“And we are going to have to find another telephone,” Schloss commented. “Von Rundstedt is going to wonder what happened to us.”

  “And we need to get further away from Berlin,” Rainer commented. “We cannot allow you to be caught or killed, Herr Reich Chancellor.”

  “And I do not want to be caught or killed,” Schloss replied. “That would likely ruin my day.”

  Rainer suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “And if you had left Berlin when I told you to, we would not be having these problems,” he hissed.

  Schloss looked over at Rainer in surprise. There was no question the Reichsprotektor was upset at the delay in leaving Berlin, but he rarely lost his composure like that. Rainer then bent over and held both hands to his head with a groan.

  “Karl, are you all right?”

  “No, I am not all right. My head is killing me. The most important person in the country is in an impossible situation, and I am at a loss as to what to do.”

  Strang twisted around in the front seat. “Try to relax, Herr Reichsprotektor. I will do my best to get us to safety.”

  Rainer leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes with a sigh. Schloss stared at him and then looked back at Strang, who watched them from the front seat. He shrugged and twisted back around. It looked as though some of the traffic had cleared off during the night. While it was still heavy on this road, at least it was moving. Binns was able to maintain a steady kilometers per hour.

  At Strang’s direction, the driver pulled off in Beelitz, and Schloss contacted the OKW by telephone. They agreed to dispatch another aircraft to Wittenberg, and Binns promised to do his best to get them there by midday.

  Back on the road, Schloss considered their situation. Rainer was not tracking well and probably needed to be in bed. Strang had initiative and seemed to be the picture of the efficient German; however, Schloss suspected he was a bit brittle under stress. Jan Binns, however, had the personality of a phlegmatic German farmer. He seemed able to figure out what he needed to do and get on with the job. Schloss decided that once they got to Frankfurt, he was going to keep the Corporal around. He had made himself useful. And probably he should continue to use Strang. The man was arrogant and condescending, but he was also efficient.

  Schloss’s only concern was whether the current adventure was over yet.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  March 5, 1944; 9 AM

  Buckingham Palace

  London, England, UK

  Collin Marty sat in his small office outside the Queen’s suite of offices and wondered how he would find the fortitude to get through the day. After returning home from Judaea, he immediately went to his office the following day. He hoped the work would be anodyne, and besides, he couldn’t bear to sit in the house he had purchased for Clarice and where she had just started to make it hers. She had such plans for the place.

  He had been joyous when rescued by the Judaean operatives, but that delight had turned to ash when his rescuers told him that his wife had not survived the ordeal. He had shrugged off the ministrations of both Halifax and Harriman when they arrived in Tel Aviv, insisting that he would be fine. His years in the public school had taught him to keep the British stiff upper lip regardless of what he felt inside. And so, that is what he did.

  Margaret had welcomed him back effusively and was sincere in her condolences over Clarice’s death. Colin thanked her for her concern. He was glad to get that out of the way, so he didn’t have to think about it. The more difficult part of the day remained before him as he planned to visit Clarice’s parents. After work that day, he would take the train to Royston, where the Stanfields lived. He had thought briefly about driving, but it was too soon to drive the Alvis. Clarice had loved that car.

  His musings were interrupted when the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister entered the office. He quickly jumped to his feet.

  “Good morning, Prime Minister, my Lord. You are exactly on time. Let me check to see if Her Majesty is ready.”

  He stepped from behind the desk and moved over to the door to the Queen's study. He knocked once and opened the door slightly, and she looked up to see him peeking around the door.

  “I am ready, Colin. Please announce the guests.”

  “Of course, Ma’am.” He pushed the door wide open and stepped in. “Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, and Lord Halifax.”

  Clement Attlee and Leonard Wood marched into the study and bowed.

  “Please have a seat, Prime Minister, my Lord.”

  Colin quietly closed the door and then slipped into his chair across from Margaret’s writing table along the wall.

  Attlee cleared his throat before speaking. “I thought by having Leonard here; we could clear off most of the items on the agenda this morning.”

  Margaret nodded. “A very good idea, Clement. Where do you want to begin?”

  “First of all, I want to express my condolences to Mr. Marty over his loss. We are all in shock about this. It was a terrible thing to happen. I can’t begin to understand how you must feel, but our thoughts and prayers are with you.”

  Unable to speak, Colin nodded brusquely. Attlee turned back towards the queen.

  “Then, we would like your guidance on a response to the actions in Kabul.”

  “There is no longer any doubt in my mind that the Soviets were behind that,” Margaret responded. “It goes back to the old detective’s saw. Means, motive, and opportunity. It all points to Stalin. We are dealing with a madman, and as far as I’m concerned, there is a way to deal with mad dogs.”

  “You are not suggesting military action, Your Majesty,” Attlee stated nervously.

  “No, we cannot afford another war,” Margaret replied. “And I doubt Stalin would care, anyway. But we must do something. Stalin’s actions are going beyond the bounds of reason.”

  “We have some further information that may confirm Soviet involvement,” Wood stated.

  “And this is something you have not shared with me?”

  “The news only came in as we were leaving to come to this meeting.” Wood handed the teletype communique to her.

  She quickly scanned the message and looked up at Wood. “They planted a bomb in Honolulu?”

  The Foreign Minister nodded. “Fortunately, a member of the security force was paying attention, and they were mostly able to evacuate the hotel.”

  “They still had five deaths,” the queen commented. “I just don’t understand people who set bombs.”

  “I called Ambassador Winant just before we left. The American military attaché had received a message from Washington. They are suspicious of an army officer who had contact with the Soviet national. The officer had helped unload an ammunition ship just before the bombing.”

  The queen rubbed her hands together. “Colin, could you put some more coal on the fire. I can’t seem to get warm today.”

  “Of course, Ma’am.”

  She looked at Attlee. “I have managed to bring myself under control, Prime Minister. I am no longer throwing things about the room. I am not ready to join Schloss in the war against the Soviets. Not quite. But I very much want to arrange something very, very painful for Stalin.”

  “Ambassador Winant suggested that we coordinate with the Americans in a response,” Wood interjected.

  “Right. The Yanks seem to be on top of this thing.”

  “Winant told me unofficially that Truman is out for blood. But the Americans are absolutely not in a position to start another war.”

  “Very well.” The Queen continued rubbing her hands together. “Are the Germans talking to us about the purchase of any other military equipment?”

  “Reichsmarshall Milch was negotiating with de Havilland for a license to build our Mosquito light bomber. It was just before Schloss sacked him. Albert Speer, who is working for Field Marshal Von Rundstedt, the new Reichsmarshall, indicated they wish to purchase some of the aircraft and no longer want to build them.”

  Margaret nodded. “Probably wise of them. Here is what I would like to do. Let’s immediately fly, say, 300 of the aircraft to Germany. We can structure it as a lend-lease similar to the way the Yanks did it with us.”

  Colin cleared his throat.

  “Yes, Colin?”

  “Two things, Your Majesty. We need to send a group of RAF pilots to train the Germans on flying the Mosquito. Secondly, we probably should send some mechanics and spare parts so they can keep the airplanes flying.”

  She nodded. “Very good. Clement, can you make that happen?”

  “Yes, your Majesty. I will see that we began moving on this today.”

  “Good. Now tell me what is happening in Germany.”

  “The Soviets have Berlin. They have not continued to advance. We thank it is either because of the need to consolidate or that they are having supply issues. Or both. The German government is reconstituting itself in Frankfurt, and Schloss has not made any announcements yet.”

  “Is there anything else we might do?”

  Attlee shook his head. “We are not sure. We have quite a few surplus Spitfires and Hurricanes. But I don’t think the Luftwaffe has enough pilots to operate them.”

  “I am not ready to have British pilots flying for the Luftwaffe.” She tapped her finger on the desk. “If it looks, however, like it would make a difference, I would start seriously considering letting British pilots fly for the Luftwaffe unofficially.”

  Attlee and Wood stared at her.

  “What, gentleman? You have nothing to say?”

  Attlee quickly responded. “Pardon me, your Majesty. This came at me cold. I would need some time to consider the ramifications.”

  “Do not take too long, Prime Minister. We don’t want to be overtaken by events.”

  “I understand, your Majesty.”

  “Now, tell me about Hawaii.”

  “The Americans moved the venue to Hickam Field in Honolulu. After the bombing, they are very concerned about security.”

  “I could understand that,” Margaret chuckled sourly.

  “Everyone agreed to delay the start of the conference a couple of days so that things would settle down.”

  “I am glad the Japanese didn’t simply pick up and sail for home. If I were in their shoes, I would have given serious thought to that.”

  “Your Majesty,” the Foreign Minister said, “of the parties involved in the conference, the Japanese are the most motivated to settle the war. They are not going anywhere.”

  “We were fortunate there,” Margaret said. “If the Yanks hadn’t spotted that bomb, it would likely have wiped out all of the participants. I don’t even want to think about having to restart that from scratch.”

  “The good news, your Majesty,” Wood said, “is that the Japanese have made considerable progress in their withdrawal. They would have a hard time reversing that, even if they wanted to.”

  She scratched a few notes on the page in front of her and looked up at her guests again. “Tell me how well the relief efforts to Australia are progressing.”

  “Surprisingly well,” Attlee responded. “It seems we have some people in Cape Town and in the Navy who are gifted at this sort of thing. We aren’t out of the woods yet in terms of getting everyone fed, but I see nothing insurmountable. The Japanese were smart enough not to bother the Australian farmers. So we think no one will starve.”

  “Good. Anything else in the Indian Ocean?”

  “Since the war ended, Gandhi has begun agitating again to free India.”

  “I assume we are working on a plan to shift them into the Commonwealth,” the queen commented.

  “Yes. One of our challenges is that the Colonial Office are dragging their feet. After India leaves the Empire, the justification for a lot of jobs goes away.”

  Margaret laughed. “I can understand that. Is this something you want to manage, or should I call a meeting of the mandarins and give them a little taste of what I think?”

  “Let me continue to work on this, Ma’am,” Attlee replied. “I can intimate that you are getting impatient. If that doesn’t seem to work, then perhaps we can talk about a meeting.”

  “I understand we need an orderly transition, Clement. But if we wait too long, there will be bloodshed in Calcutta.”

  “You are correct in that assumption, Ma’am. I will also communicate to the Indians that this is something we are working on.”

  “How often have they heard that?” she asked.

  “You do have a point there.”

  “Just get things moving. We cannot afford to allow this to get out of hand.”

  “Of course, Your Majesty.”

  The conversation continued for another half hour as the queen reviewed the British interests around the world. After concluding the meeting, she turned to Colin.

  “You are planning to visit the Stanfields today, correct?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Then you should go ahead and leave. I have no further appointments today, and Clement has left me a stack of briefing books. I am convinced he thinks that I will get so frustrated with the minutia of this government that I will throw in the towel and tell him to call elections.

  “When will you call elections, Ma’am?”

  She shook her finger at him in mock severity. “Beware, Colin. You don’t want to get on my bad side. And the answer is, it needs to be soon.”

  She was rewarded by a flicker of a smile from him as he stood and retreated from her office.

  The door closed with a snick of the latch. Margaret rested her head in her hands with a sigh. Coming to the office was probably the best thing for Colin. But seeing the pain in his eyes was like twisting a knife in her gut. She knew Colin blamed himself for allowing Clarice’s capture. To be honest, the queen was convinced it was her fault. If she hadn’t sent Clarice along on the trip, the sparkling lady would still be alive. She hoped Colin would survive the experience.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  March 6, 1944; 9 AM

  Nazi Party Headquarters

  Frankfurt, Germany

  Heinrich Schloss, the Reich Chancellor of Germany and the greater Reich, walked into his new office and glanced around. Speer had suggested they appropriate the Nazi party offices in Frankfurt. The building came with the requisite communications lines and ample space. Willem had arranged for Schloss to occupy the largest office on the top floor and designated other areas for meeting rooms and offices for the central government bureaucracy. Schloss had expected an internecine struggle as the government officials from Berlin fought over the prime real estate while the party officials in Frankfurt defended their turf. The lack of infighting surprised him.

  When Schloss and Rainer had finally limped into the city in another JU 52 the night before, he expected a confrontation with Gisela and probably Frau Marsden as well. But Gisela’s fear for him and Rainer resulted in an equally joyous reunion, and her relief overrode everything.

  Somehow during the panic, Willem had rented a house for him and his family. And Frau Marsden had insisted, with Gisela’s complete agreement, that Peter and Gratia move in with them. Schloss thought it was a wonderful idea, and the children had quickly settled down, now that they were once again under the same roof as Frau Marsden. Schloss was reminded yet again how much he relaxed in Gisela’s presence. And such was the level of his exhaustion that he slept through till nearly eight o’clock.

  He was a bit grumpy from the residual fatigue and for not having arrived at the office before sunrise. But Willem had the coffee ready, and he was able to dive into the pending business. And it seemed that none of the paperwork had remained behind in Berlin. The stack of items requiring his attention almost defied reason. Schloss had also lost touch with what was going on in the government and the war.

  His first order of business was to place a call to the Reichsmarshall. At least the phone network in Frankfurt seemed to be working correctly. He was able to connect with von Rundstedt quickly.

  “I am delighted you made it safely to Frankfurt, her Reich Chancellor.”

  “Thank you, and how are you, Gerd?”

  “Considering the circumstances, I cannot complain.”

  “Please give me a summary of the state of the war.”

  “Once the Russians had completely invested Berlin, they advanced no further. Rommel was able to slip in behind them and has seized the bridgeheads on the Oder. General Schörner is pushing four divisions from Prague towards Breslau and is threatening the flank of the Russian reinforcements.”

  “I must ask you this, here Reichsmarshall, are we risking the loss of our armies by doing this?”

  Von Rundstedt hesitated. “There is risk involved in anything we do right now, mein Herr. But the Russians have put themselves into a difficult situation. Smirnov expended most of his supplies getting to Berlin, and he would have difficulty turning around to get back to Frankfurt am Oder. In addition, Gehlen received information that Stalin had ordered Smirnov to hold Berlin at all costs. And it looks like supplies and reinforcements are not moving quickly.”

  Schloss nodded as he scribbled notes on the pad in front of him. “So you think we have an opportunity here?”

  “We have an opportunity that does not come along often.”

  “And what do we do about Berlin?”

  Von Rundstedt hesitated again. “Fighting our way through the city would be very difficult.”

  “I don’t want any fighting in the city, Gerd. I want them to run out of food and ammunition. They will eventually be forced to surrender.”

  “That will be difficult for the Germans who remained in the city.”

  “This hurts, Gerd. But I think this represents the opportunity for the lowest loss of life, both for civilians and military.”

  “I agree,” the Reichsmarshall said. “But it is a cold-blooded decision to make.”

  “It goes against everything I believe in to leave our people in Berlin to starve with the Russians.”

  “But we would lose far more trying to dig the Russians out. And those civilians will probably die anyway. May I suggest, her Reich Chancellor, that the best chance of rescuing the Germans in Berlin is to encourage Smirnov to surrender.”