Their timing was unacceptable and needed to be faster. The drill was repeated over and over.
As their time at the camp had turned into weeks, they had experienced days with no food, showers with no towels to dry themselves, or threadbare towels of little use. They were sleep deprived, interrogated regularly while intoxicated. And then they were sent out into the forest, where they were to practice rescuing a captive and return back to the camp.
•••
Holding a torch, Alice signalled Gordon that she could hear movement close by. She hid behind the trunk of a tree. It was dark and raining hard and the only clothing they had on, was their civilian day wear. Gordon, under the cover of bushes, sent a long flash back, indicating that he had understood her signal. Simultaneously, they moved through the wet growth, creeping around trees to close in on the simulated enemy.
Finding a small hut in a clear patch of land and a guard standing on duty in front of the door that had been made from tree branches, Alice and Gordon carefully and silently made their way to the back of the hut. Alice drew her knife and got down on the ground, she crawled along, pulling herself with her fingers, almost snakelike. She never let the guard out of her sight. Holding a Garrotte in his hand, Gordon crawled around the other side of the hut. They waited patiently in the dark, hiding behind the thick foliage. Slowly, Alice made her way behind the guard, with Gordon following closely behind her. The guard, oblivious to their presence, stood with a rifle in his arms, staring directly in front of him, not that he could see too much with the drizzling rain and the start of the forestation.
Alice cautiously rose to her feet. Standing behind the guard, she placed her hand around his face, covering his mouth. She mimicked stabbing him in his neck and then pulled him down to the ground, where Gordon mimicked wrapping the Garrotte around his neck and finished him off. Even though this was a practice assassination, both recruits were taking it as seriously as if it was the real thing. Gordon dragged the guard away from the hut, covering his body with a few branches he had broken from a nearby bush. Standing outside of the door, they both listened intently, to assess the situation. Alice motioned for Gordon to follow her. She slowly opened the door. It was rickety and the bottom of it stuck in the ground as she pushed it further open, causing her to have to use a little force. Inside the hut, Vera, who had been picked to be the pretend victim, was tied to a plain wooden chair—her mouth was gagged. She acted as though she wanted them to hurry up and untie her, murmuring, and rocking the chair from side-to-side. Alice cut the ropes from her wrists and ankles, her eyes continuously darting, watching for signs of movement outside the door.
“Hurry, we must go immediately,” she told Vera.
Gordon peered out of the door, to see if there were any signs of an enemy ambush. He motioned his hand, instructing them move out. Alice and Vera followed him out through the doorway, maintaining their silence, as they trudged through the wet forest. They were all cold—shivering, but each one remained vigilant, not daring to let the others down on their first mission.
A branch snapped in the distance, Alice, her eyes wide, held her arm out to alert the others that they were being followed. She held her hand out flat and lowered it down, showing the others to crouch down. They stooped down with caution, looking around for any signs of being followed. Another snap sounded. Alice held her finger to her mouth, to insinuate silence. She pointed with her free hand, for Gordon to hide behind the tree trunk next to him and for Vera to follow her behind the tree trunk ahead. They crept carefully over the undergrowth until they were securely hidden behind the tree. All three watched and waited, staring watchfully into the darkness.
Bushes moved, it was obvious that someone, or something was brushing past them. And then from nowhere, a man, tall, dressed in a camouflage cape to protect him from the rain, stood right in front of them. Gordon motioned that he would jump out behind the man and attack him. Alice nodded.
The man went to move forward but before he was able to take another step, Gordon jumped up, placed his hand around the man’s mouth to prevent him from calling out and then mimicked stabbing him. There was no time to waste, they hastily made their way through the forest—the wet leaves slapping against them as they continued to trudge through.
The rendezvous point was in sight, Alice and Gordon had completed their very first mission.
Chapter Seven
Alice had showered, dried herself and dressed in her nightgown, ready for bed. As she climbed beneath the sheets, the door opened and Vera entered. She had a pleased look about her, as she approached Alice’s cot.
She sat on the edge of her cot, rubbing her lower arm with her fingers. “A branch thrashed my arm, it’s a little sore right now. I wanted to tell you that you did really well for your first mission. You should be really proud of yourself and Gordon too.”
Alice sat up—the blanket not quite covering her fully. “Thank you, that really means a lot to me.”
“I’m going to be honest with you. When you first came here, I really didn’t have much faith in your completing the training course. I thought for sure that you’d have gone home before your first week was up. When George first recommended you for training, I actually protested against you because I thought for sure that you wouldn’t be up for the job.”
“Well I’m glad that I was able to prove you wrong,” she said—her smile smug.
Vera looked down at her lap and brushed her skirt with her hands. She gave out a quick chuckle. “You certainly did that all right.”
“That night when I was drunk and I asked you to kiss me, and you did…”
Vera’s face flushed with red.
“I really liked it.”
Vera looked around the barrack. “We shouldn’t be talking about that here and it was a one off. I never should have done it. I’m here to train you, not to take liberties.”
Alice playfully ran her fingers along Vera’s thigh. “I’ve never been this forward before. In fact, I’ve never even been forward.”
Vera placed her hand on top of Alice’s and stopped her in her tracks. “Please don’t, Alice. This isn’t right. You know it isn’t.”
“I think that rule has already been broken. I’m feeling ecstatic that we did well tonight and maybe it’s making me act a little crazy but I am sure of one thing. That you make me think about you day and night. That I watch your every move. I have a sickening feeling whenever you enter the room. I know what I’m about and I think you do too.”
“Alice,” Vera whispered, her voice breaking off.
Alice sat forward. She reached her hand out to cup Vera’s neck—pulling her closer to her. Her lips slightly parted, she kissed her. Vera lifted her hands—bringing them up to Alice’s face, she held her lightly—intensifying the kiss.
Their lips parted. Unsure of what to do next, they bowed their heads, bunting their foreheads together. While tears of joy pooled in Alice’s eyes, a smile, so fragile, broke out on Vera’s face.
“Oh, just look at the pair of us. We’re so soppy,” Alice managed to say.
Vera relaxed her shoulders. “Don’t make me fall in love with you, Alice Bennet.”
•••
With very few places for privacy, Vera led Alice over to a tool shed, where they stored items, such as garden spades, ropes, wooden posts and hammers. They closed the door behind them, checking that no one had seen them acting suspiciously.
Vera secured the door by sliding the small latch across. There was no light in the shed, as that would have drawn attention to the small building, so in the darkness, she pressed herself up against Alice’s body, kissing her, feeling her thighs, running her hands up along her sides and around to her back. Their kisses—hard, passionate and breathless.
Alice pulled away briefly. “You drive me crazy,” she whispered.
Vera cupped her chin with her hand and drew her closer, pressing her lips onto her mouth as she dug her fingers into her hair, tugging it gently. Alice unbuttoned Vera’s jacket,
while their lips remained in contact. Vera gathered her nightgown in her hands and shuffled it up her thighs and over her belly. Alice lifted her arms up above her head, enabling Vera to remove the nightgown, discarding it to the floor as she freed her lover.
Alice then unbuttoned Vera’s blouse—prising it open, to reveal a plain white bra. She moved in closer, kissing the flesh above the outline of the bra, while running her fingertips over her ribcage and waist, until she found the fastener on her skirt. Undoing it, she let the skirt drop to the floor.
Vera dropped to her knees, pulling Alice down with her. Laying on top of her, she mimicked the motions of a man, as if she was penetrating her. Their soft skin touched—brushing sensually as they writhed with passion. She moved her hand over Alice’s knickers. Tugging at the waistband, she slipped her fingers inside, while Alice rocked her pubic bone. Vera’s fingers—touching—teasing—desiring, taunting Alice’s body to want her…at any cost. Her fingers finding her labia—Alice succumbed to her hunger…
•••
Sergeant Webb trained the recruits in parachute jumping. He was a stern man, part Polish, and part Scottish and spoke quite firmly. He expected each person to listen carefully and absorb the information they were being told immediately. He stood behind a green parachute laid out on the ground. The recruits had their own and were to follow his instructions as he showed each technique needed to fold it.
He walked to the end where the pack was laid, and filtered the brake lines through his fingers. “These lines go from the pack, all the way to the chute. You need to make sure that none of them are twisted.” He walked toward the chute with the lines in his fingers, checking for any twists. “Untuck the chute and re-check for any twists. Isolate four brake lines and make sure that they go up to the tail of the chute.” Standing in front of the chute, he picked it up and put the lines over his shoulders. “Make sure that the tail end centre seam is out in front of you and the sides of the chute are to your sides and the nose against your butt. Pull out each cell, working from cell one through-to cell nine. Hold the slider to find the middle…always know where the middle is.” He then pushed the slider up to his shoulder. “First move is to find the ‘A’ lines which are connected to the nose. Grip five lines on each side, let ‘A’ lines hang together in the middle. The next set of lines are the ‘B’ lines, place these on top of the ‘A’ lines. Work your way through ‘C’ lines to ‘D’ lines.” He flicked out each cell and then the tail. He repeated the process on the other side, starting with ‘A’ lines through-to ‘D’ lines, then he brought the slider down, quartering it in all four directions. He then brought up the tail end to the lines, pinching them at the top. “Bring the side of the tail around, then the other side. Hold it out and push the nose in slightly, so it’s all together. Grab the two sides of the tail with your thumb and finger, so that all seams line up.” He set it down on the ground and walked down to the pack, pulling it to straighten the lines. He laid down on the chute, pushing the air out of it, while folding in the sides, constantly squeezing it. “Now, bring the grommets up and hold down with your knees to keep the air out. Push the side in again and squeeze the air out.” He put his hand underneath the folded chute and pulled back onto first fold. He reached over and set the bag up with grommets. Holding the first corner with his knee, he partially shoved some of the chute inside. Then he held the other corner down with his knee and shoved the rest inside. “Now that the chute is inside, you need to bring in the lines.” He pulled them and tied a loop, then pulled again, creating another loop, repeating this until almost all of the lines were neatly looped. Then he set the bag behind the chute pack and tucked the remaining lines neatly into a coil, then set the bag into the pack. He tucked the bridles into pockets and left the toggles showing. “If you have followed my instructions exactly, you should all now have a safely packed parachute.
Not everyone had packed theirs as accurately as he had but again, they repeated the process over and over again, until everyone knew how to do it without instructions.
•••
Their daily routines were filled with rigorous training sessions. Alice had hardly spent any time alone with Vera, both were working either on opposite shifts, or Alice had been training away from the camp on practice missions in the forest. But whenever they were able to get a glimpse of each other, there would be a knowing nod, or smile, or even a glint of mischievousness in their eyes.
•••
Alice had been at the camp for ten weeks. She had trained to perfection and was second from the top in her overall achievements—Gordon being at the top.
It was 4:a.m. still dark outside and Alice was asleep.
Vera had been in a meeting with Sergeant Todd and Sergeant Webb for the past two hours, discussing a possible mission that would involve Alice and Gordon.
Sergeant Todd sat back in his chair behind his desk, his legs parted and his feet pointed outwards. Sipping on a glass of Cognac, he said, “And you both think that Alice Bennet and Gordon Nicolls are our best candidates for this mission?”
Sergeant Webb leaned back in his seat and looked around at the posters on the walls. There were diagrams of enemy aircraft and warships, U Boats and bombs. He turned back to look at Sergeant Todd. “It takes skill and intelligence to pull off the easiest of missions and they’re not exactly a walk in the park, but with me and Vera heading this one, I’m more than confident that we’ll pull it off.”
“And you, Vera, what’s your opinion?” Sergeant Todd asked, shifting in his chair to face her.
Vera nodded in agreement. “I’m more than confident that they’re both ready for this.”
“Good, then you’ll brief them on the details.”
“Yes, Sir,” she answered. She got up out of her seat and left the Sergeant’s office, heading straight for the barracks to speak with Alice.
Alice stirred when she heard the door open and Vera’s heels tapping over the wooden floorboards, as she headed her way. She knew the sound of her walk, as if her ears were tuned automatically to it and opened her eyes the instant that Vera stood at the foot of her cot.
“Alice,” Vera whispered. “You need to get dressed and come with me.”
Alice knew by the serious tone of Vera’s voice that something different was going on. She whipped the blanket back and swung her legs out of bed and took hardly any time at all to dress. They hurriedly made their way to ‘Building Two’ where Sergeant Webb and Gordon were already waiting.
Sergeant Webb had in his hand documents that looked important. He placed them into a briefcase that was open on the table next to him. “These documents imply that a mission is going to take place. There are dates, times and places suggesting that British Forces will be raiding by air and land and that bridges and schools along the border between Germany and France will be their targets.”
Horrified, Alice slapped her hand over her mouth. “Schools? Innocent children are going to die and for what?”
Vera placed her hand on Alice’s arm. “No, Alice. We’re going to make them believe that they have foiled a plot. They will assign tank divisions, soldiers and fighter planes to those locations. These are phony military plans. We are going to be the decoys, so that the real targets, which are miles away from these locations, can be targeted.”
Gordon gave Alice a friendly pat on her back. He had a soft spot for her. “Your children are safe, Alice.”
Sergeant Webb closed the briefcase. “There’s a plane waiting for us at the military base. We need to go now, before daylight hits. Our timing is critical.”
A car drove up and waited by the entrance of the building—the driver flashing the headlights to signal for them to leave.
Vera picked up a bag containing a map, torches, compass, Garrottes and pistols. She handed it to Alice. “You’ll also need these.” She handed her papers. They were her fake identity papers—her name being Celeste Alban, born in Dieppe, Northern France. D.O.B June 10th 1915. “Memorise your details, you’ll be hand
ing these papers to anyone of authority, French, or German, should they ask for them.”
Alice took them from her and put them into the bag. “Celeste Alban? I like it,” she said, followed by a smile.
Vera’s identity was Véronique Ballou, Gordon was, Alain Davignon and Sergeant Webb, Claude Eshete.
•••
Conversation in the car was minimal. Nerves, maybe even a little quiet excitement had given them all reason to sit back and think about what they were about to do. They were driven to the military airfield and once they were on board the C-46 military transport plane, dawn was just breaking over the horizon. Alice sat next to Vera, her palms sweating as the reality began to sink in. She wiped them on her lap, trying to dry them off but her adrenaline was too much and they remained clammy.
The Jump Master picked out their parachute packs and handed them one each. “Put these on and make sure they’re secured. When we’re over the destination, I’ll let you know when it’s okay to jump. I know you’ve been trained but I’m just going to remind you all once again. Red light shows, you remain on the plane. When it changes to a green light that means it’s time to jump. I don’t want to be held responsible for anyone leaving this plane before we’re ready, okay?”
They all nodded as they put their parachute packs on.
The plane taxied down the runway. The roar of the engines and the loud propellers, made it hard to be heard and anyone talking had to shout over the noise and vibration. Alice felt her insides turn as the plane left the ground—she gripped the edge of her seat, digging her fingernails into the metal bar beneath her legs.
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