Vivi noted Marcus’s last remark was framed as a question, but it sounded accusatory.
Von Klaus responded, matching Marcus’s inflection. ‘I think, with something as important as a potential invasion, it doesn’t hurt to have all the expertise that is available to us. I’m sure you are doing’ – he paused as she heard him open Marcus’s office door – ‘your best.’ His last comment sounded derogatory. But before Marcus had a chance to respond, she heard Von Klaus salute with a ‘Heil Hitler’ and leave the room, closing the door behind him. His footsteps echoing down the passageway.
Rommel’s officer, Major Weissman, stalked into the briefing room a few days later, just before the weekly meeting, and Vivi watched him with extreme concern. He was a bulky man, somehow squeezed into his uniform, with red pouch-like cheeks and black pins for eyes. He paced nervously around the room, observing everyone, giving off an air of disdain, appearing not to be impressed with anything he saw.
The meeting started as it generally did, with each of the officers giving an account of how their departments were working. There had been some issues with getting the artillery they needed and the Resistance had been a constant annoyance to them as it blew up train depots and lines, thwarting their ability to get what they needed dispatched throughout the country. As each of them spoke, Major Weissman studied them carefully, as if weighing up whether he trusted what they had to say or not.
Finally, it was Marcus’s turn to speak, and he updated them on his efforts. ‘We have seen some increased activity with the anticipation of a significant offensive from the Allies,’ he informed them, passing out some statistics Vivi had created for him.
Weissman shifted in his seat. ‘Do you have any information of where the presumed attack could take place?’
‘I do,’ responded Marcus, not flinching with any intimidation. He passed out further information. ‘At this point, with all of our resources, our reconnaissance, and where we feel that the Resistance is focused, our best intelligence suggests it will be Calais that would be the prime location for the enemy to attack.’
The Major groaned and drummed his fingers on the table to show Marcus had not persuaded him.
‘Major Weissman,’ Marcus enquired, ‘do you have other information we should know about?’
The major stood, swaggering to the front of the room. Marcus seated himself as Vivi sat poised. She had a bad feeling about this new officer. Until now their lies had been working well, but the fact that high command was taking more of an interest in the data they were collecting concerned her.
‘They have sent me from headquarters because Field Marshal Rommel has a theory that the presumed attack from Calais may be no more than a ruse from the British to have us amass our forces in the wrong place. He is becoming more and more convinced that an attack via Normandy would be more obvious.’
Vivi sat frozen in her chair, not letting her gaze meet Marcus’s. She did not want to give away anything she was thinking as she remembered the quiet conversation they had had just the night before over dinner in their flat.
Marcus had informed her of the details of a ploy that the Allies were working on to help convince the high command the attack was heading to Calais, not Normandy, which was the plan. All the way along the Thames Estuary, the British had made fake boats and ships created by an illusionist so that when photographs were taken from the German aeroplanes, they would give the impression of a unit assembling to sail. From that location, Calais would have been the shortest route; the trip from Normandy would come out of the south coast and would take an extra ten hours. The hope was that this ruse would fool the Germans into believing that the Allies wouldn’t do anything that dangerous.
Weissman finished his assessment, and Marcus stood to respond. His commander-in-chief stared at him through a furrowed brow.
‘Have you picked up anything along these lines, Major Vonstein? What would be your assessment of the situation?’
Marcus projected his own air of arrogance. ‘I am grateful for the major’s input and for Field Marshal Rommel’s assessment of the situation. But I have to be clear: The information we have gathered does not reinforce this in the least. Everything we have supports the opposite.’ He handed out the photographs he had brought with him, showing the pictures not only of the Thames and the amassing armada there, but also Scotland, where fake encampments had been created to give the misconception of an army gathering there too.
‘Why would the Allies spend such considerable time converging their troops to this point in Scotland?’ Marcus continued. ‘If anything they will come in through Norway, that is the expected route from Scotland. There is no way they would travel all the way down to Normandy; it is just too far and too dangerous. All of the agents we have captured have informed us along these same lines.’
The major harrumphed.
‘It may be that this is such a closely guarded secret they are not even informing their own agents,’ continued another member of the party at the table. ‘We are doing remarkably well with enemy spies in Paris. We have been very successful, as you know, at infiltrating them and have captured many of whom they call the Prosper Network. None of them seemed to be convinced – even with a little persuasion from us – that the attack is to come from London to anywhere other than the Calais area.’
Vivi shuddered inwardly at the word ‘persuasion’ and tried not to focus on exactly what that meant to her former cell.
The debate continued, and even though Weissman seemed to remain suspicious, the other commanding officers seemed pleased with the information Marcus presented.
After the meeting was over, Major Weissman strode over to talk to Marcus. ‘My commanding officer has informed me he would prefer me to work more closely with you, so you should send us any information you get through as we continue to observe this situation. I should let you know that Field Marshal Rommel is still convinced by some activity we have seen in the Resistance and with a heightened amount of sabotage in Normandy that the attack will take place in that area. If you come across any information that would support that, we expect your help, Major Vonstein.’
Marcus nodded. ‘Anything that comes in I will keep you informed about, straight away.’
After he left, and finally, when Marcus and Vivi could speak alone back at their apartment, she voiced her fears over supper.
‘Yes, it is a concern,’ responded Marcus. ‘But we have to stay convinced of what we believe. We have to stay strong, Vivi.’
‘They will never break me,’ she responded sternly. And she had meant it at the time, but she had no idea how much her resolve would be tested.
32
Vivi continue to remain strong until one day something happened that would shake her to the core. She had been at the offices of a different branch, delivering the information that Field Marshal Rommel’s major had requested. She had several photographs from a reconnaissance mission, and the latest details of where the so-called enemy forces were assembling. As she was leaving the building, she saw them dragging in a prisoner and it sickened her to see. When he turned his face towards her, she recognised him immediately. Terrier. His eyes were blackened and his face bruised, but it was definitely him. She caught his eye, and the look of bewilderment was clear on his face.