“Well there’s no time to teach you,” said Nemo. “We’ll just give you a pistol and hope for the best.”

“Where do you plan on getting a pistol?” said Patton.

“Are you kidding?” said Nemo. “We’re sitting on an arsenal here.”

“We’re sitting in a museum,” said Patton. “What makes you think any of this stuff works?”

“Of course it works,” said Alex. “I’ve spent years restoring everything here, including weapons. But I’m afraid they’re not for sale.”

“Nobody said anything about a sale,” said Nemo. “It’s more of a loan that I had in mind.”

“I told you,” said Alex, “I don’t pick sides, I just collect things. And I don’t let anything off the premises, especially weapons.”

“Well how about this,” said Nemo, crossing to Alex in a flash, grabbing his neck, and pushing him back against the wall, lifting him so that his toes barely touched the ground. “You loan us some weapons and some ammunition and I won’t break your neck and leave you to rot on the floor as the last exhibit in this house of horrors.”

“That seems reasonable,” squeaked Alex.

Nemo lowered him to the floor, let go of his neck, and patted him on the shoulders. “I thought you might find that a fair arrangement,” he said. “Now, if we’re all done with negotiations, let’s get what we need and get to London.”

“Why are we going to London?” said Ruthie.

Nemo shook his head as if he were frustrated by the inane questions of a toddler and said simply, “Supplies.”

SECTION THREE: MUNICH

TZUSO MPTMB IWDMG SHSLS

SECTION THREE:
MUNICH

VIII

VIII

“Did the rest of you get any sleep?” said Ingrid as she descended into the basement with a pot of coffee and a basket of puddingbrezels delivered by the local bakery.

“We took turns on your couch,” said Gottfried, taking a pastry. “Until things started to happen this morning.”

“Bring me up to speed,” said Ingrid, sliding into a chair and cradling a mug of coffee to her chest.

“Do you remember that woman who called wanting to talk to you about a book Columbia House sent her?”

“She left a number, right?” said Ingrid.

“Right,” said Gottfried. “Well I’ve been keeping an eye on that number and this morning it came online for a few minutes and you’ll never guess where it is.”

“Surprise me,” said Ingrid.

“On a train leaving Vienna and headed in our direction.”

“I thought she was American,” said Ingrid.

“She is,” said Dietrich. “And not only American, she’s from North Carolina.”

“This means nothing to me,” said Ingrid, taking a bite out of a puddingbrezel. “I don’t know American geography.”

“You don’t have to know American geography,” said Eva. “It’s the same state where Jasper Fleming lived. The same state where Karl and Erich followed your assassin and his newfound sidekick.”