Watching Fritz

Chapter Forty-Seven

A light rain fell on Thursday morning as David drove the Lancia down the lane from Sonnenhang with Franz beside him and Rick and Manny in the rear seat. Hans followed in the Daimler van with Ernst and Dolf. When David turned left onto the road, Franz pointed right. "Isn't Germany that way?"

"It is, but it would appear odd to the border guards for us to be driving through Schaffhausen from Bienne. Our story would raise suspicions, and that's the last thing we want."

Franz nodded. "Many layers of thinking required for this. I'm glad you're doing it and not me."

David chuckled. "I have the advantage by being familiar with the roads and the geography. But the thinking is simply looking at each step and imagining how others would see us. Careful observation is vital to our safety. Take the time learn what would appear normal."

"Then do nothing that would seem out of place."

"Precisely. That's why we'll be spending the next two days doing little but looking around the area and familiarising ourselves with its normal activities. We'll play visiting Swiss salesmen enjoying the city as we learn how to blend in."

"Tough duty." Franz chuckled. "Does this mean Manny can go out and try to cop some Sheilas?"

"I don't think that way no more. Not since Maria told me why it ain't ever worked." Manny blushed. "Strewth. Never did cop one. Only paid."

"You can try out her advice." Franz hefted his crotch. "I know I'm going to at first opportunity."

The banter continued among all four as they drove, and at ten twenty, David wheeled into a garage in Basel, watching in the mirrors as Hans pulled in behind him. "We'll fill our fuel tanks here; gasoline is more expensive in Germany."

The border crossing into Germany was easy, and they continued northward, pausing shortly past noon for lunch in Offenburg. David pointed across the square to the train station as they walked toward the gasthaus. "This is the start of the line that we blew up near Triburg. Who wants to go in to inquire about getting a train to Donaueschingen?"

The men all laughed.

"No, I'm serious. Play an innocent traveller. Think of a plausible story. I'll let you all concoct something while we eat, and the best one gets to do it. You'll be amazed by the additional information people offer to simple questions." He patted his breast. "I'll let you use my pocket atlas for geographic reference."

They sat at a large round table quietly sipping their lagers and thinking of plausible stories while waiting for their weißwürste und spätsle. David pointed out that the story may never be needed, but one must always be contrived well in advance in case it is. The men shared their covers as they finished eating, and the story Ernst had conceived about visiting his relatives in Strasbourg and now needing to visit others in Donaueschingen, won him the honour of going to the rail station.

"But I had the same idea of visiting family," Dolf said as the rest of them walked back toward the vehicles. "Why was his chosen and not mine?"

"Your relatives were here in Offenburg," David replied. "This is a small town, and the agent might know everyone, and he might ask who the family is. A tiny detail such as this could tip the cart. Ernst's family is in Strasbourg, across the Rhine in Alsace, and though it's less than ten miles away, it's highly unlikely someone working in the train station here would know anyone there.

Dolf nodded. "And it's a large city, and the language is different. A lot to learn about this game. Subtle things."

"Subtle but vital." David glanced at his watch. "We've another hundred and thirty kilometres to drive. It's cold out here; let's get into the autos and start them warming as we wait."

A few minutes later, Ernst came running across the square with a huge smile on his face. David slid his window open and pointed to the lorry. "You can tell us when we get to the hotel."

As they drove northward, David played a game, presenting situations and having each come up with believable cover stories, then discussing and refining them. The time passed quickly, and a little after three thirty, David crossed the Rhine from Mannheim, and he stopped the Lancia in front of Wittelsbacher Hof in Ludwigshafen, watching as Hans pulled in behind him.

"I'll go in and confirm the reserved rooms. Shouldn't take more than five minutes." He got out and walked to the van and told Hans the same thing.

Four minutes later, he was back, and he explained the arrangements to the six men. "I've reserved three rooms here for three nights. Grab your bags and follow me." He took his satchel from the boot and led the way in, picked up the keys at the desk and handed them to Rick. "You're in rooms three, five and eight. Take your bags up, sort out who's with who, then come down and meet me in the Trinkhalle." He nodded across the lobby. "We'll discuss plans as we relax."

David walked into the nearly empty public room, and after surveying it, he asked the fräulein to help him push two tables together in the corner. Then he ordered seven steins of lager. The men joined him at the table shortly before the young woman returned.

Once they had their lager, David raised his stein. "To success." He took a long draught, then wiped the foam off his moustache before he continued. "We're in Ludwigshafen, a relatively new city in Germany, rapidly expanding in both size and wealth. It's doubled in population each of the last two decades, and it now numbers a hundred thousand citizens, most of them wealthy compared to the rest of the country."

"I could see that as we drove in," Hans said. "A lot of posh places."

"This is at the heart of their chemical industry, and across the Rhine is the automotive centre of the German Empire."

Rick set his stein down and wiped his mouth "Seems a great place for us to start."

"In more ways than one. Farther along the road from where we turned onto the Rhine Bridge, is the centre of Mannheim and beyond it is the Kaserne of the Kaiser Wilhelm I Regiment. An entire battalion of them is in barracks there, employed at guarding the important chemical plants and the munitions factories in this area. I got a list of many of those sites when I was here last week."

David took another draught of lager, then he smiled at the men. "With more than a thousand young soldiers across the river in Mannheim as competition, I thought it would be better to have you stay here where men are in short supply, and where the city's daughters might be eager to meet some young Swiss gentlemen."