CODENAME: ATHENA (2025 Edition) by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

CHAPTER 36 – BURNING BRIDGES

14:20 (Berlin Time)

Monday, June 30, 1941 ‘B’

Senior officers’ quarters, Colditz Castle

Germany

Brunet, Larsen, Milner and Nierman were killing time by playing cards in the

junior officers’ room when a remark from Samuel Goldman, who was looking through the

window facing the outer courtyard, got their attention.

“Colonel Schmidt is back, guys. His staff car just arrived.”

Jim Milner raised his nose up from his card hand for a moment.

“I wonder where he had been for the last 24 hours.”

“That’s not hard to figure out.” replied Jan Nierman, facing him across the table

they were using for the card game. “He was probably in Berlin to brief his superiors

about our resident angel.”

“I wonder what the Germans will do about her.” said Brunet. “The ones here in

Colditz now positively venerate her.”

“After half of the surviving ones were healed by her, I can understand their

reactions to Nancy.” added Sven Larsen. “I hope the Nazis in Berlin will not dissect her

to try to find how she ended with her power of healing.”

“Well,” said Milner, “some here in Colditz are still far from venerating her.”

“That Robertson is an idiot, pure and simple.” grumbled Brunet. “As for that

bastard of Renaudin, I am going to make sure after I get back to France that he is

booted out of the army.”

Goldman’s voice then rose by a pitch in excitement.

“Hey, Schmidt and Eggers are coming this way! Schmidt’s driver is already

refueling his car. I wonder…”

The four other prisoners rushed to the window to look. Brunet understood first what was

happening.

“Damn! I’m afraid that they are going to bring Nancy to Berlin. It was to be

expected, after all.”

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“We better warn her, then.” replied Nierman. The five of them rushed out of the

room and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, only to find that Nancy was not in her

room. Milner swore, and then raised a finger.

“Wait! I think that Anderson was planning to draw a picture of her today.”

That made the others race down the stairs again. They found the door of room 217

closed and had to knock.

“Who is it?” asked the muffled voice of William Anderson. “Colonel Brunet! I have urgent news for Brigadier Laplante.”

They heard a short exchange in muted tones inside before Anderson shouted for Brunet

to come in. He entered, the four others close behind him, and stopped cold, his eyes

nearly popping out: Nancy Laplante lay on her side on a bed, posing nude for Anderson

in a most lascivious posture. Nancy smiled at the newcomers and waved a hand

playfully. Her bald head, freshly shaved by Jean Bigras this morning to get rid of the

burned remnants of her hair, made a weird contrast with her fabulous, athletic body.

The men could also see that her groin was shaved clean as well. Anderson, his face

impassive, sat five feet in front of her, a drawing board in his lap and a pencil in his right

hand. As for Brunet and the others, they had a hard time keeping straight faces.

“What is it, gentlemen?” purred Nancy, amused. Brunet swallowed once before

answering.

“Er, we just saw Colonel Schmidt arrive back from his trip out of Colditz. His car

is being refueled right now and he is heading this way with Captain Eggers. We think

that they are going to ship you to Berlin.”

Nancy’s smile faded and she looked at Anderson.

“How long do you still need, William?”

“I’m nearly finished. Maybe five minutes.” said Anderson, concentrating on his

work. Nancy looked back at Brunet.

“Thank you for the warning, Gentlemen. I will advise you as soon as I know more

from Schmidt.”

The five men left the room after a last look at Nancy. Milner growled with frustration as

they got back in their room.

“God! What a woman! I nearly couldn’t resist jumping her.”

“She does have quite an appeal.” replied Brunet, understating his own reaction.

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Anderson was finished with his drawing and Nancy was dressing quickly in her

shorts and T-shirt when someone knocked on the door again.

“One minute, please!” shouted Nancy. Once dressed, she gave a quick kiss on

Anderson’s forehead.

“Thanks for your time, William. You are really a first-rate artist.”

“I’m the one thanking you, Nancy. You make one hell of a model.”

“Just don’t show this one to your wife, though: she may not be too understanding

about it. Have a good day.”

Nancy then opened the door and faced Schmidt and Eggers, who had been waiting

patiently in the hallway.

“Sorry to have made you wait, Colonel. I was posing for Major Anderson… in the

nude.”

Schmidt’s eyebrow rose in interest as he smiled at Nancy.

“I will have to see the result of his work one day. I see that you did something

quite drastic to your hair, Brigadier.”

Nancy sighed as she passed a hand on her bald head.

“It wasn’t something I enjoyed, Colonel, but it was the only way to ensure that my

hair will grow evenly instead of in ugly clumps. Now, what may I do for you, Colonel?”

His face now somber, Schmidt straightened up.

“I have new orders concerning you, Brigadier. You are to leave for Berlin within

the hour. I will have to ask you to pack quickly and to put on your uniform.”

“Where in Berlin am I to be brought?” asked Nancy, apprehensive. Schmidt

smiled, trying to reassure her.

“Do not worry, Brigadier: the Gestapo will not be allowed anywhere near you. My

orders are to bring you to the Tempelhof Luftwaffe hospital, where you will assist the

medical staff in treating the wounded. Your special talents are clearly wasted here.”

Schmidt was half expecting Nancy to object to this, which could be construed in directly

helping Germany’s war effort, something prisoners of war were not supposed to do.

Instead, his words brought immediate joy on her face.

“Tempelhof Hospital? Hell, I’ll be down in half an hour.”

Despite being surprised, like Schmidt, Eggers handed a duffel bag to Nancy.

“Then you will need this to pack your things, Brigadier.”

He then took an envelope out of one pocket and handed it too to her. Nancy looked at it

blankly.

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“What’s that?”

“The rest of the money from the sale of your ring, Brigadier. Bring it with the rest

of your things to Berlin. Your face is so famous anyway that your chances of wandering

unnoticed in Germany are next to nil, so the risk of you escaping from Berlin are quite

slim.”

Nancy took the envelope and pointed an index at Eggers.

“Don’t underestimate me, Hauptman.”

“How could I underestimate an angel, Brigadier?”

“I already told you that I’m not an angel, Hauptman.”

“Sorry, Brigadier, but I don’t believe you! By the way, I will be escorting you to

Berlin.”

Nancy’s smile warmed him instantly: her charm was nearly demonic in its strength.

“That will please me, Hauptman. See you at the main gate in half an hour.”

She then left the two German officers and went to her room, quickly changing into her

Canadian Army dress uniform and packing her meager belongings into the duffel bag

given by Eggers. Her next step was to go upstairs to say goodbye to Jean Bigras. She

found the Frenchman having a nap in his bed. Ignoring the other prisoners around her,

Nancy bent over him and gently woke him with a kiss. Jean opened his eyes in a startle

and looked in confusion at her.

“Madame? What are you doing?”

“Kissing you goodbye, Jean. I am being transferred back to Berlin, to a Luftwaffe

hospital where I will help heal the wounded. You are a very nice young man, Jean. I

hope to see you again after the war. I may have something for you then.”

“I will follow you anywhere, Brigadier. Good luck to you in Berlin.”

“The same to you, Jean. It was a pleasure knowing you.”

She then left him, sadness in her heart. Bigras was a young man with so much potential

and kindness: he deserved better than this, like some others in the same building.

Returning to her room and grabbing her duffel bag and her guitar, she then went down to

Milner’s room, where he found him, Brunet and the others still playing cards. They all

rose from their chairs when she showed up, apprehension on their faces. Nancy smiled

gently to them.

“I am being transferred to the Tempelhof Luftwaffe hospital in Berlin, Gentlemen.

You don’t need to worry about me: I will be treated correctly there. I am here to say

goodbye to you.”

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“What are your plans for after the war, Brigadier?” asked Jim Milner softly. “Something quite grandiose, actually. I may need a few good men to help me out

then.”

“Count me in.” replied eagerly Milner. Nierman, Larsen and Goldman echoed

him, making Nancy grin.

“On one condition: that you would be prepared to work alongside a few German

women.”

They looked at each other hesitantly, then back at her. Jim Milner spoke for the group.

“As long as the war is over, we have no objections to that, Brigadier.”

Nancy looked at Samuel Goldman, who appeared more hesitant than the others. She

then spoke to him in a language the others did not understand, with Samuel answering

her in the same language. Nancy next went to Brunet to shake his hand.

“Goodbye, Colonel Brunet. You proved to be a real gentleman.”

Nancy then left after a last look at the others. Milner looked questioningly at Goldman,

who appeared deep in thoughts.

“What language did she use, Sam?”

“Hebrew. She was quoting a passage of the Torah about forgiveness.”

“Hebrew? Where would she have learned it? She never mentioned it before.”

“She learned it in Israël, thousands of years ago.” Said Samuel softly. “She

started remembering it after her first healing.”

The others could then only look at him in stunned silence.

At the main gate, Nancy found Eggers waiting patiently for her. She also found

26 German soldiers lined up at attention, rifles at their feet. She had healed every one

of them, as a matter of fact. On Eggers’ orders, they shouldered their rifles and

presented arms to Nancy in parade precision. Eggers then saluted Nancy.

“The garrison of Colditz Castle is bidding you farewell, Brigadier. We all admire

you for your kindness and tolerance.”

Deeply moved by this, Nancy saluted back Eggers, then the soldiers.

“Thank you, all of you. I hope that this war will be soon over, so that we can

formally be friends. I wish you all good luck.”

Eggers gave the command to shoulder the rifles, then escorted Nancy out. Schmidt’s

staff car, a military version of the Volkswagen with a folding canvas top, was waiting for

them in the outer courtyard. Eggers put Nancy’s bag and guitar on the rear seat, then

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invited her to sit in the front passenger seat before taking place behind the wheel.

Nancy sat in the car, then smiled maliciously to Eggers.

“No escort this time?”

“No, Brigadier, for two reasons: first, an escort could attract an air attack; and

second, I trust you not to try to escape during this trip. Besides, you could probably

overpower any escort easily.”

“True enough. Let’s go, then.”

More German sentries saluted them as they drove out through the Clock Tower gate,

over the moat bridge and into the town itself. As they were rolling down the main street,

Nancy suddenly jerked her head to the right and shouted.

“STOP! BACK UP, HAUPTMAN!”

Eggers braked to a halt but did not back up, instead looking where Nancy was looking.

“What? What did you see?”

“That store…” said Nancy while pointing at a large window, “it has wigs in its

display. Could I go in there and buy one?”

Eggers looked at her bald head, covered only by her green beret, and understood: her

lack of hair must make her feel shameful in public. Reversing gears, he backed up and

parked in front of the store. It wasn’t long before they were both back in the car, with

Nancy now wearing a wig of long black hair which went down past her shoulders.

Eggers looked at her and nodded with approval.

“You look much better now, Brigadier.”

“Thank you, Hauptman. Sorry for the delay.”

“That was nothing, Brigadier.”

Eggers then drove off, heading towards the main highway and Berlin.

18: 12 (Berlin Time)

Tempelhof Luftwaffe hospital

Berlin

There was still plenty of natural light when they arrived at the Tempelhof Hospital.

Eggers parked in front of the main entrance, then gallantly offered Nancy to carry her

things, which she agreed to. She felt growing joy at the thought of being reunited with

Farah Tolkonen as she followed Eggers inside. They were met in the reception area by

Colonel Reinhardt Mandell, who looked in disbelief at Nancy.

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“Mein Gott! When I remember your crippled body as it was only four days ago…”

“I am alright now, I assure you, Doctor. Is my friend Farah very busy right now?”

While Eggers, who didn’t know about Farah Tolkonen, looked on with confusion, Mandell

seemed more than a little embarrassed as he answered Nancy.

“I’m sorry, Brigadier, but your friend is not here anymore: she escaped last night.”

“ESCAPED?” shouted Nancy in astonishment before lowering her voice to a

normal level. “But she was harmless. She couldn’t fight her way out of a wet paper

bag.”

“We thought so too, but she simply vanished during one of her evening ward

tours: one minute she was there, the other she was gone.”

“Thank The One!” whispered Nancy. “Someone finally brought her back to her

time. At least she is safe now.”

Mandell hesitated as he stared at her.

“I was told about your miraculous healing powers, Brigadier, but you may

understand that I have a hard time believing in such things.”

“I understand you perfectly, Doctor. Give me a place to drop my things and time

to eat something and I will start helping your patients. I suppose that Agent Braun will

be my escort in the hospital.”

Mandell lowered his head, clearly bothered by her question.

“Herr Braun was accused of negligence for letting Doctor Tolkonen escape and

was arrested by the Gestapo.”

The mention of the Gestapo and of the arrest of Braun was enough to infuriate Nancy:

the Abwehr agent, while probably faultless, was certainly being tortured now to make

him confess to being an accomplice in Farah’s escape. She kept her voice low with

difficulty.

“Do you know how to contact Admiral Canaris, the head of the Abwehr, Colonel?”

“I do, miss. In fact, he left me his calling card four days ago. Why do you ask?”

“Because I want to speak to him urgently. Now, who will escort me around this

hospital during my stay?”

“A squad of Luftwaffe soldiers has been assigned to that task, miss. Er, you are

not planning to escape, Brigadier?”

Eggers rolled his eyes skyward at Mandell’s naïve question, while Nancy smiled

sarcastically.

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“Not at all, Doctor. I love to be a prisoner and to have my privacy invaded all the

time. Be reassured, though: I will help your patients, then leave.”

A group of nine Luftwaffe soldiers arrived in the reception area as Nancy said those

words. The feldwebel in charge of them snapped to attention in front of Eggers and

saluted him.

“Feldwebel Martin Druckers reporting, Herr Hauptman. Me and my men will take

custody of Brigadier Laplante from you.”

“Very well, Feldwebel. What were you told about Brigadier Laplante?”

“That she is very dangerous and must be kept on sight at all times, sir.”

Eggers and Nancy exchanged a knowing glance, with Nancy then smiling at the

feldwebel.

“Well, this assignment should be an educative one for you and your men,

Feldwebel. Will I be able to enjoy some privacy while under the shower or in the

restroom, or are you planning to set up a medium machine gun in the women’s

showers?”

If he was amused by her attempt at a joke, Druckers didn’t show it, keeping a straight

face as he answered her.

“I haven’t considered that aspect yet, Brigadier. Please follow me to your new

quarters.”

“That guy is a million laughs.” said Nancy to Eggers as she was about to go with

the soldiers. “Thank you for your kindness, Hauptman. It was a pleasure knowing you.”

“And it was an honor to know you, Brigadier. Good luck!”

21:46 (Berlin Time)

Private room, Tempelhof Hospital

Tired by the expenditure of energy spent on healing patients during the evening,

Nancy was about to go take a shower when someone knocked on the door of her small

private room.

“Come in!”

The small, graying man who entered the room was no stranger to Nancy, even though

she had only met him once, briefly: Admiral Wilhelm Canaris’ career and secret agenda

held no mysteries to her, thanks to a number of books and historical articles she had

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read about him. They both looked at each other in silence for a moment before Canaris

spoke softly.

“I have heard a lot of disturbing things about you lately, Brigadier Laplante.”

“And you play some dangerous games, Admiral. I wanted to speak to you about

your agent, Heinrik Braun.”

Canaris sighed and sat on her bed, his head bowed low.

“I think I know what you have in mind, Brigadier. Unfortunately, I have already

tried everything in my power to free him, including pleading with the Führer, and I failed.

Testifying in his favor won’t help him.”

“What about breaking him out by force?”

Canaris’ head snapped up at those words.

“Are you crazy? Himmler is just waiting for such a mistake to get rid of me and

the Abwehr entirely.”

“What if someone else than the Abwehr makes him escape?”

Canaris looked at her with disbelief.

“You would be ready to break him out of jail? What do you have for this man?”

“Nothing, apart that he does not deserve his present fate.”

“Miss, you really are a weird person.”

“What is so weird about caring for others around you? Is this world so out of love

and kindness?”

That left Canaris mute for a moment while he stared at her.

“They said in Colditz that you are now an angel. Now, you speak like one too.

What are you exactly, Brigadier Laplante?”

“Someone who is getting quite pissed about this whole war and who is trying to

make it less awful, even if it is through minute details. You know that I will never help

Germany’s war effort and that I will eventually break out of here and escape back to

England. Why not cooperate for once towards a common goal?”

Before Canaris could answer, someone knocked on the door again. Doctor Mandell

then entered without waiting for Nancy’s permission. She was about to remind him

about common courtesy when she saw his ashen face.

“What’s wrong, Doctor? Is one of your patients in trouble?”

“I wish it was something this simple, Brigadier. I just got a call from a Luftwaffe

officer who was part of the battalion defending Colditz Castle. A massive British bomber

raid just leveled the castle and the town around it. Only a few dozen people from the

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town and from the Luftwaffe battalion survived the raid. As for the prisoners and the

garrison inside the castle itself, they are all dead.”

Unable to talk, Nancy sat on the bed, trying to control a sudden burst of tears. She

could not and started crying, her shoulders shaken by violent sobs. Mandell could only

watch her, helpless. Getting on his feet, Canaris took the chief-surgeon by the

shoulders and led him outside the room.

“What else did that officer tell you, Doctor?”

“Not much more, actually. He did say that the British used a mix of explosive

bombs and of those awful vapor blast bombs of theirs, then finished off Colditz with a

carpet of incendiary bombs. What’s left of Colditz is now an inferno.”

Canaris was silent for a second, digesting that information.

“They wanted Brigadier Laplante dead this time. If not for her last-minute transfer,

she would be dead now.”

“But why? Why would the British try to kill her, especially if it meant killing

hundreds of their own people in the process?”

“Doctor, have you ever heard about Mers El Kebir?”

“No! What’s that?”

“Mers El Kebir is a port on the coast of Algeria that was used by the French fleet.

In July of last year, the French warships anchored there received an ultimatum from the

British: either accompany them to England or be sunk. When the French refused to

follow them, the British fired on them, sinking or disabling three battleships and killing

hundreds of French sailors in the ensuing battle. My point is that the British will do

everything to protect their interests, even if it means attacking an ally. Brigadier

Laplante holds many of the most precious secrets the British have. Rather than risking

that she gives them away to us, they probably decided to kill her to ensure that she won’t

betray those secrets.”

“But… that’s monstrous!”

“That’s politics, Doctor.”

Canaris then looked towards Nancy’s room, from where they could hear her cry still.

“Poor woman. She will now have to live with the guilt of having indirectly caused

the death of all those people in Colditz. From what I heard from the commandant there,

she cared about as much for the Germans as for the allied prisoners there. The worst

part is that some of those prisoners were stupid and mean enough to hold it against her

and to call her a traitor.”

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Canaris knew that this would be a perfect time to exploit her distress and emotions in

order to turn her against the British, but he wasn’t ready to do that with her. The fact

was that the British would actually deserve a rich payback for what they just had done

for a second time in this war: strike a friend in the name of national security. He patted

Mandell’s shoulder and led him away from Nancy’s room, which was guarded by two

armed soldiers.

“Let’s leave her alone, Doctor: she has a lot of emotions to sort out right now.”

It took a long time for Nancy to run out of tears. Even then, the feeling of guilt

she now bore about the death of all those people in Colditz was a crushing one. With

the door of her room now closed and locked from the outside, she slowly undressed and

went to bed. Sleep eluded her, though, the images of all the ones she had known in

Colditz flashing through her mind and haunting her. At one point the image of Farah

Tolkonen entered her mind. The thought of the gentle giant being safe in her time

brought some comfort to Nancy. She then realized that Farah, as she appeared in her

mind, actually looked sad. Close to tears again, Nancy invoked mentally her friend’s

name.

“Farah, don’t be sad. I will be alright.”

To Nancy’s astonishment, the Farah in her mind snapped her head around, as if she had

heard her. The background in which the scientist was in now became clearer to Nancy:

Farah was sitting in a cell.

“Nancy? Where are you?”

Nancy saw Farah’s lips move as she heard her: she had spoken normally, unlike Nancy,

who had only used her thoughts. Nancy saw a man appear behind the bars of Farah’s

cell, looking at the giant with suspicion. The man wore a British uniform! Anger filled

Nancy as the man seemingly spoke harshly to Farah. Contrary to her friend, Nancy

could not hear him. She then understood that all this was not a dream. She was in

actual telepathic communication with Farah, who was being held somewhere in England.

Nancy concentrated hard on sending another message to Farah.

“Farah, speak through your mind only. I am in the Tempelhof Hospital in Berlin.

Where are you?”

This time, she saw Farah close her eyes and concentrate.

“Nancy, how could you communicate like this?”

“It’s a long story, Farah. Where are you?”

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“In a British cell in London. I heard one man refer to this place as the M.I.5

headquarters.”

“What are you doing there? Why are they holding you?”

“I escaped from Berlin by using my portable time distorter. It however has a

small range only and I chose to go to England. The British however arrested me and

took away my time distorter. They also interrogated me, but without violence.”

“Don’t despair, Farah. I will come soon to free you.”

“But you are a prisoner yourself. How will you escape?”

“Leave that to me, friend. As for the British, they just crossed the line. I am

through with them. Hang on: I will contact you again once I’m out of Berlin.”

“Be careful, Nancy.” thought Farah before her image faded from Nancy’s mind.

The Canadian opened her eyes and sat in her bed, thinking about what had just

happened. She obviously had powers that she still didn’t control or even understand

fully. It was now time to see the full extent of what she could do. Walking through the

dark room, Nancy got her uniform from the closet and put it on quietly, careful not to

attract the attention of the two soldiers guarding her door. The beret went on last, on top

of the wig she had bought in Colditz. Then going to the room’s window, she opened the

blackout curtain covering it and slid open the window. Being on the fourth floor, the

Germans had not judged useful to nail shut the window of her room. Not that it would

have really mattered to her actually, even without superpowers. Stepping over the ledge,

Nancy looked at Tempelhof Airfield, situated close to the hospital. Dozens of aircraft of

various kinds were parked around its grassy expanse. If she could steal one of them,

she could be in England in a few hours. From her short experience in Colditz, Nancy

had found out that levitation was even more draining on her than healing was. She

could fly over relatively short distances, but long trips were still beyond her.

Concentrating, she stepped away from the building and flew through the air, floating

silently towards the airfield. It, along with the rest of Berlin, was in blackout condition as

a defense against British air raids. No lights could help the Luftwaffe sentries posted

around the airfield to see the dark shape which flew silently over their heads.

Nancy landed smoothly between two Fieseler Storch light liaison aircraft. Six

other Fi 156 planes were lined up in the same area of the airfield. There were other,

faster aircraft available around, but the nimble Storch would be much easier to handle

for Nancy, who was qualified only on light piston-engine Cessna aircraft back in 2012.

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The Storch was renowned for its simplicity and, especially, its phenomenally short take

off performances. It however had a short range, except for a few Fi 156C-5 models,

which had enough range to reach England. Nancy fervently hoped to find one of them in

the lineup as she went from plane to plane. She nearly shouted in triumph when she

came to the second last plane: a supplementary fuel tank took the place of the usual

rear seat. Opening the right-side door of the Storch, she climbed inside and knocked on

the tank. It rang full. Sitting in the pilot’s seat, Nancy then took a few minutes to

carefully study the cockpit’s instruments and controls. The dash of the single-engine

Storch was actually even simpler than the one of the Cessna Model 210R she

occasionally rented at the St-Hubert airport near her hometown of Boucherville. When

she was sure she knew enough about the Storch’s controls, Nancy cautiously looked

around and, seeing no sentries nearby, pressed the starter button, hoping that the

engine would start at once. It did, which was a testament to the meticulous care the

Luftwaffe ground crews gave to their aircraft. Not even bothering to line up on the

grassy field, Nancy pushed the engine throttle forward all the way and launched the

Storch on a roll. It took off in less than eighty yards and flew over a row of Junkers 52

transport planes before Nancy turned due West, staying barely above the treetops. The

light from the half-moon was enough for her to fly her Storch at its cruising speed of 85

miles per hour, but not enough for the anti-aircraft gunners now scrambling to their guns

to acquire such a small, low-flying target. Nancy took only enough altitude to be able to

fly safely above the buildings of Berlin. Looking briefly back, she saw a number of air

defense searchlights now scanning the sky. She was however too low for them or even

for a radar to acquire her light aircraft. Grinning in triumph, she checked her compass

and altimeter and made a slight correction. With some luck, she would be in England in

about seven hours.

06:11 (GMT)

Tuesday, July 1, 1941 ‘B’

Twelve miles north of Southend on Sea

East coast of England

The Home Guard patrol, called in by a frantic farmer, found the abandoned

Fieseler Storch in the field where the farmer’s young son had encountered it while

shepherding his sheep in the early morning. The old World War I veteran who led the

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six-man patrol searched the aircraft and, finding nothing inside, put two of his men in

charge of guarding it before returning to the farmer’s house. The old farmer and his wife

greeted him anxiously when he asked to use their telephone.

“Did you find any German around?” asked the farmer.

“None! They must be long gone by now. That plane must have brought in spies:

I have to advise Rochford right away.”

Going through the local operator, the Home Guard sergeant soon had the security officer

of the RAF Fighter Command station in Rochford on the line.

“Sir? This is Sergeant Beldam, of the Home Guard. I am calling from a farm five

miles north of your airfield. My patrol just found a single-engine German aircraft which

landed some time last night in a pasture field. There was nobody near the aircraft.”

The sleepy voice of the RAF officer suddenly denoted intense interest.

“What kind of aircraft exactly, Sergeant?”

“If I read my aircraft recognition book correctly, sir, it is a Fieseler Storch light

liaison aircraft. It was intact and obviously landed without damage. What shall I do with

it, sir?”

“Stay with it and prevent anybody from taking it. I will send reinforcements to

comb the area and will alert London that we may have German spies around. Good job,

Sergeant!”

Quite pleased with himself, the old sergeant put down the phone and smiled to the

farmer and his wife, who had been listening on.

“Well, with any luck, we may bag ourselves a real German spy or two today,

thanks to your son.”

“By God! I better get my shotgun; in case they come back this way.”

19:46 (GMT)

Apartment 14, 24 St James’ Place

London

Mike Crawford was serving himself a second scotch on the rocks in the small

kitchen of his London apartment when he heard someone knock three times on the

glass of his lounge’s patio doors. Intrigued, he left his glass on the kitchen counter and

walked into the lounge, looking at the doors giving on his balcony. He could see a

human silhouette standing on the balcony, a tall female silhouette. His heart jumping

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inside his chest, Mike ran to the patio doors and unlocked them before throwing them

open. Nancy, looking tired and with her dress uniform covered with dust and mud,

jumped into his arms and started kissing him frantically. Mike gave as good as he got.

“God, Nancy, I’m so happy to see you. How did you escape from Germany?”

“It’s a long story, Mike. Let me in first: I don’t want to be seen.”

Mike did so, closing and locking the patio doors behind her before looking back at his

wife, examining her from head to toe.

“You look healthy, Nancy. How could it be so only a few days after enduring

such atrocious tortures?”

“It’s a bit complicated, Mike. You better sit down first.”

Sitting herself on a sofa, she patted the cushion next to hers, inviting Mike to sit beside

her. He did so, passing an arm around her shoulders and kissing her again. Nancy then

spent ten minutes telling Mike about what happened to her in Germany and how she had

escaped. At the end of it, the American looked in disbelief at her.

“You… you are joking, right?”

“I was never more serious, Mike.”

He nearly jumped out of the sofa: he had heard clearly her voice inside his head, yet she

had not opened her mouth. As if to emphasize her point, Nancy suddenly started

floating upward from the sofa while staring at Mike. If she wouldn’t have been his wife,

Mike would have run out of his apartment as if confronted by a witch. Instead, he

swallowed hard and forced himself to stay on the sofa.

“So, why come back so discreetly, Nancy?”

“Because the British tried to kill me by bombing the crap out of Colditz, then took

prisoner a person from the future who had come to help me.”

She took another two minutes to tell Mike about Farah Tolkonen. That left Mike both

bitter and angry.

“How so typically British! Nothing is too good to protect or further their precious

empire.”

“The United States is not exactly innocent in that respect, Mike.” Nancy

reminded him softly. “To go back to Farah, I must break her free and help her return to

her time period, if that’s possible. If not, and if the British manage to coerce her into

showing how to use her portable time distorter, then history may become hopelessly

mangled. It cannot be allowed to happen, at any cost.”

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“I could help you break your friend out.” proposed Mike without hesitation. Nancy

smiled tenderly to him but shook her head in denial.

“Thanks but no, Mike. This will be a very dangerous undertaking and I need to

be sure that you will be alive and able to care for Ingrid when she is released from the

Tower of London. I will go with a much quieter mind if I know that you will be there for

our daughter.”

Mike bowed his head, pursing his lips in bitterness.

“About Ingrid, there are a few things you must know about recent events

concerning her and the other Germans in the Tower of London.”

It was Mike’s turn to bring Nancy up to speed on local events, including what had

happened to Hanna Reitsch. That brought a cold, resolute look in Nancy’s eyes.

“Then, the more reasons for you to play it safe. If something goes wrong tonight,

I want you to bring Ingrid to the United States with you and to offer her a new life there.

If I make it and go back to the future with Farah, then I will be back soon enough for both

of you. Either way, Ingrid needs you more than me. Even if I succeed, my name will

become mud with the British, so I am burned in England either way.”

“Can’t I at least help just a little?”

“As a matter of fact, yes: could you pass me the doubles of my car and apartment

keys?”

“That’s it?”

“Alright!” She said, feigning annoyance. “I will let you drive me to near the M.I.5

headquarters.”

“That’s better! I suppose that you will clean up and change before going.”

“Correct. An officer going around with a dirty face in the middle of London is

going to attract attention.”

“Then, give me a list of what you need and I will get it from your apartment. You

would start a riot if anybody saw you in the hallway.”

“A sensible idea. That will let me time to shower while you do that.”

Nancy then wrote down a list of what she needed and gave the piece of paper to Mike

before getting up from the sofa and taking off her beret and the wig she wore.

“By the way, I had a small accident while in Colditz: most of my hair was burned

and I had to shave the rest off. What do you think of this?”

“Er, I think I prefer you with your hair. I’ll go get your things now.”

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Grabbing an empty suitcase from his bedroom, Mike then left his apartment and went

three doors down to Nancy’s apartment. Packing her list of things and grabbing her gun

case took him only ten minutes. When he came back to his apartment, he found Nancy

drying herself up in the bathroom. Seeing her naked reminded him how long he had

been without caressing her. She seemed to read his mind, as she approached him

while smiling and glued herself to him.

“This could be the last time that we will be intimate together, Mike. Let’s do it one

last time.”

He didn’t want to argue with her on that. In fact, he wanted her, desperately. He let her

undress him, then took her in his arms and carried her inside his bedroom.

20:48 (GMT)

Marsham Street, Westminster District

London

Sitting behind the steering wheel of the Mitsubishi Outlander, Mike Crawford

looked on with apprehension as Nancy, sitting beside him in the front passenger seat,

checked her weapons one last time. She now wore her battledress uniform and her

green beret and had her Glock 17 combat pistol and her silenced Ruger Mark II .22

caliber pistol on her gun belt, apart from her ASP telescopic baton. Completing her

arsenal was her huge Desert Eagle .50 AE caliber pistol, carried in a special belly holster.

“Do you really think that you will need to shoot your way inside, Nancy?”

She gave him a calm, cold look that was enough of an answer by itself.

“Mike, the British tried to kill me and sacrificed cold-bloodedly nearly 300 of their

own people to do it. They also arrested a woman who risked everything to save me in

Berlin, in order to steal her time machine. If everything goes well, I will only have to use

my silenced pistol. If you hear shots, then you will know that I was discovered.”

“Please, Nancy, be careful.” said Mike while extending his right arm and touching

her face. She kissed his hand and smiled to him, then opened her door.

“I will. Say goodbye to Ingrid for me. I love you, Mike.”

“I love you too.” replied softly the American while Nancy stepped out. Closing

quietly her door, she walked away towards the big, eight-story building nearby, vanishing

in the night.

598

21:04 (GMT)

Holding cell

Basement of M.I.5 headquarters

Thames House, Millbank, London

Farah, exhausted by two days of constant questioning by British officials, was

deep asleep on the bunk of her cell and didn’t hear the noise of a pistol butt hitting

someone’s head, nor door of her cell opening. It took progressively stronger shakes to

wake her up.

‘’Farah!...Farah!... Dammit, wake up!’’

‘’Uh?... What?’’

Opening slowly her eyes, Farah tried to focus them in the darkness of her cell. It was

finally the voice of her visitor that suddenly woke her up fully, making her sit up.

‘’Nancy? Thank the stars! You came!’’

‘’Of course I came, Farah.’’ replied Nancy while sharing a joyful hug with the giant.

‘’You didn’t think that I would let you rot like this in a British cell, didn’t you?’’

‘’No, but how did you get here from Germany? And how come you look healthy

after all those awful tortures in Berlin?’’

‘’It’s a long story, Farah. Just know that telepathy is only one of the supernatural

powers I now hold. Come, let’s get out of here before my bluff is uncovered.’’

‘’Wait! I must get my equipment first, especially my wrist time distorter.’’

‘’Where is it?’’

‘’In an office on the sixth floor. I know where it is.’’

‘’Good! Then, follow me and walk normally, as if I was allowed to take you out.’’

Fear returned to Farah, who could imagine how dangerous what they were going to

attempt was. She however gathered her courage and got up from her bunk, following

Nancy out of the cell. She nearly tripped on the body of a British guard lying on the floor

of the corridor.

‘’You…you didn’t…’’

‘’I just knocked him unconscious, Farah.’’ answered quickly Nancy. ‘’Come on

and act normal.’’

The scientist did her best to do just that as she walked besides Nancy towards the door

closing the cells section. That door was presently opened and the guardroom on the

other side was empty, except for an unconscious British guard sprawled on the floor.

599

‘’Farah, you now need to show me how to get to that office.’’ said Nancy in a low

voice while keeping an eye on the staircase leading up to the ground level.

‘’There is a staircase and an elevator in the back of the main lobby. There was

however a person on duty in the main lobby when I was brought in last night.’’

‘’I know: I bluffed my way past that receptionist before coming down here. We

will just walk past her and get to the elevator, then go to the sixth floor as if I was

escorting you upstairs. Got it?’’

‘’Yes! By the stars, I was rarely this nervous before. Is that what you call the

thrill of adventure?’’

‘’Yup! I’m actually quite an adrenaline junkie. Let’s go up and, for God’s sake,

look like an obedient prisoner.’’

For added effect, Nancy grabbed solidly Farah’s right arm before going up the stairs with

her. They stepped on the ground floor a few paces only from the lobby’s front desk,

behind which a young civilian woman sat. The receptionist looked pleased to see Nancy,

raising a hand to attract her attention.

‘’Brigadier Laplante, I just got a call from the Prime Minister’s office: Mister

Churchill is on his way to here right now and should arrive in a few minutes in order to

see the prisoner. Should I call Brigadier Harker to warn him of that visit?’’

‘’Uh, that won’t be needed, miss. I will go warn Brigadier Harker myself. He is in

his office, I suppose?’’

‘’Correct, Brigadier: sixth floor, office 610, to the left on leaving the elevator.’’

‘’Thank you very much, miss.’’

Nancy waited until she was in the elevator cabin with Farah and had started

going up slowly before swearing quietly.

‘’Damn! Talk about a piece of bad luck. Churchill never moves around with less

than two bodyguards, men who are superbly trained and are quite dangerous. We will

have to make it quick in recuperating your things. Is your time distorter able to transport

two people at once if we glued ourselves together and, if yes, how far could it transport

us?’’

‘’Well, I am pretty sure that it could handle both of us safely, but that would

certainly cut on its range, both in space and time.’’

‘’By how much?’’

‘’Depends! How much would you weigh right now, with all your weapons?’’

600

‘’A bit less than seventy kilos.’’

‘’Hum…’’ said Farah, making a quick mental calculation. ‘’Then we should be

able to do a space jump of a few hundred kilometers, if no time displacement is involved.

I am sorry but, if you were thinking about us returning to your home in 2012, my wrist

time distorter won’t be able to handle it.’’

‘’What about my original emergence point near Northolt?’’

‘’That it could reach easily. But what would we do once there?’’

‘’I don’t know yet, but the important thing right now is to get you and I out of the

hands of the British. We could discuss further once safely out of London. Ah, finally, the

sixth floor: those antique elevators are so slow.’’

Opening the accordion-like door of the cabin once it stopped, Nancy got out of the

elevator with Farah and turned left along a wide corridor. Only one office on the floor

was lit at that late hour. Farah pointed the lit office to Nancy and whispered to her.

‘’That’s the office where my equipment was taken from me.’’

‘’Harker’s office.’’ said Nancy after looking at the door numbers they were

passing. ‘’I can bet that this asshole acted solely on his own authority by arresting you

and interrogating you. He probably hoped to gain favors from Churchill by giving him the

key to time travel. Well, he is about to find out that he bit in something a bit too big for

him. Keep following me but stay two paces behind me, so that I can deal with Harker

first.’’

‘’Understood!’’

Nancy then took out her silenced .22 caliber pistol and entered the lit office at a resolute

pace, pointing her weapon at the officer sitting behind a large desk and writing some

kind of report.

‘’Don’t move and don’t scream, Harker, or I will not hesitate to shoot you.’’

The interim head of the M.I.5, a man in his fifties with a moustache, twitched in his chair

when he saw the gun pointed at him. His face then reflected pure surprise and disbelief

on recognizing Nancy.

‘’Brigadier Laplante? But you are supposed to be dead.’’

‘’You mean killed by British bombs in Colditz Castle? So, you knew about that

raid. Anyway, I didn’t come here to discuss my fate. You took away things from my

friend, Doctor Tolkonen, when you arrested her. I want those things, now!’’

‘’But I don’t know what you are talking about.’’ lied rather badly the now nervous

British. To Farah’s shock and horror, Nancy then shot once, targeting Harker’s left

601

shoulder. While the gun produced only a weak ‘plop’, the bullet made Harker cringe with

sudden pain as he reflexively raised his right hand to his wounded shoulder.

‘’AAAH! You…you bitch!’’

Nancy walked quickly around his desk and grabbed him brutally by his hair while putting

the muzzle of her silenced weapon against his left knee.

‘’Your left knee will be next if you don’t get me those items quickly, Harker. So,

where are they?’’

With beads of sweat appearing on his forehead and with both fear and pain in his eyes,

the British brigadier pointed a safety cabinet in a corner of his office.

‘’Doctor Tolkonen’s things are in that cabinet.’’

‘’Then, open it, quickly!’’

With Nancy’s gun stuck to his head, Harker got slowly up from his chair and went to the

cabinet, turning the dial of the combination lock securing it and then opening the second

drawer.

‘’There! Satisfied?’’

‘’Not yet! Farah, grab your things, quickly!’’

Farah, still intimidated by Nancy’s brutal but effective methods of persuasion, didn’t

waste time in taking out her equipment, including her medical kit, from the cabinet. Her

next action was to put her time distorter around her wrist and to check it.

‘’My distorter is functional, Nancy, and I have as well all the rest of my things. I

will now enter right now the necessary coordinates in the distorter, so that we can leave

in a hurry.’’

‘’You won’t get away with this, Laplante.’’ said Harker, clenching his teeth against

the pain from his shoulder. ‘’You are committing treason right now by helping this

woman escape.’’

Nancy turned him around so that they ended up nose to nose, with her eyes drilling

Harker with cold anger.

‘’The ones who committed treason are you British, not me. You tried to kill me in

Colditz and, in the process, murdered hundreds of allied prisoners of war and thousands

of German civilians. I don’t care what kind of excuse you made to justify that monstrous

act but you can tell the Prime Minister this once we are gone: I am through helping you

British in this war. I will now help my friend return to her proper time and I will not

hesitate to kill any British who will stand in our way. As for you, count yourself lucky that

602

I don’t kill you for abusing my friend after she seeked your help following her escape

from Berlin.’’

Nancy then heard the noise of footsteps approaching in the corridor and threw Harker

back in his chair after taking his service revolver from his holster and sliding it in her belt.

‘’Quick, Farah! Grab your things and hug me tight.’’

Gluing her back to Farah’s belly, so that she could still point her pistol at Harker, she

watched the door of the office while Farah passed one arm around her and activated her

wrist time distorter. She had time to see Churchill enter the office and brake on the spot

while eyeing her with utter disbelief, before a flash of white light enveloped her and

Farah.

They materialized at night in the middle of a wood clearing which Nancy

recognized at once, falling a few centimeters to the grassy ground. Farah then blew out

air in relief.

‘’Thank the stars! We should now be safe for a while. What do we do now,

Nancy?’’

‘’We go hide in the trees surrounding this clearing. I don’t want somebody

passing on the nearby road to see us and think that we are some kind of Nazi infiltrators

sneaking around the woods.’’

Farah followed Nancy towards the nearest trees, penetrating maybe twenty meters in

the woods before sitting facing each other behind a big tree. Despite putting a brave

face on their situation, Nancy was now nearly desperate, realizing full well how bad her

situation was. The British would now be as dangerous for her as the Germans, while

she could only pray that she would one day be able to see again Mike and Ingrid.

‘’Farah, tell me what your equipment could do to help us escape from this

situation. Also, is there any chance that someone else from 3384 could come to look for

you?’’

‘’Well, I do have a micro-radio set implanted inside my left ear, through which I

can mentally receive and send messages. If my two young assistants back in New Lake

City get the authorization to look for me, then I will be able to hear and to answer their

calls. As for my time distorter, my earlier jumps drained about half of the energy out of

its power source, leaving us only enough power to make together a time jump of no

more than fifty years, or a space jump of 200 kilometers at the maximum.’’

‘’Do you have something that would allow you to replenish that power source?’’

603

‘’Maybe! I have a small charger unit in my medical kit, but it is made to plug in

into 3384 outlets, which are quite different from 1941 British outlets. However, if I could

get some basic electrical parts and wires, along with some tools, I probably could make

an improvised outlet adaptor for my charger unit that would then fit in British outlets.’’

Nancy felt a bit better on hearing that.

‘’And, once fully recharged, how far could you go if travelling alone, Farah?

Could you then go back to your time period?’’

Farah looked with shock at Nancy when she understood what the Canadian had in mind.

‘’You want me to leave you behind? No way! I came all the way from 3384 to

get you back and I will leave only with you. Besides, even with a full charge and going

alone, my distorter won’t be able to bring me back to the 34th Century.’’

‘’But you could recharge your unit at intervals on your way, no?’’

‘’A nice idea but one that won’t work in our case, Nancy. Know that a devastating

nuclear war will engulf Earth in 2052, destroying human civilization and leaving alive less

than a few million people. It will then take a full 500 years before some semblance of a

technological society will emerges from the radioactive ruins. That 500-year gap is too

long to bridge for my time distorter unit. The only realistic goal would be your lakeside

cottage in 2012. We could both get there if I could improvise some sort of portable

battery to supplement my power cell.’’

‘’That could be a start.’’ Said Nancy. ‘’Once there, we…’’

The sudden air of utter joy that had just appeared on Farah’s face cut her off, with the

bald giant then nearly screaming.

‘’MY ASSISTANTS! THEY ARE HERE, IN 1941! THEY ARE CALLING ME

RIGHT NOW ON THE RADIO.’’

A wave of unspeakable relief washed over Nancy as Farah seemed to conduct a mental

conversation for a few seconds. Farah finally grabbed Nancy by both shoulders,

grinning at her.

‘’My assistants will be here in a few seconds, aboard a modified air scooter able

to jump space-time. We are going to be saved, Nancy!’’

Both women hugged each other emotionally, then started to walk back towards the

clearing. They were about to emerge in the open when a small flying machine the size

of an ultra-compact car appeared above the clearing in a brief flash of white light, then

started descending slowly towards the ground. Farah broke at a run towards the

machine, followed closely by Nancy. They reached the machine just after it landed

604

smoothly and silently on the long grass. A transparent canopy then slid open, to reveal

a pair of young bald giants who smiled at Farah.

‘’Farah, thank the stars, we found you!’’ said the young man of the couple. ‘’And

this must be Nancy Laplante?’’

‘’Correct! Let’s not waste precious time, Maran. As soon as we are in the

scooter, jump back to the time lab. We have to arrange a few return trips to this time

and place with the time ship.’’

‘’Return trips?’’ exclaimed the girl sitting behind the young man. ‘’What for? This

time is extremely dangerous for us.’’

‘’I know, Mona, but we have at least two more people to pick up in 1941 London,

along with the car and other belongings of Nancy. I will explain further once at the time

lab.’’

Maran Tolvek and Mona Zirel did not insist further and squeezed themselves to let Farah

and Nancy get in the machine, which looked like a small covered sled without wheels.

With the canopy closing first, the machine then climbed a few meters in the air before

disappearing the same way it had come.