watch your step, it won’t be easy.’

‘Where are we going?’ he asked, dragging a complaining Paradiso to his feet.

‘Wait and see. We’ve got to get away from here.’

Behind them, a loud click echoed around the grounds, followed by a humming sound and they stopped in their tracks. Suddenly the grounds of the Fort were bathed in light as every searchlight flashed on, illuminating the lawn and casting long shadows across the grass. And it was accompanied by urgent voices, shouting commands in German, and the baying of dogs.

‘Go,’ he ordered Ronnie and pushed Natalie to follow her and took an arm of Paradiso’s and wrapped it around his neck. ‘Try to walk,’ he encouraged him. ‘We’re getting out of here.’

‘About time, too, you dumbfuck,’ Paradiso said, gritting his teeth to control the pain.

The urge was to run, to escape as quickly as possible, but any unusual sound would give their position away. Every step had to be tested to prevent them from falling as the ground sloped sharply downwards. And there were times when the undergrowth seemed to be alive, grabbing at their ankles and threatening to pull them over. They feared the rustling of the undergrowth would betray them as they moved deeper into the wood and they heard the Nazis’ voices getting closer and dogs running through the brush.

Ronnie had stopped and a wall blocked her path and she was feeling along it with her hands.

‘What are you looking for?’ he asked.

‘An opening.’

Carefully, he let down Paradiso and left him in a sitting position against a tree trunk and joined Ronnie at the face of the wall, looking for a break in the stone. He heard the relief in Ronnie’s whisper. ‘Got it, got it. Here.’ Ben saw an opening of sorts, almost hidden by a branch. He went back for Paradiso, who by now was unable to put one foot in front of the other, and Natalie joined Ronnie.

They all peered into what appeared to be a black hole.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s a drain,’ Ronnie said. ‘In the wet season water flows from the hills and any excess water in this area is channelled into it and taken down through the walls and out of the Fort farther down the hill.’

‘It’s big,’ he said, tracing its circumference with his fingers and sensing Ronnie was hesitating.

‘It’s like a tunnel,’ she said. ‘When I was a child I could walk through it, but now we’ll have to crouch, although–’

‘What?’

‘I don’t know if it’s still in use. It may be blocked. We might get halfway down and then be trapped.’ He detected a growing panic in her voice.

‘We’ve no choice,’ he said. ‘If we turn back now, we’ll walk straight into the Nazis and their dogs.’

‘I’m ready to go,’ Natalie said and stepped past them.

‘Wait,’ Ronnie reached out to block her and Natalie moved to one side to evade her and stumbled, losing her footing, and with a shriek slid out of sight.