The Valhalla Exchange - Jack Higgins [33]
'Valhalla Exchange,' Ritter called.
He could see the Fieseler Storch now, over to one side, and then a boot scraped and a young, dark-haired SS officer in camouflage uniform moved out of the shadows. His old-style, field-service cap was tilted at a rakish angle and he carried an American Thompson sub-machine gun in one hand.
'Nice to see you,' he said. 'For a moment there, I thought you might be a bunch of Ivans smelling out foxes.'
Ritter nodded towards the Thompson which carried a round Ioo-drum magazine. 'They'd have been in for a nasty surprise.'
Berger grinned lazily. 'Yes, a little item I picked up in the Ardennes. I always did like to overdo things.' He put a cigarette in his mouth and flicked a lighter made from a Russian rifle bullet.
'What about Herr Strasser?' Ritter said, looking around.
'Oh, he isn't due for a while yet.' Berger sat down on a packing case, putting the Thompson on the floor. 'No rush - we're not due out of here until midnight.'
'I see.' Ritter sat down beside him and Hoffer wandered over to the Storch. 'This man Strasser - you know him?'
Berger hesitated perceptibly. 'Don't you?'
'Never met him in my life before.'
'Neither have I. I'm just the bloody bus driver on this show.'
Ritter nodded towards the Storch. 'We're not going to make the Bavarian Alps in one hop in that.'
'No, we're scheduled to put down halfway at an airstrip in the Thuringian Forest, west of Plauen. Always supposing it's still in our hands.'
'And if it isn't?'
'An interesting thought.'
'You think we'll make it? Out of Berlin, I mean?'
'I don't see why not. Hannah Reitsch made it with Greim, didn't she?'
'Not in total darkness, which it will be when we take off.'
'Yes, I was aware of that fact,' Berger said. 'On the other hand, it does mean that the Russians won't be expecting us. They aren't likely to have any fighters up. No need now they've taken Templehof and Gatow. With any kind of luck, we could be away before they know what's happening.'
'But you would still have to take off along the avenue in the dark,' Ritter said. 'And the Victory Column ...'
'I know. Very large and very solid. Still, I expect I'll manage to think of something.' There were a couple of old sacks on the floor and he lay down on them, cradling the Thompson in his arms. 'I think I'll get a little shut-eye. Something tells me I'm going to need it. If you wouldn't mind watching the front door and give me a push when Strasser comes.'
He pulled the peak of his service cap over his eyes. Ritter smiled slightly and turned to Hoffer, who looked bewildered. 'What's going on, Major? What's he playing at?'
'He's sleeping, Erich. Very sensible under the circumstances. Now, do you want to take the first watch or shall I?'
It was towards evening when Oberleutnant Schenck and Schmidt drove into the village of Graz on the road to Innsbruck. It was completely deserted, not a soul in sight. They had travelled a distance of approximately forty miles since leaving Arlberg, had lost nearly three hours on the way due to a fault in the field car's fuel system. It had taken Schmidt that length of time to diagnose what was wrong and put it right.
They hadn't seen a single soldier, of either side, and there had also been a total absence of refugees on the road. But that made sense. Typical peasants, these mountain people. They would stick with their land, whatever happened. No running away for them. Nowhere to go.
A curtain moved at a ground-floor window of a house opposite. Schenck got out of the field car, crossed the street and knocked at the door. There was no response so he kicked impatiently. 'Come on, for God's sake!' he called. 'I'm Austrian like you. I'm not here to cause trouble.'
After a while, the bolts were drawn and the door opened. An old, white-haired man with a bristling white moustache stood there, a young woman cowering behind him holding a baby.
'Herr Leutnant,' he said civilly enough.
'Where is everybody?'
'They stay inside.'
'Waiting for the Americans to come?'
'Or the British or the French.' He managed a smile. 'As long