Free The Leader And The Damned by Colin Forbes Page B

arrival he was killed by a rocket fired by the Russian defenders.

    It is approximately six hundred miles as a Junkers 52 flies from the Berghof's airstrip to Rastenburg in East Prussia. Bauer's course involved flying over Czechoslovakia, on over Poland and, on the last lap, into East Prussia. The two men chatted about how to fly a Junkers and there was not the slightest hint of tension between them. They were in the same business. Flying.
    It was during the late morning of March 14 when the plane was approaching the Wolf's Lair. In the copilot's seat Lindsay tried to flog his cold-numbed brain into some kind of alertness ready for the ordeal when he confronted the Fuhrer. Below they were passing over a desert, a plain of snow, which went on forever. Above loomed another desert — a low ceiling of dense, dirty-grey cloud which threatened further snow. Lindsay's mind went back to the interview in Ryder Street where this crazy scheme he had volunteered to undertake had begun.
    Colonel Dick Browne, who briefed him, was not his favourite person. He recalled thinking this when he had sat on the far side of the desk as Browne continued in his clipped voice.
    'If you reach Germany..'
    ' When I reach Germany,' Lindsay corrected him.
    'When,' Browne said reluctantly as though it were the most unlikely outcome. 'Your first task is to locate the Fuhrer's headquarters. As your pre-war attitude was known to be pro-Nazi - above all, since you visited Hitler personally - you might just receive a warm welcome.. He extended his hand, offering his pack. 'Have a cigarette, Lindsay.'
    He made it sound as though he were granting a condemned man his last request. Lindsay took the cigarette and used the German lighter he was accustoming himself to. He said nothing so Browne, who had hoped for some reaction, was compelled to go on.
    ' When you arrive at the Fuhrer's secret headquarters, your second task is to discover whether Hitler himself is personally directing military operations - or whether some field marshal is the real brain. If so, what is the identity of this man?'
    'From some of the phraseology this sounds to come from pretty high up,' Lindsay observed.
    'The origin of the directive is top secret. Having obtained this information - I gather the second bit is what they're really after - you then make your way back behind allied lines by whatever means possible, report your presence to us via the local commander-in-chief. We fly you home...'
    'A piece of cake.'
    'Really, Lindsay, I do hope you are not going to treat this mission in a flippant manner..
    'For Christ's sake, Browne, you expect me to sit here shaking like a bloody road drill?'
    'My rank is that of Colonel..
    'And mine is that of Wing Commander..
    'Which will prove helpful,' Brown said quickly, changing tack as he realized this RAF type might put in a complaint higher up than he dared to contemplate. 'They're bound to check up on you, put you under the microscope. The Allied order of battle documents you'll be taking may bolster your cover...'
    'They're fake, I assume?' Lindsay queried as he eyed the package Brown had produced from a locked drawer. 'The Germans should have at least some information about General Alexander's troops.'
    'Do let me put you completely in the picture, there's a good chap,' the Colonel said smugly. 'These documents...' he laid a fond hand on the package, 'list Alexander's present order of battle in Tunisia. You'll be perfectly safe.'
    'You reassure, me mightily,' Lindsay responded.
    'That bit about being perfectly safe where I'm going. And won't I be popular with Alexander - flying into enemy territory with that package in my hip pocket.'
    Browne looked even smugger, if that were possible. 'That is the beauty of the whole plan.' He leaned back in his chair and smarmed his thinning hair with the palm of his lean hand. 'If they check with German HQ in Tunis they'll get confirmation that was our order of battle when you flew off to Germany. As soon as you