The Life That I Have

Chapter 14

Adele sat in her cell, cold and alone.

  Thank God it was over. The Abwehr had finished with her. Amazingly, she had managed to convince them that she was an ordinary Frenchwoman who helped the maquis occasionally, rather than telling them she was a British agent. Whatever they believed, her outcome would still be the same: a bullet.

  And there was Phillipe... dear Phillipe who had sacrificed his life for her.

Anya scoured the undergrowth, occasionally prodding a bramble out of the way with a stick. Nothing. No trace of Adele or Phillipe.

  When she finally managed to tear herself away from the hopeless search, she went and looked for Rudi.

  "Did you find anything?" she asked eagerly.

  He shook his head.

  "I'm afraid it probably means that they have been captured," Rudi said bleakly.

  They started to walk back to the cave.

  "Rudi," Anya asked, "You know all that stuff with François, well, I mean– he obviously told General von Fredrichs where we are and who we are– why doesn't Jean-Marc do anything about it?"

  "I think he's considering moving back up to the castle, but I'm not sure," Rudi said.

  There was an awkward silence.

  "I'm sorry about last night," Anya mumbled. "It was that horrible uncertainty getting to me."

  Rudi shot her an understanding glance.

  When they got back to the camp, they made a beeline for Jean-Marc, who was thoughtfully puffing away at his pipe, Dominique standing beside him.

  "Did you find anything?" he asked anxiously. They replied in the negative.

  "So now we have no radio operator. No way of contacting England," Jean-Marc said glumly.

  "Unless we make contact through area two," Dominique suggested.

  Occupied France was divided up into areas. Presently, they were working in area one.

  "I'll go tomorrow, if there's no news of Adele," Dominique said. "I should get through OK. I have my false identity papers, after all."

  Anya was amazed at how cold-hearted they were being. Two people had been captured, and all they were worried about was how to contact England! 

  Anya sat awake all night, gently combing Tippy's silky black fur with her fingertips. She was friendless now, apart from Tippy and Rudi. But... her feelings for Rudi were different. He wasn't like a friend– she didn't feel for him in the same way as she had for Adele and Phillipe. It wasn't at all like a hate-feeling. She just couldn't pin it down...

Dominique waited at the bus stop, praying that the good weather would hold. It was quite a hike from the bus stop from the cave, and she didn't fancy making the return journey in the pouring rain. She opened her handbag and took out a dainty powder compact.

  After satisfying herself that there was absolutely no shine to her nose, she reopened the bag and returned the compact. She looked up, and saw the bus.

Adele heard the key turn in the lock. This was it.

  The guards frog-marched her through the dank, vile prison corridors and out into the open. The street was busy, after all, it was market day.

  The guards took her around to the side of the building, where a large, stone wall stood. Phillipe was already there. Adele went and took her place by him. Facing them was a long line of soldiers, all with guns ready and waiting by their sides.

  Adele hear the guard shout, and she saw the guns raising. At the second command, she looked into Phillipe's eyes, ignoring he uniform noise of the guns being cocked. At the third command, she reached out her hand and she and Phillipe held onto each other firmly as the crack on guns echoed through the crisp morning.

Dominique stepped off the crowded bus and onto the street. It was one of those hot, dusty days, when everyone seemed to be on the streets for market day. Seeing the café she wanted, she went and sat at a table. Unknown to her, it was the very café where Rudi and Anya had first met.

  It was a few minutes before a man came over to join over to join her.

  "Dominique?" he whispered suspiciously.

  She nodded. "Yes. I have a message. It's written on a receipt for a hat I'm going to leave on the table. Memorize it, then destroy it. Got that?"

  The man nodded. Dominique stood and left. The man picked up the receipt and cautiously read it.

'For your radio operator: ADELE CAPTURED STOP REQUEST IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT STOP'

Dominique crossed the road and entered a small shop. She may as well get some supplies while she was in town. She went over to the desk.

  "Can I have five of those blankets, please," she asked, indicating to the articles in question.

  "Five?" the man queried, raising his eyebrows.

  "I have a large family, and it looks like it's going to be a cold winter," she explained. It was sort of true!

  The man sighed and wrapped the blankets in brown paper.

  "Anything else?" the shopkeeper asked as Dominique produced the required money.

  "No, thanks."

  As she left the shop, Dominique had a brainwave. There was something else she needed to get, but it wasn't in a shop...