To The Stars

They laughed together and Sara reached out and took his hand. “What you men never seem to understand,” she said, “is that women can enjoy love and sex just as much as you can. Is it unladylike to admit that I have been thinking about you since that first disastrous night in the submarine?”

“Unladylike or not, I think it’s wonderful.”

“Very good,” she said, all business again. “After you check in, go out for a walk, get some fresh air, or go drink in a pub. You’ll pass me on the street and just tell me your room number without stopping. Then go to your room right after dinner. I don’t want to hang about the streets too much after dark and I’ll join you as soon as I find out what the plans are to be for tomorrow. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Sara left the train before he did, vanishing in the crowd. Jan waved a porter over and had him bring the skiing gear to left luggage. It was a short walk to the hotel with his almost-empty pack on his back. Packs were more in use than suitcases in the Highlands at this time of year and it elicited no notice, even when he checked into the hotel.

“Welcome back, Engineer Kulozik, always a pleasure to see you. We are short on rooms so we can’t give you your usual one. But there is a fine one on the third floor, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem,” Jan said, taking the key. “Would you have the pack put in the room? I want to go out before the shops close.”

“Our pleasure.”

Everything went as planned. Sara nodded when she heard the room number and continued past him without stopping. He had an early meal in the grill and was in his room by seven. In the bookcase he found a John Buchan novel, almost required reading here, and he sat down with that and a weak whiskey and water. Without his realizing it the lost night’s sleep caught up with him and the next thing he knew he was starting awake at the light tapping on the door. Sara slipped in quickly.

“Everything has been arranged,” she said. “You will take the local train tomorrow to a station named Forsinard.” She consulted a scrap of paper. “This is in the Achentoul Forest. Do you know it?”

“I know of it. And I have all the maps.

“Good. Emerge from the train with the other skiers, but look for a local man, very husky, with a black eyepatch. He is your contact. Follow him and he will take it from there.”

“What will you do?”

“I’ll be on the seven o’clock train south in the morning. There is nothing more I can do here.”

“Oh, no!”

She smiled, with a warmth he had not seen before. “Turn off the lights and open the curtains. There is a beautiful moon tonight.”

He did, and it drenched the white landscape with an even paler light. Shadows, darkness, and snow. Jan turned at a sound and the moonlight fell on her body as well. The firm, round breasts he had glimpsed so briefly, her taut stomach, full hips, long thighs. Sara held her arms out and he gathered her to him.

Twelve

“We’re not going to get much sleep this way,” he said, tracing the contour of her arable breast with his finger, her outline still clearly visible in the moonlight from the window.

“I don’t need much. And you’ll have plenty of time for it after I leave. Your train’s not until noon. Did I thank you yet for what you are doing to help rescue Uri?”

“Not in so many words — but there are other ways. Who is Uri that he is so important?”

“He is not important, not in himself anyway. It is what will happen if Security discovers who they have. His cover is an Italian seaman, and it is a good cover. But eventually they will discover that it is false. Then the interrogation will begin in earnest and there is no way to stop them from finding out he is an Israeli.”

“Is that bad?”

“It would be disaster. Our country’s international policy is one of strictly no contact, none whatsoever except through official channels. Some of us in external security don’t see it the same way. We have to know what is happening in the outside world to protect our own nation. And once we discovered what life is like here it was hard to remain neutral. So, despite all orders to not get involved, despite the logical reasoning that any involvement is a threat to our homeland — we are involved. It is impossible just to stand by and do nothing.”

“I’ve been standing by, doing nothing all of my life.”

“You didn’t know,” Sara said, putting her finger to his lips to silence him, moving the warm length of her body against his. “And you are doing something now.”

“Oh yes, I certainly am!” he whispered, gathering her in his arms. He silenced her laughter with his lips.