Feet together, knees bent, get ready to roll . . .
“And lead us not into temptation
“But deliver us from evil . . .”
He thought he could now vaguely make out parts of the ground.
“For Thine is the kingdom,
“And the power and the glory
“For ever and ever . . . Amen.”
Something smacked his legs—“Goddammit!” he cried out—and next came the sensation of being beaten by a thousand canes.
The thrashing was intense, and he automatically shielded his face with the crook of his arm.
Something then ripped at his right foot, and there immediately came a burning sensation.
Then suddenly he was jarred to a stop, and felt a great burning as the webbing of his harness dug into his thighs.
And then he was hanging in the dark, with all quiet.
And then the burning in his foot became intense.
And then he passed out.
VI
[ONE]
OSS London Station
Berkeley Square
London, England
1020 31 May 1943
“Pull that door shut, please, Helene,” Chief of Station David Bruce said, standing by the window of his office and sipping at a steaming china mug of coffee, “and see that we’re not disturbed.”
“Yes, sir, Colonel,” Captain Helene Dancy, Women’s Army Corps, replied over her shoulder as she left carrying the tray that had held the fresh coffee service.
The door clicked shut, and Bruce looked at Lieutenant Colonel Ed Stevens, who wore his usual perfectly tailored worsted uniform and sat on the couch and poured coffee.
Bruce walked over to his desk, picked up a sheet, and handed it to Stevens.
“Wolfgang Augustus Kappler,” Bruce announced, pronouncing each syllable pointedly. “Until yesterday, I had hardly known the man. And now he is suddenly the focus of everything I’m supposed to do?”
Stevens took a sip of coffee as his eyes went to the message:
* * *
TOP SECRET
OPERATIONAL PRIORITY
31MAY43 0810