Toward the end of the meal, Hausen's cellular telephone, chirped. He pulled it from his jacket pocket, excused himself, and half-turned to answer.

His bright eyes dulled and his thin lips turned down. He said very little.

When the call was finished, Hausen laid the phone on the table. "That was my assistant," he said. He looked from Lang to Hood. "There's been a terrorist attack on a movie location outside of Hanover. Four people are dead. An American girl is missing and there's reason to believe she has been kidnapped."

Lang grew ashen. "The movie-- was it Tirpitz?"

Hausen nodded. The government official was obviously upset.

Herbert asked, "Do they know who did it?"

"No one has claimed credit," Hausen said. "But the shooting was done by a woman."

"Doring," Lang said. He looked from Hausen to Herbert. "This can only be Karin During, the leader of Feuer. They're one of the most violent neo-Nazi groups in Germany." His voice was a low, sad monotone. "It's as Richard was saying. She recruits young savages from the East and trains them herself."

"Wasn't there any security?" Herbert asked.

Hausen nodded. "One of the victims was a guard."

"Why attack a movie set?" Hood asked.

"It was an American and German production," Hausen said. "That's reason enough for Doring. She wants all foreigners out of Germany. But the terrorists also stole a trailer filled with Nazi memorabilia. Medals, weapons, uniforms, and the like."

"Sentimental bastards," Herbert said.

"Perhaps," said Hausen. "Or they may want it for something else. You see, gentlemen, there is an abhorrent phenomenon, several years old, called Chaos Days."

"I've heard of that," Herbert said.

"Not through the media, I suspect," Hausen said. "Our reporters don't want to publicize the event."

"Sort of makes them accomplices to Nazi-style censorship, doesn't it?" Stoll wondered.

Herbert scowled at him. "Hell, no. I don't blame them. I've heard about Chaos Days from friends at Interpol. It really is a stinking business."

"It is that," Hausen agreed. He looked at Stoll, then at Hood. "Hate groups from all over Germany and even from other nations converge in Hanover, one hundred kilometers south of here. They have rallies and exchange their sick ideas and literature. Some, including Doring's group, have made it a tradition of attacking symbolic as well as strategic targets during this time."

"At least, intelligence leads us to believe that it's Doring's group," Lang put in. "She's quick and very, very careful."

Herbert said, "And the government doesn't crack down on Chaos Days for fear of creating martyrs."

"Many people in government are afraid of that, yes," Hausen said. "They are afraid of the increasingly open pride many otherwise right-thinking Germans have for what the nation, galvanized and mobilized under Hitler, was able to accomplish. These officials want to legislate radicalism out of existence without punishing the radicals themselves. During Chaos Days in particular, when so many antagonistic elements are out in force, the government treads carefully."