The Richard Prince Thrillers by Alex Gerlis

Author:Alex Gerlis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The man left the pub without waiting for him. He finished his drink, composed himself and went back to his rooms. It was only later on, when the poetry of von Eschenbach became a bit too much that he remembered the envelope the man had given him.

For the next hour he stared at its contents scattered across his narrow bed.

White ten pound notes: ten of them.

One hundred pounds.

Chapter 1

Nijmegen, Arnhem, the Netherlands, September 1944

‘Is anyone else alive?’

None of those gathered around him replied. The room was dark and damp, with the smell of earth and disinfectant hanging heavy in the air. There were four or five others there: a couple of medics, an officer from Divisional Intelligence and another officer from Corps Headquarters, the ones who were supposed to have rescued them. None of them looked directly at him.

Second Lieutenant Andrew Reeves of the South Staffordshire Regiment was slumped on the floor, clutching a flask of water tightly with both hands to stop its contents spilling out. A doctor had already taken a quick look at him and said he was fine and told the medics to dress his wounds. In truth Reeves looked dreadful: his face and hands were filthy, he hadn’t shaved for days and his eyes were bloodshot. The parts of his face not covered in oil and soot were deathly white.

‘So all the others are dead – I’m the only one left?’

‘No, of course not, Reeves. Look, we just need to debrief you, then you can have a hot meal and a rest. I bet you’re looking forward to that, eh?’ It was the officer from Corps Headquarters doing his best to sound jolly while trying to muffle a hacking cough. Somewhere in the distance came the sound of artillery fire, and Reeves jumped at the sound.

‘What about my platoon? Last time I counted them, there were still a dozen alive.’

‘I fear it may be fewer than that now.’

Second Lieutenant Reeves nodded as if he was expecting as much. ‘And B Company? I assumed command of it when Captain Hall was killed: there were ninety men when I took over.’

The officer from Divisional Intelligence shook his head. ‘Perhaps a dozen were evacuated. Look, how about you have that nice hot meal first and then a rest, and we can ask you a few questions afterwards?’

‘And the rest of the brigade?’

‘We’re still working that out. We know the 1st Airlanding Brigade sent in two and a half thousand men, and we estimate fewer than five hundred have been evacuated. But that doesn’t mean the rest are dead by any means. The majority would have been taken prisoner.’

No one said anything for a while. The screams of the wounded from down the corridor seemed to be getting closer.

‘It was a bloodbath, you know… a fucking bloodbath.’

The shocked silence in the room was interrupted by a rolling crump-crump of artillery fire.

‘We understand that, Andrew, we—’

‘Well you don’t, actually. If you weren’t there, you won’t understand.’

Reeves looked at the two officers accusingly, as if they were to blame.

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