• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Hartmann was right about one thing this had to be finished. Schott would make sure that it was done properly.

***

In the Jersey feldkommandentur Kommandandtur, formerly Government House in St Helier, General Schumacher was entertaining. It wasn't often that he had a guest as distinguished as SS Brigadier General Kraus. More to the point, Kraus was here in a very special capacity: as personal representative of Reichsführer Himmler

'Welcome, Brigadeführer,' Schumacher fawned. 'I trust you had a pleasant journey.'

He stood at the bottom of the main staircase, resplendent in his best dress uniform. Smells of cooking hung about the halls.

'The journey passed, Kraus said flatly. 'I should like to inspect these what do you call them?'

'The notes of the scientist who was for some years in charge of the Le Mur compound a Dr Peddler, I believe refer to them as Cybermen.'

'Cybermen, yes. I should like to see these... Cybermen as soon as possible.'

'Well, of course, of course.' Schumacher laughed nervously. 'But first I hope you will sample some of our hospitality. You must be hungry and tired after your journey.'

'No,' Kraus replied. 'Reichsführer Himmler wants my report as soon as possible.'

'A little food, Brigadier. A little wine, perhaps, and then we can go '

'I know all about you, Schumacher.' Kraus had a voice that could cut glass. 'You and that old fool Schott. Soft living.

Squandering the wealth of the Reich, wasting time, drunk half the time, stuffing your bellies. Is this what you think the Führer means by total war, Schumacher?'

'Well, I '

'I have seen what total war means, Schumacher. I have been in Poland. One month, it took us, to kick the life out of that filthy swamp. One month, and even now we are relentless. And so it will go on until all subversive elements are crushed underfoot. The communists, the Jews...'

So it was true, the rumours of Kraus's activities in Poland. Schumacher shuddered involuntarily.

All SS officers were difficult, but Kraus was among the worst. Arrogant, sadistic, fanatical. As a general, Schumacher outranked him, of course, but as an SS officer, and one acting on the specific instructions of Himmler...

Besides, Schumacher was terrified of him.

The general was playing for time. He had been worried by what Schott had told him about Hartmann, about the Englishman Limb, and about the other little man who seemed to have turned up from nowhere and to know more about what was going on than anybody else. He wanted to check that all was well underground before taking Kraus down there.

In his office the telephone rang.

The smoke was starting to clear. The Doctor coughed and beat the dust from himself with his hat. From a pile of rubble he fished his umbrella.

'Are you all right?' he asked Ace.

'I think so,' the girl replied, looking around the shattered chamber.

Lacking orders, lacking an enemy to kill, the Cybermen now stood motionless amid the devastation. A few of their number had died. The Cyberleader himself, firstborn of this new army, lay twisted and still amid the debris, his headcasing shattered. The survivors paid their fallen comrades no regard.

'What was that, anyway?'

'Round One, I suspect. Where's... Ah!' He trotted across to the Cybercommand unit, standing like a giant upsidedown toadstool in the middle of the battlefield. 'Not damaged,' the Doctor muttered. 'Good' He began punching buttons on its flat surface.

'Doctor,' Ace asked, 'how are we going to get out of here?' The Cybermen will carve a path for us. That's the main reason I revived them. I hoped by a show of strength a lot of flash and thunder in here I could persuade our hosts to leave.

I've programmed our little friend here to blow itself to pieces.

A plasma explosion. It will reduce this place to atoms and I had rather hoped there would be no one in it. Unfortunately, I hadn't bargained for our mad captain. I think we should probably get out of here before they try to drive a tank in, or something equally insane.' He patted the little Cyberconsole.