She moved deeper into the room, careful not to step on the rug as she pointed out a series of golden vases that were nearly as tall as she was. Each of them was stuffed with colourful arrangements that resembled tiny palm trees. ‘From where you are standing, it’s probably difficult to see what these are made of. Instead of using flowers, which would have had to be hauled halfway up the mountain, the king used peacock feathers. Aren’t they just lovely?’
Ulster nodded, then raised his hand as if he were on a high-school field trip and needed permission to speak.
Heidi looked at him and smiled. ‘Did you have a question?’
Ulster shook his head. ‘Actually, my dear, I was hoping for a favour.’
‘A favour? What kind of favour?’
He glanced over his shoulder, paranoid. ‘Normally I wouldn’t think to impose, but considering the scant crowd and my passion for the subject matter, I was wondering if I could remove my footwear and tiptoe across the room for a closer look?’
She winced, unsure. ‘I don’t know …’
He raised his hand again, this time to swear the truth. ‘I promise my socks are clean.’
She giggled at Ulster’s enthusiasm. He was like a little kid. ‘Fine, but if we hear anyone coming, you have to hustle behind the rope. I could get in a lot of trouble.’
‘I’ll be careful, I promise,’ Ulster assured her as he dropped to the floor to remove his boots.
Meanwhile, Payne backed up towards the stairs. ‘Don’t worry, Heidi. I’ll stand guard. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.’
‘Thanks, Jon. I’d appreciate that.’
‘See how that works? When you’re nice, I’m nice,’ Payne teased.
Heidi smiled. ‘I’m not the least bit surprised. My dog is like that, too.’
Jones laughed loudly. ‘Jon is like a dog. That’s funny.’
‘Not as funny as the animal he compared you to,’ she insisted.
Jones stopped laughing. ‘He said what now?’
Heidi winked at Payne, who was slightly embarrassed. ‘Actually, I better stay out of it. I’ll let you guys discuss it among yourselves.’
Jones looked at him seriously. ‘You think I’m an animal?’
‘Heidi,’ Payne said, hoping to change the topic, ‘before you run off, can I ask you a question about the room?’
‘Sure,’ she said, grinning ear to ear.
‘You said Ludwig used peacock feathers because he didn’t want to haul fresh flowers up the mountain. Why didn’t he get them out of the garden?’
‘What garden?’ she asked.
‘Isn’t there a famous garden up here?’
‘Oh, you mean the Alpengarten auf dem Schachen.’
‘Gesundheit,’ Jones cracked.
Payne ignored him. ‘If you say so.’
She explained. ‘The Alpengarten auf dem Schachen is an alpine garden maintained by a botanical society from Munich. The garden has over a thousand types of exotic plants from as far away as the Himalayas.’
Payne nodded. It was the garden that Ulster had mentioned earlier, the one that led him to believe that this house might be the gartenhaus that Ludwig had referred to in his notes. ‘Why didn’t they get the flowers from there? Isn’t it close by?’
‘It’s real close, but it wasn’t built until after Ludwig’s death. Don’t quote me on this, but I think it was built around 1900. I can find out a specific date, if you’d like.’
He shook his head. ‘Nope, that isn’t necessary.’
‘You got that right,’ Jones whispered to Payne. ‘No garden means no dice. We’re looking in the wrong place.’
Schneider stepped out from behind the beech tree and stared at the man walking towards him. In his hands, Schneider held a Heckler amp; Koch G36, a German 5.56 mm assault rifle. It was the preferred weapon of the Bundeswehr, the unified armed forces of Germany.
‘Halt!’ Schneider ordered in German.
Weber, one of Krueger’s men, stopped and threw his hands in the air.
‘What are you doing here?’ Schneider demanded.
‘I’m hunting deer,’ Weber lied. ‘Have you seen any?’
Schneider ignored the question. ‘You have entered a restricted area. You must turn back immediately or I am authorized to place you under arrest.’
‘For what? I have the proper licence to hunt,’ Weber claimed.
‘Not for here, you don’t.’
‘Why? What’s going on? Is everything all right?’
‘Everything is fine. We are merely conducting military drills on the mountain. This area is restricted because it isn’t safe for civilians.’
Weber cleared his throat and spat on the ground. ‘It isn’t safe for you, either. Not with hunters roaming around.’
Schneider raised his weapon. ‘Sir, don’t make me use force! I’m asking you to leave.’
Weber grinned. ‘But I don’t want to leave. I want to stay.’
‘Sir, if I call for backup, you’ll be sor-’
Before another word could be said, Weber’s partner emerged from a clump of trees behind Schneider and slit his throat, using a nine-inch hunting knife with a serrated edge.
Blood gushed from Schneider’s neck as he gurgled and slumped to the ground. As he fell, he squeezed his trigger and fired several wild shots from his G36. Although he didn’t hit his targets, the sound of automatic gun fire and the strafing of the nearby trees echoed through the mountain air like warning drums in a primitive culture. The sound was so loud and distinct it could be heard inside the bunker and as far away as Mount Schachen.
Within seconds, a firefight had erupted in the Alps.
Within minutes, Payne and Jones would enter the fray.
28
Payne and Jones were standing on the front porch of the King’s House, waiting for Ulster to put on his shoes and join them downstairs, when they heard the distant chatter of gun fire. To experienced soldiers, the sound was unmistakable – like a musical instrument to a symphony conductor. In a heartbeat, they knew Kaiser’s men were under attack.
Jones sprinted to the helicopter while Payne pulled the Sig Sauer from his belt and opened the front door. ‘Petr! Stay here! Kaiser’s in trouble.’
‘What do you mean?’ Ulster yelled from upstairs.
‘We’re taking the chopper! Stay here until we come back!’
‘What’s wrong?’ Heidi shouted from the Turkish Hall.
Wearing only one shoe, Ulster nearly stumbled down the steps as he tried to get more information. ‘What kind of trou-’
Payne cut him off. ‘Stay here! Keep an eye on Heidi!’
‘Of course,’ Ulster said while holding his shoe. ‘But-’
‘Now lock this door!’
Payne slammed it shut and leapt off the porch. By the time he landed, Ulster and Heidi were already gone from his thoughts. For the next few minutes, the only thing that mattered was getting to the bunker as quickly as possible. Not to protect the gold or the van Gogh crate, but because lives were on the line and he could save them.
Jones reached the helicopter thirty seconds before Payne and ordered the pilot to start the engine. Baptiste, who only took orders from Ulster, was going to argue until he saw the gun in Jones’s hand. Baptiste swallowed hard and started flipping switches.
As the engine whirred to life, Jones coolly searched the back compartment for equipment but found nothing of value. ‘Do you have a rope?’ he yelled.
‘For what?’ Baptiste shouted.
‘Our exit.’
He turned in his seat and stared at Jones. ‘Your what?’
‘Our exit. You can’t land where we’re going. We’re gonna have to jump.’
Baptiste laughed. ‘You’re joking, right?’