73

Dinner was subdued, Howe’s presence as much a dampener on spirits as the storm that lashed the windows. I knew how Vaughn would be feeling. It had happened to me on occasion. You have your unit, and every man knows the other, then a superior officer graces you with his presence, and all every man can do is to watch the minutes tick slowly by.

Howe regaled us with stories designed to show off his -inside knowledge of the highest levels of government and royalty. To hear him talk, every time he left home he saw only imbeciles and sycophants. Clearly Howe didn’t have any mirrors in his own house.

The war stories got us through dinner, but the tone changed as our plates were cleared for pudding.

‘Talk me through the plan,’ Howe said.

Vaughn sat up taller in his chair, finally his chance to prove his quality. I willed him to present himself well. The solidarity of the underling when faced with the heavy boot of authority.

‘We go in at two,’ Vaughn said. ‘No moon. Full cloud cover.’

‘Who goes in?’ Howe asked.

‘Me, Freddie, Cook. Miriam.’

‘Of course.’

‘Margaret.’

‘No,’ Howe interrupted. ‘Lady Margaret can sit this one out. I’ll leave one of my men to keep her company.’

‘I don’t need a babysitter,’ Margaret said.

‘This isn’t a discussion,’ Howe said, firmly. ‘Margaret stays here. It’ll help Sergeant Major Cook keep his head straight. You, too.’ He looked Vaughn firmly in the eye. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at her.’

‘I insist,’ Vaughn said.

‘I don’t think you understand your situation,’ Howe said. ‘You’ve fouled up every aspect of this operation so far. People have been killed. The police are sniffing around. You’ve got a self-confessed double agent in the midst of your team, a man you know nothing about, and you’ve left it to the last minute. I can assure you, there are people in Berlin howling for your head. It took all of my diplomatic skills to stop them from sending a team of SS troops to take over the operation. So, are you going to tell me the rest of the plan, or are we going to bicker about whether you get to take your girlfriend?’

As he spoke, the large Blackshirt appeared at the door. He caught Howe’s eye, and Howe waved him over.

The Blackshirt whispered in Howe’s ear and handed him something. Howe kept the object below the level of the table and looked at it. When he looked up, his face was pale, his jaw quivering with rage.

Howe whispered orders to the Blackshirt, who nodded and left.

‘You leave at two,’ Howe prompted.

‘We’ve located a house in the woods near Nutley,’ Vaughn said. ‘We’ve got a source, telling us there’s an underground passage from there to the towers. There’s some kind of underground facility beneath the towers. We’ve traced the route of the passage on a map and we’ve found a way in halfway along the passage.’

‘How reliable’s the source?’ Howe asked.

‘I’m the source,’ I said. ‘You’re right that it’s a risk to trust me, but the upside outweighs the downside. If I’m on your side, I get you in. If I’m not, it all goes wrong. But if you don’t use me, it’ll go wrong anyway. So I’m all you’ve got.’

‘I don’t like it,’ Howe said.

‘We go in,’ Vaughn said. ‘Miriam confirms it’s a radio transmitter—’

‘Or not, as the case may be,’ Howe interrupted.

‘Or not,’ Vaughn agreed, ‘then we get out, and get a radio signal back to Berlin.’

Howe looked at me, then at Vaughn.

‘I’ve got a couple of extra details,’ he said. ‘New orders from Berlin.’

‘It’s too late for new orders,’ Freddie said.

Howe looked at Freddie as if one of his servants had -offered a strategic opinion.

‘I’ll let you pass that insight on to Herr Hitler in person, when he’s here in a week,’ Howe said to Freddie. ‘They don’t want it going out on the radio. Too many people -listening. They want a debrief in person.’ As he said this, Howe looked meaningfully at Miriam.

‘Impossible,’ Vaughn said.

‘It’s all right,’ Miriam said, putting her hand on his.

‘There’ll be a U-boat half a mile off the coast. You’ll need a boat, and someone to row her out there.’

‘No,’ Vaughn said. ‘It’s insane.’

‘It’s war,’ Howe said.

‘I’ll take her,’ I said. ‘I know the river. I know the -defences.’

Howe nodded.

‘One more thing,’ he said. ‘It’s no longer a sightseeing mission. It’s a demolition job.’

Freddie sat up straighter.

‘If it’s anything close to what we think it is, we can’t risk leaving it operational.’

‘We haven’t trained with explosives,’ I said.

‘I’m ready,’ Freddie said. ‘I’ve been reading up on it.’

‘That’s settled then,’ Howe said. End of discussion.

He raised his hands from below the table, and I saw what the Blackshirt had given him. A cigar tube. Sealed at one end with wax to keep the water out. The seal had been -broken.

Howe put the cigar tube in his inside pocket.

‘Ladies, you’ll have to excuse us. Gentlemen, we’ve got an issue to attend to.’