The CIA man went to the phone.
“Are you going to call the Rebel?” asked the
colonel.
“Converse first. He’s working on the codes.”
The three generals of Aquitaine sat stunned,
staring straight ahead, refusing to look at one
another. The lights had been turned on, the large
television screen turned off. Behind each general
was a man with a gun and concise instructions “If he
gets up, kill him.”
“You know what I want,” said Converse, walking
in front of the three. “And as you’ve just seen,
there’s really no reason -why any of you shouldn’t
give it to me. Four little numbers or letters each of
you has memorized in sequence. Of course if you
refuse, there’s a doctor here who I’m told has a bag
of magic the same sort of magic you administered
to me in Bonn What’ll it be, gentlemen?”
Sllence.
“Four, three, L, one,” said Chaim Abrahms,
looking down at the floor. “They’reilth,” he added
quietly
“Thank you, General.” Joel wrote in a small note
pad. “You’re free to go now. You can get out of the
chair.”
“Go?” said the Israeli, getting up. “Where9”
“Wherever you like,” replied Converse. “I;m sure
you’ll have no trouble at the airport in Annecy.
You’ll be recog
General Chaim Abrahms left the room
accompanied by the Israeli Army captain.
“Two, M, zero, six,” said Erich Leifhelm. “And, if
you
THE AQUITAINE PROGRESSION 677
wish, I will submit to the drugs for verification. I will
not be associated with such treacherous pigs.”
“I want the combination,” pressed Joel, writing.
“And I won’t hesitate to send you up into space to
get it.”
“Inversion,” said the German. “Reverse the order
of the symbols in the second sequence.”
‘He’s yours, Doctor.” Converse nodded to the
man behind Leifhelm’s chair. “We can’t take the
chance of blowing this one.”
General Erich Leifhelm, once the youngest field
marshal of the Third Reich, got up and walked
slowly out of the room, followed by the doctor from
Bonn.
“You’re all unworthy, all blind,” said General
JacquesLouis Bertholdier with imperious calm. “I
prefer to be shot.”
“I’m sure you would, but no such luck,” answered
Joel. “I don’t need you now, and I want to know
you’re back in Paris, where everyone can see you.
Take him to his room.”
“The room? I thought I was free to leave, or was
that another lie?”
“Not at all. Just a matter of logistics you know
what logishcs are, General. We’re a little short of
transportation and drivers here, so when the doctor’s
finished, I’m lending the three of you a car. You can
draw straws for who drives.”
“What?”
“Get him out of here,” said Converse, addressing
a former sergeant major in the French Army once
stationed at Algiers.
“Allen, cochon!”
The door opened, only coincidentally for
Bertholdier. It was Valerie and she looked at Joel.
“Stone’s on the telephone. He says hurry.”
It was 2:05 A.6f. when the Mystere jet dropped
out of the night sky and landed at the airstrip eight
miles from Cuxhaven, West Germany. It taxied to
the north end of the runway where the stately,
white-maned figure of Johnny Reb waited by a black
Mercedes sedan.
The doors of the plane opened and the short
steps swung down in place; Converse climbed out,
taking Valerie’s hand as she descended after him.
Next came the former sergeant major from Algiers,
followed by a fourth passenger, a slender blond man
in his mid-forties who wore tortoiseshell glasses.
678 ROBERT IUDIUM
They walked away from the aircraft as the pilot
retracted the steps and closed the automatic doors,
the twin engines accelerated and the plane swerved
around heading back toward the maintenance
hangars. The Rebel came away from the car and
met them, extending his hand to Joel. “Ah’ve seen
your picture here and there and it’s a pleasure, sir.
Frankly, I never thought I’d meet you, leastways not
in this world.”
“There were a number of times I had my doubts
just how long I’d be here. This is my wife, Valerie.”
“Ah m enchanted, ma’am,” said the Southerner,
bringing Val’s hand to his lips as he bowed gallantly.
And then to Joel: “Your accomplishments have
astonished some of the best minds in my former
profession.”
“I hope not too former,” interjected Converse.
‘knot at the moment, son.”
“This is Monsieur Lefevre and Dr. Geoffrey
Larson. Stone said you’ve been briefed.”
“A pleasure, sir,’ exclaimed the Rebel, shaking
the Frenchman’s hand. ‘ My hat’s off to you, to all
of you for what You did with those three generals.
Absolutely remarkable!”
“Such men have enemies,” said Lefevre simply.
‘ They are not hard to find and Inspector
Prudhomme knew that. We are in many places with
many memories. Let us hope they will be put to rest
tonight.”
“Let’s hope,” said the Rebel, turning to the
fourth passenger. “Dr. Larson, so nice to meet you,
sir. I understand you know just about everything
there is to know about every computer ever made.”
“An exaggeration, I’m sure,” said the Englishman
shyly. “But I suspect if it kicks I can make it hum.
Actually, I was vacationing in Geneva.”
The non sequitur momentarily threw Johnny
Reb, who could only utter “Sorry about that” as he
looked at Joel.
It had been the most difficult decision Peter Stone
had made in all his years of agonising decisions. To
make the wrong move to telegraph the incursion into
the complex at Scharho’rn~ould result in its
destruction by the setting off of explosivesall over the
communica*ons renter. There would be nothing left of
the old U-boat station but shattered concrete and
twisted equipment. Stone had gone by instincts honed
over a life*me in the shadow world There could be no
elite commando units, no official specialforces ordered
up Moran extraordinary assignment, for there was no
telling who
THE AQUITAINE PROGRESSION 679
within the various government forces could be a
member, an of finer of Aquitaine. Such a man could
make a telephone call and the complex at Scharhorn
would be blown up. Therefore the incursion had to be
made by rogue elements, men hired by outlaws who
had no allegiance to anyone or anything but money
and their immediate employers. Nothing was a secret
any longer without the master list of Aquitaine. The
President of the United States gave Stone twelve hours,
after which he said he would convene an emergency
session of the Security Council of the United Nations.
Peter Stone could hardly believe he had replied to the
most powerful man in the free world with the words:
“That’s meaningless. It would be too late. ”
The Rebel finished his briefing, his flashlight still
shining on the map spread over the hood of the
Mercedes. “As I told you, this is the original layout
we got from the Zoning Commission in Cuxhaven.
Those Nazis sure were particular when it came to
specifics I figure everyone was justifyin’ a salary or
a rank. We get over the ocean radar and head to the
old strip that was used for supplies, then do our
number. Now, mind you, there are still a lot of lights
out there, still a lot of people, but a hell of a lot less
than there were two days ago. There are some walls,
but we got grappling hooks and a few boys who
know how to use them.”
“Who are they?” asked Converse.
‘No one you’d ask into your mother’s parlor, my
friend, but five of the meanest hornets you could
find. I tell you they have absolutely no redeeming
social qualities. They’re perfect.”
“What’s the aircraft?”
“The best Petey could get, and it’s the best. A
Fairchild Scout. It holds nine people.”
“With a glide ratio of eight to one at four
thousand feet,” said Joel. “I’m flying.”
41
Converse inched the half-wheel forward as he
cut the engines and entered a left-bank glide over
the small airstrip 2,400 feet below. It was erratically
visible through the tails of low-flying North Sea
clouds, but Joel guessed it could be seen clearly at
500 feet. He would then start his final circle for the
short approach, his touchdown heading away from
the old U-boat base, minimising sound the outsized
balloon tires made while braking. The maneuver
itself was the nearest thing to a carrier landing he
could imagine, and he noted with satisfaction that
his hands were as steady as his concentration. The
fear he was afraid of did not materialise; it was
strangely absent. The anxiety and the anger were
another matter.
Valerie and Lefevre over the Frenchman’s
strenuous objections remained behind on a
deserted pier in Cuxhaven where Johnny Reb had
managed to install a primitive but functional relay
station. It was Val’s job to stay in radio contact with
the team either the Rebel or Converse operating
the powerful handheld equipment on
Scharhorn and the former sergeant from Algiers
was to stand guard, letting no one on that pier. The