Douglas Jacobson - The Katyn Order

He wondered about the piece of paper they were all so eager to get their hands on. Natalia had told him what it was about and that it might help Poland gain its freedom. Rabbit doubted that was true. He doubted that a piece of paper, no matter what it said, would make any difference to the tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and NKVD agents who were now crawling over the country. As far as Rabbit was concerned, they were no different than the Germans, and the only thing that would ever make a difference was another army, with more soldiers and more guns. As far as he could tell, that was all that ever mattered.

Rabbit stiffened and took a quick drag on the cigarette as a long, black Citroën drove past him on the other side of the avenue and stopped in front of the main entrance of the library. An NKVD trooper got out of the auto, followed by an NKVD officer and a short, stocky man wearing a black trench coat. The three of them hurried into the building while another trooper emerged from the driver’s side of the auto and stood guard on the sidewalk.

Goddamn it!

Rabbit wasn’t expecting this. Adam had stationed him outside the library just as a precaution. They weren’t even sure that Tarnov knew Adam had escaped, much less that he would show up at the library, right here, right now.

Rabbit hesitated for a moment, then crossed the wide street and walked toward the auto. Generally very little traffic moved on Avenue Mickiewicza given how few people in Krakow owned automobiles, but suddenly there were no pedestrians around either. No doubt the sight of a long, black auto roaring up and the NKVD piling out was enough to cause passersby to take a detour. So, with no one else on the street, Rabbit gained the trooper’s undivided attention as he drew closer.

The trooper stepped into the middle of the sidewalk and shouted something in Russian. Rabbit didn’t understand. But he knew what the trooper intended by the way he pointed for Rabbit to go back the way he had come.

Rabbit continued on, quickening his pace, talking loudly and rapidly: “I forgot my books, I’ll just be a minute, no problem, it will just take a minute.”

As Rabbit came closer he could see that the trooper was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, and it was obvious he didn’t understand a word of Polish. But Rabbit’s torrent of words was just enough to cause the Russian a moment of distraction.

Rabbit continued jabbering and walking faster, his right hand in his trouser pocket, clutching the knife. The trooper shouted again, louder this time, and pulled a pistol from the holster on his belt.

Rabbit pretended to stumble and dropped to his knees.

The trooper stepped forward and raised the gun. But he hesitated for an instant.

It was enough.

Rabbit sprang up, thrust his hand underneath the stunned trooper’s outstretched arm and shoved the knife into his chest.

The young Russian uttered a loud grunt, doubled over and dropped his weapon on the ground. Rabbit paid no attention to him as he withdrew the knife and slashed two of the auto’s tires. Then he grabbed the pistol and sprinted toward the library.

ADAM GLANCED OVER THE TOP of his magazine just as Natalia emerged from the Reading Room. Even at this distance, and even though she walked hunched over with the cane, he could tell by the way she held her head that she’d been successful. He set the magazine on the table and was about to push his chair back when Natalia stopped. She was halfway down the stairway, staring at the library entrance.

Adam turned toward the entrance and saw a uniformed NKVD trooper emerge from the atrium and approach the information desk. Behind him was another NKVD soldier, this one with the distinctive blue hat of an officer. A third man stood behind the officer, short and stocky, wearing a black trench coat.

Tarnov.

The trooper snapped at the receptionist in Russian. The young lady looked flustered and stood up, wiping her hands on the sides of her skirt. The officer stepped forward and said something that Adam couldn’t quite hear, and made a gesture as if reading a book. The receptionist frowned, shook her head, then pointed toward the stairway.

Adam picked up the magazine and lowered his head, peering over the top as Tarnov and the officer marched across the circular gallery. The trooper remained at the information desk, resting his right hand on the butt of the pistol strapped to his waist.

Adam slipped his hand into the pocket of the suit coat he’d borrowed from Karol and gripped the handle of the Browning. Sit still… just for a moment.

It was almost more than he could bear, but he knew he had to give it a moment to play out. Natalia wore a gray head scarf and walked with a cane. Even if Tarnov had beaten her description out of the priest, he’d be looking for a young woman. Perhaps she’d slip past him. It was a slim chance, he knew, but it was better than a three-on-one firefight.

As Tarnov and the officer reached the Copernicus bust halfway across the room, Tarnov barked some instructions, and the officer continued on toward the stairway. Tarnov stood in the center of the cavernous room, looking around at the dozen or so persons sitting at tables, all of them now scrunched down in their chairs, heads buried in books. He stepped over to the table closest to him and knocked the book away from a terrified woman.

Adam slid the Browning out of his pocket and held it under the table. It was heavier than the Walther P-38 he’d used in Warsaw. The barrel was shorter, and it didn’t have the same comfortable feel in his hand. But it was all he had. He glanced toward the stairway.

Natalia hobbled down the steps. She passed the NKVD officer at the bottom of the stairway. A few steps farther, and he turned suddenly toward her and snapped, “Prikrashchát!”

Natalia hobbled on.

The officer shouted again and took a long stride toward her, reaching for her arm.

Natalia spun around and whacked him on the side of the head with the cane.

The blow knocked the stunned officer to the floor.

Natalia dove on the ground and rolled under a table.

Tarnov jerked his head toward the commotion, pulled a pistol from a shoulder holster inside his coat and started toward Natalia.

Adam jumped to his feet, brought the Browning up with both hands and aimed at Tarnov. Just as he pulled the trigger a wave of dizziness swept over him, and the bullet ricocheted off the bronze Copernicus bust. It toppled off the pillar and bounced on the marble floor with a deafening clang!

Chaos erupted. People screamed and crawled under tables. The receptionist at the information desk bolted out through the atrium.

Tarnov dropped to one knee, turned and fired at Adam, blowing away a bookshelf directly behind him.

Adam toppled the table on its side, crouched behind it and concentrated on the stairway. The NKVD officer was on his knees, reaching for the pistol on his belt. Adam exhaled slowly, took careful aim and fired. The officer collapsed backward, clutching his stomach.

Adam flinched as a gunshot from the direction of the information desk slammed into the table. Splinters flew in every direction. A chunk of wood struck his head and blood ran into his eyes. His ears ringing, blinking his eyes against the blood, Adam crawled under the next table.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Tarnov’s coarse voice echoed through the room. “Throw out weapon, Nowak! In two minutes, more NKVD come!”

Adam searched the room for him. Where was the son of a bitch? He finally spotted him, crouching behind the pillar.

Before Adam could figure out how to reach Tarnov, the trooper at the information desk ran to the closest table and abruptly shot the man cowering there in the back of the head. The trooper tipped over the table, dropped to one knee and fired in Natalia’s direction.