“David…”
“I almost went crazy when you left for Rome. I thought I’d never see you again. All those girls I told you about? They meant nothing to me. I love you. Isn’t that enough?”
“David! Enough! I love you, too…and that is definitely enough. Damn you! I love you too, David…it feels so good, just to say it and to say it again at last. Come on, let’s go!”
Gottschlag and Neuschondorf met Bruno for lunch at the station and told him about the ‘Three Stingers’ set to arrive from Buenos Aires, later in the week.
“They will be coming disguised as priests on a sabbatical — Fathers John, Joseph and James. They’ll fly into Paris and rent a car to drive from down to Munich. All you need to do is make sure David and Miriam came back to Munich. Then the Mossad’s top team will be extinguished forever and the Klement clan can gradually start moving back to Munich for the revolution that will change the world again. Since three bullets hadn’t killed David before, surely three firing at the pair will be sure to succeed. Might as well take care of that Mossad woman as well while they are at it. We can’t be sure whether Hans did any of those killings in their fair city, but it didn’t matter. ‘The Stingers’ can get rid of Hans as well as the Mossad duo and no one would have the slightest idea who they are or where they came from. We think things were finally falling into place. We have to get our hands on Hans and bring him under control and killing him will do just that.”
Bruno was pissed off by Hans’ cavalier attitude. And he was sure he had stolen the Huber family papers. Gottschlag and Neuschondorf could not locate him either. Bruno was beginning to feel all the work rested on his shoulders again. Maybe the stingers could locate Hans and eliminate him. He would hope and wait.
Levi flew to Geneva to meet with Servette after Bruno’s call inviting David and Miriam to Munich because they located Han’s base of operation. Levi asked Servette’s advice. Should he allow the Mossad duo to go to Munich rather than into hiding in Rome?
CHAPTER 31
Peit, yawning, hair sticking out like a disheveled haystack, walked into his kitchen looking for a cup of coffee to open his eyes, he found Josef reading the morning paper. Josef looked up and with a smile from ear to ear that stretching his scared face, shook the front page at the Inspector and pointed to the lead article. Peit took the paper, spread it out on the counter and began reading. He did not even looking up when Josef placed a steaming cup of coffee beside the paper. The silence in the kitchen was audible.
A loud slap on the counter accompanied by a loud, “WELL, I’LL BE DAMNED” broke the early morning silence and he looked at his dark-skinned warrior friend and exclaimed again, “I’ll be dammed!” Returning to the paper he continued reading the article about an investigation by the Grenzschutzgruppe 9 of corruption within the Police department of Munich.
“Did you read this, Josef?”
Josef, sitting at the counter turned to Peit and still grinning, nodded his head in the affirmative.
“I can’t believe it! Why all of a sudden are they investigating Chief Bruno and his boys? Levi and I have been saying all along there was something fishy going on in that German can of worms. And the GRS 9? I can’t believe it! Josef, do you know what the GSG 9 is all about?”
Josef shook his head from side to side facing Peit on the other side of the counter.
“Yes you do. Remember after the Palestine terrorist group Black September kidnapped and killed those Israeli athletes at the ‘72 Olympics and there was a loud outcry against the German police in their inability to deal effectively with that situation? As a consequence, German officials created the GSG 9 so that similar situations in the future could be responded to adequately and professionally.”
Josef was shaking his head up and down now. “Yes I thought you would remember.” I wonder why they have gotten involved now with our situation in Munich? If Levi is unaware of this development, I think I’d better give him a call. What time is it now in Tel Aviv?”
Josef pulled his trusty pad from a hidden pocket in his thawb, thought for a moment and wrote: Just an hour later, Boss — 8:00 a.m.
“If I know Levi, he will already be in his second cup of that terrible Turkish coffee he drinks all day, and worrying what might be going wrong in some part of the world.”
Peit dialed a long number on the telephone hanging on the kitchen wall, waited, and then asked, “Are you awake yet, Levi? Have you seen anything interesting in your local paper this morning? That’s right; I just saw that the GSG 9 is cracking down on our friend Bruno and some of his men. You wouldn’t have had anything to do with that would you?”
Josef could just make out the muffled conversation at the other end of the phone and continued making breakfast for himself.
“When did this all happen, Levi?”
Peit looked at Josef and rolled his eyes.
“How does this possibly connect with the emerald case we have been working on? I know it’s pretty early to know, but I think I will try and get hold of someone in the GSG 9 to see what I can find out — at least I can fill them in on what has been going on from our perspective. And when either of us finds out anything interesting let’s keep the other informed. I wonder where Hans fits into what is going on in Munich. OK, Levi, I’ll let you get back to that grey mud you call coffee, and have a good day!”
Josef stopped eating a piece of toast and looked at Peit with raised eyebrows. Pouring a second cup of coffee from the large French Press, Peit smelled the surging aroma and said, “I am so glad I don’t have to drink that disgusting brew Levi serves in his office. Thank you so much for your gourmet tastes, Josef. What Levi told me was that he has been trying for several months to get the GSG 9 to look into the corruption, as he called it, in the Munich Police Department, especially in Beinschmidt’s terrorist department. I guess the murders of those two Mossad agents who had gone undercover in the department finally tipped the scale. Levi was able to get some action because about twenty years ago a very good friend of his was the very person who started an organization in Israel called the Sayeret Matkal which became the elite Special Forces unit of the Israeli Defense Force.”
Josef waved his arms trying to get Peit’s attention and raised his eyebrows again.
“Hold on Josef, I’m getting to it! That good friend of Levi’s also provided information and leadership to Germany after the ‘72 Munich Olympic debacle and helped them put together the GSG 9 unit. Levi Just put some gentle pressure, as only Levi can do, on his friend, and the wheels began to turn again in Munich. Now what all this means for David, Miriam, Hans and that damn emerald, I have no idea at this point, but we’d better soon find out. Will you get Max to meet me in my office in about an hour, please?”
“Good morning Max, I suppose you’ve read the morning paper and have seen what is going on in the Munich Police Department?”
“Yes I have. Can you fill me in a little more about the details?”
The Inspector pushed his chair back and put his feet on the edge of the desk. “I just finished talking to Ocar Lindner, the current Commander of the GSG 9 and he filled me in as much as her could on the current situation. It seems that after some pushing from Israel and some inside information from the Police Department itself they started a very discreet undercover investigation and found out a number of disturbing facts. It seems that the good ole Chief Beinschmidt has had a long, hidden, sympathy for Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.”