Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Three

The Fisherman's Inn was a large bar, standing like a fort on the banks of the estuary, with its chimneys like turrets and its smoked glass windows like observation slits.A faded sign in the front garden warns customers not to approach the beach, which was mined as far back as 1940 to prevent a German invasion. Since Special Operations had moved nearby, the bar had been bustling every night, with lights behind closed curtains and piano blaring, crowds filling the bar and stretching out into the balmy summer nights in the garden.The singing is hoarse, the alcohol is heavy, the intimate contact between the skin is properly controlled, and the air is full of indulgence and catharsis, because everyone knows that these young people laughing and laughing in the bar tonight will set off tomorrow to complete A mission, perhaps never to return.

After the two-day training session, Flick and Paul took their group to the bar.The girls all put on their outfits for going out.Maud looked prettier than ever in a pink summer dress; Ruby, though not pretty, looked sensual in a short black skirt she'd borrowed from somewhere; An oyster-colored silk gown, which seemed expensive, but she was so skinny that she looked the same in everything; Greta had a stage outfit, a short skirt and red shoes; even Diana had changed Instead of her usual corduroy trousers, she wore a stylish long skirt and, to Flicker's surprise, she even wore lipstick.

The group has its own code name - "Jackdaw".They will parachute down near Reims, which reminds Flick of the allusion to "the Jackdaw of Reims," ​​the bird that is said to have stolen the Bishop's ring. "The monks couldn't figure out who had stolen the ring, and the Bishop cursed the nameless thief," Flick explained to Paul, drinking whiskey with him.Hers was watered down, his with ice. "Then they found that jackdaw that was all messed up and dirty, and they realized that it was cursed and must be the culprit. I recited the whole story in school— Well, regardless of grammar, they shouted in unison: "That's it!"

"Sure enough, they found the ring in the nest." Paul nodded, smiling.Flick knew that if he spoke Icelandic, he would nod and smile exactly as well.He doesn't care what she says, he just wants to watch her.She didn't have much experience, but when a man was in love, she could tell, and now Paul was in love with her. She passed the day with a sense of indulgence.She had been shocked and thrilled by the kiss last night.She told herself that she couldn't do something wrong, that she wanted to win back the love of her betrayed husband.But Paul's passion turned her priorities upside down.She asked herself angrily, why should she wait in line for Michelle's love when Paul intended to fall at her feet.She had almost let him into her bed—in fact, she wished he had been less gentlemanly, because if he had ignored her refusal and lifted the sheets, she might have given in too.

At other times she was ashamed that she had kissed him.This kind of thing happens everywhere, and it's scary to think about it.Across England, girls have forgotten their front-line husbands and boyfriends and fallen in love with visiting American soldiers.Was she as bad as those brainless shop assistants who slept with Yankees just because they talked like movie stars? Worst of all, her feelings for Paul threaten to distract her from her job.With six lives at her fingertips and such an important element in the attack plan, she really didn't have to wonder whether his eyes were hazel or green.In any case, he's not a perfect idol in the eyes of women, with a big chin and half an ear, although his face is somewhat attractive——

"What are you thinking?" he said. Only then did she realize that she might have been staring at him. "I wonder if we can get this done," she lied. "We can, just need a little bit of luck," Paul said. "I've been lucky so far." Maud sat down beside Paul. "Speaking of luck," she said, fluttering her eyelashes, "may I ask you for a cigarette?" "Take it yourself." He pushed a pack of lucky tickets on the table to her. Maud put a cigarette between her lips, and Paul lit it for her.Flick glanced across the bar and saw Diana looking annoyedly.Maude and Diana had become good friends, but Diana had never known how to share anything.So why did Maude flirt with Paul?Maybe to annoy Diana.It seemed to be a good thing that Paul was not going to France, Flick thought, for in a group of young women he could not help but play a divisive role.

She looked around the room. "Jelly" and Percy were playing a game of mutual deception, in which one had to guess how many coins the other was holding tightly.Percy bought round after round of alcoholic beverages.This is deliberate.Flick needed to know how the Jackdaws would react under the influence of booze, and if any of them became rowdy, reckless, or aggressive, she would take precautions when it came to battle.What worries her the most is Denise, who has opened up the conversation now, sitting in a corner chatting with a man in a captain's uniform. Ruby drank a lot too, but Flick had faith in her.She was a strange mix, she could barely read or write, she was a mess in map reading and cryptography, and yet she was the smartest and most intuitive person in the group.Ruby caught Greta's eyes every now and then and might have guessed that Greta was a man, but to her credit she said nothing.

Ruby sat at the bar with arms coach Jim Cardwell.She was talking to the waitress, but at the same time she was stroking Jim's inner thigh with her little brown-black hand, and a whirlwind love affair began between the two.They were always avoiding people, whether it was the morning coffee break, the half-hour break after lunch, or tea time, sneaking together for a few minutes whenever they got the chance.Jim looked as if he had just jumped out of a plane, but hadn't opened his parachute yet, and there was always a kind of obsessive joy on his face.Ruby is not a beauty, with a hooked nose and an upturned chin, but she is a sex bomb, and Jim has been rolled all over the floor by her.Flick was almost jealous, Jim was certainly not her type—all the men she'd loved were intellectual, or at least very intelligent—and she was jealous of Ruby's erotic sex.

Greta is leaning against the piano, holding a glass of pink cocktail, talking to three men.They looked more like local residents than finishing school folks.The group had stopped being surprised by her German accent—she had evidently told the story of her father from Liverpool—and now she charmed them with the anecdote of a Hamburg nightclub.Flick could see that they had no doubts about Greta's gender, that they took her as an attractive woman from another country, bought her drinks, lit her cigarettes, and laughed merrily when she touched them stand up. Flick saw that one of the men was sitting in front of the piano, playing a few chords, and looking at Greta expectantly.The bar fell silent, and Greta began to sing "The Man in the Kitchen":

The audience burst into laughter immediately realizing that every line contained a sexual innuendo.When Greta finished, she pressed a kiss to the pianist's lips, which thrilled him. Maud left Paul and went to find Diana in the bar.The captain who was talking to Denise came over now and said to Paul, "She told me everything, sir." Flick nodded, disappointed but not surprised. Paul asked him, "What did she say?" "Said she was going to blow up the railway tunnel near the village of Mars, near Reims, tomorrow night." It was a deception, but Denise took it as the truth and revealed it to a stranger.Flick was furious.

"Thank you," Paul said. "Sorry." The lieutenant shrugged. "It's better to catch it early than late," Flick said. "Will you tell her yourself, sir, or will I handle it?" "I'll talk to her first," Paul replied, "if you don't mind, just wait for her outside." "Okay, sir." The captain left the inn, and Paul called Denise over. "He left all of a sudden," Denise said. "I don't think that's a good behavior." She clearly felt slighted. "He's a demolition instructor." "No, he's not," Paul said, "he's a cop." "What do you mean?" Denise was puzzled. "He was wearing a captain's uniform, and he told me—" "He told you a lie," Paul said. "His job is to catch people who tell strangers. He got you." Denise's face was pulled down, and then she regained her composure and became aggrieved. "Then it's a trick and you set a trap for me?" "Unfortunately, I made it," Paul said. "You told him everything." Realizing she had been exposed, Denise tried to play it light and get away with it. "Then how do you punish me? Copy a hundred lines of homework and cancel the game time?" Flick wanted to go up and slap her. Denise's bragging would endanger the lives of the entire group. Paul said coldly, "We don't have that kind of punishment here." "Oh, thank you so much." "But you have to leave the group, you can't go with us. You have to leave tonight, with that captain." "It would be foolish to go back to where I used to work in Hendon." Paul shook his head. "He won't take you back to Hendon." "why?" "You know too much to be allowed to move freely." Denise began to look a little worried. "What are you going to do to me?" "They'll put you in a place where you can't do anything wrong, usually an isolated base in Scotland, I think, where the main function is to sort out a lot of books." "That's just like a prison!" Paul thought for a moment, then nodded. "almost." "How long will that take?" Denise asked dejectedly. "Who knows? Probably not until the end of the war." "What a rascal you are!" Denise said furiously. "I wish I had never met you." "You can leave now." Paul said, "You have to be thankful that I caught you, otherwise, the person who caught you would be the Gestapo." Denise walked out with her head raised. "I hope it wasn't unnecessary to be so brutal," Paul said. Flick didn't think so, and the stupid cow deserved a harsher punishment.However, trying to impress Paul, she said, "There's no need to beat her to death. Some people just aren't right for the job, and it's not her fault." Paul laughed. "You're a real liar," he said. "You think I'm being too easy on her, don't you?" "I think it would be easy to crucify her." Flick said angrily, but Paul laughed, and this humorous attitude made her angry, and finally she laughed and said, "I can't fool you." You have sharp eyes, don't you?" "I hope so." After finishing speaking, he became serious again. "Fortunately, we recruited an extra team member. Without Denise, it won't affect the overall situation." "But now we have one more." Flick stood up wearily, "We'd better go to bed now. They can finally sleep well tonight, and they won't be able to sleep in a short time." Paul looked around the room and said, "Diana and Maud are not here." "They may have gone outside to get some air. I'll go find them, you go and gather the others." Seeing Paul nodding his head in agreement, Flick walked outside. When we got outside, we couldn't see the shadows of the two girls.She stopped and stood for a while, seeing the calm water of the river mouth glowing in the night, she turned and walked towards the hotel parking lot.A tan military Austin drove away, and she caught a glimpse of Denise in the back crying. Still did not find Diana and Maude, Flick was puzzled, frowning, walked across the asphalt road to the back of the inn.This is a small courtyard with old iron barrels and stacks of crates. Across the courtyard is a small warehouse. The wooden door was open, and she walked in. It was dark inside, and she couldn't see anything at first, but she could feel someone here, and she heard a gasp.Her intuition told her not to make a sound, to remain motionless.Her eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light. Here is a tool shed, all kinds of wrenches and shovels are hung in a neat row, and a large lawn mower is placed in the middle of the field. Diana and Maud are in the corner inside. place. Maud was standing against the wall, and Diana was kissing her.Flick's face fell.Diana took off her blouse, revealing a large, extremely functional bra.Maud's pink plaid skirt rolled up to her waist.Seeing more clearly, Flick found Diana's hand in Maud's shorts. Flick stood there for a moment, stunned.Maud saw her, and their eyes met. "Have you seen everything clearly?" She said arrogantly, "Do you want to take a picture?" Startled, Diana withdrew her hand and hid behind Maud, who turned around with a look of horror on her face. "My God," she said.She pulled the coat on her chest with one hand, and covered her mouth with the other, feeling ashamed. Flick stumbled, "I—I—I just came over to say we gotta go," and then she turned and staggered out.