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“Hello. I’m looking to speak with Herr Alois Sparfeld.”
“Speaking.”
“My name is John Baker. I was told that Dingelsdorf, am Bodensee, Mai, achtundfünfzig, would mean something to you.”
It did. He was given an address and told to meet in one hour.
An old man answered the door and invited him into an enclosed hallway. “Can I see your papers?” he enquired.
He examined the passport closely using a little jeweller’s magnifier. “Ahh, this is very good, almost as good as my own work.” He handed it back then turned to the large young man stood behind him. “Herr Baker, this is Franz. He is my nephew. He has a very violent temper so don’t upset him. He’s a wrestler you know.”
Gally eyed him up and down, “I suspected he might have a hobby.”
Sparfeld smiled. “Come through and tell me how I might help you.”
In the workshop at the back of the house, Gally said, “I need a gun.”
“Are they sending you people out here without guns these days?”
“Well, the thing is I did have one but I lost it.”
“That was very careless of you, Herr Baker.”
“Yes, it was.”
“What are you looking for?”
“A concealable semi-automatic pistol, eight-round magazine, if possible.”
“Then for you, there is only one choice, Mister Bond,” he chuckled. “I will leave you with Franz. Try not to touch anything, Franz wouldn’t like that.” He shuffled off and Gally could hear him undoing several locks on a door.
Franz wasn’t a fan of conversation but he did enjoy staring. He liked it a lot. It was an awkward thirty minutes.
The old man apologised. “I’m sorry, I’m not as sprightly as I used to be and I had to go down to the second level. It’s not a big cellar, just deeper than most.” Two weapons were placed on the workbench with a pancake holster, boxes of ammunition and some magazines. “PPK and PPKL, the second one is lighter but does everything the first one does. The difference is this is chambered for the 9mm short and the lighter version isn’t. Should you want slightly more stopping power, then take the PPK but you only get a six-round magazine. You want more bullets, take the lighter weapon, you get a seven-round magazine and with one in the chamber that’s eight in all.”
Gallagher inspected both. For him stopping power only applied if you hit the target. More bullets meant more chances. A fan of more bullets, he chose the lighter one. “How many magazines do you have?”
“Only three for this weapon but I think that would be sufficient.” He began counting rounds from a box. “Now, you’ll need, in that case, twenty-two. Holster it empty and fill the magazines on the table in the entrance hall on your way out; best for everyone’s safety. Anything else?”
Pancake holster on, Gally replied. “Can you get me into Austria without the usual border nonsense?”
The old man rubbed his chin and smiled, “This is not such a problem but it all costs money. Are you paying cash or card?” Gally waved his card.
“Ahh, American Express. That will do nicely, Herr Baker.