life with us isn’t easy. They know nothing?’
‘They wouldn’t approve if they did. My dad’s a Rotarian, they’re both members of the Coalition Conservative Party, even now.’
‘All that will protect them,’ Jackson said. ‘Fortunately the Germans are constrained – still – by the fact we’re not an occupied country. They can’t just spirit people away if they haven’t done anything. The British authorities like the notion that they’re still in charge. That’s why Muncaster is still at the asylum.’
‘Is the whole Civil Service spy network under threat?’ David asked quietly.
‘I don’t bloody know!’ Jackson burst out. He began pacing the room. He frowned, turned to David. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘We’re all under stress.’
Natalia said, ‘David and I think the Germans must have been investigating him because of some lead from Muncaster.’
Jackson shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. We’ve been in touch with our man at the asylum this afternoon. Muncaster’s still not speaking, and nobody’s tried to interrogate him. Our man thinks Dr Wilson may be trying to protect him. Muncaster’s become a sort of pet patient.’
Geoff asked, ‘Your man? You mean Ben, that Scottish attendant we met?’
‘That’s the name you know him by. We’ve always made contact via shortwave radio. He too is more at risk now.’ Jackson looked at the anxious faces around him, then gave his sudden disarming smile. ‘I must stop this habit of pacing around, mustn’t I? Bad for everyone’s nerves. Come on, Drax, let’s sit down. I have to tell you all what’s been decided, what’s going to happen next. And we don’t have much time.’
Jackson took the armchair by the gas fire. He took a deep breath. ‘I’ve spent today having conversations with people at the highest level. The
‘How do we do it?’ she asked.
‘At eleven on Sunday night the attendant, Ben Hall, will fetch Muncaster and bring him to the gates. We’d have liked to go sooner but Hall couldn’t swap a night shift till the day after tomorrow. The hospital give the patients a sedative to get them to sleep and there’s only the night staff on the wards. Ben has swapped with the nurse on Muncaster’s ward. He has enough authority within the place to take Muncaster out of his room. Then he brings him out of the building and down to the gate. The problem will be getting Muncaster past the porter’s lodge, where the keys are. There’s usually only one person on duty there at night, and Ben will have to put him out of action temporarily.’
David said, ‘If Ben’s acting alone, how will he cope with Frank? He could be in a state.’
‘He will give him extra sedation that evening to make sure he’s quiet. Muncaster should just about be able to stagger along if Hall gets the dose right. Let’s hope he does, a great deal rides on that.’
‘Poor bloody Frank,’ David said again.
‘Poor bloody Frank will be a lot more bloody if the Germans get him.’ A touch of asperity had returned to Jackson’s voice. ‘Hall will bring him out and a car with you three in it will be waiting by the gates.’
‘It makes sense,’ Geoff said. ‘We’re on the run anyway. We’ve nothing to lose.’ He took his pipe from his pocket, began filling it with tobacco.
‘Exactly,’ Jackson agreed. ‘Afterwards you’ll all go to another safe house some way from the asylum. Hall, too; when the authorities find out what happened they’ll be after him as well.’ He looked hard at David and Geoff. ‘As Drax says, you’re the ideal people to do this, you’ve been there before and you’ve got to disappear anyway. But also, it’s easy to foresee possible problems with Muncaster when the drugs wear off. God knows how he’ll react when he finds himself out of the asylum, in a strange place, guarded by people with guns.’ Jackson looked at David. ‘That’s why it’s important you’re there. If anyone can convince him we’re acting in his best interests, you can.’
‘And if we get Frank out, what happens then?’ David asked.
‘In a few days an American submarine will enter the English Channel. Muncaster, and you and Drax and Hall, will be picked up. The plan is to get Mrs Fitzgerald there too. Next stop – if all goes well – New York.’
‘My God,’ David said.
‘We always do our best to get our people out.’ Jackson pointed to his briefcase. ‘I’ve got your false identity cards in there.’
‘Do I stay in England?’ Natalia asked.
‘Yes, if all goes well,’ Jackson answered. ‘Your identity isn’t compromised, and we have other work planned for you.’ He gave her a searching look. ‘Unless, of course, you’d rather leave, too.’
Natalia glanced at David, then said, ‘No. No, I should stay here.’
‘Good.’ Jackson turned to David and Geoff. ‘Any questions? Comments?’
‘I’ll do it,’ David said. He had done all he could for Sarah now, and Jackson was right, they must try to get Frank out.
Geoff spoke next. ‘Okay. I suppose my parents will never know what’s happened to me,’ he added slowly.
‘I know it’s hard,’ Jackson said. ‘But we all knew that one day we might have to go on the run, never see our loved ones again. It’s the same for all of us. Me, too.’ He smiled sadly, seeming momentarily as vulnerable as the rest of them.
David thought of Irene, Sarah’s parents. Sarah would probably never see her family again either. Would they be all right? Steve’s Blackshirt connections will help, he thought.
Jackson got up, crossed to the table and opened his briefcase. He pulled out two brown identity cards and handed one each to David and Geoff. David opened his; a couple of years ago he had gone to a photographer’s to have his picture taken in case he ever needed a fake identity, and here was the photo, impressed with what looked like the Home Office stamp, on a card which named him as Henry Bertram, of Bushey, Hertfordshire. Married. A civil servant in the Department of Transport.
Jackson said, ‘You’re both down as civil servants, close enough to what you actually do to let you talk convincingly about your work if need be. There are still a lot of police around in the cities, and some of the roads that lead to the new Jewish camps have roadblocks. It’s possible you might be asked to show your IDs, and a lie is always more convincing the closer it is to the truth.’ He put his hand on the briefcase again and pulled out a bulky white envelope. ‘There’s one more thing.’ He looked between them, his eyes hard now. ‘If you get caught by the Germans, it’ll be the full works, I’m afraid, from the Gestapo in the Senate House basement.’
David glanced at Geoff, who took a deep breath as Jackson opened the envelope and carefully tipped two small, circular rubber pellets into his hand. ‘These are cyanide capsules,’ he said. ‘Natalia knows what they are, she has one. Carry them in your trouser pockets, loose. For God’s sake don’t lose them. If you’re captured, if they’re coming for you and you know you can’t get away, put the pellet in your mouth. Don’t swallow it, crunch down. There’s a glass phial inside. It’s very quick.’ He held out his hand and David and Geoff each took a capsule. As he put the thing in his pocket, David thought,
‘We’ve all faced dying, I suppose,’ Jackson said. ‘I was in the trenches in the Great War, Fitzgerald was in the 1940 war and you, Drax, you must have faced some tricky situations in Africa. It’s a funny thing, I found that in action you always have to be prepared for death; you must keep it in a separate compartment, but you have to be ready to open that compartment at a moment’s notice, look death squarely in the face knowing it might be the last thing you see.’ He smiled with unexpected awkwardness. ‘I guess every human being knows they’re going to die one day; everyone has that compartment locked away somewhere. It’s easier if you’ve got religious faith, I suppose.’
David touched the pill in his pocket. He looked across at Natalia but she was staring into the middle distance, her face stony. She had probably had a capsule ready for a long time.
Jackson clapped his hands together, making David jump slightly. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘looking on the bright side, the mission has every chance of success; you could all be heroes. And if we get you to the States, we’ve an arrangement with our sympathizers there. They’ll get you to Canada, give you new papers as British immigrants.’
David thought, it won’t matter if I’m a half-Jew there. Or not much. I could maybe even get to New Zealand, be with Dad. He wondered if Sarah would come with him, or whether, as he feared inside, that was all over now. Then he realized something else, and looked up sharply at Jackson. ‘There isn’t a pill for Frank,’ he said.
Jackson shook his head. ‘There’s no guarantee he’d take it. Or he might take it the moment it was given him.
