CHAPTER 3
Black rose stood there stunned for a moment but then she quickly regained her composure.
"How did you get in here?" she demanded.
"I have my ways," he said calmly, "but that's not important the allied high command has decided that it is too dangerous for you to stay in France your contact General Braddock sent me to get you out."
"You're The Wizard aren't you?!" she Blurted out. There was a twinkle of amusement in the man's eyes.
"You know that I am," he replied with a smile in his voice. Black rose mentally kicked her-self for acting like an infatuated airhead.
"How do we get out?" She asked.
"In the morning I want you to go to the train station I'll make sure the Gestapo and the S.S. tails that you've had for the past two days are kept busy. Once you're there sit down at the little café, order the specialty of the day and wait. A friend of mine will find you. You will say, `do you eat here often?' The reply must be, "Yes, I'm partial to the rich chocolate mousse myself."
"I understand," said the black rose, "but why not escort me yourself?"
"I'm wanted by the S.S., and the Gestapo even more than you are it would be to dangerous." He replied.
The black rose shrugged and nodded Knowing that he was right.
May 10, 1943
A Street in France
0900 hours:
The Black rose stepped out of a store that served as a front for one of their undercover operations. She began to walk toward the train-station. She forced her-self to walk casually even though she felt anything but casual. She suddenly became aware of someone shadowing her as she walked she slowly reached into her pocket and gripped the cold hard handle of her pistol. When she rounded the corner she ducked into an alley and flattened herself against the wall. She heard the footsteps coming closer and closer when she heard them slowing down she realized that her tail knew that she had ducked into one of the alleys on this street instead of going on. As he came closer and closer she began to feel frantic. Suddenly a man with an S.S. insignia on his lapel appeared in the Alley.
"Black Rose, I presume." He said with an evil leer. The black rose put her pistol to her head,
"You'll never take me alive." She snapped and began to pull the trigger. Suddenly the gun jumped out of her hand and the S.S. officer suddenly burst into flames was reduced to dust before he could even scream. The Black Rose turned and walked out of the alley around the block, and into the train station still trying to comprehend what she had just seen. She sat down in the Café that was part of the station. She picked up the menu and told the waiter the she wanted the specialty of the day then she sat there and waited. A few seconds later she looked and found a handsome raven haired man about her own age standing there. The most peculiar thing about him was a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.
"May I?" he asked She nodded and he sat down.
"Do you eat here often," she asked.
"Yes," he replied, "I'm partial to the rich chocolate mousse myself." She breathed a sigh of relief.
"You are the Wizard's man." She said in a whisper. He nodded
"Best call me Harry," he said, "never know who might be listening." She nodded,
"And you'd best call me Hermione," she said, "what's the plan?"
"We go out of here on the train, I'll be posing as a textile salesman and you'll be posing as my wife." He replied, "I have the tickets and out travel papers."
"All right," she said, "When does the train leave?"
"The train that we want leaves in half an hour, we can't go straight for the coast or the krauts will get suspicious." Just then the Waiter returned with two house specials of the day, the orders turned out to be steak and potatoes.
"What do we do in the mean time?" she asked Harry picked up his fork and smiled,
"Let's eat."
Time seemed to pass at a snail's pace and that just served to make the black rose more nervous. She tried to eat but her nerves were just to on edge. She looked at her companion and was amazed to see that he was the picture of calm. He sat there greedily devouring his meal as if nothing in the world was wrong.
"How can you be so calm?" she asked as they boarded the train, "aren't you worried about the Gestapo and the S.S.?"
"No," said Harry, "I know for a fact that the Wizard has every agent of those organizations in this town on a wild goose chase, they think they're chasing him but, they'll be half way to Berlin before they realize that they've been had.
Harry reached out and slid open the door and they walked into the compartment. In one room was sitting area and the other was the sleep area with a huge bed right in the middle of it.
May 10, 1943
Somewhere Between Paris
And Cologne, France
1420 hours:
The first half hour went by uneventfully. Hermione sat there looking at her traveling companion who was dozing peacefully in his seat. He was a good-looking-guy he probably had his choice of girls back at where ever he called home. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of grinding brakes and a jolt as the train came to a stop. A second or to later there was the sound of loud voices as to S.S. Men along with two Gestapo agents boarded the train and began to check everyone's travel papers. Harry who was now wide awake reached into his coat and handed Hermione her papers. A few seconds later the door of their compartment was shoved open so hard that Hermione was sure he had put it through the wall into the next compartment.
She gave a barely perceptible start when she saw the face of the officer demanding there papers. He had chased her once before during one of her previous narrow escapes she just knew that he would recognize her as a resistance worker. But to her amazement he just took her paper looked at them then pronounced them in order and official then wishing them a pleasant journey he left the compartment.
"How could it be that he didn't recognize me?" she asked flabbergasted.
"The Wizard has his ways of working things out," Said Harry as he calmly put his papers back in his pocket.
"Hmm," replied Hermione, "after that I'm beginning to think he's a real wizard."
"Well," said Harry, "Like the old Shakespeare quote says: There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio."
TBC Please Review!!
-->