'I will. You may depend on it.' She turned to Shaw. 'Isn't it marvellous, darling?'
'Terrific, old girl,' he said, eyes already glazed and poured another drink.
But by then Devlin had had enough and he got up. Til be on my way. See you tomorrow night.'
Shaw mumbled something and Lavinia took Devlin back to the kitchen where he got his coat and hat.
'Will he be all right?' Devlin asked as she took him to the front door.
'Who, Max? Oh, yes. No need to worry there, Major.'
Til see you then.'
It started to rain as he went down the drive and there was no sign of the van. He stood there, hands in pockets and it was thirty minutes before it turned up.
'Did it go well?' Ryan asked.
Mary cut in, 'We've had a lovely time. Rye was a fine place.'
'Well, I'm happy for you,' Devlin said sourly. Those two didn't even offer me a bite to eat.'
Asa was just finishing a late lunch in the canteen when Schellenberg hurried in. 'A slight change in plan. I've had a message saying the ReichsFuhrer wants to see me. The interesting thing is I'm to bring you.'
'What in the hell for?'
'It seems you've been awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the ReichsFuhrer likes to pin them on SS officers himself.'
Asa said, 'I wonder what my old man would say. I went to West Point, for Christ's sakes.'
'The other complication is that he's at Wewelsburg. You've heard of the place^of course?'
'Every good SS man's idea of heaven. What does this do to our schedule?'
'No problem. Wewelsburg has a Luftwaffe feeder base only ten miles away. We'll fly there in the Stork and carry on to Chernay afterwards.' Schellenberg glanced at his watch. 'The appointment's for seven and he takes punctuality for granted.'
At six thirty it was totally dark on the Thames as Ryan nudged the motor boat in towards the shingle strand. He said to Mary, 'Just sit tight. It shouldn't take long.'
Devlin picked up the bag of tools and the torch. 'Right, let's get moving,' and he went over the side.
The water in the tunnel was deeper than it had been before, at one point chest high, but they pressed on and reached the grill in a few minutes.
'Are you sure about this?' Ryan asked.
'Michael, you said you thought it would come away easy. Now wouldn't I look the original fool if I turned up to grab Steiner tomorrow night and found the damn grill wouldn't budge?'
'All right, let's get on with it,' Ryan said.
'And no banging. I don't want someone on their knees up there in the chapel wondering what's happening down here.'
Which is what made the whole thing rather more difficult than it had first appeared. The slow, careful probing between the brickwork took time. On occasion, several bricks fell out of place at once, but others proved more difficult. It took half an hour to clear one side.
Fifteen minutes into working on the other, Ryan said, 'You were right, dammit, the thing's a sod.'
He pulled at the grill angrily and it fell forward. Devlin grabbed at his arm, pulling him out of the way and got a hand to the side of the grill at the same time, easing it down.
He took the lamp and peered inside, then handed it to Ryan. 'You hold the light while I go and take a look.'
'Watch your step, now.'
Devlin went through the hole and waded inside. In there, the water was now up to his armpits, covering the tops of the tombs. He made it to the steps and started up. A rat scurried past him and dived into the water. He paused on the top step, then very gently tried the handle.
There was the faintest of creaks and the door eased open. He could see the altar, the Virgin on the other side floating in candlelight. He peered round the door cautiously. The chapel was quite deserted and then the outer door opened and a nun came in. Very quietly, Devlin closed the door and retreated down the steps.
'Perfect,' he said to Ryan as he clambered through the hole. 'Now let's get out of here.'
At the Luftwaffe base, Schellenberg gave orders for the Stork to be refuelled, commandeered the station commander's Mercedes and driver and set out for Wewelsburg with Asa. It started to snow and as they approached, Wewelsburg was plain to see, light at the windows and over the main gate in total disregard of any blackout regulations.
Asa looked up at the castle and its towers in the falling snow. 'My God!' he said in awe. 'It's incredible.'
'I know.' Schellenberg reached forward and closed the glass partition so that the Luftwaffe driver couldn't hear what they were saying. 'Looks like a film set. Actually it's a personal retreat for the Reichs-Fuhrer, a centre for racial research and a home-from-home to the elite of the SS.'
'But what do they do there?'
'The ReichsFuhrer is obsessed with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. So, he has his twelve most trusted lieutenants sit at a round table. His knights, you see.'
'And you're not one of them, I take it?'
'Very definitely not. No, you have to be,a lunatic to indulge in those games. They have a memorial hall with a swastika in the ceiling, and a pit in which the remains of these special ones will be burnt on death. There are twelve pedestals and urns waiting for the ashes.'
'You've got to be kidding!' Asa said.
'No, quite true. I'll show you if we get a chance.' Schellenberg laughed and shook his head. 'And people like these are handling the destinies of millions.'
They booked in at the entrance hall and left their greatcoats and caps with the sergeant of the guard who checked his register.
'Yes, General Schellenberg, the ReichsFuhrer is expecting you for seven o'clock in his private sitting room in the South Wing. I'll take you up, sir.'
'No need. I know the way.'
As Asa followed Schellenberg across the hall and they turned along a corridor he said, 'You're right. This place puts Louis B. Mayer to shame.'
Schellenberg checked his watch. 'We've got fifteen minutes. Come on, I'll show you that memorial hall I told you about. It's just along here. There's a little gallery, as I remember. Yes, here we are.'
There were perhaps a dozen steps up to an oak door. It opened easily and he could immediately hear voices. He paused, frowning, then turned to Asa and put a finger to his lips. Then he opened the door cautiously and they went in.
The circular room was a place of shadows, only dimly lit. Asa was aware of the pedestals and urns Schellenberg had described, the pit beneath the ceiling swastika, but it was the people present who were most interesting. Rossman, Himmler's aide, stood to one side waiting. The ReichsFuhrer stood in the pit itself, face to face with SturmbannFuhrer Horst Berger. They all wore black dress uniform.
'I have brought you here, Berger, to this holy place before you depart on what I can only describe as your sacred mission.'
'An honour, ReichsFuhrer.'
'Now let's go over the details. You will meet the Fuhrer's plane which will land at the Luftwaffe base at Cherbourg at six tomorrow night. I shall be with him. You will escort us to this Chateau de Belle Ile where we will spend the night. At seven o'clock the following morning the Fuhrer will have breakfast with Rommel and Admiral Canaris. They will arrive by road.'
'And when do I take action, ReichsFuhrer?'
Himmler shrugged. 'It doesn't really matter. I suppose the end of the meal might be appropriate. How many men will you have in the guard?'
'Thirty.'
'Good. That should be enough.'
'Hand-picked, ReichsFuhrer.'
'Good _ the fewer the better. We are a special brotherhood, those of us involved in this, for there are some who would not agree with what we intend.'
'As you say, ReichsFuhrer.'
'General Schellenberg, for instance,, but he's cleverer than the proverbial fox. That's why I wanted him elsewhere these past three weeks. So, I gave him this ridiculous mission to occupy him. To bring Steiner out of England. An impossibility. I happen to know from our intelligence people that the agent working for us in London, Vargas, also works for the British. We didn't tell Schellenberg that, did we, Rossman?'
'No, Reichsfuhrer.'
'So we may deduce that the Irishman, Devlin, will not last too long over there.'
T couldn't be more pleased, ReichsFuhrer,' Berger said.
'We could have won this war at Dunkirk, Berger, if the Fuhrer had allowed the panzers to roll on to the beaches. Instead, he ordered them to halt. Russia, one disaster after another. Stalingrad, the most catastrophic defeat the German Army has ever suffered.' Himmler shuffled away and turned, 'Blunder after blunder and he still won't listen.'
'I see, ReichsFuhrer,' Berger said. 'All men of sense would.'
'And so inexorably, Germany, our beloved country, sinks deeper into the pit of defeat and that is why the Fuhrer must die, Berger, and to accomplish that is your sacred task. Rommel, Canaris, the Fuhrer. A dastardly attack on their part leading to the Fuhrer's unfortunate death followed by their own deaths at the hands of loyal SS men.'
'And afterwards?' Berger said.
'We of the SS will naturally assume all governmental powers. The war may then be continued as it should be. No weakness, no shirking by anyone.' He put a hand on Berger's shoulder. 'We belong to the same sacred brotherhood, Major, I envy you this opportunity.'
Schellenberg nodded to Asa, edged him out and closed the door.
'My God!' Asa said. 'Now what happens?'
'We keep the appointment. If he finds out we overheard that lot we'll never get out of here alive.' As they hurried along the corridor Schellenberg said, 'Whatever he wants, follow my lead and not a mention that Devlin's got things to the stage they are.'
He led the way up a back stair, along a corridor and reached the door to Himmler's sitting room in the South Wing very quickly.
Schellenberg sat in the chair behind Rossman's desk. 'Now we wait. They'll probably come up by the back entrance to his room.'
A moment later, the door opened and Rossman looked out. 'Ah, there you are.'
'Right on time.' Schellenberg led the way in.
Himmler, behind his desk, looked up. 'So, General, and this is HauptsturmFuhrer Vaughan, the pilot you recruited for the Steiner affair?'
'Yes, ReichsFuhrer.'
'Any news of your Mr Devlin?'
Schellenberg said, 'I'm afraid not, ReichsFuhrer.'
'Ah, well, it was always a problematical mission to say the least. The Fuhrer flies to Cherbourg, arrives at Belle Ile tomorrow night. Canaris and Rommel are to have breakfast the following morning at seven. I'll be there, of course. The idiots are junketing around Normandy at the moment. They have the crazy idea the invasion will come there and hope to persuade the Fuhrer to agree with them.'
'I see, ReichsFuhrer.'
'However, to the reason for your visit and why I asked you to bring the officer with you.' He turned. 'Rossman.'
As he stood up, Rossman opened a medal case. Himmler took the Iron Cross it contained, came round the table and pinned it to Asa Vaughan's tunic.
'To you, HauptsturmFuhrer Asa Vaughan of the George Washington Legion, in acknowledgement of supreme valour in aerial combat over Poland.'
'ReichsFuhrer,' said Asa, keeping his face straight with a supreme effort.
'And now you may go. I have work to do.'
Schellenberg and Asa hurried down the stairs, retrieved their greatcoats and caps and went out to the waiting Mercedes.
'Back to the base,' Schellenberg said to the driver and he and Asa got in.
As they drove away Asa closed the glass partition and said, 'What do you make of it?'
'I know one thing,' Schellenberg said. 'Killing Hitler is the worst thing that could happen. At least with the Fuhrer making one foul-up after another, there's a prospect of a reasonably early end to the war, but Himmler would be another story. Can you imagine that animal in total control, the SS in charge of government, the Army? The war could go on for years.'
'So what are you going to do? Warn Rommel and Canaris?'
'First of all I don't know exactly where they are and it's a question of belief, Asa. Why should anyone believe me? My word against that of the ReichsFuhrer of the SS?'
'Come off it, General. According to Liam Devlin, you're a very smart guy. Surely you can come up with something?'
Til put my heart and soul into it,' Schellenberg promised him. 'But for the moment, let's concentrate on getting back to the airfield and the Stork. We fly out at once. The sooner we're at Chernay, the happier I'll be.'
