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'I can't see them,' Bormann said.

'Yes, I don't think I've ever worked better with a knife, though I do say it myself.'

Bormann nodded. 'Excellent. And now I would have a word with Herr Strasser alone.'

'Certainly, Reichsleiter,' Wiedler said.

He and Scheel moved out and Bormann pulled Rattenhuber back. 'The question of the staff, Willi. You know what to do.'

'Of course, Reichsleiter.'

He went out and Bormann closed the door and turned to face himself. 'So, Strasser, the day is finally here.'

'So it would appear, Reichsleiter. The Kamaradenwerk? It begins?'

'It begins, my friend,' said Martin Bormann, and he started to unbutton his tunic.

Wiedler and the other waited patiently in the laboratory. It was perhaps twenty minutes later that the door opened and Bormann and Strasser appeared. The Reichsleiter was in uniform. Strasser wore a slouch hat and a black leather coat.

'And now, Reichsleiter -' Professor Wiedler began.

'It only remains to say goodbye,' Martin Bormann said.

He nodded to Rattenhuber who was standing by the door. The colonel's Schmeisser bucked in his hands, a stream of bullets knocking Wiedler and Scheel back against the wall. Rattenhuber emptied the magazine and replaced it with a fresh one.

He turned to Bormann, face pale.

'The staff?' Bormann inquired.

'I locked them in.'

Bormann nodded approvingly. 'Good - finish it.'

Rattenhuber went outside. A moment later there was the rattle of the Schmeisser sounding continuously above a chorus of screams. The Russian artillery had started again, the building shook violently far above their heads.

Rattenhuber came back in, walking slowly. 'It is done, Reichsleiter.'

Bormann nodded. 'Good - finish off here now and we'll go downstairs.'

He walked out into the corridor, followed by Strasser. Rattenhuber took the stick grenade from his belt and tossed it in through the door of the laboratory. As the reverberations died away, there was the angry crackling of flames as chemicals ignited.

Smoke drifted out into the corridor as Bormann and Strasser reached the elevator and Rattenhuber ran towards them. 'No need to panic,' Bormann said. 'Plenty of time.'

The elevator doors opened. They stepped inside and started down.

When the doors opened at the bottom, Schultz was waiting, a Walther in his hand, his two SS guards behind him, Schmeissers ready.

'No need to worry,' Bormann said. 'Everything's under control.'

'As you say, Reichsleiter,' Schultz said, and then he looked at Strasser and his mouth opened in amazement.

'We are leaving now, Schultz, all of us,' Bormann said gently. 'Bring in the rest of your men.'

Schultz turned, walked a few paces and whistled, fingers in teeth. A moment later the two guards from the garage door ran down the ramp.

'If you'd line them up, I'd just like a word about the situation we're going to find outside,' Bormann said.

'Reichsleiter.' Schultz barked orders at his men, they lined up and he stood in front of them.

'You have done good work. Excellent work.' Behind Bormann, Rattenhuber was climbing into the field car behind the MG34. 'But now, my friends, the time has come to part.'

In the final moment, Schultz realized what was happening. His mouth opened in a soundless cry, but by then Rattenhuber was working the machine gun, driving Schultz and his men back in a mad dance of death across the concrete.

When he finally stopped, a couple of them were still twitching. 'Finish it,' Bormann ordered.

Rattenhuber picked up his Schmeisser, walked across to the guard and fired a short burst into the skull of one who still moved. He moved back hastily as blood and brains sprayed his boots and in the same moment became aware of the harsh metallic click as the MG34 was cocked again.

He swung round to find Strasser standing in the field car behind the machine gun. 'To the death, Willi, isn't that what you said?'

His fingers squeezed, the face beneath the brim of the slouch hat totally lacking in any kind of emotion. It was the last thing