Day of Vengeance (16 page)

A Grocer's Tale

Jack stared at his father, dumbstruck. He had so many questions flying through his head, he thought it would explode. Christie enveloped Jack in a bear hug. “Thank God… it's incredible… miraculous…” he stepped back, “but how?”

Jack was excited and incredibly relieved to see his dad, but also confused… very confused.

“It's a long story, Dad, but I tell you, we nearly didn't make it…”

Christie shook his head. “I'm sorry Jack, it's all my fault…”

Jack shrugged. “I guess we're here, and alive. That's the main thing, isn't it?”

Christie grinned and hugged Jack again. “Yes, Jack, you're right. But how did you get here? You must have accessed the VIGIL Taurus… but when I came to 1940 I thought that VIGIL was finished, I was so worried, but I never imagined for one minute…”

“I'll tell you all about it – and then you can tell me how you come to be working for British Intelligence; although I think I have an idea…”

“That's a cover story,” he glanced towards the river, “but these two friends of yours, are they from VIGIL too… did anyone else escape? I tell you, we could use the help.” Angus and Sophie were now way out in the middle of the river but had spotted Jack and his father on the bank and were quickly making their way back.

“That's Angus, you know, my friend from home. There's no one else from VIGIL here. We don't know what happened to them – we only just got away. The girl with Angus is Sophie. She's not VIGIL, she's from here, from 1940. She has no idea about who we really are and she won't know who you are.”

Christie thought for a moment. “OK. Best keep it that way. It could lead to serious complications if she knew the truth. We'll need to try and distract Angus and have a word with him when they get up here… and you'll both need to keep quiet about who I really am.”

“You're working with him, aren't you? Altenberg, I mean. He was the one who saved us. He told us to meet here. Does
he
know who you really are?”

“No. He thinks I'm British Intelligence. I followed Pendelshape back to 1940 and I discovered the Nazis had got hold of his plans. I had to work out a way to stop them. I discovered Albrecht Altenberg was leading the scientific effort. An obvious choice for the Nazis, but I knew who he was from History books and I couldn't believe he could be sympathetic to them. I took a gamble and made contact, posing as British Intelligence. He was scared at first, but he's come round. It's useful that I know something about science. We get on well. He finds himself forced to help the Nazis and is horrified at the prospect of arming rockets with nuclear weapons. If the Nazis find out what he really thinks they will kill him for sure.”

“Dad – Pendelshape – they kidnapped him in London and brought him here. Did you know that? We were trying to follow him. Gottschalk had him killed – in some radioactive bunker.
It happened this morning. Gottschalk called it a test. They made us watch; it was horrific…”

Christie stared at Jack, “Oh my God… Pendelshape… dead? Altenberg said they'd captured an English scientist and brought him to Villiers – it was just a few days ago. He arrived with Petersen. He was sure it was the man Petersen had sourced the blueprints from. It had to be Pendelshape. I'm surprised Gottschalk risked leaving him in Britain for so long. There was nothing I could do…” His head dropped. “He and I, well, we had our differences, and by the end I despised him for the risks he took. But now, dead…” he stared down at the ground shaking his head. “It's a terrible waste.”

“Dad – Sophie and Angus are coming over now. It's all true then, what Pendelshape told us, about the rocket and the nuclear weapon… here at Villiers?”

“Yes. The Nazis have made very quick progress with all Pendelshape's blueprints. When France was defeated, they started the next phase of their plan and moved all their equipment to the forward base here in Villiers. It is a good spot. Quiet, but with good rail and road access. It's near Paris but has the protection of the forward Luftwaffe fields between here and the Channel. Altenberg and I started to work out a plan to stop the Nazis, but then those hotheads from the Network launched an attack. I should have known better. I knew there was Resistance activity in the area, in fact I thought I might need their help. But now those poor people have gone and got themselves killed and it's going to make things much more difficult.”

“We met up with the Resistance when we got to Paris…”
Jack told him. “Sophie and her parents helped us. It's a long story… anyway her parents got caught up in the raid yesterday and so did we. It was awful, the SS killed a bunch of them; we saw it all from the woods. We think that Gottschalk is still holding Sophie's parents prisoner. Sophie's beside herself with worry…”

Sophie and Angus had hauled themselves out of from the river, sopping wet, and were approaching cautiously.

“Dad – they're coming…” said Jack. “Let's hope Angus doesn't clock who you really are straight away and blow it in front of Sophie.”

“Yes, you're right, you'll need to get him on his own, explain things…” replied Christie.

Jack stepped forward. “Guys, this is the contact Altenberg wanted us to meet. He's called Tom – he's from British Intelligence.”

Angus looked at Christie curiously, but before he could say anything, Christie put out his hand. “Very good to meet you both. It's Angus and Sophie isn't it? Looks like you need to get dry. Jack – why don't you and Angus get some food from the back of my van – looks like you need it.” Christie gave Jack a surreptitious wink. “I'm going to try and get a fire going. Sophie, perhaps you can help me? Then you can dry off, and we'll have a chance to talk about everything properly.”

A while later they were still sitting round the fire, chewing on the remains of the food and drinking coffee as Christie talked. He looked at his watch suddenly.

“Altenberg and I usually arrange to meet at this time every
couple of days. This is one of the rendezvous points. But he's overdue. With everything that has happened today it's not surprising. I just hope it's nothing more sinister. We can't do anything without his help. He's my only contact on the inside.”

They stared at the embers of the fire as the evening sun started to set. Suddenly they heard the puttering of a motor scooter engine. Christie's face lit up.

“That's got to be him.”

The scooter bumped into the glade and a man jumped off, pulling off his goggles and skullcap as he ran towards them. It was Altenberg. He was flustered, but he looked very relieved to see them.

“Tom… I got here as soon as I could. It was not easy…” He looked at Jack, Angus and Sophie. “You escaped… incredible… I am so relieved.”

Christie put out his hands to welcome him. “You've no idea how happy you've made me, Albrecht. Will you have some coffee… or something stronger, maybe?”

“Something stronger, I think Tom, we will need nerves of steel for what we have to do now.” He sat down next to the fire as Christie broke another branch and pushed it into the flames. “I have news,” Altenberg continued. “Gottschalk is worried. He is very suspicious that British Intelligence is onto him. He is cursing that he left Pendelshape alone in London so long with only Petersen to keep an eye on him. First there was the raid by the French resistance, and now your incredible escape. He thinks maybe the charge that exploded in the hangar was not an accident. He fears there is an insider and he's worried that maybe next there
will be an RAF raid, or another attack. He has increased security and the Luftwaffe are mounting regular patrols… but that's not all…”

“What is it, Albrecht?”

“Gottschalk has decided to bring forward the launch. He got the authorisation from Hitler and the top brass when they were all in Paris a couple of days ago. There is now a big race to get everything ready…”

“When? When is the launch?”

“It's tomorrow.”

Christie's head dropped. “But we're not ready. We have no other help. It's just us.”

“We have no choice, Tom, we have to make a plan. Jack – do you still have that map I left for you?”

Jack pulled the map out of the bag and spread it out on the grass.

“OK. Here is Villiers-sur-Oise and this is where they're going to launch the rocket,” Altenberg began. “There are some limestone caves there which hold the various stores and then nearby are the concrete assembly houses we have built opposite the cave entrance for preparing the rocket prior to launch. The launch pad itself is in a special clearing in the woods – there. The rocket is contained in a silo, under the concrete base. It gives better protection from the air. The whole site is linked by a narrow-gauge railway.”

Jack interrupted. “It's launching tomorrow – what's the target?”

“We think it's Portsmouth,” Christie said, “on the south coast of England. It's a big city and a key naval base. France has just surrendered and the British army have been evacuated from
Dunkirk. Britain stands alone. If Hitler can also get Britain to surrender, then he has won.”

“Thousands of people will die…” Altenberg added. “Britain will have no choice but to surrender. We have to stop it. And I think there is a way, but we have to be completely sure. I think I know how to swap the radioactive payload. I am in charge of all the procedures for that. But I am worried that something might happen to me before I do the swap – or that it might go wrong. I think we need to work out a way to get you into the base so we can destroy the rocket and the assembly areas as well. That way we make it fail-safe; we can be sure. With the accelerated plan, they will be doing the final assembly all through tonight, but the rocket won't be transported from the assembly to the silo for final fuelling and launching until later tomorrow morning. Tom, you have explosives I think? If you can set them to destroy the assembly blocks we will be absolutely certain of success.” He opened his rucksack. “Here, I managed to bring a uniform, there are many people on site, and new people too, now the security is being tightened… I don't think you will be noticed.”

“I have enough explosives to take out half of France, Albrecht, but there is only one problem…”

“What?”

“Access. Even with a uniform I don't think I can get in to the site with explosives undetected. They'll be searching everyone. Especially after all that's happened. It would be a suicide mission.”

It was a dead end.

Then suddenly Sophie spoke up. “We know how to get into the launch site,” there was quiet confidence in her voice.
“Last night after the raid, the Nazis must have thought we got through the perimeter fence. But we didn't.”

Christie's eyebrows arched. “You've been to the launch site? How did you get in?”

“Through the graveyard, of course…” she replied.

Return

It was too dangerous to approach the graveyard directly from Villiers. Instead, they had carried several bags from Tom Christie’s van cross-country for what seemed like miles. Following his secret rendezvous with them at St Augustine’s, Altenberg had returned to the V-2 base as quickly as he could. They were now deep in the woods, near the perimeter wall of the graveyard. It was getting dark and all was quiet. Jack was very tired. The idea of re-entering the cave sent a shiver down his spine. They gathered round as Christie went through the plan with them one last time.

“Your job is to help me carry this stuff through the catacomb and down through the cave. Once there, I will change into the German uniform and make my way through from the back of the cave to the front storage area. It’ll be very early in the morning, but there will be work going on, so I have to be careful.” He opened his backpack. “This is one of the explosive charges and a detonator. I’ll try and plant one of these in each of the assembly sheds timed to go off after we have escaped. I’ve got enough to take out half of this hill.”

“Cool,” Angus said enthusiastically. His respect for Jack’s dad was rising by the moment.

Christie grinned. “You set the timer and just stick the charge
onto the target… if you take that piece off you’ll see it’s sticky – it will attach to just about anything. A little modification I made myself.”

“Altenberg says the launch is scheduled for early afternoon. There is a very carefully planned sequence of events prior to launch. They’ll make the final checks and assemblies in the morning, which will include inserting the dirty bomb in the special payload compartment inside the rocket. Altenberg is going to try and disrupt this process.”

Jack listened intently.

“We will wait out the early part of tonight in the cave so I can go in before dawn and plant the explosives. I want you to wait for me. Then, we’ll return here via the tunnel and make our way back up to the chateau. When the explosion goes off all hell will break loose, so Sophie, that’s when I’m hoping we can get to the chateau and try to free your parents. My promise to you is that we will
try
. OK?”

Sophie nodded.

“Assuming all goes according to plan we’ll then make our way back to Paris,” he looked around. “Is that all clear?”

“Right – let’s go. Keep very quiet.”

In a moment they were inside the graveyard. The colour had already leached from the evening sky and the gravestones were washed in a shadowy monochrome.

Jack whispered, “The mausoleum is over there – in the corner – through those yews.”

As they sneaked across the graveyard towards the mausoleum, Jack had a sense of déjà vu – everything was just as it had been
the day before. They opened the metal gate and descended into the crypt. Angus and Christie switched on their torches.

“This place is even worse when you can actually see it.”

“Keep your voice down – where’s the entrance that leads to the caves?”

“Over here.” Sophie had picked her way over to the far side and was crouching down. There was a dark hole where Angus had broken down the old wooden door the night before. They ducked their heads through the small doorway and crept into the passage beyond. Jack tried not to look at the grim sight of the human bones and skulls in each of the recesses along the walls. After a while the gradient started to descend and the passageway became more dilapidated. Soon they reached the shelf high up in the underground cavern. The great swirling stalactites and stalagmites were even more impressive by the light of the electric torches.

“The ladder is over here,” Jack said.

At the bottom of the cave, they walked on for a bit and finally Christie called them to a halt.

“This will do. We’ll hunker down here for the night. It’s not going to be particularly pleasant – but it is only for a few hours.”

They wrapped themselves up in the blankets that they had brought with them as best they could and used the bags as pillows. Christie handed round the last of his chocolate and the water.

“Sorry – it’s all I’ve got left.”

The cave was cold and uncomfortable, but they were all tired and soon Jack could hear Angus and Sophie breathing heavily in a deep sleep, exhausted by their tumultuous day. The torches were off and it was pitch dark in the cave. But despite his fatigue and
aching limbs, Jack could not get to sleep. Random worries and thoughts churned backwards and forwards through his head. Each minute that ticked away, he knew they came closer to the point where his dad would leave them to complete the mission. He had played down the dangers, but Jack knew that he was risking his life, in fact, they all were.

“Dad – you still awake?” Jack whispered.

“Still here, Jack. I forgot one thing.”

“What?”

“The time phones. I have got mine with me. I want you to take Pendelshape’s.” Jack felt his dad pass something over to him in the darkness. It had the familiar smooth surface of the precious time-travel device. “These time phones connect to the Revisionist Taurus. When I left there were only two of the team left. The rest were on the VIGIL raid. One of them is a friend of mine – he’s stayed loyal – he tipped me off about Pendelshape and helped me get back into the Revisionist base. The Revisionist Taurus will automatically poll its linked time phones whenever there is a signal. It’s standard procedure and means we can initiate a transfer when the yellow light is on. With Pendelshape’s time phone, if anything happens to me, well, you and Angus have a way back.”

“Dad, I’m scared. What’s going to happen to you – to all of us – tomorrow.”

For a moment Jack’s father didn’t answer. There was just the black silence of the cave.

“It’s going to be OK, Jack. We’ve both been in tougher spots than this. You just need to concentrate on what you’ve got to do.
We’ll be fine. Soon we’ll be home and it will be over – for good this time. I promise you that.”

“I hope so Dad, ’cos I’m not sure I can take much more of this.”

Jack could hear his father’s voice closer now, whispering in the darkness. “I’m sorry. That I’ve got you, all of you, into all this… trouble. It’s not what I wanted. I thought I could control them, but then Pendelshape… he kind of went off the rails… and ever since then, well, the Revisionists have become fanatical. They expelled me. I can’t have anything to do with them. We’ll get through tomorrow, and then we’ll get home, and we can finish it for good this time.”

“You’ll give up, you mean? Give up trying to change history – making everything better?”

“It’s been a difficult journey for me, Jack. I guess I have discovered that the future is more important than the past: our future. I realise that now. We will have to make some important decisions – we can’t let this happen again.”

Jack felt the comfort of his father’s words. For the first time in a long time, it felt like someone else was sharing the load. Jack remembered the strange image of himself next to his father, which he had seen from the Taurus Transfer Chamber. The image was stronger than ever in his head. Maybe that time was drawing closer. He wanted to tell his father about it, but something held him back. For some reason he was scared that telling him about it would jeopardise everything. Maybe it was irrational, but that was how he felt.

After a while, he pulled the blanket tight around his shoulders and slid into a deep sleep.

In what only seemed like minutes, Jack woke up with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s time.”

His bones ached from the cold.

“Give me some light, while I get changed.” Christie stripped down and pulled on the German uniform. He looked at his watch. “Fine. Now we need to wake the others.”

Jack leaned over and shook Angus and Sophie, who were still wrapped up, mummy-like, in the blankets.

“What’s going on?” Angus murmured, semi-conscious.

In a minute they were all wide awake and packing up, ready to get started.

“Are we ready?” Christie said.

Slowly, they crept forward. The cave tapered into a passageway and then led through the mini-caves.

Jack whispered, “I think we’re near. Yes. Shine the torch there. The front caves are blocked off by this planking – but that one over there is loose. You can get through.”

Christie flashed his torch at the planks. He turned to them with final instructions and looked at his watch.

“Five-thirty a.m. Angus – make sure your watch is synchronised with mine – right?”

“Done,” Angus said.

“OK – listen carefully,” Christie said. “I’m going through and then I’ll make my way to the storage caves at the front. The assembly sheds are across the clearing only about fifty metres from the cave entrance, right?”

“Yes,” Jack and Angus spoke together.

Christie continued, “As Altenberg said, everyone will be busy
preparing the rocket launch – they’re not going to worry about another guard. I aim to plant a charge behind each of the assembly sheds on a timer. Then I’m going to return here and we’ll retrace our steps through the caves and up into the graveyard. We should be well away before the whole place goes up. I’m leaving you a gun and one of the charges – just in case.”

Jack studied his father’s face in the fading light of the torch. He looked as tired as Jack felt. “You sure about this, Dad… Tom, I mean…?” Jack corrected himself quickly, hoping he hadn’t revealed his dad’s identity to Sophie.

“Yes Jack. I’m sure. It’ll all be fine – OK?”

They nodded.

“Now, here’s the thing,” he continued. “I am allowing myself a maximum of one hour plus thirty minutes contingency. If I’m not back before seven a.m. you must go.”

And with that, Christie crouched down, squeezed his way past the loose planking and was gone.