Adrian D'Hage - The Maya codex

‘How do you know their names… Who are you?’ Levi asked, struggling to comprehend the message from the SS guard.

‘That doesn’t matter. The Jewish Agency in Istanbul is all you need to know.’

The door to the barracks on the opposite side of the compound suddenly opened.

Levi winced as Schaub struck him across the face. ‘You Jewish scum! What are you doing outside after lights out? Get back inside!’

T he day had dawned overcast and cold, and von Hei?en’s boots crunched on the fresh spring snow as he returned from his inspection of the camp. Von Hei?en was determined that Reichsfuhrer Himmler’s visit and the celebrations for Hitler’s birthday would go off without a hitch. Reaching his headquarters, he descended the stone steps that led to a large cellar beneath the building. Only two people were allowed into what was effectively a strong room: himself and his batman, the latter charged with melting down Jewish jewellery and the piles of gold fillings that were extracted each time the bodies were cleared from ‘the showers’ beneath the hospital. Von Hei?en felt the side of the small furnace he’d had installed alongside one of the stone walls. It was still warm from the night before. Satisfied, he dialled the combination to the huge safe at the rear of the cellar.

Excellent, he mused, picking up the ten-kilogram ingot his batman had added to the six already stored in the vault. The bars were stamped with the eagle and swastika, giving the impression they were being produced to bolster the coffers of the Reich, but von Hei?en had a very different plan. He’d already invited il Signor Felici to visit. The powerful envoy’s contacts within the Vatican, a nation state outside the jurisdiction of either Hitler’s Reich or Mussolini’s Italy, would, he thought, be very useful. The SS colonel opened one of the vault drawers and extracted the pectoral cross he’d discovered in the Weizman safe, one of a number of items his batman had been instructed to store separately. Other than its possible monetary value, the cross held no particular attraction for von Hei?en, but he’d already determined that it might mean quite a lot to someone like Felici. He returned the cross to its drawer, closed the vault door and headed back to his office.

Sitting behind his large mahogany desk, von Hei?en turned his attention again to the strange piece of paper he’d recovered from the Jewish boy. A child’s drawing? The yellow painted shape might be, but why would a boy of ten draw a series of lines and then assign what looked like bearings to them? Was it worth keeping his miserable father alive to find out? Under normal circumstances it might be, at least to give the usual methods of persuasion time to work, but von Hei?en was very aware of the threat the Jewish archaeologist posed. The longer Weizman was alive, the greater the danger of word leaking out about the discovery of the figurine. There was only one man von Hei?en genuinely feared: if Himmler ever found out, he’d be finished.

Deep in thought, von Hei?en got up from behind his desk and stood at the window, absent-mindedly looking towards the quarry where the Jewish scum were already at work. He was convinced that if Weizman still had the figurine, he would have almost certainly hidden it in his strongbox. It was safe to assume the jade statue was still in the jungles of Guatemala, and therefore – His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

At five-foot nine, his adjutant, Hauptsturmfuhrer Hans Brandt, only just cleared the SS height restrictions, but Brandt was well-connected and what the fair-haired, oval-faced, olive-skinned Aryan captain lacked in height, he made up for in ambition and naked ruthlessness.

‘Kommen Sie!’

‘The Jew is outside, Herr Kommandant, and I’ve been advised that Reichsfuhrer Himmler’s car is approaching Mauthausen. He will arrive in just under half an hour.’

‘The guard is ready?’

‘Jawohl, Herr Kommandant. I’ve inspected them personally. I’ve also been advised that Doktor Richtoff is accompanying the Reichsfuhrer.’

‘Everything is ready for the doctor?’

Brandt nodded. ‘The technicians have finished installing the equipment, including the high-altitude pressure chamber, and Barrack Block 6 has been refurnished in accordance with Doktor Richtoff’s instructions.’

Von Hei?en grunted. ‘Good. Bring the Jew in.’

‘Jawohl. Heil Hitler!’

‘Herr Professor, I’m told that your apartment has been thoroughly searched and there is no sign of the figurine. So where is it?’ Von Hei?en put his question very slowly, his voice ominously calm.

‘I’ve already told you -’

‘Liar!’ Von Hei?en lashed Levi with his cane. Levi gasped and stifled a cry.

‘Filthy Jewish liar!’ Von Hei?en whipped Levi’s face again, smashing his glasses. ‘Where is it?’ Von Hei?en was shouting now, lashing at him uncontrollably. Levi’s eyes watered, and he fought against the searing pain.

Von Hei?en wondered again if the Jewish archaeologist might be telling the truth, but the moment was fleeting. ‘And what does this map mean?’ von Hei?en asked, picking up the huun bark from his desk.

‘It’s nothing more than a small boy’s drawing,’ Levi answered defiantly, his knees starting to wobble.

‘You’re lying!’ Von Hei?en turned towards his adjutant. ‘Have the guards take him away and when the Reichsfuhrer has left, Sturmscharfuhrer Schmidt can take him to the parachute jump.’ As powerful as von Hei?en had become, he knew he would have to seek approval from Himmler himself before he disposed of the Jewish professor.

‘Achtung!’ The guard of honour came to attention and saluted as an armoured car, followed by a new black BMW staff car, with a silver eagle and swastika pennant fluttering above the bonnet, swept through Mauthausen’s gates. The staff car bore the registration plates: SS1. Von Hei?en snapped to attention, right arm outstretched as the SS Commander alighted.

‘Heil Hitler, Herr Reichsfuhrer. Wilkommen zum Mauthausen.’

A hundred metres away, in the middle of the quarry, Ramona, Ariel and Rebekkah struggled to lift a large rock into one of the hoppers. Levi moved to help them and he winced in pain as an SS guard hit him with his rifle butt.

‘Try to pick smaller ones, meine Lieblings,’ Levi whispered. He turned and felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Reichsfuhrer Himmler, accompanied by Obersturmbannfuhrer von Hei?en, appeared at the railing of the nearest watchtower. Suddenly a squad of SS guards doubled towards the quarry, rifles at the carry. At the far end of the quarry a line of marching prisoners, all in black-and-grey striped garb, were suddenly halted and ordered to turn to face the cliff.

A rifle shot echoed around the quarry, and the prisoner on the far left of the line crumpled to the ground, her face blown away by a bullet to the back of the head. Ramona fainted and Ariel and Rebekkah started to cry, cowering behind the hopper. For the next hour and a half the quarry reverberated to the crackle of rifle fire as every two minutes a Jew was shot in the back of the head in honour of the Fuhrer’s birthday.

Von Hei?en watched Himmler’s car disappear through Mauthausen’s main gate before turning to walk back towards the quarry. It had been a very successful day. The Fuhrer’s birthday celebrations had gone very well, and Himmler had personally congratulated von Hei?en on the efficiency of the camp. It was, Himmler said, the main reason Mauthausen had been chosen for Doctor Richtoff’s top-secret medical experiments. The Reichsfuhrer had even intimated that all going well, another promotion was in the offing. Standartenfuhrer! Von Hei?en could almost see the oak leaves on his collar. He felt a surge of pride and whacked his boots with his cane as he walked along the path leading to the top of the quarry cliff. He looked back towards the gates of the prisoner compound where, as per his instructions, the Weizman woman and her offspring had been chained to one of the stone towers. Good, he mused, feeling a rising sense of satisfaction. From there they, too, would be able to see the quarry.