Jackdaws

Percy looked at Flick. She did not know anyone called Chancellor. Then she remembered the arrogant major who had been so rude to her this morning at Monty's headquarters. "Oh, God, him," she said in disgust. "What does he want?"

"Send him in," said Percy.

Paul Chancellor came in. He walked with a limp that Flick had not noticed this morning. It probably got worse as the day wore on. He had a pleasant American face, with a big nose and a jutting chin. Any chance he might have had of being handsome was spoiled by his left ear, or what remained of it, which was the lower one-third, mostly lobe. Flick assumed he had been wounded in action.

Chancellor saluted and said, "Good evening, Colonel. Good evening, Major."

Percy said, "We don't do a lot of saluting at SOE, Chancellor. Please sit down. What brings you here?"

Chancellor took a chair and removed his uniform cap. "I'm glad I caught you both," he said. "I've spent most of the day thinking about this morning's conversation." He gave a self-effacing grin. "Part of the time, I have to confess, I was composing wittily crushing remarks I could have made if only I had thought of them in time."

Flick could not help smiling. She had done the same. Chancellor went on. "You hinted, Colonel Thwaite, that MI6 might not have told the whole truth about the attack on the telephone exchange, and that played on my mind. The fact that Major Clairet here was so rude to me did not necessarily mean she was lying about the facts."

Flick had been halfway to forgiving him, but now she bridled. "Rude? Me?"

Percy said, "Shut up, Flick."

She closed her mouth.

"So I sent for your report, Colonel. Of course the request came from Monty's office, not me personally, so it was brought to our headquarters by a FANY motorcyclist in double-quick time."

He was a no-nonsense type who knew how to pull the levers of the military machine, Flick thought. He might be an arrogant pig, but he would make a useful ally.

"When I read it, I realized the main reason for defeat was wrong intelligence."

"Supplied by MI6!" Flick said indignantly.

"Yes, I noticed that," Chancellor said with mild sarcasm. "Obviously, MI6 was covering up its own incompetence. I'm not a career soldier myself, but my father is, so I'm familiar with the tricks of military bureaucrats."

"Oh," said Percy thoughtfully. "Are you the son of General Chancellor?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"MI6 would never have gotten away with it if your boss had been at the meeting this morning to tell SOE's side of the story. It seemed too much of a coincidence that he had been called away at the last minute."

Percy looked dubious. "He was summoned by the Prime Minister. I don't see how MI6 could have arranged that."

"The meeting was not attended by Churchill. A Downing Street aide took the chair. And it had been arranged at the instigation of MI6."

"Well, I'm damned," Flick said angrily. "They're such snakes!"

Percy said, "I wish they were as clever about gathering intelligence as they are about deceiving their colleagues."

Chancellor said, "I also looked in detail at your plan, Major Clairet, for taking the chfteau by stealth, with a team disguised as cleaners. It's risky, of course, but it could work."

Did that mean it would be reconsidered? Flick hardly dared to ask.

Percy gave Chancellor a level look. "So what are you going to do about all this?"

"By chance, I had dinner with my father tonight. I told him the whole story and asked him what a general's aide should do in these circumstances. We were at the Savoy."

"What did he say?" Flick asked impatiently. She did not care which restaurant they had gone to.

"That I should go to Monty and tell him we had made a mistake." He grimaced. "Not easy with any general. They never like to revisit decisions. But sometimes it has to be done."

"And will you?" Flick said hopefully.

"I already have."

THE THIRD DAY Tuesday, May 30,1944

CHAPTER 11

FLICK LEFT LONDON at dawn, driving a Vincent Comet motorcycle with a powerful 500cc engine. The roads were deserted. Gas was severely rationed, and drivers could be jailed for making "unnecessary" journeys. She drove very fast. It was dangerous but exciting. The thrill was worth the risk.

She felt the same about the mission, scared but eager. She had stayed up late last night with Percy and Paul, drinking tea and planning. There must be six women in the team, they had decided, as it was the unvarying number of cleaners on a shift. One had to be an explosives expert; another, a telephone engineer, to decide exactly where the charges should be placed to ensure the exchange was crippled. She wanted one good marksman and two tough soldiers. With herself, that would make six.

She had one day to find them. The team would need a minimum of two days' training-they had to learn to parachute, if nothing else. That would take up Wednesday and Thursday. They would be dropped near Reims on Friday night, and enter the chfteau on Saturday evening or Sunday. That left one spare day as a margin for error.