There was a shot and a scream. ‘Loki!’ I yelled.
We lay motionless in a heap. Oslo was still yanking hard on Dieter’s leg.
‘Loki?’
He groaned. ‘Get off me, Finn! I’m getting crushed.’
I rolled off, and with an almighty shove, Loki pushed Dieter off him. There was blood on the front of Loki’s jacket. Dieter lay motionless.
I was shaking. ‘Jesus, Loki. He’s dead.’
‘Good riddance, I say,’ my friend replied while gingerly getting to his feet and picking up Dieter’s pistol.
‘Let go, Oslo,’ I said, pulling him away from Dieter’s leg. I then crawled across the floor and knelt beside Father Amundsen. He was dead too. ‘Are you OK, Loki?’
‘I think so. The gun went off at just the right moment – Dieter almost got the better of us.’
I sat on the floor, took a deep breath and held my head in my hands. ‘What the hell do we do now?’
Loki’s face was drained. ‘Get as far away from here as possible, Finn. All hell’s going to break loose when they find the bodies.’
He was right. When the Germans found Dieter’s body, there would be a terrible payback for the people of Trondheim. And if we were caught, a firing squad would certainly await us at the fortress. ‘We’d better head straight for the border,’ I said. ‘Try to get across into Sweden tonight. It’s our only hope.’
‘Come on then,’ said Loki, grabbing my hand and helping me up. Let’s go before it’s too late. People may have heard the shots.’
Hurriedly I grabbed Jack’s briefcase and we dashed along the corridor, through the now empty church, and burst out of the main door and onto the steps outside. I was instantly blinded by the headlights of a car. I blinked wildly and stumbled. When I looked up, and my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I saw rifles and machine guns aimed straight at us while German guard dogs barked and yelped. Grinding to a halt, Loki grabbed my shoulder. ‘Oh God. We’re done for.’
Oslo flew between my legs and hurtled towards the enemy. ‘No, Oslo. Stop!’ I saw a guard release his dog, and the huge Alsatian bounded towards us. There was nothing I could do. The dogs met midway in a frenzy of spins, leaps, snarls and bites. Fur flew, as did the blood, and eventually Oslo seized his prey’s neck in his jaws. The Alsatian yelped hideously and then flopped into a lifeless heap. Oslo peered round at us, blood dripping from his jowls. I knew what he was thinking. He wanted us to escape. But he didn’t know just how hopeless our situation was. He lifted his head and let out a howl that echoed through the town. I heard a shot. Oslo jolted and yelped as his leg began gushing with blood. Then, either through instinct or training, he turned again and charged towards the soldiers. More shots rang out, each causing Oslo to recoil as if he’d been kicked. Four, I counted, but still he charged. The fifth, however, proved the last, and he dropped limply into the snow.
‘Oslo!’ I cried.
Loki dropped Dieter’s gun and placed his hands on his head. From between the beams of light SS Officer Anders Jacobsen came striding towards us. He stopped less than a foot in front of me. ‘Well, Finn Gunnersen, we meet again. I’ll take that if you don’t mind.’ He snatched Jack’s briefcase from me. ‘You two are under arrest.’
Soldiers hurried into the church, emerging a minute later to report the carnage inside. Hearing that Dieter and the priest were dead, Anders Jacobsen cursed. ‘This way,’ he barked. Soldiers jammed rifle butts into our backs. Jacobsen led us towards his car.
Passing Oslo, I stopped. I stooped down and stroked his blood-soaked fur. ‘Thanks, Oslo. We’ll never forget you.’
A soldier shouted at me to get up, and prodded me with his barrel. I stood up, swore at him and then turned and saluted Oslo. Anders Jacobsen looked puzzled. ‘His real name’s Private Bob,’ I said.
Jacobsen shook his head. ‘In the back of the car. Now!’
We climbed in and he slammed the door after us. A soldier opened the front passenger door, snapped to attention and saluted as Jacobsen climbed aboard. ‘You know the way,’ he said to the driver. We sped off, wheels spinning for grip on the ice.
Jacobsen turned in his seat and pointed his pistol at us. He didn’t speak. He just stared at us, grim faced.
‘It wasn’t your best plan ever,’ Loki said to me. ‘Not that I blame you, Finn. How were you to know Dieter was a double agent? How could any of us have guessed that?’
‘It’s over, isn’t it?’ I said.
Loki let out a long sigh. ‘Yes, this time it is. Still, we did our best. Your father would’ve been proud of you.’
‘Yours too,’ I replied.
We drove in the direction of the Kristiansten Fortress, but at the bottom of the hill Jacobsen glanced out through the windscreen and instructed the driver to turn left, taking us in completely the wrong direction. ‘What’s happening?’ I said. ‘We’re going the wrong way.’
Oddly, although heading for the fortress was scary enough, the fact that we had veered off frightened me even more. Jacobsen said nothing in answer to my increasingly urgent questions. We drove for several miles, eventually joining the road hugging the shore of the fjord. Once well away from any town or village, Jacobsen ordered the driver to pull over.
‘Get out,’ he said to us. I glanced at Loki. He looked as scared as I felt. But with no choice, we slid out of our seats and stood on the icy road beside the car. Jacobsen got out too, walked round the front of the car and stood before us, his gun raised.
‘You’ve been the best friend ever, Finn,’ said Loki, his voice cracking with emotion. ‘If we’re about to die, then I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have by my side.’
‘Me too, Loki.’ My heart was beating fast and I could barely breathe.
Everyone had been caught. There was no one to rescue us now, not Heimar, Mr Larson, Mother or Anna, or Father Amundsen. I thought of Freya. ‘I’m just glad that at least Freya is a long, long way from here. So at least one of us will survive this nightmare, Loki.’
‘Yeah, Finn. She’s safe, thank God.’
Jacobsen cocked his pistol.
‘G-g-goodbye, Finn.’
‘Goodbye, Loki.’
Chapter Twenty-two
My Craziest Plan – Ever!
LIKE MR NAEROG I, wasn’t going to close my eyes when my final moment came. I wanted Jacobsen to look me in the eye when he pulled the trigger.
Suddenly Jacobsen twisted to his left, pointed his gun through the car window and shot the driver.
My jaw dropped. Jacobsen then turned back round and lowered his gun. He held out Jack’s briefcase towards me. ‘Take it,’ he said. ‘You haven’t got much time. It’s down to you two now. Try to get to the border if you can. I wish I could assist you more, but unfortunately this is as far as I can go. Take the briefcase, damn you!’
I reached out and took it.
‘What kind of sick joke is this?’ asked Loki.
Jacobsen returned his gun to his holster. ‘No joke, Loki Larson. You two know as well as anyone just how important those maps are. Get them to London.’
‘But how?’ I asked.
‘That’s up to you. I’ve done what I can.’
‘But you’re SS,’ I said. ‘You told me how it was Germany’s time, and that you wanted to be part of it. I don’t understand.’ My mind was racing.
‘For an agent to be successful, he needs to be convincing, Finn. It seems I succeeded. Anyway, it’s not hard to convince people. Few look beyond this uniform of mine.’
Loki looked puzzled. ‘Hang on – you mean to tell me you’re working for the British?’
‘Yes.’
‘Bloody hell!’
Jacobsen turned to me. ‘That’s why when you were arrested, Finn, I made sure I looked after your case. That way I could keep an eye on you, and make sure the Gestapo kept their grubby hands off you.’
Something clicked. ‘And that’s why you asked me all those questions about Dieter during my interrogation. You were trying to figure out ju
st which side he was on.’
‘Yes. That and trying to find out exactly what he was up to. Sadly we didn’t work it out until it was too late for Father Amundsen.’ He sighed heavily, his breath a cloud of mist in the freezing air.
‘But why did you try and arrest me this morning?’ I asked.
‘I’d hoped I could extract the maps from you without blowing my cover. But I hadn’t figured on you being quite so resourceful and so full of courage. You risked your life trying to escape – those guards were all for shooting you in the back. It was almost impossible to get them to fire only warning shots over your head. Now, don’t hang around. I’ll give you as much of a head start as I can. I’ll say you jumped us in the car. Forced us to drive out here and then shot my driver. I’ll say I managed to escape.’
‘But it’s all pointless,’ I said. ‘Surely if there’s even the slightest chance of the maps getting to England, the navy will simply move the battleship. The maps will be useless.’
‘Who’s going to tell them?’ said Jacobsen. ‘The Penguin and Father Amundsen won’t be breathing a word to anyone. And I’ll deal with Hans Tauber, the Telescope. So there’s still a chance. But like I said, it’s all down to you now.’
‘And what about our families?’ asked Loki.
‘I’ll see to it that they come to no harm,’ Jacobsen replied. ‘You have my word.’
‘What, as a secret agent or as an officer of the SS?’ Loki added.
‘As a fellow Norwegian! Now go.’
We ran along the road some distance before seeing headlights winding towards us. ‘This way!’ Loki shouted. We clambered over piled-up snow separating the road from the steep drop towards the fjord. Once over the crest, we dropped onto our bellies and waited for the car to pass by. Loki buried his head in the snow and cursed. ‘This is all like one long, unrelenting nightmare, Finn.’
I agreed. ‘We need some sort of plan,’ I said.
Loki rolled over and gazed skywards. He thought for a moment. ‘I suppose we could flag down the next car, threaten the driver and order him or her to drive us to the border.’
‘But how far would we get? You know there are dozens of checkpoints between here and Sweden.’
‘You’re right. We could cut across country. We could nick some skis.’
‘Maybe.’ My tone was unconvincing.
‘Got any better ideas?’
I rose to my knees and gazed into the night, out across the fjord towards the distant mountains. It had stopped snowing and the clouds had broken. The water looked calm close to the shore, but further out quite a swell had developed and the moonlight cast a pale, milky glow over our broken world. I thought over all that had happened. How had I been so wrong about Dieter? I remembered our flight in his new Heinkel, and how it reminded me of all those trips I’d taken with Father. Something clicked inside my head. Of course! How had I not thought of it before? It was the perfect plan. I shot to my feet. ‘Loki,’ I declared, ‘I’ve got it.’
‘What?’
‘Well, hear me out, OK. Don’t shoot me down until you’ve thought about it,’ I said.
‘Yes, yes, what is it?’
‘Those new Heinkels.’
‘What about them?’
‘We could fly one.’
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Surely you’re not suggesting we steal one their planes?’
‘Why the hell not?’
‘You’re crazy!’ he said. ‘It will never work.’
‘No, no, Loki,’ I said excitedly, grabbing his arm. ‘Think about it. England, or rather the Scottish coast, is well within range. Just a few hours away. Imagine it. And … and … look,’ I said hurriedly, opening Jack’s briefcase, ‘we’ve even got the right charts. I know the route like the back of my hand!’
Loki sat bolt upright. ‘Could we? I mean, could we actually fly one of those planes.’
‘Well, it’s worth a try. I watched Dieter and Hans flying her. It’s the same, more as less, as our fathers’ Junkers fifty-two. I can do it. We can do it.’
Loki got up and slapped my shoulder. ‘Finn Gunnersen, your father would be proud of you. You take after him, you know, with your big, crazy schemes. And this fits in right up there with the best of them. So count me in.’ He spat into his hand and held it out. I spat into mine and we shook on it.
‘Together, we’ll make this happen,’ I said. ‘By morning we’ll be in Scotland.’
‘We’re mad, aren’t we?’ he added.
I laughed. ‘Probably. But this is our destiny. I know it. I can feel it. Now, let’s go and find ourselves a nice new plane,’ I said, sliding down the slope towards the shore of the fjord. ‘We’ll try to get as close to the base as possible.’
Loki scrambled down after me. ‘Probably best if we take one of the planes moored offshore. The guards will never see us. But it means we’ll need a rowing boat.’
‘Keep an eye out, then. We’ll borrow the first one we come across.’
We hurried, slipping and sliding along the shoreline.
‘Finn, how do we fire her up and let her engines warm up before taking off under Fritz’s nose? They’ll spot what we’re up to.’
‘Easy. Forget about letting her warm up. We start the engines and taxi out into deeper water. By the time we turn for takeoff, she’ll be buzzing and we can safely open up her throttles.’
‘OK. But what about crosswinds? Have you thought of them? You know as well as I do that it’s one thing to fly on a specific heading, quite another to be sure we’re not blown off course. And what if we hit bad weather? What if we can’t spot land? I don’t want to end up running out of fuel somewhere off the coast of Greenland.’
‘Greenland! You worry too much,’ I said. ‘We’ve got to take those chances, Loki.’
‘Well, there is one other problem,’ he added. ‘A rather big one. Even if we succeed, the planes have German markings. We’ll get shot down before we can land.’
‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take. If we fly low, they might not spot us. And if they do, we’ll land and let them capture us.’
Eventually we paused to catch our breath.
‘You know, it’s been over a year since we last flew sitting next to our fathers,’ said Loki, between deep puffs. ‘Over a year since they last let us handle the controls. I don’t want to sound overly negative, but can we really do it, Finn?’
‘Of course. You never forget. It’s like riding a bike.’ I could see doubt was still written all over my friend’s face. I decided he needed more encouragement. ‘When Father wrote to me from England, he said that new RAF pilots get to fly solo with only half a dozen hours under their belts. After a dozen they’re sent up to fight. Hell, you do realize that we’re fully qualified! We easily know enough between us. We’re a great team, you and me, Loki. Unbeatable. And any time you feel really scared, just think about Freya. She’ll be so happy to see you.’
‘Freya!’ Loki appeared momentarily lost in thought. ‘You’re right, Finn.’
I blew a sigh of relief at dispelling Loki’s doubts. We trudged on, and set about discussing the rest of the plan.
Not far from Trondheim, small wooden huts nestled along the shore of the fjord. Although brightly coloured, in the dark they all looked a dull grey, difficult to distinguish from the rocks and trees rising up behind them. Nets, pots, drums and buoys were littered all around, all covered with ice and snow. Running ahead of me, Loki disappeared from view between two of the huts. ‘Found one. Here, give me a hand,’ he yelled.
I arrived to see him tugging hard on the bow of an old rowing boat that had been dragged up the shingle beach for the winter. ‘This will do us just fine,’ he said gleefully. ‘The owner was even thoughtful enough to leave us his oars. Help me turn her over, Finn.’
Together we pushed the boat into the water and clambered aboard, then Loki started rowing. For a while neither of us spoke. I thought of Mother, Anna and the Larsons. A sudden chill came over me, as if death was at my shoulder
, when I considered the fact that Anders Jacobsen might not be able to keep them all from the clutches of the Gestapo. I felt anxious, desperate to do something yet crushed under the weight of it all. It churned me up inside. I wondered if escaping was the right thing to do. Were we foolish to think we could steal a plane from under the noses of German soldiers? Then, without warning, a violent spasm gripped my belly and I felt sick. Really sick – I couldn’t stop it. Hurriedly I gripped the side of the boat, leaned over the side and emptied my guts.
‘Jesus, Finn. You OK?’
Unable to reply, I hung over the side for a while, staring into the blackness of the water. Loki stopped rowing, drew in the oars and came and knelt beside me. Grasping the back of my anorak, he said, ‘I feel sick too. Delayed reaction. Guess it’s normal. After all, our situation’s pretty horrible, isn’t it?’
In the midst of my crisis, all I wanted to do was crawl somewhere warm, curl up and hope I’d fall asleep, waking to a bright new dawn and to the realization that it had all been a bad dream.
Loki patted me on my back. ‘You know, Finn, you and me are pretty lucky.’
I looked round at him in disbelief. ‘How do you make that out?’
‘Think about it. Our families are full of brave, courageous people who love us and who we love back. I wouldn’t swap them for anything. And the way I figure it, even if the worst happens, we know them all to have been good people, the best, true Norwegians. It makes me proud – I feel twice as tall, in fact.’
He was right of course. I took a deep breath, a really, really deep breath, raised myself up and wiped the tears from my cheeks.
‘Good, now, have you finished feeding the fish?’ he joked.
‘Think so.’
‘Let’s press on then. It’s not far now. Try thinking of something else. It might help. I know, let’s go through the takeoff procedure. Try to think of everything we have to do. Say it out loud.’
Dogfight Page 27