stopped and a voice echoed across the trees.
“Reginas?”
“Aye, that’s us. Welcome home.”
“We’ll be more sure of that when you tell us where the mines are.”
“You’re clear. We didn’t have enough for a circuit, so we put what we had on the roads in case the Huns brought up armor. Come on in”
The relief force broke out of the trees.
“Certainly, Lieutenant. Seeing you here today, you can have anything we have, including the services of my wife and daughters. If they were here of course, which, of course, they aren’t. Otherwise I would not be making the offer.”
There was a roar of laughter from the Canadian troops surrounding him. “Your medics will be more than gratefully received. In response, I must tell you I am reliably informed the tanks have bottles on board. I believe that Captain Brody may even have a bottle of Canadian Club.”
Gillespie looked heartbroken for a split second. “Lieutenant, you’re a hard man. Get your wounded over to our first aid tent. Be careful to identify yourself. After we heard what happened at Division, it’s unmarked and heavily guarded.” Gillespie dropped his voice slightly. “We heard, unofficially. Are the stories true.”
Marcelle looked grim. “Sir, it’s true. Heard it from a Sergeant who was in the fighting at Division. The Finns killed them all; even the nurses. Don’t think we’ll ever know why. All the Finns that attacked the camp got killed. The bastards fought to the last man on the way in here as well. We’ve taken no prisoners we can ask and I very much doubt that any of the other columns have either.”
His words were silenced by the roar of tank engines as the M27s nosed into the hedgehog. “Sir, Captain Brody, Squadron commander. Where do you want us?”
“Captain Brody, a little bird tells me you have some Club on board. Is there any truth to that scurrilous rumor?”
“Well, Sir, we have now, but if you’d like to confiscate it…”
“A generous offer, Captain. Could you accompany me to meet Lieutenant Colonel Haversham? Perhaps we can have a little chat over a glass and find out what comes next.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN: CLEARING THE DEBRIS
“Igrat, we’ve had another message from Loki. He says he has some information of critical importance that we need to see right away. Won’t say what, says it’s too critical even to talk about. I’d like you, Achillea and Henry to make another Geneva trip to pick it up. I know it isn’t scheduled but if it is as important as Loki says, then we need to get it here.”
“Assuming this isn’t one of Loki’s practical jokes.” Igrat flicked her heavy black hair, smoothing it into a cascade that ran down her back to her waist. One of the troubles with Loki was that he was an inveterate practical joker.
“Loki’s never staged a practical joke with the intelligence data he sends back to us. If he ever does, I’ll add Geneva to the target list.” Igrat knew that Stuyvesant wasn’t joking. Nobody knew what had started it but the feud between the two men had started a long time ago. They despised each other. Their present fragile relationship was the product of the war; nothing else. She doubted if Stuyvesant would actually have Geneva bombed just to deal with Loki but he would do something drastic.
The telephone rang. Phillip Stuyvesant picked it up. He listened and made a few affirmative grunts before putting it down. “OK, we’ve got your tickets on tomorrow’s flight to the Azores and Casablanca fixed up. Henry and Achillea will pick you up at six. Enjoy.”
Igrat gave him a brittle grin and left. Getting up at 4am was a real hardship. Still, there was a war on.
“Iggie, Achillea and Henry are coming over early to pick up the latest package. They’ll be here mid-day tomorrow and be going straight back.” Branwen glanced at her pad. “And the representatives from Sweden and Russia are here. I’ve got them in separate waiting rooms of course.”
Loki nodded. The last thing he needed was Alexandra Kollontai and Tage Erlander at each other’s throats before he could get in and separate them. It wasn’t that Sweden and Russia had major issues in this war. They didn’t; quite the reverse if anything. It was just that the old-time radical Bolshevik and the studious, formal Swede were an explosive mix. Quietly, Loki wondered how many wars could have been avoided if the nations involved made sure their respective ambassadors actually liked each other. All too many was his calculated guess.
“Good afternoon, Madam Kollontai.” Loki rose to his feet as the Russian woman entered his office; an act that caused her mouth to purse in disapproval. “Welcome to Geneva. Mr Erlander will be joining us any moment. Did you have a good trip here?”
“Comfortable, thank you.” Kollontai took her seat in front of Loki’s desk. “The Constellation is a good way to travel.”
“So I am told, although I haven’t had the opportunity to fly on one yet. Ahh, here we are. Welcome to Geneva, Tage. Please take a seat. Madam Kollontai, I understand you have a message from the Russian Government?”
“Indeed I have. I have been asked to tell you that the Russian Government has been gravely disappointed by the Finnish decision to resume active hostilities against us. Nevertheless, despite their treachery, we are prepared to offer peace terms even now. We will grant an armistice to Finland and cease operations against the country provided the following conditions are met. In order to avoid further threats from Finland, the following adjustments to the Finno-Russian frontier will be made. In the North, the border between Russia and Norway will be defined as the Tana River. This will transfer significant portions of the Finnmark presently in Norway to Russian hands. To compensate Norway for this loss, the area of the Finnmark, centered around Lake Inari and presently in Finnish hands will be divided between Russia and Norway. The dividing line will, again, be the Tana River.
“The long westward pointing finger of land separating Sweden from Norway, centered on Enontekio will be handed over to Sweden. These adjustments will simplify the borders in the area and remove any threat to Murmansk. The Finnish Government will be permitted to remove any of its citizens who do not wish to transfer their allegiance to the new rulers of the area in which they formerly lived.
“In the South, the province of Ita-Suomi and the eastern half of Etela Suomi, the dividing line being drawn from Kotka by way of Kuovola to Lake Vuohijarvi, will be surrendered to Russia. The Russian Government will no longer tolerate the threat to Petrograd that has twice this decade resulted in war. Finland will also disarm all German troops and military forces in its remaining territory and surrender them to Russian control. Finland will pay war reparations to Russia in the amount of 600 million U.S. dollars. The whole amount is to be delivered within five years.”
There was a profound silence in Loki’s office. The terms Russia was offering were savage; Finland would be losing almost a third of its territory. Madame Alexandra Kollontai looked apologetic. She was actually sympathetic to the plight of Finland but her position as an emissary in these ‘talks-that-were-not-happening’ did not allow her to say so. Loki and Erlander knew that, to some extent, the very fact that these unofficial meetings were taking place at all was due to a moderate influence on Russian government policy. If Zhukov and Vatutin had their way, they would deliver their terms with a tank army driving through Helsinki.
“Is there anything else?” Erlander’s voice was mild, devoid of any hint of sarcasm.
“Yes. The Aland Islands are presently held jointly by Sweden and Finland. Russia will take over Finland’s position there. However, all we are interested in is maintaining a naval base on those islands. If that is provided, as far as we are concerned Sweden may administer the Islands as if they were wholly Swedish and issue the inhabitants Swedish passports. Also, Finland will not be permitted to maintain armed forces. The country may have
