1635_ The Eastern Front - Eric Flint [60]
It was incredibly annoying. Fortunately for Eddie, his employer had studied Maimonides and come away convinced that the great sage's criticism of anthropomorphism could be applied to dealing with petty irritations as well. True, no rabbi he'd encountered agreed with his interpretation of the Guide For the Perplexed. So much the worse for them.
Junker came in, moving more lightly that you'd expect for a man as stocky as he was. His hand closing the door was light, too. Nasi could barely hear the latch click.
Proving once again the value of a correct interpretation of Maimonides. Coupled to the aggravating knock was a generally splendid young man.
"Sit."
While Eddie did so, Francisco turned the map that had been lying on his desk so that it faced Junker. That done, he pointed to the place that filled most of the map. He'd been told by people familiar with the city that it was quite a good representation of Dresden.
"Can you land here, if need be? Or anywhere near the city?"
Eddie glanced at the legend. "Dresden, huh? It's a pretty fair likeness."
Nasi's eyebrows raised. "You've been there, then. I hadn't known that."
"Oh, half a dozen times at least. Twice—no, three times—on business for my father. And we have relatives in the city, so I visited them on several occasions also."
He pursed his lips and frowned, studying the map. "As to whether I could land the plane . . ."
Nasi waited patiently. There was no point trying to hurry Eddie. For such a young man, he was quite deliberative in the way he approached problems. On the positive side, he didn't make many mistakes, either, and no dumb ones.
Finally, Junker leaned back in the chair. "I just don't know, Don Francisco. I . . . think I probably could. The terrain's flat. As long as you stay away from the Elbe, and it hasn't rained heavily, the ground should be solid enough. But I really wouldn't want to land on a field that hadn't been prepared. Any sort of sizeable rock—"
Nasi waved his hand. "Yes, of course. We'd have to see to that first."
He sat down in his own chair and studied the map pensively.
After a few seconds, Eddie cleared his throat. "If you don't mind my asking—"
Francisco had found that in his line of work one of the worst mistakes you could make was to fetishize security, especially with your immediate subordinates. Not only did it handicap them in their work, but they also invariably resented it. If they were smart, at least, and Nasi had no use for dimwitted assistants.
There were times, of course, when complete secrecy was imperative. But this was not one of them.
"I've been approached by Gretchen Richter. She wanted to know if I could fly someone into Dresden—and if I would be willing to do so."
"The someone being . . ."
"Herself, I imagine. I know that she's been approached by people from that rebellion in the Vogtland. They wanted her to come to Dresden. She refused, at least for the moment, but will send some CoC representatives."
Eddie pursed his lips again. "How solid is that information?"
"As solid as possible, since I got it from Richter herself."
"Really? I'm a little surprised she was that forthcoming."
"She's shrewd. She figures I'd most likely find out about it anyway, if not all the details. This way she maximizes the chances that I'd agree, since I wouldn't be wondering what her motives were."
Eddie stared out the window for a moment. "So you're thinking that she's laying the basis for a later arrival. In case . . ."
"In case Dresden explodes. Yes. You'll need to take that into account when you investigate the possibilities of landing a plane in the area. There may be hostilities underway."
"Ah, marvelous. What I always wanted. Landing under fire while on a desperate mission."
Nasi smiled. "If it would make you happier, you could take Denise with you. On the exploratory trip, I mean. Not the possible later desperate