Echo of the Reich

32

24 July 2012

Marcus Wolf’s cold blue eyes bored into the face of the man standing in front of him.

“And then, Oskar, you simply let him get away.” His voice was low and laced with barely contained fury.

The man shook his head, but didn’t reply. He knew this was an argument that he couldn’t win.

“There were three of you, armed with pistols and a submachine gun, and he”-Marcus pointed at another man slumped in a chair by the wall of his office, a man bent forward and clutching his stomach-“was in the pursuit car. And still the Englishman managed to get past the three of you. Not only did he get past you, but he killed Pieter and stole a car. It was a complete shambles.”

Wolf fell silent and picked up a SiG semi-automatic pistol from the desk, hefting it in his right hand. As he did so, the two men in front of him visibly tensed.

“We do not tolerate failure in this organization, but we are now so close to the final act that every man must pull his weight. Too many of our men are deployed elsewhere for me to be able to afford the luxury of simply shooting you both. You’re lucky, because you have one more chance. So get out of here, find Bronson, and kill him.”

“He could be anywhere by now,” Oskar objected. “Where do we start looking?”

“You’re beginning to try my patience,” Wolf said. “Use what brains you have. You know which car he stole, so the first thing you do is call up one of our contacts in the Berlin police and request that a watch is started for that vehicle. Make sure that whoever you talk to understands that this is an unofficial request. I definitely do not want Bronson apprehended by the police.”

Klaus Drescher, who was sitting in an armchair to one side of Wolf’s desk, made a suggestion.

“Don’t you think it’s possible that he might simply have headed for the Channel ports, to get back to England?”

Marcus Wolf shook his head.

“There’s only one possible reason why he would have been hanging about near this house. He knows that the pistol and the film we took in the cellar are enough to hang him, and I’ve no doubt that he was hoping to somehow get inside this house and recover that evidence. He didn’t manage it, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t try again, so I think he’ll still be somewhere here in Germany, working out a way to achieve that objective.”

“He’d be mad to try it again, surely?” Drescher said.

“I think he’d be mad not to. One thing Bronson has already shown us is that he’s capable and resourceful. He’s been inside this house, and I expect that he’s got a good idea of the way the security systems work. He’s probably hoping that we’ll leave the place unoccupied so that he can try to break in.”

“But we’re not going to do that?”

Wolf shook his head.

“Of course not. Or not until we head for London, and by then it’ll be too late.”

“Suppose he goes to the authorities? He might decide to take the chance, to try to argue that he was forced to kill Polti.”

“What information can he take to the authorities? He knows nothing. Our hands are clean. We are all respected businessmen and citizens of Germany; he is a proven killer. And I’m quite certain that Bronson will be desperate to avoid coming to the attention of the police in either Germany or Britain. I still think he’ll be somewhere in this area. And I want him found and killed.”

Drescher nodded. “You’re probably right, but finding him won’t be easy.”

“I didn’t say that it would be. I just want it done.”

Wolf switched his attention back to the man standing in front of him.

“Do you understand? This is positively your last chance. If you can’t do this, don’t bother coming back here because if you do I will kill you myself.”

Oskar nodded, turned away and walked out of the study, his companion hobbling painfully along behind him.

“Do you think they’ll track him down?” Drescher asked.

“They’d better. I want Bronson dead.”

“But suppose that they can’t find him? He could be almost anywhere. What then?”

Wolf shook his head and smiled grimly.

“Whether he’s alive or dead won’t make the slightest difference to our operation. There’s nothing that one man-that any man-can do to stop us now.”