Dennis Wheatley - Mayhem in Greece

But she would have no idea where he had got to. Even if, when searching the hills, she came upon the Czech site and guessed he was being held a prisoner there, she would still be many miles from any police station. It was certain, too, that there would be delays before anyone high-up enough could be induced to give an order for a raid. So, even if she did find out some time during the afternoon what had happened to him, only if given great good luck would she be able to bring help to him.

At length, those silent moments that had seemed years to Robbie ended by his gasping out: 'What . . . what do you mean to do with me?'

'Do? Why, nothing.' The fair eyebrows behind the levelled automatic were raised in surprise. 'All I want is to get you talking.'

'Talking!' Robbie repeated. Then it struck him that his enemy would naturally want to get out of him how much he knew and might already have passed on, before putting him out of the way for good.

But Mahogany Brown had lowered the point of his pistol and was going on: 'I caught you napping and sure put the wind up you, didn't I? You were such a sitting pigeon I thought I'd get a laugh out of announcing myself. Come on. Let's crawl back out of sight of those lousy Czechs, so that if one of them happens to look this way he won't spot us.'

As he spoke, he put his gun back in a shoulder holster, turned round and began to scramble away through the scrub.

Robbie was left speechless. He was overwhelmed with relief at the extraordinary turn affairs had taken but utterly at a loss to understand it. After a moment, he began to wriggle after the American until they were over the brow of the hill and again within a hundred yards of the ruins of Ayia Triada. Getting to their feet, they walked the rest of the way, then Mahogany Brown sat himself down on a low wall, took out his cigarette case, offered it to Robbie who shook his head, lit a cigarette and said:

'Now, stop acting like a clam and tell all you know.'

'I ... I don't understand,' Robbie muttered.

'Then it's quite time you did. You damned Limeys are too cagey by half. I'm C.I.A. and in Rhodes I indicated that to you clearly enough, but you wouldn't take a hint. You are British M.I., and Standing Orders are that, when the occasion arises, we should work together.'

Robbie shook his head. 'No, I'm not M.I. I assure you I'm not.'

'Oh, cut it out. You're the nephew of the British Ambassador, aren't you? It's no good telling me that he let you go into this thing without putting you in touch with your own Secret Service.'

'My uncle knows nothing about this. He hasn't the faintest idea what I have been doing these past few weeks.'

'Do you really mean to tell me that you're a "lone wolf" and have been risking your neck snooping on the Czechs for the fun of the thing?'

'Well, not exactly for the fun of it. More because I am convinced that they are up to something that will do neither your country nor mine any good.'

'At least, then, you'll see the sense of our working together.'

'Yes,' Robbie agreed heartily. 'I certainly do. But how did you get on to me?'

'About the end of March, someone in Athens suggested to my Chief at N.A.T.O. that we ought to look into the Greco-Czech tobacco-oil deal. It was hinted at the time that a Britisher had already left the city to investigate some of the sites, but, as there were so many of them, it would be a good thing if our people took an interest too. My Chief put two of us on the job. I've been in Lesbos, Chios, Kos and Samos. The day I got to Rhodes, I saw a piece in the Press about a car smash up in the mountains. Your name was mentioned and that of a Mrs. Barak. We had known for some time that Barak was in charge of this so-called oil prospecting, so it looked to me that you might be the British agent we'd heard talk of. I got through to Athens on the blower from our H.Q. in Rhodes. They had had it directly from the police that you had bumped off a Czech strong-arm man named Cepicka; so odds-on I was right.'

The American paused to stub out his cigarette, then he went on: 'Of course, I was only out for information. I didn't expect to run into you, but it was just on the cards that I might; and so happen I did. I went out to Monolithos to see if the site there was any different from those I'd seen in the other islands further north; and there you were. Hoping you'd had better luck than I had, I hooked on to you, but that was as far as I got. Every time I tried to get you to open, you stone-walled me.'

Robbie frowned. 'You certainly asked us any number of direct questions, but you said nothing to let me know that you were a Central Intelligence Agency man. Why didn't you tell me straight out?'

'Because I believed you to be British M.I. If you had been, you'd have got the cue quickly enough. As you didn't respond, I couldn't be certain that my guess about you had been right. Your having left Athens with Mrs. Barak and still having her in tow seemed a mighty queer set-up. I couldn't figure it out at all. But it was just on the cards that you might be playing along with the

Czechs and naturally I wasn't taking any chances by showing my hand—not with her around.'

'How did you find out for certain, then, that I was playing the same game as yourself?'

'Your suddenly quitting Rhodes for Crete gave me the idea that you might have got on to something here; so I followed. I got in yesterday evening, but I couldn't trace you; so I came out here this morning. I had a hunch that if I sat around for a while, you might show up. You did, and when I saw you stalking those two Czechs, that told me for sure that you were not on their side but on mine.'

'Well, where do we go from here?' Robbie asked.

'We've got to have a long talk: compare notes. Two heads are always better than one in this game. If we argue round all the possible theories we can think of, we may get somewhere, That is, unless you've already solved this riddle?'

'No; I wish to God I had.'

T take it, er . . . well, to call a rose by any other name, Julie Thevanaz is still with you?'

'Yes, she's in a car we've hired, down on the road about a mile away, waiting for me.'

The American sat silent for a few moments, then he said: 'Look, friend. I've no wish to butt in on your private life, and I've no doubt you trust her. But that's no reason why I should. I've no intention of discussing this business in front of her, and before we go any further I want your word that you won't let on to her that I'm anything but an American playboy.'

Robbie shook his head. 'I'm afraid I can't give it. Not if we are going to work together. That would mean my leaving her for hours, perhaps days, and I wouldn't do that without giving her a proper explanation. You see, she's been absolutely marvellous as far as I am concerned. You are right about my having killed Cepicka and being wanted by the police. Without her help, I doubt if I could have kept out of their clutches for twenty-four hours, so-'

'Since you admit to having killed that guy,' Mahogany Brown cut in, 'as I see it, there is only one way you can beat the rap. That is by helping me get the better of the Czechs. If we can pin the goods on them, it is they who will be up before the Judge; then, whatever actually occurred between you and Cepicka, you can plead that it was all part of the job, and put yourself in the clear by pleading self-defence.'

His proposal had exactly the same object as that by which Stephanie had urged Robbie ten days before at Argos to try to save himself, and which they now hoped to achieve by luring Barak to Crete. But Barak might not take the bait, and here was a second life-line. Robbie was desperately tempted to snatch at it but he felt that, after all Stephanie had done for him and with all she had come to mean to him, he could not possibly deceive her in this way. He was about to say so when the American, who had been watching the struggle plainly to be seen on his features, said: