“Danke.”
The attendant nodded and watched as he stepped out of the lift before closing the gate again. The motor whirred and the lift began its journey back down to the lobby. Herr Gruber turned and went down the wide hallway, looking for the room number on his key, finding it at the end of the hall.
The room was small, but well-appointed and comfortable. After a cursory look around, he set his cases down and went over to the window. He glanced at the busy street below before pulling the heavy curtains closed, blocking out the mid-day sun, and turning to lift one of the cases up onto the small writing desk. He would set up the wireless radio and send a message with his arrival. Then, after lunch, he would return for his scheduled transmission.
Gruber pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the case, unsnapping the two clasps and lifting it open. Inside was a portable, wireless transmitter and receiver. He lifted out a long cable and unwound it, attaching an adapter to the end and then going over to plug it into the outlet on the wall behind the desk. After ensuring the power source was working, he pulled out an antenna and carried it over to the window, setting it on the sill behind the curtain. He crossed back over to the desk and sat down, lifting out the headset and putting it on. After adjusting the earpieces over his ears, Herr Gruber settled down to begin his transmission.
He sent the message, alerting Hamburg of his arrival in Oslo and his intent to begin surveying the infrastructure. While he had arrived in the city ahead of schedule, there was still much to be done. The Abwehr had sent him to gather and relay very detailed information relating to the train routes and major arteries through southern Norway in advance of Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway and Denmark. With the information that he would send, the Germans would be able to accurately sever all escape routes and communications throughout southern Norway, easing the way for their troops and containing any resistance from the Norwegian military. But before that could happen, he had to gather the intelligence, and he had to start tonight.
Operation Weserübung would commence in two and a half days.
Herr Gruber finished his transmission and was just removing his headset when the earpieces crackled and a signal began coming through. He frowned sharply and reached out to adjust the knobs on the machine, sharpening the receiver so that he could hear it clearly. There wasn’t supposed to be a transmission for another hour. That was the schedule. Why, then, was he receiving one now?
He picked up a pencil and pulled the pad out of the case, quickly jotting down the code that was coming through the headset. It was definitely Hamburg, and they were definitely transmitting early.
The frown grew as the transmission continued. It was too long to be a simple acknowledgment of his arrival. When it finished, he waited a few moments to make sure nothing else was coming through, then removed his headset. He pulled out the codebook from the case and set about decoding the message. When he’d finished, he sat back, staring at the message in surprise.
INFORMATION RECEIVED SINCE YOUR DEPARTURE. JIAN IN OSLO. PROCEED WITH MISSION. FOLLOW ENEMY AGENT PROTOCOL. JIAN IS PRIORITY. ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF INSTRUCTION.
The English spy was in Oslo? Gruber’s brow furrowed and he lifted his eyes to stare across the room. Why would she be here? The last he knew she was in France, meeting with a member of the French Intelligence in Metz. Why come to Norway now?
His lips tightened. The British must know about Operation Weserübung. That was the only explanation for Jian’s presence on the eve of the operation. How had they found out? It was impossible! Even the crews on the ships setting sail didn’t know where they were going yet. How had the English discovered it?
His gaze shifted back to the message. Enemy agent protocol. They wanted him to watch and report on every contact the English spy known as Jian made. He wasn’t to apprehend unless absolutely necessary. They wanted to know who she was meeting, where, and when. Once they knew her network, they could roll it up and, eventually, take her down with it.
Herr Gruber got up restlessly and took a turn around the small room. He had been given Jian’s case six months ago, and he had been looking for leads ever since. Aside from a few random references, all of which turned out to be false, it was as if the spy had disappeared. After slipping through the SD’s fingers in Stockholm in November, she had dropped out of action. Until last month. A radio transmission from Paris had alerted them to the possibility of her surfacing there, and upon further investigation, it had turned out to be the first genuine sighting in four months. Unfortunately, he had arrived in Metz a day too late. She had already disappeared again, along with the member of French Intelligence whom she had been meeting. He had returned to Germany under the impression that she was now working in France. It made perfect sense, of course. The French and British knew they would go after France. It was only a matter of time. And he and his controllers were perfectly content to wait until they were there to focus on Jian.
But now here she was in Oslo, and that changed everything.
Gruber went back to the radio and sat down, replacing the headset and beginning his acknowledgment transmission. A familiar rush of excitement went through him. Finally, he would be able to lay eyes on the spy that had the SD and Abwehr both chomping at the bit. At last, perhaps he would find out what was so important about this one spy.
INSTRUCTION ACKNOWLEDGED. WILL COMMENCE SURVEILLANCE IMMEDIATELY. - EISENJAGER
Chapter Thirteen
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Anna stared at Evelyn
