Day of Vengeance

by Johnny O'Brien

  Jack unfurled the map on the floor of the barn. “This way up, I think.” He studied it carefully. “It’s definitely of round here. Look – there’s the airfield… and the railway.”

  “Villiers-sur-Oise is right over there in the corner,” Angus added.

  “Look. I think Altenberg has marked it. A little village with a church – St Augustine – and he’s marked a circle nearby in the woods, next to the river. That must be the rendezvous.”

  “So we must be around here do you think?” Angus pointed and ran his finger along a line on the map. “So that road… I guess if we just try and keep walking in that direction, we’ll hit it.”

  “It’s what… maybe five miles east? It’s walkable.”

  “Won’t everywhere be crawling with SS? The three of us together – we would be recognised.”

  “Well, we certainly can’t hang around here, we’re too near the railway.” Jack stood up. “We need to get going.”

  They sneaked out of the barn and walked down the farm track, staying close to the hedge on one side and keeping a watch all around them. The sun glinted down from a clear sky and for the first time in a while, Jack felt a little spring in his step. If they could make it to St Augustine and the rendezvous with the British agents who were working with Altenberg, surely, finally, they would be safe.

  After a few hundred yards they crested a low ridge and the road marked on the map loomed into view. It was quite busy. There were people, vehicles and animals moving along the road. There were crude farm carts hauled by horses, carrying entire families with their possessions. There were people walking with suitcases and bags. Mixed in with the refugees, the remains of what seemed like an entire French infantry regiment extended for kilometres along the road – weaponless, bedraggled and defeated. Jack, Angus and Sophie joined them on the road, and nobody really seemed to notice them.

  “I think it is that way…” Jack whispered to Angus and Sophie.

  “Should we split up or something? We’re more obvious walking together.”

  “Good idea, Sophie. Let’s try and stay a few hundred metres apart… without losing sight of one another.”

  Proceeding in this way, they did their best to blend in with the plodding stream of refugees. Once, a German army truck nosed its way through the crowd, blaring its horn. Jack put his head down and it rumbled past. It seemed they were well hidden among the other travellers. They kept walking for what seemed like hours. Finally, the traffic on the road started to thin out. The sun was getting hotter and Jack began to feel very thirsty. Then, up ahead he spotted a pitted track that turned off the main road into some woodland. There was a tatty sign by the roadside, with the name ‘St Augustine’ painted in peeling letters. Jack’s heart gave a little jump. He turned round to check on the progress of Angus and Sophie who, as agreed, continued to keep a safe distance. They were still in sight. Jack waited a moment and turned off the road and up the lane. A tiny chapel appeared on the left and, but for a few other cottages, that seemed to be all there was to the hamlet of St Augustine. Jack remembered from the map that he needed to take another track – it proved to be almost completely overgrown – past the chapel and down towards the woods near the river. The trees finally gave some shelter from the burning sun and Jack waited for Angus and Sophie to catch him up. In ten minutes they were together. They were tired and hot.

  “It’s quiet here,” Angus said.

  “Yes – no one’s around. I’ll check the map, but I think we just keep following this track until it reaches the river.”

  They continued walking until the woods became thicker. Suddenly, the track petered out and they found themselves in a small glade. Ahead was a river, the Oise, maybe. The water drifted past languidly, sparkling in the sun. It seemed like they had found the only peaceful place left in northern France. It was odd to think that a little further north, only a few weeks before, the French army had been ripped apart by Guderian and Rommel’s rampant panzer divisions.

  “What a great place,” Jack said.

  “You know what? I don’t care – I’m doing it,” Angus said. Jack and Sophie watched in surprise as Angus stripped down to his underwear and then sprinted across the glade towards the river. He launched himself into the water.

  Jack grinned at Sophie, “What the hell. You coming?”

  They dropped their clothes by the riverbank, and soon all three of them were splashing around in the cool water. It felt incredibly good after the long walk in the sun, and for a moment they didn’t have a care.

  After a while, Jack pulled himself up from the bank and sat watching, dripping wet and panting for breath, as Angus and Sophie attempted underwater handstands out in the middle of the river. Jack laughed at them as he towelled himself down with his shirt and slipped his trousers back on, and at first he did not hear the noise of the old grocery van approaching behind him through the woods. The van turned into the glade and stopped. Suddenly Jack heard the engine and, startled, he jumped to his feet and swivelled round. The van bumped its way across the glade and drew to a halt. Jack’s heart was pumping. For a moment he considered running… one word in his poor French would arouse unwelcome interest, but before he could do anything, a man climbed out of the cab. He wore a floppy blue beret over his wavy blonde hair. His loose-fitting work clothes covered a white shirt that was stained with sweat and grime. He didn’t look much like a grocer. The man was slim and had piercing blue eyes and fine features. But he looked tired and obviously had not shaved for several days. He approached tentatively, and as he got closer Jack realised that there was something familiar about him, but could not think where he may have seen the man before. As he approached, the anxious expression on his face changed, firstly to one of confusion and then, finally, into a broad, exuberant grin. He was now running towards Jack, his arms outstretched. He spoke in perfect English.

  “Jack! It can’t be…”

  Jack stared back, speechless, then he started to run towards the man, shaking with emotion.

  “Dad?”

  Jack stared at his father, dumbstruck. He had so many questions flying through his head, he thought it would explode. Christie enveloped Jack in a bear hug. “Thank God… it’s incredible… miraculous…” he stepped back, “but how?”

  Jack was excited and incredibly relieved to see his dad, but also confused… very confused.

  “It’s a long story, Dad, but I tell you, we nearly didn’t make it…”

  Christie shook his head. “I’m sorry Jack, it’s all my fault…”

  Jack shrugged. “I guess we’re here, and alive. That’s the main thing, isn’t it?”

  Christie grinned and hugged Jack again. “Yes, Jack, you’re right. But how did you get here? You must have accessed the VIGIL Taurus… but when I came to 1940 I thought that VIGIL was finished, I was so worried, but I never imagined for one minute…”

  “I’ll tell you all about it – and then you can tell me how you come to be working for British Intelligence; although I think I have an idea…”

  “That’s a cover story,” he glanced towards the river, “but these two friends of yours, are they from VIGIL too… did anyone else escape? I tell you, we could use the help.” Angus and Sophie were now way out in the middle of the river but had spotted Jack and his father on the bank and were quickly making their way back.

  “That’s Angus, you know, my friend from home. There’s no one else from VIGIL here. We don’t know what happened to them – we only just got away. The girl with Angus is Sophie. She’s not VIGIL, she’s from here, from 1940. She has no idea about who we really are and she won’t know who you are.”

  Christie thought for a moment. “OK. Best keep it that way. It could lead to serious complications if she knew the truth. We’ll need to try and distract Angus and have a word with him when they get up here… and you’ll both need to keep quiet about who I really am.”

  “You’re working with him, aren’t you? Altenberg, I mean. He was the one who saved us. He told us
to meet here. Does he know who you really are?”

  “No. He thinks I’m British Intelligence. I followed Pendelshape back to 1940 and I discovered the Nazis had got hold of his plans. I had to work out a way to stop them. I discovered Albrecht Altenberg was leading the scientific effort. An obvious choice for the Nazis, but I knew who he was from History books and I couldn’t believe he could be sympathetic to them. I took a gamble and made contact, posing as British Intelligence. He was scared at first, but he’s come round. It’s useful that I know something about science. We get on well. He finds himself forced to help the Nazis and is horrified at the prospect of arming rockets with nuclear weapons. If the Nazis find out what he really thinks they will kill him for sure.”

  “Dad – Pendelshape – they kidnapped him in London and brought him here. Did you know that? We were trying to follow him. Gottschalk had him killed – in some radioactive bunker. It happened this morning. Gottschalk called it a test. They made us watch; it was horrific…”

  Christie stared at Jack, “Oh my God… Pendelshape… dead? Altenberg said they’d captured an English scientist and brought him to Villiers – it was just a few days ago. He arrived with Petersen. He was sure it was the man Petersen had sourced the blueprints from. It had to be Pendelshape. I’m surprised Gottschalk risked leaving him in Britain for so long. There was nothing I could do…” His head dropped. “He and I, well, we had our differences, and by the end I despised him for the risks he took. But now, dead…” he stared down at the ground shaking his head. “It’s a terrible waste.”

  “Dad – Sophie and Angus are coming over now. It’s all true then, what Pendelshape told us, about the rocket and the nuclear weapon… here at Villiers?”

  “Yes. The Nazis have made very quick progress with all Pendelshape’s blueprints. When France was defeated, they started the next phase of their plan and moved all their equipment to the forward base here in Villiers. It is a good spot. Quiet, but with good rail and road access. It’s near Paris but has the protection of the forward Luftwaffe fields between here and the Channel. Altenberg and I started to work out a plan to stop the Nazis, but then those hotheads from the Network launched an attack. I should have known better. I knew there was Resistance activity in the area, in fact I thought I might need their help. But now those poor people have gone and got themselves killed and it’s going to make things much more difficult.”

  “We met up with the Resistance when we got to Paris…” Jack told him. “Sophie and her parents helped us. It’s a long story… anyway her parents got caught up in the raid yesterday and so did we. It was awful, the SS killed a bunch of them; we saw it all from the woods. We think that Gottschalk is still holding Sophie’s parents prisoner. Sophie’s beside herself with worry…”

  Sophie and Angus had hauled themselves out of from the river, sopping wet, and were approaching cautiously.

  “Dad – they’re coming…” said Jack. “Let’s hope Angus doesn’t clock who you really are straight away and blow it in front of Sophie.”

  “Yes, you’re right, you’ll need to get him on his own, explain things…” replied Christie.

  Jack stepped forward. “Guys, this is the contact Altenberg wanted us to meet. He’s called Tom – he’s from British Intelligence.”

  Angus looked at Christie curiously, but before he could say anything, Christie put out his hand. “Very good to meet you both. It’s Angus and Sophie isn’t it? Looks like you need to get dry. Jack – why don’t you and Angus get some food from the back of my van – looks like you need it.” Christie gave Jack a surreptitious wink. “I’m going to try and get a fire going. Sophie, perhaps you can help me? Then you can dry off, and we’ll have a chance to talk about everything properly.”

  A while later they were still sitting round the fire, chewing on the remains of the food and drinking coffee as Christie talked. He looked at his watch suddenly.

  “Altenberg and I usually arrange to meet at this time every couple of days. This is one of the rendezvous points. But he’s overdue. With everything that has happened today it’s not surprising. I just hope it’s nothing more sinister. We can’t do anything without his help. He’s my only contact on the inside.”

  They stared at the embers of the fire as the evening sun started to set. Suddenly they heard the puttering of a motor scooter engine. Christie’s face lit up.

  “That’s got to be him.”

  The scooter bumped into the glade and a man jumped off, pulling off his goggles and skullcap as he ran towards them. It was Altenberg. He was flustered, but he looked very relieved to see them.

  “Tom… I got here as soon as I could. It was not easy…” He looked at Jack, Angus and Sophie. “You escaped… incredible… I am so relieved.”

  Christie put out his hands to welcome him. “You’ve no idea how happy you’ve made me, Albrecht. Will you have some coffee… or something stronger, maybe?”

  “Something stronger, I think Tom, we will need nerves of steel for what we have to do now.” He sat down next to the fire as Christie broke another branch and pushed it into the flames. “I have news,” Altenberg continued. “Gottschalk is worried. He is very suspicious that British Intelligence is onto him. He is cursing that he left Pendelshape alone in London so long with only Petersen to keep an eye on him. First there was the raid by the French resistance, and now your incredible escape. He thinks maybe the charge that exploded in the hangar was not an accident. He fears there is an insider and he’s worried that maybe next there will be an RAF raid, or another attack. He has increased security and the Luftwaffe are mounting regular patrols… but that’s not all…”

  “What is it, Albrecht?”

  “Gottschalk has decided to bring forward the launch. He got the authorisation from Hitler and the top brass when they were all in Paris a couple of days ago. There is now a big race to get everything ready…”

  “When? When is the launch?”

  “It’s tomorrow.”

  Christie’s head dropped. “But we’re not ready. We have no other help. It’s just us.”

  “We have no choice, Tom, we have to make a plan. Jack – do you still have that map I left for you?”

  Jack pulled the map out of the bag and spread it out on the grass.

  “OK. Here is Villiers-sur-Oise and this is where they’re going to launch the rocket,” Altenberg began. “There are some limestone caves there which hold the various stores and then nearby are the concrete assembly houses we have built opposite the cave entrance for preparing the rocket prior to launch. The launch pad itself is in a special clearing in the woods – there. The rocket is contained in a silo, under the concrete base. It gives better protection from the air. The whole site is linked by a narrow-gauge railway.”

  Jack interrupted. “It’s launching tomorrow – what’s the target?”

  “We think it’s Portsmouth,” Christie said, “on the south coast of England. It’s a big city and a key naval base. France has just surrendered and the British army have been evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain stands alone. If Hitler can also get Britain to surrender, then he has won.”

  “Thousands of people will die…” Altenberg added. “Britain will have no choice but to surrender. We have to stop it. And I think there is a way, but we have to be completely sure. I think I know how to swap the radioactive payload. I am in charge of all the procedures for that. But I am worried that something might happen to me before I do the swap – or that it might go wrong. I think we need to work out a way to get you into the base so we can destroy the rocket and the assembly areas as well. That way we make it fail-safe; we can be sure. With the accelerated plan, they will be doing the final assembly all through tonight, but the rocket won’t be transported from the assembly to the silo for final fuelling and launching until later tomorrow morning. Tom, you have explosives I think? If you can set them to destroy the assembly blocks we will be absolutely certain of success.” He opened his rucksack. “Here, I managed to bring a uniform, there are many people
on site, and new people too, now the security is being tightened… I don’t think you will be noticed.”

  “I have enough explosives to take out half of France, Albrecht, but there is only one problem…”

  “What?”

  “Access. Even with a uniform I don’t think I can get in to the site with explosives undetected. They’ll be searching everyone. Especially after all that’s happened. It would be a suicide mission.”

  It was a dead end.

  Then suddenly Sophie spoke up. “We know how to get into the launch site,” there was quiet confidence in her voice. “Last night after the raid, the Nazis must have thought we got through the perimeter fence. But we didn’t.”

  Christie’s eyebrows arched. “You’ve been to the launch site? How did you get in?”

  “Through the graveyard, of course…” she replied.

  It was too dangerous to approach the graveyard directly from Villiers. Instead, they had carried several bags from Tom Christie’s van cross-country for what seemed like miles. Following his secret rendezvous with them at St Augustine’s, Altenberg had returned to the V-2 base as quickly as he could. They were now deep in the woods, near the perimeter wall of the graveyard. It was getting dark and all was quiet. Jack was very tired. The idea of re-entering the cave sent a shiver down his spine. They gathered round as Christie went through the plan with them one last time.

  “Your job is to help me carry this stuff through the catacomb and down through the cave. Once there, I will change into the German uniform and make my way through from the back of the cave to the front storage area. It’ll be very early in the morning, but there will be work going on, so I have to be careful.” He opened his backpack. “This is one of the explosive charges and a detonator. I’ll try and plant one of these in each of the assembly sheds timed to go off after we have escaped. I’ve got enough to take out half of this hill.”