The Oslo Affair (Shadows of War, #2)

by CW Browning

  Now, apparently, here was the result.

  He leaned forward and picked up the parcel, feeling the contents through the wrapping. There was more than just paper inside. A lump indicated something small and hard was included. Tearing open the brown covering, he extracted several typed sheets of paper and discovered that the hard lump appeared to be a mechanical or electrical tube of some sort. Holding it up, he examined it carefully, his lips pressed together. It looked very similar to a vacuum tube.

  Setting it on the desk, he sat back with the typed pages and began to read through them. As he read, his interest grew. This wasn’t some vague account from a disgruntled factory worker. The pages contained specific details in several different areas, including airplanes, ships, bombs and rockets. The information included was so specialized that he strongly suspected it was, in fact, written by a scientist.

  Daniel went back to the beginning of the report and began to read through it again, this time slowly and more carefully. With each page, his excitement grew as he realized that the information in his hands was something that came directly from Berlin. Reaching the last section of the report, he read about electric fuses and how they were being used in artillery shells and bombs instead of mechanical fuses.

  Lifting his eyes, he picked up the tube and looked at it consideringly. Could it be an electric fuse? Or was is part of something else? The report described several different technologies that were being tested in Germany for use in their weapons. This could be an example of a component of any of them.

  Daniel set the tube down again and dropped the report on the desk next to it. What an amazing stroke of luck! He had no idea who the anonymous benefactor was, but it was clear that they were well-versed in science and technology. In fact, the understanding they revealed regarding the use of radar alone was outstanding. The author had included details in their report which would enable them to develop countermeasures, showing his knowledge of how such countermeasures could be developed. In addition, he included several locations which could, if targeted, deliver crippling blows to the military production of the Reich.

  In all, the report was filled with information that Daniel felt was highly valuable. And it had been given to them freely.

  He leaned forward and took a cigarette from the box on his desk, fishing in his pocket for a lighter. It didn’t escape his notice that this report had been delivered in the midst of a scientific convention in Oslo. Nor did he think that it was simply coincidence. Somewhere in the city was a German citizen who opposed the Nazis enough to risk what was probably a very good scientific career to pass information on to England. They had done so knowing that the consequences of being caught included death.

  Lighting his cigarette, Daniel sat back and stared at the pile on his desk. Who would have thought that Oslo would have turned into such a hotbed of activity in a mere few days? Not only had this golden egg landed on his desk, but the agent from London was actively pursuing a viable Soviet lead which she gained right here in the city. In the past two months, none of the agents sent over from London had uncovered so much as a stray code. Now, in the course of a few days, they had gathered more intelligence than they had in months.

  What a turn of events!

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ––––––––

  Evelyn walked along the street with her hands in the pockets of the short, shabby coat she had purchased from the damaged rack. What it lacked in style, it barely made up for in warmth. While blocking the worst of the gusts of icy wind, the fabric was thin and, after repeated onslaught, the cold seeped through until she was shivering. Missing her warm English wool coat with the soft warm lining, she reflected on how ridiculous it was that she was walking along freezing when the means to be comfortable was contained in the large bag over her arm. She briefly debated stopping and exchanging the cheap coat for her real thing, but another look at her surroundings convinced her not to. Once she was across the bridge and back in more gentile surroundings she could go somewhere and change back into her clothes. Until then, she would have to shiver.

  All the chills coursing through her weren’t necessarily the result of the frigid temperatures. Some of them were caused by Niva’s statement that the Soviets had a spy entrenched in London. He had told her almost as an after-thought, as if it was a well-known fact. Obviously for them it was, but for her it was not. And she was willing to wager that Jasper Montclair was unaware of any moles in the government.

  The most natural thing for her to do would have been to dismiss the statement as untrue. Yet, it actually made sense. The Soviet agent in Oslo had known she was there almost immediately. How else could that be? She and Daniel had thought as much when he sent the first message to London, informing them that she was being followed. They assumed the fault was in Oslo, but what if it were in London?

  Then there was the issue of Herr Renner. How had he known she was in Oslo? Evelyn frowned as she walked along the road that would bring her to the bridge and back to the hotel. If the spy Niva referred to was a Soviet agent, how did Renner know about her? Was there another one? A German? Or had he discovered her through chance once she was already in Norway?

  So many questions without answers, and now there was the question of who could be trusted and who might be working for either the Soviets or the Germans. She shook her head and tried not to let a feeling of helplessness overwhelm her. She may not know who in London could be trusted, but she at least knew she could trust Bill. Of that she had no doubt. The rest? Well, that was a problem to be addressed when she arrived back in England. Right now, she had more pressing matters to be concerned with.

  Like how her Soviet friend had followed her from Oslo, and why.

  Evelyn exhaled and glanced up at the bridge ahead. Once she was across it, she would search out a cafe with a restroom where she could change back into her own clothes. While these had served their purpose beautifully, the coarse fabric was rubbing her skin, and she wanted to scratch the back of her neck where the rough label was cutting into her. With that in mind, she quickened her pace.

  What about Anna? The thought popped into her head without warning and Evelyn pressed her lips together. Where did Anna fit into all this? Was she simply bored, just as she had said? Or was she the reason Renner knew she was in Norway? As much as she liked the woman, did she know that she could really trust her? Daniel Carew trusted her, but was that enough?

  Evelyn looked up as she approached the bridge and her step checked as Anna herself stepped away from the railing at the foot of the bridge. Her eyes were on Evelyn and she hurried forward quickly.

  “Oh thank God!” she exclaimed, reaching her. “I’ve been standing here for over half an hour and I don’t think I can feel my feet!”

  Evelyn blinked and automatically looked down at the woman’s fashionable, but not very sensible, shoes.

  “Why are you here?” she asked, bringing her gaze back to Anna’s face. “What are you doing?”

  “I’ve come to warn you,” Anna said, tucking her arm through Evelyn’s and guiding her to the side of the walkway leading to the bridge. “I didn’t know where else to try to intercept you. I remembered the name of the street from the message and asked at a cafe. They told me this bridge was really the only way in and out of the old city, without going miles in another direction. So I decided to wait here, knowing you’d have to come back this way. Wasn’t that clever of me?”

  “Very. But why?”

  “Why, to stop you from walking into a trap, of course!”

  Evelyn felt like she was trapped in some kind of practical joke. “Oh, well, of course,” she muttered sarcastically, drawing a laugh from Anna.

  “I suppose that did sound rather silly,” she admitted. “Let me start from the beginning.”

  “That would be good.”

  “After you left, I tried to read a magazine but just couldn’t concentrate. I was too excited.”

  Eve
lyn raised her eyebrows and Anna shrugged defensively.

  “This might be normal for you, but I’ve never been part of anything so clandestine before! It’s all terribly exciting to me. I couldn’t settle down and finally decided that I would go mad if I stayed in the room. So I left to get some air and do some sightseeing.”

  “That sounds reasonable.”

  “Well, when I got to the lobby I saw someone I recognized.”

  Evelyn looked at her sharply. “What? Who?”

  “A man I saw at the Hotel Bristol when we had dinner that night. Remember when we were having drinks with those scientists? There was a man a few tables away. I noticed him because, well, I thought he was attractive.” Anna paused for a moment, then made a face. “I was a little put out because he didn’t take any notice of me, but now I’m glad he didn’t.”

  “Who is he?”

  “His name is Herr Renner, and he’s a German,” Anna said. “I think he might be Gestapo.”

  Evelyn stared at her, taken aback, and felt the color draining from her face. She had been expecting to hear a description of her soviet companion. Hearing instead that the tall German had also followed her sent a streak of fear through her.

  “Renner?”

  Anna nodded, frowning at the look on Evelyn’s face. “You know him?”

  “No, not really,” she said, shaking her head. “I bumped into him at the Hotel Bristol the night Herr Mayer canceled dinner. I didn’t think anything of it, until he turned up at the boarding house the night we left Oslo.”

  Anna’s mouth dropped open. “He was there? At the Kolstad’s?”

  “Yes. I ran into him at the top of the stairs. He was staying there.”

  “That’s terrifying,” Anna said decidedly.

  “I don’t know about terrifying,” Evelyn said dryly. “Unnerving, perhaps.”

  “That’s because you don’t know the rest!” Anna grabbed her arm. “Listen to me! I overheard him talking in the lobby. He was talking to someone, a short little man, and they were talking about how they were going to trap ‘the Englishwoman.’”

  Evelyn’s blood ran cold and her mouth went dry. “The Englishwoman? That’s what he said?”

  “Yes. It can’t be a coincidence. He must have been talking about you.”

  “Trap? What kind of trap?”

  “They’ve got people watching all the entrances of the hotel, looking for you. As soon as you go back, they’ll notify Herr Renner and he said that he would take it from there.” Anna bit her lip, her forehead creased in worry. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but I’m frightened. I think they mean to take you.”

  Evelyn leaned against the railing along the water and tried to think clearly. The cold wind suddenly felt good on her face, cooling her flushed cheeks and acting as a cold compress. If Renner had all the exits covered in the hotel, she couldn’t go back. At least, not as it stood right now. She would have to be invisible. Yet, she had to go back. She needed her toiletry bag!

  A wave of panic rolled over her. The microfilm! What if they had searched her room and found it?

  Turning, she grabbed Anna’s arm. “Do they know you left?” she demanded.

  Anna looked startled. “I don’t know. Possibly. Herr Renner told the short man to go the room and try to get a better description of me. He wanted to know what I look like.”

  “If he did, they know you went out as well.” Evelyn dropped her hand and turned her attention to stare over the water. “Damn!”

  “Why? What is it?”

  “Nothing. I need to get back into the hotel.”

  “Yes, but how? They’ll see you and that’s what they’re waiting for.” Anna stopped and looked at her. “Even dressed as you are, you’re still recognizable. Why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes?”

  Evelyn glanced down at herself and laughed shortly. “To fit in with the locals. I was told the neighborhood I was going to wasn’t a place someone of my stature would frequent.”

  Anna nodded. “I was told it was a slum,” she said bluntly. “Was it?”

  “It certainly wasn’t what I’m used to.”

  Anna was silent for a moment, then she shook her head. “What are we going to do? Perhaps I can go back and get everything from the room?”

  Evelyn was shaking her head before she had even finished.

  “He’ll have got a description from one of the hotel employees by now. They’ll be looking for you as well. If you try to clean the room out, they’ll stop you.”

  “Then we go without our things. That’s the only other option.”

  “That’s not an option. I need my bags. There’s...something important in them.”

  “What’s so important that—” Anna broke off suddenly with a gasp. “Å gud! I completely forgot! A telegram came for you not ten minutes after you left!”

  Evelyn’s head snapped around. “What?”

  “Yes. I have it here.” Anna opened her purse and pulled out the telegram. “I didn’t want to leave it in the hotel. I thought I was being silly at the time, but now I don’t think I was.”

  Evelyn took the telegram and tore it open, scanning the message.

  Upon consideration, story not worth expense. Return to London ASAP by all means available. Repeat: LEAVE STOCKHOLM.

  She stared at the message, her blood going cold. Did he know about the two agents? Or was there something else? He’d used the code that only the two of them knew, warning her that her life was in danger. But then he’d followed it with very clear instructions to get out of the city. He wanted there to be no misunderstanding. She was to get out of there.

  Through the blood pounding in her ears, she heard Anna talking and struggled to focus on what she was saying.

  “If they know I’m not in the room, will they break in and search it?” she was asking. “That’s what they do in the books. If they do, I’m even more glad I didn’t leave that in the sitting room. What does it say? It’s not good, is it? Is it from Daniel?”

  “No. It’s from London.” Evelyn took a deep breath and turned away from the water, shoving the telegram into her absurdly large handbag. “It says to leave Stockholm and get back to London.”

  “Well, I agree with that, but how are you going to do it?” she demanded. “How are we going to get our things from the hotel and arrange a train back to Oslo without them finding you?”

  Evelyn was silent for a long time, then she lifted blue eyes to Anna’s face.

  “We’re not,” she said. “You are.”

  Anna stared at her. “What?”

  “I can’t go back to Oslo, but you have to. You’ll take a train home.”

  “But what about you?”

  “I’ll find a way back to England.”

  Anna shook her head vehemently. “Oh no. I’m not leaving you. You don’t speak Swedish, you’re all alone and you have the Gestapo on your heels. I can’t just leave you!”

  “It’s too dangerous for you not to,” Evelyn argued. “It was wrong for me to ask you to come. Now you’re in as much danger as I am.”

  “You warned me it was dangerous, and I agreed to come anyway. Now we’re in this together. We’ll find a way out of it, but we’ll do it together.”

  Evelyn looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then she pursed her lips.

  “Actually,” she said slowly, “there might be a way.”

  “Well?” Anna demanded when she didn’t continue right away.

  Evelyn was silent, then her lips curved into a slow smile.

  “How’s your acting?”

  ––––––––

  Paris, France

  Bill walked down the hall quickly, his shoes echoing on the tiled floor. His brows were creased into a furrow as he went, his lips pressed tightly together. It was past noon and he still hadn’t received word from the radio room regarding the telegram he sent to Jian. He didn�
��t even know if it had been delivered.

  When he’d received the message from Daniel the night before, Bill realized immediately that somehow, somewhere, Evelyn’s carefully constructed cover had been blown. Whether it was here in London or there in Oslo was immaterial. The fact remained that this Herr Renner not only knew of her, but had found her in Oslo. There could be no doubt that he was an SS or SD agent. The only question was how he knew about Evelyn.

  Bill frowned thoughtfully. It was possible that her run in with Hans Voss last year had made more of an impression than they had originally realized. They had moved quickly at the time to minimize the damage and create a back story for Evelyn that would pass even the rigorous SD and Gestapo checks. Even so, Bill admitted now that it was entirely possible that the Germans had realized who, and what, she really was. But how on earth could they have known that she was going to Norway, of all places? It was hardly a hotbed of intelligence activity at the moment. Yet something had clearly drawn the German agent to Oslo.

  Bill thought for a moment. He supposed it could simply be that this Herr Renner was in Oslo to keep an eye on the German scientists from Berlin. After all, the Nazis were known to keep a strict watch on their people. They were kept on a very tight rein when they ventured outside Germany. He supposed that would go double for the scientists. If that was the case, it could just be that Renner had been in Oslo and recognized Evelyn from the description given by Hans Voss last year. They hadn’t bothered to change her appearance. There had seemed to be no need. Perhaps this whole situation was simply something as innocuous as being recognized in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  As wonderful as that might be, Bill had a sinking suspicion that it wasn’t the case at all. There were two agents in Oslo now, who had not only recognized Jian, but had proceeded to make their pursuit known. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

  Someone was feeding information to both the Soviets and the Germans.

  Bill came to a door at the far end of the corridor and reached for the handle. He stepped inside a small room and looked around. There were four desks, two of which were occupied by men with headphones over their heads, wired into large square radios. The only sound in the room was the hum of the radios themselves, and the occasional tapping noise as the radio operators decoded new incoming messages.