Page 32 of The Last Safe Place
“The name suits you,” Michaela said with a grin, while Eberhard Lange shook his head in disapproval. “Fräulein Vogel?—”
“Nellie,” Leonore corrected him.
“Fräulein Nellie, our work as agents is merely a pretense, none of us will actually be working for the Abwehr.”
A warning nudge in the ribs from Michaela prompted her to nod meekly. “I am very well aware of that, Herr Lange.”
Herr Lange and Herr Seifert hummed and hawed for at least ten minutes before finally agreeing on the rather unimaginative aliases of Grau and Mark. As far as Leonore could tell, the names had no meaning whatsoever, they were simply the best the two men had come up with in the short time.
Regrettably she hadn’t been asked for her opinion, or she would have helped out with some suitable ideas.
An hour and a half later, they got off at an abandoned stop. Leonore’s anticipation was instantly dampened. However, her excitement soon returned as they entered the converted mansion by the lake, where they would spend their next few days.
Leonore bobbed up and down impatiently while their rooms were allocated, until Michaela, with whom she would be sharing a room, finally said, “Nellie. Keep still. You’re making me dizzy just looking at you.”
“Sorry. It’s just so exciting.”
Michaela rolled her eyes in response, grabbed her medical bag, and walked up to their room.
Lieutenant Hesse took his leave, saying, “You’re in good hands here. I’ll pick you up in three days.”
Leonore wouldn’t have had objections to staying here much longer. After the initial shock of the isolated location, the lake looked very appealing, with its clear, blue, albeit presumably cold water. But she wouldn’t get the opportunity to stroll down to the shore until much later. First, they had lunch, then their trainer introduced himself as Herr Schmidt.
“Schmidt is definitely a code name,” she whispered to Michaela.
The instructor gazed at her sternly. “No whispering. I require your undivided attention.”
“Y-yes, of course,” stammered Leonore, feeling the blood rush to her face.
The group was led to a laboratory, where a gaunt man in a white coat was waiting for them. He introduced himself asThe Firesetter. Leonore had to suppress a grin as she wondered what the occasion had been that earned him such a nickname.
The Firesetter was wearing huge safety goggles, which he had pushed up onto his head. He clapped his hands. “Let us begin!”
Then he split them up into pairs. To her chagrin, Leonore had to work with Herr Lange. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, though it would have been so much more fun with Michi, or rather, Heloise. Very well, she wasn’t here for fun, was she? Herr Lange had repeatedly taken the opportunity on the train journey to emphasize that both the training and their deployment asagents were only a sham, and that none of the so-called agents had agreed to engage in espionage activities.
“Fräulein Nellie,” came the voice of the man in the white coat.
It took a few seconds and a nudge from Michi’s elbow for Leonore to realize he meant her.
“Sorry.” Leonore resolved to pay closer attention in future, and joined Herr Lange, who stepped up to one of the lab tables.
“I will show you how to write with invisible ink and how to make it visible. After that, it’s up to you to copy the process,” the Firesetter explained.
Her nerves tight as a bowstring, Leonore observed each of his movements, before she copied him. It was amazingly simple and a few minutes later she proudly presented the result to him.
“Very nice, Fräulein Nellie,” the Firesetter said in praise. “Now go and help your partner, Herr Grau.”
As Leonore turned, she noticed Herr Lange staring desperately at the desk. She explained the process to him again, step by step. He pressed his lips together, muttering, “I don’t have to be able to do this. I guarantee you I’ll never spy for the Nazis.”
She had already noticed the former lawyer’s difficulty accepting his role as an agent, even though it was only for show. Although he was easily twice her age, she put on a stern face and scolded him. “Now listen to me carefully. Regardless of whether you ever need to use this technique or not, in an emergency, all our lives could depend on it.”
“Well said.” Like a ghostly apparition, the Firesetter had appeared next to them. Leonore was relieved she hadn’t said anything that might have cast suspicion on the legitimacy of their deployment as agents. It strengthened her resolve to pretend, at all times in all places, that she really was working forthe Wehrmacht. Deep in her heart, she was already a genuine spy.
They continued with instructions on forging signatures and documents, as well as other tools of their trade, until the evening. It was an exhilarating experience.
At dinner Leonore wanted to share her excitement with the others, but Herr Lange cut her. “Fräulein Nellie, you’re putting too much enthusiasm into this training. It‘s only?—”
Michaela cast him a scolding glare, “Herr Grau, we know it’s just ajob, yet we have to be meticulous at learning everything that might make it easier for us once we are deployed.”