“Come off it. The minute I attempted a landing, the whole thing would be blown.”

“Then how would we get to Neustadt? What could we do? Parachute in? Dillon’s done that before.”

“Not into Schloss Adler. Battlements, courtyards, roofs – it isn’t nice.”

“Then when you want to make a nefarious trip into Holstein Heath, how do you do it? I know how mysterious the damn place is. The locals must be suspicious of any kind of strangers.”

“Yes, but if I put a group together for an in-and-out job, they won’t look like strangers. The police in Holstein Heath look very like the Vopos of the old East German days. Believe it or not, they still use Russian Cossack motorcycles and field cars.”

“So what are you saying?”

“In the past, I’ve gone in with my people when I’ve needed them, using those vehicles and uniforms. Would Dillon buy that?”

“Well, his German is fluent.”

“He couldn’t do it on his own.”

“What about you?”

“No way. My task would be to do the extracting. Dillon and whoever, helped by Klein’s intelligence, pull Ferguson, and all hell breaks out, so the smart thing would be for me to fly in from Arnheim. It’s a short flight. I’d drop in at the Schloss in my Storch and pick them up.”

“And you’re confident you could do that?”

“To the great Kubel, anything is possible, and to avoid any problem with angry foresters, it would be the only way. These are the Baron’s people.”

“You mean it’s Indian territory?”

“Exactly. Another thing. In the Storch, I could manage Ferguson, but only two others. Two men only to take on the situation at the castle. I’ve got the idea that Dillon’s that crazy, but does he know someone else who is?”

“Oh, yes,” Roper said. “I think so. There’s a big payday for you on this, by the way.”

“Stuff the payday. I’ve been getting stale and I’ve looked you up, Roper. You’re what the Jews call a mensch. I’m a great admirer.”

“Flattery is always appreciated.”

“I’ll speak to Klein and get things moving.”

At his cottage behind the church at Neustadt, Klein took the call from Kubel and listened to what he had to say.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Let me know the minute the Baron turns up in the helicopter. After that, Rossi in his plane. Can you get into the Schloss?”

“Of course I can. I’ve known it backwards since I was a child.”

“In spite of security?”

“The security is crap. I can go around all that.”

“Get this right, Hans. There’s a lot of money in it for you.”

“And where the Baron is concerned, it will be a pleasure. I’ll go and check things out up there.”

Kubel switched off and Klein got a hunting jacket on, put a sawn-off shotgun in one pocket, a double handful of cartridges in the other and went out, smiling.

On the final stretch back to London, Dillon listened to everything Roper had to say. “Fine,” he said. “Alert Hannah. Tell her to book Lacey and Parry. Alert the quartermaster. The destination will be Arnheim.”

“There’s one thing, Sean,” Roper said. “You can’t do this on your own. Don’t tell me you’re going to ride a Cossack through the Schwarze Platz and do a ‘Dirty Harry.’ You need a friend.”

“I’ll get a friend.”

“You’re sure?”

“Trust me. I’ll ask him, and for this, he’ll be there.”

Dillon turned down to Hangman’s Wharf and The Dark Man, parked and went inside. There were only a couple of customers, Dora at the bar, and Harry and Billy in their usual corner booth. Harry looked up and frowned.

“You look stressed.”

“You could say that.” Dillon sat down. “Just listen.”

When he was finished, Harry said, “I knew that Rossi was bad news.”

Dillon’s phone sounded and Roper said, “No question, Sean, it’s Neustadt they’re aiming for. Everything all right with you? The extra man?”

“We’ll see.”

“I’m sure you will.” He switched off.

Dillon said, “Billy. You heard the story. I’m going to go in like a Vopo on a Cossack. It’s a good thing I speak German.”

“Which I don’t, but you need a gun, and I can wear one of these Vopo uniforms as well as you can.” Billy had that cold, pale smile on his face.

It was Harry who cut in. “We’d better get sorted, Dillon. We can’t leave Ferguson in the hands of these bastards. Anyway, I like the old sod. You and Billy do it. Billy’s come on a bit since you took him in hand. Right, Billy? Likes doing something because it’s the right thing to do.”

“I should say so.” Billy got up. “I’ll go and pack.” He smiled at Dillon. “This is getting to be a habit.”

At Farley Field, Dillon arrived to surprises. First of all, the presence of Hannah Bernstein. He said, “What in the hell are you doing here?”

“I speak German, Sean, and it’s my boss at the sharp end. I think I should be here.”

Then the Salter Rolls appeared and disgorged not only Billy, but Harry, both with hand luggage.

Dillon said, “What is this?”

“This German police thing. I’m going with you. I’ll stay back at base with the superintendent, if you want, but you always want to do it on your own. Well, this time you can’t. It’s too important.”

Dillon said, “Fine, just don’t get in the way.” He walked toward the Citation, and Lacey came out, dressed in anonymous flying overalls. “You know what we’re up to here?”

“The superintendent filled us in. You’ll notice we’ve sprayed over our RAF rondels. Don’t want anybody identifying us.”

“You know where we’re going?”

“Roper’s filled us in. Sean, this is something else. I mean, the general.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back, I swear it. I don’t want crew, just you and Parry. Board and I’ll see the quartermaster with Billy.”

The department’s quartermaster waited with his list.

“All loaded, Mr. Dillon. Walthers and Carswell silencers, three MP40 machine pistols.”

“That’s going back a bit.”

“I’ve checked, Mr. Dillon, and the police in the Holstein Heath area are rather old-fashioned. I would point out that the Schmeisser is still an extremely efficient weapon. Some stun grenades. Some smoke. That should do you in the present circumstances.”

“You know what they are?”

“Mr. Dillon,” the sergeant major said, “twenty-five years ago in the Grenadier Guards, I was trying to hunt you down in the IRA in South Armagh, and failed. I’m glad, because it means you’re here to save the general, who is one of the finest men I’ve ever known. Now, I’ll load these items for you, sir, and you’ll return them to me when you get back.”

Dillon walked out with Billy, who said, “Well, he’s got faith in you.”

“A lot of people do. It can be a burden, Billy. Come on, let’s go. We’re not saving the world; this time, we’re saving Charles Ferguson.”

He went up the Airstairs door, followed by Billy. Parry closed the door as they joined Harry and Hannah. A few moments later, the engines turned over on the Citation and it lifted up into the sky.