Chapter 37 Chapter Thirty-Six

Flick had been to the Leeds once, when she was at school in Paris before the war.She and a girl friend wore hats and make-up and gloves and stockings and all, and walked in and out of the gate like they did it every day.They wandered around the shops in the hotel's inner arcade, giggling at the absurd prices on scarves, fountain pens, and perfume.They sat in the hall, pretending to be waiting for someone who was late, and commented on the clothes of the women who came in for tea, without even daring to order a glass of water themselves.Flick saved every penny for cheap tickets to the Théâtre de France in those days.

After France was occupied, she heard that the owner was trying to keep the hotel running as long as possible, even though many of the rooms were long-term chartered by Nazi leaders.She wore neither gloves nor stockings today, but she powdered her face and wore her beret fashionably askew, and she expected that some of the wartime patrons of the restaurant would have to be as sloppy as she was. A little bit, muddle along. On the Place Vendome outside the hotel, a row of gray military vehicles and black limousines were parked.On the façade of the building, six scarlet Nazi flags flapped ostentatiously in the breeze.A doorman in a tall hat and red trousers eyed Flick and Ruby suspiciously and said, "You can't go in."

Flick was wearing a pale blue suit that was rumpled here and there, and Ruby was wearing a navy blue gown with a men's raincoat.They were not wearing clothes for dining at the Ritz.Flick tried to imitate the arrogance of French women when they are provoked by inferior people.She raised her nose and asked, "What's going on?" "This entrance is reserved for high-ranking people, ma'am. Even a German colonel cannot enter here. You go around to the nearby rue Cambon and enter through the back door." "It's up to you." Flick said in a weary tone, quite gracefully.In fact, she was very glad he hadn't said they were not dressed properly.She and Ruby hurried around the block to find its back door.

The hall was brightly lit, and the bars on either side were filled with men in tuxedos or uniforms.The hum of converging conversations was full of German consonants, not the languid vowels of French.This made Flick feel as if he had walked into an enemy stronghold. She went to the desk.The receptionist wore a coat with a lot of brass buttons, looked up at her, saw that she was neither a German nor a rich French woman, and said coldly, "What's the matter?" "Check to see if Mademoiselle Legrand is in her room," said Flick commandingly.She figured Diana would use her false name - Simone Legrand. "I have an appointment with her."

He took a step back and asked, "Can I tell her who was looking for her?" "Madame Martini. I am her employee." "Okay. Actually, the lady and her companion are in the back dining room. You can go to the head waiter." Flick and Ruby walked across the hall into the dining room.What is presented here is a picture of upper-class life, with white tablecloths, silver tableware, flickering candles, and waiters in black uniforms sliding around the room with dishes and food.Seeing such a scene, no one would have guessed that half of Parisians are currently starving.Flick smelled the aroma of real coffee.

As soon as she stopped by the door, she immediately saw Diana and Maud.They sat at a small table at the far end of the room.Flick watched as Diana poured Maud and herself a bottle of wine from a gleaming silver cask by the table.Flick wanted to strangle her. She turned and walked towards the table, but the head waiter stopped her.He looked straight at her cheap outfit and said, "What's the matter, ma'am?" "Good evening," she said, "I have to speak to that lady over there." He didn't move.He was a short man with a sullen look who wasn't afraid to be bluffed. "Perhaps I can pass her your message."

"I'm afraid not. It's a private matter." "So, I told her you're here. What's your name?" Flick stared in Diana's direction, but Diana didn't look up. "I am Madame Martini," said Flick, to whom she had no choice but to entrust, "tell her that I must speak to her at once." "Okay. I hope Madam will wait here." Flick gritted his teeth, feeling a sense of frustration in his heart.When the head waiter walked away, she wanted to run ahead of him.That's when she noticed an SS major in a black uniform sitting nearby staring at her.She looked at him for a moment, and immediately moved her eyes away, and a kind of fear immediately rushed into her throat.Had he just been idle and just happened to be attracted to her argument with the head waiter?Maybe he had seen the notice and thought she looked familiar, but couldn't connect the two for a while?Or, did he just find her attractive?No matter what the reason was, Flick felt that it was too dangerous to make any noise here.

Every second she stood here was dangerous.She suppressed the urge to turn around and run away. The head waiter said a few words to Diana, then turned and waved to Flick. Flick said to Ruby, "You'd better wait here, I'm going alone, two of you are too conspicuous," and she walked quickly across the room to Diana's desk. Neither Diana nor Maude showed any signs of guilt.Flick looked at them angrily.Maud looked satisfied, Diana looked proud.Flick put his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward and said in a low voice, "It's too dangerous. Get up at once and follow me. We'll pay the bill when we go out."

She tried her best to convince them, but the two had entered a world of illusion. "Be reasonable, Flick," said Diana. Flick suddenly became angry.How could Diana be so arrogant and ignorant? "You stupid cow," she said, "don't you know it's going to kill you?" She immediately realized that the swearing was a mistake.Diana put on a condescending gesture and said, "This is my life, and I'm entitled to take the risk—" "You're endangering us too, the entire operation. Stand up now!" "But look—" There was a commotion behind Flick.Diana stopped for a while and looked behind Flick.

Flick looked back and was immediately stunned. Standing at the entrance was the well-dressed German officer she had seen on the Place Sainte-Cecile.Her glance saw him clearly.He was tall and dressed in an elegant dark coat with a white handkerchief tucked into the breast pocket. She turned quickly, heart pounding, and prayed he hadn't noticed her.She's wearing a black wig, which probably won't make him instantly recognizable. She remembered his name: Dieter Frank.She had found his picture in Percy's pile of files.He used to be a police detective.She remembered the caption on the back of his photo: "A well-known figure among Rommel's intelligence officers, who was said to be a master interrogator and a brutal torturer."

It was the second time in a week that Flick had come across him, close enough to shoot him. Flick never believed in coincidence.There must be some reason for him to be here at the same time as her. She soon discovered what the reason was.She took another look and saw him striding across the dining room toward her, followed by four Gestapo-looking figures.The head waiter followed them, looking alarmed. Flick turned his face away, turned and walked away. Frank went straight to Diana's table. The whole hotel suddenly became silent.The guests stopped talking, and the waiters stopped serving the dishes. The bartender stood there blankly with a glass wine bottle in his hand. Flick went to the door, and Ruby was still standing there waiting.Ruby whispered, "He's going to arrest them." She reached for her gun. Flick saw the SS major staring at them again. "Keep the gun in your pocket," she muttered, "we can't do anything. We can take him and the four Gestapo, but the German officers here will surround us. Even if we take out these five, the others will Put us down." Frank confronts Diana and Maude.Flick could not hear what was being said there.Diana's voice had the defiant, nonchalant tone that she always had when she did something wrong.Maude was crying. Presumably Frank wanted to see their papers, and both women reached for handbags lying on the floor beside their chairs at the same time.Frank shifted to stand next to Diana, leaning slightly, looking over her shoulder.Suddenly Flick realized what was going to happen next. Maud produced her ID card, but Diana produced a pistol instead.A shot was fired, and a man in a Gestapo uniform ran a few steps and fell.The restaurant immediately became chaotic.The woman screamed, and the man crouched and hid.A second shot rang out, and another Gestapo fell screaming.Some diners ran towards the exit. Diana pointed her gun at the third Gestapo.Previous memories flashed through Flick's mind: Diana in the woods in Somersholm, sitting on the floor smoking, with dead rabbits beside her.She remembers telling Diana, "You're a killer," and she was right. But Diana did not fire the third shot. Dieter Frank remained calm.He grabbed Diana's right wrist with both hands and slammed it hard on the edge of the table.She let out a cry of pain, and the gun slipped from her hand to the ground.He jerked her up from the chair, dropped her face down on the carpet, and put his knees on her narrow back.She screamed in pain as he twisted her hands behind her back, pulling at her injured wrist, and he handcuffed her hard, then stood up. Flick said to Ruby, "Let's get out of here." The doorway was packed tightly, and frightened men and women wanted to squeeze out together.Before Flick moved away to hide in the crowd, the young SS major who was staring at her jumped up and grabbed her arm. "Wait a minute," he said in French. Flick steadied his panic. "Get your hands off!" He gripped tighter and tighter. "You seem to know that woman over there," he said. "No, I don't know!" She struggled to leave. He pulled her back abruptly and ordered, "You'd better stay here and answer a few questions." There was another shot.Several women screamed, but no one knew where the gun came from.The face of the SS officer was contorted in pain.When he was on the ground, Flick saw Ruby standing behind him, putting the pistol back into the pocket of her raincoat. Pushing desperately, the two rushed out of the crowded door and into the hall.They ran out without being noticed, because everyone was running for their lives. There was a line of cars parked along the rue Cambon, some with drivers.Most of the drivers went to the restaurant to watch the excitement.Flick selected a black Mercedes 230 sedan, which was empty.She glanced forward and saw the key on the control panel. "Get in!" she called Ruby.She sat behind the wheel and pulled the automatic starter.The powerful engine roared to life.She shifted into first gear, turned the steering wheel around, and sped away from the Ritz.This car is heavy, it moves slowly, but it is very stable, and when it is fast, it turns like a train. After driving a few blocks, she began to consider her situation.She lost a third of her team, including her top scorer.She contemplated giving up on the mission, but immediately decided to keep going.The situation was so embarrassing that she had to explain why there were only four cleaners instead of the usual six, but she could make up some excuses.This meant that they would be subject to closer inspection, but she had to bear the risk. She and Ruby were no longer in immediate danger, so she dumped the car on Chapel Street.They hurried back to the hotel.Ruby calls Greta and Jelly to Flick's room and tells them what happened. "Diana and Maude will be interrogated right away," she said, "Dieter Frank is very capable and brutal, so we have to assume they will give everything they know, including the address of this hotel. That means the Gestapo could be here at any moment, and we must leave immediately." "Jelly" cried. "Poor Maud," she said, "she is stupid, but she does not deserve this torture." Greta is more practical. "Then where are we going?" "We hid in the monastery next door to the hotel. They let anyone in. I've hid escaped prisoners there before. They'll let us stay there until daybreak." "and then?" "We're going to the train station as planned. Diana will tell Dieter Frank our real names, and our codes, our fake identities, and he'll be on the lookout for people traveling under these aliases, luckily The thing is, I have a backup set of IDs for everyone, with the same picture, but with different identities. The Gestapo won't have a picture of the three of you, and I've changed the look so that the guards at the checkpoint won't Recognized us. But, for safety's sake, we don't go to the station at first light—we wait until about ten o'clock, when the station is busiest." "Diana will also tell them about our mission," Ruby said. "She'll tell them we're going to blow up the railroad tunnels at Mars. Good thing that's not our real mission. It's a sham I made up." "Jelly" said admiringly: "Flick, you can't even think of anything." "Yes," she said coldly, "that's why I'm still alive."