This United state

'Sure, Chief.'

'When I say you stays there you all stays in your rooms. Got it?'

'Sure, Chief.'

'Miracles sometimes happen. Brad and his three men don't go to the base. They waits at the point I tells you about earlier.'

'Brad knows. I marked the place on a map, the place you described to me. Brad said looks like they's gonna have-to drive up a bloody mountain,' Vernon warned.

'That's his problem. They got food and drink? They's gonna have to wait a long time. Till after dark. Till a coupla white Audis follow me along that road into Hollental. Did Brad get the crowbars?'

'Sure, Chief. Sent him out early this mornin' and he finds a car spares shop. He buys three crowbars, has 'em well wrapped, and he locks them in the Audi. He said it sounds like a long wait and a lot of hard work diggin' out boulders. If there are any.'

'There are. I noticed them last time I visited the base when I flew over earlier in the year. Can't start an avalanche without a bit of work. Go back to your room, Brainless.'

'That's where I am now.'

'Get some sleep, if you want to. Keep the phone close to your thick ear. Get the kitchen there to make up food packs for all of you. With drink,' Ronstadt demanded.

'Sure, Chief.'

'Another miracle. You musta eaten a lotta fish. Good for the brain. Eat a whole lot more…'

Ronstadt cut the connection. He stretched out a bit further on the couch. This was an unusual experience. Enjoying a bit of comfort. He grinned savagely and said the words aloud.

'Good place for you to end your career, Tweed. In the dark of the Black Forest.'

36

'No! Definitely not!' said Tweed.

Ten minutes earlier he had listened in silence while Newman and Marler told him what they had seen close to the Minster. In his room, when they had arrived, were also Paula and Keith Kent. Newman let Marler speak first. Then he reported what Denise Chatel had told him when they'd breakfasted together in the cafe further into Freiburg. Tweed stood as he listened, close to a window with hands clasped behind his back, his eyes fixed on whichever man was speaking. It was after Newman made a suggestion that Tweed spoke so emphatically.

'So,' Newman had remarked, 'we think the best thing is to leave here now, follow that Audi – I'm sure we can catch them up on the main route into Hollental.'

'What's your objective?' Newman persisted in response to Tweed's vehement rejection. 'Or perhaps I should say objection? They have made a fatal mistake. They've split their forces. We can destroy them piecemeal.'

'My main objective is to destroy their base.' Tweed took from his pocket an envelope, extracted the two fake British banknotes they had obtained in St Ursanne. 'I'm convinced the Americans have devised a deadly plan to destabilize Britain.'

'I don't see their significance,' said Paula.

'Oh, you will, you will. Marler, you've just told me about how you dealt with Bernie Warner, whoever he was. Did you notice whether the tips of his fingers were dirty?'

'Yes, I did. At the time I didn't think anything of it. They were stained black.'

'Printing ink,' said Tweed. 'You probably exterminated one of Ronstadt's key men.' His voice took on a grimmer note. 'But we must destroy that base. And the only man who'll lead us to it is Ronstadt. So we have to wait until he leaves here on his way to Hollental. Have you a good supply of explosives, Marler?'

'Enough to blow half Freiburg sky high.'

'Good'

'What Bob is worried about,' Marler explained, 'is that the Audi which has left with four men inside could be setting up an ambush.'

'I'm sure it is,' Tweed agreed equably. 'I'm sure you can deal with that, Marler, while we keep after Ronstadt.'

'They may be using something like bazookas,' Paula warned. 'You know what the Americans are – they think anything big is better, whether it's a battleship or a weapon operated by one man.'

'We do have smoke bombs, a lot of them,' Marler reminded her. 'A man using a bazooka has to see his target. Smoke bombs land all round him. He's in a fog. Target disappears. I'll give you a few more.'

'Another point,' Newman pressed, 'is how can we be sure we'll know when Ronstadt is leaving?'

'I've attended to that,' Tweed told him. 'I phoned Kuhlmann, head of the Federal Kriminalpolizei in Wiesbaden, as you know. Also a close friend. He has phoned the manager here, saying he is tracking terrorists. He's asked the manager to inform me of any sign that Ronstadt is leaving.'

'Point covered, then.'

'Reverting to that intriguing story Denise Chatel told you: if it's true, wouldn't it be strange if the key to the momentous events we're caught up in lies in the car accident, so called, which killed both her parents in Virginia?'

'It would be very strange,' Newman agreed. 'But I don't see how.'

'It's just a glimmer of an idea which flashed into my mind as I listened to you. And we still don't know who the mysterious Charlie is. Charlie's identity is possibly the real key.'

A little later Tweed told Marler to go back to the Schwarzwalder Hof and to keep him informed. He then looked round at the others and said he wanted a private meeting with someone, so would they mind leaving him until he phoned them in their rooms? As soon as he was alone he picked up the phone and asked Guy Strange- ways to come and see him for a chat. While he waited Tweed took out a recording device, tested it to make sure it was in working order.

'Guy, do sit down. Would you like some coffee?'

'No, thank you. Drank too much of it already at breakfast.'

'You don't look your normal self, you know.'

Strangeways had seated himself in an armchair, slumped against the back. Tweed sat in a chair opposite him with a small table between them. His guest showed every sign of nervous exhaustion. He kept pulling at his moustache, staring at Tweed. When he did speak his voice almost quivered.

'What is this all about?'

'It's about you. You've got something on your mind and it is tearing you to pieces. We've known each other a long time, off and on, so maybe you can help me.'

'God knows, I'm the one who needs help.' He paused, then it all came tumbling out. 'I've besmirched the family name. That must sound pretty old-fashioned.'

'Not to me, it doesn't. What happened?'

'I took a gamble in business in the States and I was short of money. Only for a while but my competitors were closing in on me. Tweed, to cut a long story short, I accepted a bribe from the Americans of half a million dollars.'

'Anyone operating in the States can get caught up in the corrupt atmosphere that prevails over there. You must have promised something in return for the bribe.'

'The Yanks are planning on converting Britain into a colony of America,' he burst out. His voice grew stronger. 'We will become a state of their bloody Union. Hawaii was the fiftieth state. We would become the fifty- first state. The condition of the bribe was that if you refused to become Governor – they were very keen for you to accept – then I'd assume the post. If you accepted I'd get another big post running Britain.' He stood up, began marching round the room as he talked. 'I feel better now I've told you. Ironically, I didn't need the half a million. I tried to give it back. It's still in a special account I had set up in London.'

'What happened when you attempted to return the half a million?'

'They showed me a photo – taken secretly – of my opening their executive case with the money inside. They said they'd send the photo, and the story, to tabloids in Britain and to top newspapers in New York. My reputation would be ruined.'

'Guy, who handed you the money?'

'That vile creature Jake Ronstadt. A man I wouldn't have inside Irongates. In the photo he's smirking. I'm going to return the money anyway. I had put a codicil in my will that it was to go to a charity.' His voice had become vibrant. 'Now I'm going to return it and damn the consequences.'