Rigadoon (17 page)

"Now we'll see Svaboda . . ."

I look at our train, three freight cars . . . I see other trains coming in . . . at other platforms . . . and more trains . . . all with three freight cars like ours . . . three . . . four . . . five . . .
Volksturms
open them up . . . all full of people like us, just as dazed, climbing out . . . where'd these people come from? . . . from all over . . . Restif knows . . . workers and white-collar stiffs . . . looked like a big rally . . . in Oddort . . . this station without signs . . .

"I don't know if you know . . ."

Something else to tell me!

"After General Svaboda it's me! I'm second in command!"

"Certainly, Restif!"

"After him it's me!"

"Well?"

"You'll see the way we work!"

"Glad to see anything you like . . . I'm ready for anything, Restif!"

"But you'll help me?"

"What could I ever refuse you, my friend?"

"Now you're going to see the Jew . . . he knows about me . . . he's known for a long time . . . look at him!"

He shows me . . . a man with a pepper-and-salt goatee . . . dark complexion, very dark, olive . . . imposing nose, as hooked as they come . . . black eyes, somber . . . they're imposing too . . . it must have been like that in the Balkans . . . painted generals, authoritative noses, surgery it looks like to me, glad Le Vig isn't with us, he'd have thought they were trying to steal his act, he'd have had a stroke . . .

Let me tell you about the waiting room . . . they'd cleaned it up good . . . four armchairs and four stools . . . nothing else . . .

The General sits down, he gives me his hand, cordial, I'd almost say pleasant . . . he speaks with an accent . . . more Russian than Balkan, I think . . . a natural flow, singsong, not guttural . . . certainly not Turkish . . .

"My respects, madame! . . . and you, Doctor, my friendship! . . . we'll talk next door . . . all these trains here! . . . all these people! . . . this noise! . . . you'll come with us, Restif?"

We follow him . . . I see his back . . . tall, thin, almost hunched . . . next door there's an office, filing cases, a card file . . . four of them . . . the phone rings . . . he answers . . .
ja!
. . . nothing but
ja!
. . . and then
nein!
. . . he hangs up . . . he picks up a paper . . . runs his eyes over it . . . mumbles . . . he takes out his monocle . . . he turns to us . . .

"Doctor, I presume Restif has told you . . . Restif knows everything . . . I want him to know . . . he has to know . . . when I'm away, I need someone to answer . . . you understand? . . . I'm in command here, this station, the trains . . . but up top, on the wire, they command me! they give me orders! . . . someone must be here . . . responsible! . . . at all times!"

"Oh, I understand, General!"

"Someone must be here! . . . at all times! I never stay away very long . . . five ten minutes . . . I have to! necessary! . . . the outposts!"

I must have looked pretty goofy . . . what made me wag my head wasn't what he said, but his cap . . . I've seen revues all over the world, starting with the Bouffes . . . a thousand big-time operettas . . . but never a cap like that, so high, so full of embroideries, gold, silver, foliage . . . that cap was a tiara . . . the General saw my mind was wandering, he wanted to make it absolutely clear to me that he often absented himself, especially at night! . . . he attended to everything! . . . himself! . . . the outposts . . . all
Volksturms
at the outposts! . . . lazy old imbeciles!

"You're right, General!"

Restif didn't wink at me, but he tapped the floor, kind of . . . that meant "watch your step!"

Okay . . . there was something fishy about all this . . . I'd find out . . . in time . . . the General gets up . . . cap and all . . . Siegfried in Ulm had a cap too, red and white chenille, and his period coat . . . this Svaboda with his tiara cap and his super-Mephisto look was another unforgettable . . . anyway Svaboda filled me in . . . "good-bye" . . . he leaves us . . . we hear his voice outside . . . he's talking . . . Restif listens . . . he's gone . . .

"Doctor, now listen to me!"

He gets up, he goes to the door, he opens it . . . anybody there? no! . . . he comes back . . .

"Doctor, quickly! . . . I'm sure you've guessed . . . this station is a trap . . . all these people from the trains are due to be liquidated . . . they're in the way . . . you're in the way too . . . so am I . . ."

"How do you know?"

"Doctor, I'll explain later . . . now I've got to warn you . . . in a hurry! . . . they're doing it tonight. . ."

"Why?"

"Because there's no more room in the camps . . . and no more food . . . they know it outside . . ."

"Where outside?"

"In America!"

"That there's no more room in the camps?"

He's got me puzzled . . . what about Zornhof? or Rostock? . . .

"Yes, but the Russians!"

"Sure, the Russians . . . everybody's talking about the Russians, nobody ever sees them . . ."

Restif is well-informed.

"They're supposed to stop them here! . . . right here in Hanover . . . General Svaboda served with the Russians for years, he knows them . . ."

"So what?"

"They're doing it in a hurry . . . tonight. . ."

"You don't say!"

"Not the Russians! us! . . . I know that scarecrow!"

I still don't understand . . . he tells me . . . to keep my eyes open and my mouth shut . . . Lili too . . . and clear out! . . . with him! follow him! him and his men, his "commando" . . . they knew . . . I still don't get it . . . well, a little . . . I know that Restif doesn't waste his breath for nothing . . .

"Quick, Doctor! . . . luckily he takes drugs! . . ."

Ah, another victim! . . . sad! . . . but in this case . . . perfect!

"He never sleeps more than an hour . . ."

"Restif, I know something about sleep . . . an hour's not enough . . . he'd crack up . . ."

"He goes back to sleep in the daytime!"

The daytime? . . . we'll be far away! . . . mum's the word! . . . a train coming in . . . three more freight cars . . . and a mob . . . the three cars are packed . . . the station too . . . jammed! . . . what are they all going to eat? . . . where have they come from? . . . factories and offices like the rest . . . no more raw materials, no more jobs . . . but where's our General? . . . Svaboda . . . at the outposts? . . . telling them what?

"That the time has come!"

"So what do we do now?"

I was pretty tired . . . so was Lili. . . Restif notices . . .

"Doctor, I implore you! you'll be a witness . . . you'll tell the world! . . . who saved them! . . . one man: Restif! . . . you'll see . . . you'll tell!"

"Certainly, Restif. . . but from what?"

"He'll be back . . . he'll say: Restif, stay here . . . by the phone! . . . if anybody calls, wake me up! . . . when that happens, Doctor, look sharp! . . . you'll see! . . . I won't wait, not I! . . .it won't take a second!"

I listen to him . . . it all looks pretty tangled to me . . . damn their fuckups . . . for months now they'd been entertaining us . . . all over the place! . . . ah, a step! I hear a step! steps . . . and voices . . . must be him . . . it is! . . . the door . . . the gold and silver tiara . . .

"All my respects, madame! . . . Doctor, you have permission to sleep, you must be tired! . . . you, Restif, wait for me! here, by the phone . . . I'm going to lie down! just for a minute . . . if anyone calls, shake me! I have to go back to the outposts in an hour . . . I'll wake up . . . we'll each take his turn . . . you'll go in two hours . . . you'll take my watch . . ."

You can see in this office, but not very well . . . two big standing lamps . . . the General lies down in the straw . . . he doesn't undress . . . he keeps his cap on, he even pulls it down over his ears like a nightcap . . . fine! . . . we lie down too . . . Bébert hasn't been out of his bag, now we open it some, enough for him to stick his head out. . . the General said he was going to sleep . . . people yacking in the waiting room . . . a lot of them . . . how many? . . . they haven't any straw, maybe they'll come and ask us for some . . . just as I'm thinking about it, one of them shows! in through the window! . . . and then two . . . three . . . Restif's men . . . I hadn't seen them coming . . . but here they are . . . ten . . . twelve . . . I don't understand, but I hear . . .

"Waa-ah!"

That's all! . . . I get it . . . I didn't see a thing but I heard! . . . he's not dead yet . . . Restif shows me . . . two streams! . . . from the two carotids . . . his fine scalpel, curved like a sickle . . . I can see . . . sure . . . but all this blood! . . . he didn't make any noise, but there's blood all the way to the door . . . and trickling underneath . . . they'll see it outside . . . Restif doesn't waste any time, he grabs the cap, the embroidered tiara, he disentangles it from the hair and puts it on . . . and he shakes us up . . .

"Come on! . . . come on! wake up!"

I hadn't heard the bell. . . the phone! Restif jumps . . .

"Ja! . . . ja!"

He hangs up . . . looks to me like a good time to obey his orders . . .

"This way, you two!"

He shows me . . . through the window . . . climb out! . . . and cross the platform . . . then the tracks . . . looks like there isn't any road left. . .

"Sie sind Franzosen?
. . . you're French?"

People lying on the tracks . . . Restif is cool as a cucumber . . . one of them stands up . . . a shape . . . he tries to bar the way . . . bam! . . . square in the head . . . the rest of them start yelling! . . . and all the people in the station . . .

"Mörder! . . . mörder!
. . . murderers!"

"The bastards! Who do they think they are?"

"Careful, Doctor!"

"Who told you, Restif?"

"My little finger, Doctor! . . . I'll explain . . . later! now we've got to move fast! . . . I've got to see the
Volksturms
. . . I won't be long! I'll come back for you . . . oh, the weasels! . . . they'll get theirs!"

He means the people in the station . . .

"Murderers! you just wait, my little darlings! Doctor, remember this! remember what you see! . . . there won't be one left! . . . not one! three armored trains! . . . for them! . . . the Krauts have only one Messerschmidt left! . . . for them! for them!"

I didn't get it . . .

"They'll all go up in phosphorus!"

It was the "murderer" that hadn't gone down! . . . I'd seen him, he was cool enough at his work . . . now they'd browned him off! . . . calling him a murderer . . .

"I'll be right back, Doctor! . . . wait here! . . . I'll call you! . . . got to see the
Volksturms
. . ."

He walks off, a path on the right I think . . . it's pitch-dark . . . I don't see how. . . but he seems to know the way . . .

So far, so good, but it's kind of cold . . . what time is it? about three, I think . . . we'll wait for him . . . I try to make out the station . . . I see shapes . . . they look darker than the darkness . . . no time to show ourselves! . . . hell, no! we keep flat . . . those shapes are moving . . . coming our way! . . . no . . . they're pretty far on the right . . . and on the left . . . where are they going? . . . looking for Restif? . . . Restif and his men? . . . possible! . . . anything's possible . . . you probably think my brains are scrambled, but it's a fact, all this was so sudden, so quick and mixed up, that I couldn't make head nor tail . . . maybe some day the chroniclers will figure it out, but there in the night and, no use denying it, all befuddled, I still think it was sheer luck and genius that we didn't confuse right and left and start following those people whatever they were . . . Germans? . . . Moldavians? . . . Chinese? . . . I whisper to Lili:

"Let's follow them! . . . Come on, up!"

I'm not the hysterical type, but I had a strong feeling that Restif hadn't been lying, that they were going to fire on the station . . . I don't know who or where from, but I did know we were sitting ducks, the two of us . . . and Bébert . . . lying there in the rubble . . . that we were still much too near . . . and that all those shapes, those people who'd passed us, knew the score . . . Lili's willing . . . arm in arm, Bébert in his bag . . . we stand up . . . we take three steps . . . six steps . . . in the grass . . . a voice!
schnell Kerl
. . .
schnell!
quick! . . . Germans in position! . . . and more
schnells
, meaning we should hurry! . . . they let us pass . . . but they want us to shake a leg! . . . at least four . . . five . . . six machine guns . . . in position . . . aimed at the station! . . . where we've come from . . . Restif hadn't been lying! . . .

"Bam!"

The whole earth jumps! worse! like it was broken in two! . . . and the air . . . this is it! Restif hadn't been lying . . .
boom!
and another! . . . further away . . . we can see it! the flashes of their cannon! . . . red! . . . green! no! shorter! it's howitzers! . . . all zeroed in on the station! . . . I can see them now . . . Oddort! . . . an ocean of flame, as they say . . . big flames from all over, the windows, the doors, the cars . . . and boom! another! . . . another! . . . they'll never get out of that station, not one of them! . . . Restif hadn't been lying . . . but where can he be? and those people we'd followed . . . where'd they go? . . . I won't bore you with the shelling . . . dead center . . . all on the station . . . a furnace! . . . now we can see it plainly . . . very plainly . . . the howitzers and the gunners . . . weird . . . short barrels . . . no problem taking aim, they're not a thousand feet away . . . those howitzers are on the tracks, a lot of little flatcars, a whole train . . . where'd they come from? . . . ah, another noise! . . . a terrible racket . . . up in the air . . . a plane . . . with a coffee grinder . . . Restif had told us . . . their Messerschmidt . . . we know the sound . . .
rat-tat-tat! rat-tat-tat!
. . . in bursts . . . like grinding coffee by hand . . . I say to Lili . . . I don't need to say, she knows . . . down! flatter! and
wham!
. . .
crash!
. . . a bomb! and flying fragments . . . the death blow! . . . plunk on the station . . . we can see fine . . . brighter than broad daylight! . . . the howitzer train starts moving . . . their coke engine . . . the machine gunners are going too . . . they pack up and leave . . . nobody coming from the station . . . only a strong smell of fire . . . you know, the same as in Berlin and everywhere else, charred acrid wet . . . maybe more acrid than anything else . . . seeing we're alive, where'll we go? . . . nobody left but the two of us and Bébert . . . and cartridge cases and shell cases and heavy machine-gun belts and fragments . . . this track must go to Hanover . . . all right, let's follow it . . . hey, there's somebody! . . . not a ghost, not a shadow . . . a gunner . . . flesh and blood . . . I get it, he's rummaging, making sure they haven't left anything behind . . . he gropes around in the mud with his fingers! . . . no need! . . . I call him! . . . hey! hey! . . . I show him! right next to us, cartridge cases! . . . a whole pile! he's got them, he picks them up . . . and into his musette bag! . . . and a monkey wrench! . . . he sees us!