Eleven Eleven - By Paul Dowswell Page 0,52

had run down the stairs too, but as he got to the entrance hall Axel could see he had stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He sauntered out, trying to look as unhurried and unflustered as possible.

‘There is a large explosive charge in the chimney, sir,’ he said as he saluted.

‘Very well, Rhodes, well done. A regrettable lapse, though, on behalf of your search team. Surely they should have looked in the attic as well as the basement.’

‘Indeed, sir. I shall speak to them.’

‘And what do you suggest we do now?’

‘I think we need to retire a safe distance immediately, sir,’ said Rhodes. ‘The charge was set around nine hours ago. I wouldn’t recommend removing it.’

‘Very well, Lieutenant,’ said the colonel, and both of them walked in silence, at a deliberately leisurely pace, towards the men on the other side of the square. The colonel, especially, was not going to hurry.

Axel’s instincts told him to run though. Some of the men gathered on the far side of the square laughed at him, but some of them cheered too and clapped him on the back when he passed through them.

He sought out Will and Eddie, who were where he had left them at the corner and away from the other soldiers. Will greeted him with a great beaming smile, a handshake and a heartfelt ‘Thank you!’

The colonel was composing a speech in his head, one that would save face, telling his men he would overlook their disobedience on this great historical occasion. Inside the chimney the acid finally ate through the thin steel wire in the filling cap. A strong spring immediately drove a striker bolt into the detonator, which ignited six sticks of high explosives.

The blast shook the entire town, shattering windowpanes and blowing open doors all around the square. The roof of the station collapsed in a great cloud and brought down the top two storeys with it. When the smoke cleared, Lieutenant Rhodes was still standing, although he looked dazed. The colonel was lying on the cobbled square.

Some of the men rushed over to help. Rhodes was filthy with brick dust, but he was all right. The colonel was coughing and trying to stand unaided, his dignity in tatters.

CHAPTER 20

1.00 p.m.

Rhodes limped over to Axel, who was standing with Will, staring at the great cloud of smoke and dust rising from the railway station.

‘Top hole,’ he said to him, speaking incomprehensible English. ‘Rotten luck if we’d copped it, eh!’ Then he held out his hand to shake. ‘Lieutenant Rhodes. No hard feelings,’ he said with a smile.

He turned to Will. ‘I think we ought to let this fellow go.’

Speaking to Axel in German he said, ‘We’re supposed to consider you a prisoner of war, but I think it would be better if you headed off east to the German lines – catch up with your unit. They can’t be far. If we hold on to you, you’ll probably have to go to a prison camp in England and it’ll be months before you get home. If you go now, you might be back with your family before the week’s out.’

‘Thank you,’ said Axel. ‘I would like to do that. But I’m worried about the townspeople here. They tried to kill me before you arrived.’

‘You wait here a second,’ said Rhodes. ‘I’ll sort that out. Oh, and you’ll need something to eat and drink.’

He walked down the street to a British supply trailer and spoke to the soldier who was guarding it. Then he returned with a ration pack and a water bottle. ‘That’ll keep you going, lad. You can go now.’

Axel was moved almost to tears. ‘And hang on,’ said Rhodes, ‘I’m coming with you. I’ll take you to the edge of town in case anyone else thinks it’s a bright idea to detain you.’

Axel turned to Will and Eddie and gave them a stiff salute. ‘Danke, dass Sie mir das Leben gerettet haben,’ he said. ‘Ich wünsche Ihnen Glück!’ Thank you for saving my life. I wish you well.

Axel could see Will wasn’t sure he wanted to salute a German, so he put out his hand again. ‘Thank you for what you did,’ Will said. ‘I wish we could have been friends.’ Axel didn’t understand the words, but he saw a tear in his eye.

The town was small, and Axel was soon on the outskirts. He liked having Rhodes with him, although neither could think of anything to say to the other. The events of