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

Evelyn pulled two apples out of the bag and turned to put the sac on the floor behind their seats. Handing him one, she crunched into the other and turned her attention out the window. Loud droning filled the air and she unrolled the window to stick her head out, gazing up into the sky.

“What is that noise?” Jens demanded around a mouthful of apple.

“Bombers,” she replied grimly, staring at the dark shadows high above them. “Lots of them. It looks like they’re going east.”

Jens was silent and she rolled the window up again when a brisk wind whipped into the car. They listened to the deep hum as the planes went over them, on their way to an unknown target, and Evelyn shivered. It was a noise that she didn’t think she’d ever forget. It got into her head and resonated there, humming with warning and impending disaster, reminding her of the billows of smoke that poured from the ports and villages in Norway. She hadn’t heard the bombers then, or saw them, but she’d seen the destruction left behind from the safety of the mountains.

That was the sound of an enemy about to bend a country to its will.

Outside Maubeuge, France - 10pm

Evelyn rubbed her eyes and glanced at Jens. His eyes were focused on the empty country road before them, his lips set in a line as he stared ahead in silence. They had crossed the border into France and had immediately moved onto a road that would cut through the countryside, away from the stream of refugees. Once in the open countryside, they could make their way more swiftly to Paris, or so they hoped.

Folding the road map in her lap, Evelyn tucked it into the pocket of her door and looked out the windshield at the road ahead. The headlights cut two swaths of yellow light through the pitch blackness, giving the surreal feeling of being at sea in a vast ocean of darkness.

“Shall we stop and eat something?” she suggested after another few moments of silence. “I’m sure you can use a break from driving.”

Jens looked at her, nodding. “Yes, all right.”

“There’s a break in the hedge over there. Why don’t you pull through and stop behind it?” Evelyn pointed to a gap in the hedgerow that was most likely used by farmers to cross from one field to another. “We’ll eat something and stretch our legs before we decide what to do. If we continue, I can drive and give you a rest.”

Jens guided the car through the gap and pulled onto a rough cart track alongside the hedge. Shutting the engine off, he rubbed his eyes and stretched.

“I don’t think I remember anything after we left the main road,” he murmured with a wide yawn.

“You’re tired.” Evelyn twisted in her seat to pull the sac of food from the back of the car. “Can you turn on the light?”

Jens switched on the interior light and watched as she pulled the loaf of bread out of the bag. Reaching behind the seat, he extracted the bottle of wine from where it had slid half under the seat and reached into his pocket. Pulling out an army knife, he pulled out a narrow screw and began twisting it into the cork.

“We don’t have any cups, so I hope you don’t mind sharing the bottle,” he said with an embarrassed laugh.

“I suppose I’ll manage this once,” she replied with a quick grin. “It’s not like we planned this.”

She pulled the block of cheese out and unwrapped it from the paper, glancing at his pocket knife.

“May I use that for the cheese?”

He didn’t answer for a second as he struggled to wrest the cork from the bottle. A soft pop echoed through the car and he laughed triumphantly.

“For you, mademoiselle, the world,” he said, pulling the cork off the screw and handing her the knife with a flourish.

Evelyn laughed and turned the knife over in her hand until she found the straight blade, pulling it out carefully.

“Do you know, I’ve just realized that we’ve been in a car together for over thirteen hours?” she asked, slicing off a generous piece of cheese. “And all I’ve learned about you is that your parents live outside Ghent, and that you came to Brussels last year when you took a job with the government.”

“What else would you like to know?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I just feel that after being together for thirteen hours, I should know more than that.” She passed him the slice of cheese and tore off a chunk of bread, handing it to him. “For instance, do you have siblings? How did you end up working with State Security? When did you become interested in radios?”

He passed her the bottle of wine with one hand while he set the bread and cheese on his leg, balancing it precariously.

“I’m an only child, and I’ve been interested in radios as long as I can remember,” he said readily. Picking up the cheese, he took a bite and reached for the bread. “As for where I work, they found me. I made a name for myself in a few technical and scientific journals with my...well, with some of my work with radios.”

Evelyn took a drink from the bottle and set it between them, cutting a piece of cheese off for herself.

“Work? What kind of work?”

“I...well, I’ve developed some technology that’s useful in intercepting radio waves and pinpointing their location. Or rather, where they’re transmitting from. It’s all very boring, actually, but very helpful for the radio department of the State Security.” He chewed for a moment, swallowed, and reached for the wine. “Now it’s my turn. How did you end up working for a prominent businessman who puts you up at the most exclusive hotel in Brussels?”

Evelyn chuckled. “Oh, I went to lunch at his house one day. He’s an old friend of my father’s. He was looking for an assistant, and I was