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

her, he handed her the piece of paper. “That is no longer the case. In the fourth message, he stated that he no longer trusts the current method of communication. This is the last message, sent on Saturday.”

Evelyn lowered her eyes to the paper, reading the decoded message.

I WILL MEET IN BRUSSELS 8TH MAY, WHERE NEW METHOD OF COMMUNICATION WILL BE ARRANGED. ALL FURTHER CONTACT WILL GO THROUGH GIRL. FAILURE TO MEET WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION OF RELATIONS. – SHUSTOV

“As you can see, he is now demanding to deal directly with you, and only with you.” Bill returned to his seat. “Personally, I question how relevant he is, but Jasper is adamant that we hold on to him. Right now, he is our only source inside the Soviet Union. That gives him all the bargaining power.”

“But he hasn’t made any attempt to contact me in over four months! Why now?”

“I don’t know.”

Evelyn frowned and laid the message in her lap, staring at it pensively.

“Did he say why he no longer trusts the current method of communication?” she asked after a moment, glancing up.

“No. Although, I can’t say that I blame him. We have a rat in our hold. Until we find it and throw it overboard, we can’t make any argument to the contrary.”

“Could he know about the spy here?”

Bill shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible, but I’d say it’s very unlikely. I’d venture a wager that the sudden problem is on his end, not ours. Perhaps the way that he gets the messages out is falling under suspicion.”

“What kind of intelligence did he actually pass onto my father?” she asked. “Was it valuable enough to warrant this kind of demand?”

“Oh, it was valuable,” he said with a nod. “I can understand Montclair’s reluctance to lose him. However, I am not comfortable with you having direct contact with one of NKVD’s senior officers without any oversight whatsoever.”

“It doesn’t look like we have much of a choice,” Evelyn said with a shrug. “If he refuses to contact you directly and will only go through me, then I suppose I’m packing for Belgium.”

“Yes.” Bill looked at her for a moment, hesitating, then he sighed. “As much as I don’t like this new arrangement, there is a way that we can use it to our advantage.”

She raised an eyebrow in question. “Oh?”

“Vladimir obviously feels that there is some kind of connection between you, undoubtedly because of his friendship with your father. His insistence to work only with you opens up a unique opportunity for us. You’ll be in a position to build a closer relationship with him, and glean more information from him than perhaps he would otherwise be willing to give.”

Evelyn stared at him for a long moment. “You want me to...do what, exactly?”

“Gain his trust, and find out everything you can about his position and his associates. Anything you can learn can be helpful, and used against them.”

“You want me to spy on a Soviet spy?” she asked incredulously. “I thought my only role with Shustov was as courier, to accept the occasional intelligence that he passes to us.”

“And so it was, but think, Evelyn!” Bill leaned forward. “We have an opportunity here to learn how Soviet intelligence works, and who they are. This is a rare chance. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get an agent into Soviet Russia?”

Evelyn exhaled loudly and shook her head. “I think you’re putting much more faith in my abilities than they warrant,” she told him bluntly. “Shustov has been playing this game for years. I’ve only just begun. It will be like a lamb taking on a lion.”

“You underestimate yourself, my dear. You are much better than you think.” He sat back. “All you have to do is listen. Listen, and ask innocuous questions. You’ll learn much more than you could ever imagine.”

“And then just...tell you?”

“Precisely.”

She looked down at the decoded message in her lap and sighed in resignation. “All right. I’ll do what I can.”

“That’s all I ever ask.” Bill cleared his throat. “Since you’re going to Belgium anyway, how’s your Dutch?”

“My Dutch?” Evelyn repeated. “I never learned it!”

“Hm. Pity. Well, no matter. I’m sending you to Belgium early. I want you to go to Antwerp, where you’ll meet with an agent from Holland. He speaks both French and Belgian, so you should have no problems communicating.”

“I thought the network in Holland had been destroyed in the fallout from the Venlo Affair.”

“It was. We’ve been slowly rebuilding it, but it doesn’t have my full confidence. We know the Germans have infiltrated it, but there are a couple of agents whom I can personally vouch for. This is one of them. His name is Lars, and he will be carrying a packet that was smuggled out of Germany. It contains blueprints, plans and photographs of three munitions factories in Stuttgart, one of which is the Daimler plant. We were going to move it through the network in France, but since you’ll be in Belgium, you can bring it back with you. It will be faster, and infinitely safer with you.”

She nodded. “All right. Does Lars know who he’s meeting?”

“No. You’ll meet him at four o’clock on the 7th at the front entrance of Antwerp Central Station. He will be wearing a red scarf, and he will carry an umbrella in his left hand. You will approach him, pull out a cigarette, and ask him for a match. The order is most important. You must have the cigarette in your hand before you ask for the match. He’ll light a match and ask if you’re catching the train to Brussels. When you say yes, he’ll know you’re the contact. Now, he thinks you’re a courier, and I see no reason to disabuse him of the idea. If he asks, say that you’re taking the package to Brussels, and then it will go on to France.”

“Very well.”

Bill studied her for a moment. “Are you sure you’re ready to go back out there?” he