The Assassins by Alan Bardos (best novels in english txt) 📗

he wondered why they’d stopped. He knew that something must have gone terribly wrong.

He looked around to see if he could borrow a side arm from someone, but none of the officers in the motorcade looked to be armed with anything more dangerous than a ceremonial sword.

He started to push his way through the crowd onto the corner of Franz Josef Street and was relieved to see the Archduke’s car slowly starting to reverse towards him. Nothing had happened. The motorcade had just taken a wrong turn. Von Harrach was still on the left hand running board of the car, shielding the Heir.

Breitner was considering whether or not to confront Johnny when he saw a gaunt youth pointing a gun, to the right of the Royal car. Panic overwhelmed him as he realised that von Harrach was on the wrong side. He started to run.

*

The Royal car stopped, abruptly, a few paces from Gavrilo Princip. He recognised the tyrant, fully plumed, and Potiorek, but the presence of the Duchess made him take pause. She was directly in front of him and so close he could see flowers pushed into a red sash around her waist.

He dismissed his uncertainty and determined that he would not fail this time. A peculiar feeling began to take over him, focusing him on what needed to be done. He knew this was his destiny. He would prove himself.

Gavrilo’s first instinct was to throw the bomb, but it was tied to the left hand side of his belt. The crowd were pushing and shouting, 'Viva, long may he live!’ and as his strength started to fade with the nervous excitement sweeping over him, he decided that it would be too difficult to untie the bomb from his belt, unscrew the top, prime it and throw.

He took the automatic from his pocket. Oblivious to the danger around him, the driver of the tyrant's car was reversing very slowly. Gavrilo lifted his pistol and aimed at the Archduke.

*

Johnny was feeling very pleased with himself. He'd managed to overcome all manner of technical difficulties to get the car to reverse and he was even managing to use the high steering wheel fairly competently.

He had the car backing up nicely towards the embankment when he saw Breitner come charging around the corner, causing him to almost stall, which released an outburst of complaint from his passengers.

*

The gaunt youth was only a few feet away. Breitner was confident he would get him when he was hit by a blinding flash of pain that knocked the wind out of him.

*

Johnny gazed in amazement as Breitner crumpled and fell to the ground. Mihajlo Pusara, the actor, had burst out of the crowd and punched Breitner in the stomach. Then Johnny heard the metallic click of a gun being cocked and understood immediately why Breitner had been running. Gavrilo was standing a few feet away from the car, pointing a pistol at him.

*

Excitement was welling up inside Gavrilo as he pointed his gun at the tyrant, turned his head and fired. The people around him immediately started to beat him. He thought he’d fired twice, maybe more, but he couldn’t see if he’d hit anyone. He put the gun to his head and prepared to join Bogdan Zerajic. Somebody pulled the gun away before he could squeeze the trigger.

The gun was ripped out of his hand and he dropped his bomb in the struggle, but he managed to unwrap his cyanide and swallow it, amid a swirling torrent of punches and kicks. Gavrilo started to retch violently and was thrown to the ground.

*

Johnny watched the crowd beating Gavrilo, trying to understand what had just happened. Army officers from the motorcade joined the struggle around Gavrilo and one of them hit him with the hilt of his sword. Johnny felt a sudden urge to go and help Gavro, as some of the other members of the crowd were doing.

'Take us to the hospital man, at once, do you hear?' Potiorek snapped, bringing Johnny back to attention.

Johnny thought that Potiorek meant to carry on with his improvised tour. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were both sitting bolt upright and Johnny assumed that both of the shots had missed, as he’d seen Gavrilo look away when he fired. Everything seemed to be alright; he'd saved the Royal couple while under fire. Then, as he continued to reverse onto Appel Quay, Johnny saw a bright crimson sheen of blood in the Archduke's mouth.

The Duchess saw the blood at the same time and called out, 'In God's name what has happened to you?' She slumped forward onto the Archduke’s lap and he called to her.

'Sopherl, Sopherl! Don't die! Live for our children!'

Johnny fought to block out the nausea and shame he felt and concentrate on driving the car. He couldn’t see a wound on the Duchess and hoped that she’d just fainted. Von Harrach, who was still on the running board next to the Archduke, held the Heir up and stopped him from falling forward as Johnny reversed the car back on to Appel Quay.

Crowds of people had gathered at the end of Franz Josef Street, blocking the embankment. Johnny glanced around again at the Archduke. Von Harrach was wiping blood from his mouth, and asked if he was in pain. Franz Ferdinand repeated over and over, 'It is nothing', but the distress on his face told a different story.

‘We’ll never get through that mob!’ the Governor shouted at Johnny. ‘Take us to my residence - go over Lateiner Bridge.’

Johnny turned the car onto the narrow, cobbled bridge and drove as fast as he could while the Governor barked directions.

They reached the mansion and he stopped the car next to four, resting, stone lions. The Archduke had started to make a rattling sound; the jolts from the drive appeared to have