"So, how are things progressing?" he asked, gently caressing her cheek.
"Your father's ready to go. Everything is packed up and either ready to be destroyed, or taken with us. I've wiped clean the parts of the buildings we're no longer using, and will do the rest before we go."
Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders a little and said,
"All we need now is our ride. England here we come!"
9
Resistance Is Futile
Droplets of lava sizzled and steamed as they plummeted down the side of one of the rock walls that made up the abandoned cellar. Watching fascinated, buoyed by the warmth the lava gave off, she was intoxicated by the slow and steady movement and the change in colour. At the moment there was little else for her to do. Most beings would have been disappointed, fed up, bored even. Not her though, fully understanding the need to be here, and to be patient. And so she was. With the squad of nagas in the room next door assigned as her bodyguards, her safety was as assured as it could be, despite being back where she'd been born. Back where, in theory at least, she was a wanted criminal. Assuming that no right minded dragon was actually still on the lookout for her, given that her crimes had been committed well over six decades earlier, still she remained nervous at the very thought of being tucked away in their domain. You never actually knew with dragons. They had the longest memories of all, and because of exactly who she was, and what she'd done, she always assumed that the hunt was still on.
Probably the biggest downside of being stuck in this room, decked out with only a simple bed, a sink and a toilet off to one side, was that in waiting to be called forth, her mind had little else to do but wander off, mostly to events far in the past, pondering the decisions that she'd made, going over each and every last detail.
Blowing her long brown locks back behind her head, the warm evening breeze tickled her face. With the spitting rain having just stopped, she loosened the belt on her long grey raincoat, all the time taking in the stunning landmarks surrounding her. Directly in front of her stood the magnificent Notre Dame in all its glory, the intricate brickwork of the amazing walls that lined the river captured the real essence of the beautiful architecture as the sun started to set. Green, brown and red hues of the trees and hedges in the foreground looked like something from a fairytale, while the river itself flowed gently on its way, too important to stop, ignoring the passage of time, here in 1941. Things had been going brilliantly over the last couple of weeks, particularly with regard to this new contact that she'd cultivated. If all went well, then tonight she would once again strike at the heart of the British and French Resistance, earning herself more credit with her Nazi puppet masters. Reluctantly turning away from the timeless view, she casually looked along the bridge, in the direction of the Sorbonne. Reminiscent of their last three meetings, her contact stood on the bridge, stunning red locks whipping out behind her, waiting for their planned encounter. But here and now, it was time to force their hand and take control of the situation. After all, that's why she'd been feeding them the information for nearly the last month or so, she thought as the dying light from the sun's last rays disappeared over the horizon.
Not daring to glance round, she already knew he was there, they'd done this so many times before. It was time to start the show. So she speeded up. Doing so in the ridiculous high heels was a challenge, but less to her than most. With the red headed contact gazing in her direction, she held up three fingers in front of her body, running her other hand through her wavy hair, giving out the signal that there was trouble. From the look on the other woman's face, she'd picked up on what was happening and had a plan to deal with it.
'Good,' she thought, ambling quickly towards her, 'all is going according to plan.' Only a few feet away now, the Resistance operative, who she knew by the name of 'Kitty', glanced over her shoulder, back up the bridge, no doubt taking in her pursuer, a brawny male in a dark coat and hat who went by the name of Wolfgang, though of course she wasn't supposed to know that. Breathing heavily, she stumbled into Kitty's arms.
"I'm... I'm so sorry. I didn't realise he was following me until a few moments ago. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared," she lied, hamming it up for the good of the moment.
Instinctively Kitty grabbed her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction to her brawny pursuer, just as she was supposed to. It was too easy!
"Come with me," whispered the slim redhead in perfect English. "We'll get you somewhere safe, and then we can talk."
In return, she nodded, a false mask of fear etched across her face. High heels scraping against the cobbles, the two of them jogged along the bridge, neither daring to look back over their shoulder. Cutting across the Pont Saint-Louis, they rushed ever onwards, ignoring the odd looks from passersby. Once across the Pont Louis-Philippe, they veered left alongside the river, heading towards the world renowned Louvre. Daring to glance back, the Resistance officer, Kitty, spotted the man about the same sort of distance away as he had been on the bridge. Squeezing Earth's hand reassuringly, much to her disgust, it had the desired effect, as she made the fear disappear from her face, albeit only briefly. Another hundred yards or so on, Kitty glanced again. Their gentleman follower had gained considerable distance on them. Earth guessed that Kitty's aim would be to get her to the safe house, which probably wasn't far away, and that was the haven which Earth was trying to penetrate.
"DITCH THE SHOES," Kitty suddenly shouted to Earth, pulling one off and tossing it towards one of the trees lining the street, followed quickly by the other. Slowing to a halt, Earth followed the instructions, the man chasing them only a matter of yards away now. Both women took off, able to take full advantage of their bare feet now, Kitty's red hair trailing out behind her, as did her own. Panting heavily, not daring to look round, the two women sprinted right into Rue du Pont Neuf, glad of the darkness that now shrouded the entire city. Silently, they cut left along Rue Saint-Honoré, crossing the main thoroughfare, Kitty trying desperately to stick to the smaller, darker, quieter streets. Pausing to catch their breath, there was no sign of their tail, but she knew better than to get complacent. They had to get to the safe house, only then could they relax, or at least that's what Earth hoped the simple girl would think. Muscles in her legs burning fiercely; she wondered if her new found friend felt the same. If she did, she was hiding it well. The Resistance officer, clearly quite experienced from the extent of her spy craft, despite her age, led them sharply right and then immediately left, all the time darting in and out of the shadows, avoiding the sporadic placement of street lamps, despite the fact that she must be exhausted by now. Another right and sharp left led them to the entrance of a darkened Rue des Bons-Enfants. Kitty pulled her up against the wall, both of them barely able to pull in a breath. There were no street lights here... it was totally dark. Heart racing, Kitty poked her head ever so slightly round the corner, hoping to prove that they'd lost their shadow. After a few minutes, it seemed evident that they had. Embracing briefly, the two women looked and felt more than a little out of place in their bare feet. It was enough to make Earth feel sick.
"I'm pretty sure we've lost him. We have a house, just up here. It'll be alright for you to stay. My associates and I will protect you, I promise."