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Authors: Stephen Hunter
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across him. Something quite frosty in it. Extraordinary. The eyes cool, almost blank. The demeanor so perfectly calm, almost unnaturally calm. Repp had an incredible talent for stillness.
“I was simply—but no matter,” Vollmerhausen said.
“Thank you,” said Repp.
Another silence. Repp was masterful with silences, and he let this one drag on for several seconds. The air in the room was dead. Vollmerhausen shifted in his chair uneasily. Repp kept it so hot in here; in the corner the stove blazed away merrily. Repp, in faded camouflages, made them wait while he took out and, with elaborateceremony, lit one of those Russian cigarettes he smoked.
Then finally he said, “Of the Jew, I have decided to let the matter drop. He’s somewhere in the forest, dead. They are not a hearty, physical race. They have no will to survive. Doom is their natural fate, and in the forest he’ll locate his own quickly. Therefore, I’m recalling the patrols.”
“Yes, Herr Obersturmbannführer,” said Captain Schaeffer. “Immediately.”
“Good. Now as for Vampir.” He turned to Vollmerhausen.
Vollmerhausen licked his lips. They were dry. His mouth was dry. He returned to a familiar, discomfiting litany: What am I doing here, locked up in a wild forest with SS lunatics? It was a long way from the
WaPrüf 2
testing ground outside Berlin.
“As for Vampir, I’m afraid I must require another test, Herr Ingenieur-Doktor.”
Vollmerhausen swallowed. So that was it, then. Another load of Jews would be brought in, fattened up, shot down.
“More prisoners, Herr Obersturmbannführer?” he asked.
“That’s all finished, I’m afraid,” said Repp. “Which I’m sure makes you happy, Herr Ingenieur-Doktor.”
“It was unpleasant, yes, killing—”
“You must have a hard heart for these hard times,” said Repp. “You’d lose your uneasiness around death in a day in the East. But the
Reichsführer
informs me that the camps are no longer in the disposal business.”
“Animals, then,” said Vollmerhausen. “Pigs would do it. Or cows. About the—”
“I think not. Vampir must locate people, not animals, at four hundred meters’ range. And it must not weigh more than forty kilos. Those are the limits.”
Vollmerhausen moaned. Back to weight again. “I don’t know where I’m going to get ten more kilos. We’ve taken off all the insulation, we’ve got the lead sulfide down to a minimum without sacrificing resolution.” He looked desperate. “It’s that damn battery.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way. After all, you’ve got the best men and equipment in the Reich. Far better than up at Kummersdorf.” As he spoke he’d begun to tinker again with a piece of metal or something on his desk, an innocent, entirely reflexive habit.
“We’ve tried everything. A smaller battery won’t put out the necessary current. A—”
“I’m sure a great miracle will happen here,” Repp said, taking great pleasure in the phrase.
Vollmerhausen, fascinated, could see the thing he worked in his fingers. It was a small black cube, metallic, with a spindle through it. But that’s all.
“Miracles cannot be requisitioned like machine pistols, Herr Obersturmbannführer.”
“You’ll do your best, I’m certain.”
“Of course, sir. But forty kilos is so little.”
“I just want to explain the importance here. I want to emphasize it. Our actions are only part of a larger campaign, involving agents in other countries even. Still, we are the most important; we are the
fulcrum
. Do you understand? Great and heavy responsibilities have descendedupon us. This is a privilege rarely given soldiers. Think about it.”
He paused, to let the grave information sink in.
“And so for the test,” he said.
“Yes, Herr Obersturmbannführer,” Vollmerhausen said.
“I think I’ve found an unlimited supply of targets for you. A whole world full of targets. I’ve just had word from Berlin. One hundred miles north of here, the
“I was simply—but no matter,” Vollmerhausen said.
“Thank you,” said Repp.
Another silence. Repp was masterful with silences, and he let this one drag on for several seconds. The air in the room was dead. Vollmerhausen shifted in his chair uneasily. Repp kept it so hot in here; in the corner the stove blazed away merrily. Repp, in faded camouflages, made them wait while he took out and, with elaborateceremony, lit one of those Russian cigarettes he smoked.
Then finally he said, “Of the Jew, I have decided to let the matter drop. He’s somewhere in the forest, dead. They are not a hearty, physical race. They have no will to survive. Doom is their natural fate, and in the forest he’ll locate his own quickly. Therefore, I’m recalling the patrols.”
“Yes, Herr Obersturmbannführer,” said Captain Schaeffer. “Immediately.”
“Good. Now as for Vampir.” He turned to Vollmerhausen.
Vollmerhausen licked his lips. They were dry. His mouth was dry. He returned to a familiar, discomfiting litany: What am I doing here, locked up in a wild forest with SS lunatics? It was a long way from the
WaPrüf 2
testing ground outside Berlin.
“As for Vampir, I’m afraid I must require another test, Herr Ingenieur-Doktor.”
Vollmerhausen swallowed. So that was it, then. Another load of Jews would be brought in, fattened up, shot down.
“More prisoners, Herr Obersturmbannführer?” he asked.
“That’s all finished, I’m afraid,” said Repp. “Which I’m sure makes you happy, Herr Ingenieur-Doktor.”
“It was unpleasant, yes, killing—”
“You must have a hard heart for these hard times,” said Repp. “You’d lose your uneasiness around death in a day in the East. But the
Reichsführer
informs me that the camps are no longer in the disposal business.”
“Animals, then,” said Vollmerhausen. “Pigs would do it. Or cows. About the—”
“I think not. Vampir must locate people, not animals, at four hundred meters’ range. And it must not weigh more than forty kilos. Those are the limits.”
Vollmerhausen moaned. Back to weight again. “I don’t know where I’m going to get ten more kilos. We’ve taken off all the insulation, we’ve got the lead sulfide down to a minimum without sacrificing resolution.” He looked desperate. “It’s that damn battery.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way. After all, you’ve got the best men and equipment in the Reich. Far better than up at Kummersdorf.” As he spoke he’d begun to tinker again with a piece of metal or something on his desk, an innocent, entirely reflexive habit.
“We’ve tried everything. A smaller battery won’t put out the necessary current. A—”
“I’m sure a great miracle will happen here,” Repp said, taking great pleasure in the phrase.
Vollmerhausen, fascinated, could see the thing he worked in his fingers. It was a small black cube, metallic, with a spindle through it. But that’s all.
“Miracles cannot be requisitioned like machine pistols, Herr Obersturmbannführer.”
“You’ll do your best, I’m certain.”
“Of course, sir. But forty kilos is so little.”
“I just want to explain the importance here. I want to emphasize it. Our actions are only part of a larger campaign, involving agents in other countries even. Still, we are the most important; we are the
fulcrum
. Do you understand? Great and heavy responsibilities have descendedupon us. This is a privilege rarely given soldiers. Think about it.”
He paused, to let the grave information sink in.
“And so for the test,” he said.
“Yes, Herr Obersturmbannführer,” Vollmerhausen said.
“I think I’ve found an unlimited supply of targets for you. A whole world full of targets. I’ve just had word from Berlin. One hundred miles north of here, the
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