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

Josephine grinned and shook her head. “You seem to be settling into this life without any problems at all! I told you you were a natural.”

“That may be, but I don’t enjoy lying to so many nice people.” Evelyn’s face clouded over as she remembered how many times she’d already lied to Miles, something she hated doing. “Sometimes I think I would have been better off as a secretary in some dreary war office on the coast.”

Josephine threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous! That would be a waste of some of the best talent that I’ve seen in this business in months. Anyway, you wouldn’t like typing up reports in a dingy little hole that smells like engine fuel.”

Evelyn was forced to smile at that. “No, perhaps not.”

Before Josephine could say anything more, the back door swung open and Marc strode into the kitchen, followed by Jens.

“What’s this?” he demanded, stripping off an oil stained pair of gloves. “Jens says that Fort Eben-Emael fell!”

“Yes. Luc and I heard it in Maubeuge. The Belgians surrendered at 12:30 this afternoon.”

Marc scowled and dropped heavily into a chair at the table. “That was the most heavily fortified defense in Holland. Without it, Holland is all but lost.”

“Perhaps not,” Jens said slowly. “It is just one fort. If the Allied armies can push the Germans back out of Belgium, the French and British may be able to retake it.”

Marc looked up at him, his lips twisting sardonically. “That’s a large if. Where’s Luc?”

“I ran on ahead,” Josephine told him. “He’s on his way.”

“He’s here,” a new voice said from the door into the house. Luc walked in, unbuttoning his coat as he went. “I spoke to a farmer in the road after you ran on ahead. There’s more bad news.”

They all looked at him apprehensively, then Josephine made an impatient sound in the back of her throat. “Well go on. Tell us what it is.”

“The German Panzer divisions have all but broken through the Ardennes,” he said grimly, walking over to the counter next to the sink. He picked up an open bottle of wine and poured some into a glass. “It’s believed that they’ll reach Sedan tomorrow.”

Silence greeted his announcement and he turned to find all three of them staring at him in shock. He nodded wordlessly and lifted the wine to his lips. Even Evelyn was shaken with the speed with which the tanks had made it through the heavily forested area.

“Impossible!” Josephine breathed, her face pale.

“Precisely what I said,” Luc muttered, “but it must be true. The farmer heard it from a soldier not half an hour ago. The army is in an uproar.”

“I’m sure they are. They don’t have any competent divisions anywhere near there!” Marc said, getting up to pour himself a glass of wine. “They’ve all moved into Belgium!”

“But I don’t understand,” Josephine said, shaking her head. “I thought the Germans didn’t have the numbers to do something like this.”

Marc snorted. “Clearly we were never told the true numbers.”

“And don’t forget the Wehrmacht divisions still in Norway,” Evelyn said. “The third Reich has been rebuilding its armies for years. It was only a matter of time until we discovered just how strong their forces have become.”

“Yes, and while they were busy building a war machine, our governments were busy turning a blind eye,” Luc said disgustedly. “Now we’re facing the demons that we helped create.”

Marc glanced at him, amused. “You’re always so dramatic,” he said. “They are no more demons than you or I. They are simply men following orders.”

“Well those men will be rolling right through France if they get past Sedan.”

Evelyn met Jens’s sober gaze across the kitchen. The Germans were moving much more quickly than they anticipated. The worry on his face was clear, and it was mirrored on her own. Josephine looked from one to the other.

“Are you thinking you should wait to go to Paris?” she asked.

“I don’t think it will make much difference now,” Jens said. “They’re moving so quickly that whether we stay or we go, we’re just as likely to end up in the line of fire.”

“Don’t panic yet,” Marc advised before draining his glass of wine. “They’re still a long way off, and even further from Paris. It is true that none of us thought they would reach Sedan so quickly, but they still have to cross the Meuse. That is no small feat.”

“Marc is right,” Josephine said. “We may be worrying prematurely. Let’s see what happens in the next few hours, and if nothing outrageous occurs, then you can be on your way in the morning.”

Jens was clearly not happy with that arrangement, but he nodded reluctantly after glancing at Evelyn. As he turned away, Evelyn met Josephine’s gaze. The other woman had a trace of a smile on her lips and she nodded imperceptibly. She had bought Evelyn a few more hours.

Now it was up to her to find out what she could about Jens.

Maubeuge, France

Eisenjager walked out of the small hotel and squinted against the glare of the late afternoon sun. That was the last one, and the employee behind the desk had said the same thing all the others had said. They were fully booked with refugees from Belgium, but none of them had the name of Jens Bernard.

Tilting his hat low over his brow, Eisenjager turned to walk towards his car parked at the end of the road. One of the establishments had suggested that he try Valenciennes, to the west. They had been sending many people in that direction when they had no more rooms. He supposed it was possible that Jens had gone to the neighboring town, but he wasn’t willing to waste even more time finding out for certain. He was going to have to accept the fact that he’d lost his target’s trail once they passed over the border into France.

And that infuriated the assassin.

Reaching his car, he opened the door and got