The Odin Mission

The train took them to Hamar, but by evening word reached them that German forces were on their way to capture them so they boarded another train for Elverum. Two days later a German delegation arrived, offering peace terms, which had been rejected. It was shortly after this that Gulbrand had been summoned by the King. His son, Prince Olav, had also been present, but otherwise they had been entirely alone. King Hakon had a task for Gulbrand. In the chaos of their departure from Oslo, they had left someone behind, a man named

Hening Sandvold. The King wanted Gulbrand to go back to Oslo and fetch him. 'I'm afraid I still cannot tell why he is so important,' said Gulbrand. 'I made a solemn vow to the King and Prince Olav and I am not prepared to break it. Not even now. But I will tell you this: if Sandvold fell into the hands of the Nazis, it could have catastrophic consequences, not only for Norway but for Great Britain and all of the free world too.'

Tanner looked over towards Sandvold, now standing by the door, a lost and wistful expression on his face. Whoever he was, whatever he did, it was clear he was a fish out of water up here in the mountains with these soldiers.

He turned back to Gulbrand. 'How did you get him then, sir?'

'By keeping it simple,' the colonel replied. 'The King told me to take whatever men I needed but I decided to take just three others: Larsen, Nielssen and Lieutenant Stunde.' He trusted them, and each had different skills. Stunde spoke fluent German, Nielssen was strong, an excellent athlete and experienced mountaineer. Larsen was clever and good at thinking on his feet. All were first- class shots. They had left their uniforms in Elverum and headed to Oslo. The city was calm, and although the sight of swastikas was hard to stomach, they were surprised by how few German troops were there. They found Sandvold easily enough and although he was initially reluctant to leave, when they showed him the King's personal letter to him, he eventually conceded. 'We all have to do things we wish we didn't have to.'

Getting back to Elverum had been more difficult.

They had driven whenever they could, stealing cars and ditching them whenever they drew near a roadblock. They had walked many miles too. When they eventually reached Elverum, the King and the Government had long since gone, but the monarch had warned him this might be so. His instructions had been to catch him up if he could, otherwise to find the British and get Sandvold safely across the sea to England.

Having retrieved their uniforms, and with the Germans never far behind, they had headed north from Elverum, had nearly been caught hiding in a barn and soon after shot at by aircraft. They had been forced to abandon their transport again and cross the mountains. It had been a difficult four-day journey. On the second day, Lieutenant Stunde had broken his leg. They couldn't carry him so had been forced to leave him. 'It was,' said Gulbrand, weakly, 'the worst decision I have ever had to make. We found a seter, and hoped someone would find him, but we knew there was little chance of that. Poor Roald. It would have been kinder to put a bullet in his head. So, you see, I couldn't ask Nielssen or Larsen to make an exception for me. And, in any case, I couldn't allow the enemy to catch me. What if I told them something when I was delirious?'

Gulbrand's teeth were chattering now. Beads of sweat ran down his face. His skin looked sallow, his eyes hollow, even in the dim light. 'I have entrusted Larsen and Nielssen with the jewels and papers, but what I ask of you now is of far greater importance. You must get Sandvold to safety somehow. To the coast and Britain.'

'All right,' said Tanner, 'you have my word. I'll try. But why me? Why aren't you saying this to Larsen or Nielssen?'

Gulbrand coughed, which evidently caused him further agonies. Eventually he sank down again. 'They are officers, yes, second lieutenants, or fenriks, as we call them, but Nielssen should be a sergeant or less. The Norwegian Army did away with non-commissioned officers a few years ago. Now men train as NCOs for a couple of years, then spend a year as a sergeant before being promoted. Larsen is different, but he is not the leader you are. I've watched you, Sergeant. You are in command of these men, not Henrik Larsen. And I think you have more experience than the rest of us put together.' He smiled weakly. 'Yes, Sergeant tanner, and you are already a decorated soldier.'

Tanner was embarrassed. 'Thank you, sir.'

'Don't thank me,' said Gulbrand. 'It is a thankless task I have given you. But you will have the eternal thanks of my king and country if you succeed, and I suspect your own as well.' He closed his eyes, grimaced, then said, 'One last thing. Trust no one. And kill Sandvold rather than let him fall into enemy hands. Kill him and destroy any papers he may be carrying. If the others try to stop you, kill them too. Do you think you can do that?'

'Yes,' said Tanner. 'One thing, though, sir. Do the Germans know about him? Are you being followed?'

Gulbrand gasped. 'I don't think so. Why would those planes have tried to kill us? Sandvold's no use to them dead. But they mustn't get him, d'you hear?' He gripped Tanner's sleeve. 'They mustn't get him.'

Tanner left Gulbrand. What a mess, he thought. The whole bloody show. He thought of Captain Cartwright and Lieutenant Dingwall, prisoners now along with many others. He wondered if anything remained of the company; or even anything of the battalion. It was hard to accept. A damned stupid waste of lives. And now he had the extra burden of Hening Sandvold. He had no idea what was so special about him. A scientist, he supposed. What those boffins knew was beyond him; the world was changing so fast. He just hoped that in Sandvold's case it would be worth it.

It was after eleven and he stepped outside to find the snow falling heavily now. Christ, this was all he needed. He wanted to get going, move off this God-forsaken mountain, try to catch up with the Allies while they still had a chance. He prayed it was snowing in the valley too - at least then the front would be held up as they were.

'We can't move in this.' It was Sykes, taking his turn as sentry. 'Just in case you were thinking of it, Sarge.' Tanner said nothing, so Sykes added, 'They're only scrawny tykes. They're probably not as fit as you are, Sarge.'

Tanner breathed out heavily. 'Yes, all right, Stan. I've got the message.'

'Christ, it's dark out here,' Sykes said, banging his helmet against the side of the seter to knock off the snow. 'You were having a long chinwag with the colonel, Sarge.'

'We've got to take the Norwegians with us,' said Tanner. 'That civvy - he's special. A boffin or something. Anyway, we've got to get him to safety. Preferably back to Britain.'

'Where's the front?'

'Not at Oyer.'

Sykes tutted. There's a surprise. 'So where are our boys?'

In the hands of the Jerries, thought Tanner. 'Not so far. A few miles. It's so bloody frustrating. I just want to get going. Sodding Norwegians.'

'Well, we can't go anywhere in this,' said Sykes again.

'It's my only consolation.'

But it was at that moment that Sykes heard something moving between the trees not forty yards ahead. Then Tanner heard it too. Footsteps. In the faint glow of the snow they saw the dark shape of troops approaching.

Chapter 6

Brigadier Harold de Reimer Morgan, commander of the British 148th Brigade - or what was left of it - placed his index finger on the map at a point roughly three miles west of Oyer where the river narrowed. 'Here,' he said. 'I'd like to say there are two companies of Leicesters but, in truth, it's a mixture of Leicesters, Foresters, Rangers and Norwegians. Let's call it a composite force of Allied troops.' His eyes stung with fatigue and from the dim light in the room. 'They've been bombed and strafed and the enemy has got his 5.9s trained on them, but they seem to have stout hearts and are doing their best. It's quiet now but, come the morning, they won't be able to hold on long. The rest of our force is here,' he added, pointing to the narrow gorge south of Tretten, a couple of miles