By Stealth (47 page)

`I know. Where is everyone?'

In Newman's room. You want to see someone?' `All of you. Urgently ...'

Two minutes later Paula was unpacking his case while Newman sat on a couch next to Pete Nield. Marler took up his usual stance, leaning against a wall while he lit a king-size. Tweed was pacing the room, hands behind his back, his manner brisk as he spoke.

`We're leaving tomorrow as early as possible. Butler has come with me. At reception I was able to scribble a note with my room number and a request for him to join us.' He had hardly finished speaking when someone tapped on the door. Newman slid his hand inside his jacket, gripped the butt of his Smith & Wesson, unlocked the door, and Butler walked in.

`Mobilizing a heavy team,' Newman observed, relocking the door.

`Yes,' Tweed confirmed. 'And Philip Cardon may be joining us later.'

`Why are you assembling all this manpower?' Paula asked as she put a pile of Tweed's shirts into the drawer. `Normally you work with the minimum of personnel — so they won't be noticed.'

`True. But this situation is really menacing. We have no idea how many thugs — killers — Wand has at his disposal. I suspect far more than would give us a good night's rest. I've little doubt it's going to take all the resources we can muster to cope with the devious Dr Wand.'

`Your trip to London was successful?' Paula enquired. `I think so ...'

Tweed proceeded to give them all a concise account of who he had met, what they had told him, and the plans he had made for co-operation from certain key people.

`I'd say you've been on the trot,' Marler concluded.

`You could say that. One important point we must deal with at once. The weapons Benoit loaned us. Marler, I need that hold-all you carry about — with the Armalite inside it . .' He continued as Marler left the room. 'All those weapons must be dumped into the hold-all and I'll give them back to Benoit. Airport security . . Marler returned, and when the weapons were inside Tweed zipped it up.

`Back in a minute. Benoit, who met me at the airport, said he'd wait in the car half an hour in case I wanted to consult him.'

Newman looked round the room when Tweed had gone. Paula had finished her unpacking and was staring out of the window where a grey drizzle was gradually blotting out the city.

`We'd better brace ourselves,' Newman said. 'He's in his dynamo of action stage ...'

Walking outside into the wet, Tweed saw a new doorman by the side of Benoit's car, obviously enquiring who he was. Benoit, without looking at him, held up his identity folder, staring ahead. The doorman retreated rapidly. Benoit leaned over, opened the front passenger- seat door, and Tweed sat beside him.

Handing back the hold-all containing the weapons, Tweed thanked him. He then showed him a photo.

`Does the place marked with a cross on the map mean anything to you?'

`Odd you should bring that up. I was talking to one of the officials at Ghent's Town Hall recently. It's a new housing development. Only recently occupied — six months or so ago. Vieux-Fontaine. Not even signposted.'

`Who lives there?'

`No one seems to know. The rumour is they're calling themselves executives — but really they're top security personnel who guard our high-life EC Commissioners. I happen to know that's rubbish. Since they haven't committed any known criminal offence no one is bothered.'

`They may well be saboteurs and spies smuggled into the country. Please leave them in peace — until I contact you. Then raid the place at a mutually agreed time.'

`You usually know what you're doing.' Benoit paused. `I'm going back to headquarters now. I'll organize a strike force to be ready for when you warn me.'

`I'm leaving Brussels tomorrow. Thank you for all your co-operation — especially with that helicopter armada which descended on Liège Airport.'

`It was nothing.' Benoit gripped Tweed's arm. 'Now I urge you to take care of yourself. I sense you could be walking into a zone of maximum danger.'

`Hamburg.'

`I couldn't interview Dr Wand, but I did send men to watch his Lear jet on standby at Zaventem. The security officer told them the pilot had filed a flight plan. For Hamburg. Late this afternoon Dr Wand left aboard that jet with a Luxemburger called Starmberg. A zone of maximum danger,' Benoit repeated.

35

The flight for Hamburg aboard Hamburg Airlines was due to take off at 11.15 a.m. As Paula walked alongside Tweed towards the waiting aircraft she asked the question which had been intriguing her.

`Why Hamburg?'

'To see Hugo Westendorf, the one-time Iron Man of Germany who retired three months or so ago without warning. He was Minister of the Interior.'

`Retired? Suddenly? You don't think ...'

`That it's another case like Andover and Delvaux? Yes, I think exactly that,' Tweed said grimly. 'We're going to meet another broken man. I suspect the charming Dr Wand has a long list.'

Newman, followed by Nield and Butler, caught up with them as they approached the aircraft. A staircase led up to the entrance. Newman stared in disbelief.

`What are those things sticking out at the front?' `Propellers, as you well know,' Tweed replied.

`A prop aircraft? I'm not mad keen on them. I prefer a jet.'

`Aircraft with only one propeller won us the Battle of Britain,' Tweed reminded him, suppressing a smile. 'It will get us there.'

`When does this thing reach Hamburg?' Newman asked in a disgruntled tone.

`Thirteen hundred hours. I'm sure it will be prompt.' `Sounds as though it goes via Paris ...'

Paula was settled next to Tweed, who had a window seat, when she nudged him. She could hardly believe her eyes.

`Look who else is coming on board. I don't understand what is happening. Are we being followed? How did they find out we'd been on this flight?'

`Too many questions,' Tweed replied, gazing out of the window.

Brigadier Burgoyne, carrying an expensive case, was walking down the aisle. He looked neither to right nor to left as he followed the steward and barked out the order.

`We want four seats at the back of the plane ...'

Lee Holmes followed him at a more leisurely pace. Stopping by Paula, she leaned across her to speak to Tweed.

`What a super coincidence. I did enjoy our frolic at the Copenhagen Tavern.'

`My pleasure.' Tweed was still staring out of the window.

`Where are you staying in Hamburg?' Lee persisted, throwing a wave of blonde hair over her coat collar.

`Four Seasons Hotel,' he said brusquely.

`May see you ...'

She had to move on as Helen Claybourne nudged her back with her own case. Helen walked straight past without saying one word, hurrying to catch up. Willie brought up the rear, halted with a beaming smile as he addressed Paula.

`I really had a fabulous time with you. Best company I had by far in Brussels. Everybody else seemed utterly second-rate. Love to repeat the experience at the earliest opportunity. Oh, dear, I'm holding up the troops. Until next time ...'

The aircraft was equipped with thirty-six passenger seats. It was half empty when they closed the door and Paula glanced back. The Burgoyne quartet was seated at the rear, well out of earshot. Newman had his face buried in a newspaper: she suspected he hadn't looked up as the new arrivals passed him. Butler and Nield sat away from each other in separate seats. The propellers began to spin, jerkily at first, then racing into a circular blur. Slowly the machine moved forward, accelerated, and then they were airborne.

Paula waited until the pilot announced, first in German, then in English, that they would be flying at a maximum altitude of 21,000 feet and at a speed of 500 k.p.h. Paula looked back at Newman who made a gesture of disgust. The vibration was greater than on a jet.

`You didn't seem pleased to see them come aboard,' she said to Tweed.

`That was the impression I wished to create,' he replied cryptically.

`The Burgoyne quartet.' Paula rather liked the phrase. `It sounds like a jazz combo.' She chuckled.

Tweed's expression was blank. He felt sure Vulcan was on board. But who was he? To say nothing of a woman who was a professional assassin. And who was she?

He went on gazing out of the window. For the first part of the flight they might have been passing over the Arctic. Tumbled masses of white clouds gleamed in the sunlight. Here and there a towering cloud summit looked like some massive iceberg. As they came closer to Hamburg the weather cleared. Tweed looked down with interest on a mosaic of neat green and brown cultivated farmland. They passed over a blue lake, dense islands of green forest. From this lower altitude he had a much better view. The plane had begun its descent .. .

`Why did you tell her where we're staying?' Paula asked. 'Are you looking forward to another frolic — I think that was the word she used — with her?' she teased.

`They could have followed us in another taxi.'

`I think you want to keep an eye on them,' she probed. `I want us to be first off this plane,' he told her.

Tweed was always pleased to arrive in Hamburg. It had the reputation of being the most 'English' of all German cities. Not that it was a bit like London: the description referred to the friendly attitude of the inhabitants.

`That plane flew like a rusty sewing machine,' Newman remarked. 'And vibrated like one.'

Tweed and Paula were travelling with him in a taxi from the airport. The vehicle had been crawling in a traffic jam down a tree-lined boulevard. The air was fresh, the atmosphere rural.

`It got us here,' Tweed reminded him. 'And in interesting company.'

`Lee nearly had a row with the steward after we'd at long last taken off. She put a cigarette into that fat holder of hers. The steward told her it was a non-smoking plane. She eventually got it across to him she had no intention of lighting the cigarette. And how the blazes did they come to be aboard?'

`I think I've worked it out,' Tweed said. 'Don't ask me yet. I want to be sure.'

`It doesn't seem possible,' Paula insisted. 'You brought us the tickets. As soon as we arrived we boarded that funny little bus which dropped us close to the plane. So where did they get the time to work it out? Maybe it is a coincidence.'

`Don't believe in them,' Tweed advised.

Newman looked back through the rear window. Butler and Nield had taken separate taxis. Marler had told him before they left the Hilton that he'd be hiring a car. A man who always liked independent transport.

They arrived at the palatial entrance to the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten — the Four Seasons — and uniformed porters appeared immediately to take their luggage. Tweed hurried up the wide steps into the luxurious interior. Monica had booked rooms for them and the receptionist informed Tweed their accommodation was ready. After registering he showed Paula his room number, entered the lift by himself, then walked straight out again as he spotted the concierge who had been so helpful on his last visit.

`I want to visit a friend of mine who lives near Blankenese. Hugo Westendorf. Can you give me the exact address and his phone number?'

`The Schloss Tannenberg,' the concierge replied promptly. 'But not quite as far as Blankenese. The schloss is in the district of Nienstedten. You reach it before you arrive at Blankenese. Now, the phone number — and I will draw you a little map to locate the schloss. It is difficult on a printed map ...'

Tweed had his old room, number 311, which was more like a suite. There was a lounge area near the windows overlooking the lake — the Binnen Alster. Tipping the porter, Tweed sat down to phone the number as soon as he was alone. The odd atmosphere began with his phone call. He tried speaking in English first.

`My name is Tweed. I know Mr Westendorf. I have just arrived from England and would like to speak to him.'

I understand,' the man's voice at the other end replied. `It would be helpful if you would stay on the line for a moment or two ...'

Tweed waited. The butler? The voice had sounded very official but hardly that of a servant. Tweed realized the line was probably tapped — as had been Andover's and, later, Delvaux's. He had reached the stage where he wanted to stir up the opposition. The voice came back.