Into the Iron Shadows, page 15
The scowl returned to his face. He had no intention of allowing that to happen. The bloody SD had caused enough disruption for him in the past week. They weren’t going to get in his way again, even if that meant removing their man from the equation all together.
The Englishwoman wouldn’t escape again.
London
Bill reached for the ringing telephone without lifting his eyes from the latest report from France. One of his agents had sent it through this morning and he was just now getting to read it. The news was grim to say the least. Located just outside Metz, the agent was able to describe in detail the assault the German forces were waging on the border.
“Yes?” he answered impatiently.
“Am I interrupting?” Jasper asked dryly.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m just reading a report from France.”
“That bad?”
“Worse.” Bill sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “What can I do for you? I thought you were going to lunch with the prime minister.”
“I am. They’re bringing the car around. I just heard something I think you should know. It will be in the afternoon brief, but I thought I’d ring you and give you a heads up.”
“Oh? More good news?”
“I’m afraid so.” Jasper cleared his throat. “It may not be as hopeless as it seems, mind you. Winston still has great hope.”
“Winston is getting paid to have great hope, and to ensure that the country keeps the faith accordingly,” Bill said tiredly, dropping his hand. “What is it? Let’s get it over with.”
“Commander General Gort ordered a withdrawal of all troops in Belgium and Northern France to the port cities this morning. They’ve been completely outflanked, and the latest reports say that Guderian will reach the Channel by tomorrow, at the latest. Communications will be cut off between our forces in the north and the French forces in the south. They’ve cut us in half.”
“Not us, sir. The entire Expeditionary Force is in the north. They’ve simply cut them off from any reinforcements from the French.”
“Quite right.”
“I suppose ordering a retreat to the ports is the only course of action now.” Bill sat forward and stared at the report on his desk absently. “Where are they concentrating their efforts? Calais?”
“Yes, and Dunkirk.” Jasper cleared his throat again. “If you have any agents in the area, you may want to advise them to pull out and go south for now. It won’t be pretty there over the next few weeks.”
“It’s not pretty anywhere. They’re aware of what’s expected of them. However, this does pose a problem for Jian.”
“What? Is she still there? I thought she was on her way back.”
“Not yet. She will be, and I was going to extract her from the coast.” Bill squeezed his eyes shut, then looked up as soft knock fell on the door. “I’ll have to rethink that now. Come in!”
“Where were you thinking?”
“Le Havre.”
Jasper clicked his tongue and Bill could almost see him shaking his head. “That won’t do at all. Perhaps further south will be best. Ideally, we should fly her out. Is that a possibility?”
“Unfortunately no. Sam is extracting Pietro from Lyons and taking him to Spain. He’s been made by the police there and his safety is a concern with the Germans advancing.” Bill nodded to his assistant as he entered the office carrying a stack of messages and a leather folder. “Sam sent a message this morning saying that the skies are getting crowded. He had to divert around two separate Luftwaffe formations getting Jian out of Switzerland. It would be suicide to send him back into the heart of France.”
“What a bloody mess. Keep me informed, please. She’s bringing Oscar back with her?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Very well. Do your best. If you run into anything I can assist with, do let me know.”
“Of course, sir. Enjoy your lunch. Have a whiskey and soda for me.”
Bill hung up and held out a hand for the stack of messages from Wesley.
“Was that Montclair?” Wesley asked, nodding to the phone.
“Yes. He’s on his way to have lunch with the prime minister.” Bill flipped through the messages, pausing when he came to one. He looked up sharply. “When did this come through?”
“Not half an hour ago, sir. Is it from France?”
“Yes.” Bill ripped open the sealed message and scanned it. “It’s from Jian. She says Le Havre is not possible.”
He pushed his chair back and got up, dropping the message on the desk.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Yes. The entire British Expeditionary Force will be pulling back to the port cities, and that means the German forces will also be converging there.” Bill crossed the office to study the massive map of France hanging on the wall opposite. “We have to come up with a new plan.”
“Sir?” Wesley stared at him. “The entire BEF?”
“Yes.”
“On the coast of the Channel?”
Bill glanced at him, his brows coming together. “You’re not usually slow, Wesley. What’s on your mind?”
“Just that...well, where will they go from there?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not a military strategist, but it seems to me that if the entire BEF pulls back to the coast, they’ll be trapped there.”
Bill nodded and turned his attention back to the map. “So they will.”
“But...then what? Do they have a plan to get them out?”
“I certainly hope so, otherwise England will be in a right pickle, won’t we? The BEF is the bulk of the British Army, you know.”
“Yes, I do. That’s why I’m asking.”
Bill stilled and slowly turned to look at the younger man. His lips were pressed together grimly and his face was still pale.
“You’ve got a brother over there, don’t you?” he asked suddenly.
Wesley nodded, swallowing. “Yes, sir. He’s in the 63rd Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery.”
Bill exhaled and nodded. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what the plan is for the troops. I only just found out from Montclair that the order was given to withdraw to Calais and Dunkirk this morning.”
“I understand, sir.”
“If I learn more, and if I’m able, I’ll let you know. But right now, I have to find a way to get Jian and Oscar out of France and back to England before the Nazis roll into Paris and France falls completely.”
“Yes, sir.” Wesley walked over to stand beside him at the map. “What’s your plan for extraction?”
“It will have to be by boat. Sam is on his way to Spain, and the Luftwaffe are taking more control of the air over France every minute.”
“Can they go through Spain?”
“It’s too far. They’re in Paris now, awaiting instructions. They can’t stay there. We have to get them moving.”
Both men stared at the map for a long moment, then Wesley pointed to La Rochelle.
“Don’t we have an agent here?”
“Not anymore.” Bill tilted his head and followed a line south. “But we do still have one here, in Bordeaux.”
“And they certainly have ports. The Garonne River empties out into the Bay of Biscay.”
“More than that, we have cruisers delivering supplies almost daily to Bordeaux.” Bill reached over to pull a red pin off of Paris, pushing it into the map at Bordeaux. “If I can get them onto one of those cruisers, that will be a damn sight faster than a fishing trawler.”
“And relatively safer,” Wesley agreed.
“Take down a message to send back.” Bill continued studying the map as Wesley turned and hurried over to the desk to get a pad and pencil. “She’ll have to be quick. I’ve heard that the roads south from Paris are clogged with refugees already. It will take her three times as long to get there, and I don’t know how much longer those supply shipments will be going.”
“I’m ready, sir.”
“ ‘Le Havre is out. Make for Bordeaux.’ ” Bill stopped and pursed his lips thoughtfully. “ ‘Find Leon on Rue Josephine at Café Rosa. Passcode: William told me Leon makes the best Cannelés. Advise when in place.’ ”
He stopped again and retraced a line back to Paris. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder. “Add this: ‘Proceed with all possible speed. Acknowledge receipt.’ Sign it Bard.”
Wesley finished writing and laid the pencil down, straightening up. “I’ll have this encoded and sent immediately,” he said, turning for the door. “Is there anything else, sir?”
“Yes. Are you a praying man, Wesley?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then you’d best offer a few for Jian, our boys, and the entire country of France. They’re stuck in it now, and when France falls, there won’t be anywhere they can hide.”
Chapter Fourteen
Evelyn walked into the kitchen, following the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Josephine looked over her shoulder from where she was standing with her back to the door, busy at the small counter next to the sink.
“Perfect timing. It just finished brewing,” she said, filling a cup with coffee. “There’s no sugar, I’m afraid.”
“That’s all right. I’m getting used to it without. Thank you.”
Evelyn took the steaming mug and sipped the hot brew thankfully.
“Finn is in the sitting room, monitoring the radio in case London responds to your message. I was trying to get a news report on the wireless, but there’s nothing new yet. I wish we knew where the German forces are. It would give us some idea of how much time we have.”
“I don’t think it would do much good even if we did know.” Evelyn turned to follow Josephine out of the kitchen with her coffee. “This is the speed of the Blitzkrieg that we’ve heard so much about. They’re moving faster than the news can report.”
“Anything yet?” Josephine asked Finn as they walked into the sitting room. He was seated at a desk in the corner with a radio open in front of him and a headset over his ears. He shook his head and Josephine sighed, looking at Evelyn. “They’ll contact you. Bill will want you out of this as soon as possible.”
“What about you?” Evelyn sank down onto a settee. “What will you do when you reach Marseilles?”
“I’ve already contacted my friend and she’s expecting me.” Josephine sat next to her and crossed her legs carelessly. “She’ll help me find work and somewhere to live. I’ll settle in and wait, as Marc advises. I just hope and pray that he and Luc are able to do the same.”
“Where are they going?”
“I don’t know. They wouldn’t say. It’s best for us not to know, especially if the Germans find out about any of us.”
“Is that a possibility?” Evelyn asked, startled.
“Anything is a possibility if they take over France.”
Evelyn was silent for a moment, drinking her coffee. Josephine was right, of course. Once France fell and the Nazis occupied Paris, the entire country would be at the mercy of the Gestapo. When that happened, the risk of neighbors turning against those they used to call friends would be high. She’d heard what happened in Germany and Austria. The fear of the Gestapo was much greater than any loyalty most people had to each other.
“I have something!” Finn said suddenly from the corner. “But it’s a code I don’t recognize.”
“Here come your instructions,” Josephine said, smiling at Evelyn. “I told you they’d want to get you moving as soon as possible.”
“I don’t think this is London,” Finn said, looking over to them. “This is something different. I can’t make any sense out of it.”
Josephine frowned, getting up and going over to him. She took the headset from him and listened for a moment, the frown deepening.
“It’s not London,” she agreed finally, motioning him out of the chair. “You’re right. It’s coming from our network here.”
Finn moved away from the table as Josephine seated herself and reached for a pencil.
“I don’t really understand how these things work,” he admitted to Evelyn, sitting next to her. “My wireless training was rudimentary at best.”
“What did you do in Belgium?” she asked him, turning slightly to face him.
“Nothing with radios,” he replied evasively. “I was in the right place to obtain information, and I passed it back through a small group of people over the border.”
“You said you were in Antwerp?”
“Yes. When the Germans came, I moved south.”
Evelyn nodded. He clearly was unwilling to tell her anything more, and she was comfortable with that decision. She didn’t need to know anything about him. She just needed to get him somewhere south so that they could both get back to England.
“I apologize if I was impolite,” Finn said after a long moment of silence. “I’m not used to...well talking about it.”
“It’s quite all right. I shouldn’t have asked.” Evelyn smiled at him and finished her coffee. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? The only thing that’s important is getting out of Paris, and then getting back to England.”
“Do you think we will do it? Make it south before the Germans?”
“We have to. It doesn’t matter what I think.”
“How long will it take us? I’m not familiar with the roads or the area.”
“It’s hard to say. It all depends on where we go. The amount of refugees leaving Paris will make going anywhere more difficult. Under normal circumstances, we could drive all the way to the Mediterranean in less than ten hours. But now? With all the people on the roads? I have no idea.” Evelyn leaned her head back. “When I left Brussels on the day the Germans invaded, it took us all day to make it to the border. I’ve never seen so many cars and people and carts. I imagine it will be the same here.”
“I’d forgotten you were in Brussels.”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ve done this before.”
“What?”
“Escaped an invasion.”
Evelyn’s lips twisted wryly. “Yes. I’ve done this before.”
She stood up and glanced down at him. “I’m going for another cup of coffee. Would you like one?”
“No, thank you.”
She was just turning to leave when she heard Josephine suck in her breath. She glanced over at the corner to find her friend staring at words scrawled on the pad, her face white. Evelyn frowned sharply and changed direction, striding across the room towards her.
“What is it?” she asked, dropping a hand on her shoulder. “What’s happened?”
Josephine lifted the headset off with visibly shaking hands.
“That was Marc. Our network has been exposed to the Germans.”
Evelyn stared at her, breath catching in her throat. “How badly?”
“They have a list of names.” Josephine rubbed her face and reached for a cigarette case on the desk. “One of our contacts in Metz intercepted a typed memo meant for a German commander.”
She lit a cigarette and looked up at Evelyn, her lips pressed together. “My name is on it.”
“How?” Evelyn demanded, her brows pulled together. “How did they get your name?”
“How did they get any of the names?” Josephine blew smoke out and got up impatiently. “That’s not all of it. Finn’s name is on it, and so is Jens Bernard.”
Evelyn lifted a shaking hand to her cheek and stared at Josephine. An ice-cold shiver went down her spine and she sank into the chair Josephine had just vacated.
“And Marc?”
“No, but they think the list is incomplete.” She looked at Finn, sitting silently on the settee, and then back at Evelyn. “Finn isn’t even part of our network, and neither was Jens.”
“No.”
“Then how did they get their names? How did they get any of it?” Josephine strode impatiently to the other side of the room and back again. “If the list is incomplete, Marc and Luc could still be at risk. Marc is working on the assumption that we’re all blown. He’s contacting Mathieu and André to warn them. Then he and Luc are getting new identification papers and starting over. He thinks I should do the same.”
“I agree!” Evelyn said vehemently, looking up and nodding. “It’s too dangerous. If the Germans are distributing the list, they’re already looking for all of you. As the troops roll in, the Gestapo will be right behind them.”
“Or with them.” Finn finally broke his silence. “There is a division of the Wehrmacht that is worse than the Gestapo. They’re known as—”
“The SS.” Evelyn finished for him. “Yes. I know.”
He looked at her surprised. “You do?”
She was betrayed into a small smile. “Yes.”
“If the Germans are distributing the list, they’re giving it to the SS commanders. They have no need to wait for the Gestapo.”
“You’re as much at risk as I am,” Josephine said, looking at him. “I can go to the Deuxième Bureau and get a new identity. What will you do?”
“I have one already,” he said with a shrug. “I brought everything with me when I fled Antwerp. Do not concern yourself with me.”
Josephine looked at Evelyn. “And Jens? How can we contact him?”
“I don’t think we need to worry about him either,” she said slowly, forcing herself to think. “When I last spoke with Marcel, he assured me that he would take care of him. He was going to arrange for new papers and a place in the French countryside.” Evelyn gasped and looked up. “Was his name on there? Marcel?”
Josephine went over to the desk and picked up the notepad, flipping back a page to where she had written everything Marc said. After scanning over the list, she shook her head.
“No. He’s not here. If the list is incomplete, though...”
“He should be warned,” Finn said from the couch. “Whoever he is, he needs to know what is happening.”
