Chapter 44
B efore Lizzie realised what was happening, Heinrich pulled her in front of him like a human shield, and only then did she see the formidable figure dressed in German naval uniform, his gun trained on Heinrich.
Lizzie blinked. If it weren’t for the unmistakable timbre of the voice, she wouldn’t recognise him in the shadows.
Heinrich yanked her hair so hard she cried out involuntarily. ‘So, this is who sent you to trick me? Well now, you will both pay,’ he snarled.
Lizzie kept her eyes on the figure in the dark blue tunic and cap and listened to him bark another instruction in German. It crossed her mind that she might be hallucinating. The beating Heinrich had given her must have rendered her unconscious.
Could Jack really be at Seagrove, disguised as German naval crew?
‘If you try to shoot me, she dies,’ Heinrich said, his voice cold and his hand steady as the cold metal of his gun pressed against her temple. ‘Put your weapon down and you might even save the whore.’
Fury whipped into Jack’s black eyes as he moved a step closer. Lizzie held her breath, and her legs trembled. Her life was in the claws of Raven and Eagle. It was as if she had always known it would come down to the ultimate battle between good and evil, and she would be caught in it.
Terror that Heinrich would shoot Jack galvanised her out of her stupor.
She must help Raven. At that second, they heard a door open at the far end of the room.
Another figure dressed in German naval uniform appeared in the doorway, and in the split-second Heinrich was distracted, she used all her strength to escape his grip, ducking and signalling Jack to take the shot.
A bullet raced through the air and hit Heinrich cleanly in the forehead.
Jack didn’t falter for a second, his aim was precise.
The SS officer’s gun flew out of his hand and toppled onto the burgundy carpet as his heavy frame crumpled.
Jack pulled her to safety before he fell on Lizzie, who was crouched in front of him.
The other figure in naval uniform entered the room, and Lizzie recognised Fabian, but words failed her. Jack bent down to check Heinrich’s pulse and nodded as he sought her eyes. Waves of relief reverberated through her.
The nightmare was over.
Jack reached for Lizzie’s coat and covered her trembling, naked body as her legs gave way, and she fell into his arms gasping for breath. The shock consumed her, and she clung to Jack, sobbing as he stroked her tangled, blood-smeared hair, trying to soothe her.
He held her steady against his chest and whispered, ‘You’re safe now, darling. I’ve got you.’
His calm voice and strong arms cocooned her, and gradually brought her back to herself as she searched his face.
‘How did you get here?’
‘There’s no time to explain,’ Jack said. ‘Let’s get you dressed. We must leave immediately before someone realises what’s happened.’
Fabian exited the room, and Jack helped Lizzie step gingerly into her clothes, her bleeding, bruised body smarting and throbbing all over.
‘I’m sorry we don’t have time to clean you up now, but we need to get out of here, my love.’
Lizzie nodded. ‘My coat!’ she said as they were about to dash out of the room. ‘It’s got the camera in it.’
Turning back for the coat she had discarded on the chair whilst she dressed, she approached Heinrich’s motionless bulk lying awkwardly on the carpet. The Eagle’s glassy grey-blue eyes stared up at her, bulging and lifeless, outsmarted by the legendary Raven.
The vision would be etched in her brain forever, and she shuddered as she looked down at him, unable to drag herself away from the horror of the scene.
‘He was dead before he hit the ground,’ Jack said. ‘If we had more time, I would have made him suffer for what he did to you.’
Lizzie tore her gaze away from the dead Nazi, who had beaten her and was about to violate her if Jack hadn’t saved her. Her legs were still shaky, and Jack returned to steady her, taking her hand and guiding her firmly out of the room.
As they moved through the grounds, Lizzie saw the inert bodies of the two guards. Jack and Fabian tugged them off the grass and into the shadows at the side of the house.
‘At least they won’t find them at first glance. It will buy us some time in case we missed anyone on our way in,’ Jack said.
It was late, and the silver moon shone high in the dark sky as the spring tides rippled across Portelet Bay, whispering on the rocks and washing over the golden sand. Jack picked Lizzie up in one swoop and deposited her gently into the patrol boat.
‘How the hell did you get your hands on this?’ she asked.
‘We overpowered the sailors when we arrived. Luckily, there were only two of them on night watch. I knew we’d need a boat for a quick getaway to England once we got you out. We couldn’t go back to Brittany with Alain. Fabian is disguised as a fisherman, so they should get back in easily enough.’
‘So that’s where you got the uniforms!’ Lizzie said.
Jack didn’t say how they disposed of the German sailors, and Lizzie didn’t ask. Fabian had already bid them farewell in the grounds before he darted down the path to the cove where Alain awaited him for their return journey to St. Lunaire.
Jack settled Lizzie on a bench inside the wheelhouse and started the engine of the boat. They talked as they raced through the night, the vessel pulsing as it sliced across the waves, heading towards the coast of England in the moonlight.
Lizzie had a million questions about how Jack had rescued her.
‘You didn’t think I would see your message and just sit and wait for you at Baker Street when you were going into Jersey on a suicide mission alone, did you?’
‘I suppose I should have known you would come, but things moved so fast I didn’t have time to think. I hoped you would understand I had to go.’
‘Oh, I understood, alright!’ Jack said, his tone sardonic. ‘I kicked myself for not anticipating what you would do. It was stupid of me.’
‘I didn’t plan it in advance. But when I heard they were turning Portelet into a fortress on Hitler’s orders, I knew it would be my last chance to get in. And I had to confirm the plans were real,’ she added.
‘Well, from what I saw of Seagrove, it certainly looks like they plan to use it as the base for a major fortification.’
‘I took photos of the Portelet sites this morning. That’s what got me caught! The work is still in the early stages, so it was worth the risk to deliver a detailed report to Churchill.’
‘Tell it to Val!’ he said. ‘I don’t envy you that debrief, but I suppose you have a reasonable excuse for undertaking such a perilous mission unsanctioned.’
Lizzie laughed, the sound echoing through the boat. ‘Val is a piece of cake compared to you. She loves my bold operations.’
‘Get down!’ Jack shouted as a German boat appeared in the distance.
Lizzie threw herself onto the deck, and Jack stood tall, still wearing his full German naval uniform.
She held her breath and waited, not daring to move or make a sound, despite her physical discomfort.
Minutes passed before she heard the loud blast of a horn, and when she raised her head slightly, she saw Jack salute.
‘Stay down,’ Jack warned.
Lizzie crouched on the deck, praying they wouldn’t be stopped. Her endurance had reached its limit.
‘It’s safe now,’ Jack said eventually.
Lizzie stumbled to her feet and saw the coast was clear. ‘That was close.’
‘Yes, without the uniform they’d have been onto us. It was Fabian’s idea. That’s quite a cousin you’ve got there.’
‘Yes, and you should meet Sophie!’
Lizzie moved into Jack’s arms, and they stood together holding onto each other tightly for a while.
‘Thank you for saving me.’
Jack dropped a tender kiss onto her forehead. ‘That’s my job.’
Lizzie said, ‘One more thing—how on earth did you get here so quickly? One minute you were in London and then suddenly you were storming Seagrove. I thought I was dreaming when you burst in!’
Jack glanced at the fuel gauge and then looked at Lizzie.
‘As soon as I read your message, I told Val what you were doing, and she relented and agreed you needed emergency backup. That night they dropped me near the farmhouse, and I searched for Fabian, who told me you should be back in the morning. That was a long night! Then, Alain arrived without you, and we organised the rescue, pretending to be his fishing crew.’
It all made sense now.
Lizzie said, ‘I’m so glad I followed your orders and shared my location. Honestly, I thought it was the end when that bastard showed up at the house.’
Lizzie decided it was best not to tell him more about the Eagle now. There would be plenty of time to talk after she had been debriefed. For now, she wanted to forget about her ordeal.
Her heart gradually returned to a steady beat, and she sat back down.
Jack stroked her hair, and she drifted off into an exhausted slumber as the pale light of dawn diffused the layers of night, heralding a new day.
‘Wake up. We’re nearly there, Seagrove,’ Jack said, sometime later.
Lizzie stirred and stretched and saw the coastline on the horizon, etched against the pink sky. Her whole body throbbed.
‘Where are we?’
‘Nearly at Lyme Regis, a small fishing port in Dorset. We are dangerously low on fuel and won’t make it to Southampton. Hopefully, no smart arse will shoot us out of the water when they spot a German boat approaching.’
Lizzie scrambled to her feet, intense pain ripping through her torn skin and aching muscles. ‘Ouch.’
Jack cursed. ‘You must hurt all over. Soon we’ll get you home and into a warm bath. And a doctor should check you over.’
‘I’m more worried about being shot out of the water as a German sailor!’
‘We’d better signal them,’ Jack said, stripping off the white shirt he still wore, and handing it to Lizzie. ‘Wave this about so they know we come in peace!’
Lizzie waved the shirt violently as they neared the harbour entrance, and Jack removed his white undershirt and waved that too, steering the German boat wearing only trousers and boots.
‘This is The Cobb,’ he shouted over the bluster of the early morning winds whipping up around them, referring to the curved wall that protected the harbour.
Lizzie saw a row of men positioned along the wall, their guns glinting in the rising sun as their voices carried across the water.
‘It’s the Home Guard on coastal defences,’ Jack said.
‘They look like they’re going to shoot us!’ Lizzie said. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Yes, there’s a megaphone down there.’ He pointed to a ledge. ‘Pass it to me. Then duck out of sight just to be on the safe side!’
Lizzie did as he said, praying they wouldn’t shoot Jack as they cut through the waves and into the line of fire.
Jack's voice echoed around the small boat. 'Hold your fire! British agents, Special Operations Executive! We work for Baker Street—contact Regional HQ!'
‘That should do it,’ Jack said, lowering the megaphone and steering the boat into the harbour. The engines cut out as they reached The Cobb. ‘And just in the nick of time or you would have been swimming to shore again!’
Lizzie got to her feet and watched the Home Guard, their guns still trained on them as they evaluated the incoming enemy vessel.
A voice boomed across the water. ‘How do we know you are British agents? Identify yourselves properly, please!’
Jack retrieved the megaphone. ‘Captain Jack King and Elizabeth Beaumont. Please confirm with HQ and allow us to disembark.’
Lizzie and Jack stood together, rocking back and forth to the rhythm of the sea as a member of the Home Guard placed a call to verify their identities.
The men finally lowered their guns, and Jack moored the boat with the guidance of two fishermen eager to help the special agents. Lizzie guessed this would be an iconic war story they would tell their children, who would pass it down through the generations.
Lizzie was shaky when she exited the boat, and her feet met solid ground. Jack’s quiet strength supported her as she climbed the old stone steps to the quay, and they dodged stacks of weathered sandbags and a machine gun nest.
‘Welcome to Blighty, sir. It’s an honour to meet you,’ said the Home Guard officer, striding to meet them at the top of the step and saluting. ‘Miss,’ he bowed his head and shook Lizzie’s hand. ‘Your people are sending someone to collect you.’
‘Thank you, Lieutenant,’ Jack said.
‘I imagine you would both kill for a cuppa after escaping the Boche in one of their patrol boats! Damned good show, if I may say so. I’d love to hear the details, but I appreciate it’s classified.’
The lieutenant led them into a small building on the quay, and as they entered, he commanded, ‘Put the kettle on, Briggs. Very important visitors incoming.’
Lizzie and Jack smiled at each other, and their fingers grazed.
The tides of resistance had carried them home.