Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

In the middle of the night, the roads in southern England are full of traffic.Convoys of army trucks rumbled across the roads toward the coast, rumbling through the darkened towns.The villagers woke up from their sleep and stood by the windows of their bedrooms, staring suspiciously at the endless convoy, which disturbed their sleep. "My God," Greta said, "it's really going to attack." She and Flick left London shortly after midnight in a borrowed car, the huge white Lincoln Continental that Flick loved to drive.Greta was wearing a modest outfit, a plain black dress with a dark wig.She cannot transform back into Gerhard until after the mission is over.

Flick hoped Greta was as expert as Mark said she was.She had worked as an engineer at the General Post Office, so presumably she knew what Flick was talking about.But Flick hadn't had time to test her.Now, when they were slowly crawling behind the tank transfer vehicle, Flick briefly explained the task, and she was worried, fearing that Greta's lack of knowledge would be exposed in the conversation between the two. "The Germans installed a new automatic line exchange in the castle to handle all the extra telephone and telex traffic between Berlin and the occupying forces."

Greta was skeptical about the assignment at first. "But, my dear, even if we succeed, what's going to stop the Germans from rerouting the telephone network at once?" "Line capacity. The whole system is overloaded. The 'Zeppelin' army command center outside Berlin handles 1.2 million long-distance calls and 20,000 telex messages a day. Even more when we attack France. And France The system still uses manual switching in most areas. If you think about it, if the automatic switching didn't work, and all the calls were made the old way, through the operator, it would take ten times as long. That way, 90 percent of the The phone will never get through."

"The military can ban civilians from calling." "That's not much better. Civilian communications are only a small part." "That's right." Greta mused. "Then we're going to destroy the regular equipment racks." "What's the use of that?" "Provides voice quality and ring voltage for automatic switching, and there are register repeaters on it that convert telephone area codes into routing instructions." "Can this disable the whole exchange?" "No, and the damage can be restored. You're going to take out the manual switch, the automatic switch, the long-distance amplifier, the telex switch, the telex amplifier, and they might be in different rooms."

"You know, we can't carry too much explosives with us - six women can carry as much as they can stash in their everyday handbags." "That's a problem." Michel used to get these things through Arnold.Arnold was a member of Bollinger and worked for the French PTT (Post Telephone and Telephone Bureau), but Flick did not ask for specifics, and Arnold is also dead. He was in an attack was killed. "There must be one piece of equipment that is common to all systems." "Yes, the main distribution board is." "What's that for?" "Main distribution frame, two large sets of terminal frames. All the cables coming from the outside go into one end of the frame and all the cables coming from the switch go into the other end, with jumpers connecting them."

"Where is that set?" "The room next to the cable room. In theory, you'd have to use a fire hot enough to melt the copper on the cables." "How long does it take to reconnect the cables?" "Two days." "Can you guarantee that? The cable bomb on the street where I live broke, and an old post office engineer fixed it in a few hours." "Cable repairs on the street are simple, just connect the broken ends together, red to red, blue to blue. But the main distribution board has hundreds of cross-connects. Two days is a conservative estimate, and it has to be guaranteed The mechanic has the log card on hand."

"Record card?" "It shows where the wires go, and it's usually kept in the main wiring closet. If we burn those notecards too, they'll have to spend weeks of trial and error trying to figure out how to connect them." Flick remembered now that Michele had said that the Resistance people at the PTT were ready to destroy the copies of the records kept at headquarters. "Sounds good. Now, listen up. I'm going to explain our mission to the others in the morning, and I'm going to tell them something completely different. It's another story I made up."

"why?" "This is the only way that our mission will not be compromised if any of us are arrested or interrogated." "Oh." Greta calmed down and thought about it, "It's really scary." "Only you know the truth, so don't tell it." "Don't worry, we gays are good at keeping secrets." Greta's choice of words surprised Flickr, but she made no comment. The finishing school for girls is situated in one of England's grandest and most stately mansions, Bury, a sprawling estate in New Forest, on the south coast.Its main building is called the Palace Building, which was originally the home of Lord Montagu.Many huge country houses are hidden in the surrounding woods and are self-contained.Most of these houses were vacated shortly after the war began, as the young owners went out to serve and the older ones managed to escape to safety.Twelve houses were requisitioned by Special Operations to train agents, learn security, wireless communication, map reading, and special skills such as theft, sabotage, forgery, and silent assassination.

They got here at three o'clock in the morning.Flick drove up a rutted lane, past a cattle pen, and stopped in front of a large house.Whenever I come here, I always seem to enter a fantasy world, where the topics of deceit and violence are just commonplace.The whole house has a corresponding air of unreality.Although there are perhaps twenty bedrooms inside, it is built in the style of country farmhouses that were popular before the First World War.Chimneys and dormer windows, hipped roofs and tiled pilasters all look very quaint and interesting against the moonlight. It's like a big house in a children's novel illustration, where you can play hide-and-seek games all day long.

It's very quiet here.Flick knew that the rest of the group was already here, and now they were sleeping.She knew the place well enough to find two vacant rooms on the top floor.She and Greta shared a room with each other and got into bed comfortably.Flick lay on the bed, wondering how he could turn this mob into a fighting team, and fell asleep thinking about it. She gets up at six o'clock.Looking out of the window, she could see the mouth of the Solent.In the gray morning light the water looked like quicksilver.She boiled a pot of hot water for shaving, brought it to Greta's room, and called the others up.

Percy and Paul came first to the large kitchen at the back of the house, Percy for tea and Paul for coffee.Flick let them do it themselves.She didn't join the Special Operations Service to serve men. "Sometimes I make you tea," said Percy indignantly. "You did it out of noble manners," she replied, "like a duke letting a maid in." Paul laughed. "You guys, you really want to kill me laughing." At six-thirty the army cook arrived, and a few minutes later they were gathered around a large table eating fried eggs and thick slices of bacon.Agents do not ration food, they need to build up physical reserves.Once in action, proper nutrition may not be available for days at a time. The girls came down one by one, and Flick was taken aback when he saw Maud Valentine.Neither Percy nor Paul had ever said how beautiful Maud really was.She was almost perfectly dressed, with bright lipstick on her rosebud lips, as if she was going to lunch at the Savoy.She sat down beside Paul and said provocatively, "Did you sleep well, Major?" Seeing Ruby Roman's black face like a pirate, Flick was relieved.She probably wouldn't be too surprised if Ruby slipped away in the middle of the night and disappeared without a trace.Of course, Ruby had to be arrested for murder.She has not been pardoned, rather, the charges against her have just been dropped, but they can be reinstated at any time.This made Ruby unable to run away even if she wanted to, but she was so brave that she would definitely use every opportunity to escape. "Jelly" Knight entered.Seeing her early in the morning revealed her true age.She sat next to Percy and sent him a soft smile. "You probably slept soundly," she said. "Sleeping Mengxiang with a clean conscience," he replied. She laughed and said, "We don't have that damn conscience." The cook brought over a plate of bacon and fried eggs, but she grimaced. "No, thank you, dear," she said, "I must watch my figure." Her breakfast consisted of a cup of tea and a few cigarettes. Greta enters the room and Flick catches his breath. She wore a beautiful cotton dress with fake breasts.A pink cardigan softened the shoulders, and she covered the man's Adam's apple with a tulle scarf.She wore a dark wig on her head, and her face was heavily powdered, but her lips and eyes were lightly made up.Compared with the contrived image on stage, today she is playing a young woman in everyday life. I am afraid she will be embarrassed because she is too tall.Flick introduced it to everyone, watching the reactions of the other women.This is sort of the first test of Greta's cross-dressing skills. Everyone smiled happily, and no one saw what was wrong.Flick breathed a sigh of relief. Besides Maud, there was one person Flick hadn't seen before, and that was Miss Denise Bowyer.Percy had interviewed her in Hendon, and despite all indications that the man was a little flighty and unsteady, he had hired her.She turned out to be an ordinary girl with thick black hair and looked a little arrogant.Despite being the daughter of a Marquis, she lacks the relaxed self-confidence typical of an upper-class girl.Flick felt a little pity for her, but Denise was too unattractive to be likable. This is my group, Flick thought: a goblin, a murderer, a safebreaker, a cross-dressing gay, and an aristocrat who isn't very bright.She found that there is one person missing here, where is the other nobleman?It was half past seven, and Diana hadn't shown up yet. Flick asked Percy, "Didn't you tell Diana to blow the reveille at six?" "I have notified everyone." "I knocked on her door a quarter of an hour ago." Flick stood up. "I'll have to check again. Her bedroom is number ten, isn't it?" She went upstairs to knock on Diana's door, but seeing no answer, she pushed the door open and entered.The room looked like it had just been hit by a bomb - an open suitcase on the messy bed, pillows on the floor, lantern shorts on the dresser.But Flick thinks this is normal.Diana was always surrounded by people whose job it was to clean up after her, and Flick's mother was one of them.There was no one here, Diana must have gone somewhere.It must be made clear to her that her time is no longer hers, Flick thought angrily. "She's gone," she said to the others. "Let's not wait for her, let's get started." She stood at the head of the table, "We have two days of training ahead of us, and then, on Friday night we Airborne to France. We are an all-female team, because it is more convenient for women to move around in the French occupation area, and it is less likely to arouse the suspicion of the Gestapo. Our task is to blow up the railway tunnel near the village of Mars, not far from Reims, On the main rail line between Frankfurt and Paris." Flick glanced at Greta, who knew the story was made up.Greta sat quietly, buttering toast, not looking up at her. "A special agent's course is usually three months," Flick continued, "but this tunnel must be destroyed on Monday night. In two days, we hope to teach you some basic safety rules, so that you can master How to jump with a parachute, train you in the proper use of weapons, and show you how to kill without making a sound." Despite the heavy makeup, Maud suddenly paled. "Kill?" she said. "You're going to make these girls do it?" "Jelly" muttered in disgust: "It's a damn war right now, you know?" Diana came in from the garden, clinging to some vegetables in her corduroy shorts. "I went for a walk in the woods," she said enthusiastically. "It was wonderful. You see, the greenhouse caretaker gave me so many things." And she took out some ripe greens from her pocket. tomatoes on the dining table. Flick said, "Sit down, Diana, you're late for the briefing." "I'm sorry honey, did I miss your lovely speech?" "You are in the army now," Flick said angrily, "I told you to be in the kitchen at seven, so you must be there at seven." "You're not going to punish me like a headmistress, are you?" "Sit down and shut up." "I'm so sorry, dear." Flick raised his voice: "Diana, when I say shut up, you don't have to say 'I'm so sorry' to me, and don't call me honey again, just shut up." Diana sat down silently, but she looked angry and dissatisfied.Hell, Flick thought, this wasn't handled very well. The kitchen door slammed open, and a short, very stocky man of about forty entered the room.His rank on his uniform shirt is sergeant. "Good morning, girls!" he greeted warmly. Flick said, "This is Sergeant Bill Griffith, one of our instructors." She didn't like Bill.This Army gym instructor made uncomfortable physical combat classes and was unapologetic when he hurt someone.She also noticed that Bill performed worse when teaching women. "We've got it ready for you, Sergeant, so let's do it now?" She stepped aside, leaning against the wall. "Your wish is my command." He said extra.He was standing in front of the desk where she had been standing. "What's a parachute landing like," he said, "it's like jumping off a fourteen-foot wall. The ceiling in this kitchen is a little lower than that. It's supposed to be like jumping upstairs into the garden." Flick heard Jelly whisper, "Oh, my God." "You can't just stand there when you hit the ground," Bill went on. "If you try to land standing up, your legs will break. The only way to be safe is to go down. So first we're going to teach you How it fell down. If anyone wants to get their clothes clean, go to the computer room over there and change into work clothes. We will assemble outside in three minutes and start practicing." Paul was leaving while the women went to change. "We're going to practice skydiving tomorrow, and they say they don't have a plane for us," he said to Flick. "I'm going to London to kick their asses." Flick thought, I'm afraid he wants to meet him too the girl from There was an old pine table in the garden, an ugly Victorian mahogany wardrobe, and a fourteen-foot wooden ladder. "Jelly" panicked a little. "You want us to jump off this wretched wardrobe, don't you?" she asked Flick. "You dance after we demonstrate," Flick replied, "and then you'll be surprised how easy it is." "Jelly" looked at Percy. "You bastard," she said, "you let me do this?" When they were all ready, Bill said, "At first we practiced jumping from zero height. There were three ways: forward, backward, and sideways." He demonstrates three movements, falls to the ground with ease, and bounces with the agility of a gymnast. "You have to keep your legs together," he added mischievously. "All young ladies should." No one laughed. "Don't throw your arms around, it's going to throw your arms against your sides. Don't Worrying about getting hurt. If you break an arm, it hurts like hell, worse than anything." As Flick expected, the young girl had no difficulty doing it. After explaining the method clearly, Diana, Maud, Ruby and Denise could all fall like gymnasts.After Ruby fell from standing up once, she got impatient and climbed up the ladder. "Not yet!" Bill shouted at him, but it was too late.She jumped and landed perfectly.When she was done, she walked aside, sat under a tree and lit a cigarette.Looks like she's going to get me in trouble, thought Flick. Flick was more worried about "Jelly".She is the key member of the whole group, the only one who understands explosives.But she didn't have that girlish lightness and sensitivity a few years ago.Skydiving is difficult for her, but she is brave.She let out an "ouch" when she fell from her standing position and swore when she got up, but was ready to try again. To Flick's surprise, the worst student was Greta. "I can't do this," she said to Flick. "I told you I can't do this kind of killing." This was the first time Greta said more than two words, "Jelly" frowned and said, "What a weird accent." "Let me help you," Bill said to Greta, "stand still. Just relax." He grabbed her by the shoulders, and then with a sudden force he threw her to the ground.She fell hard and cried out in pain.She struggled to get up, to gain her footing, but to Flicker's dismay, she began to cry. "God," Bill said wearily, "who are they sending us?" Flick glared at him.She couldn't let Bill's rudeness ruin her phone mechanic. "Be gentle with people," she snapped at him. But he said relentlessly, "The Gestapo is much more ruthless than me!" Flick had to make up for it herself, and taking Greta's hand, she said, "Let's practice alone." They walked around the house and found another place in the garden. "I'm sorry," Greta said, "I really hate that little man." "I know. Now, let's do it together, knees first." The two sat facing each other, holding hands. "You just follow me." Flick slowly fell to one side, and Greta imitated her movements.The two fell to the ground together, and their hands hadn't let go yet. "You see," said Flick, "that's all right, isn't it?" Greta smiled and said, "Why can't he be like you?" Flick shrugged. "Man," she grinned, "now, let's try to fall from a standing position, shall we? Let's do the same, hand in hand." She and Greta did all the exercises that Bill and the others did.Greta quickly gained confidence, and they returned to the group, where everyone practiced table jumping.Greta joined in and landed perfectly, getting everyone to applaud her. The exercise progresses to jumping off the closet, and then finally off the ladder.When "Jelly" jumped off the ladder, rolled perfectly, and stood up again, Flick went up to her and hugged her. "I'm so proud of you," she said, "well done." This disgusted Bill.He turned to Percy and said, "It took me a long time to do such an easy movement, but I finally did it right, and there was even a hug. What the hell kind of army is this?" "Get used to it, Bill," said Percy.