Waging War (23 page)

“And the mixed-blood boy who is now a
Vampire is the one you believe to be working with the
Werwolves?”

“According to the scrap of message you left
for Ravi, it seems pretty likely.”

He thought for a moment, then held his hand
out and lifted me to my feet. “Come. There’s someone I’d like you
to meet. She might have information about the Werwolves we could
use. And,” he checked the watch on his wrist, “I can still catch
Colonel Marks before he heads off for the night.”

“You know he’s a Monger, right?” I quickly
whipped off the blouse I’d been wearing and grabbed a clean t-shirt
from my bag. I was wearing a cami underneath, so I didn’t even
think twice about what Archer might think, but despite the fact
that even his Victorian self had seen me in less, he still turned
around uncomfortably as he answered me.

“Colonel Marks is a good man, but more
importantly he is
my
commanding officer.” The tension in his
shoulders was evident, even with his back turned to me.

I sighed at Archer’s discomfort. I couldn’t
help it. There literally was no room for modesty in the cramped
hidey-hole he’d made for himself behind the walls. But, since his
back was already turned, I quickly slipped off my trousers and took
advantage of still having clean underwear in my bag. The whole
quick-change took less than a minute, but Archer’s expression was
pained when I told him I was ready. I pulled my jacket on over the
t-shirt and buttoned it up as we slipped out of the room.

We made our way out of the mansion, but
turned away from the main block of huts. Archer led me to a
nondescript building set apart from the rest of the outbuildings on
the grounds. The door opened and a pretty Wren came out, followed
by her even prettier friend. I didn’t think I imagined the way
their eyes sparkled when they saw Archer. The first one said,
“Hello, Captain Devereux.” She was like a little bird with a
bright, chirpy voice.

“Where have you been hiding, Archer? We’ve
missed you.” The other bird’s voice was neither bright, nor chirpy,
and I thought I’d never heard a sultrier-sounding bird in my
life.

I looked at his expression, which was
friendly and open. Could he not see the calculation in their
eyes?

“Have a nice evening, ladies,” he said with
an even smile.

He held the door to what was clearly a bar
open for me. I kept my voice deliberately light. “Popular, aren’t
you?”

He winced very slightly. “If the work
weren’t so damned important, I wouldn’t live so … publicly.”

Oh. Nothing like a cold dash of perspective.
Archer entered the dimly lit space, hazy with cigarette smoke, and
looked around. The scratchy sound of vinyl playing big band tunes
came from the corner, where some couples were swing dancing. A few
people called greetings to Archer, and he waved perfunctorily, but
his eyes didn’t stop searching.

I was so glad it was illegal to smoke
indoors in most twenty-first century places. The only good thing
the smoke did was cover the smell of so many people together in one
windowless building. Although, after having been in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries with courtiers and warriors sweating in
heavy woolen clothes that probably never got washed, wartime
Britain smelled pretty civilized.

Archer seemed to find whoever he was looking
for and took my hand to weave through the tables. I noticed the
eyeballs on us, and wondered if it was him, or me, or the fact that
he was holding my hand that got so much attention.

We stopped in front of a table in the
corner, sort of the “holding court” spot with a prime
see-and-be-seen factor. Three handsome soldiers flanked one small
brunette, and it was clear who the leader of this pack was. She was
older than me, maybe thirty, with wavy dark hair in a style that
looked like it had to be set with pins every night, full lips, and
bright green eyes. Her eyes danced merrily when she spotted Archer,
and she held a hand up to the guy on her right who was trying to
talk to her.

“Hold it, love. Devereux’s got something to
say.”

Her voice was throaty, tinged with an
Australian accent, and sounded sophisticated coming from such a
tiny woman. The smile she bestowed on Archer was as if the sun rose
and set on him. I knew the feeling, but I didn’t appreciate anyone
else knowing it.

He bent down and gave her an affectionate
two-cheek-kiss greeting. “I’d like you to meet Saira. She needs to
pick your brain about the Werwolves while I talk to Marks. Saira,
this is Nancy Wake.”

Nancy Wake. Nancy. A sinkhole opened up in
my stomach. This vivacious woman with glittering eyes and a smile
that could melt an iceberg – this was Nancy. Had it happened yet?
Was it still to come? I hadn’t defined
it
yet in my mind,
mostly because I didn’t want to look, but I suddenly felt like the
little kid peeking through fingers at the scary parts.

I squared my shoulders and held out my hand
to shake Nancy’s. She regarded me for an eternity, or maybe just a
heartbeat, and then turned the full wattage of her smile on me and
shook my hand. “Shove off, boys. The lady and I need to talk.”
Nancy didn’t look at the soldiers she’d just dismissed, and they
dutifully stood up and grabbed their drinks. Nancy directed me to a
seat, then caught Archer’s eye.

“Tell Marks I need you with me in France.
The drop leaves tomorrow night.”

I stared at Archer, practically daring him
to tell her where she could put that idea, but he just laughed.
“You know I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, Mouse, but not
without Saira.”

He would? And … Mouse?

Nancy gave me another appraising look, then
dismissed Archer. “Well, tell him anyway. We’ll see what we have to
work with.”

Archer touched my shoulder lightly. “Come
find me in the hut afterward?”

I nodded with more confidence than I felt.
“Sure.”

His smile was a private one, just for me,
and then he turned and wove his way back through the crowd and was
gone.

Nancy caught the bartender’s eye and held up
two fingers. I was about to protest, but she cut me off. “If you
don’t want it, I’ll have it, so don’t spoil my fun.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I muttered under my
breath.

Nancy’s gaze locked onto me again, and I had
the sense of being a bug under a microscope. Then she smiled. “I
appreciate the compliment, love. He happens to be one of the few
men I respect around here, but I know when a man’s available, and
that one isn’t.” Her gaze sharpened. “But you would know that,
wouldn’t you.” It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t answer it.

“What can you tell me about Hitler’s
Werwolves?”

Two glasses of amber liquid were delivered
by a young guy in a military uniform. Nancy gave him her glittering
smile. “You’re new. Buy me a drink later and tell me about
yourself.”

The young soldier looked flustered, but
nodded enthusiastically and then tripped over a chair in his
embarrassment. Nancy turned a serious gaze back to me.

“A group of them have been using my Maquis
as target practice in Limoges.”

“What are your Maquis?”

Nancy looked at me oddly. “You’re young, but
is it possible you’ve been living under a rock?”

“It’s possible.” I looked her straight in
the eye, and slowly, she smiled.

“The Maquis were born out of the French
resistance to the Vichy puppets.
My
Maquis are trained
guerrilla fighters, working mostly in the free region of
France.”

Guerrilla fighters brought to mind the old
eighties movie
Red Dawn
, with the kids in the Colorado
mountains fighting the Russians who had invaded the US. It was a
great movie, even though almost all the heroes died, including the
leader. I hoped the comparison didn’t bode ominously.

“We’re specifically looking for an
Englishman who may have joined up with the Werwolves.”

Nancy’s expression thundered instantly, and
she spat on the floor in a distinctly French move I would have
expected more from a coarse farmer than a petite Australian beauty.
“The Nazi bastards have been hinting at English and American spies
infiltrating our pilot escape network, and I heard rumors of a
particularly deadly one in France. If that’s your man and he’s in
my district, I’ll need a description immediately.”

I considered her for a moment. This woman
clearly had a network of people. If there was any chance Tom was in
Limoges, she might find him.

“I haven’t seen him in a couple of months,
but he’s my age, a little shorter than me, slender, with dark hair,
dark eyes, and a little bit of a gypsy look to him.”

Nancy snorted. “You’ve just described half
the men in France.”

“He also speaks fluent French.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “He’s in
France for sure, then. I’ll need everything you have on him. An
Englishman cannot be allowed to run with those wolves.”

Secret Message

I bumped into Stella outside H Block after I
left Nancy Wake at the bar. She seemed to be waiting for someone,
and I guessed it was me by the way she took my arm.

“You’re Saira, right? Archer talks about you
when we push him, but it’s like pulling teeth to get him to admit
anything about his personal life.”

She waited expectantly, as if daring me to
confirm or deny. I just smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you,
Stella.”

“There, that’s another thing. How did you
know my name last night? I know Archer doesn’t talk about any of
us. He takes his confidentiality agreement very seriously.”

“You’re right. I haven’t spoken to Archer
about you.”

“Then how?” She watched me expectantly.

“I believe your grandmother was friends with
my aunt.” I needed to talk to Archer because although the Stella I
knew was absolutely lovely, I really didn’t know anything about
this young woman who was engaged to a Monger.

Her eyes widened dramatically, and I
wondered if I’d just given something away. “I haven’t Seen you
before,” she whispered.

“I only just got here.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Her voice was
very tentative.

“I know.” I had an impulse to reassure her,
so I took her hand and squeezed it. “By the way, Colonel Marks
loves butter, he’s just saving all of his for you.”

Her breath caught in her throat, and she
gasped as I continued. “And trust your instincts. They’re good
ones.” I squeezed her hand again to try to erase the shock in her
expression. “Come on, I’m guessing Archer and Ravi have messages to
send up to your colonel.”

Ringo was inside the hut watching the
Colossus machine with rapt fascination. The clattering was a
constant noise in the background, which reminded me of the rhythmic
sound of a train. He looked up with a grin. “Did you ever see
somethin’ more perfectly elementary? It’s completely brilliant, and
it explains the fundamentals of computin’ better than anythin’ the
modern machines with their amazin’ processin’ speeds can do.”

Archer was adjusting something at the top of
Colossus and had just noticed my entrance. His smile was
instantaneous, but I returned it tentatively, still unsure about my
own confidence in the face of whatever Nancy might mean to him.

Just then, Ravi entered with a stack of
messages. His eyes lit on Stella with relief. “There you are. Can
you just nip up to the colonel and slip them into his box? They’re
the last from today’s code.”

Archer hopped down from the stepladder just
as Stella accepted the stack. His sudden movement startled her and
she dropped a couple of the slips. Ravi and Archer immediately bent
to help Stella gather the papers. Her hand seemed to hover over one
for a moment while she did a momentary glassy-eyed stare, and I saw
her surreptitiously push it toward Archer’s hand as she gathered
the rest into a pile. Archer slipped the message into his pocket as
Stella reorganized the stack of papers.

Archer asked casually, “Where did this batch
of messages come from?”

“German high command in Paris.” Ravi said.
“The Paris messages all come through the listening posts the SOE
has with the Maquis all around France. Most originate from the
Hotel Majestic.”

“Hotel Majestic? Sounds like a hotel at
Disneyland,” I mumbled under my breath. Ravi must have caught the
words because he looked at me strangely and clarified.

“It’s the Paris home of the German high
command.”

“Right.” I cleared my throat. “Of
course.”

Ravi handed the messages back to Stella.
“Colonel Marks gets the honor of digging into the mysteries of
Hitler and his lackeys. Run these up, if you would, Stella? And
perhaps take your break for tea while you’re there?” His smile was
the only indication he knew she would spend her tea break with
Colonel Marks.

When Stella had gone, Archer caught my eye
and then included Ringo in his gaze. “Ravi, if you don’t mind, I
think I’ll take a quick break as well.”