Page 63 of Winter’s End

But the man in the Dutch police uniform who slipped quickly inside was the youngmarechaussee,Lukas Jensen, who had helped transport some of the uprooted families to the hospital.

“Lukas?”

He nodded. “Dr. Visser, the Dans Hal,” he breathed heavily, as though he had been moving quickly. “The NSB – they are preparing to raid the Dans Hal. You must alert them.”

The NSB, Zoe knew, were a group pf Dutch fascists and German sympathizers who regularly betrayed their own people. An image of Daan passed through her brain.

“When, Lukas, when?”

“I do not know for certain. Perhaps tomorrow or the next day. I just – I happened to overhear, but it is not safe for me in this uniform…”

Zoe understood. Hers mind raced. The underground newspaper…Resistance supplies…falsified identification papers…half the tools the Council relied upon lay behind the outwardly innocent walls of the Dans Hal.

“Danke, Lukas.” She led him out the back door, and locked it firmly behind them.

MILA

Pieter looked tired, his expression as grave as Mila had ever seen it. She longed to reach out, to offer some comfort, at the very least to take his hand in hers. But his manner toward her remained friendly but reserved. It was a bridge that had yet to be crossed.

“A penny for your thoughts,” he smiled wanly.

A little white lie. “I was thinking of Daan.”

Pieter sighed. “Unless he is being held in captivity, I fear we may never see him again…Worse yet, our sources tell us that a young couple hiding two Jewish children in their attic are the latest to be sacrificed to the Germans for cash by Police Captain Reimar de Boer.”

He reached for a communique on the edge of his desk, lit a match to it and watched it burn.

He tossed into a metal wastebasket. Mila watched it turn to ash.

“However,” he said, leaning back in his chair,” we have eyes in Amsterdam observing de Boer’s daily routine – and his driver has promised assistance if we should need it.

He drummed his fingers on the desk in the way, Mila knew by now, meant he was deliberating. “But whatever we do to stop the man’s treachery, we will have to be quick and precise. Our first chance will be our best chance – perhaps our only chance…we had best get it right.”

“And how will we do that?”

“I was hoping you would ask, Mila,” Pieter’s eyes sought hers. “It is well known in de Boer’s circle,” he said, “that the man has an eye for pretty women.”

She waited.

“Perhaps…and this is a lot to ask, Mila, this is something we can accomplish together.”

EVI

Evi planted her feet apart, took careful aim, and fired. In successive shots, all five of her targets fell from their resting places.

Jumping excitedly, she grinned and turned to Jacob, who pumped a fist in the air.

“Good job, Itty Bitty,” he said.

But Evi thought he seemed oddly distant, as he had for most of the afternoon.

She hefted the Colt and waited for his instruction. When it did not come, she turned to face him.

“I think maybe that’s all for today,” he said, looking at his watch. “It’ll be getting dark soon, and there are things I need to do.”

She frowned.

“I know. I’m sorry to cut your session short.”