“Any Ideas,” Miriam asked Josef.
He wrote quickly: It doesn’t look to me like you are dressed for battle, so let me knock on the door first. I’m wearing an armored vest and if he opens it, he won’t be expecting a throwing knife in each hand. If he sends the woman to answer the door, I plan to push by her quickly and let him have it with a knife wherever he is. Any better ideas?
David stood up, looked at Josef, and said, “NO, I appreciate you tactics, but he’s mine and I want to take him out — I don’t care what Survette says.”
Miriam looked at the two warriors facing each other and knew that she was a better shot than David, but doubted that she could beat the blades thrown by Josef.
“David, I certainly understand your feelings toward Hans, but let’s follow the Inspector’s request that we not kill Hans, at least not right away.”
David glared at Miriam. “Whose side are you on, anyway, partner?”
“Yours of course, but I suspect Hans won’t be taken quietly and it may take all three of us, especially if we what to save the woman.”
David shook his head. “Two against one, I guess I know when I’m out numbered.
However, mark my word; if that bastard makes one false move, I’ll blast him to Sheol, OK? Josef, I guess you get the door first. I will be slightly behind you and low to the ground. Miriam stay on Josef’s left just beside the door and try to work around Emily if she comes to the door. OK, team, let’s do this.
Josef, with a throwing blade in each hand approached door #7. David crotched down to the right of Josef, his left hand cradling his 9 mm Polymer Jericho, while Miriam was ready on the other side of the door pointing her Jericho “B” with both hands. Josef knocked door with the butt of one of his throwing knives and stepped back a couple of feet. Silence! Josef knocked again, and stepped back again. The door opened a crack and a female voice said in a trembling voice, “Who is it?” David reached over and pulled the door open violently. Josef dropped one of his knives, grabbed the woman’s arm and yanked her through the door, shoving her to the ground. Gunfire erupted from both inside and outside the apartment. Miriam fired several times, as did David, returning the shots from inside the apartment. Hearing a door slam, Miriam shouted, “He’s gone into another room. David knelt down and gently asked the sobbing woman what other rooms were in her apartment.
“Only a small kitchen and a bedroom,” She whimpered.
“I can see into the kitchen,” Miriam said. “He’s gone into the bedroom. Is there a window out to a fire escape in that room?” The woman nodded in the affirmative, her eyes filled with fear. David touched Josef’s shoulder and pointed to the bedroom door. Josef nodded and quickly headed in that direction, David turned and ran back out of the apartment shouting to Miriam cradling the petrified Emily, “I think he’s gone out the bedroom window and trying for the alley to the stairs. Bounding down the stairs two at a time, raced out the front door and sprinted around the building towards the alley.
Dusk was beginning to fill the sky as David fan down the block toward the alley between the buildings. As he rounded the corner, he saw a figure ride a fire ladder down to the ground firing several shots in David’s direction. Flattening himself in a shallow doorway, he returned a couple of rounds. Peeking around the doorway, he saw the figure hit the ground limping toward the other end of the alley. David stepped out of the doorway, took a two-hand stance and began firing at the fleeing figure. The figure groaned, stumbled, turned, and fired again at David. David, without moving fired back and the figure fell to his knees, said in a loud voice, “You Jew bastard!”, got up again and continued running into the darkening shadows. When David reached the street at the end of the ally, the figure had disappeared.
Josef at that very moment came around the corner, shaking his head when he reached David. He touched David’s shoulder and mouthed the word SORRY over and over.
David looked up and down the street and the realized that a city bus had just passed by and Hans had probably been able to get on it. He was gone! David cursed at the top of his lungs at the waxing moon.
He and Josef walked back up to Emily’s apartment and found that Miriam, with Servette’s help had taken Emily into her living room.
“She took a shot in the right thigh from Hans. We’ve stopped the blood and the ambulance is on its way.” Miriam explained to David who was now sitting on the flood, his head in his hands.
“I shot at him over and over, but the bastard got away.”
“How did he do that?” Miriam asked.
“Would you believe it, after I shot him he ran to the end of the alley and evidently commandeered a city bus that was passing by. By the time I got there, the bus was on its way and I couldn’t catch it. He was that close to me and I let that son of a bitch get away. That son of a bitch got away!”
CHAPTER 34
Early the next morning, in the Geneva Police station sitting around the conference table, littered with Styrofoam coffee cups, paper plates with bits of leftover food, half-full bottles of water and empty soda cans were eight human beings that had bonded together during the past several months, seemingly because of a green crystal no bigger than a candy bar. In spite of the thick haze of smoke, coming from one end of the table, the atmosphere was up-beat and expectant. Conversation flowed easily.
Sitting at the head of the table, Inspector Servette banged on the table with a soda can and spoke. “I know you’re all wondering why I have invited you here today.” Several of those around the table snickered.
Miriam smiled and said, “You just want us to join the Geneva Police Department, don’t you Inspector?”
“Well I wouldn’t mind that at all, but I know Levi would object to that possibility.” Levi just smiled.
“I really want to wrap up this caper we have all been on for so many months, years I might add, and make sure all the loose ends have been taken care of. Now where do we stand? Dr. Franz, where do we stand concerning the Wittlesbach Emerald?”
“Thank you Inspector, and thank all of you for helping to find the proper resting place for that wonderful emerald. If you are not aware of it, according to Max’s detective work in Munich, and I won’t go into all the details of his search, he met with a Herr Streun, curator of the Residenz Museum in Munich. Would you believe that is the very place to where the poor unfortunate Kleins willed their emerald? Not only that, but that Museum is the same place that the emerald was on display before it came into the possession of the Huber family, many, many years ago. SO — in spite of Hans, and thanks to the Klein’s, it seems our precious Wittelsbach Emerald will finally go home after all these years. Christies is making arrangements to sent it, or to take it, to the Residenz Museum via armored car as soon as they can, Right, Dr. Franz?”
“That’s correct,” The bearded, bespectacled man said as he furiously waved Levi’s pipe smoke away from his face. “And may I say we are, not only very glad to be rid of this troublesome gem, but to be able to send it back into the waiting arms of the Residenz where it belomgs.
Clapping filled the conference room but the accompanied animated conversation was cut short by the Inspector’s soda can banging again on the table.
“That is wonderful news, and all of you are to be congratulated. I understand that official congratulations will be sent to each of you from both the Residenz Museum and the City of Munich. However I must inform you that the final resting place of the Wittelsbach Emerald will not be mentioned publically n the media at all, for security purposes. You understand.”