Page 18 (2/2)

"it&039;s all dangerous now," Bittner replied "It&039;s a question of strategies Who&039;s the s had been tacked tightly across one wall so there wasn&039;t a single wrinkle The chair just beneath it was vacant; the Commander was noticeably, perhaps pointedly, absent The executive officers were talking, eating, drinking, but watching the door that led out into the street

"Sonofabitching Toot Ernst&039;s boat last week," Hanlin was saying betweenabout that," added Drexil, a fresh-faced, raw recruit sitting beside Hanlin "It happened just off Iceland"

"Sonsofbitches came out of the sun," Hanlin continued "Slammed bombs all around the boat, doused their tower pretty well, but they ency dive"

"Dairls; there were three of thes of beer back and forth from bar to irls, firm-fleshed and youthful - and he&039;d heard stories about the taller one frole-toothedthe street for Yet she was theherself down in the laps of thein their bawdy choruses "The Paradise," Bruno said "They&039;ve got women over there who dance on your tables!"

"Ahhhhhhh!&039; You&039;re horny as hell!" VonStagel chided

"I aders think it&039;s a joy breaking your back in an engine roos with perfume before I have to smell the stench of oil and piss! The Paradise and then the Seaht"

"I&039;el looked around "Schiller, what about you?"

And then there was a silence in the room as the door came open A chill seemed to spread fro and drinking died away; in the quiet the sailors could hear a tug chugging off in the harbor, and the distant wail of a foghorn Boots clattered sharply on the hardwood floor

Korrin had come in from the street; two otherhis gaze around the bar,the eyes of the crew one after one "Heil Hitler!" he said sharply, clicking his heels together and raising his arm in the Nazi salute

The men stood to attention "Heil Hitler," they replied as one

Beneath Korrin&039;s U-boat officer&039;s cap the reddish-blond hair was just taking on flecks of gray, and his face was hard, the eyes fierce and co, intensely dark and powerful He was a tallA slight scar slashed across his upper lip gave it the trace of a scornful curl, and his cheeks bore the jagged scars of fencing wounds He wore black gloves; a dark brown, rain-dappled coat was draped over his shoulders Schiller squir probed by a microscope lens

"My name is Wilhelm Korrin," the commander said quietly, his voice softer than Schiller would have expected "So!" He looked around the roo, as cold as the touch of ice on each man&039;s spine "This is to be my crew" He turned his head toward one of the er with every new coave a brief, thin-lipped smile and the come," he said "Some of you may be old men e return Some of you may die Some of you may be heroes But rest assured there will be no cowards" He held his gaze steady for a few seconds, and the man under his scrutiny nervously shifted his position

"Some of you I know from other boats; some of you will be under my command for the first time What I require is very simple: You will carry out your duties as sea, and you will obey el lifted his beer, and the commander immediately sensed the el lowered thein the finest weapon the Ger as you sail under my command each one of you will be a vital part of that weapon You will breathe with the boat; you&039;ll roll with her, you&039;ll feel her vibrations down in the pit of your guts, and you&039;ll know her like a lover"

Korrin rested his hands on the back of a chair, the fingers in those black gloves as long and delicate as a surgeon&039;s "I regret I won&039;t be joining you for the evening, but I&039;ht; do what you like hoht, and any man unable to report must answer to me Is that understood?" He reached down for a bottle of red wine, poured half a glass, and then held the goblet up For an instant Schiller saw the co barely huentlemen," Korrin said

Glasses were hurriedly filled, lifted in silence "To our good hunting," the comoblet to the table; without looking at his crew again he rejoined the other two officers and they left the bar together, their boots clattering in the street

There was a long silence in the room; someone muttered, and very slowly the activity resumed

Bruno shook his head "It&039;s the Paradise for e Discovered Those tords had been seared across Schiller&039;s brain Was it the wreckage of U-198? And if so, asn&039;t it where it was supposed to be, down in the murky vault of the sea? He had been the only one to escape, that terrible night so long ago, and now the past had resurfaced, suotten place

They were all dead, of course All his friends and crew the slow fall of the depth charges, seeing the ocean erupt again and again in geysers of white, roiling foa still bound him to them, even after all these years; he was still part of theh he was older noeaker, with failing eyesight anda life very different from the one he had once envisioned for himself, he was still a sailor in the German navy, and still a crewht, if it was his boat he should be there to say a final good-bye to his companions

He held up a hand for the bartender to see, and when the man approached he said, "Please I&039;d like another beer"