Griffin W.E.B. - Honor Bound 02 - Blood and Honor

Lieutenant Sawyer exhausted the thirty-six-image roll of 35-mm film in the Leica and changed film. For reasons he could not imagine, this caused him a good deal of difficulty finding the launch again in the Leica's viewfinder. The mystery was explained when he saw that one telescoping leg of his tripod—not properly tightened—had closed on itself while he was changing film cartridges. He tightened the leg firmly and had no further trouble.

He very carefully conserved his film, so that by the time the launch ran aground on the shore he had twenty-eight remaining images to photograph the actual off-loading of the crates from the boat, and the loading of the crates aboard the waiting truck.

He was very pleased with himself. He was going to get everything Colonel Graham had asked him to get. When the film was processed and printed, there would be absolute proof that a boat from the Comerciante del Oceano Pacifico —the legend was clearly painted in black on her sides—had landed on the shore of Samboromb?n Bay, and had there off-loaded what appeared to be six wooden crates. And all of this activity was clearly under the supervision of an officer wearing an SS uniform and another in civilian clothing; but whom Enrico had identified as the German Military Attach?.

Since there was no amplification in the viewfinder of the Leica, Sawyer raised the binoculars to his eyes with his right hand and watched the SS colonel jump out of the boat and wade the last few feet ashore. There he triumphantly gave that absurd Nazi salute before enthusiastically pumping the hand of the German Military Attach?.

The Leica was equipped with an automatic film-advance device that permitted him to make shot after shot simply by pressing a thumb-operated shutter-triggering device.

Sailors from the Oceano Pacifico then jumped out of the boat and started to manhandle the first of the crates out of the boat.

There was a sudden, wholly unexpected, painfully loud explosion in Lieutenant Sawyer's ears, followed immediately by another.

Sawyer looked at the two Argentinians who had escorted him here. Both were quickly working the actions of their just-fired rifles.

"What in the name of God are you doing?" Sawyer asked in both surprise and indignation.

They both took fresh sight pictures.

"Stop that!!" Sawyer ordered as he put the binoculars to his eyes again.

He saw that both the SS officer and the Military Attach? were down on the beach. Both looked as if their heads had exploded.

A blond-headed man jumped out of the launch and ran to one of the downed men. Sawyer decided he was probably an officer from the Oceano Pacifico.

There came again the crack of the rifles, and Lieutenant Sawyer saw the body the officer was kneeling over jump as a second high-powered bullet struck it.

"My God, what have you done?" Sawyer asked.

Both old soldiers had pulled themselves down from their firing positions at the military crest of the hill.

Sawyer looked at the beach again. But not for long. He was knocked off his feet by the Argentine called Enrico, and dragged off the crest of the hill.

"We go now," Enrico said in heavily accented English.

"My God, man, do you realize what you have done?"

Enrico did not speak English, but he understood the question nevertheless.

"My Coronel, mi Teniente," he said, "and my beloved sister may now rest among the saints in peace throughout eternity. Their murders have been avenged."

"What? What?"

"We go now, Teniente," Enrico repeated, and started to walk down the hill to where they had tethered their horses.

[FOUR]

The Embassy of the German Reich

Avenida Cordoba

Buenos Aires, Argentina

1G50 19 April 1943

"Captain, we have of course spoken with Major von Wachtstein," Ambassador Manfred Alois Graf von Lutzenberger said, "but he is—with good reason—upset about the tragic events of this morning, and we thought you might be able to tell us something he didn't."

And I pray God that your story won't give Gradny-Sawz grounds to suspect that Peter is somehow involved in what happened.

"There really isn't much to tell, Herr Ambassador," Capitan de Banderano said. "We had just reached the shore. Major von Wachtstein wasn't even out of the boat when the Communists struck—"

"The Communists?" Gradny-Sawz interrupted.

"You don't think this is the work of the Communists?" de Banderano asked.

"I'm prone to think the Americans are the ones responsible," Gradny-Sawz said, just a little sarcastically, and then had a thought: "Tell me something, if you please. Captain. Did Major von Wachtstein do anything at all to suggest he expected trouble when you landed?"

The question visibly surprised de Banderano.

"No," he said. "He didn't know where we were going until Standartenf?hrer Goltz told him."

"And when was that"

"At the time he showed me his map," de Banderano said, "he said something to the effect that it was time von Wachtstein should know where they were going."

Gradny-Sawz grunted.

"You're not suggesting that Major von Wachtstein had something to do . . ." de Banderano said.

"I made no such suggestion," Gradny-Sawz said.

"Baron von Gradny-Sawz is simply doing his duty, Captain. Until we find out who is responsible for this, all are suspect."

"All I know is that Major von Wachtstein risked his life to aid Standartenf?hrer Goltz and Oberst Gr?ner," de Banderano said. "And to guard the special materiel. I could not leave the helm of the launch, of course, and I am ashamed to say that my crew did not behave admirably. It was von Wachtstein—"

"How do you mean, your crew did not behave admirably?" Gradny-Sawz interrupted.

"When Standartenf?hrer Goltz was struck, it was in the forehead. The shot—forgive the indelicacy—opened his head like a ripe melon. There was blood and brain tissue all over. My men jumped back into the boat. Major von Wachtstein, on the other hand, jumped out of the boat while the firing was still going on, and rushed to help."

"How many shots were fired?" Gradny-Sawz asked.

"I don't know. At least six, possibly eight or more."

"Odd," von Lutzenberger said. "Von Wachtstein said there were only four shots."

"How exactly did von Wachtstein help?" Gradny-Sawz asked.

"He went first to Standartenf?hrer Goltz, saw that he was dead, and called that fact to me. Then he went to the other officer. . . ."

"Oberst Gr?ner," von Lutzenberger supplied.

"Yes. And while he was bent over him, there was another shot. In my mind clearly intended for von Wachtstein. He didn't let it bother him. He showed great presence of mind."

"What did you mean the second shot was 'clearly intended for von Wachtstein'?" von Lutzenberger asked.

"The Oberst had been shot in the head also. And was clearly dead. There would have been no point in shooting him again. And the shot didn't miss von Wachtstein by the width of my hands when it struck the Oberst for the second time."

"And the great presence of mind?" von Lutzenberger asked.

"Again, excuse the indelicacy. But von Wachtstein, who had every reason to be terrified—this was moments after the bullet missed him by the width of my hands—never let the importance of the special materiel out of his mind. Before he carried the bodies to the launch—and I am ashamed to say not one of my men had the courage to leave the launch to help him—he reloaded the one crate that had been off-loaded. A lesser man, knowing the two were dead, would have been content to leave them on the beach. But von Wachtstein insisted that we had to take them with us."

"He is a courageous officer," Gradny-Sawz said. "He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross from the hands of the F?hrer himself, you know."

"Standartenf?hrer Goltz told me that. I had the feeling that they were fond of one another. I could tell how difficult it was, on the way back to my ship, for von Wachtstein to retain his composure."