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Oslo, Norway
Peder held the door open for the customer carrying his newly-repaired radio.
“Thank you, Mr. Brevig. I think you’ll find it works much better now,” he said with a nod.
The old man smiled. “You’re a genius, Peder, and a life-saver. My wife listens to this every evening. She’s been miserable since it’s been gone. I’ll admit, I’ve missed our nightly program as well.”
Peder laughed. “Go home and enjoy it, then. And tell Mrs. Brevig hello for me.”
“I will.”
Mr. Brevig departed and Peder closed the door, locking it and turning the sign in the window to say that they were closed. It was fifteen minutes past closing time, but Mr. Brevig had been a loyal customer for many years. When he’d come to pick up his radio just as he was preparing to close, Peder knew it would take a few minutes. Mr. Brevig liked to chat, and Peder always enjoyed their talks. He didn’t mind staying a little later for him.
Turning, he went back to the counter to collect the till and take it into the back. He would settle the drawer, lock it in the safe, and then go join his family for dinner.
Peder was just opening the safe ten minutes later when the radio on his desk in the back room came alive with the unmistakable sound of a message coming through the receiver. He glanced at his watch and frowned, setting the cash drawer in the safe before closing and locking the heavy door. Who was trying to reach him? He usually didn’t go on until later and most of his fellow radio enthusiasts knew that.
He crossed over to the desk and sat down, picking up the headset. Settling it on his head, he flipped a switch on the radio and listened for a moment. His eyebrows soared into his forehead in surprise. It was Kristian. He’d just heard from him on Saturday and he hadn’t mentioned contacting him again so soon.
He lifted out the signal paddle and answered the signal, then settled down to wait. Perhaps he had learned something new about what was happening across the sea in Germany. Personally, Peder thought he was insane for trying to decode German messages, but he admitted that if anyone had a shot at that, it was probably Kristian. He was one of the smartest men Peder knew, even if he did spend most of his day on a boat with fish.
His lips twitched at the thought. When Kristian elected to return to Drammen after they finished school and join the family business, they had all been dismayed. With his brains, he could do anything. Why fishing? Surely that was a waste of his talent and education. But Kristian had proved them all wrong. Returning to Drammen, he had taken over the family business, growing it from two small fishing boats to five large ones over the course of two years. The business was growing and doing well, and so was Kristian. Not only had he taken the helm of the business, but he had continued his radio hobby, and often traveled to Oslo to speak at meetings for the many societies he was still a part of.
Peder picked up his pencil as a new message began to come through. It was in the code that he and Kristian had developed while they were still in school. They were the only two who used it, making it perfect for transmitting messages that they didn’t want anyone to know. It had started as a fun game for the young students, but now Peder frowned. If Kristian was using the old code, it wasn’t a game anymore.
A few minutes later, he stared down at the message on the paper, stunned. He felt the blood draining from his face and he dropped his pencil as his hand began to shake. It was impossible. Kristian had to have got it wrong. Even as the thought entered his head, though, Peder knew it was wishful thinking. This wasn’t something Kristian would have got wrong. He was too good for that.
DECODED PORTIONS OF SEVERAL TRANSMISSIONS TODAY. THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT. GERMANS SENDING INVASION FORCE. THEY EXPECT TO BE IN OSLO TOMORROW.
Peder took a deep, ragged breath and got up, running shaking hands through his hair as he paced restlessly around the office, his mind spinning. How had Kristian cracked the German code? He knew that he had been working on it, and knew that he had broken the diplomatic code months ago. But he never really thought that Kristian would learn anything very important. Yet, if what he just said was true, he had figured out something that Peder doubted their own government even knew. The news today had been dominated by Norway’s strong protests against Britain mining waters off the coast. Not a word had been mentioned about any possible German fleet movements.
Peder dropped back into his seat and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Yet it made perfect sense. The English were busy laying mines in the waters to prevent German ships from moving freely through Norwegian waters. Why would they do that if not because they believed that Germany would try to invade Norway?
This was exactly what Anna and Marlene had been warning him of just two days ago. Marlene had been convinced that an invasion was inevitable, but he hadn’t wanted to believe that it could be possible. At least, not without some kind of warning.
He put his headset on again and began to reply to Kristian. He needed to know everything Kristian knew. And then he had to let Anna know.
If the Nazis were coming, Marlene was in danger. They had to get her out of Oslo, and they would need his radio to help.
“So that makes two definite and one possibility,” Anna said. “That’s not bad for your first attempt!”
“Our first attempt,” Evelyn
