CHAPTER ONE

FALL
SATURDAY MORNING
VIENNA, AUSTRIA

The doomed agent stood behind a tall cement pillar near the side entrance to the Rathaus just off Ring Strasse in the heart of the city. He twisted his long, lanky body around and looked toward the Burg Theater on the opposite side of the street.

For several seconds, he stood frozen with his eyes fixed on the Rathaus Platz, an area between him and the famous street in front of him. An old hand at stakeouts, he was convinced he was safe. He felt sure that at that moment in time, no one knew or cared where he was or what he was doing. He stood for several minutes and rotated from leg to leg. An old bullet wound in his right leg sent an occasional sharp pain from his hip to his toes.

For a brief moment, he wondered why he even considered these occasional assignments. He loved retirement and really didn't need the extra money. For the first time in three years, he remembered how boring some assignments could be.

Every few minutes, he glanced at his watch. Then, he turned completely around and checked the area.
Suddenly, he stopped in place. He felt a hard lump in the pit of his stomach. The taste of bile filled his mouth. He rubbed his lips and stared straight ahead. Something was wrong.

He turned toward Ring Strasse and froze. Slowly, he rotated his eyes from side to side. Nothing seemed out of place but something just didn't feel right. He rubbed his hands together and moved back into the shadows.
Nervously, he tapped his left foot against the cobblestone path. He leaned against the cold stone building and pressed his back tight against the wall, hiding in the shadow of the pillar.

Schmidt was a tall, thin man in his early sixties, with long legs, an angular face and unusually high cheekbones. His few tufts of hair were gray. His eyebrows were extremely bushy and snow white.
After receiving a courier envelope three hours earlier, he left his home on Coblenzlgasse, in the Grinzing district. The enclosed written orders were explicit.

While it was still dark, he was to walk down the steep steps from his house to Grinzing center. He was to go down Grinzinger Allee without attracting attention, taking every precaution to make sure he wasn't followed. If or when the coast was clear, he was to take a taxi to the center of Vienna. The directions told him where to wait for his meeting.