Dominion (79 page)

Sarah said, ‘That’s the man who interrogated me at Senate House. He’s dangerous, David!’

David looked into the man’s face. Under the streaks of charcoal it looked fat and puffy, but the mouth was a thin line and the eyes were clear and questing.

‘Who betrayed us?’ David asked.

The German smiled. ‘I tricked your friend Geoffrey Drax into letting some information drop. But mostly I worked it out myself, with the help of certain radio intercepts.’

‘Geoff? My God. He’s alive?’

‘No longer, I think. He was badly hurt. I am sorry, he was brave.’ He turned and went over to Frank. ‘Dr Muncaster?’ he asked quietly. ‘Remember me?’

‘Yes,’ Frank answered, just as softly.

Gunther nodded at the tall thin man holding Ben. ‘And you’ll remember Inspector Syme, who came with me to the hospital. You gave us a good run. This must have been a difficult time
for you, a great strain.’ He spoke sympathetically. David thought, the bastard’s weighing him up for interrogation already.

Gunther sighed. ‘Well, it’s over now, Frank, you did your best. Relax, talk to us a little when we get you back to London, that’s all you need to do.’ He turned to the
others and said, ‘Hold them while I search them.’ Methodically, he went through each of the prisoners’ pockets. He found Ben’s gun, and David’s, and handed them to
Kollwitz and Kapp. He also dug out the suicide pills. He held them in the palm of his hand, then looked at Frank. ‘You do not have one?’ he asked.

Frank shook his head.

‘They were probably scared he’d top himself the first chance he got, like he tried at the hospital,’ Syme said mockingly.

Gunther turned to Ben. ‘Is that right?’

‘Yes.’ Ben looked at Frank. ‘I’m sorry, pal.’

Frank turned his head, his face working for a moment. ‘It’s okay,’ he mumbled.

‘Right,’ Gunther said briskly. ‘Get them tied up.’ He nodded at Sarah. ‘Start with her. I’ll cover you.’ He took out a gun. ‘Don’t try
anything, Mrs Fitzgerald, or I’ll shoot you dead. You’re dispensable, you see. You’ve dyed your hair, haven’t you? You Resistance people, you are always so thorough. Now,
keep your hands behind you.’ He produced several coils of strong wire from his pocket.

When her hands were tied Sarah’s captor pushed her roughly down on the pebbles and stood back. Then Gunther turned to Eddie. He had not uttered a word so far but as his hands were tied he
said, ‘My father and uncle died in the Great War, they’re buried in Flanders. I’m only glad they took some of your people with them.’ His captor hit Eddie sharply on the
side of the head before shoving him down on the shingle beside Sarah and tying his hands. Gunther looked at Frank, David and Ben, each still held with arms pinned behind them. Gunther nodded at
Frank. ‘Him next.’ David saw Frank was shaking, breathing fast. Gunther pointed the gun at his leg. ‘I won’t kill you, we need you alive. But if you try anything I will
shoot you in the knee.’

David watched as the tall German holding Frank released his hands and took a coil of wire from Gunther. David thought, he and Ben would be next and then it would be over for all of them. The man
holding him leaned forward and whispered in his ear, ‘I was with Sturmbannführer Hoth when he interrogated your friend, Drax.’ He chuckled. ‘He is so subtle, a
master.’

David turned his head away, looked down to where Sarah and Eddie lay trussed up, the two Germans standing guard above them.

Suddenly two shots rang out, echoing round the cliffs, and both of the Germans staggered and fell. One crashed to the pebbles but the other fell across the prone figures of Eddie and Sarah;
David saw a wash of blood spill out over them. Gunther whirled round. ‘Get the prisoners in front of you!’ he yelled to his three remaining men.

David was dragged around, pushed next to Frank and Ben. The three of them faced the promenade, forming a human shield for the two Germans and the Englishman holding them from behind. Gunther ran
round behind them as well, feet crashing on the pebbles. Everyone was breathing hard, their breath visible in the cold air. David thought, Natalia’s here, she stayed behind to see us safe and
saw the ambush. Natalia, who was a crack shot.

‘How many shooters?’ Gunther’s voice was a furious din.

Frank’s captor answered, his voice with its heavy German accent steady. ‘Only one, I think. I saw two flashes, same place.’

‘I want you to try and get him. I’ll hold Muncaster and cover you as well. Do you think you can do it, Kollwitz? I know it’s open ground.’

The German nodded at the groyne. ‘I can use the moonlight shadow for some cover.’ Turning his head, David saw the man called Kollwitz look at Gunther with cold, clear, fearless
eyes.

‘Thank you,’ Gunther said.

David watched as Kollwitz ran to the groyne, zigzagging, crouched over, moving astonishingly fast. He glanced down at Sarah, one dead German sprawled over her, the other beside her. Their guns
lay where they had fallen on the pebbles. There was a blotchy darkness on Sarah’s face, which David realized must be blood from the German. She stared up at him, she was breathing hard but
her face was set. She gave him a brief nod. Eddie’s face was turned towards the promenade from where the shots had come.

Kollwitz had almost reached the top of the groyne when another shot rang out, echoing over the beach. This time David saw a flash of light from behind the promenade rails. Gunther saw it too; he
fired at it instantly. Frank flinched away. David heard a cry from the promenade, a woman’s cry. He sagged in the arms of the man holding him. Gunther turned to Ben, his charcoal-streaked
face furious. ‘It’s her, isn’t it, the Resistance woman? You posted her there on watch. That’s two of my men dead, you lying bastard.’

Ben didn’t reply. David watched as the dark, crouched figure of Kollwitz climbed the steps. He saw him walk up and down the promenade, as though he were looking for something, then wave
his hands as a signal they were safe. David thought, is Natalia lying up there dead? He saw the dark figure of the German walk back down the steps and towards them. He was carrying another gun as
well as his own. He said to Gunther, ‘Looks like you hit him, sir. There was a gun on the promenade and there’s a trail of blood leading to the path to the coast road. A lot, he’s
hurt.’

‘She’s hurt,’ Gunther corrected him. ‘It was the woman. It’ll take her time to get back to her people, even if she makes it.’

‘I thought it better not to follow,’ Kollwitz said. ‘She’s harmless now.’

Gunther nodded. He drew a deep breath. ‘Right, let’s get the rest of them tied up. You next,’ he said to Frank, letting go his arms as he felt for another piece of wire in his
pocket. Frank stood shivering violently.

And then he started to run. He almost overbalanced on the pebbles but he righted himself and stumbled on, towards the whispering line of the surf. It was surprisingly close now; the tide must be
almost full.

Syme, who was holding Ben, laughed. ‘What are you doing, you silly cunt?’

Gunther, though, raised his gun. ‘Stop!’ he cried out urgently. ‘What are you trying to do?’ Frank stumbled on, almost in the sea now. Gunther lowered his pistol, aimed
at Frank’s legs, and fired. Frank went down with a groan. Gunther stepped across the pebbles and leaned over him, turned him round. David saw Frank’s face, white with pain.

‘Why did you do that?’ Gunther asked. His voice was irritable, like that of a schoolmaster whose pupil had done something stupid. Frank didn’t reply. Gunther looked at his leg.
‘It’s just a flesh wound,’ he said, his voice reassuring now. ‘We’ll look after you.’ He took off the thick scarf he was wearing and began tying it tightly round
Frank’s calf to make a tourniquet. Gunther called to Syme, ‘Come over here, help me get him up. Kollwitz and Kapp, watch the other two.’

Kollwitz stepped into Syme’s place, holding Ben’s arms behind him, as the lanky Special Branch man stepped over to Gunther. Together they pulled Frank to his feet. The German let
Syme take Frank’s full weight. Frank stood on one leg, leaning on Syme, his trousers black with blood below the tourniquet. Gunther took a pencil torch from his pocket and shone it full in
Frank’s face. It was white and set, his eyes wide and staring. ‘Don’t put any weight on your bad leg,’ Gunther said. ‘We’ll help you over to the boat, you can
sit down on it.’

Frank put all his weight on his uninjured left leg. Then he took a long, shuddering breath and bared his teeth at Gunther in a wide, mirthless smile, the old Muncaster rictus. But there was
something different this time; Frank was holding something between his teeth. Gunther shouted, ‘No!’ as Frank clenched his jaws together hard and David heard the faint crunch of
breaking glass. Frank’s body jerked convulsively and he fell forward, deliberately throwing himself at the German to unbalance him and Syme. Gunther’s feet skittered on the slippery
pebbles and he fell backwards, Frank falling on top of him. David thought, Natalia must have given him her pill. He must have talked her into it. He must’ve put it in his mouth when they left
the car in Rottingdean; that was why he hardly spoke after that. And now he was dead, Frank was dead.

Taking advantage of everyone’s shock, Ben shoved himself violently backwards at the German holding his arms, Kollwitz. His captor lost his balance and staggered, letting Ben break away.
David dug his heels into the pebbles and tried to do the same to the man holding him, but his captor braced himself and held on, letting out an angry grunt. Kollwitz had righted himself and was
reaching for his pistol but Ben was quicker; he threw himself at one of the guns lying beside Sarah and Eddie then raised his weapon and shot the fair-haired German full in the chest. As he went
down David’s captor pushed him away and aimed his gun at Ben. He and Ben fired at the same time. They hit each other. Both crashed to the pebbles, the German dead with a bullet hole in his
forehead, Ben writhing on the ground, clutching his shoulder.

The beach was strewn with bodies now, dead and injured and bound. Gunther was struggling to push Frank’s corpse off him. Only David and Syme were left standing now, facing each other. Syme
reached into his pocket and pulled his gun on David. ‘Don’t you fuckin’ move, sunshine,’ he said fiercely, his accent suddenly broad Cockney. ‘Hands in the
air!’

David lifted his arms above his head, staring Syme in the eye.

With a grunt Gunther pushed Frank’s body off him but he did not stand. Instead he knelt, crouching over the body of the man he had hunted across England. He shone the torch in
Frank’s face again. David saw Frank’s eyes, as still and unseeing as Charlie’s had been that terrible day, the Muncaster grin frozen on his face, tiny shards of glass glinting on
his teeth. Gunther reached out and held Frank’s shoulders, then bowed his head. Syme looked at David. ‘Right, you fucker, hands behind your back. Let’s get you tied up. You can
still be of use to Special Branch. Hoth, you cover me.’ Gunther looked at him with unseeing eyes for a moment. ‘
Will you bleedin’cover me?
’ Syme repeated, his voice
ringing across the beach.

‘Yes – yes.’ Gunther pulled himself together and fumbled for his gun, pointing it at David. On the ground nearby, just beyond Sarah and Eddie, Ben was still groaning, clutching
his shoulder. His gun lay beside him on the sand. Syme turned towards him, his face furious. ‘Stop making that noise, you cunt!’

‘I’ve got half ma fuckin’ arm shot off,’ Ben shouted.

‘I’ll bloody shut you up for good!’ Syme stepped towards him, pistol raised, walking past where Sarah and Eddie lay. Then David saw Sarah brace herself and kick up and out with
both feet, right into Syme’s groin. He yelled and doubled over, dropping his gun, which fell by Sarah’s face. He reached down for it but she stretched out and bit him, with all her
force, on the hand. He screamed, ‘Fucking bitch!’ and staggered away, tripping and falling down on the pebbles with a howl.

David lunged forward and picked up Syme’s gun. As he did so he heard a bullet ricochet off a pebble nearby, saw sparks from the bullet. Gunther. He turned swiftly and shot the German in
the arm, Gunther’s gun flying outwards in a spray of blood. Gunther looked down at his arm in astonishment, then at David as he walked over and pointed Syme’s gun at the centre of the
German’s broad, charcoal-smeared forehead. Behind him Ben was still groaning, and Syme was curled over in a foetal position, sobbing with pain. Perhaps Sarah’s heavy Wellington boots
had burst his balls; David hoped so. His wife had saved him.

He looked into the German’s eyes. They looked, not hard and wicked as David had expected, nor frightened, but sorrowful and unutterably weary. David was suddenly aware of how cold he was,
his feet were like ice and the hand holding the gun almost numb.

The German stood there, seeming not to care about the blood gushing down his coat from his ruined arm. He gave David a sad, lopsided smile and shook his head slightly. He said quietly,
‘You won’t win. You just held our victory up a little. That’s all you can ever do.’ Then, louder, he shouted, ‘For Germany!’ And there was a bang and a flash as
David shot him between the eyes. Gunther fell back with a crash and lay still, his forehead shattered, blood and brains seeping out, white and black in the moonlight, the lopsided smile still on
his face, as though he knew best even now. Beside him Frank lay, mouth still locked in the Muncaster grin. David looked back at Syme, who was struggling shakily to his feet, hands between his legs.
David pointed the gun at Syme and he raised his hands. Still watching him, David reached over and gently closed Frank’s eyes.

Suddenly he heard the crunch of running feet: Syme was running away, slowly and painfully, towards the promenade. David fired at him but missed, the cold numbness in his hand affecting his aim.
Syme loped painfully on. He reached the steps to the promenade and began to climb them. David fired again and this time he hit him; Syme went down. But he was still alive; he began crawling
painfully up the steps. His leg muscles aching from the cold, David started to run towards him, but from the ground nearby Eddie called out, ‘No! You’ve got to get us into the boat!
There’s just time to reach the submarine! But only just!’