“Then we have to get someone in there on the ground,” Reuters replied simply.
“That’s easy to say, but not quite so easy to do.” Schiller pointed out, shaking his head as much at the audacity of the idea as any negative opinion. “It’d be easier to get at Churchill than get someone through the security they’ll have there!”
“Maybe we could get some inspiration from Jack Higgins, Albert?” Reuters chuckled softly, alluding to the author of one of his favourite novels (The Eagle Has Landed) about a WW2 plot to kidnap or kill Winston Churchill.
“Yes, they’ll have top class security…” he conceded, becoming serious again in an instant “…and we’ve had seven years. You both know how much effort we put into building the strength of the Abwehr right from the start… and there are other things I also recall from my younger days with the Bundeswehr: the rather nasty lessons that our new-friends who used to be Soviets taught us in the ‘bad old days’ regarding deep-cover intelligence operatives for example. I think perhaps it’s time to activate an asset or two.” The other man’s faces lit with understanding as he caught what Reuters was alluding to — assets Schiller had completely forgotten existed.
“Oh, that’s nasty, Kurt,” Schiller almost chuckled at the thought. “That’s really nasty…!”
Any further chance of conversation was interrupted by an unexpected knock at the bulkhead doorway that led to Reuters’ travelling office and the rear of the plane. Both men immediately rose to their feet, and the Reichsmarschall took a few seconds to straighten his uniform before bidding entry with a single word.
“Come…” he called in a serious voice, and the hatch opened inward to reveal one of the Wehrmacht grenadier guards that travelled in Reuters’ entourage.
“My apologies for the interruption at so late an hour, Herr Reichsmarschall, but I have two men from The Party waiting to see you: Herren Zeigler and Strauss.” It was implicitly understood that the soldier meant the NSDAP when referring to ‘The Party’, and the two men mentioned were high enough in the Nazi Party hierarchy for the guard to recognise them and accord them a reasonable level of fear and respect accordingly.
“It’s quite all right, Rudi: let them through,” Reuters directed with a wave of his hand and a resigned sigh. The pair weren’t exactly what he would’ve classed as welcome guests at the best of times, however he also wasn’t exactly surprised by their presence.
The pair that entered the small room a moment or two later were as disparate a pair as one might be likely to see. Both were men in their early sixties, and both were well-dressed in dark grey tailored suits, and at that point any similarity ceased completely. Oswald Zeigler was a thin, frail-looking man with hawkish features who stood well over 180cm tall, while his companion, Dieter Strauss stood at least a full head shorter, was stocky to the point of being quite rotund, and had a full, round face that falsely promised open friendliness and belied the cold and calculating intellect Reuters personally knew lurked behind the man’s smallish brown eyes.
“Herr Reichsmarschall,” Zeigler began with an obviously false familiarity. “How kind of you to take time out of your busy schedule to see us…”
“A pleasure of course, Herr Zeigler, as always,” Reuters countered with an equal lack of sincerity as he accepted the offered handshake. He gestured to the empty cots with an outstretched arm. “Please… take a seat…” He almost smiled. “I’ve no alcohol here, but I can offer tea or coffee…”
“Nothing for either of us, thank you,” Zeigler countered with a dismissive wave. “We’ll not keep you long.”
“How can we be of assistance this evening?” Reuters got straight to the point as each of the four took a cot and sat down.
“The rest of the ‘Eagles have asked Dieter and I to have a quiet word with you regarding the arrival of these fighter jets at Scapa Flow,” Zeigler’s tone was soft, sibilant and well-suited to his almost reptilian coolness.
“News travels fast from the front these days,” Reuters observed with a faint, dry smile. He’d known for years that there were intelligence leaks in his administration but had never been able to pinpoint the exact source.
“It’s in everyone’s interest that we keep our fingers on the pulse, Kurt,” Strauss countered without any humour whatsoever, “and without our own avenues of gathering information, we’d be completely in the dark about the course of this war! It’s been weeks since we received anything official from your office, and every request for an audience is refused!”
“You’ll excuse me if I prioritise the prosecution of a world war over sending you a weekly ‘newsletter’, or inviting you all up to the front for tea and cakes,” Reuters retorted unapologetically.
“I’d hope there’s no need to remind the Reichsmarschall that none of this would’ve been possible, had it not been for the initial inspiration and financial backing of the Neue Adler ‘Board of Directors’?”
“No need at all,” Reuters responded after the barest of pauses, his thin smile becoming tight-lipped and distinctly grim at the obvious insult. “Just as I’m sure there’s no need to point out that as Reichsmarschall and Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, I now answer directly to our Führer, Adolf Hitler.” He changed tack before the heating discussion degenerated into full-blown conflict. “I’m also certain that you two didn’t come over here so we could all argue about ancient history.” He forced a conciliatory smile back onto his face and made it almost believable. “You’ve learned of the arrivals at Scapa Flow… what else did you need to know?”
“The Directors want assurances that this change in circumstances won’t affect the timetable of our conquest in the west.”
“If that’s your greatest collective concern, Oswald, then I’m more than happy to assuage it right here and now: on the subject of the upcoming invasion of Great Britain, we all appear to be in agreement. I can guarantee you there’ll be no delays to Unternehmen Seelöwe as a result of this minor glitch in our planning.” That news produced an almost visible sigh of relief from both men.
“That is reassuring,” Strauss conceded, almost managing a smile of his own. “Unlike the Führer, we clearly recognise the necessity of removing Britain as a threat prior to any move against the Soviets.”
“That’s something we all recognise,” Reuters agreed without reservation. “Please advise the rest of the ‘Board’ that these newcomers present no further danger to us, and that there are already plans in place to deal with them.”
“Glad to see we’re all on the same page on this,” Zeigler said finally as he rose from the makeshift seat, Strauss following his lead as he forced a smile that was as insincere as Reuters’. “We’ll bother you no longer tonight then.”