A Man Without Breath (52 page)

A strong smell of damp and decay filled our nostrils, as if we were going so deep into the dark bowels of the earth that we might find the river Styx itself; but as Schlächter informed us, the crypt and the church were really not all that old:

‘The story goes that during the great siege of Smolensk in 1611 the city’s defenders locked themselves down here and then set fire to the ammunition depot to stop it from falling into Polish hands. There was an explosion and everything in the crypt – including the Ivans themselves – was destroyed or killed. That’s probably true. Anyway, the place fell into complete disrepair and had to be demolished in 1674; but it was 1772 before the rebuilding was finished, because the first attempt fell down, and so when Napoleon turned up and told everyone how marvellous he thought the cathedral was it could only have been about thirty or forty years old. Down here is damp only because they didn’t build proper drainage for the foundations – it’s right next to an underground spring, see? Which is why those original defenders thought it a good place to barricade in the first place – because of the access to fresh water. But it’s not so damp that an explosive charge won’t go off.

‘We removed the main explosive charges when we captured the cathedral,’ he explained. ‘At least the ordnance that was meant to blow the place right up to heaven when the Ivans cleared out of Smolensk. Now that’s what I call a bloody assumption. The Red Army had filled the whole fucking crypt
with explosive, just like they did in 1611, and they thought to detonate it with radio-controlled fuses from several hundred kilometres away, the same as in Kiev; only this time they forgot that the signal couldn’t travel underground, so the charges didn’t go off. We were walking around upstairs for days before we found the stuff down here. It could have blown us up at any time.’

‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ I asked Von Gersdorff. ‘I don’t see any point in us both risking our lives. This was my crazy idea, not yours.’

‘You forget,’ said Von Gersdorff, ‘I’ve armed and disarmed anti-personnel mines before. Or had you forgotten the Arsenal? Besides, I speak much better Russian than you, and more to the point, I read it too. Even if you do manage to open one of the NKVD’s filing cabinets without getting your head blown off, you don’t really know what the hell it is you’re looking for.’

‘You have a point there,’ I admitted. ‘Although I’m not even sure that what we’re looking for is down here.’

‘No, of course not. But like you I think it’s certainly worth a shot. I’ve been longing to get a chance to come down here and now you’ve given me a good reason. Anyway, two of us can get the job done much more quickly than one.’

At the foot of the stairs Schlächter unlocked a heavy oak door and switched on a light to illuminate a long and windowless basement that was full of filing cabinets and bookshelves and religious paraphernalia, including some precious-looking silver icons, and a couple of spare chandeliers. A large marker sign of a yellow skull and crossbones hung on a length of wire that extended across the width of the room and here and there – on walls and cupboards – were some red chalk marks.

‘Right gentlemen,’ said Schlächter. ‘Pay attention please. I’m going to tell you what I would tell anyone who joins the panzer engineers. I apologize if any of this sounds like basic training but it’s the basics that will help to keep you alive.

‘What we have down here is the handiwork of a real joker of an Ivan. He must have had days down here setting up practical jokes for us. Funny for the enemy no doubt, but not I can assure you for us. You pull something open and find that whatever it is you’re pulling – a drawer, a cabinet door, a box-file off a shelf – is linked by a short length of detcord to a half-kilo of plastic explosive that goes off before your arm has stopped moving. I’ve had one man lose his face and another lose his hand, and frankly I just don’t have the men to spare for a job like this right now – not when there’s still so much to clear up top. The SS have offered me some Russian POWs to clear this room, but I’m the old-fashioned type; I don’t believe in that sort of thing. Besides, it would defeat the object if the hidden bomb clearance resulted in the destruction of the very thing that makes hand clearance of this kind of ordnance necessary in the first place.

‘So here’s how it works. You get to find them. That’s the hard part – which is to say it’s hard finding them without getting a nasty surprise. Then I’ll come along and do the business. Now the first thing is to understand your adversary. The aim of using a hidden bomb is not to inflict casualties and damage. That is merely a means to an end. The main thing is to create an attitude of uncertainty and suspicion in your enemy’s mind. This lowers morale and creates a degree of caution that slows up his movement. Maybe so. But there’s nothing wrong with a bit of uncertainty in here.

‘Please put out of your mind any preconceptions you might have about Russians, because I can tell you that the man or
men who made these devices had a keen understanding of the essence of hidden bombing, which is low cunning and variety, not to mention human psychology. While you are in here continual vigilance is essential. It must become second nature. Keen eyesight and a suspicious mind will keep you alive in this room, gentlemen. You must look for signs of unusual activity which will warn you of potential hazards. Spend a good while looking at something before you think to touch it.

‘And the following clues may indicate the presence of a trap: anything valuable or curious that might make a good souvenir; apparently harmless but incongruous objects. On other occasions elsewhere I have found bombs in the most unlikely objects: a flashlight filled with ball bearings and explosive; a water bottle; a table-knife; a clothes peg; underneath the butt of an abandoned rifle; if it can be moved or picked up it can also explode, gentlemen.’

He pointed at one of the icons leaning against the crypt wall. It had a valuable-looking silver frame. On the wall immediately beside the icon was a red chalk mark.

‘Take that icon, for instance,’ he said. ‘That’s just the sort of thing some light-fingered Fritz might steal. But underneath the frame is a piece of paper covering a hole in the floorboards and a release switch connected to five hundred grams of plastic explosive. Enough to take a man’s foot off. Maybe his whole leg. The chandeliers are wired, so don’t touch them either. And in case you were wondering about it, the remains of the filing cabinet that you see at the head of the room ought to be eloquent proof of the risk you’re running.’

He pointed at a blackened wooden filing cabinet that had once contained three drawers and been the height of a small man: the top drawer was hanging at an angle off its rails and
the contents looked like the remains of a bonfire; on the wooden floor immediately below was a dark brown stain that might have been blood.

‘Take a long hard look at it. That drawer was hiding just two hundred grams of plastic, but it was enough to take a man’s face off and blind him. From time to time take another look at it and ask yourself – do I want to be right in front of a hidden bomb like that when it goes off?

‘Other things to look out for are nails, electric leads or pieces of wire; loose floor boards, recent brickwork; any attempt at concealment; new paint or marks that don’t seem to fit in with the surroundings; but frankly there is no end to this kind of list, so it’s best to tell you of the three main methods of operating a hidden bomb that you will find in this room. These are the pull method, the pressure method, or the release method. Also be aware that an obvious trap may be used to disguise the presence of another; and always remember this: the more dummies we find the more your vigilance is likely to be reduced. So keep paying attention. Safe procedure is to do everything slowly. If you meet the least bit of resistance stop what you’re doing. Don’t let go but call me and I will take a closer look. With most of these devices there’s a safety pin hole; to neutralize the device I will use a nail or a pin or a piece of strong wire and put it in the safety pin hole, after which the device will be safe to handle.’

The sergeant of engineers rubbed his stubbled face and thought for a moment. The stubble that covered his face wasn’t so very different from his eyebrows or the stubble that covered his head. His head looked like a rock covered with dry moss. His voice was no less rugged and laconic and the accent Low Saxon probably – as if he was about to tell a Little
Ernie joke. Around his neck was a small crucifix on a chain, which we soon discovered was the most important part of his disposal kit.

‘What else? Oh yes.’ From a haversack that was slung over his shoulder he handed us each a dental mirror, a penknife, a piece of green chalk and a small flashlight. ‘Your protective equipment. These three things will help to keep you alive, gentlemen. Right then. Let’s get started.’

Von Gersdorff consulted his notebook. ‘According to our records, we believe the case files to be on the shelves, while the NKVD’s own personnel files are probably in those cabinets marked with the people’s commissariat’s symbol, which is a hammer and sickle on top of a sword and a red banner featuring the Cyrillic symbols HKBД. None of the drawers appear to be alphabetically marked – although there is a little slot – so possibly the marker cards were removed. Fortunately Krivyenko starts with the Cyrillic letter K, which is an easy one to spot for someone like you who doesn’t read Russian. Unfortunately there are thirty-three letters in the Cyrillic alphabet. Here, I’ve written out an alphabet for you, so you’ll have a better idea of what you’re looking at. I’ll work down the cabinets on the left side of the room and you, Gunther – you take the right-hand side.’

‘And I’ll take a look at what’s on the shelves,’ said Sergeant Schlächter. ‘If the drawer is safe put a green cross on it. And don’t for Christ’s sake slam them shut when you’ve finished.’

I went to the first filing cabinet and scrutinized it for a long minute before turning my attention to the bottom drawer.

‘Pay attention to the bottom of the drawer as well as to the top,’ said Schlächter. ‘Look out for a wire or a piece of cord. If the drawer opens safely and it happens to be the
drawer you’re looking for, don’t pull a file out without observing the same precautions that apply to everything else here.’

Kneeling down, I drew the heavy wooden drawer out only two or three centimetres and shone my flashlight carefully into the space I had made. Observing nothing suspicious I gently pulled the drawer out a bit more until I was sure there were no wires or hidden bombs and then looked inside; the files were all headed with the letter K. Briefly I paused and began to examine the outside of the drawer immediately above; I knew there was nothing on the underside, so once again I drew it out a couple of centimetres and scrutinized the narrow gap; this drawer was also harmless and contained files beginning with the letter K, so I stood up and began to look at the last drawer in the cabinet; and when at last I was satisfied that it too was safe – like the two others before, it contained K files – I put a cross on all three drawers with my chalk and let out a long breath as I stood back. I glanced at my wristwatch and clasped my hands together for a moment in order to stop them from shaking. Checking one filing cabinet and pronouncing it clear of hidden bombs had taken me ten minutes.

I glanced around. Schlächter was between two high sets of metal shelves that were filled with papers and box files; Von Gersdorff was checking the underside of a drawer with his dental mirror.

‘At this rate it will take us all day,’ I said.

‘You’re doing fine,’ said the sergeant. ‘Clearing a room like this might take as long as a week.’

‘There’s a thought,’ murmured Von Gersdorff. He placed a green cross on the drawer in front of him and moved on to the next cabinet a metre or so behind me.

This went on – the three of us working at snail’s pace – for another fifteen or twenty minutes, and it was Von Gersdorff who found the first device.

‘Hello,’ he said, calmly. ‘I think I’ve found something, sergeant.’

‘Hold on. I’ll come and take a look. Herr Gunther? Stop working, sir, and go to the door. I’d rather you didn’t find another device while I’m assisting the colonel.’

‘Besides,’ added Von Gersdorff, ‘there’s no point in three of us getting it if the file is active, so to speak.’

This was good advice and, as instructed, I went back to the door. I lit a cigarette and waited.

Sergeant Schlächter came and stood by Von Gersdorff and took a long hard look at the drawer the colonel was still holding partly open, but not before he had kissed the little gold crucifix on the chain around his neck and placed it in his mouth.

‘Oh, yes,’ he said with the crucifix between his teeth. ‘There’s a paper clip hooked over the lip of the drawer. It’s attached to a length of wire. There’s slack on the wire so I think we can be sure it’s not a tension device but a bomb that’s designed to go off when a firing pin is pulled out. If you don’t mind, sir, perhaps you could gently pull the drawer back another few centimetres until I tell you to stop.’

‘Very well,’ said the colonel.

‘Stop,’ said the sergeant. ‘Now, keep it steady, sir.’

Schlächter pushed his hands through the narrow space and into the drawer.

‘Plastic explosive,’ he said. ‘About half a kilo, I think. More than enough to kill us both. An electric dry-cell battery and two metal contacts. It’s a simple device, but no less deadly for that. You keep pulling the drawer, you pull one plate
toward the other, you make contact, the battery sends a signal to the detonator, and kaboom. Battery might well be dead after all this time, but there’s no point in risking it. If you could hand me a small chunk of modelling clay, sir.’

Von Gersdorff searched in the sergeant’s haversack and took out a chunk of clay.

‘If you wouldn’t mind just handing that to me inside the drawer, sir.’

The colonel pushed his hand into the drawer alongside Schlächter’s and then withdrew it gently.

‘I’ll put some clay around the metal contacts, to prevent a circuit from being made,’ said the sergeant. ‘And then we can pull out the detonator.’