Pact With the Devil: Switzerland and Epilogue
CHAPTER 3: SWITZERLAND, DECEMBER 1938
The exchange took place in true cloak and dagger fashion, just after midnight on a deserted bridge on the Swiss/Austrian border. Snow was falling gently, coating the stonework railings of the bridge and the evergreens on either bank with a blanket of white. It was an incongruously pretty scene, Indy thought as he watched his breath come out in tiny clouds, more like a Christmas card than the tense matter of life and death it actually was.
Jakob Rosen stood beside him, silent and unnaturally calm. If I were in his shoes, Indy thought, I'd be pacing. Out loud, he said, "Take it easy, Jake. It's still a few minutes before the rendezvous time. Nothing to be afraid of yet."
Jakob let out of breath, a soft, mirthless laugh in the darkness." "You don't understand, Indiana. I used to be afraid. Afraid of heights. Of deep water. Of the Nazis. They don't frighten me anymore."
It was true, Indy thought. His friend had changed since that night two months before when he had shown up on Indy's doorstep in a state of near shock. Or perhaps, the inner strength had been there all along, only needing the events of the past months to bring it to the surface. You could only push a man so far before you hardened him and made him fight back, Indy supposed. It was a lesson Hitler and his band of bullies would do well to take to heart.
Right on schedule, the Mercedes-Benz staff car pulled to a halt on the opposite end of the bridge and the familiar figure stepped out: Diefenthaler.
Jones strode out onto the bridge, slightly favoring his taped ankle. He held the shield, wrapped in loose burlap, tucked under his arm. Diefenthaler strode out to meet him.
"You have the artifact?" the tall SS man asked.
Jones nodded. "And the… payment?"
"In the car. Let me see the shield."
Indy removed the protective layers of burlap, trying to disguise his contempt. He could be handing over a guilt-painted garbage can lid for all that lout Diefenthaler would know. Not that the idea hadn't occurred to him, but he decided that such a ruse would simply not be worth the risk.
Diefenthaler gasped when he caught sight of the gleaming metal. "Solid gold! The Führer will be pleased!" He reached out to take possession of the shield.
"Not so fast," Indy said. "I want Frau Rosen and the children first. And don't try anything funny. My partner, Dr. Rosen, has a pistol, and I have an idea he'd be only too happy to use it if there's so much as a hair out of place on any one of his family."
For a moment, Diefenthaler looked vaguely astonished at the unthinkable notion of a Jew actually shooting back, then he turned and motioned in the direction of the car. Bruch slid out from behind the wheel and unlocked one of the car's rear doors. Rachel Rosen, looking tense and wary, but otherwise unhurt, emerged, followed by her two children. She looked around fearfully in the darkness, and Indy realized that she had not been told what was happening.
Bruch shoved her out onto the bridge. "Raus, blöde hunde!" he shouted. "Raus!"
Rachel moved ahead, with a hand firmly on each child's shoulder, slowly at first but then swiftly as she caught sight of the familiar figure on the other end of the bridge. Joy mixed with relief washed over her pinched face and her lips moved soundlessly, "Jakob!"
At the sight of her father, little Rebecca broke free and ran across the snowy bridge into his waiting arms, yelling, "Papa, Papa!" In a moment, Rachel and Dieter came running after.
As soon as they were past, Jones sidestepped quickly, carefully keeping his body between them and the line of fire from the car.
"There is no need for that, Dr. Jones," said Diefenthaler, taking the shield from Indy's outstretched hands. "Now that we have the Fuhrer's prize, they are nothing to us. We are not barbarians."
Indy raised one eyebrow. "No…? Glad to hear it."
With a dirty look, Diefenthaler spun on his heel and headed for the car.
"Oh-by the way, Herr Colonel, I almost forgot…" Indy called out, hurrying after Diefenthaler while fumbling around in the pockets of his overcoat. "Here's a little something extra for your boss, just because you've been so nice and all." He held out a sealed envelope. "I did a translation of the inscription on the inner rim of the shield. You make sure he sees it. I think he'll find it interesting."
"Er … danke, Dr. Jones," Diefenthaler said, looking puzzled at Indy's sudden cooperation. He slipped the envelope inside the shield's wrappings and motioned to Bruch. The two Nazis got into the car and drove off into the night.
Jones grinned after the receding noise of the engine and whispered the worst, most obscene German language insult he knew. He turned and limped slowly back across the bridge, letting Jake and his family have time and privacy for their reunion.
Fortune and Glory-hah! This had been one of the most successful jobs of his career: a bona fide artifact, no natives to take it back, no Belloq to steal it from him. And where did it get him? Walking alone in the dark with a figurative bad taste in his mouth and a literal pile of snow down his back.
"That's the story of my life," he told himself.
But as he reached the other side of the bridge and saw his friends in one huge embrace and heard the mingled sobs and laughter, he decided it had all been worth it.
EPILOGUE: THE REVENGE OF THE PhD, JANUARY, 1939
"Come in, gentlemen," Marion Jones said calmly "We've been expecting you for quite a while."
If Major Eaton and Colonel Musgrove, standing side by side on the snow covered Jones porch like two impassive statues, were surprised by the unruffled nature of their reception, they betrayed no outward sign of it.
Without another word, Marion led the two Army Intelligence officers to the study, where they found Indiana Jones seated at his desk correcting a stack of exam papers. A fire crackled in the fireplace behind him, and a slightly dried out fir tree, a holdover from Christmas, stood in one corner, filling the room with the faint smell of pine. Jones looked up from his work, greeting his visitors with a genial smile of recognition as Marion somewhat reluctantly excused herself and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Indy knew his wife would have given almost anything to be a fly on the wall during the upcoming interview and he half expected to see a brown eye appear at the keyhole.
"Colonel - Major - I won't ask what brings me the honor of your presence. I imagine you boys have finally found out how I spent my autumn vacation."
"Indeed we have, Dr. Jones," Musgrove said grimly, "and I warn you, what we learn in this interview will have a direct bearing on any action the United States Government may decide to take against you."
"I knew you had a reputation in archaeological circles as a mercenary, Jones," Eaton added disapprovingly, "but after hearing about this latest stunt, I believe you'd rob your own mother's grave if the price were right!"
Indy's eyes narrowed slightly, but he held onto his temper and his smile. "Adolf Hitler may be a vicious racist and a certifiable madman, but he had better manners than you, Major - I'll give him that much." He turned his attention back to Colonel Musgrove. "As it happens, the reward in this case was one I couldn't afford to pass up. I assume you know that I went after the shield in return for the freedom of Dr. Rosen's wife and children."
To his credit, Musgrove looked slightly uncomfortable. "Yes… we were aware of that fact."
"And if it had been up to you, you wouldn't have lifted a finger to help them, I suppose?"
"Dr. Jones," Musgrove replied evenly, "Jakob Rosen and his family aren't American citizens. Our government has no power over the internal affairs of a foreign country."
Indy made a noise of disgust. "Spoken like a true politician. That seems to be the general consensus nowadays. You and the rest of the free world turn a blind eye while Hitler murders innocent people. And you sit with your fingers up your noses while he gobbles up more and more of Europe without so much as a fight. The Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia - what's next, Poland? And spineless idiots like Neville Chamberlain prate about peace in our time!"
"You're becoming well known for your strong anti-German views, Dr. Jones," Musgrove said. "Would you really prefer another World War?"
"I fought in the Great War. Remember - the one that was supposed to end them all? I know what it's like to live in mud and filth and to have men standing right beside you blown into bloody rain. Nobody hates war more than I do. But I don't think we have a choice anymore." Jones paused and looked Musgrove in the eye. "I've met Adolf Hitler, Colonel, and the man means business. If something isn't done soon, he'll become so strong that we'll spend the best blood of a generation stopping him!"
"Then that's all the more reason for not fueling his megalomania any further," Eaton said.
Jones shrugged. "On that subject, you may be interested in this," he said, pulling a sheet of paper from his desk drawer and handing it to Eaton. "When I translated the inscription on the back of the shield, I kept a copy for myself."
Eaton read the paper with an expression of mounting surprise, then handed it to his Superior. Musgrove rapidly scanned the sheet and began to smile as he read aloud: "'To the bearer of this shield, I, the goddess Athena, grant the boon of invincibility. But mock me not! He who uses this gift to do evil shall know my wrath. At the height of his power his work shall come to ruin and he shall die by his own hand.' Is this message really on the shield, Jones?"
"I wouldn't dare lie about a thing like that," Indy said. "No doubt Hitler will have his own antiquarians to confirm the translation for him. I merely made sure it came to his attention."
"So he has his shield of power," Musgrove said, "but only at the price of having the seeds of doubt sown in his mind. You knew this all along, didn't you?"
Jones nodded. "It's a less well known part of the Alexander legend, but… yes, I did."
Eaton and shook his head and sighed. "It seems I owe you an apology, Dr. Jones."
"Don't be so quick to apologize, Major. I have an idea I would have done it anyway - with the lives of a woman and her children at stake."
"Perhaps you would have," Eaton said. "Perhaps you still would. But have you stopped to consider whether the lives of two or three people outweigh the greater harm you might have done?"
Jones' expression turned thoughtful. "To be absolutely honest with you, Major, I'm still working on that last one."
It was Musgrove who broke the ensuing uncomfortable silence. "What about you, Jones? Do you, the 'expert in the occult', believe the legend yourself?"
"What - you mean about the Goddess Athena and the powers of the shield?" Indy stared at Musgrove in surprise.
Now that the G-Men had mentioned it, the warning on the shield did seem to have some basis in fact. Alexander the Great had used his power for evil. The once enlightened youth had become in his later years cruel, power-hungry, and despotic, once going so far as to kill an old friend in an alcohol induced rage. By all accounts, he had drunk himself to death, in effect, dying by his own hand. "I think we've had this conversation before, Colonel. It doesn't matter what I believe or even what's 'true'. What matters is what Adolf Hitler believes."
"A self-fulfilling prophecy," Musgrove mused.
"We can only hope. I'd be happy enough if it just toned him down a little. But I'll tell you something else," Indy said, leaning back in his chair. "I've been from one end of this earth to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange things. But I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one, all encompassing 'truth'; to the system of things. So maybe we shouldn't write off the Goddess Athena too quickly. I'm all for giving the lady her due."
Musgrove smiled. "Well, Dr. Jones, I think we've learned what we came for," he said, rising from his chair. "We can consider the incident closed. We may call on you again in the future, though, if the government has further need of your expertise."
"You know me, gentleman. I'll be happy to oblige - for the right price." He shot Eaton a pointed glance that plainly said he was not referring to money.
"Of course, Dr Jones," Eaton said. "I've decided I like the way you do business."
"Don't trouble yourself," Musgrove said, as Indy began to rise. "We can let ourselves out."
At the door, Musgrove paused and turned back. "Oh, one more thing, Dr. Jones, about Dr. Rosen…"
Indy snapped to attention. He was no longer in any trouble for his part in the affair of the shield, but Jake was an alien… He stiffened his resolve and prepared to do battle for his friend. If all else failed, he would play his last trump card and threaten to go public with his knowledge of the Ark of the Covenant. When it came to the US government, Indiana Jones knew where a few bodies were buried.
But Musgrove merely smiled. "Please tell Dr. Rosen and his family for us - welcome to their new home."
The exchange took place in true cloak and dagger fashion, just after midnight on a deserted bridge on the Swiss/Austrian border. Snow was falling gently, coating the stonework railings of the bridge and the evergreens on either bank with a blanket of white. It was an incongruously pretty scene, Indy thought as he watched his breath come out in tiny clouds, more like a Christmas card than the tense matter of life and death it actually was.
Jakob Rosen stood beside him, silent and unnaturally calm. If I were in his shoes, Indy thought, I'd be pacing. Out loud, he said, "Take it easy, Jake. It's still a few minutes before the rendezvous time. Nothing to be afraid of yet."
Jakob let out of breath, a soft, mirthless laugh in the darkness." "You don't understand, Indiana. I used to be afraid. Afraid of heights. Of deep water. Of the Nazis. They don't frighten me anymore."
It was true, Indy thought. His friend had changed since that night two months before when he had shown up on Indy's doorstep in a state of near shock. Or perhaps, the inner strength had been there all along, only needing the events of the past months to bring it to the surface. You could only push a man so far before you hardened him and made him fight back, Indy supposed. It was a lesson Hitler and his band of bullies would do well to take to heart.
Right on schedule, the Mercedes-Benz staff car pulled to a halt on the opposite end of the bridge and the familiar figure stepped out: Diefenthaler.
Jones strode out onto the bridge, slightly favoring his taped ankle. He held the shield, wrapped in loose burlap, tucked under his arm. Diefenthaler strode out to meet him.
"You have the artifact?" the tall SS man asked.
Jones nodded. "And the… payment?"
"In the car. Let me see the shield."
Indy removed the protective layers of burlap, trying to disguise his contempt. He could be handing over a guilt-painted garbage can lid for all that lout Diefenthaler would know. Not that the idea hadn't occurred to him, but he decided that such a ruse would simply not be worth the risk.
Diefenthaler gasped when he caught sight of the gleaming metal. "Solid gold! The Führer will be pleased!" He reached out to take possession of the shield.
"Not so fast," Indy said. "I want Frau Rosen and the children first. And don't try anything funny. My partner, Dr. Rosen, has a pistol, and I have an idea he'd be only too happy to use it if there's so much as a hair out of place on any one of his family."
For a moment, Diefenthaler looked vaguely astonished at the unthinkable notion of a Jew actually shooting back, then he turned and motioned in the direction of the car. Bruch slid out from behind the wheel and unlocked one of the car's rear doors. Rachel Rosen, looking tense and wary, but otherwise unhurt, emerged, followed by her two children. She looked around fearfully in the darkness, and Indy realized that she had not been told what was happening.
Bruch shoved her out onto the bridge. "Raus, blöde hunde!" he shouted. "Raus!"
Rachel moved ahead, with a hand firmly on each child's shoulder, slowly at first but then swiftly as she caught sight of the familiar figure on the other end of the bridge. Joy mixed with relief washed over her pinched face and her lips moved soundlessly, "Jakob!"
At the sight of her father, little Rebecca broke free and ran across the snowy bridge into his waiting arms, yelling, "Papa, Papa!" In a moment, Rachel and Dieter came running after.
As soon as they were past, Jones sidestepped quickly, carefully keeping his body between them and the line of fire from the car.
"There is no need for that, Dr. Jones," said Diefenthaler, taking the shield from Indy's outstretched hands. "Now that we have the Fuhrer's prize, they are nothing to us. We are not barbarians."
Indy raised one eyebrow. "No…? Glad to hear it."
With a dirty look, Diefenthaler spun on his heel and headed for the car.
"Oh-by the way, Herr Colonel, I almost forgot…" Indy called out, hurrying after Diefenthaler while fumbling around in the pockets of his overcoat. "Here's a little something extra for your boss, just because you've been so nice and all." He held out a sealed envelope. "I did a translation of the inscription on the inner rim of the shield. You make sure he sees it. I think he'll find it interesting."
"Er … danke, Dr. Jones," Diefenthaler said, looking puzzled at Indy's sudden cooperation. He slipped the envelope inside the shield's wrappings and motioned to Bruch. The two Nazis got into the car and drove off into the night.
Jones grinned after the receding noise of the engine and whispered the worst, most obscene German language insult he knew. He turned and limped slowly back across the bridge, letting Jake and his family have time and privacy for their reunion.
Fortune and Glory-hah! This had been one of the most successful jobs of his career: a bona fide artifact, no natives to take it back, no Belloq to steal it from him. And where did it get him? Walking alone in the dark with a figurative bad taste in his mouth and a literal pile of snow down his back.
"That's the story of my life," he told himself.
But as he reached the other side of the bridge and saw his friends in one huge embrace and heard the mingled sobs and laughter, he decided it had all been worth it.
EPILOGUE: THE REVENGE OF THE PhD, JANUARY, 1939
"Come in, gentlemen," Marion Jones said calmly "We've been expecting you for quite a while."
If Major Eaton and Colonel Musgrove, standing side by side on the snow covered Jones porch like two impassive statues, were surprised by the unruffled nature of their reception, they betrayed no outward sign of it.
Without another word, Marion led the two Army Intelligence officers to the study, where they found Indiana Jones seated at his desk correcting a stack of exam papers. A fire crackled in the fireplace behind him, and a slightly dried out fir tree, a holdover from Christmas, stood in one corner, filling the room with the faint smell of pine. Jones looked up from his work, greeting his visitors with a genial smile of recognition as Marion somewhat reluctantly excused herself and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Indy knew his wife would have given almost anything to be a fly on the wall during the upcoming interview and he half expected to see a brown eye appear at the keyhole.
"Colonel - Major - I won't ask what brings me the honor of your presence. I imagine you boys have finally found out how I spent my autumn vacation."
"Indeed we have, Dr. Jones," Musgrove said grimly, "and I warn you, what we learn in this interview will have a direct bearing on any action the United States Government may decide to take against you."
"I knew you had a reputation in archaeological circles as a mercenary, Jones," Eaton added disapprovingly, "but after hearing about this latest stunt, I believe you'd rob your own mother's grave if the price were right!"
Indy's eyes narrowed slightly, but he held onto his temper and his smile. "Adolf Hitler may be a vicious racist and a certifiable madman, but he had better manners than you, Major - I'll give him that much." He turned his attention back to Colonel Musgrove. "As it happens, the reward in this case was one I couldn't afford to pass up. I assume you know that I went after the shield in return for the freedom of Dr. Rosen's wife and children."
To his credit, Musgrove looked slightly uncomfortable. "Yes… we were aware of that fact."
"And if it had been up to you, you wouldn't have lifted a finger to help them, I suppose?"
"Dr. Jones," Musgrove replied evenly, "Jakob Rosen and his family aren't American citizens. Our government has no power over the internal affairs of a foreign country."
Indy made a noise of disgust. "Spoken like a true politician. That seems to be the general consensus nowadays. You and the rest of the free world turn a blind eye while Hitler murders innocent people. And you sit with your fingers up your noses while he gobbles up more and more of Europe without so much as a fight. The Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia - what's next, Poland? And spineless idiots like Neville Chamberlain prate about peace in our time!"
"You're becoming well known for your strong anti-German views, Dr. Jones," Musgrove said. "Would you really prefer another World War?"
"I fought in the Great War. Remember - the one that was supposed to end them all? I know what it's like to live in mud and filth and to have men standing right beside you blown into bloody rain. Nobody hates war more than I do. But I don't think we have a choice anymore." Jones paused and looked Musgrove in the eye. "I've met Adolf Hitler, Colonel, and the man means business. If something isn't done soon, he'll become so strong that we'll spend the best blood of a generation stopping him!"
"Then that's all the more reason for not fueling his megalomania any further," Eaton said.
Jones shrugged. "On that subject, you may be interested in this," he said, pulling a sheet of paper from his desk drawer and handing it to Eaton. "When I translated the inscription on the back of the shield, I kept a copy for myself."
Eaton read the paper with an expression of mounting surprise, then handed it to his Superior. Musgrove rapidly scanned the sheet and began to smile as he read aloud: "'To the bearer of this shield, I, the goddess Athena, grant the boon of invincibility. But mock me not! He who uses this gift to do evil shall know my wrath. At the height of his power his work shall come to ruin and he shall die by his own hand.' Is this message really on the shield, Jones?"
"I wouldn't dare lie about a thing like that," Indy said. "No doubt Hitler will have his own antiquarians to confirm the translation for him. I merely made sure it came to his attention."
"So he has his shield of power," Musgrove said, "but only at the price of having the seeds of doubt sown in his mind. You knew this all along, didn't you?"
Jones nodded. "It's a less well known part of the Alexander legend, but… yes, I did."
Eaton and shook his head and sighed. "It seems I owe you an apology, Dr. Jones."
"Don't be so quick to apologize, Major. I have an idea I would have done it anyway - with the lives of a woman and her children at stake."
"Perhaps you would have," Eaton said. "Perhaps you still would. But have you stopped to consider whether the lives of two or three people outweigh the greater harm you might have done?"
Jones' expression turned thoughtful. "To be absolutely honest with you, Major, I'm still working on that last one."
It was Musgrove who broke the ensuing uncomfortable silence. "What about you, Jones? Do you, the 'expert in the occult', believe the legend yourself?"
"What - you mean about the Goddess Athena and the powers of the shield?" Indy stared at Musgrove in surprise.
Now that the G-Men had mentioned it, the warning on the shield did seem to have some basis in fact. Alexander the Great had used his power for evil. The once enlightened youth had become in his later years cruel, power-hungry, and despotic, once going so far as to kill an old friend in an alcohol induced rage. By all accounts, he had drunk himself to death, in effect, dying by his own hand. "I think we've had this conversation before, Colonel. It doesn't matter what I believe or even what's 'true'. What matters is what Adolf Hitler believes."
"A self-fulfilling prophecy," Musgrove mused.
"We can only hope. I'd be happy enough if it just toned him down a little. But I'll tell you something else," Indy said, leaning back in his chair. "I've been from one end of this earth to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange things. But I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one, all encompassing 'truth'; to the system of things. So maybe we shouldn't write off the Goddess Athena too quickly. I'm all for giving the lady her due."
Musgrove smiled. "Well, Dr. Jones, I think we've learned what we came for," he said, rising from his chair. "We can consider the incident closed. We may call on you again in the future, though, if the government has further need of your expertise."
"You know me, gentleman. I'll be happy to oblige - for the right price." He shot Eaton a pointed glance that plainly said he was not referring to money.
"Of course, Dr Jones," Eaton said. "I've decided I like the way you do business."
"Don't trouble yourself," Musgrove said, as Indy began to rise. "We can let ourselves out."
At the door, Musgrove paused and turned back. "Oh, one more thing, Dr. Jones, about Dr. Rosen…"
Indy snapped to attention. He was no longer in any trouble for his part in the affair of the shield, but Jake was an alien… He stiffened his resolve and prepared to do battle for his friend. If all else failed, he would play his last trump card and threaten to go public with his knowledge of the Ark of the Covenant. When it came to the US government, Indiana Jones knew where a few bodies were buried.
But Musgrove merely smiled. "Please tell Dr. Rosen and his family for us - welcome to their new home."