Spies of the Midnight Sun by Samuel Marquis

Author:Samuel Marquis [Marquis, Samuel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Mount Sopris Publishing
Published: 2018-05-28T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 45

FORBUNDS HOTEL

TULLINS GATE, OSLO

JULY 12, 1943

THE EXPLOSION ROCKED THE HOTEL.

Chapman looked at Dagmar, saw the alarm on her face. Was the Forbunds under attack?

He dashed to his first-floor window and threw it open. A large and comfortable wood-built hotel in the Oslo city center, the Forbunds had been commandeered by the Abwehr and the Luftwaffe early on during the Occupation and was, thus, a target of the Norwegian Resistance. Chapman and Dagmar had been enjoying a cup of early evening tea after making love in his room when the explosion had sent a shudder through the hotel.

Suddenly, a cry of Fire! resounded through the corridors.

Peering out the window, he quickly saw that the top floor was in flames. The blaze leapt from the window of a room like a demon and appeared to be engulfing the two apartments on either side. To make matters worse, the Germans had opened the windows to let out the smoke, but all this did was further fan the flames.

He and Dagmar watched the scene, certain that the fire was going to spread and quickly consume the entire hotel. Chapman shook his head in dismay but was relieved that he hadn’t been the target. He knew it had to be an act of sabotage since the hotel was occupied exclusively by German military and intelligence officers. The Luftwaffe even had a reserved suite where films were developed for the Information and News Section of their intelligence branch. The large hotels in Oslo did not escape the attention of the saboteurs, Chapman knew; the Norwegians could not sink them like the ships in Oslo Harbor, but they could burn them to the ground.

“Looks like your Norwegian friends don’t much like the hotel’s clientele,” he said.

“It would appear so,” agreed Dagmar, staring up at raging inferno.

Now they heard shouting voices inside the hotel, and down below on the street passersby stood gawking and German officers began scrambling out the front door. While Dagmar continued staring out the window, he quickly checked the hallway. Panic-stricken German officers rushed past him, some fully dressed in neatly pressed military uniforms, others disheveled or only half-dressed. The hallways and staircases were filling up fast with smoke.

He looked at his watch. It was two minutes after five o’clock.

“We need to leave. I’ll grab my things.”

“Here, let me help you,” she said.

They stuffed his few belongings into a suitcase and clattered down the staircase to join the throng in the street. Several German officers were shouting orders, but Chapman noticed that no one was obeying them. Fire bells clanged, and telephone bells rang, while outside, more and more Norwegians gathered along Tullins gate. Many were grinning triumphantly at the German loss, but an equal number were NS, or at least non-committal, and they weren’t. He and Dagmar stared up along with the rest of the crowd as the top floor of the hotel blazed. By now, the flames were pouring through several windows, the gray smoke billowing up towards a periwinkle blue summer sky.

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