W "Roughly twenty minutes ago," answered the bilingual German officer as the intelligence vehicle, its headlights off, backed out of the compound.
"Christ, she's been in there that long? And you let her inside without a wire, without any way to reach you?"
"She understood, sir. I made it plain that I could not give her a radio and her very words were "I understand."
"Don't you think you should have checked with us before letting her pass?" Witkowski fairly shouted in' German
"Mein Gott, nein!" replied the officer angrily.
"The great Director Moreau himself reached me and we devised the least dangerous way to get her past the patrols."
"Moreau? I'll strangle the son of a bitch!" exploded Latham.
"To more fully answer your question, mein Herr," said the German intelligence officer, "the Frdulein has not been in the cottage that long; my forward scout reported by radio that she entered it only twelve minutes ago. Here, see, I wrote the exact time in my notebook with my waterproof ink. I am extremely efficient, we Germans is-are."
"Then why do all my rich friends have so much trouble getting their Mercedes fixed?"
"Undoubtedly the American mechanics, sir."
"Oh, shut up!"
"I think it's time for me and the Thin Man," interrupted Captain Christian Dietz, standing only feet away in the rain, Lieutenant Anthony at his side.
"We'll replay that big estate downriver and take out the guards." The captain stepped forward and switched to German, addressing the officer.
"Mein Oberf4hrer,he began, "how many patrols are there, and is there a routing? I speak to you in Deutsch, for I don't care to risk any misunderstanding."
"My English is as good as your German, sir."
"But it's a little more hesitant. And your grammar-"
"I shall not pay my tutor next week," broke in the officer, smiling.
"To reach my next grade, I must have afternoon tea with Englishmen from Oxford."
"Ab/all! You'll never understand them. I don't. They talk like they've got raw oysters in their mouths!"
"ja, so I've heard."
"What are they talking about?" yelled Drew.
"They're getting acquainted," answered Witkowski.
"It's called gaining trust."
"It's called wasting time!"
"The little things, chlopak. Listen to a man in his own' language for even a minute, you learn when he's uncertain. Dietz merely wants to make sure there are no ambiguities, no hesitations' "
"Tell them to hurry up!
"I don't have to, they've about concluded."
"There are only three patrols," continued the officer in German to the commando captain, "but there is a problem. As one guard returns to the door on the far left of the d . rive, another comes out a short time later, but only after the current guard returns. And I must tell you, we've identified two, and they are pathological killers, always with an arsenal of weapons and grenades."
"I see. It's a relay. The baton is passed to the next man by his presence."
"Precisely."
"So we have to figure out a way to get the others outside."
"Ja, but how?"
"Leave it to us. We'll manage." He turned to Latham and Witkowski.
"They're crazies in there," said Dietz, 4 4which doesn't surprise us.
"Pathological killers' as our buddy here explained.
These types would rather kill than eat; the shrinks have a word for it, but we can't give a damn about that now. We're going in."
"And this time I'm going with you!" said Drew emphatically.
"Don't even think about making any objections."
"Gotcha, boss man," agreed the lieutenant, "only do us all a favor, sir."
"What's that?"
4 Don't play Errol Flynn, like in those old movies. It's not like that."
"Tell me about it, junior."
"Give us the precise layout beyond here," said Witkowski, turning to the German officer.
"You follow the flagstone path to a destroyed gazebo
Ten seconds later, the quartet started forward from behind the half-destroyed wall of the old estate, the commandos in front, Drew on the radio. They reached the croquet field and waited for the penlight signal from the tree. It came: three flashes, barely seen in the horrendous downpour.
4 4Let's go," said Latham, "it's clear!"
"No!" whispered Dietz, his strong right arm blocking Latham.
"We want the patrol."
"Karin's in there!" cried Drew.
"A few seconds can't matter," said Lieutenant Anthony as he and his captain raced forward.
"Stay there!" he added as the two of them scrambled across the croquet course and into the drenching darkness. No signal came; there was nothing. And then it was there, two flashes: A guard was on patrol. Suddenly, from the distance, came a shout, a howl, abrupt, short-lived. And then another and another after that. Then, again, came the muted flashes from the tree, three dim bursts of light; the area