Jackdaws

“And a danger to me if she were to come!” Flick interrupted. “You’re wasting your breath. She’s off the team.”

“Look, I don’t want to have to pull rank—”

“What rank?” said Flick.

“I resigned from the Guards as a colonel—”

“Retired!”

“-and I’m the civil service equivalent of a brigadier.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Flick said. “You’re not even in the army.”

“I’m ordering you to take Denise with you.”

“Then I’ll have to consider my response,” said Flick.

“That’s better. I’m sure you won’t regret it.”

“All right, here is my response. Fuck off”

Fortescue went red. He had probably never been told to flick off by a girl. He was uncharacteristically speechless.

“Well!” said Denise. “We’ve certainly found out what type of person we’re dealing with.”

Paul said, “You’re dealing with me.” He turned to

Fortescue. “I’m in command of this operation, and I won’t have Denise on the team at any price. If you want to argue, call Monty.”

“Well said, my boy,” Percy added.

Fortescue found his voice at last. He wagged a finger at Flick. “The time will come, Mrs. Clairet, when you will regret saying that to me.” He got off his stool. “I’m sorry about this, Lady Denise, but I think we’ve done all we can here.”

They left.

“Stupid prat,” Percy muttered.

“Let’s have dinner,” said Flick.

The others were already in the dining room, waiting. As the Jackdaws began their last meal in England, Percy gave each of them an expensive gift: silver cigarette cases for the smokers, gold powder compacts for the others. “They have French hallmarks, so you can take them with you,” he said. The women were pleased, but he brought their mood back down with his next remark. “They have a purpose, too. They are items that can easily be pawned for emergency funds if you get into real trouble.”

The food was plentiful, a banquet by wartime standards, and the Jackdaws tucked in with relish. Flick did not feel very hungry, but she forced herself to eat a big steak, knowing it was more meat than she would get in a week in France.

When they finished supper, it was time to go to the airfield. They returned to their rooms to pick up their French bags, then boarded the bus. It took them along another country lane and across a railway line, then approached what looked like a cluster of farm buildings at the edge of a large, flat field. A sign said Gibraltar Farm, but Flick knew that this was RAF Tempsford, and the barns were heavily disguised Nissen huts.

They went into what looked like a cowshed and found a uniformed RAF officer standing guard over steel racks of equipment. Before they were given their gear, each of them was searched. A box of British matches was found in Maude’s suitcase; Diana had in her pocket a half-completed crossword torn from the Daily Mirror, which she swore she had intended to leave on the plane; and Jelly, the inveterate gambler, had a pack of playing cards with “Made in Binning-ham” printed on every one.

Paul distributed their identity cards, ration cards, and clothing coupons. Each woman was given a hundred thousand French francs, mostly in grubby thousand-franc notes. It was the equivalent of five hundred pounds, enough to buy two Ford cars.

They also got weapons, .45-caliber Colt automatic pistols and sharp double-bladed Commando knives. Flick declined both. She took her personal gun, a Browning nine-millimeter automatic. Around her waist she wore the leather belt, into which she could push the pistol or, at a pinch, the submachine gun. She also took her lapel knife instead of the Commando knife. The Commando knife was longer and deadlier, but more cumbersome. The great advantage of the lapel knife was that when the agent was asked to produce papers, she could innocently reach toward an inside pocket, then at the last moment pull the knife.

In addition there was a Lee-Enfield rifle for Diana and a Sten Mark II submachine gun with silencer for Flick.

The plastic explosive Jelly would need was distributed evenly among the six women so that even if one or two bags were lost there would still be enough to do the job.

Maude said, “It might blow me up!”

Jelly explained that it was extraordinarily safe. “I knew a bloke who thought it was chocolate and ate some,” she said. “Mind you,” she added, “it didn’t half give him the runs.”

They were offered the usual round Mills grenades with the conventional turtleshell finish, but Flick insisted on general-purpose grenades in square cans, because they could also be used as explosive charges.

Each woman got a fountain pen with a hollow cap containing a suicide pill.

There was a compulsory visit to the bathroom before putting on the flying suit. It had a pistol pocket so that the agent could defend herself immediately on landing, if necessary. With the suit, they donned helmet and goggles and finally shrugged into the parachute harness.