\376\377\000T\000h\000e\000 \000R\000o\000a\000d\000 \000t\000o\000 \000G\000a\000n\000d\000o\000l\000f\000o by \376\377\000s\000s\000i\000n\000e\000w

Author:\376\377\000s\000s\000i\000n\000e\000w
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHATTIER SIXTEEN

There were maps everywhere, covering the Watergate bed, spilling over the coffee

table, scattered about the floor, propped up against the bureau mirror, and draped over the hotel sofa. There were gasoline road maps, railroad maps, elevation charts, geological and vegetation cartoanalyses; even aerial photographs from sequential altitudes of 50(}, 1,50O, 5,000 and finally ZO,O(*i feet.

These plus 363 groundlevel photographs of every inch of the terrain under study.

Nothing could be left to change.

Five minutes ago he had made his final decision. The real estate broker from the

highly confidential, international firm of Les Chateaux Suisse des Grands Siecles would be arriving imminently. Naturally, secretly; the first law of Les Chateaux Suisse was absolute secrecy.

Mac had selected a remote chateau in the canton of Valais, south of Zermatt, in the countryside near Champoluc. The surrounding lands two hundred acres were in the cartographical shadow of the Matterhorn and were virtually inaccessible.

What was uppermost in his mind were two factors. The first was terrain. It would

have to come as close as possible to duplicating Ground Zero, as Hawkins had decided to name it.

Every turn and curve and rise of the road; each slope and hill that might play a

part in the approach to or the escape from Ground Zero would have to be simulated as precisely as possible.

Maneuvers were useless if the training grounds did not reflect the combat cone.

The second factor was the inaccessibility. His base of operations, as Mac had come to think of the leased property, had to be completely concealed from the outlying country 174 roads as well as from the air. The area had to be one where huge pieces of equipment could be hidden in seconds; where a complement of at least a dozen men could live and train for a minimum of eight weeks.

The chateau in question possessed these specifics. it was not that far from Zurich.

The Shepherd Company's capital would be transferred to Zurich. Devereaux would have to see to this centralization of finances. As well as the vetting of the chateau's lease.

There was a discreet knock at the hotel door. MacKenzie stepped carefully over the maps and photographs on the floor and went to it. He stood close to the panel and spoke.

"Monsieur D'Artagnan?" Les Chateaux Suisse used pseudonyms all the time.

"Out, man general," was the quiet reply Mom the corridor.

Hawkins opened the door and a middleaged, nondescript, portly man entered. Even his slightly waxed moustache was nondescript, thought MacKenzie. He'd be a tough fellow to spot in a crowd; there was absolutely nothing outstanding about him.

"I see you have perused the information we sent you," said Monsieur D'Artagnan in an Page 112

The Road to Gandolfo

accent formed west of AlsaceLorraine. He was obviously a man who wasted no time on the amenities, and the Hawk was grateful for that.

"Yes, I have. I've made my decision."

"Which property?"

"Chateau Machenfeld."

"Ahh, Le Machenfeld! Magnifique extraordinaire! What history has been played on its rolling fields; what battles won and lost in front of its towering parapets of granite! And the indoor plumbing has been kept most functioningly modern.

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