FINALLY - THE TREASURE
The road to Deutschkatharinenberg literally skirts the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. We finally arrived at a likely spot to camp about three quarters of a mile past the mine itself. It was densely wooded. So, we pulled the Defender off the road and in among the primeval trees.
We had camping gear that would keep us reasonably comfortable; I had bought us a Hilleberg Tent which is my dad's favorite for camping. It has a vestibule arrangement that makes the inside almost weatherproof. It was late spring. So, the temperature wasn't too bad. But the rain persisted in sheets.
I was wearing thermal underwear, with a tight pair of jeans and an open neck Orvis safari shirt. I had on a good pair of Merrell boots and a rain suit that was not a lot different than the foul weather gear we wore on the sailboat. Mel was dressed similarly except she was wearing a fisherman's sweater. She's lived in London her whole life. But she says her Indian roots make her susceptible to cold. We set up the tent and it was almost homey. We didn't want to draw attention with a fire. So, we ate MREs and listened to the rain beating on the tent.
I had all my electronic gear with me. I used the sat-link to check the situation back on Parizska street and it appeared that the Bratva had finally figured out that we'd arrived in Prague. They had probably been checking the hotels. Mel was curled up next to me on her air mattress arm propped on one of the waterproof camping pillows. She was ignoring me, while she listened to a tune on her Apple Nano and read her Kindle by the light of a glow stick.
It was surreal. Here we were in one of the wildest places in Europe, with all of the comforts of home. Mel was in her thermal undies. Her astounding sexuality was perfectly captured by her outrageous curves. The huge mountains of her breasts and the round hills of her hips were outlined under the Gortex. I marveled at the contrast between Mel's womanly hips and her tiny waist. She looked like a Neolithic fertility idol.
I used my laptop to read the rest of the documents in the original Bratva file. I also listened to an audio recording. The narrator was the father of a Bratva warlord. It was clearly made by an old man. He had fought in the Great Patriotic War, which we in the West call World War II. The father found the treasure by accident. He chose to rebury it by blowing the mine passage. The father didn't make it back. But his son did. That explained why the Bratva owned the Varus loot. I even knew that the hoard was fifteen huge chests.
I sent all the information back to Sir Alex. Within 30 minutes he shot back, "Well done! Mission accomplished!" I told him that I wouldn't consider it accomplished until I had actually seen the treasure. He shot back all caps, "DO NOT ACT - SENDING HELP." I knew who Sir Alex was talking about and I was ashamed to admit how thrilled I was. The mystery man had gotten seriously under my skin. I could overcome any challenge. But a girl can always use a man, if nothing more than to keep her warm on a rainy night. And on a cold night in the middle of a driving rain, it's particularly nice to have a man's body next to yours in a tent.
Just after midnight, the end of the tent unzipped and in walked a man who took my breath away. His aura of total competence and sexuality overwhelmed me. He gave me a jaunty smile and said, "John Smith at your service Mademoiselle." I looked at him as coolly as I could, considering the rate that my heart was hammering, and said, "We were expecting you, " Then I offered him, a drink. He looked at me with genuine speculation and said, "You are a strange woman Hilley Larson."
*****
Ivan had thought that he was sitting on the girls at their hotel. Then he got a call from Sir Alex. who said, "I just got a message from Hilley Larson. They've found the Varus treasure and they're planning to go down in the mine to make a visual confirmation. I think that you'd better get up there as soon as possible."
Ivan said, "Send me the coordinates and I will be there as soon as I can." He locked in the location in the GPS program on his smartphone. Once he did, he was amazed to discover that they were in the trackless mountains on the German border. He thought, "What kind of twenty-six-year-old girl has the guts to do that?" He knew the area. He had worked dead-drops there back in the day. He knew that it was a dangerous place; especially for two young women.
He estimated that he could drive to Litvinov, which was the nearest town. But the only way into the region would be to hike five miles as the crow flies. The roads that led up to the mine were treacherous. With the rain it would take hours to drive there; if it were even possible to do that at all. More important, tradecraft dictated that there should not be any more automobile traffic near their site. So, he planned to walk there in his waterproof hooded coat and heavy boots. He just hoped that the mountains weren't too steep.
Ivan had been trekking up and down very rough terrain for almost three hours when he saw their campsite. It was in the woods near a road. A Land Rover Defender was parked nearby. The hike that he had just done would be difficult for anybody who didn't have his remarkable physical gifts. But it was a simple challenge for Ivan. The driving rain was a distraction. But he had endured blizzards and sub-zero temperatures for weeks in the Afghan mountains. Still, the rain DID make the rocks slippery and so he had to concentrate.
Ivan approached the girls' tent. It was lit by glow sticks. He approved of the low light and no-fire solution. But he did NOT approve of the fact that they hadn't set up a perimeter. They were clearly inexperienced. Before he entered the tent, he spent a couple of minutes creating the usual tripwires and alarms. It was second nature from his Spetsnaz days. Mother nature provided all the materials, branches, vines and rocks. Ivan took off his wet things in the vestibule of the tent and then he unzipped it and walked inside.
Hilley must have heard him coming, because she did not react to his sudden entry. Instead, she coolly turned her head and said, "I was expecting you, how about a drink?" She then produced a flask of expensive scotch and poured him three fingers. Her friend Mel was sound asleep in her bag. Mel was lying on her side facing away from them. The big round hills of her hips and ass were evident. She was snoring lightly which was a delightful little sound.
