level of arrogance, as he had done with Bertholdier
in Paris. It was the only route he could take with
such men; to be accepted by them, they had to see
something of themselves in him. “He’s not
important and he knows nothing. He’s a legal
officer in the Navy who’s worked in Bonn before
and is over here now I gather, on personal business.
A prospective fiancee, I think he mentioned. I saw
him the other week; we chatted, and I told him I
was flying in today or tomorrow and he said he’d
make it a point to meet me. He’s obsequious, and
persistent I’m sure he has delusions of a civilian
practice. Natural ly under the circumstances I
used him. As you did.”
“Naturally.” Leifhelm smiled; he was polished.
“You gave him no arrival time?”
“Paris changed any possibility of that, didn’t it?”
“Oh, yes, Paris. We must discuss Paris.”
“I spoke to a friend who deals with the Surete.
The man died.”
“Such men do. Frequently.”
“They said he was a driver, a chauffeur. He wasn’t.”
“Would it have been wiser to say he was a
trusted associate of General Jacques-Louis
Bertholdier?”
“Obviously not. They say I killed him.”
“You did. We gather it was an uncontrollable
miscalculation, no doubt brought on by the man
himself.”
“Interpol’s after me.”
“We, too, have friends; the situation will change
You have nothing to fear as long as we have
nothing to fear.;’The German paused, glancing
around the room. “May I sit down?”
THE AQUITAINE PROGRESSION 213
‘Please. Shall I ring for a drink?”
“I drink only light wine and very sparingly. Unless
you wish . . . it’s not necessary.”
“It’s not necessary,” said Converse as Leifhelm sat
in a chair nearest the balcony doors. Joel would sit
when he felt the moment was right, not before.
“You took extraordinary measures at the airport
to avoid us,” continued Hitler’s youngest field
marshal.
“I was followed from Copenhagen.”
“Very observant of you. You understand no harm
was intended.”
“I didn’t understand anything. I just didn’t like it.
I didn’t know what effect Paris would have on my
arrival in Bonn, what it meant to you.”
“What Paris meant?” asked Leifhelm rhetorically.
“Paris meant that a man, an attorney using a false
name, said some very alarming things to a most
distinguished and brilliant statesman. This attorney,
who called himself Simon, said he was flying to Bonn
to see me. On his way and I’m sure with
provocation he kills a man, which tells us
something, he’s guise ruthless and very capable. But
that is all we know, we would like to know more.
Where he goes, whom he meets. In our position,
would you have done otherwise?”
It was the moment to sit down. “I would have
done it better.”
“Perhaps if we’d known how resourceful you
were, we might have been less obvious. Incidentally,
what happened in Paris? What did that man do to
provoke you?”
“He tried to stop me from leaving.”
“Those were not his orders.”
“Then he grossly misunderstood them. I’ve a few
bruises on my chest and neck to prove it. I’m not in
the habit of physically defending myself, and I
certainly had no intention of killing him. In fact, I
didn’t know I had. It was an accident purely in
self-defence.”
“Obviously. Who would want such complications?”
“Exactly,” agreed Converse bluntly. ”As soon as
I can rearrange my last hours in Paris so as to
eliminate any mention of my seeing General
Bertholdier, I’ll return and explain what happened to
the police.”
“As the adage goes, that may be easier said than
done. You were seen talking together at L’Etalon
Blanc. Undoubtedly, the general was recognised later
when he came to the
214 ROBERT LUDLUM
hotel; he’s a celebrated man. No, I think you’d be
wiser to let us handle it. We can, you know.”
Joel looked hard at the German, his eyes cold
yet questioning. “I admit there are risks doing it my
way. I don’t like them and neither would my client.
On the other hand, I can’t go around being hated
by the police.”
“The hunt will be called off. It will be necessary
for you to remain out of sight for a few days, but by
then new instructions will be issued from Paris.
Your name will disappear from the Interpol lists,
you’ll no longer be sought.”
“I’ll want assurances, guarantees.”
“What better could you have than my word? I
tell you nothing when I tell you that we could have
far more to lose than you.”
Converse controlled his astonishment. Leifhelm
had just told him a great deal, whether he knew it
or not. The German had as much as admitted he
was part of a covert organisation that could not take
any chance of exposure. It was the first concrete
evidence Joel had heard. Somehow it was too easy.
Or were these elders of Aquitaine simply frightened
old men?
“I’ll concede that,” said Converse, crossing his
legs. “Well, General, you found me before I found
you, but then, as we agreed, my movements are
restricted. Where do we go from here?”
“Precisely where you wanted to go, Mr.
Converse. When you were in Paris, you spoke of
Bonn, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg. You knew whom to
reach in Paris and whom to look for in Bonn. That
impresses us greatly; we must assume you know
more.”
“I’ve spent months in detailed research on
behalf of my client, of course.”
“But who are you? Where do you come from?”
Joel felt a sharp, sickening ache in his chest. He
had felt it many times before it was his physical
response to imminent danger and very real fear. “I
am who I want people to think I am, General
Leifhelm. I’m sure you can understand that.”
“I see,” said the German, watching him closely.
“A sworn companion of the prevailing winds, but
with the power beneath to carry you to your own
destination.”
“That’s a little heavy, but I guess it says it. As to
where I come from, I’m sure you know that by
now.”
Five hours. More than enough time to put the
puppets in place. A killing in New York; it had to be
dealt with.
THE AQUITAINE PROGRESSION 215
“Only bits and pieces, Mr. Converse. And even if
we knew more, how could we be certain it’s true?
What people think you are you may not be.”
“Are you, General?”
“Ausqezeichnet!” said Leifhelm, slapping his knee
and laughing. It was a genuine laugh, the man’s
waxen face creasing with humor. “You are a fine
lawyer, main Herr. You answer as they say in
English a pointed question with another question
that is both an answer and an indictment”
“Under the circumstances, it’s merely the truth.
Nothing more. ”
‘also modest. Very commendable, very attractive.”
Joel uncrossed his legs, then crossed them again
impatiently. “I don’t like compliments, General. I
don’t trust them under the circumstances. You
were saying before about where I wanted to go,
about Bonn, Tel Aviv, and Johannesburg. What did
you mean?”
‘ Only that we have complied with your wishes,”
said Leifhelm, spreading his hands in front of him.
“Rather than your making such tedious trips, we
have asked our representatives in Tel Aviv and
Johannesburg, as well as Bertholdier, of course, to
fly to Bonn for a conference. With you, Mr. Con-
verse. ”
He had done it! thought Joel. They were fright-
ened panicked was perhaps the better description.
Despite the pounding and the pain in his chest, he
spoke slowly, quietly. “I appreciate your
consideration, but in all frankness, my client isn’t
ready for a summit. He wanted to understand the
parts before he looked further at the whole. The
spokes support the wheel, sir. I was to report how
strong they were how strong they appeared to me.”
“Oh, yes, your client. Who is he, Mr. Converse?”
“I’m sure General Bertholdier told you I’m not at
liberty to say.”
“You were in San Francisco, California ”
“Where a great deal of my research was done,”
interrupted Joel. “It’s not where my client lives.
Although I readily admit there’s a man in San
Francisco Palo Alto, to be exact whom I’d like
very much to be my client.”
“Yes, yes, I see.” LeifLelm put the ends of his
fingers together as he continued, “Am I to
understand that you reject the conference here in
Bonn?”
Converse had taken a thousand such questions in
opening
216 ROBERT IUDLUM
gambits with attorneys seeking accommodations
between corporate adversaries. Both parties wanted
the same thing; it was simply a question of
flattening out the responsibility so that no one party
would be the petitioner.
“Well, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble,” Joel
began. “And as long as it’s understood that I have
the option of speaking to each man individually
should I wish to do so, I can’t see any harm.”
Converse permitted himself a strained smile, as he