“Oh!” she exclaimed softly. “Of course! Portraits.”
He nodded.
“But...Peder said you were an artist,” Anna said, looking around in confusion.
“He is,” Evelyn said, moving over to the long table and glancing at the papers. “It takes a significant amount of artistic skill to create identification papers.”
Anna gasped. “You’re a forger?” she demanded.
“I never much cared for that term,” he said with a shrug. “I provide people with a means to a new life.”
“What kind of means?” Evelyn turned to look at him. “What kinds of identification do you provide?”
“Whatever they are willing to pay for,” he said. “Passports, identification cards, papers. The more difficult they are to get, the more I charge. I can do almost anything, as long as I have an original to work from.” He went over to a box on the table and rummaged around inside before pulling out a slim case. He opened it and held it out for Evelyn to look. “I’ve even made a few of these.”
She stared down at a Soviet identification card, issued in February, before raising her eyes to his in surprise.
“How did you get this?” she asked. “These are impossible to get outside of the Soviet Union!”
He chuckled and closed the case.
“Nothing is impossible, Miss Elfman, only difficult.” He replaced the case and leaned against the table, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is this something that would be beneficial to your particular task?”
“Yes, it would,” Evelyn said decisively. “How much do you charge for Norwegian identification papers? And perhaps a Norwegian passport?”
“For you?”
She nodded.
“Eight hundred kroner.”
Anna let out an involuntary gasp but Evelyn didn’t blink. “How soon can you have them finished?” she asked.
“When do you need them?”
“As soon as possible.”
He studied her for a long moment, hesitating, then nodded.
“I’ll take your photograph now and I can have them for you by tomorrow afternoon. They will need to cure overnight.”
“You can’t be serious!” Anna exclaimed, looking at Evelyn. “Eight hundred kroner?! That’s ridiculous.”
Olav didn’t take his eyes from Evelyn’s face.
“You can get them cheaper elsewhere, but they won’t be as good,” he said with a shrug. “Peder didn’t send you to me for average work.”
She smiled slowly. “No, he didn’t.”
“Then let’s get started.”
Oslo, Norway
April 8
Eisenjager watched as the blonde woman walked past the alley where he stood concealed behind an iron gate. She was heading towards the tram stop on the next block. He waited a full minute before slipping out behind her. She had already reached the corner and was crossing the side street. He turned up the collar on his coat against the brisk wind blowing down the narrow street and started up the pavement, following her.
He had located the boarding house where Jian was staying easily enough. She had returned to the same lodging she had used in November, where Sturmbannführer Renner had failed to apprehend her. That was a beginner’s mistake, and one that he had thought she would make. She hadn’t disappointed. According to the very little information he had on the English agent, she was new to this game. As such, at least for the time being, he could count on her making the fundamental mistakes that all new agents made. They tended to cling to the familiar, using the same lodgings and same contacts as they had previously. Those that survived the first few months of active duty learned very quickly to never use the same lodging twice, especially when it had already been exposed. Jian hadn’t reached that stage yet, but she would. And quickly. Until then, however, her ignorance was to his advantage. It had made finding her a very simple matter.
Jian moved through the mid-morning traffic on the sidewalk with a confident stride. She never once glanced behind her, but she held her chin up and he could tell from the rigid line of her back and shoulders beneath her coat that she was fully aware of her surroundings. She was alert, and that would work in her favor if she made it past the next few days. It also explained why she had been so difficult for Renner to pin down. The agent may be new to the shadows, but she had the instincts of a professional, and that counted for far more than people realized. He knew this better than most, for he had started in the same manner. It was only because of his instincts that he was still alive, and had had the success that he had.
Eisenjager’s lips tightened imperceptibly as he followed the woman towards the tram stop. He had been studying what they knew of her for six months, but seeing her for the first time this morning had been something of a shock. He supposed it was her youth that had surprised him, but he couldn’t in all honesty attribute the lingering feeling of shock solely to that. There was something about the woman that made him think there was far more to her than they realized. This wasn’t simply a mere pawn recruited by MI6 to gather information. This was a weapon. He had no idea why he thought that, nor could he pinpoint what it was that made him so sure that Jian was a formidable foe, but as he spent the morning watching her, Eisenjager became more and more convinced that this young, green agent was a threat to the Third Reich.
And all threats to the Third Reich were to be eliminated.
She joined a small cluster of passengers waiting for the tram at the stop ahead, and he picked up his pace when he glanced behind him and saw the tram approaching the stop. He had no doubt that the order would come soon enough to terminate the British agent, but for now he was instructed only to watch and report. So far, the only person she had seen today was the young woman that she
