54

We were inside a ring of towering pine trees. Through the trunks I could see sky on every side.

Bunny led me through the trees. Metal girders sat on -concrete pads, reaching up into the treetops.

Bunny slapped one of the girders. It made a dull ringing sound.

‘Radio towers,’ he said. ‘Hidden in plain sight. Beaming our little radio show across Europe, as far as Prague -apparently.’

‘You said the Germans are going to invade,’ I said. ‘But you don’t seem as worried as you should be.’

‘Oh I am worried. Our boffins have modelled it all out. We’ve got theoretical mathematicians who can express it all in a formula. They’re confident to within two standard deviations that the Luftwaffe will win, paving the way for the invasion. We’ll all be citizens of the Reich by Christmas.’

‘Unless?’ I asked, hoping there was more.

Bunny tapped the side of his nose.

‘Top secret,’ he said, with a wink. ‘Can’t tell you any more about it. What I can say is it requires a number of rather tall radio masts, like these ones here. In fact, specifically these ones here. If the Germans have got any nous whatsoever, first thing they’ll do is bomb these radio masts, and they’ll have a free playing field. Game over. Mathematicians proved correct.’

At the edge of the ring of trees, we looked out across the Forest.

‘If this place is so vital, why are you drawing attention to it with your radio programme?’ I asked.

‘The radio stuff’s a bluff,’ he said. ‘We need these towers, and we need to give the Germans an explanation of why we’ve put them here.’

‘That’s insane.’

‘I prefer the term creative. We’ve got some of the best screenwriters from Elstree working on it. Drafted it all out. All the way to the happy ending.’

I could imagine smoky rooms at the film studio. Enthusiastic young men drafting scripts. Men who didn’t know the first thing about war. Men who thought their make-believe stories could help us defeat the most mechanised army the world had ever seen.

‘Why the secrecy?’ I asked. ‘Why not lay on tours, show people the magical radio transmitter? Feature articles in the weekend paper?’

‘Too easy,’ Bunny said. ‘The Germans wouldn’t believe it. No, the only way they’ll take the bait, hook, line, and sinker, is if they feel they’ve found it out for themselves. We know they’ve sent a parachutist, and we know they’ve got local help. Now we’re sitting back, waiting for them to make their move.’

‘How’s it working?’

Bunny paused.

‘Well, that’s where you come in.’

*

We took the underground passage back to the house.

‘Something’s gone wrong,’ Bunny said. ‘We think something happened to the man they sent, and now they’re scrambling. They’re going to send another man but they need the right conditions. Meanwhile, the clock’s ticking on the invasion and Hitler’s getting impatient.’

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘I want you to lead their sightseeing mission,’ he said. ‘Infiltrate their unit. Bring them in. Give them the tour. Have them report back to Berlin so they can tell Hitler what we’re up to, playing silly buggers with radio shows.’

‘You want me to lead a team of fifth columnists into a secret military establishment, let them see everything, then get them out again safely,’ I said.

The words hung in the air. I’d hoped it might sound less insane said out loud, but I was wrong. This wasn’t a plan, it was a fantasy.

‘Good man,’ Bunny said. ‘I knew you’d catch on.’

‘What if it goes wrong and we end up shooting?’ I asked.

‘We’ve thought of that,’ he said. ‘We’ve set up a dead--letter drop. A place on the Forest where you can leave a message. We check it every odd hour. One, three, five, and so on. Leave a message when you know the date and time, and we’ll dial down the security.’

We climbed the stairs and found ourselves back in the art deco house.

‘I’m sure it doesn’t need saying,’ Bunny said, manufacturing an off-hand air, ‘but everything I’ve just shown and told you is strictly between us.’

‘Of course.’

‘I mean it,’ he said. ‘Anyone at all. Friend. Family. Lover.’

I opened my mouth to ask if he knew about me and Margaret, but kept the words to myself. When it came to deciding which of the two I’d trust, Bunny or Margaret, I knew which side I was on. Besides, Bunny had recruited her just as he’d recruited me, sidling up to her in a London club, asking if she’d like to serve her country.

‘She might think it odd if I suddenly suggest attacking a military installation,’ I said.

‘You’ll think of something. I’ve read your file, Cook, all that stuff in the Himalayas. Quite imaginative.’

*

I kicked a croquet ball towards a hoop as I strode across the lawn. The ball hit the hoop but didn’t go through.

‘Cook,’ Bunny called out after me. ‘This has to work. Our ability to repel the invasion depends on it.’

I kept walking, to the edge of the lawn, and the trees -beyond.

‘Whatever it takes to get the job done, Cook,’ he said, his voice coming out of the darkness like one of Scrooge’s ghosts.

‘Whatever it takes.’