'I'm afraid most of the rocket launching sites have been captured,' Ernst informed him. 'So even if we produced more advanced rockets, we could not '

But Himmler waved his hand impatiently to cut him short.

'I don't mean the rockets,' he said. 'I know all about the rockets. I'm thinking, instead, of Flugkapitn Schriever's flying saucer, which he insisted he would be testing soon. Have you been to see him in Prague?'

'Yes, Reichsfhrer. I was there a week ago. Schriever is still confident that he can have the saucer flying before the Soviets get that far. I was certainly impressed with what I saw there, and I think he can do it.'

'Good,' Himmler said.

Nonsense, Ernst thought. He had indeed visited Schriever in his research complex outside Prague. Although his saucer might fly, it would be of little help. It was an obsolete model, using Wilson's old gas-turbine rotors, not much more advanced than a helicopter, and without decent weapons. In truth, it was a joke, designed to keep Schriever engaged and Himmler's mind off Wilson. Even if Schriever did get it flying before the Soviets got to him, it would hardly do much damage to the Soviet or Allied advance. In fact, it would probably be shot out of the sky as soon as it took off.

'I knew I was right in depending upon Schriever,' Himmler said. 'He's a German, after all. I only wish I'd had the sense to do it a lot sooner, rather than waste all that time on Wilson. How is the American?'

Ernst had been waiting for the question. Though prepared for it, he could not stop a tremor of fear from pa.s.sing through him. He had rehea.r.s.ed this many times, with Wilson, by himself, and though he knew it would probably work, the thought of failure was frightening. He was going to lie to his Reichsfhrer a major lie, and a dangerous one and when he recalled those high-ranking officers hanging from piano-wire nooses strung from meat hooks in that small room in Plotzensee Prison, he didn't relish what would happen to him if he made a mistake.

'I'm afraid you were right about Wilson,' he said. 'We put him to work in Nordhausen, helping the rocket engineers, but he was clearly too old and senile to be of much use to them. As for his so-called flying saucer, it was a poor imitation of Schriever's. When test-flown, it hardly got off the ground before blowing up.'

It had indeed been blown up, but deliberately, by Wilson, after having performed superbly during its test flight. Wilson had done it with no flicker of emotion. He didn't want to risk flying it until the war had ended (he didn't want it to be observed) and, also, the components for many models had already been shipped to Antarctica. He himself would take the drawings for this final, successful prototype there, when they sailed out from Kiel.

Wilson, then, was still very much alive... but well hidden in Kahla.

'Naturally that failure,' Ernst continued, 'combined with Wilson's increasingly senile behaviour in the Nordhausen Central Works, encouraged us to do what you had suggested and we shot him. He was executed in one of the bunkers and his body then burned as part of the ma.s.s cremations at Buchenwald. Then all the papers regarding his Projekt Saucer were set to the torch.'

'You did the correct thing,' Himmler said. 'Good riddance to bad rubbish. We should have known that an American would not have served us well in the end. And now all of our resources can be directed toward the Schriever saucer, which must be successful.'

'It will be, Reichsfhrer.'

Himmler nodded, scratched his nose beneath the pince-nez, then glanced down at his astrological chart and spoke to the desk. 'Wernher von Braun and his five thousand technicians are now safely housed near Nordhausen?'

'Yes, sir. The new research station has almost been completed in the Bleicherode mine. Von Braun and his technicians have been accommodated there and in other villages in the general vicinity of Nordhausen.'

'They discovered nothing about Wilson and his Projekt Saucer?'

'No, Reichsfhrer. After executing Wilson, we destroyed all evidence of his project. That was a few days before von Braun and his team arrived.'

'Excellent,' Himmler said. 'The Allies and the Soviets will both want our scientists, so failing all else, we can use them as bartering points if it comes to surrender. Make sure they are kept under guard and be ready to move them at short notice.'

'Yes, sir,' Ernst said.

Himmler nodded thoughtfully, still gazing down at the astrological chart, which had, Ernst knew, been given to him by his 'ma.s.seur,' Felix Kersten.

How the mighty have fallen, Ernst thought. This pit has no bottom.

'Nevertheless,' Himmler said distractedly, 'I have good reason to believe the tide will turn again and leave us victorious.' He looked up at Ernst, smiled in a dreamy manner, and tapped the astrological chart with his knuckles. 'My charts,' he said. 'I study them often. The charts tell me that we'll be saved at the last minute with some secret weapon. Perhaps our new jets or the atom bomb project... But most likely Flugkapitn Schriever's flying saucer... I place my faith in my stars.'

'Yes, Reichsfhrer,' Ernst said, too embarra.s.sed to say anything else, but standing up and getting ready to take his leave. 'I'm sure that's the case.'

'You are returning to Nordhausen now?'

Ernst nodded.

'Good. When do you next plan to visit Schriever?'

'When he calls me for the test-flight of his saucer, which should be within the month.'

'According to my astrological charts, that should be enough.'

'I hope so, Reichsfhrer.'

Himmler stood up, adjusted his jacket, then straightened his spine and gave the n.a.z.i salute. He waited until Ernst had returned it, then said, 'Thank you, Captain Stoll. These are trying times, but you've behaved commendably so far. I trust you won't let me down in the future.'

'No, Reichfhrer, I won't.'

'Goodbye, Captain. Heil Hitler!'

'Heil Hitler!'