The Ops Room Girls

by Vicki Beeby

  Then Alex saw him – a shape slightly darker than the deep blue of the night sky. He grabbed Milan’s arm and pulled him close so he could whisper. ‘See him?’

  Milan nodded.

  ‘We need him alive,’ he breathed. ‘Without a noise.’

  ‘Leave him to me.’

  Before Alex could protest, Milan sprang ahead so silently he seemed to be hovering above the field. The next moment there was a gasp quickly muffled then a soft rustle and thud.

  Heart pounding, Alex dashed towards the sound and found Milan pinning Karol to the ground, one knee on Karol’s back and a hand clamped around his mouth.

  ‘One move and I’ll snap your puny neck.’ Milan spoke in Czech, his voice a low growl.

  Alex pulled off his scarf and crouched to tie it securely around Karol’s mouth. Karol bit his finger, and it took all of Alex’s willpower not to yell when he felt the crunch of teeth against the bone. There was a brief struggle which ended when Milan twisted Karol’s arm up beneath his shoulder blade. Karol gasped, releasing Alex’s finger, freeing him to finish tying the gag. Once it was done, Milan jerked him to his feet. Alex put his hand to the ground to push himself up when his hand touched hard, smooth metal. It must be the torch Karol had been using. He put it in his pocket then rose and grabbed Karol, who was struggling to free himself from Milan’s brutal grip. Held securely between them, Alex and Milan marched him back to the hedgerow.

  ‘Evie, Jess, open that package,’ he snapped when they got there. ‘We need to know how many parachutists are out there.’

  Milan handed something to Jess. Alex caught a glint of reflected moonlight, but he couldn’t look more closely because Karol started to struggle again. Milan twisted his arm again; Alex heard a pop, and Karol gave a muffled cry. ‘Try that again and I’ll use my knife,’ Milan said.

  Behind them Alex heard something heavy being dragged through the undergrowth, then a tearing sound.

  ‘It’s a box,’ Evie whispered. ‘Nailed shut.’

  Then came a wrenching sound of splintering wood. Jess must be using Milan’s knife to lever open the lid.

  ‘I can’t see anything,’ Evie said.

  ‘Here.’ With his free hand he pulled Karol’s torch from his pocket and held it out. ‘Take this. I can’t throw it – we’ll lose it in the dark.’

  He heard footsteps as Evie made her way towards him, then her hand patting his arm. It moved down to his hand and the torch. He had to fight his instinct to release Karol and clutch her to him, to protect her from whatever harm was coming her way. It cost him almost physical pain to release the torch to her and let her move away.

  Then a beam of light illuminated Evie and Jess’s faces as they peered into the opened crate. Jess gave a soft exclamation. ‘Well, knock me down with a feather.’

  ‘What is it?’

  Evie answered, a tremor in her voice. ‘Guns. Dynamite.’

  Equipment for a campaign of disruption that could render Amberton completely ineffective. If Amberton was lost, it would give the Germans a foothold onto the Sussex coast. They had to be stopped. He glanced across the field again. Time was running out. By now the parachutists would have hidden their parachutes and be watching for Karol’s signal. Where were the reinforcements from Amberton? A horrible thought struck him. What if May was unable to convince them it was a genuine emergency? After all, they had only seen a light. He had to assume they were on their own.

  A thought struck him. ‘Any fuse wire?’

  ‘Is this what you mean?’ Evie produced a bundle of thin cable.

  ‘Thank God. Hand it here.’

  There was more than enough to truss Karol and tie him to a stout hazel stem. Karol wriggled as Alex and Milan worked, but couldn’t free himself. The moment Alex was able to release his grip, he strode to the crate and rummaged through the contents. He pulled out the handguns – Browning Hi-Power pistols – and several ammunition clips.

  ‘Four guns.’ He looked back at Karol. ‘Is he armed?’

  Milan searched him. ‘Only a knife.’ He tucked the knife into his own pocket.

  ‘Then one of these guns must be meant for him, so there must be three parachutists. Two against three. We should be able to handle that with the advantage of arms.’

  ‘Four against three. Don’t forget me and Jess.’

  Alex took his time loading two of the pistols and handing one to Milan before he answered. ‘How many times have you fired a gun?’

  ‘Never, but if you think we’re going to stand by helplessly while you and Milan try to take on three Germans you can think again.’

  ‘But Evie, I—’

  Evie snatched the gun he held. ‘We’re wasting time. They could be here any moment. Either we’re armed and ready or they find us arguing over whether two members of the team should be allowed to defend themselves.’

  Put like that, Alex knew they had no choice. He loaded another gun for Jess and then took the last gun for himself. ‘For God’s sake leave the safety on. I don’t want one of you blowing off my head by accident.’ He showed both girls the location of the safety catch. ‘If you need to shoot, hold it in both hands with your arms straight.’ He could only pray they didn’t need to fire, because in the dark the bullets were likely to go wild.

  Then he crept to the edge of the field and looked out. Was that movement over by the far boundary? It was too dark to be certain, but his heart pounded in his chest. All his instincts screamed that the parachutists were getting close. And there was still no sign of help from Amberton coming up the track.

  ‘It would help if we knew what signal Karol had agreed upon.’

  ‘He used four flashes to signal to the plane.’ Alex jumped. He hadn’t noticed Evie creep up beside him.

  He grabbed her arm. ‘Get back under cover.’ He snatched the torch. ‘Are you sure about the signal?’

  ‘Positive.’

  ‘Okay, listen up. It’s no good our blundering around in the dark. I’m going to give the signal to lure them here. Milan, get ready to overpower them. Do what you must to stop them warning the others. Girls, stay under cover. These men will be trained killers.’

  * * *

  Evie gripped the hilt of her pistol, her heart in her mouth while Alex stepped out of concealment and flashed four times with the torch. After a pause he gave another four flashes. She strained her eyes into the darkness, looking for any sign of movement. Please, God, let them come one at a time. Despite her insistence on being armed, she desperately hoped neither she nor Jess would be needed in the fight. Her studies had prepared her for many possible careers, but nothing involving guns or combat. Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure how prepared a fighter pilot would be for hand-to-hand combat, either.

  Jess gripped her arm and whispered, ‘We’ll be fine, Evie. Milan’s been itching to crack a few Nazi skulls. He won’t let anyone through.’

  Evie could feel Jess’s hand trembling though and knew her friend was as terrified as her.

  Then she caught a brief flash from the left edge of the field. Evie felt as though her stomach was trying to crawl out of her throat. She tightened her grip on the pistol. It could only be a signal from one of the parachutists. Another flash came from the far end of the field. That was two accounted for – where was the third? She glanced to left and right but couldn’t see any other signals.

  Then there wasn’t time to look, because the first man was close. She could hear the rustle of barley, the sound of rapid breathing. About thirty seconds later, she saw a man’s outline no more than ten paces away. Then he stopped and for an agonising few seconds Evie could hear nothing but the roar of blood in her ears.

  ‘Der Seelöwe kommt,’ the man said in a low voice.

  She heard Karol give a muffled cry through his gag, and the parachutist turned sharply in his direction. Milan cursed under his breath and sprang forward. There was a blur of movement, then Evie heard a dull thud as Milan brought the hilt of his gun down on the German’s head. The man crumpled to t
he ground.

  Alex dashed out and hissed, ‘Quick. Get him under cover before anyone else sees him.’

  Between them they dragged him into the undergrowth.

  ‘Evie, Jess, tie him up.’

  Dazed at the speed with which everything had happened, Evie tucked her gun in her pocket then grabbed the cord and tied the man’s hands while Jess bound his feet. She glanced up several times as she worked, and saw Alex and Milan gazing intently across the field. They had to be watching the other man approach. All the while, she wondered where the third man was, assuming there really were three of them.

  Alex signalled the second man again, and Evie saw his dark shape approach at a run. Milan slipped along the hedgerow then froze, fading into invisibility as soon as he stopped moving. As soon as the second parachutist passed him, Milan stepped out behind him and dealt him a swift blow. After a breathless few minutes, the second man lay beside the other German, also securely bound.

  ‘That was easy,’ Alex muttered. ‘Now all we’ve got to do is—’

  Evie had stepped back slightly as Alex spoke. She had a sudden sense of movement behind her and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. But before she could turn, solid arms grabbed her. She opened her mouth to cry out, but a hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her. She was pulled back savagely against a hard body, and she struggled, twisting in a frantic effort to free herself. Then cold steel pressed against her throat and she froze.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  ‘Release them, or the woman dies.’ The voice was as cold as the knife against Evie’s flesh. The man spoke English, but his accent was German.

  Evie swallowed, the pressure increasing on her throat as she did so. Pale light suddenly illuminated the scene: Alex had switched on the torch, keeping it angled down. Evie could just make him out by its light, with Jess and Milan behind him. For a moment, all three were rooted to the ground in a tableau of shock.

  Then Alex took a pace forward. ‘Let her go,’ he said. ‘You can’t win. If you make a move to harm her, I’ll shoot.’

  ‘She’ll die before you can fire. You don’t have the stomach for that.’

  Evie’s pulse hammered in her ears, making the voices sound far away. She could see Milan, pointing his gun at the German’s head. Oh, God, please don’t let him try it in the dark. If his aim was off by only a little way, he would hit Evie instead. Or miss them both and the German would be sure to cut her throat in retribution.

  The man took a step back, dragging Evie with him, her hands clutching at his arms. The movement bashed her side against a tree trunk, and she felt hard metal press against her ribs. The gun! She’d forgotten all about it, and the German clearly hadn’t expected her to be armed. She let her hands drop to her sides, giving a sob as she did so, praying he would think she had given up the fight. Holding her breath, she edged her right hand towards her pocket, doing her best not to let her movements give her away.

  ‘Don’t be a fool,’ Alex said, his voice waxing and waning in a peculiar fashion through the roar in her ears. ‘There are more men on the way. You can’t hope to escape. Give up before you make it worse for yourself.’

  Evie’s fingers edged inside her pocket, hit the smooth, polished hand grip. The safety catch was still on. Feeling sick with frustration she realised that with only one hand she couldn’t hold the pistol and release the safety catch. She would have to do it while it was still in her pocket. She swallowed bile as she edged her fingers down the gun, groping for the catch. There! A fingernail snagged on the hard ridge. She screwed her eyes shut, straining to find enough purchase to release the catch.

  The man gave a harsh laugh. ‘How can I make it worse for myself? I’d rather die than face capture.’

  ‘That can be arranged,’ Milan said.

  The safety catch released with a tiny click. Evie tensed. Surely the German must have heard? Ten heartbeats bruised her ribs as she paused, not daring to breathe. But the man’s concentration was focused on Milan and Alex, and he gave no sign of noticing. The ability to move returned. Slowly, inch by inch, she worked her fingers around the grip and edged the gun from her pocket. Her heart pounded so hard she was worried the man would feel it through her back and sense she was trying to escape. She made a show of tugging at the hand gripping the knife with her other hand to distract him. It was a good thing she wasn’t really trying to pull away his arm because it was as strong as a band of iron.

  ‘Stand still, Fräulein.’

  While he was glancing down at her other hand, she freed the gun from her pocket. But now she was stuck. She couldn’t get the angle to aim at his chest or head, but if she didn’t disable him instantly he would cut her throat.

  She glanced up at Alex, saw his eyes widen for an instant as they fell on her gun. Then he raised his gaze to the German’s face.

  He aimed his gun at the man’s head. ‘Get down on your knees,’ he said, putting an odd emphasis on ‘knees’.

  ‘Why should I do anything you ask?’ the man replied. ‘Untie my comrades.’

  But in a flash, Evie knew Alex’s comment had been aimed at her. She couldn’t aim at his head or chest, but she could get an angle to point at his knee. Alex had told her to use both hands if she had to shoot, but she could only use one. Praying it would be enough, she angled the gun, pressing the barrel to the German’s knee, squeezing the trigger. It was stiffer than she’d expected, but then the gun fired with a report that made her ears ring. The recoil jerked the gun from her hand. Simultaneously the man gave a howl of anguish. He dropped his knife and collapsed to the ground, whimpering as he clutched his knee.

  Alex kicked the knife aside, then grabbed the man and bound his hands with Milan’s help. He glanced up at Evie. ‘Are you all right? Evie?’

  But Evie couldn’t answer. She backed against a tree trunk, wracked with icy chills. For a horrible moment she thought she would be sick. Grey dots swirled in front of her eyes.

  ‘Evie!’ Arms wrapped around her shoulders, easing her down to sit cradled by the tree roots. But it was Jess who held her, murmuring words of comfort. ‘You were so brave, Evie. Everything’s going to be all right now.’ Jess stroked her hair, and Evie rested her face against her shoulder, waiting for the shaking to subside. She longed for Alex to hold her, tell her she was safe, but he stood, watching her with an unreadable expression.

  Then the sound of several running feet reached her.

  ‘Kincaith!’ The station commander’s voice rang out in the night air. ‘I heard a shot. What the blazes is going on?’

  * * *

  ‘Come in, Bishop.’ Flight Officer Jean Ellerby glanced up from the report she was reading when Evie tapped the open door.

  Evie stepped over the threshold, her stomach in knots. Her nerves weren’t helped by Ellerby’s stern expression. Was she going to be reprimanded? Told her application for officer training was now out of the question? Everything had become a blur last night after she’d shot the German. She’d been questioned first by Jean Ellerby, then by Bob Law until her head ached. Jess, too, was on the receiving end of rapid-fire questions. When had she realised Karol was a spy? Why hadn’t she waited for help before going after him? Was she sure they had captured all the parachutists? She hardly knew what answers she had stammered. Her overriding thoughts had been to avoid getting Jess, May, Alex and Milan into any trouble.

  Finally, Jean Ellerby had cut in when Bob Law had seemed to be on the verge of asking yet another question. ‘My girls are exhausted, sir. This can wait until tomorrow.’ The only thing she remembered clearly after that was Karol, glaring over his shoulder at Alex as he was dragged away with cuffed hands. ‘You know why we targeted your squadron?’ he spat. ‘Because you’d lost so many men already, no one would think to question any more losses. Did you never wonder why they could only find Czech pilots to make up the losses?’

  Alex’s haunted expression had stayed with her on the long walk back to High Chalk House on pounding feet. She’d been desperate to talk to hi
m, but he’d avoided her, or so it seemed to her, accompanying the station commander instead, and not even acknowledging her when they’d reached the gateway to the Waafery and Ellerby separated Jess and Evie from the group and led them up the drive. Evie scarcely knew how she had climbed the stairs to the schoolroom. May had been waiting, her face wreathed with concern, but Jean Ellerby had insisted they go straight to bed. Evie had been too tired to remove her clothes but had fallen into bed fully clothed, and sleep had claimed her almost immediately. But Alex’s stricken expression had followed her even into her dreams.

  Now, as she sat in the chair Jean Ellerby indicated, she searched the flight officer’s face for any clue to what judgement she was about to pronounce.

  ‘Did you sleep well, Bishop?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘I didn’t. Your little escapade left me with a major headache.’

  The knot in Evie’s stomach tightened. ‘Sorry, ma’am.’

  Jean Ellerby scowled down at the report on her desk. ‘Now I’ve got to decide what punishment to dole out to you, Halloway and Lidford.’

  Evie gripped the arms of her chair, every ridge of the carved wood digging into her palms. Here it came: the end of her officer’s career before it had even begun. ‘Please, ma’am, you shouldn’t punish Halloway or Lidford. I’m the one who insisted we follow Karol.’

  ‘I’ll decide who to punish.’

  Her heart sank. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  Jean’s face softened. ‘As it turns out, I’ve decided not to punish any of you. You all showed initiative and courage.’

  Evie opened her mouth, then closed it, unable to produce any coherent words.

  Ellerby continued. ‘You had to make a difficult choice, but you made the right one. As a result, you’ve undoubtedly saved many lives. In short, you acted like an officer.’