The Iron Storm by CW Browning (classic literature books TXT) 📕

pull off her gloves. “I’ve never been so grateful to be gainfully employed in all my life. The thought of knitting sweaters and canning jam with the rest of the Women’s Institute makes me cringe.”

Bill chuckled and seated himself in the other chair, forgoing his place behind the desk. “No, I can’t picture you doing either of those things,” he agreed. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, mind. They’re proving invaluable to the war effort, and will undoubtedly only become more so.”

“I’m sure they are, and it’s best to leave it to those women who enjoy that sort of thing. Much to my mother’s dismay, I’m sure, I’ve never been one of them.” She finished removing her gloves and folded them in her lap, raising her eyes to Bill’s face. “Have you heard anything from Norway yet?”

He shook his head. “No, but don’t despair yet. Things are a right mess there. If this Erik has to get the radio to the southern coast to be repaired, he’s in for a long road. The Germans have complete control of the entire southern part of Norway, and the fighting in the central section is fierce. It may be some weeks before he can make contact.”

Evelyn nodded. She knew he was right, but the waiting was getting harder with every day that passed. Until she knew Anna and Erik were safe, she wouldn’t stop worrying about leaving them to fight alone. As if reading her mind, Bill pinned her with a surprisingly gentle look.

“You did what you could while you were there,” he said. “The rest is up to them now. They’ll find their way, and if they don’t, that’s not your responsibility.”

“I know.”

“Good. Then let’s discuss why you’re here.” Bill sat back and crossed his legs comfortably. “Shustov has been in contact with us.”

Evelyn raised her eyebrows in surprise. Whatever she was expecting to hear, it wasn’t that. She hadn’t heard anything from Vladimir Lyakhov since November, when she met him in a library in Oslo. It had been her first and only meeting with the Russian NKVD agent who had been one of her father’s associates. The meeting had lasted only about ten minutes, but it was enough to leave an impression on her. What sort of impression was still in some doubt. Vladimir, or Shustov as he was known to MI6, had been nothing like what she expected, and she still hadn’t made up her mind whether or not he was friend or foe. Her father had obviously thought highly of him, but she was not her father.

“Shustov!” she repeated. “Why?”

A smile flitted across Bill’s face. “That’s the question, isn’t it?” he asked. “He sent the first message while you were in Norway. The second one came the day you evacuated Namsos.”

“Second? He’s sent more than one?”

“Yes. In total, he’s sent five messages. The last one came on Saturday, while I was in Paris. I can only assume that he didn’t want to entrust the correspondence in its entirety to one transmission. Probably a good idea, given the state of affairs in both the Soviet Union and Germany. They have a tentative peace right now, but I’m sure they’re still reading each other’s transmissions whenever possible.”

“And what did he say?”

“Oh, he had quite a bit to say,” Bill said dryly. “He knew you were caught in the middle of the invasion in Norway, and he was very clear in his disgust of you being sent there at all.”

Evelyn stared at him blankly for a moment.

“He knew? How on earth did he know?”

“I’ve no idea. How did Eisenjager know?”

Her brows snapped together sharply. “You don’t think Shustov is being fed information by the spy here in London, surely? I thought we were convinced the one here is a German agent!”

“We are, and no, I don’t think Shustov is getting his information from England.” Bill rubbed his nose. “To be completely honest, I have no idea where he gets his information from, but it has always been accurate. I think the Soviets have built themselves a formidable intelligence agency, and I’ve often wondered if they aren’t far ahead of us in that regard. Your father always had the healthiest respect for their capabilities, a respect I’m afraid many here do not share. Perhaps that is a grave mistake on our part.”

“I saw no sign of Soviet activity in Oslo while I was there,” Evelyn said with a frown. “There was one man who was a forger, Olav. He admitted to being a communist, but I don’t think he was in touch with the Soviet authorities. Although, I suppose he might have been,” she added thoughtfully. “He did have a real Soviet identification card in his rooms that he used for forgeries.”

“This is the man in your report? Olav Larsen?” When she nodded, he shook his head. “We ran as thorough a check on him as we could in the midst of all that’s going on there at the moment, and nothing like that came up. Of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t working for the Soviets. It just means we didn’t find any indication of that in his past. He’s a member of the communist party, but he’s never been to the Soviet Union. In fact, apart from one trip to Stockholm three years ago, he’s never left Norway.”

“Then how on earth did Shustov know I was in Norway?!”

“I don’t know, but he did. And he wasn’t happy about it. He said very plainly that your skills were more valuable elsewhere, and that had we lost you in Norway, we would have lost him as well.” Bill stood up and walked around his desk, opening a top drawer and pulling out a piece of paper. “He’s made it very clear that he will only deal with you in place of your father. In the past, he was content to contact us in order to reach your father, and that is how it was supposed to continue with you.” Walking over to