Codename Eagle (20 page)

“Yes,” Henri agreed, “but not all of us; we must keep them guessing as to our numbers. I’ll step out onto the track with a white flag, to show them we want to negotiate.”

Paul was still far from convinced that Henri was the right person to do the talking. “I’ll go with you,” he said quickly.

“I don’t think so, Paul.”

“But why not?”

“Because you’re very young. The leader of a German military unit might not take kindly to being addressed by someone he considers a boy.”

Seeing that Paul was about to protest, Henri held up one hand. “You fight like a man, Paul, far better than me. But we must look stronger than we are; like a team of men.” He turned to Didier. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course.”

“Good. But let me do the talking.”

Paul had another point to make before they moved off again. “We must sound strong as well as look strong, Henri.”

“Yes, I know that.”

“Then … then perhaps it’s best that you don’t tell them Josette is your daughter. Don’t make it too personal.”

“He’s right,” Henri,” Didier added. “If you show any emotion it could make you vulnerable. They’ll use that against you.”

R
udi Werner debated his shot: heart or head? Heart was the safest and a guaranteed kill, but head was the most dramatic – specialist and spectacular – a true sniper’s shot.

He was staring down the barrel of his rifle, sights fixed on the head of a little man with a bushy moustache who had stepped onto the track. He was holding up a stick with a piece of white material, probably a handkerchief, tied to it.

They weren’t looking to surrender, Werner knew; they wanted to talk. But for the moment he ignored the white flag and thought about the details of his shot options. He was sure of the distance to within a couple of metres. The day was still, so there was no wind to take into consideration, and he knew that on firing, his Karabiner 98k rifle pulled fractionally high and to the right.

He adjusted his aim minutely, lining up the hooded front sight with the V-shaped notch of the rear sight. He rested his index finger on the trigger. The trigger was a shade heavy, not feather-light, as he would have preferred; it needed firm pressure.

Behind the little fellow stood a younger man. At this distance, their features were not totally defined, but Werner was pretty sure he was one of the ones he had encountered earlier. If he took out Bushy Moustache with a headshot, it meant a chest shot for the younger man. He’d be dead before he could even think about making a run for it.

It was a pity neither of the twins nor the loud-mouthed kid had appeared; they were the ones Werner really wanted to line up in his sights.

Werner took a breath and focused his aim on the little man’s head.

“Click,” he said softly and swung the rifle a little to the right. “Click,” he said again.

He exhaled slowly and smiled. Two dead. Perfect kills.

He lifted his head and turned towards the open door. “Sir?” he called. “We have visitors.”

Hauptmann Kurt Lau walked from the house unaccompanied and unarmed. Werner had him covered from the first floor window, so he had no need of a weapon.

The German soldier and the French textile factory owner approached each other slowly, stares fixed on the other.

Didier had taken the white flag from Henri and was following a couple of paces behind him. “Stay calm, Henri,” he whispered.

Lau stopped walking first. It was a calculated tactical ploy, forcing Henri to take the final steps to their meeting.

The officer looked perfectly calm and relaxed, nodding acknowledgment as Henri came to a standstill. “Monsieur.”

“Sir,” Henri replied.

Using all his experience, Lau was quick to try to seize the upper hand. “I assume you’ve approached with the white flag because you wish to surrender?”

Henri gave a slight smile and remained unruffled. “You know that’s not the case. You’re surrounded by a superior force; there is no escape for you.”

Lau’s sharp eyes moved slowly around the treeline. “And where exactly is this superior force?”

“They are watching. From all sides. If you wish for a demonstration of our strength, we could perhaps take out the lorry standing at the back of the house. There are plenty more petrol bombs in our arsenal. That would be a pity, of course, because I understand you need the lorry for your departure tonight.”

Standing behind Henri, Didier breathed a little easier. Henri was doing well so far – very well – especially as the reality was that they had no further petrol bombs at all.

“I’ve come to negotiate and to offer you a safe way out,” Henri continued.

“I’m listening,” Lau said, shortly, realizing that his opening tactic had got him nowhere.

“First of all, I must make it perfectly clear to you that Max Bernard is nowhere near here and that it will be impossible for you to find him now,” Henri said, growing in confidence as negotiations went his way.

“Just tell me your terms,” Lau said, curtly.

Henri nodded. “Very well. The Noury twins will return to the house. They will collect the landing torches for your escape tonight and they will accompany you to the plateau to set the torches. When you have gone, they will return with the torches; it will be as though you were never here. We will not interfere at all; in fact, we will withdraw completely.”

“We can manage without the Noury twins.”

“I don’t think so. We simply will not let you get near to the torches or the lorry. As I said before, we have plenty more petrol bombs.”

Lau considered for what felt like an age to Henri and Didier. “And what is it you require in return for this generous offer?”

For the first time, Henri hesitated, and when he spoke his voice had lost its strength and confidence. “All … all we want,” he said haltingly, “is for you to set free my … the prisoner you are holding.”

Somehow Henri had made the demand sound like a humble plea, almost as though he was begging, and Lau, a tough negotiator, instantly spotted the weakness.

“She’s wounded, you know,” he said, “and quite seriously.”

Henri sucked in a breath. “Give her back to us,” he said quickly, his voice breaking slightly. “I just want you to give us back…”

“Josette?” Lau said softly.

Henri nodded. “Give her back to me. Please?”

Lau waited. The tables had turned. Now, he realized, he was in a position to make some conditions of his own. “She’s your daughter.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact, confirmed by Henri’s silence.

“These are my terms,” Lau continued, much more confidently now. “I’ll agree to the Noury twins returning to help us with our departure. I’ll agree to all your conditions, but I’ll keep Josette with us for now.”

“No,” Henri gasped.

“She’ll come with us to the plateau, as insurance. When we leave, and as long as there have been no further attempts on the safety of my men, Josette will remain behind with the Noury twins.”

“Please, please leave her now,” Henri said desperately. “You have my word; we’ll go. We’ll clear the forest now, I promise you. And we won’t return. We’ll go nowhere near the plateau.”

Lau remained unmoved. “This is war, monsieur. Words are given, promises made and then broken.”

Didier had struggled to remain silent, but now that Henri had surrendered the initiative to the German officer, he had to speak. “How badly wounded is she?”

Lau nodded. His voice softened; he was not a man without compassion. “It is a serious wound, but I’ve done my best with it. I’ll keep her fluids up during the day, but she needs blood. A transfusion.”

“But if you keep her with you, it will be hours before we can get her to a hospital.”

The German officer’s face hardened again. “I have to think of my own men. One of them is in a worse condition.”

The three men stood in silence, Lau unwilling to give ground, Henri desperate not to give up and Didier unsure of what he might say or do next.

As they stood facing one another, the front door of the house opened, and Erich Steidle appeared.

“Sir?” he called to his officer. “Sir?”

Lau glanced back before speaking to Henri again. “Will you wait here?”

Henri nodded and Lau walked quickly back to his second-in-command.

“What is it?”

“It’s Wilhelm, sir, he’s dead. He swallowed the cyanide.”

Lau sighed deeply and his body seemed to sag. “Go on.”

“I was with the girl, giving her a drink. She didn’t look good and I thought she might pass out. So I wasn’t watching Wilhelm when he came round. Berg saw him take out the capsule. He shouted to me, but I wasn’t quick enough, Wilhelm already had it in his mouth. He said to tell you he was sorry, then he … then he bit down on it. It was over in seconds, sir.”

Lau said nothing, so Steidle continued. “He knew that getting him back to the plane alive would slow us down, and that he probably wouldn’t make it. He wanted to make it easier for us, to give us a better chance.”

“Yes,” Lau said, in little more than a whisper. He turned and walked back to Henri and Didier.

“A change of plan,” he said shortly. “I agree to your terms.”

Henri’s face registered his confusion.

“Josette will be returned to you now. And I’ll trust you to keep your word.”

“I … I will. But … why?”

“Take your daughter to hospital, monsieur; get her the blood and the treatment she needs.”

Josette smiled weakly at her father as she was helped from the house by the German officer. She was pale and drained of her usual fiery energy, and she stumbled slightly as Henri reached out his arms.

Lau held her tightly to prevent her from falling, then stood back as Henri took a firm grip. “Thank you,” he mumbled to Lau. He wrapped his arms around his precious daughter and they waited for Didier to return with the car. He had hurried away down the track after a few brief words of explanation to Paul and the twins.

Knowing that a truce had been declared, they slowly emerged from the forest, first Paul, then Gilbert and Eddie. They walked cautiously up to Henri under the watchful eyes of Rudi Werner, still in his sniper’s nest but under strict orders not to fire.

The mood remained tense, uncertain; there was no sense of victory, and even when Josette was escorted from the house there was no thought of celebration. Everyone was battered, relieved and grateful to be alive.

Lau glanced around and took in Henri’s ragged little army.

“And the rest?” he asked.

Henri simply shrugged his shoulders slightly.

The hint of a smile crossed Lau’s face and he nodded. He turned to the twins. “You have nothing to fear. You will be treated respectfully; I trust you will fulfil your side of the bargain.”

The twins had not forgotten their earlier treatment, and Gilbert’s bruised face bore evidence of the rough handling he’d suffered. But they were loyal to Henri and his group now.

“We’ll do as you want,” Gilbert said.

“As long as you promise not to offer to pay us,” Eddie added.

Lau smiled again, this time wryly. “You have my word.”

For the first time in what seemed like days, Paul was thinking of something other than tactics and plans. Glimpsing Inigo lying dead on the forest floor had brought back vivid memories of seeing his own father dead on the ground in Antwerp the previous year, shot in the back as he ran from pursuing German soldiers.

It was an agonizing memory made even worse by the fact that Paul had been unable to help his father in any way. Inigo was beyond help too, now, but there was still something Paul felt he could do for him.

“Our friend is dead in the forest,” he said to Lau. “Will you let the twins bring him in?”

“Of course,” Lau replied. “There is also the unfortunate Monsieur Forêt to consider. He’s still in his car.”

“We’ll sort that too,” Eddie said. “We’ll drive him to Lavelanet tomorrow – maybe even later tonight, when you’ve gone. We’ll leave him somewhere he’ll be found.”

The sound of an engine signalled Didier’s return and they turned to watch him drive up in Henri’s car.

Henri and Paul helped Josette into the back seat and then Henri nodded to Paul to join her. He closed the door and turned to the German officer. “Thank you,” he said.

“I wish you good luck,” Lau said, offering his hand.

“And you also,” Henri said as they shook hands.

He climbed into the passenger seat. Didier shoved the car into gear and drove away.

“My bike’s still at the end of the track,” Didier said to Henri.

“Leave it, we’ll come back for it.”

Didier nodded. “But we should stop at Bélesta to make sure Max and Julia are safe.”

“We must get Josette to hospital.”

“Papa, I’m all right,” Josette mumbled from the back seat. “I can wait a little longer.”

Henri turned to Paul. “And once Josette is in hospital, we’ll concentrate on getting you to Puivert tonight. I haven’t forgotten
Eagle
.”

As the car bumped down the track, Paul took Josette’s hand in his and squeezed it gently. She smiled. They turned and looked back through the rear window.

Lau had not moved. He was watching them go.

T
hey were not there.

Antoine and Rosalie Granel had seen nothing of Max and Julia Bernard and were certain they had been nowhere near Bélesta that day.

Rosalie Granel, as feisty now as she had been when facing up to five German soldiers, was furious. “You had them both safe and you’ve lost them again!” she said, eyes blazing. “How could you do that! How could you let them out of your sight?”

Henri was crestfallen. “I thought we could trust him.”

“Who?”

“Alain Noury.”

“Never heard of him! How could you let anyone drive away with them if you weren’t completely certain he could be trusted?”

“I thought he truly wanted to help.”

“
Thought!
What use is that! No wonder we’re losing the war with people like you in charge!”

Antoine Granel, red-faced and flushed, brushed a strand of his wispy grey hair from his face. “Rosalie, please! Monsieur Mazet and his friends have done everything they can.”