A TALE OF THREE CITIES

ADELREIN

Carter locked himself in the bathroom. What was he doing there, among strangers? This was not the mission he had volunteered for.

The door opened, and it was Fritz, the Underground man who greeted him at his arrival. "Is everything fine? Spataro is asking for you."

Carter splashed his face with water. "I don't play poker."

"You can't quit. Jovani "Flowers" Spataro has been waiting for a professional gambler all day long."

"Okay… It's a friendly match, right?" Carter did not like Fritz's expression. "He can't be that bad with a nickname like Flowers."

"They call him Flowers because he always brings flowers to the graves of the men he kills. He keeps Luigi Marino's business in Italy while the man is doing time in maximum security in New York."

"Four Fingers Marino? The gangster?" Carter's jaw dropped. "Spataro is a gangster?"

"Yes, and he's willing to let his men work with the Allies on the invasion of Italy, didn't you know that?"

"I wasn't there when the Colonel explained this mission… My job has nothing to do with poker."

"Too late for complaints. Spataro is a gambler and his collaboration depends on how well the negotiator plays poker. If you win, he'll lend London his best gunners."

"And if I don't win?"

"Your grave won't lack flowers."

"What should I do? I can't scam a gambler."

"You'll have to pretend you can play. Spataro came from Italy for this game."

Carter sighed. "I should be blowing up the old factory in Adelstein… I hope Newkirk does better than me and doesn't burn his face off with the explosives."

ADELHOLTZ

"Bloody hell! That thing almost blew me face off!"

"You don't pour cold water on hot oil." Hanna, the waitress, watched as Newkirk put out the fire. "Are you okay?"

"Sure. What's a poker game compared to getting tanned in this bloody kitchen?" He started to pack. "I'm scramming out of here."

"Major Teppel is about to arrive and he expects to meet you here."

"Technically, he's expecting LeBeau. He's the chef."

Hanna barred the door. "It doesn't matter who's here to receive the information."

"It matters if, besides getting the bloody information, they requested a gourmet dinner for a hundred Germans."

"Twenty-five."

Newkirk bit his lip. "Major Teppel'd better come soon. Before I end up poisoning twenty-five Germans with schnitzel."

"We can serve them tea while we wait."

ADELSTEIN

LeBeau opened Carter's bag and nodded. "If Carter can do it, I can, too. Where do you want the explosives?" he asked Moritz and Viktor.

"We can wait for the expert." Moritz seemed nervous. "Viktor could radio London–"

"They sent me… by mistake, obviously but don't worry, I've seen Carter do this many times." LeBeau found the dynamite at the bottom of the bag. "Now, how much is too much?"

ADELHOZT

"Jovani Spataro."

"Who?" Hanna poured twenty-five glasses of wine.

"The gangster. I should be playing poker with him right now. Instead, they got LeBeau. He's gonna lose but he'll meet Spataro…"

"Do you play better than Spataro?"

"Of course not, the man is the best gambler in the continent. I would've cheated."

"Scam a gangster?"

"What a challenge, isn't it? He would've never known. That's why they sent me."

"How did you end here instead?"

"Somewhere, someone mixed up the town names… I was supposed to be in Adelrein, and LeBeau in Adelholtz… at least, Carter is where he needs to be."

ADELREIN

Spataro sipped his wine and dealt the cards. His black glasses blocked Carter's gaze, but at least, he looked happy. Carter peeped at his cards. That bunch of numbers meant little to him. He put them down and kept his eyes on Spataro's glasses. Was he looking at him? What was he thinking? Did people make fun of his silly nickname? At least, he brought flowers to his victims…

"Piazza la tua scommessa, allora!"

Carter jumped, turning to Fritz. "He's waiting for your bet."

Carter nodded. "Ah… collaboration to invade Italy…" He waited for Fritz to translate. "And a car, I need a ride back to camp."

Spataro's eyebrows rose behind his black glasses.

ADELSTEIN

LeBeau taped the dynamite to the columns and unrolled the wire to connect it to the detonator. "Done."

"Why's wire sparking," asked Viktor.

LeBeau screamed. "Run away! Run away!"

ADELHOLTZ

Newkirk was staring at the boiling water when Major Teppel touched his shoulder.

"Sorry," the Major laughed. "Are you a chef now? Where's LeBeau?"

"London mixed up everything and I was sent to the wrong place. You have something for me, I believe?"

"Here, you'd better leave before the officers find out that there's no more food than wine and boiling water." He shook Newkirk's hand and went back to the party.

Newkirk kissed Hanna on his way out. A thunderclap shook the window.

"It's going to rain?"

"Or the old fabric in Adelstein just collapsed," Newkirk smiled and left.

ADELREIN

Carter hid his face behind his cards, waiting for the last round. He could feel Spataro's stare. "I don't like poker… too many rules. I see you're getting impatient. I prefer Go Fish… It's fun and easy."

"Go Fish?" Spataro laughed. "Non capisco niente ma sei divertente." He put his cards on the table.

Carter knew that this was a winning hand. He took a deep breath. "I prefer camellias for my grave."

"Camellie?" Spataro's laugh echoed a thunderclap.

LeBeau caught Newkirk halfway between Adelholtz and Adelrein.

"LeBeau, how was the poker game?"

"The map was wrong and I arrived at Adelstein with Carter's bag."

"But the explosion?"

"I blew out the fabric and I hope Carter didn't mess up the dinner. I invested much time planning that meal."

"About that–"

A black car coming down the road interrupted Newkirk. "Hey, guys, jump in, we don't have to walk back."

"Blimey, Carter, where were you?"

"Who's driving?" LeBeau whispered.

"Spataro's driver."

"You met "Flowers" Spataro? And he lent you his car?"

"It was part of the bet."

"Blimey, don't tell me you won."

"Of course not, he decided to help us. He liked me, he said I'm funny."

"Newkirk, you cooked my dinner?".

"Technically… I got the envelope, though."

"Wait, I need to know what happened with my explosives."

"We need to talk about the poker game."

"Attendez, I asked first!"

"Save it. The debriefing is going to be more fun this way," Carter said.

The End.