The Unlikely Allies (33 page)

“You can just row us back to land. That submarine is due for a surprise in a few minutes. It’s quite a feat capturing an American female spy and a turncoat German officer
and
destroying a submarine. I think I will be a major before this is over, and I’ll be there for your hangings—both of you.”

Mallory turned away from the leering face of Stahl, and her eyes met Derek’s.

“Well, what is this? A love affair? That will make even a better story. All right. We’ll just wait here until your submarine is sunk. Then the destroyer will pick us up.”

****

Captain Bishop had excellent night vision, and he had been watching the pair row the small boat as it approached. They were no more than a hundred yards away when the rumble of the engine from the German boat reached them. “Something’s wrong,” he said to Moore.

“What is it, Captain?”

“I can’t be sure, but I’m afraid our people may have been captured by a German squad.” He watched as an officer leaped into the boat waving a pistol.

“What should we do, Captain?”

Captain David Bishop was a man noted for quick thinking and quick action. He saw his mission going down the drain and considered the fact that if the Germans knew about the escapees, they could also have a moored ship in the area. Still, he wasn’t afraid to take chances when he felt it might be worthwhile.

“You gunners, get ready to fire!” He looked up and yelled, “Put a light on those boats, Ensign.”

Instantly a bright searchlight stabbed out into the darkness, and all the men on deck saw the two boats. “That’s a German boat to the right. Blast it out of the water, Hartness!”

Almost before he had stopped speaking, a fifty-caliber
machine gun broke the silence of the night with its raucous noise. Captain Bishop could see the slugs tearing into the side of the German boat, splintering it. Two of the men fell at once. The others opened fire with their automatic weapons, and Moore yelled, “Give it to them! Sink the dirty Krauts!”

The private standing over Derek lifted his weapon and began firing toward the searchlight. Derek, seeing his chance, sprang up and knocked the soldier into the water. He turned to pounce on Stahl, who was lifting his pistol, but before he had a chance, Mallory struck the man’s head with her oar and he fell limply to the bottom of the boat.

“Quick, we’ve got to get out of here!” Mallory exclaimed. “They might hit us by mistake.”

Derek returned to his seat and the two rowed as hard as they could. As they watched, the German attack boat, which was sinking fast, was riddled with bullets, leaving the rest of the crew dead. They heard the sergeant whom Derek had pushed into the water calling out for help, but in the frigid water he could not stay afloat long, and his cries dwindled, then were gone.

They reached the sub, and hands reached down and pulled them aboard.

“What about this German, sir?” one of the sailors asked. “Is he dead?”

“No, it looks like he’s coming around.”

“Bring him on board.”

At that instant a voice cried, “Captain, enemy vessel approaching off port bow!”

Bishop turned and saw the destroyer coming directly at them. “There’s no time to dive,” he yelled. “We’ll fire all forward torpedoes and hope for a hit. And get that deck gun firing, Swanson!”

The deck crew was ready, and they began firing the gun at once. The fifty-caliber weapon rattled loudly, sending a stream of bullets toward the fast-approaching destroyer.

Captain Bishop had relayed his orders to the third
lieutenant. The submarine rotated around by Bishop’s orders until it was squarely facing the oncoming destroyer. “Fire all forward torpedoes!” Bishop yelled.

A voice below echoed the order, and the submarine shuddered beneath Mallory’s feet as the tracks of the four torpedoes spread out. Derek put his arm around her, and they watched the destroyer, which obviously intended to ram them. The deck gun was firing rapidly, but there was no sign of any damage.

“Not much chance, Captain, firing blind like this head-on.”

“There’s always a chance, Charlie,” Bishop said tersely.

He had no sooner spoken than a torpedo hit the destroyer directly in the bow. The big ship swerved, and then suddenly an explosion ripped through the sky.

“We must have hit their munitions store!” Bishop yelled.

“Quick, let’s get out of here! Everyone below!”

Derek and Mallory knew nothing about submarines, but they were shepherded down below and waited until the hatch was closed.

“Dive—dive!” the captain ordered.

The submarine at once began to dive, and Derek and Mallory held on to the closest thing available to maintain their footing. It gave Mallory an eerie feeling to think they were going under the sea.

Captain Bishop commanded, “Periscope depth!” And then a few minutes later he was peering through the periscope. “She’s going down!” he said happily. “Here, take a look, Charlie.”

The second officer had his look, and then the other officers took their turns.

“You two were a lot of trouble,” the captain said to Derek and Mallory before he introduced himself.

“My name is Derek Grüber, and this is Miss Mallory Winslow.”

“And who is this?” Bishop asked as Lieutenant Stahl got
to his feet. Blood was running down over his face, which was as pale as paper.

“Let me introduce you to Lieutenant Uldrich Stahl of the SS,” Mallory said.

“Well, I’m happy to know you under these circumstances, Lieutenant. I’m sure our people in London will want to talk with you.”

“How long will it take us to get to England?” Mallory asked.

“We’ll make a very quick trip. We’ll get out of here as soon as that ship is completely down.”

“Mason, guard the lieutenant well,” he said to his third lieutenant. “I think he might be of some use to our people.” Then turning to Mallory and Derek, he said, “It was close there for a while. I thought we were going to lose you.”

Mallory suddenly felt all the pressure that had built up inside of her leave. She took Derek’s arm and said, “Thank you for coming to get us, Captain. You look like an angel.”

“I’ve been called lots of things, but never an angel. Come along. We’ll have tea, and you can tell me your story.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“We’ll Be Together”

The door to Colonel Ludwig Ritter’s office burst open, and Ritter looked up, a curse on his lips for whoever dared to interrupt him so rudely. The words died when a burly man wearing the uniform of a general seemed to fill the room. Ritter leaped to his feet and saluted, for he knew this man well.

“General Dengler! I-I wasn’t expecting you, sir.”

General Otto Dengler was a massive man with a broad, brutal face. He was feared and dreaded in the SS and known for his cruelty, not only to his enemies, but even to his own men on occasion.

“I’m sure you weren’t expecting me, but you should have been, Ritter!” Dengler’s voice was harsh, and he glared at the smaller man with disgust. A major dressed in the black uniform of the SS had entered with Dengler, and he shut the door firmly. He had a face like a shark, and there was a cruel smile on his thin lips as he studied Colonel Ritter.

“General, if I had known you were coming, I would have—”

“You would probably have tried to leave the country! What a dismal mess you have made of this business!”

“What business, sir?” Ritter squeaked, his voice almost leaving him. He hardly had the breath to speak, and the faces of the two officers told him all he needed to know. Ever since Lieutenant Stahl’s failure to capture the two fugitives, he had been dreading just such a moment. “I’m sure I can explain. It was all Lieutenant Stahl’s fault!”

“You were in command, I believe,” Dengler snarled. He
advanced closer, and Ritter seemed to shrink before the bulk of the brutal form. “What idiocy possessed you to send a force of only six men on a mission like this? We had troops stationed on shore. You could have had a company surround the area!”

“Lieutenant Stahl felt it would be better—”

“Shut your mouth, Colonel Ritter! And, by the way, it’s not Colonel Ritter anymore. It is now
Lieutenant
Ritter, and you’re lucky we don’t plan to have you shot!”

“But, General Dengler, you can’t do that to me!”

“We’ll see whether I can or not! You’re incapable of running a desk, so we’ll see how you do in a combat outfit. We’re making you a first lieutenant in a crack company of the Fifth Army. I think he’ll like that, don’t you, Major?”

The major smiled and looked more than ever like a shark. “I believe the combat life of a lieutenant in that company is something just under three minutes, General.”

The former colonel had turned as pale as paste. His lips trembled, and he could not say a word.

“Get out of here! You’ll get your orders at once. Be ready for some action. I expect you’ll win the Iron Cross, a brave man like you. Now get out!”

As soon as Ritter had left, General Dengler said, “Watch him, Major! He may try to kill himself. On the other hand, if that’s what he wants, let him do it.”

The major smiled smoothly. “It will be his choice either to kill himself here or get himself killed for the glory of the Fatherland.”

****

Captain Bishop was saying his good-byes to Derek and Mallory. Their time had been short, for the journey to England had been quick. A flotilla of heavy ships had escorted them in, allowing them to travel on the surface. Now they had docked, and standing on the deck of the
Tiger,
the major said, “I wish you the best of luck, Major.”

“Not a major any longer, Captain.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Turning to Mallory, he said, “And you, Miss Winslow. Will you be going back to Africa now?”

“I think that will be up to the authorities. I would like very much to help with the work in Norway.”

“I expect you would get rather a warm welcome,” Bishop said wryly. “But I doubt very much if that will be possible.”

“Perhaps not.” Mallory lifted her chin defiantly. “But one day I’m going back. My heart is still with the Lapps.”

Captain Bishop was aware of the problems that faced the two, especially the German. He studied Derek’s face and shook his head. “Well, Grüber, I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“And now this is good-bye, Miss Winslow.” Bishop watched as they walked off the sub onto the dock. They were met by two uniformed guards and a civilian. “Strange pair,” he said. “A war produces some funny stories.”

As Derek and Mallory stepped onto the dock, a small man stepped forward and put out his hand. “My name is Hadley, James Hadley. You are Major Grüber, I take it.”

“Not major any longer. Just mister, I suppose.”

“Ah yes. Well, that’s true, I take it. And this is Miss Winslow?”

“How are you, Mr. Hadley?”

“Very well, thank you.” Hadley looked rather frail, as a matter of fact, but there was a quickness about him that neither of the pair missed. “We will be seeing quite a bit of one another. I will be taking your stories.”

“Are you with the Secret Service, sir?” Derek asked directly.

“Something like that. You may consider yourselves guests of the British government.”

Derek glanced at the two heavily armed guards wearing large pistols in their belts and holding rifles in their hands. He smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

Hadley did not miss the sudden bit of humor and smiled also. “A necessary precaution. You are a very valuable man,
sir. And, Miss Winslow, you will be wanting to speak with your parents—to contact your family, I’m sure.”

“Yes, I would, Mr. Hadley.”

“For the time being you will be housed at an estate just outside of London.”

“Mr. Hadley, what’s going to happen to Derek?”

“Why, my dear Miss Winslow, it’s far too early to say.” He knew more about this young woman than she supposed, having checked into her background thoroughly. He said nothing of this, however. “If you’ll follow me, we have a car waiting. I’m sure you’ll welcome a bath and a good meal after your adventures.”

****

“This is a beautiful place, isn’t it, Derek?”

“Yes, it is. And we’ve been treated most royally.”

The two were seated in a large room with high ceilings and beautiful paintings on the wall. The carpet was expensive, and a fire crackled in the huge fireplace built of native stone. They were drinking tea, and from time to time, one of them would glance at the man who sat a short distance away. He appeared to be ignoring them, but they were sure he was actually a guard keeping a close eye on them. He wore no uniform, but they had no doubt he had a concealed gun.

“It’s been an odd time. I feel like I’m in limbo,” Derek murmured.

“Do you suppose we’ll be interrogated again today?”

“I expect so, although I don’t know what else I can tell them.”

“Mr. Hadley knows more about us than he lets on. Why, he even knew about things that happened to me when I was young.”

“I don’t think you have any problem, Mallory, but they can’t make up their mind what to do about me, can they?”

“I think you’re right, Derek.”

James Hadley, they had quickly discovered, was a very
important man in British intelligence. He was never rough or abusive, but he had a way of picking a man apart that impressed Derek. He had grown to like the man, even though he was a bit weary of spending time with him going over his past.

“I’m afraid this story’s not going to have a happy ending,” Derek said to Mallory.

“Yes it will.”

“You think life is like a movie or a magazine love story.” He smiled and reached over to take her hand. “I wish it were.”

“I’m confident it’s going to be all right, Derek.”

He shook his head. “You really believe that, don’t you—that everything’s going to be fine?”

“Yes, I do.”

Derek squeezed her hand and smiled at her affectionately. “I’m glad you believe that. I hope you can make me believe the same thing.”

“God has delivered us from the hands of our enemies. Back when Stahl caught us in that open boat, all I could do was cry out to God.”