Colonel Berry

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sonnenhang, Switzerland — Friday, 21 April 1916

After an early breakfast on Friday morning, David and Michael loaded luggage into the car, then with Maria beside him and their grandparents in the rear seat, David drove northward to Schaffhausen. 

At twenty past ten, they arrived at Sonnenhang, and as they drove into the courtyard, Maria nodded toward the Daimler van. "That's Tante's. Appears the men aren't yet back from Germany."

David pursed his lips and nodded. "Looks not." While he manoeuvred, the Lancia beside the van, he thought, Mechanical problems? Surely not apprehended. Their cover is solid. The men are strong if they're interrogated...

Maria's voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he focused on her words, "...may have driven into town for supplies."

"The shops and the market are all closed for Good Friday." He turned off the engine and checked the other switches, then he got out to open the rear door for Mary and assist her from the car as he continued thinking, Hope it's only mechanical. 

David led the way across the courtyard toward the kitchen door. "Bethia will know. Leave the luggage for later." He surprised Rachel and Bethia as he entered the kitchen. "Any word from Hans and Greg?"

Rachel looked up from rolling dough into long buns and laughed. "A fine greeting. But yes, lots of words, according to Georg."

"Mechanical trouble?"

"Georg hadn't mentioned any." Rachel chuckled. "He told me they're delighted with how well their equipment worked."

"When had he spoken with them?"

"Last evening when they returned."

"They're back? Where's the van?"

She shrugged. "Dolf must be teaching another one to drive."

"Sorry." David blew out a loud breath, shaking his head. "I've been reading reports of barbaric interrogation procedures, and I allowed my mind to —"

"Welcome back, all of you." Bethia wiped her hands on the towel in her apron ties, then patted David on the shoulder as she moved past him to hug her sister. "I'm so pleased you've come. Sit. Sit. All of you. I'll put the kettle on."

After they had all greeted, David turned to Michael. "I've done it again, haven't I? Allowed the information from the intelligence reports to send me off on a tangent."

"I think that's good. You're aware of a much broader perspective now, and you see a greater range of possibilities." He shrugged. "Focusing first on the worst outcome is likely the safest. Eliminate it if it's false, handle it if it's real. If you think only of the most favourable outcomes, the worst one will sneak up and surprise you."

"True. Disconcerting, though."

"That comes with greater responsibility."

David nodded, then glanced over his shoulder. "I need to go down and talk with the men. Satisfy my curiosity."

"May I come with you?" Maria squeezed his arm. "I'm curious as well."

"Later. I need to find out about their main mission. We have the entire weekend to learn the rest." He leaned and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back shortly." 

Two minutes later, he knocked on the door of the mess, and within a few seconds, it was opened by Günter. "Great timing, Sir. We were just now planning the best way to coordinate this, and who would do which."

Georg looked up from the map as David entered. "Welcome back, Sir. Hans has just finished plotting the sites, and he started describing them for us. We'll have him begin again."

As David leaned over the map, Hans pointed, "We couldn't see a safe way to approach the one east of Speyer, so we scratched it off the list. But your other four are fine, and we found five more good ones."  

He ran his finger from mark to mark. "Except for the isolated one up here by Worms and the gap here at Speyer, the sites are between eight and ten kilometres apart. We thought the noise and the fires will be little noticed from one site to the next, so we'll have an opportunity to move away and blend in before many realise the extent of our work."

He tapped the map. "The sites we chose all have an eating or drinking place nearby. A bar, a diner, a gasthaus, whatever. We thought the best way would be to cut the fuses to lengths which will give us comfortable time to be inside with a drink or some food when the blasts happen."

Georg ran his finger up and down the line of black Xs. "With these nine events spread over more than eighty kilometres, it will be a long while before anyone sees similarities except for the explosions."

David nodded. "And after the excitement? After the drink or meal? When everyone is wary and observant? You don't belong there, and that will be noticed. Walking away, you'll be apprehended. Stay, and you'll be suspected."

"Hans had foreseen this," Georg said. "And he confirmed with Frau... What's her name, Hans?"

"Frau Schneider. She told me she has fourteen cars available, so nine should be no problem. Dolf has been teaching us all how to drive, and he's almost done. We thought it safest to each have a car."

"And to where will you head?"

"Westward. Away from the river to the hotels we're staying in. We thought it best to continue playing fuse salesmen for a few days. Allow the initial frenzy to subside."

David nodded. "The border guards would be on alert, so it makes sense to remain a while. Come back separately, or in pairs. By train. Maybe abandon the van there. Take the number plates off and bury them."

"Or not drive it up. We had thought of going by train to Mannheim."

David nodded again. "Yes, of course. From Weil-am-Rhein, or better, from Müllheim. Away from the border. You need to get the explosives across. Go separately or in pairs. I like where this is headed. Let's continue expanding upon it." He chuckled as he looked across at the stove. "A coffee would assist my thinking."