Those Who Dare by Phil Ward

Author:Phil Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Emerald Book Company
Published: 2010-06-22T04:00:00+00:00

A short walk from the Bradford Hotel took them to the headquarters of the newly formed Special Operations Executive. The office space where they exited the elevator had once been the head office of the firm Marks & Spencer, barristers during peacetime. The receptionist smiled and said, “He is expecting you.”

Brigadier Collin Gubbins, MC, Royal Artillery, stood up the moment the two walked into his large office. He was a soldier with an unorthodox military past. Only recently he had organized the super-secret stay-behind underground sleeper forces, the British Resistance Organization’s Auxiliary Units, designed to rise and wage guerrilla war after Hitler invaded England. They were in place now, lying in wait and ready to swing into action in the event of invasion, which could come at almost any time.

A shortish Scotsman in his mid-forties, with clipped speech, the brigadier appeared to have boundless energy. “So, you are Lady Jane’s American friend, the pinprick fellow. Congratulations on your well-deserved Military Cross, Major. A nice bit of work, that!”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Lady Jane, you are planning to show him around, are you not? Introduce him to a few of our people?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Splendid! Nice to meet you at last, Major. We are always on the scout for people who want to do their part—and who have the initiative to actually figure out some way to go out and do it.”

The meeting was over almost as fast as it started. Captain Lady Jane Seaborn and Major Randal went downstairs, around the corner, and across the street to No. 2 Caxton Street, next door to St. Ermin’s Hotel, to meet Major Lawrence Grand, the head of Section D. He was the man that, as Captain Lady Seaborn had briefed Major Randal, they most needed to impress.

When they walked into Major Grand’s office, Major Randal’s first thought was that he looked like what you might expect someone in the secret agent business to look like, especially if you watched a lot of campy Hollywood movies. The major was nattily attired in a beautifully tailored Savile Row suit in navy blue pinstripe, with a red carnation pinned to the lapel. In his teeth he was clenching a long, ivory cigarette holder containing a custom-blended cigarette, hand-rolled to his personal specifications. There was a pair of smoked-lens glasses lying on his desk.

This meeting was the opposite of the one with the brigadier, lasting well over an hour. Major Randal was grilled on every aspect of the raising, organization, training, and operations of Raiding Forces.

Major Grand took his time. The questions he asked were penetrating and illuminating. He listened carefully, evaluating every word of Major Randal’s answers. The head of Section D was thorough and patient. It was the type of interview, Major Randal realized, in which Major Grand obtained a lot of information but did not give much away in return.

Finally, the debonair spymaster asked, “What is it, exactly, you want from me?”

On cue, Major Randal piped up as if it were his idea in the first place. “We’re here to explore the possibility of joint operations, Major Grand.

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