Therefore I see no need for your tactic of persuasion. It is clear that many of those who have joined are either in trouble, or are sympathetic to our struggle.

I order you to recall Hpt. Lockhart as well as any other BFC members who are recruiting in POW camps. I do not wish to see any corpses returning to Hildesheim.

I further order you to train the unit into an effective fighting force. Any further efforts at recruiting will be made by Sturmbannführer Vivian Stranders of Section D of the Germanic Administration. He will contact you shortly.

Heil Hitler

Berger

“Who the hell is Sturmbannführer Stranders?” asked Lockhart.

“Stranders is a piece of shit.”

“But he sounds English.”

“He is English.”

Lockhart looked at Strasser, his eyes requesting the other man to continue.

“I don’t know much about him, apart from the fact that he’s a complete swine. He was brought up in Birmingham, I think, his father was some sort of music professor. He came over here in his twenties to teach English, and then he returned to fight—on your side—in the last war, in the Royal Flying Corps. Some time after that, he set up a business in Düsseldorf of all places, importing motorbikes. However, I don’t know when, he was locked up in France for a while for spying. Upon his release, he came back here, setting himself up as a journalist and academic of sorts, as well as ingratiating himself with the Nazi party. He became a professor, I believe, and he’s also become a German citizen. Quite a character.”

“Quite. But why do you find him such a shit?”

“Stranders styles himself as a so-called expert in British affairs, a position that gives him a unique opportunity to interfere and get in my way. Unlike me, he’s a politician, not a soldier, and now I see that the conniving little maggot has wriggled his way into Berger’s affections.”

“What can he do?”

“I’m worried that if he turns up, half the men we’ve recruited will want to go back to their POW camps. However, with any luck, Stranders will stay in Berlin. He likes the high life too much to come out to a backwater like this.”

“Let’s hope so,” said Lockhart, meaning it.

“And as you can see from Berger’s memorandum, this puts an end to your recruiting drive.”

“Your recruiting drive, Strasser.”

Lockhart hadn’t missed the subtle ploy of blame transferral going on. Berger had referred to “your tactic of persuasion” in his memorandum, enshrining on paper that it was Strasser’s idea, not his own. And now Strasser was doing the same to Lockhart, suggesting that the recruiting drive was the Englishman’s initiative. So much for Strasser not being a politician.

“Our recruiting drive, Lockhart.”

“Your drive. My life on the line.”

“Whatever. Anyway, I now want to talk about training….”

“Haven’t you forgotten something?”

“Forgotten what?”

“Our deal.”

“Deal?”

“Yes, our deal. We agreed that I would be allowed to see my wife.”