his or her place. If Sacr&Coeur failed, he knew who would be eliminated-the thirty-year-old Zero Five, for a start; his resentment of his younger superior was surfacing too frequently .. . and he had strenuously objected to the selection of the unit that had disappeared.
"One's a baby who simply likes to kill, and the other's a bull head; he takes too many risks! Let me handle it!" Those had been Zero Five's words, spoken in front. of Zero Six.
Both were heading out to Sac rE-Coeur; both would be executed if the kill failed. Zero One, Paris, could not allow another blemish on his record. He had to be brought into the inner circle of the Brotherhood; he had to gain the respect of the true leaders of the movement, of the new F4ihrer himself, and pay his obeisance with all his heart and soul. For he believed , he truly believed.
He would take his camera out to the Bois de Boulogne, snapping enough night photographs to prove he was there, the proof in the camera itself as it imprinted the date and the time of each picture. It was merely a cover, if he ever needed one, which he doubted.
The telephone rang, startling the young superior Blitzkrieger. He picked it up.
"The code's right," said the female operator, "it's Malasol caviar on the line."
"Herr Doktor-"
"You haven't called!" cried Gerhardt Kroeger.
"I've been here over three hours and you haven't called me."
"Only because we are refining the strategy. If my subordinates do not miscalculate, we may achieve the objective, mein Herr. I have orchestrated it down to the last detail."
"Your subordinates? Why not you?"
"A contradictory piece of information was received, sir,
one that may be far more dangerous and possibly equally productive. I have decided to take the risk myself."
"You're not making sense!"
"Nor can I over the telephone."
"Why not? The enemy hasn't the slightest idea who I am, or that I'm even here, so the hotel's switchboard could hardly be compromised. I demand to know what's happening!"
"There are two situations converging within the hour. Tell Bonn that Zero One, Paris, has used all of his talents to control both, but he cannot be in two places at once. Since he cannot, he's chosen to take the highest risk. That's all I can tell you, mein Herr. If I do not survive, think well of me. I must go."
"Yes .. . yes, of course."
The young neo-revolutionary slammed down the phone. No matter what happened, he was covered. He would have a long, leisurely dinner at the Au Coin de la Famille, then stroll to the main fountain in the Bois de Boulogne, take useless photographs, and return to the Avignon Warehouses, accepting whatever took place. Either the credit for the kill, or the death of two Blitzkrieger executed for incompetence.
He truly believed.
Drew moved about the Bois de Boulogne's glistening fountain, bathed in floodlights from the waters below, and meandered through the evening strollers, looking for a face he knew. He had arrived at the rendezvous shortly before eight-thirty; it was now nearly nine o'clock, and he had seen no one he recognized, nor had anyone approached him. Had he misread Karin's instructions? Had the reversed words presumed an acknowledged reversal on the part of those tapping her phone, and thus were they to be taken literally?
No, that made no sense. Karin's Amsterdam years notwithstanding, they did not know each other well enough to play cover-recover games; they had no history of intuitive communication under stress.
Latham looked at his watch; it was 9:03. He would circle the area once more, then return to the Maison Rouge. -
"Amiricain!" He spun around at the sound. It was Karin, her face crowned by a blond wig, her right hand bandaged.
"Walk to your left, quickly, as if I'd bumped into you. There's a man taking photographs on the right. Meet me on the north path."
Latham did as he was told, relieved by knowing she was there but concerned by her words. He circled his way in the lackadaisical rhythm of the fountain crowds until he reached the flagstone path to his extreme right. He entered it, walked up the tree-lined tunnel thirty or forty feet, and waited. Two minutes later Karin arrived.. . As if by an accident neither anticipated, they fell into each other's arms, holding one another, not long, but long enough.
"I'm sorry said De Vries, pushing herself gently away and uselessly brushing her blond wig with her bandaged right hand.