The Odin Mission

working at all: a specific message from the Rostads' farm had been sent and several from the j0ra valley, yet despite troops arriving at Uksum Farm, they had made no attempt to act on his information.

'No one will suspect you,' Kurz had said, 'because we will swoop down and whisk Odin away before anyone has the chance.' Perhaps that would have been so, had it not been for Tanner and his men turning up. Tanner. The agent cursed him. Despite repeated efforts, the sergeant was still alive, still jeopardizing the mission. Thanks to Tanner, several golden opportunities for Odin to be captured had been foiled. Now perhaps all would be well. For once, the sergeant appeared to have let down his guard.

The agent leant back against the tree, eyes briefly closed, then checked the time once more. Nearly there, he thought. Just a few more seconds.

As soon as a minute had passed, the agent turned the middle knob to number seven, tuning the oscillator of the transmitter frequency, and then adjusted the aerial load, the last of the three knobs at the front of the tiny S108/10 transmitter, until the light was at its brightest. Taking a deep breath, the crouching figure held a still quavering finger above the Morse button and began to transmit.

Less than a minute later, the message was completed. Having rolled up the wire and put the boxes back into his pack, the agent stood up and walked steadily towards the seter.

Chapter 20

Reichsamtsleiter Scheidt was shaken awake, and rolled over to find Sturmbannfuhrer Kurz leaning over him.

'What the devil is it?' he croaked.

'A message - good news!'

Scheidt sat up now, the remnants of sleep gone. He snatched the typex from Kurz and read: 'In mountains above Vagamo. Crossing planned over lake west of town when dark 30 April. More details later.'

Scheidt's face broke into a grin. 'Excellent,' he said. He looked at his watch. It was only half past four, but he knew there could be no more thought of sleep. 'Well done, Kurz,' he said. 'We've got him this time.'

Soon after, having shaved and dressed, he hurried downstairs to the conference room of Generalmajor Engelbrecht's spacious headquarters in Vinstra. Three men were standing by the map pinned to the wall - Major von Poncets, Sturmbannfuhrer Kurz and Hauptmann Zellner.

'Ah, good morning, Herr Reichsamtsleiter,' said von Poncets. 'Good to see you again.'

Scheidt nodded, then looked at Zellner. A white bandage had been strapped across his nose, his cheek had blackened, while his eye, purple last time Scheidt had seen him, had turned yellow. 'Hauptmann Zellner,' he said, 'what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in hospital?'

'I'm well enough, thank you, Herr Reichsamtsleiter,' he replied.

Scheidt stared at him with contempt. 'You have come off worst against those men no less than three times, which should have put paid to your chances of taking any further part in the operation. However, far be it from me to make such decisions.'

'We suspect the men will be wearing German uniforms,' said von Poncets. 'The Hauptmann will be of help in identifying them.'

'I suppose there's something in that. And what forces has the general given us for this?'

'There's a company of the 324th Infantry Regiment,' said von Poncets, 'and two companies from my own battalion of Gebirgsjager.' He pointed to the map. 'The 324th boys are already based at Vagamo. They moved in two days ago after the fall of Otta. They were hoping to catch any British troops retreating that way, but as it happened the Tommies hadn't used that route.'

'As you know,' put in Kurz, 'the general agreed to leave them there in case there was any sign of Odin.'

Scheidt nodded. 'Will that be enough?'

'More than enough.' Von Poncets smiled.

'I only ask because I recall that we had the same conversation some days ago, Herr Major, and it seems both

you and the Hauptmann underestimated the enemy.'

Von Poncets took out a cigarette, and tapped the end against his silver case. 'We're talking about the best part of five hundred men being available for this operation, which is far more than we either need or will use. Numbers are not the issue here. Execution is what counts.'

'Which, so far, has left much to be desired.'

Von Poncets paused to light his cigarette. 'We have been unfortunate, but this time we have firm intelligence. It is no longer a guessing game.' He drew on his cigarette, then said, 'Herr Reichsamtsleiter, with the greatest respect, let's not dwell on what has already happened. Let's concentrate on making sure we get Odin this time.'

'Quite so, Herr Oberstleutnant,' said Kurz. 'My team are, of course, on standby waiting for any further signal. They'll send through anything they receive the moment it arrives.'

'Yes, Kurz, we know that,' said Scheidt. He felt annoyed that the operation appeared to have been left to von Poncets and Zellner, of all people, men who had lost his respect. He wished General Engelbrecht would join them. It was as though no one but he truly understood the importance of capturing Odin. Turning back to the major, he said, 'So, what are your thoughts?'

Sunlight was already pouring through the window, highlighting the thousands of dust particles suspended in the air. Von Poncets exhaled again, sending a cloud of tobacco smoke swirling in front of the map.

'We have to assume,' he said, pointing airily to the mountains south of Vagamo, 'that they will be able to observe the town at the very least.'

'Is there a case, then,' said Scheidt, 'for attacking up through the mountain rather than waiting until tonight?'

'No,' said von Poncets, his tone emphatic. 'None at all. We don't know precisely where they are, and attacking uphill makes little tactical sense. Fighting in dense forest offers many hazards and leads to confusion. Experience, I think, has shown us that it would be difficult to capture Odin alive in such circumstances. No, we must wait for them to come to us.'

'So the difficulty,' said Scheidt, 'is laying the trap without the enemy spotting it first.'

'Exactly,' said von Poncets, 'which is why a large number of troops is not necessarily the key.'

'So have you had thoughts about this?' asked Scheidt.

'Yes. Of course, I need to confer with the general and also with Hauptmann Frick in Vagamo, but I suggest we use this route - here.' He pointed to a road that ran west of Sjoa, linked with another that ran roughly north- south until it joined the valley road several miles west of Vagamo. 'They can approach by truck and debouch in the valley out of sight of the town or of anyone in the mountains, for that matter. We won't have reconnaissance pictures for a few hours yet, I'm afraid, but a request has been made. Assuming there's good cover, I see no reason why this movement should be seen at all.'

'And what about the troops in Vagamo?'

'It's important the enemy believe it's still strongly held, so I propose we leave most of the company there.'

'Isn't that rather a waste of these men?'

'I don't think so, but don't worry, Herr Reichsamtsleiter, we shall show the plans to the general. And in any