ch.9

--9
2 weeks later. 1000 hours
RIIIINGGG
Ed got out of his room lazily. “Oh, what the heck…” he grunted as he picked up the phone. “Yes?” he asked.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Mr. Buck?” Ed asked. “Where are you?” Maurice asked. “At home. Why?” Ed answered. “Come to the office now. You have 15 minutes!” Maurice ordered. “Aye, sir,” Ed said, then he hung up.

Karl stood in front of a man. “You’re not going to tell?” he asked. The man didn’t say a thing. A Gestapo took a shotgun and hit his foot.
“Not speaking?” Karl asked. The man shook his head.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Karl opened the door. “What is it, herr Major?” Karl asked. “Look what I’ve got,” the major said as he handed a paper. “Telegram?” Karl asked. “Yeah,” the major said. Karl took it and read it.
“Von Walther…” Karl whispered. “Von Walther…”
“So you know him?” the major asked. “Of course. He’s an old friend who happens to rank higher than me,” Karl said. “What did he wrote?” the major asked. “He wants me back,” Karl answered. “So… can you take care of things here, please?”
The major nodded. “Leave it to me,” he said, then he got into the room.

Ronald looked at his clock. “So, you’re just the Vice, now?” Maurice asked. “Yeah. But at least I’m happy. I’ll let the young one take care of this,” Ronald said. “I guess Churchill likes youngsters to take care of such things,” he said as he laughed. “No, no. If that’s so, I guess I’m also the Vice now,” Maurice said. “So, is that real? He told Von Werner nothing?” Ronald asked. “Yeah. The proof is, both his agent and operator aren’t caught,” Maurice said. “Hey, I’d like that. That’s good for this mission,” Ronald said.
Ed stopped his bicycle and ran to the men. “Morning, sir,” he said as he saluted. “Ah, you. Come on in. Ronald wants to tell you something,” Maurice said. “A new mission, sir?” Ed asked. “Something like that,” Ronald said. “Let’s talk about this over a cup of tea.

Maurice and Ronald looked at Ed carefully. “So,” Ed said. “What’s my bloody mission?” he asked.
“In Germany?” Ronald asked. “Yeah, or whatever. Just tell me what to do,” Ed said.
Ronald sighed. “You know…” he said. “It’s been quite a while since the Blitzkrieg’s age’s over, right?” Ronald asked. “Yes, I know. So what?” Ed asked. “So, we, the Allied forces, will be having a… probably the greatest landing,” Maurice said. “Oh, sounds great. You’re going to pierce into Berlin, I guess?” Ed asked. “Yes,” Ronald said. “I’ve read about it. If I’m not mistaken, it’s Operation Husky, right?” Ed asked. “Yes. You know how we’re going to do it, I guess,” Ronald said. “Yes, I know. I guess so,” Ed said.
“Actually we sent something to fool Hitler,” Maurice said. “A kind of gift.”
“What kind of gift?” Ed asked. “A corpse, actually,” Ronald said. “A corpse stocked with information. We’re just trying to fool Hitler,” he said. “We’re just trying to get to Rome. Mussolini has fallen. If we get Italy now…” he paused. “It’s going to be great. Italy never wanted to fight alongside with German.”
“The corpse we sent is supposed to make Hitler think that we’ll land in Sardinia,” Maurice said. “But unfortunately, not everybody trust that information,” he paused. “Say, Kesselring.”
Ed sighed. “Bloody damn,” he thought. “So,” Ronald said. “Your mission is basically to kill one of Kesselring’s subordinates,” he said. “And why must I?” Ed asked. “He’s basically an Abwehr,” Ronald said. “I thought we caught a lot of Abwehr agents,” Ed said. “Yes, we did, but this one is special,” Ronald said. “He basically gave updates to Kesselring about Sicily and our moves, so I think it’s not really weird to get rid of him, right?” Ronald asked as he put a folder on the table.
“No training again, I guess?” Ed asked as he read the documents. “Of course. We expect much from you, especially after France,” Maurice said.
“So… Roderick von Walther,” Ed said. “Just kill him?”
“Yes. Simple, right?” Ronald asked. “After this, you go train your radio skills. You’ll be working alone there,” Maurice said. “Alone?” Ed asked. “But… isn’t it just too much?”
“No, no, trust me,” Ronald said. “Everything will be fine, especially because there will be no traitors,” he said. “But this Roderick is very careful, and the worst is…” Ronald paused. “He knows Von Werner pretty well.”
Ed kept looking at the documents. “I’ll be an Ernest there?” he asked. “Just take it like that. Ernest is an Abwehr we caught, and he resembles you, you know,” Ronald said. “Besides, son,” he said. “Be happy. Make sure you’re not followed, be careful of women, and don’t catch Gestapo’s attention,” Ronald said. “What to do after this?” Ed asked. “Go with me and let’s practice the radio thing,” Ronald said. “And… tomorrow, please be ready.”