Darkest Hour (25 page)

'I'll make sure we do. In which case, all right,
Sergeant. Go now.'

'You sure, sir?'

'Not a hundred per cent, no.' He held out his hand and
Tanner took it. 'Good luck. Hopefully, I'll see you in a short while. Otherwise
your absence will take some explaining.' He headed back to the rest of the
platoon, waiting patiently for him in a nearby clearing.

Tanner clapped Sykes on the back. 'Right, Stan, get
your section together and we'll be off.'

Sykes switched on his filtered torch, called over his
men and brought them into a semi-circle. Tanner looked into their ghostly
faces: McAllister, Hepworth, Bell and Kershaw - good men, who had all served
with him and Sykes in Norway - and the new lads: Ellis, Chambers, Verity,
Rhodes and Denning.

'What's this, Sarge?' said McAllister. 'Why aren't we
going with the others?'

'We're going to get some transport,' said Tanner. He
saw Hepworth's face fall. 'Don't worry, Hep, this'll be a cinch and it'll make
our lives a lot easier. Not only that, it means our chances of getting out of
this fix will be much higher too. So cheer up.'

'No more walking, then?' said Hepworth.

'No, all things being well.'

'In that case, Sarge . . .'

'Hold on, Hep,' said McAllister, 'we've still got to
get it. This is about those Jerries Tinker and the Corp saw, isn't it, Sarge?'

'Yes,' said Tanner. 'A Jerry unit's moved into the
village and, more specifically, into the farm. Now there are four vehicles
parked up on the side of the road outside. Three look like those Opels we
nabbed in Norway. The other's a bit different but it can't be that hard to
start. We don't even need to go into the farm itself. We'll head across the
fields, then into the orchard and come out at the road by the wall of the farm.
I'll creep out and check the coast's clear. Then, Mac, you run forward with
Ellis and set up the Bren on the other side of the road facing the archway into
the yard. Stan, what have you still got in your bag of tricks? I'm wondering
whether we can knock down that archway and block those other Jerry vehicles
inside.'

'Not sure, Sarge. Might be tricky to get it in the
right place. Could probably manage a trip-wire of some kind. Why don't we just
throw some grenades at the vehicles?'

'Possibly. We'll see when we get there.'

'And what if there are guards or troops in the
trucks?'

'If there are guards, we'll kill them silently. If
there are troops, we'll just have to spray them with the Bren - Mac, make sure
you don't fire near the engines. We need the trucks to work, all right?'

McAllister nodded.

'Right,' Tanner continued. 'Who remembers how to drive
those Opels?'

'Think so, Sarge,' said Bell.

'I can,' added Kershaw.

'Good,' said Tanner. 'Kay - you take the last truck.
Dusty - you go with him and give him cover.' Kershaw and Rhodes nodded. 'I'll
take the smaller one with you, Hep. Stan, you're in the one next to the arch
with Verity and, 'Tinker, you grab the first with Denning - all right, Dasher?'

'Yes, Sarge,' said Denning.

'Punter,' Tanner continued, turning to Chambers, 'you
cover the corp. You'll all need a reamer.' He delved into his haversack and
pulled out a set of five, standard issue with a Bren, but which Tanner kept for
use on his rifle and as a spare should it be needed. The largest was too big,
he remembered, but the rest were fine. He took four from the ring that held
them together and handed them out.

'All right, listen. It's going to be dark and speed'll
be everything. Remember, you'll be driving on the right, not the left. On the
dashboard beside the steering-wheel is the ignition - there's a small metal
plate underneath it. If there's no key, put the reamer into the ignition, then
bend it upwards slightly to hold it in place. When you do this a red light
should come on in the centre of the ignition button. Push the button to start
the engine. Left foot clutch, top left for first on the gearstick. Handbrake is
an ordinary ratchet lever to the right of the gearstick. Got that?'

The men nodded.

'Good, then
let's go. There's a half-moon, but keep close.'

As they reached the orchard, Tanner raised his hand
for them to halt. He was relieved to see them all safely there. 'Follow me to
the wall,' he whispered. Half crouching, they made their way through the apple
trees, then along the wall, Tanner wincing at every chink and audible footfall.
At the road, he raised his hand again and stopped. At least the breeze had
strengthened, dampening the noise and carrying any sound north-easterly away
from the farm. Above, the moon shone palely through the cloud.

'Everyone ready?'

The men nodded silently.

'Good. Stan, cover me, will you?' He drew out his
sword bayonet and, keeping to the softer grassy verge between the farm wall and
the road, stepped forward towards the first truck. Reaching it, he glanced
around and then peered into the cab, breathing a small sigh of relief that it
was, as he had thought, an Opel. Slowly, he moved to the end of the truck and,
seeing the tailgate was down, peered in.
Empty. Good.

Suddenly he heard a cough just ahead and someone
spoke. He squatted behind the front wing of the next truck. Two men were
talking by the archway.
Guards.
He heard the strike of
a match, then another and another.
Struggling to light
a beadie in this breeze.
Pausing, he wondered what to do. One of
the men laughed -
lit at last!
They spoke some
more, then stepped out onto the road. Tanner dropped to his knees and bent his
head to look under the truck. Yes, a guard was walking out into the road he
could just see the booted feet; a pause, then the man turned left towards the
first truck. Where was the other? Tanner looked again.
Must be under the arch.

Now was the moment. Deftly, he got to his feet, waited
until he heard the guard walk almost level with him on the far side of the
Opel, then moved towards the other end. He crouched, listened, then dashed from
the last bit of verge to the edge of the arch and clicked his tongue against
his teeth.

As he had hoped, he heard movement - boots on stone and,
a second later, a guard stepped out of the shadows. Tanner leaped at him,
holding his right forearm tight against the front of the man's throat,
preventing him making a sound, and with his left plunging the bayonet into the
man's side and through his kidney, killing him instantly. He dragged him clear
of the archway as the dead man's weapon clattered to the ground. He dropped him
and grabbed the short-barrelled weapon, then heard the first guard walk back
quickly.

'Hans?' called the guard.
'Sind Sie gut?'

'Ja, ja
,' Tanner replied, put the weapon back on the ground,
took several quick paces to the end of the truck, waited for the man to pass,
then stepped out into the road. The guard had barely time to realize someone
was behind him before Tanner had yanked back his head, arm over his throat, and
stuck his bayonet into the German's side. Noiselessly, the man went limp, and
Tanner carried him to the grass verge and laid him down.

Now he edged back towards the arch and peered round
it. The yard and farm seemed still. He waited a moment, straining his eyes.
Thicker cloud had covered the moon and it was dark in there. He could only just
discern the shape of the vehicles and buildings even though his eyes were
fully adjusted to the night light. He wondered if anyone had been posted in the
tower, although he guessed the trucks would be almost out of view for someone
up there. Surely men would be in the stables and outbuildings, though. Had
someone heard anything? It was time to get a move on.

He ran back to the others. 'We're clear for the time
being,' he whispered. 'The trucks are empty. Mac and Billy - jump into the tail
of the second rather than going to the far side of the road.'

'Sarge,' mouthed McAllister.

'And, Hedley, you come with me and Hepworth,' he
whispered, tapping Verity. 'Hep, there's an MG on our vehicle. Get on it right
away. All of you, get to your positions as quietly and quickly as possible. Go
along the grass verge, not the road. And no one start their engine until I give
the signal.' He turned to Sykes. 'What do you think?'

'I've got a packet of Nobels ready,' he murmured.

'All right,' said Tanner. 'Mac and Billy go first,
then Kay and Dusty.'

He followed Sykes to the archway. His heart was
pounding and his mouth tasted as dry as chalk, but his head was clear. Sykes
looked at the doors, and both men pushed themselves back against the outer
wall.

Tanner glanced round, saw McAllister and Ellis jumping
on to the back of the truck, and Hepworth climbing into the six-wheeler.
Christ, the noise. They'll wake the whole sodding lot up.

Sykes was now pulling one of the wooden doors. 'Get
the other one, Sarge,' he hissed.

The ageing hinges creaked, causing Tanner's stomach to
lurch and his heart to hammer even harder. Sykes now had the packet of
explosives in his hands and was pulling out a length of fuse. Tanner watched
for a moment, then hurried back to the two bodies. He liked the look of the
weapon he had taken and rummaged through the first man's ammunition pouches. He
found half a dozen narrow metal magazines. Then he patted the man's pockets,
hoping he would feel what he was looking for - cigarettes - but when he tried
to take them he realized the man was wearing a smock over his tunic and had to
delve inside to reach the breast pocket. As he pulled out the cigarettes he
noticed an embroidered skull and cross- bones on the right-hand side of the
collar. Glancing back, he saw Sykes motioning to him frantically to hurry to
the truck.

Nodding, Tanner felt in his pocket for his reamer.
Then, with one hand on the spare wheel at the side, he jumped up into the open
cab and felt around the dashboard, trying desperately to find the ignition and
starter.

Suddenly he heard voices from inside the yard and, at
the same moment, as the moon emerged from behind the clouds once more, he found
what he was sure was the ignition, down to the left of the steering-wheel. More
voices.
Damn it, damn it, come on!
Fumbling
with the reamer, he pushed it into the ignition and pressed the small round
button above it. The engine burst into life as shouts rang out inside the yard.
A moment later the gates were pushed violently open and several soldiers
appeared. In the thin light, Tanner could see their surprise and horror. Behind
him, the machine-gun now opened fire, the deafening noise making him jump. Then
McAllister's Bren was spitting bullets from the truck in front, small stabs of
orange fire blindingly bright in the dark night air. Immediately the men at the
gates crumpled to the ground.

'Go!' Tanner shouted. 'Go! Go! Go!'

One engine started, then another. Behind him, he was
conscious of Kershaw moving forward in the fourth truck, past his own vehicle.
Shots cracked out -
where from?
Tanner sensed
pandemonium now inside the farm as he felt down to his right for the handbrake.
Where the hell was it? He fumbled blindly.

'Get moving, Sarge!' Hepworth was shouting. 'Get
bloody moving.'

Another shot whizzed past his ear -
must be from the stables-
and pinged off the metal
dashboard.
Sod the handbrake,
he thought, put
his foot on the clutch, rammed the gearstick into first and lurched forward,
inching out past Sykes's truck. Why hadn't the explosion gone off? And then he
saw Sykes leap out of his cab, engine running, and dash to the gate.
Come on, Stan - get out of there -
and realized that the
first truck hadn't moved.

'Bloody hell,' he muttered, moving alongside. 'What's
the problem?' he yelled to Bell.

'I've dropped my reamer,' said Bell.

Damn!
Tanner jumped from the cab as McAllister's Bren continued
to rattle behind, leaped into Bell's truck and, taking his torch from his
trouser pocket, shone it at the floor - there was no need for secrecy now. He
saw the reamer almost immediately and, leaning against Bell, pushed it into the
ignition, yanked it upwards and pressed the starter, just as Hepworth opened
fire once more with the German machine-gun.

'Sarge!' shouted Hepworth. 'We've got to go -
now!'

Tanner glanced back and saw Sykes moving out, arms
waving, urging them forward.

'Bollocks,' said Tanner, dropped to the ground and,
with one bound, leaped back into his stolen truck, thrust it into gear and sped
forward. Bell was now moving in his truck too and, swivelling his head
backwards, Tanner saw Sykes so close to his rear that the two trucks were almost
touching. From the corner of his eye he saw enemy troops emerge from the
archway and open fire, arcs of tracer from their machine-gun cutting across the
night sky and following them along the road. A split-second later a blast of
orange light erupted from the gateway, enveloping the Germans and spewing
broken brick, wood and iron. Tanner felt its draught on his neck and looked
back to see Hepworth drop into the seat behind. At the same time, above the
throaty roar of the truck's engine, he heard falling masonry.