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Indy sat at the bar and downed his Beirão liquor. His handler was late. Handlers always seemed to be late. The bar was mostly empty, many of the local men having left to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The war had officially ended the year before, but these things never ended cleanly. Indy took another shot.
Half an hour later, a man entered and sat beside Indy at the bar. He wore the black fedora Indy had been told to expect.
“The kestrels fly high today,” Indy said nonchalantly.
“Only when they need to,” the man replied.
Indy turned to face his handler. He seemed familiar.
“Marcello?”
“I was wondering if you’d remember me. Welcome back to the Iberian Peninsula.”
Marcello slid a folder of documents to Indy. A small radio device lay on top.
“Thank you. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised to see you here, given…”
“Given my nation’s current ruling ideology? Don’t worry, my friend. I defected from Italy in ‘23. I didn’t spend the whole war running about just to turn around and let the Blackshirts walk over me. I assure you, given the danger of this situation, the Brits wouldn’t have activated me if I didn’t have their utmost trust.”
“Good to know, old friend. So tell me, just what is this situation, and what am I going to do about it?”
Marcello laughed.
“Always a man of action. Are you familiar with Duke Edward VIII?”
“Somewhat. King of England for a year, gave it up for a girl. Why?”
“The Nazis want him.”
“Damn.”
“Damn, indeed, friend. We’ve caught wind that they plan to entice him into Spain, where they can ferry him to Germany. They want to use him to negotiate peace with Britain. They may even attempt to put him back on the throne as a sort of puppet king. His past actions and remarks make his compliance concerningly possible. The Duke and his wife are currently staying in the villa of Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva. The British government is pressuring him to take up a token position in the Bahamas to get him away from Nazi influence. The Germans are trying to convince him to enter Spain, where they can take him to Berlin. You are to go to that villa and do everything in your power to prevent him from entering Spain.”
Indy gathered the documents and closed the folder.
“Understood.”
“ In bocca al lupo , my friend.”
“I’ll see you on the other side.”
Indy finished another shot of Beirão and headed towards the door.
–
For the rest of the month, Indy prowled the villa dressed as a mendicant, and intercepted plots to frighten the Duke and Duchess towards Spain. When the Germans threw rocks at their windows as a scare tactic, Indy bribed local children to take responsibility and call it a prank. When the Germans left flowers for the Duchess with a note warning her about a British plot, Indy managed to remove the note. Of course, he was left standing on the front porch with a bouquet when the door opened. A very confused maid stood before him. Acting quickly, he shoved the flowers in her hands and admitted his great admiration for her beauty. All things considered, the slap to his face was probably the best case scenario.
–
Late that month, Indy was making his regular rounds when he spotted a man with a rifle taking aim at the villa’s windows. Indy jumped him from behind. As they wrestled on the ground, the man cried out that it was only supposed to scare them. Indy wasn’t taking chances. He knocked the man out and disposed of the gun.
–
That morning, Indy received a call from Marcello on the radio.
“Urgent news! The Duke bzz Duchess are set to leave for the Bahamas. bzz Germans are desperate. We’ve intercepted transmissions indicating bzz plan to kidnap them outright!”
“Understood. Looks like it’s all coming to a close.”
–
Indy immediately went to work hotwiring one of Silva’s cars, a BMW 328 Roadster. Soon after, from the shadows, he watched as the royal party left the villa. He followed them in his new roadster, as inconspicuously as one can in a luxury vehicle. All was well, until… Indy noticed a Volkswagen Type 1 following the Duke’s car suspiciously closely. Indy drove up beside the Volkswagen and peered inside. The driver was an SS member if he’d ever seen one. Indy wished he’d kept the rifle. He waited until the Duke’s car had made a turn and then, with a sigh, he sideswiped the Volkswagen. The two cars swerved to a stop at the side of the road. As Indy stepped out, he did his best to embody a rich man drunk on Beirão. He began apologizing profusely and incoherently. The Volkswagen driver stepped out and began angrily shouting at Indy in German, before quickly switching to Portuguese. Indy continued his performance until he was in striking distance. He went with a quick right hook. His opponent slammed against the Volkswagen door and crumpled to the ground. Indy returned to his own car and took off in the direction of the port.
–
Indy managed to track down the royal party as they entered their ocean liner. A generous donation of escudos to a crewman got Indy on board as well. As the liner broke away from port, all seemed calm, until he noticed Edward sneaking onto a lifeboat. As the Duke began to prepare it for separation, Indy jumped down beside him.
“Going somewhere, your majesty?”
The Duke yelped and let go of the rigging.
“My God, one of Churchill’s men come to kill me! Well, you won’t get me, you goon. I’ll alert this entire -”
Indy gave him a quick chop to the neck. The Duke fell unconscious immediately. Indy dragged him back onto the liner and propped him on a chair. He placed an empty bottle of Beirão in the Duke’s hand and returned to the lifeboat. He jumped in and dropped it into the ocean. He watched as the liner steamed towards the open ocean.
“Enjoy the Bahamas, Eddy. It’s more than you deserve.”