Betrayal
Title Betrayal
Author name:longstrt
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Klaus/Dorian, Dorian/m (briefly)
Word Count: Approximately 16,000 over 4 parts
Summary: The two men betray each other with devastating results.
“But Major . . . Major, the Earl is quite busy!” Bonham had done everything that he could to stop the long-legged NATO agent from running up the grand staircase of Castle Gloria.
Bursting into Red Gloria’s bedroom before Bonham could stop him, Klaus von dem Eberbach didn’t hesitate to plough through the sitting room battering his way past the closed door to the bedroom, only to be stopped in mid-stride as he saw the glorious blond hair of the Master of the castle spread across the bed’s pink, silk pillowcases. It was not, however, the sight of the décor that caused the Major to burst forth with a thunderous “Verdammt!” but the realization that Dorian was in bed with an individual who could have used a pram quite effectively and that both men were NUDE!!!!
Dorian sat up immediately, not attempting to cover himself. His blue eyes turned toward the angry man and said with all the sensuality that he could muster, “Why Major what a pleasant surprise! I didn’t know you went in for threesomes!”
Eberbach’s coleric red face spoke volumes about the degree of the Major’s disgust, but he managed to control himself enough to issue a few words, “Get rid of him.”
“Of course, darling. If you will wait in the sitting room, I’ll join you shortly.”
As the Major paced the large sitting room, smoking his third cigarette of the past 10 minutes, Dorian, the Earl of Red Gloria swept into the room, looking very much like the aristocrat he was. He had not bothered to dress, merely covering himself with a long, silk robe in a blue that matched his eyes. Dorian moved into the room with unparalleled grace, a faint waft of roses trailing behind him. Dorian carefully shut the door to his bedroom even though he knew that Thadeuz was no longer within. He quickly insinuated his slender body into an expensive chair, teasingly dangling one bare foot in front of the Major.
Looking faintly like an imp but more like one of Raphael’s angel’s the blue eyes peeked from under sleepy eyelids as Dorian announced, “Don’t worry, Major, Thadeuz is much older than he looks. I rarely steal from prams these days.”
The nanosecond of surprise that Dorian was able to read proved that the Earl was still able to read the Major so well, but it was quickly replaced by an even more formidable look of total disgust. look than the Earl was used to seeing. **This must really be a big one.**
Knowing that Dorian realized that he was lying, Klaus said in his coldest voice, “I do not care what you do on your own time, you pervert, but this is my time so we will not discuss such things. I have a job for you.”
Smiling his sweetest, Dorian’s honeyed voice almost curled around his response, “Why darling, why didn’t you say so?”
DKDDKDDKDKDDKDK
The Major sat in the back seat of the heavily built car. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. The family seat of the Gröhner family proved more well-guarded than had been anticipated. The fact that the information had come from The Chief’s sources did nothing to allay the fears of agents C, R, and M, who were, even now, packing their bags for Alaska. Even Z and A seem to have faltered in their reaction time.
Z was now driving the huge monster machine to the nearest safe hospital since the Major was sitting in the back seat, holding the Earl of Gloria in his arms; doing everything he could to stem the blood flow from a wound near the hairline.
A had found several compresses to use on the raw wound that had slashed across the perfect forehead and had made a new part for the glorious blond curls. Klaus’ green eyes continued to stare down at the man who was white as a sheet and had remained unconscious since throwing himself in front a bullet meant for Klaus. The Gröhner family had poor security, but the random card of a family fight breaking out the night of a supposed trip had resulted in a bungled operation.
Dorian had discovered the hidden film, but the exit had been much more of a fire fight than expected. **Blast these old hunting lodges with their formidable weapons armoury!** Klaus continued to curse at the Earl for risking himself to save the Major and to violently threaten Z with a visit to the depths of Alaska in the frozen winter, if he did not get the car to the hospital right now.
Z said nothing. What could he say? Nothing would make the terrible haunted look in the Major’s green eyes go away especially if . . . especially if, the Earl did not survive. Z had long known that his Major’s constant war on the pervert from England was no more than camouflage. The Major appreciated loyalty above all things, and ever since Dorian Red Gloria had first seen the cold, work-intensive Major years before, he had been nothing but loyal, much to the frustration of the Major, who often professed his intention to jail the talented thief or kill him with his bare hands.
Now the man who had been the Major’s target for so much of his consuming emotions was lying in the Major’s lap, possibly dying. Fortunately, Z could see the hospital up ahead and within moments, the medical personnel had the beautiful blond in emergency care. The Major had forced his way into the area, standing near by, but not in the way. His whole body was rigid and pale, but Klaus von dem Eberbach continued to stand like a shadow over the land to give his strength and protection to the man who was fighting for his life.
What seemed like hours later, after the NATO Major had been chased from the room, Z walked into the waiting room, handing coffee to the seated Major. The ashtray next to Klaus had been emptied once before, but Z could easily see that it needed to be cleared once again. Sighing silently he picked up the bowl and removed it. At least, it gave him something to do. The air in the room had become so smoke-filled that no one else could stand remaining in the room for any amount of time.
Z knew that the Major was a strong man who always controlled his emotions, but something in the green eyes disturbed Z. He had never quite seen that same emotion in the man called Iron Klaus. Of course, it was not every day that someone risked his own body to save Iron Klaus. Z suspected that the Major would find this recent event difficult to deal with for several reasons and not just because of the Earl’s injury.
Reluctantly returning to the waiting room, Z sat down next to the Major so that he could brief him on the aftermath of the slightly botched operation. Even as Z spoke the first words, he realized that the Major didn’t seem to be interested; he only smoked and stared into the air, his thoughts his own. Eroica had managed to get the all-important film, but he had not turned it over to the Major before the shooting began. NATO badly needed the information, but only the unconscious man knew where the film was hidden.
Suddenly, the doctor burst into the room, looking around. Giving a noticeable sniff into the heavily polluted air, the man clad in scrubs asked, “Major Eberbach?”
Standing quickly, Klaus replied, “Ja. How is he?”
“Head wounds are always dangerous. They bleed a great deal. We have given him a transfusion for loss of blood, and he is now stable. I suspect that he will have a major headache when he wakes up, but we don’t know much more than that. Head wounds are tricky things.”
Klaus stood staring at the doctor as if he were waiting for the bad news, but merely nodded. It was Z who asked the question on both agents’ minds.
“Sir, has Lord Gloria awakened?”
“Nein, he has not; we do not expect that for several hours. We have to be very careful with a head wound and it could be quite awhile before we know anything. Why don’t you gentlemen return to your homes or whatever and we will call you.”
The doctor made a hasty exit from the room after being giving the frostiest stare that he had ever received. As he entered the corridor, he felt like a glacier had slid over his vulnerable body. He felt grateful to be away from that human iceberg.
Z took his life in his hands and quietly suggested that the Major, at least, return to headquarters since there were sure to be problems over the recent raid, and the Major might be able to deal with them better there. Instead Z was quickly banished to the headquarters and told to get on with the job.
Several hours later, with other alphabets coming and going, Major Eberbach continued to sit and smoke. Finally, a rather hesitant nurse appeared at the door and asked the Major to follow her.
Walking down the corridor, Klaus felt as if he were heading towards a gallows. Entering the designated room, Klaus, for once, hesitated, only to be mildly surprised to see blue eyes staring at him. Dorian was lying in a hospital bed, slightly propped up and looking a bit strange where bandages hid the glorious blond curls. It was clear that they had had to shave must of the hair around the extensive wound. The damage to the hair only captured the Major’s attention for a moment; since it was the confused blue eyes that disturbed him the most. Before the doctor could say anything, Klaus asked, “Was ist los?”
The blond seemed to stare directly into the NATO agent’s heart then whispered, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember you. Have we met before?”
The doctor who had briefed Eberbach hours before turned to the NATO agent and explained, “It seems that the head wound has caused a slight case of amnesia. Lord Gloria is vague on many things, but this is quite common with severe trauma to the head. When reminded of his name, he admitted that he could not remember it; neither could he remember the events of the past several days. We thought that he might remember you, Major, but it seems he does not. We will have to take it one day at a time because it is not always good to force these things.”
The Major’s face was beet red as anger spread over him then his face went blank as he look at the beautiful blond who was obviously in pain. Dorian laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. Studying the pale face, Eberbach shrugged and turned to A who had followed him, “Contact Bonham and anyone else you think might promote recognition from Lord Gloria.” A barely hesitated to look at his boss before he nodded and left the room.
It was obvious that Dorian had fallen asleep again so the Major pulled the doctor out into the corridor. “It is vitally important that I talk to Lord Gloria. How long do you think it might be before he . . . remembers?”
The short, balding man shrugged. “It is possible that he will wake from this sleep and remember everything. It is also possible that he will never regain his memory. The events around a traumatic event are often shrouded for the victim of such an event. We will just have to wait. I am sorry that your friend is unable to remember, but he has had a very difficult time and only time will tell.”
Klaus allowed the man to walk away, not really thinking about the fact that he had allowed the doctor to call Dorian his friend. That simple oversight would have revealed a great deal to agents Z or A who would have certainly realized what an admission had been made.
Klaus walked back to the waiting room, badly needing a cigarette. It was there that A found him. “I have contacted Bonham, sir. He and Mr. James will be here this evening. Looking at the clock, A quickly realized that it was already early in the morning so changed his phrase to, “I mean sometime this morning.”
Klaus merely nodded, continuing to inhale the pungent smoke through his nose. Finally, he commanded, “Search all of Lord Gloria’s clothes and any equipment that he took into the operation with him. He may have hidden the film on his person. When Bonham gets here, question him about possible places that Eroica usually hides things.”
A nodded and turned to leave his boss alone with his thoughts. A would have been extremely surprised at the thoughts that the Major was playing over in his mind. He saw for the hundredth time the shotgun held by a creaky old man who had been Gröhner’s butler, waving it at Klaus’ vulnerable body. The Major closed his eyes as he saw the slender black clad figure of Eroica coming in from the side door. Eroica had been told to leave with the film as soon as he liberated it, but as usual Dorian hadn’t followed orders. He had come looking for the Major and had quickly discerned what was going on. With the family having had a fight, the butler had stayed behind and now was aiming a shotgun at Klaus’ heart.
Within seconds the amazing body leapt into the air to put itself between Klaus and the shotgun. The old man’s feeble hand twitched and the gun went over, striking Dorian with a glancing blow near the hairline. The roar of the weapon reverberated through the main part of the house. Within seconds, Klaus had the weapon away from the traumatized man and had him unconscious with a blow to the face. Only later would Klaus realize that he felt like killing the old man, but pulled his blow at the last second.
Turning to Dorian’s supine body, the Major quickly pulled off the mask that the thief wore. The heavy knitted mask had taken some of the blow, but the human scalp is very vulnerable and the glorious blond’s hair was already full of blood. The mask became a compress as Klaus heaved the thief into his arms and began to run. Fortunately, Z was immediately there with the heavily armoured car to take the two men away. That had been hours ago, and not once in that time, until the doctor had told him that Eroica had amnesia, did Klaus even think about the liberated film.
The German returned his thoughts to the waiting room and the present as agent A entered. “Sir, there is nothing to report about the search of Lord Gloria’s clothing and equipment. Agent T said that he searched thoroughly, but there was nothing.”
Klaus stared at the younger man but only asked, “Did you search his things yourself?”
Looking fainting sheepish, A replied, “No, sir.”
Arching his eyebrow, Klaus gave his silent command, but as A approached the exit door, Klaus said, “You know Eroica’s behaviour so well, find something.”
A nodded and left the room.
And so began the long wait. Minutes became hours until suddenly two developments occurred almost simultaneously. Agent Z reported that Bonham and Mr. James had arrived and were trying to see Lord Gloria. Mr. James, however, was in no fit shape to see his lordship as he kept squealing that Dorian was going to die and then where would the little accountant be? As a result James was ordered out of the room and somehow managed to find himself in the waiting room. Seeing Klaus waiting there, however, he attempted to get away but was stopped by Agent A entering with Eroica’s clothing and equipment.
“Sir, I’ve looked through everything and the only thing that seems unusual is this small snuff box that I found with Lord Gloria’s things. It seems so plain; I thought it didn’t exactly fit Lord Gloria’s . . . er, extravagant lifestyle.”
Suddenly, James’ eyes lit up. “Ooh, isn’t it pretty?” Clearly the stingy bug was thinking of the money that the snuff box might bring.
Klaus, on the other hand, saw the box as something else. “Mr. James, have you ever seen Lord Gloria use snuff?”
The little man almost snorted in surprise, “What and damage his beautiful nose? No way, he carries this for . . . other reasons.” Here James stopped as if he had admitted too much and tried to rush out of the room. A stopped him and forced him to sit down in the corner and remain silent.
The two NATO agents began to carefully examine the small snuff box. It seemed to be what it was: an empty snuff box, nothing hidden in it. Totally frustrated, the Major began to hand it back to A to be stored with the rest of Dorian’s things when he noticed the gleam in the little accountant’s eyes. Brusquely, the German asked, “Do you know how this works?”
The fluffy brown hair began to shake back and forth, but the quick look that James had had told Klaus volumes. Reaching into his pocket, the Major pulled out a 5 DM note and waved it in front of the stingiest man in the entire world. “I’ll give you this, if you tell me.”
James hesitated only a second then reached for the box and with seconds had it open, quickly revealing the purloined film. Klaus handed the money to the exultant
man and motioned A to take him away.
Opening the carefully folded piece of paper, Klaus quickly realized that it was the document which would put Gröhner away for a very long time. Eroica had done it again. That thought brought the Major back to the man lying asleep in a room down the corridor. The Major was now free to leave, but Dorian had been injured saving Klaus’ life. How could he leave, especially since the Englishman’s amnesia might prove a lengthy problem?
Calling for Agent A, Klaus turned the document over the younger man so that NATO could deal with the valuable information and sat back down in a very uncomfortable chair to await further developments.
End of Part 1
Part 2
Author name:longstrt
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Klaus/Dorian, Dorian/m (briefly)
Word Count: Approximately 16,000 over 4 parts
Summary: The two men betray each other with devastating results.
“But Major . . . Major, the Earl is quite busy!” Bonham had done everything that he could to stop the long-legged NATO agent from running up the grand staircase of Castle Gloria.
Bursting into Red Gloria’s bedroom before Bonham could stop him, Klaus von dem Eberbach didn’t hesitate to plough through the sitting room battering his way past the closed door to the bedroom, only to be stopped in mid-stride as he saw the glorious blond hair of the Master of the castle spread across the bed’s pink, silk pillowcases. It was not, however, the sight of the décor that caused the Major to burst forth with a thunderous “Verdammt!” but the realization that Dorian was in bed with an individual who could have used a pram quite effectively and that both men were NUDE!!!!
Dorian sat up immediately, not attempting to cover himself. His blue eyes turned toward the angry man and said with all the sensuality that he could muster, “Why Major what a pleasant surprise! I didn’t know you went in for threesomes!”
Eberbach’s coleric red face spoke volumes about the degree of the Major’s disgust, but he managed to control himself enough to issue a few words, “Get rid of him.”
“Of course, darling. If you will wait in the sitting room, I’ll join you shortly.”
As the Major paced the large sitting room, smoking his third cigarette of the past 10 minutes, Dorian, the Earl of Red Gloria swept into the room, looking very much like the aristocrat he was. He had not bothered to dress, merely covering himself with a long, silk robe in a blue that matched his eyes. Dorian moved into the room with unparalleled grace, a faint waft of roses trailing behind him. Dorian carefully shut the door to his bedroom even though he knew that Thadeuz was no longer within. He quickly insinuated his slender body into an expensive chair, teasingly dangling one bare foot in front of the Major.
Looking faintly like an imp but more like one of Raphael’s angel’s the blue eyes peeked from under sleepy eyelids as Dorian announced, “Don’t worry, Major, Thadeuz is much older than he looks. I rarely steal from prams these days.”
The nanosecond of surprise that Dorian was able to read proved that the Earl was still able to read the Major so well, but it was quickly replaced by an even more formidable look of total disgust. look than the Earl was used to seeing. **This must really be a big one.**
Knowing that Dorian realized that he was lying, Klaus said in his coldest voice, “I do not care what you do on your own time, you pervert, but this is my time so we will not discuss such things. I have a job for you.”
Smiling his sweetest, Dorian’s honeyed voice almost curled around his response, “Why darling, why didn’t you say so?”
DKDDKDDKDKDDKDK
The Major sat in the back seat of the heavily built car. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. The family seat of the Gröhner family proved more well-guarded than had been anticipated. The fact that the information had come from The Chief’s sources did nothing to allay the fears of agents C, R, and M, who were, even now, packing their bags for Alaska. Even Z and A seem to have faltered in their reaction time.
Z was now driving the huge monster machine to the nearest safe hospital since the Major was sitting in the back seat, holding the Earl of Gloria in his arms; doing everything he could to stem the blood flow from a wound near the hairline.
A had found several compresses to use on the raw wound that had slashed across the perfect forehead and had made a new part for the glorious blond curls. Klaus’ green eyes continued to stare down at the man who was white as a sheet and had remained unconscious since throwing himself in front a bullet meant for Klaus. The Gröhner family had poor security, but the random card of a family fight breaking out the night of a supposed trip had resulted in a bungled operation.
Dorian had discovered the hidden film, but the exit had been much more of a fire fight than expected. **Blast these old hunting lodges with their formidable weapons armoury!** Klaus continued to curse at the Earl for risking himself to save the Major and to violently threaten Z with a visit to the depths of Alaska in the frozen winter, if he did not get the car to the hospital right now.
Z said nothing. What could he say? Nothing would make the terrible haunted look in the Major’s green eyes go away especially if . . . especially if, the Earl did not survive. Z had long known that his Major’s constant war on the pervert from England was no more than camouflage. The Major appreciated loyalty above all things, and ever since Dorian Red Gloria had first seen the cold, work-intensive Major years before, he had been nothing but loyal, much to the frustration of the Major, who often professed his intention to jail the talented thief or kill him with his bare hands.
Now the man who had been the Major’s target for so much of his consuming emotions was lying in the Major’s lap, possibly dying. Fortunately, Z could see the hospital up ahead and within moments, the medical personnel had the beautiful blond in emergency care. The Major had forced his way into the area, standing near by, but not in the way. His whole body was rigid and pale, but Klaus von dem Eberbach continued to stand like a shadow over the land to give his strength and protection to the man who was fighting for his life.
What seemed like hours later, after the NATO Major had been chased from the room, Z walked into the waiting room, handing coffee to the seated Major. The ashtray next to Klaus had been emptied once before, but Z could easily see that it needed to be cleared once again. Sighing silently he picked up the bowl and removed it. At least, it gave him something to do. The air in the room had become so smoke-filled that no one else could stand remaining in the room for any amount of time.
Z knew that the Major was a strong man who always controlled his emotions, but something in the green eyes disturbed Z. He had never quite seen that same emotion in the man called Iron Klaus. Of course, it was not every day that someone risked his own body to save Iron Klaus. Z suspected that the Major would find this recent event difficult to deal with for several reasons and not just because of the Earl’s injury.
Reluctantly returning to the waiting room, Z sat down next to the Major so that he could brief him on the aftermath of the slightly botched operation. Even as Z spoke the first words, he realized that the Major didn’t seem to be interested; he only smoked and stared into the air, his thoughts his own. Eroica had managed to get the all-important film, but he had not turned it over to the Major before the shooting began. NATO badly needed the information, but only the unconscious man knew where the film was hidden.
Suddenly, the doctor burst into the room, looking around. Giving a noticeable sniff into the heavily polluted air, the man clad in scrubs asked, “Major Eberbach?”
Standing quickly, Klaus replied, “Ja. How is he?”
“Head wounds are always dangerous. They bleed a great deal. We have given him a transfusion for loss of blood, and he is now stable. I suspect that he will have a major headache when he wakes up, but we don’t know much more than that. Head wounds are tricky things.”
Klaus stood staring at the doctor as if he were waiting for the bad news, but merely nodded. It was Z who asked the question on both agents’ minds.
“Sir, has Lord Gloria awakened?”
“Nein, he has not; we do not expect that for several hours. We have to be very careful with a head wound and it could be quite awhile before we know anything. Why don’t you gentlemen return to your homes or whatever and we will call you.”
The doctor made a hasty exit from the room after being giving the frostiest stare that he had ever received. As he entered the corridor, he felt like a glacier had slid over his vulnerable body. He felt grateful to be away from that human iceberg.
Z took his life in his hands and quietly suggested that the Major, at least, return to headquarters since there were sure to be problems over the recent raid, and the Major might be able to deal with them better there. Instead Z was quickly banished to the headquarters and told to get on with the job.
Several hours later, with other alphabets coming and going, Major Eberbach continued to sit and smoke. Finally, a rather hesitant nurse appeared at the door and asked the Major to follow her.
Walking down the corridor, Klaus felt as if he were heading towards a gallows. Entering the designated room, Klaus, for once, hesitated, only to be mildly surprised to see blue eyes staring at him. Dorian was lying in a hospital bed, slightly propped up and looking a bit strange where bandages hid the glorious blond curls. It was clear that they had had to shave must of the hair around the extensive wound. The damage to the hair only captured the Major’s attention for a moment; since it was the confused blue eyes that disturbed him the most. Before the doctor could say anything, Klaus asked, “Was ist los?”
The blond seemed to stare directly into the NATO agent’s heart then whispered, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember you. Have we met before?”
The doctor who had briefed Eberbach hours before turned to the NATO agent and explained, “It seems that the head wound has caused a slight case of amnesia. Lord Gloria is vague on many things, but this is quite common with severe trauma to the head. When reminded of his name, he admitted that he could not remember it; neither could he remember the events of the past several days. We thought that he might remember you, Major, but it seems he does not. We will have to take it one day at a time because it is not always good to force these things.”
The Major’s face was beet red as anger spread over him then his face went blank as he look at the beautiful blond who was obviously in pain. Dorian laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. Studying the pale face, Eberbach shrugged and turned to A who had followed him, “Contact Bonham and anyone else you think might promote recognition from Lord Gloria.” A barely hesitated to look at his boss before he nodded and left the room.
It was obvious that Dorian had fallen asleep again so the Major pulled the doctor out into the corridor. “It is vitally important that I talk to Lord Gloria. How long do you think it might be before he . . . remembers?”
The short, balding man shrugged. “It is possible that he will wake from this sleep and remember everything. It is also possible that he will never regain his memory. The events around a traumatic event are often shrouded for the victim of such an event. We will just have to wait. I am sorry that your friend is unable to remember, but he has had a very difficult time and only time will tell.”
Klaus allowed the man to walk away, not really thinking about the fact that he had allowed the doctor to call Dorian his friend. That simple oversight would have revealed a great deal to agents Z or A who would have certainly realized what an admission had been made.
Klaus walked back to the waiting room, badly needing a cigarette. It was there that A found him. “I have contacted Bonham, sir. He and Mr. James will be here this evening. Looking at the clock, A quickly realized that it was already early in the morning so changed his phrase to, “I mean sometime this morning.”
Klaus merely nodded, continuing to inhale the pungent smoke through his nose. Finally, he commanded, “Search all of Lord Gloria’s clothes and any equipment that he took into the operation with him. He may have hidden the film on his person. When Bonham gets here, question him about possible places that Eroica usually hides things.”
A nodded and turned to leave his boss alone with his thoughts. A would have been extremely surprised at the thoughts that the Major was playing over in his mind. He saw for the hundredth time the shotgun held by a creaky old man who had been Gröhner’s butler, waving it at Klaus’ vulnerable body. The Major closed his eyes as he saw the slender black clad figure of Eroica coming in from the side door. Eroica had been told to leave with the film as soon as he liberated it, but as usual Dorian hadn’t followed orders. He had come looking for the Major and had quickly discerned what was going on. With the family having had a fight, the butler had stayed behind and now was aiming a shotgun at Klaus’ heart.
Within seconds the amazing body leapt into the air to put itself between Klaus and the shotgun. The old man’s feeble hand twitched and the gun went over, striking Dorian with a glancing blow near the hairline. The roar of the weapon reverberated through the main part of the house. Within seconds, Klaus had the weapon away from the traumatized man and had him unconscious with a blow to the face. Only later would Klaus realize that he felt like killing the old man, but pulled his blow at the last second.
Turning to Dorian’s supine body, the Major quickly pulled off the mask that the thief wore. The heavy knitted mask had taken some of the blow, but the human scalp is very vulnerable and the glorious blond’s hair was already full of blood. The mask became a compress as Klaus heaved the thief into his arms and began to run. Fortunately, Z was immediately there with the heavily armoured car to take the two men away. That had been hours ago, and not once in that time, until the doctor had told him that Eroica had amnesia, did Klaus even think about the liberated film.
The German returned his thoughts to the waiting room and the present as agent A entered. “Sir, there is nothing to report about the search of Lord Gloria’s clothing and equipment. Agent T said that he searched thoroughly, but there was nothing.”
Klaus stared at the younger man but only asked, “Did you search his things yourself?”
Looking fainting sheepish, A replied, “No, sir.”
Arching his eyebrow, Klaus gave his silent command, but as A approached the exit door, Klaus said, “You know Eroica’s behaviour so well, find something.”
A nodded and left the room.
And so began the long wait. Minutes became hours until suddenly two developments occurred almost simultaneously. Agent Z reported that Bonham and Mr. James had arrived and were trying to see Lord Gloria. Mr. James, however, was in no fit shape to see his lordship as he kept squealing that Dorian was going to die and then where would the little accountant be? As a result James was ordered out of the room and somehow managed to find himself in the waiting room. Seeing Klaus waiting there, however, he attempted to get away but was stopped by Agent A entering with Eroica’s clothing and equipment.
“Sir, I’ve looked through everything and the only thing that seems unusual is this small snuff box that I found with Lord Gloria’s things. It seems so plain; I thought it didn’t exactly fit Lord Gloria’s . . . er, extravagant lifestyle.”
Suddenly, James’ eyes lit up. “Ooh, isn’t it pretty?” Clearly the stingy bug was thinking of the money that the snuff box might bring.
Klaus, on the other hand, saw the box as something else. “Mr. James, have you ever seen Lord Gloria use snuff?”
The little man almost snorted in surprise, “What and damage his beautiful nose? No way, he carries this for . . . other reasons.” Here James stopped as if he had admitted too much and tried to rush out of the room. A stopped him and forced him to sit down in the corner and remain silent.
The two NATO agents began to carefully examine the small snuff box. It seemed to be what it was: an empty snuff box, nothing hidden in it. Totally frustrated, the Major began to hand it back to A to be stored with the rest of Dorian’s things when he noticed the gleam in the little accountant’s eyes. Brusquely, the German asked, “Do you know how this works?”
The fluffy brown hair began to shake back and forth, but the quick look that James had had told Klaus volumes. Reaching into his pocket, the Major pulled out a 5 DM note and waved it in front of the stingiest man in the entire world. “I’ll give you this, if you tell me.”
James hesitated only a second then reached for the box and with seconds had it open, quickly revealing the purloined film. Klaus handed the money to the exultant
man and motioned A to take him away.
Opening the carefully folded piece of paper, Klaus quickly realized that it was the document which would put Gröhner away for a very long time. Eroica had done it again. That thought brought the Major back to the man lying asleep in a room down the corridor. The Major was now free to leave, but Dorian had been injured saving Klaus’ life. How could he leave, especially since the Englishman’s amnesia might prove a lengthy problem?
Calling for Agent A, Klaus turned the document over the younger man so that NATO could deal with the valuable information and sat back down in a very uncomfortable chair to await further developments.
End of Part 1
Part 2