philip_k_dick_-_the_man_in_the_high_castle

'Hold on.' A long pause, during which Reiss continued, with one hand, to inspect his mail. Kreuz
vom Meere watched slackly. 'Herr Konsul, sorry to take your time.' A man's voice. The blood in
Reiss' veins instantly stopped its motion. Baritone, cultivated, rolling-out-smooth voice familiar to
Reiss. 'This is Doktor Goebbels.'
'Yes, Kanzler.' Across from Reiss, Kreuz vom Meere slowly showed a smile. The slack jaw
ceased to hang.
'General Heydrich has just asked me to call you. There is an agent of the Abwehr there in San
Francisco. His name is Rudolf Wegener. You are to cooperate fully with the police regarding him.
There isn't time to give you details. Simply put your office at their disposal. Ich danke Ihnen sehr
dabei.'
'I understand, Herr Kanzler,' Reiss said.
'Good day, Konsul.' The Reichskanzler rang off.
Kreuz vom Meere watched intently as Reiss hung up the phone. 'Was I right?'
Reiss shrugged. 'No dispute, there.'
'Write out an authorization for us to return this Wegener to Germany forcibly.'
Picking up his pen, Reiss wrote out the authorization, signed it, handed it to the SD chief.
'Thank you,' Kreuz vorn Meere said. 'Now, when the Jap authorities call you and complain — '
'If they do.'
Kreuz vom Meere eyed him. 'They will. They'll be here within fifteen minutes of the time we
pick this Wegener up.' He had lost his joking, clowning manner.
'No string quintet violinists,' Reiss said.
Kreuz vom Meere did not answer. 'We'll have him sometime this morning, so be ready. You can
tell the Japs that he's a homosexual or a forger, or something like that. Wanted for a major crime
back home. Don't tell them he's wanted for political crimes. You know they don't recognize ninety
percent of National Socialist law.'
'I know that,' Reiss said. 'I know what to do.' He felt irritable and put upon. Went over my head,
he said to himself. As usual. Contacted the Chancery. The bastards.
His hands were shaking. Call from Doctor Goebbels; did that do it? Awed by the mighty? Or is it
resentment, feeling of being hemmed in. . . goddam these police, he thought. They get stronger all
the time. They've got Goebbels working for them already; they're running the Reich.
But what can I do? What can anybody do?
Resignedly he thought, Better cooperate. No time to be on the wrong side of this man; he can
probably get whatever he wants back home, and that might include the dismissal of everybody
hostile to him.
'I can see,' he said aloud, 'that you did not exaggerate the importance of this matter, Herr
Polizeifuhrer. Obviously, the security of Germany herself hangs on your quick detection of this spy
or traitor or whatever he is.' Inwardly, he cringed to hear his choice of words.
However, Kreuz vom Meere looked pleased. 'Thank you, Consul.'
'You may have saved us all.'
Gloomily Kreuz vom Meere said, 'Well, we haven't picked him up. Let's wait for that. I wish that
call would come.'
I'll handle the Japanese,' Reiss said. 'I've had a good deal of experience, as you know. Their
complaints — '
'Don't ramble on,' Kreuz vom Meere interrupted. 'I have to think.' Evidently the call from the
Chancery had bothered him; he, too, felt under pressure now.