purpose in sending you is so that we do not have to get it out of her by hook or by crook. And to get her away from people who would certainly not hesitate to use force to get the information. And then kill her afterwards. Namely, the Russians.’
Morgan stared. He thought, Jesus … ‘And the Americans also want this information?’
‘Indeed. They’re collaborating with us. But only the SEALs in your immediate squad will know that your special assignment is to find Anna Hapsburg. They won’t know why. They’ll ask no questions. And only a couple of people in the whole armed services will know you’ve been put there by us.’
Morgan was grappling with all this.
‘But rather than disguise me as an American soldier, where my true identity may be discovered, why not send me disguised as a British journalist, or diplomat?’
‘Because,’ Carrington said, ‘officially Great Britain is keeping out of this. That’s why we’re asking you to do this unofficially, not serving Call-up papers on you. And because this is a highly military situation, you need the cover and facilities of the military to do the job properly. Journalists can’t run around with machine guns, can they?’
Morgan sat back. And took a deep, tense breath. Bemused. Anna had come back into his life? … And for a moment he felt a flash of anger. ‘You’ll cause endless trouble,’ Janet Nicols had said. She was right. He said: ‘Tell me what information I’m after.’
Brink-Ford sat back. ‘I can tell you only as much as you need to know.’ He paused. ‘You have probably heard of Klaus Barbie?’
Morgan said, wonderingly: ‘Klaus Barbie? The “Butcher of Lyons”?’
Brink-Ford said: ‘Exactly. He is a Nazi war criminal who has recently been found in Bolivia, extradited back to France, and he’s presently in prison awaiting trial for murdering hundreds of French during the war. The French authorities have enoughevidence to guillotine him a dozen times. Yet they are stalling on the prosecution. Why?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘The theory is that Klaus Barbie knows certain facts that he is threatening to reveal if he is brought to trial. Those facts, if he could prove them to be true, would be … terribly damaging to certain institutions in the West.’
Morgan was even more amazed. Anna was involved in this?
‘What institutions?’
‘That is the only detail I will tell you. You need to know that much, to help you … unravel Mrs Hapsburg’s mind. Because that information which Klaus Barbie possesses was also possessed by Max Hapsburg. Indeed, we believe Max Hapsburg actually possessed the evidence. We believe it is in the form of an intelligence file, acquired by the Nazis during the war, or possibly in the form of a microfilm of that file.’
Morgan was amazed. ‘How did Max Hapsburg get hold of that file? He’s my age, born after the war.’
‘Good question. How much do you know of Hapsburg’s history?’
‘Only what his wife told me. That his father was a wealthy German who lived in South America after the war, married a Greek woman. He wasn’t a Nazi war criminal, was he?’
‘No. He was a Nazi, undoubtedly, but not a war criminal. Have you heard of Admiral Canaris?’
‘Yes,’ Morgan said. ‘He was the head of German Intelligence during the war, wasn’t he?’
‘Correct,’ Brink-Ford said. ‘Dietmar Hapsburg, Max’s father, worked with Admiral Canaris in Intelligence. It may be that when Germany crumbled, Dietmar Hapsburg fled to South America with this file – as insurance. When he died, Max came into possession of it. Somehow, Klaus Barbie got to hear of it, presumably.’ Brink-Ford held up his palm. ‘That’s as much as you need to know. We know – or we think we know – the general nature of the information. What we haven’t got is the proof – the file, or the microfilm, that shows it to be true. Or false.’ He added: ‘We sincerely hope, by the way, that it is false.’ He
Morgan stared. He thought, Jesus … ‘And the Americans also want this information?’
‘Indeed. They’re collaborating with us. But only the SEALs in your immediate squad will know that your special assignment is to find Anna Hapsburg. They won’t know why. They’ll ask no questions. And only a couple of people in the whole armed services will know you’ve been put there by us.’
Morgan was grappling with all this.
‘But rather than disguise me as an American soldier, where my true identity may be discovered, why not send me disguised as a British journalist, or diplomat?’
‘Because,’ Carrington said, ‘officially Great Britain is keeping out of this. That’s why we’re asking you to do this unofficially, not serving Call-up papers on you. And because this is a highly military situation, you need the cover and facilities of the military to do the job properly. Journalists can’t run around with machine guns, can they?’
Morgan sat back. And took a deep, tense breath. Bemused. Anna had come back into his life? … And for a moment he felt a flash of anger. ‘You’ll cause endless trouble,’ Janet Nicols had said. She was right. He said: ‘Tell me what information I’m after.’
Brink-Ford sat back. ‘I can tell you only as much as you need to know.’ He paused. ‘You have probably heard of Klaus Barbie?’
Morgan said, wonderingly: ‘Klaus Barbie? The “Butcher of Lyons”?’
Brink-Ford said: ‘Exactly. He is a Nazi war criminal who has recently been found in Bolivia, extradited back to France, and he’s presently in prison awaiting trial for murdering hundreds of French during the war. The French authorities have enoughevidence to guillotine him a dozen times. Yet they are stalling on the prosecution. Why?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘The theory is that Klaus Barbie knows certain facts that he is threatening to reveal if he is brought to trial. Those facts, if he could prove them to be true, would be … terribly damaging to certain institutions in the West.’
Morgan was even more amazed. Anna was involved in this?
‘What institutions?’
‘That is the only detail I will tell you. You need to know that much, to help you … unravel Mrs Hapsburg’s mind. Because that information which Klaus Barbie possesses was also possessed by Max Hapsburg. Indeed, we believe Max Hapsburg actually possessed the evidence. We believe it is in the form of an intelligence file, acquired by the Nazis during the war, or possibly in the form of a microfilm of that file.’
Morgan was amazed. ‘How did Max Hapsburg get hold of that file? He’s my age, born after the war.’
‘Good question. How much do you know of Hapsburg’s history?’
‘Only what his wife told me. That his father was a wealthy German who lived in South America after the war, married a Greek woman. He wasn’t a Nazi war criminal, was he?’
‘No. He was a Nazi, undoubtedly, but not a war criminal. Have you heard of Admiral Canaris?’
‘Yes,’ Morgan said. ‘He was the head of German Intelligence during the war, wasn’t he?’
‘Correct,’ Brink-Ford said. ‘Dietmar Hapsburg, Max’s father, worked with Admiral Canaris in Intelligence. It may be that when Germany crumbled, Dietmar Hapsburg fled to South America with this file – as insurance. When he died, Max came into possession of it. Somehow, Klaus Barbie got to hear of it, presumably.’ Brink-Ford held up his palm. ‘That’s as much as you need to know. We know – or we think we know – the general nature of the information. What we haven’t got is the proof – the file, or the microfilm, that shows it to be true. Or false.’ He added: ‘We sincerely hope, by the way, that it is false.’ He
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