The Fleeting Target: A night-time mission to assassinate the enemy... (Spitfire Mavericks Thrillers Book 3) by D. R. Bailey

Author:D. R. Bailey [Bailey, D. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2023-10-26T16:00:00+00:00

The next morning, I sat in Bentley’s office, keeping quiet while he went through his pipe-lighting routine. Once he was puffing away to his satisfaction, he spoke.

“I bloody well hope that mechanic of yours can come up with a solution to the flare problem,” he said.

“So do I, sir.”

“If he doesn’t, then we’re all in the basket.”

This was true, but the question of the choice of planes was still niggling at me.

“Why did they pick Spitfires, sir? Why not some other more suitable aircraft?”

I had heard it from the Marx Brothers, but I wanted the CO’s perspective on the matter.

His response was unexpectedly candid. “Oh, you know how these things go,” he said with a wry smile. “Someone in Fighter Command thought it would be a good idea to take it on, and then, assuming the mission is a success, they can bask in the glory.”

I looked at him, flabbergasted. The mercenary nature of this disclosure was unexpected. But Bentley had not finished.

“Or did you think all the decisions made by the higher ups were carefully debated and considered?”

I had to admit that with so much at stake, this was exactly what I had thought. “I did think, since they are the operational decision-makers, that some thought went into it, yes, sir.”

He puffed smoke out for a few moments without answering. Perhaps he was considering how much to tell me. As it turned out, he opted to give me what appeared to be the unvarnished truth, and most unpalatable it was.

“Well, you’d be wrong. Yes, of course, the main strategies and so forth are carefully thought through, but just because this is a war doesn’t mean it’s immune to political shenanigans.”

“Political shenanigans?”

“Yes, you know, people vying for the upper hand. If they pull off a success like this, they’ll get a bigger share of the pot as a result. What with Churchill wanting to focus on bombers and so forth, the Fighter chaps feel they are getting a raw deal. So, a mission like this, assuming we do manage to succeed, is worth a very large amount of kudos and with that goes a lot of clout. Do you see?”

I did see; in fact, it was now as plain as anyone could lay it out, but that did not make it any better.

“But what if the mission fails? Surely they get nothing?” I ventured.

“Not quite, no.” Bentley was regarding me almost as a kindly schoolmaster might regard a young lad who knew nothing about the subject at all.

“What do you mean?”

He pointed the stem of his pipe at me. “I mean the failure will rest squarely on your shoulders as mission leader, and mine, of course, for appointing you.”

“What!”

Bentley roared with laughter at what he considered a rare joke. I failed to find any humour in the situation at all. Finally, he subsided, though he was still smiling.

“Don’t you see the funny side, Angus? It’s a win either way as far as they are concerned. If you succeed, they are bathed in glory.

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