A YOUNG SUCCUBUS NAMED DELICIA by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

CHAPTER 14 – THE AMERICANS ENTER THE WAR

13:14(Paris Time)

Thursday, December 11, 1941

‘Mille et Une Nuits’ Cabaret, 34 Rue Saint-André-des-Arts Quartier Latin, 6th Arrondissement Paris, Occupied France

‘’Shhh! They are going to repeat the news!’’

The sixteen women and two men assembled around the radio receiver set tuned to the frequency of the French language network of the BBC all fell silent, listening to the voice of the British speaker.

‘’…Following the Japanese attack last Sunday on the American base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the subsequent declaration of war by the United States against Japan, Germany has in turn declared war to the United States yesterday. Thus, the United States is now at war with Germany. The United States armed forces and industrial might will now stand with Great Britain and its allies against the forces of tyranny. Soon, millions more men will join our fight for freedom and will help throw back the German invaders. In other news…’’

Marie Laurent lowered the volume of the radio as shouts of joy filled the kitchen of the cabaret. She had to wait for her employees to calm down before she could speak.

‘’People, remember that we are not supposed to own this radio, so don’t go discussing this piece of news with our German customers this evening, unless your customer tells you about it. Then, if he does, feign surprise, as if it is the first time that you hear about it. However, take note of how our customers take that news: how they react to the entry of the United States into the war could be important to gauge their degree of optimism or pessimism about the chances of Germany to win the war, something that London will be eager to learn about.’’

‘’And how will we transmit that information to London, Marie?’’ asked Lisa Van Houten. ‘’I know that you already refused to tell us a number of times how you send your information to London, but this mystery is killing me.’’

217

‘’And it could kill many good people if I tell you and if the Germans then arrest and interrogate you, Lisa. This is the kind of information that is best kept as confidential as possible.’’

Lisa sighed in frustration, then looked at Mélanie, who had merely smiled on hearing the news about the United States entering the war.

‘’You didn’t seem overly happy about this news, Mélanie. Why?’’

‘’Why? Because the Americans have been avoiding to join the war as much as possible for over two years now and have now jumped into it only after being directly attacked. This tells me that the Americans are not really ready yet to fight effectively in this war and will need some time to build up their military power. Look at how they were caught by the Japanese with their pants down in Hawaii. Did that sound like someone ready and on alert? No! So, don’t expect to see the effect of their entry into the war for many months still. However, in the long term, this may just nail shut the Nazis’ coffin.’’ Lisa stared for a moment at Mélanie at this further demonstration of how incredibly mature for her age the teenager was. She also had proved many times how calculating and devious she was, acting like a much older senior military officer would. In fact, Mélanie would make many British officers at S.O.E. headquarters in London look like incompetent fools compared to her. In the two weeks Lisa had known her, Mélanie had proved to be one giant enigma and contradiction. On one hand, she could have fun and jump into an orgy like the most exuberant girl Lisa had known before. On the other hand, she could turn into a cold, calculating war chieftain, planning whatever she did outside the cabaret and coming back afterwards with all kinds of supplies, even weapons, that one could not normally find or get in Paris. Another significant thing about her is how her adoptive mother, Marie, let her complete freedom of action in her activities outside the cabaret.

‘’So, what should we do now, Mélanie?’’ asked Lisa, making the others all look at the teenager, who didn’t appear to be phased out by that attention.

‘’What we do now is to continue gathering intelligence the way we already do. With the Germans having renounced their intentions to reply to commando attacks by mass executions of hostages, the citizens of Paris are now safer, but they are still being occupied and oppressed. When the day will come to fight to liberate our city, we will then need weapons, lots of them! We will also need lots of people who are properly trained in the handling of those weapons. As you all know already, I have a small stash of weapons which I was able to acquire through persons best left unnamed. I have in

218

turn provided many of those weapons and ammunition to communist Résistance fighters whom I know and whom Lisa, Mary and Louise saw in action at the Fresnes Prison. I however still have enough weapons hidden here to arm all of us when the time comes to fight. First, I need to know who here is ready and willing to fight the Germans to liberate Paris. Those who are ready, please raise your hand.’’

She was pleased to see everyone present raise one hand up at once. Marc Aubut, their maître d’, however spoke up then.

‘’Mélanie, I want to fight, but I am now 63 years old and I am not in the best of health. I won’t be much of a street fighter, to be frank, even though I am ready to fight and die for France.’’

Mélanie gave a benevolent smile to the small and frail maître d’ of the cabaret.

‘’You can still do your part from a fixed defensive position here, in the cabaret. In fact, you would be just perfect to act as a loader for a machine gun: you won’t need to move much or run but you will still be filling a vital role in our defensive plan.’’

‘’Ahem!’’ said Marie Laurent, clearing her throat. ‘’And may my dear daughter tell me what OUR defensive plan is for MY cabaret?’’

‘’Of course I can, Mother!’’ replied Mélanie, grinning. Her grin however changed quickly to a sober expression.

‘’Mother, since you and most other Résistance members have had zero training in military tactics and street fighting techniques, then we will have to concentrate on holding and defending many dispersed but mutually supporting fixed defensive points, like this cabaret, when the fight for Paris will start. I already spoke with some communist fighters who live in the Quartier Latin and they agreed that the best tactic will be to deny any mobility to the Germans once the fight starts. Our cabaret is well situated to sweep down with fire from its attic both the Rue Saint-André-des-Arts and the Rue Séguier. This way, we will be protecting the western approaches to the Place Saint-Michel, which my communist friends plan to interdict by fire in order to cut all access to the bridge

linking the Left Bank with the l’Ȋle de la Cité41.’’

‘’And what will we do if the Germans show up with tanks?’’ asked Paul Dujardin, the cabaret’s doorman and handyman. ‘’You don’t happen to have any anti-tank weapons, do you, Mélanie?’’

41 Île de la Cité: Name of the main island in the middle of the Seine River which contains the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral and which was the core of the old city of Paris in the Middle Ages.

219

‘’Actually, we can easily improvise a few things, like Molotov Cocktails, essentially glass bottles filled with gasoline and fitted with a burning wick, that you can then throw on top of a vehicle. The communists who fought in the Spanish Civil War used them a lot then, according to my friends. I also happen to have a few anti-tank mines, stolen from the Germans.’’

‘’You have anti-tank mines?’’ nearly shouted a stunned Mary Gillies, making Mélanie grin again.

‘’Yep! When Paris will rise up in revolt, I will go place a few of them across our street, under the stone pavements. With luck, that should keep German armored vehicles away from the cabaret. Marc, from now on, save all the empty bottles of wine and liquor consumed by our customers, so that we could make plenty of Molotov cocktails for a future fight. On my part, I will make sure that we have plenty of gasoline available to fill them.’’

‘’By Allah!’’ exclaimed Fatimah Kassem, one of the strippers of the cabaret. ‘’You sound like a chieftain on the war path, Mélanie!’’

‘’Let’s say that I like playing with fire. Sylvie, I will ask you to save and put aside all the empty tin cans we eat through, and this after washing them: I can use them to make improvised bombs. I happen to have plenty of explosives in my stocks. Finally, starting tomorrow, I will start giving to all of you classes in the handling, dismantling and care of various types of weapons I have in stock presently, which include pistols, submachine guns, rifles, machine guns and grenades. We will do it gradually and will take our time, so that neither the Germans nor our more moronic neighbors get suspicious.’’

‘’Talking of our neighbors, Mélanie, how will we convince them that we are not collaborators?’’ asked the young, beautiful and graceful Hien Min Wa. ‘’They could attack us as such or accuse us after Paris is liberated.’’

‘’Oh, I expect most of them to try just that, Hien. However, my communist Résistance friends have a lot of contacts and influence around the Quartier Latin and they know that we are actually part of the Résistance. They will both vouch for us and protect us from mobs when the time will come. Well, now that all this is said, I suggest that we hide back our radio and prepare for our evening customers: we want to be ready to screw them royally, girls.’’

The group laughed collectively at that joke before dispersing to their various chores. Mélanie did catch Lisa Van Houten before she left the kitchen and spoke to her.

220

‘’Lisa, if I provide you with small embroidered French flags and with canvas tissue, could you then make distinctive armbands for us to wear when the fight will start?’’

‘’Of course! That will be easy enough, as long as I have the proper materiel for them.’’

‘’Then, I will put that on my list of priority acquisitions.’’ promised Mélanie before letting Lisa go.