The Angry Hills - Leon Uris [83]
“Oh, I don’t know about that. By the time they find your body—provided they do find your body—I shall be enjoying a good gin and tonic in the Press Club in London. You see, Konrad, at my request you went to great lengths to keep your move a secret. No one knows just where you are.”
Zervos scrambled to his feet. His eyes bulged like a madman’s. “Julius,” he blubbered, “Julius—I am wealthy. Fifty—a hundred million drachmas—two hundred million—please! Please!” He fell to his knees and kissed Chesney’s hand....
A shot cracked out.
Zervos clutched his stomach and rolled over, dead. Konrad Heilser handed his pistol to Chesney.
“Collaborators,” Heilser snarled. “I have no use for a man who would sell out his own country. I underestimated you, Julius. I should have known that, devil that you are, you would not have turned traitor.”
“Dear me,” Chesney said, throwing the pistol to the ground, “these things make me extremely nervous.”
“I will spare you the dramatics of Zervos. I shall die quite quietly.”
“Well, let us not say that I was prompted by patriotic motives. But fortunately there is a bottom to my conscience. You do understand, dear fellow?”
Thanassis walked up to them. “The Germans are all rounded up. We have their arms. Let us get on with it.”
“You are going to execute me now?”
“Unfortunately, yes, dear fellow. We have no choice.”
Konrad Heilser walked slowly to a large boulder, lit a cigarette and waited. Chesney beckoned Thanassis to wait for a few moments. He walked beside the German. Heilser was calm now—a return to the old Heilser. He had lost the game, his usefulness was gone.
“Tell me, Julius, how did you manage it?”
“Ingenious plan, I must say. You see, the Underground had a very serious problem. To move Lisa and Morrison with secrecy and to get them from Athens. Thanassis came to me with the idea to use myself as a decoy by luring you to the wrong coast and at the same time getting the roadblocks lifted from Athens. You were of great help to the Underground, I must say, Konrad.”
“And I also financed the trip....”
Chesney leaned close. “Be a good chap and don’t tell Thanassis how much I was paid. I did take a bit more than my share, but I hear Thanassis is going to use his end to buy arms for the Underground.”
“We must get going,” Thanassis called.
“You know, Konrad, even if you had taken Morrison and even if you discovered the names on the Stergiou list, I wonder, I seriously wonder if it would have made a difference in the end. Oh, yes, the world is filled with bumbling amateurs like Michael Morrison and Lisa Kyriakides. They brush temptation, they are given to sentiment, they wrangle with their consciences—but somehow the Michaels and the Lisas end up on the path of the righteous. I’m afraid, dear fellow, there are too many Michaels and Lisas in this world for scoundrels like you and me to contend with.”
“Let us get on with it,” Heilser said softly. He crushed out his cigarette. “I am ready.”
Dawn.
The submarine surfaced.
Lisa stood on the deck with her two sons at her side. Michael Morrison, American writer of sorts, amateur in the game of international intrigue, stood behind her. He touched her shoulder softly as the coastline of North Africa appeared on the horizon before them.
A Biography of Leon Uris
Leon Uris (1924–2003) was an author of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays who wrote over a dozen books including numerous bestselling novels. His epic Exodus (1958) has been translated into over fifty languages. Uris’s work is notable for its focus on dramatic moments in contemporary history, including World War II and its aftermath, the birth of modern Israel, and the Cold War. Through the massive popularity of his novels and his skill as a storyteller, Uris has had enormous influence on popular understanding of twentieth-century history.
Leon Marcus Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Jewish parents of recent Polish-Russian origin. As a child, Uris lived a transient and hardscrabble life. He attended schools in Baltimore, Virginia, and Philadelphia