Corridor of Darkness by Patrick W O'Bryon

Author:Patrick W O'Bryon [O'Bryon, Patrick W]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780991078219
Publisher: Brantome Press
Published: 2013-10-27T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

The afternoon proved hectic as Ryan tied up loose ends around the central city. He hoped Erika could keep her nerves under control, for so much depended on what she accomplished that evening at home. From a public booth she was to phone her parents to confirm in coded terms an arrival time in Marburg for the following day but make no mention of his participation in the plan. The less said on any phone, the better.

Ryan’s first consideration was how much to tell Edward of this ominous turn of events. His itinerary had been carefully planned so his brother knew at any given time where Ryan was and whom he intended to contact. His assignment obviously did not provide for the rescue of a former girlfriend, now married to the Gestapo. In France Ryan had received a coded letter from Ed acknowledging his brother’s successes, and this afternoon Ryan planned to drop off at the consular office an encrypted update on the “Lone Ranger” network to accompany the next courier to Washington.

Ryan was very aware of the positive contribution his efforts were making toward Ed’s promotion within German Affairs. Grace’s father had worked his magic to bring his son-in-law into the Foreign Service under the aegis of The Group, and the senator was undoubtedly watching closely for Ed’s quick advancement. Ed knew of the close call that final night in Marburg and shared Ryan’s conviction that the pursuit was by the man Erika married. Now Ryan’s helping that same woman and her son escape from this powerful Nazi could undermine an assignment whose success depended on the most clandestine of covers. Ryan’s rocking that boat was not a risk Edward could condone.

His brother had always balked at Ryan’s finessing of the rules. In their youth, conflicts often arose whenever Ryan had chosen his own path rather than that proposed by his older brother. As adults, Edward still maintained that self-imposed responsibility to render sage advice. When Ryan announced leaving Wall Street to study finance in Berlin, his brother could not fathom interrupting a structured career path, and was upset when his recommendation to drop the plan went unheeded. A year later Ed had been disappointed to learn that Ryan was abandoning a career in finance for academe. Ed had emphasized the meager monetary rewards found in a teaching career—something he could not presume to understand—but Ryan suspected his brother secretly envied his willingness to be spontaneous, whether in a social setting or in business. Yet spontaneity was no trait for a future diplomat, where calm deliberation and plodding attention to protocol was the proven path to success.

Ryan decided to follow his gut. He would not mention the next day’s undertaking until it was a fait accompli. He would remove Erika and the child from danger before returning to Berlin and his assignment. Once his friends were safe with Marita in Paris, and proof of Hitler’s true criminal intent reached Washington, all the risks taken would prove a feather in Edward’s cap and full justification for Ryan’s bending of the rules.

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