Black Rose

CHAPTER 48

The mission was a go.

They landed in France in the late afternoon. Their diplomatic papers took them through customs without trouble or an inspection that would have turned up the arsenal they'd brought with them. They rented a nondescript van and loaded an aluminum trunk holding their gear into the back. Gutenberg's wine country retreat was about an hour from the Caen airport. Selena drove. Her fluent French would smooth things if there were any problems along the way.

"I always wanted to come here," Nick said. "We're close to the beaches where the Brits and Canadians landed on D-Day. They thought they'd take Caen on the first day but the Germans had other ideas. It took two months before the battle was over."

"Wasn't the city almost destroyed?" Selena asked.

"Yep. Like most of the towns and cities in Normandy. You really have to hand it to the men who fought here. House to house fighting, with German machine guns around every corner."

"Like Fallujah," Ronnie said.

Nick nodded. "Like that, except in Iraq they had AKs instead of MG-42s."

Germany had issued massive numbers of MG-42 machine guns to its troops in World War II. Wehrmacht small unit tactics had been built around the deadly guns. By contrast, few soldiers in the Allied armies carried automatic weapons back then, a logistical decision that cost many lives. Seventy some years later, Fallujah rolled around and everyone and his brother had automatic weapons. Nick and Ronnie had seen heavy fighting there. It had been hell on earth.

They passed a World War II cemetery where hundreds of white markers marched in neat rows across a manicured green lawn. The setting sun threw a soft, rose glow over the silent stones.

"Peaceful," Nick said as they drove past.

"Arlington's the same way," Lamont said.

"I think it's sad," Selena said.

"War is sad," Nick said.

No one said anything else for the next forty minutes.

Nick looked at his GPS. "We're getting close. Take the next left."

Selena turned onto a narrow country lane. Thick hedges lined the road on either side. Infrequent breaks in the shrubbery revealed fields lined with more hedges and an occasional farmhouse.

"Coming up on the right," Nick said. "Slow down a little."

The hedge gave way to a high stone wall that ran along the road for a hundred yards. A double gate of black iron stood closed at the entrance to the drive. The wall was high. The only view they got of the house was through the gate as they went by. There was time to see that the house was solid and large, two stories of stone with a gray slate roof. Then they were past.

"Cars parked in front of the house," Lamont said.

"Somebody's home," Ronnie said.

They passed the end of the wall. A tight row of tall hedges formed a right angle with the wall, going back toward the rear of the property. They crossed a short bridge over an irrigation canal filled with muddy water. The canal paralleled the hedges.

"Looks like the meeting is on. I'd better check in with Harker."

Nick activated his comm link.

"About time, Nick. What's your status?"

Harker's voice sounded tinny over the satellite relay.

"We've just passed the objective and are about to pull off the road."

He pointed at a dirt track that went from the road into a freshly plowed field. Selena drove onto the track and followed it to a copse of trees a hundred feet from the road. She pulled in under the trees and shut down the engine. From the road, it would be difficult to see them. They couldn't be seen at all from the villa.

"We're in a farmer's field near the objective," Nick said to Elizabeth. "Any updates for me?"

"Negative. Gutenberg got an email from Thorvaldson saying he'd be late, after eight."

"We won't be going in before then. So they'll all be there?"

"It looks that way," Elizabeth said.

"You sound like you're not sure."

"I don't know, Nick. This seems too pat, all of them in one place. Something doesn't feel right."

"Is that your intuition talking, Director?"

"These people are paranoid about security. Why are they meeting at that farmhouse, instead of Gutenberg's chalet or someplace secure?"

"Now you mention it, I had the same thought," Nick said. "But we have Gutenberg's emails. He couldn't know we're monitoring him."

"Just the same, be careful going in there."

"Have you got the infrared up?"

"Not yet. The satellite won't be in position for another hour and a half. Stephanie will relay it to you as soon as it comes online."

"Anything else?"

"No. Keep your head down," Elizabeth said.

"Copy that," Nick said.