Legacy of a Spy Read Online Free
look forward to. Find Webber. Who is Wyman’s employer? Who’s making the pay-off? How? What has Wyman already told? What will be Wyman’s next job? To Hollingsworth those requests probably sounded like an exciting challenge—a strenuous little game of cloak and dagger. To Slater they meant fear, naked stinking fear with death at the end, and no recognition should he, by some miracle, be successful. This was the last assignment—win , lose or draw. After that, somebody else could take his place. In the meantime, he was going to stay alive.
Slater looked at George. “Forget it, George,” he said. “I guess I’m a little on edge. We haven’t much time. I suggest we arrange our future contact procedure.”
“Yes,” said George uncertainly. He took his eyes off the slippery road for a minute to have a look at Carmichael.
For the first time, George noted the lines of worry. Carmichael couldn’t be more than thirty-five, and he looked hard-muscled and very fit, possibly too much so, like an overtrained athlete. Hollingsworth suddenly realized Carmichael was like a watch that has been wound too tight. Someone or something would open the back, and the tight mainspring would snap out of its case and strew the works all over the place. George felt apprehensive, but not for himself. He didn’t want to see this man, whose exploits were legend, suddenly come apart at the seams. It was George’s turn to get angry, angry at the people who continued to put the pressure on a man who had already done so much. Why couldn’t they give him a rest? Montague, or Carmichael, was battle-happy.
Slater knew he was being assessed and he didn’t like it. He wanted no judgments from a young, smooth-faced diplomat.
“Give me your phone number in Zurich,” said Slater, “and always leave a number there where you can be reached at any time of the day or night. I don’t want you to call me under any circumstances, at least for the present. I will arrange for some method of two-way communication, when I get located. When I call you, I will call myself Karl. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t recognize my voice. I will know yours, and I will always ask you the time before I give you any instructions. Do you speak German well enough to understand a phone conversation?”
“Yes. I also speak the Zurich dialect.” George was proud of his linguistic accomplishments. Much to his surprise, Carmichael immediately switched to Zurich Deutsch. George was glad he hadn’t been bluffing.
Slater was pleased. There weren’t half a million people in Europe who could speak or understand Swiss German. The Swiss Air Force had spoken it on their intercom during World War II and had driven the Germans crazy trying to understand it.
“All right,” said Slater, “now let’s set up our meeting places. If I suggest on the phone that we have a drink in Munich at the Bundesbahn Hotel at ten hundred, that means I’ll meet you on the southwest corner of the Staatsbrücke in Salzburg at eleven hundred. That goes for all meeting times: they will always be one hour later than either of us indicates on the phone.
“If I suggest the Winkler Café in Salzburg, we shall meet where we met by the Hofbraü Haus. If you say no, I will expect you to be there. If you say yes, but mention another time, I will add one hour to your suggestion and be waiting for you at the new time. Should either of us give an unqualified yes, that will mean the meeting is out of the question.
“If, for reasons of emergency, either of us wishes to break into clear conversation, he must ask, ‘How is Horst?’ and if the reply is, ‘He has been ill lately,’ we can go ahead. If, on the other hand, the reply is, ‘He’s fine and wants to be remembered to you,’ that will mean we can’t talk now, and the one who has given the answer will try to call back from somewhere else later or will give another number where he can be reached in an hour.” Slater paused and then asked,
Slater looked at George. “Forget it, George,” he said. “I guess I’m a little on edge. We haven’t much time. I suggest we arrange our future contact procedure.”
“Yes,” said George uncertainly. He took his eyes off the slippery road for a minute to have a look at Carmichael.
For the first time, George noted the lines of worry. Carmichael couldn’t be more than thirty-five, and he looked hard-muscled and very fit, possibly too much so, like an overtrained athlete. Hollingsworth suddenly realized Carmichael was like a watch that has been wound too tight. Someone or something would open the back, and the tight mainspring would snap out of its case and strew the works all over the place. George felt apprehensive, but not for himself. He didn’t want to see this man, whose exploits were legend, suddenly come apart at the seams. It was George’s turn to get angry, angry at the people who continued to put the pressure on a man who had already done so much. Why couldn’t they give him a rest? Montague, or Carmichael, was battle-happy.
Slater knew he was being assessed and he didn’t like it. He wanted no judgments from a young, smooth-faced diplomat.
“Give me your phone number in Zurich,” said Slater, “and always leave a number there where you can be reached at any time of the day or night. I don’t want you to call me under any circumstances, at least for the present. I will arrange for some method of two-way communication, when I get located. When I call you, I will call myself Karl. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t recognize my voice. I will know yours, and I will always ask you the time before I give you any instructions. Do you speak German well enough to understand a phone conversation?”
“Yes. I also speak the Zurich dialect.” George was proud of his linguistic accomplishments. Much to his surprise, Carmichael immediately switched to Zurich Deutsch. George was glad he hadn’t been bluffing.
Slater was pleased. There weren’t half a million people in Europe who could speak or understand Swiss German. The Swiss Air Force had spoken it on their intercom during World War II and had driven the Germans crazy trying to understand it.
“All right,” said Slater, “now let’s set up our meeting places. If I suggest on the phone that we have a drink in Munich at the Bundesbahn Hotel at ten hundred, that means I’ll meet you on the southwest corner of the Staatsbrücke in Salzburg at eleven hundred. That goes for all meeting times: they will always be one hour later than either of us indicates on the phone.
“If I suggest the Winkler Café in Salzburg, we shall meet where we met by the Hofbraü Haus. If you say no, I will expect you to be there. If you say yes, but mention another time, I will add one hour to your suggestion and be waiting for you at the new time. Should either of us give an unqualified yes, that will mean the meeting is out of the question.
“If, for reasons of emergency, either of us wishes to break into clear conversation, he must ask, ‘How is Horst?’ and if the reply is, ‘He has been ill lately,’ we can go ahead. If, on the other hand, the reply is, ‘He’s fine and wants to be remembered to you,’ that will mean we can’t talk now, and the one who has given the answer will try to call back from somewhere else later or will give another number where he can be reached in an hour.” Slater paused and then asked,
Readers choose
Lorraine Beatty
Mary J. Williams
Evan Marshall
Elaine Viets
Vasily Mahanenko
Kathi S. Barton
Lacey Silks
Victoria Chancellor
David Benioff
Glendon Swarthout