Greg Iles - The Spandau Phoenix

already in place."

Heydrich wiped his brow @with relief. His hand was shaking. "My Fuhrer,

a disturbing thought has occurred to me. It concerns the 'double'

program. If Reichsfiihrer Himmler is indeed a traitor, it is all the

more frightening. I think you should place all the doubles from the

Practical School under my direct command." ,What the devil are you

talking about, Heydrich?" Hitler scowled in confusion.

"My Fuhrer, consider this: if, God forbid, a traitor succeeded in having

you assassinated, the doubles could be of inestimable value to that

traitor in gaining the confidence of the people and the army- if the

traitor could present a trusted comrade of yours-Reichminister Hess, for

example-a true people Nazi who would stand at his side like an ally, the

might well accept the traitor's authority- Himmler is CeTtainly devious

enough to have worked this out."

This terrifying possibility seemed to shrink Hitler in his very clothes.

"I want every double shot immediately!" he cried. "Such a risk cannot

be tolerated!"

Heydrich replied very softly. "MY Fuhrer, perhaps YOu might reconsider?

Our political doubles represent a tremendous investment of time and

resources. I believe they will ar with Russia. You prove invaluable to

us in the coming w could remove the danger simply by placing them under

my direct command."

Hitler's black eyes bored relentlessly into Heydrich's face, probing for

disloyalty- After a full minute of silence, he said, ,Permission

granted." Then he added, "For now."

tar ri I tu an tried Heydrich s ed in surp se as Hit er med d hu uP the

frozen path. "MY Fuhrer!" he calledhastening up the slope after him.

"Nothing can stop us now! Failure is not a possibility!"

Hitler paused twenty meters from the Berghof- In a flat

6 pie d,

voice suddenly drained of anger, he said, "I am ase Heydrich.

When Barbarossa is completed, I shall not forget you. Once Russia's

vast lands lie under our control, I will need a man of iron to rule

her-a Reich-protector I can trustAre you that man, Heydrich?"

"As you command, my Fuhrer!"

Without a word Hitler turned and marched up the steps to the Berghof

Heydrich stood motionless in the snow. The promise of a

Reich-Protectorship made his heart pound, but a darker dread still ate

at his confidence. in the face of Hitler's wrath, he had quailed from

voicing his deepest doubt about Plan Mordred-his nagging suspicion that

the Fuhrer's English "sympathizers"-whoever they might be-were actually

I ure Germany into a for Britain nation, any human effort.

But w] it? The game had to be played sure that his part ran smoothly.

From this moment forward, Heydrich existed almost without sleep, without

food. The Fuhrer had extended the light of power to him, and he moved

through his days like he was sworn to a holy quest. His allies in that

quest were an embittered Russian expatriate, and ' a one-eyed German

agent living in the heart of beleaguered London. All @ lived only that

a fat English warrior and a shy English king might die.

In Hitler's small study on the second floor of the Berghof, Rudolf Hess

anxiously awaited his Fuhrer. Dressed in his gray uniform, he sat

behind a desk littered with architectural plans and sketches. Most of

the sketches were by Hitler; Hess recognized the cramped, untutored

style. The building plans, though, had been drafted by Albert Speer.

Stronglined and well-proportioned, the great avenue of the Fuhrer's new

Berlin stretched across the desk like a blueprint of the future.

The magnificent Imperial Palace, the Triumphal Arch that would dwarf the

one in Paris@l seemed the natural fruit of the labor of the new Reich, a

mighty city built to endure for a thousand years. Or so it see@ed on

those happier occasions when Hess had studied these plans in the past.

He would never look at them in quite the same way again.

The Party and the Reich that he had once viewed as a united force-an

unstoppable juggernaut destined for immortality-he now saw as a fragile

alliance of ambitious men held together only by their common fear of

Adolf Hitler. Since Hess's momentous meeting with the Fuhrer in

January, both Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Goring had deduced the real

reason for Hess's training flights. At Gestapo headquarters in Berlin,

Hess had conducted a conversation with Reichsfiihrer Himmler that could

only be described as a war of nerves.

The smell of treason had hung in the room like cordite. As the two men

spoke in measured tones, Hess had realized that Himmler's office was, in

every sense of the word, a battlefield. In the narrow confines of four

walls, words became bullets, names flashed like tracers, and the

silences were mined as lethally as the sands around Tobruk. Himmler had

claimed that the British would never make peace with Hitler, but might

make peace with Germany if he himself sat in the seat of power.

Then-as Hess's rage boiled over-Himmler had disguised his power grab by

claiming it would be a mere strategy to trick the British into making

peace. Hess had not been fooled. Behind Himmler's bland face and

pince-nez glasses, Hess had glimpsed a power lust more sickening than

the greed of any Jew. He had left the Prinz-Albrechtstrasse with no

doubt that Heinrich Himmler was a traitor. Goring had been very

different, if The conversation wi only in terms of style. Himmler had

begun his interrogation on an obscure pretext, and arrived at his main

point only after circumlocuting a veritable maze of half-truths and

theolike the fighter nes- Goring charged in with guns blazing, ace he

was. in substance, however, Goring's assessment of the British position

had been remarkably close to Himmler's-no peace with Germany, ever.

Unlike Himmler, though, the corpulent Luftwaffe chief had not suggested

treason. Hess recalled Goring's last words with grudging admiration: If

the Fuhrer wants to invade Russia now, it is our duty to stand by him to

the end, whether the reward be ambrosia or cyanide.

It's war now, Hess, war to the bloody end!

Yet Goring's opinion of Germany's future had been plain to see.

He had pronounced Hess's intended peace mission to England suicidal,

then declared that if HitIfr attacked Russia before finishing Britain,

all was lost. Hess thanked God that

nded on

the @iihrer was in good health. If the future depe men like Himmler and

Goring, the Fatherland was indeed lost.

"Rudi?" said a soft voice. e doorway of the Hess turned quickly.

Silhouetted in the study, Adolf Hitler stood watching him intently.

Hess tried to read the black eyes, but they were, as ever, inscrutable.

Regarding Hess from the door, Hitler felt a strange, almost paternal

sadness. Hess's broad shoulders, strong jaw, and high Aryan forehead

fanned the flames of pride in his breast. The resolute eyes looked back

at him with a frankness that seemed to say, "I am ready for anything!

Command and I shall obey!"

But was Hess ready for anything? Was he ready for Plan Mordred?

Explaining the operational details of the mission would be easy.

Hess would admire the plan for its boldness and intricacy. Technical

details fascinated him. But the rest"My Fuhrer," Hess said abruptly, "I

am curious about something. It's been two weeks since I informed you of

Reichsfiihrer Himmler's seditious conversation, yet nothing seems to

have been done. Are you delaying punishment for some reason?"