Agent in peril, p.1
Agent in Peril, page 1
Agent in Peril
Cover
Title Page
Main Characters
The Wolf
Part One
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Part Two
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About the Author
Also by Alex Gerlis
Copyright
Cover
Table of Contents
Start of Content
Main Characters
Principal Characters
Jack Miller American journalist & British agent
Sophia von Naundorf British agent
Barnaby Allen (Barney) MI6 officer
Piers Devereux Barney’s boss at MI6
Sir Roly Pearson British Intelligence Chief
Basil Remington-Barber MI6 officer, Berne
Noel Moore MI6 officer, Berne
British Characters
Tom Gilbey MI6 officer
Lord Swalcliffe Government scientific adviser
Air Vice-Marshal Frank Hamilton Head of RAF Intelligence Branch
Group Captain Martin Marlow RAF Bomber Command
Flying Officer Lawrence Reed RAF officer shot down over Ruhr
Wing Commander Andrew Allen ‘A. A.’ – Barney’s cousin
Philippe Moreau British agent in France
Squadron Leader Harry Wright 617 Squadron, RAF
Reg British security officer, Geneva
Bert British security officer, Geneva
Flight Sergeant Graham Crown Wireless operator, RAF
Polish Characters
Roman Loszynski (Dawid Fiszer) Scientist from Poznań
Lea Loszynski wife of Roman
Max Loszynski son of Roman and Lea
Raisa Loszynski daughter of Roman and Lea
Piotr Drobiński Polish diplomat, London
Henryk Kamiński agent of The Poznań Group
Bolesław Piotrowski Poznań Group agent in Poland
Kapitan Stanisław Makowski RAF 303 Squadron
Major Witold Szymański friend of Roman, Poznań
General Brygady Stanisław Wiśniewski Air Vice Marshal, Polish Air Force
Marek Weiss ZOB contact Warsaw ghetto
Zhenia Krakowski (Helena Kamińska) ZOB agent
Konrad Lubnauer airport manager, Poznań
Aleksander Ładoś Polish Legation, Berne
Juliusz Kühl Polish Legation, Berne
Zofia Żegota, Warsaw
Andrzej Żegota, Krakow
German Characters
SS Brigadeführer Karl-Heinrich von Naundorf late husband of Sophia
Harald Fuchs (Rudi) SS officer, Berlin
Professor Hans-Peter Schmid prisoner at Steinwache, Dortmund
Gisela Haussmann sister of Hans-Peter Schmid
Father Albrecht Priest near Tübingen
Dr Otto Kurz Gestapo officer, Poznań
Bruno skipper of the Elfriede
Dora wife of Bruno
Paul Elfriede crew
Emil Elfriede crew
Axel chandler, Duisburg
Kriminaldirektor Klaus Braun Kripo, Duisburg
Kriminalinspektor Franz Lindner Gestapo, Düsseldorf
Irma contact of Jack’s in Dortmund
‘Arthur’ doctor in Dortmund
Lotte agent in Gelsenkirchen
Rainer Kühn hotel manager, Duisburg
Siegfried Schroth actor in Düsseldorf
Swiss Characters
Johann Burch banker in Zürich
Harald Mettler clerk at Swiss Embassy, Berlin
Felix agent in Düsseldorf
Christoph train guard
Fritz plumber, Berne
Russian Characters
A. I. Stepanov (Arkady) NKVD Commissar, Berne
Leytenant Mikhail Danielovich Marshak Red Army officer, Krakow
Polkovnik Krupkin NKGB officer, Krakow
Nikolai Soviet Legation, Berne
Svetlana Soviet Legation Berne
Others
Pavol Slovakian resistance
The Wolf
The wolf makes a perfect spy because it is such an adaptable creature, able to function equally effectively within a pack or on its own.
It isn’t uncommon for a wolf to travel long distances away from the pack, often as far as five hundred miles. It may have to do this to find a partner or a new territory.
Sometimes the wolf will travel long distances through hostile territory to escape danger, but on other occasions it will make such a journey in the full knowledge that it is walking towards extreme peril.
But whether in its home territory or having travelled, whether in a pack or alone, the wolf remains a formidable creature, its intelligence and resourcefulness easily underestimated.
The wolf will operate from the shadows, its glowing eyes seeing everything.
And its ability to spy undiminished.
Part One
Prologue
Poznań, Poland
June 1938
‘That little man over there… you mean to say that’s him?’
Professor Roman Loszynski did his best to ensure the group of men talking about him didn’t realise he could hear them. He was far enough away for them to assume that. But he objected to being described as ‘little’. Certainly, another two or three more inches would do no harm, but he’d always assumed he was near enough average height.
‘Yes, General Brygady, sir, that is him.’
‘Good Lord, I wasn’t expecting him to be one of… them. He looks like a tailor!’
‘I can assure you, sir, Loszynski is one of the finest…’
Loszynski missed the last few words and turned briefly to look towards the men, an innocent smile playing across his face. The fact he could hear them from so far away was due in part to the fact that the wind on the apron at Poznań–Ławica airport was blowing strongly in his direction, carrying their words an unlikely distance. The wind and his mother: she’d died when he was seven and he’d only ever known her speak in little more than a whisper. Her legacy to him was that from an early age his hearing had become unnaturally acute. His childhood nickname had been nietoperz.
The bat.
The group was walking slowly towards him now. His friend Major Witold Szymański was in front with the General Brygady, the man Witold warned him about, the one who’d just described him as ‘one of them’.
He recalled Witold’s warning. ‘He’s one of the most important men in the Polish Air Force, Roman – please don’t be put off by his… manner. You’ll find he’s blunt – and he has… old-fashioned views.’
‘You mean he doesn’t like Jews, Witold?’
‘Don’t worry, Roman, as soon as he hears about our project and your role in it, he’ll be fine. You just need to be calm and not rise to his bait.’
The group came closer: Major Szymański, the air force marshal Roman had already taken a disliking to, Roman’s good friend Lieutenant Stanisław Makowski, two men from PZL, the leading aircraft manufacturer in Poland, and Roman’s colleague from the university, Bolesław Piotrowski, doing his best to keep in the background as usual.
‘Sir, may I have the pleasure of introducing you to Professor Roman Loszynski from Poznań University? Roman, this is General Brygady Stanisław Wiśniewski, Air Vice Marshall of the Polish Air Force.’
Wiśniewski nodded at the professor, who reached out to shake hands.
‘Professor Roman Loszynski is one of our most brilliant Polish academics in the field of electronics, sir.’
The Air Vice Marshal huffed. ‘Do you mean one of the most brilliant Polish academics or one of the most brilliant academics in Poland? There is a difference, you know.’
‘That may well be the case, sir, but Professor Loszynski is proving to be of enormous help in critical aspects relating to the development of the PZL.37. More specifically, sir, he is responsible for some of the most important work relating to the bombing capability and effectiveness of the new plane.’
Major Szymański paused as another aircraft taxied near to them and the group huddled closer to shield themselves from the noise and the draught. General Brygady Wiśniewski nodded, not taking his eyes off the professor, trying to work out how much he trusted him.
‘It’s too noisy out here,’ he said eventually, as if annoyed that should be the case on an airfield.
And the wind, said someone else and Szymański remarked it was an ill wind and the group laughed in a knowing manner, because that was all people talked about these days – the ill wind buffeting Europe, particularly from Germany and coming towards Poland. The country had only been independent since 1919 and a constant topic of ner
They adjourned to the boardroom, where the walls were covered with diagrams of the PZL.37 in various stages of development.
General Brygady Wiśniewski settled himself in the leather chair reserved for him and lit a large cigar and accepted a glass of vodka from a tray being passed round the room. He made a joke about not drinking and flying and everyone laughed, some rather too enthusiastically.
As they settled down, Roman Loszynski noticed the group had been joined by the airport manager, a rotund man called Konrad Lubnauer, who had a habit of appearing where he was least welcome, like this meeting. He was a member of Poznań’s sizeable German minority and spoke with that distinctive accent. Lubnauer sat at the end of the table, next to Lieutenant Makowski. The tray of vodka glasses was alongside him and he leaned over to help himself to first one drink and then another.
Szymański asked one of the men from PZL to give a brief update of where they were and repeated the word ‘brief’ as the man pushed his chair back noisily and stood in a formal position, an officer addressing his troops.
He spoke of how the PZL.37 had been in development since late 1934 and early prototypes had been made during 1935: progress had been good, if one took into account the inevitable ups and downs of aircraft development, and in June 1936 the first flight of the PZL.37 prototype had taken place successfully.
‘You mean, it didn’t crash!’ The Air Vice Marshall laughed and asked for another vodka to be passed to him, and the man from PZL looked put out that his carefully prepared presentation had been disrupted.
‘Indeed, sir. Production of the PZL.37 commenced soon after that, though we continue to modify and improve the aircraft. As you can see from the diagrams and photographs, sir, the PZL.37 is a twin-engined aeroplane, designed as a medium bomber, constructed from metal. It has a four-man crew. We now feel—’
‘Perhaps, General Brygady, if I may—’ said Major Szymański.
‘What you want, Szymański, is for me to commit the air force to ordering God knows how many of these planes, which look nice enough, without us being sure of exactly what benefit they’ll be to us.’
Major Szymański indicated to Lieutenant Makowski to pass another vodka to the air vice marshal. ‘We are extremely impressed with the PZL.37, sir. We believe it has the potential to be one of the most outstanding bombers in the world: we are of the view that it is far in advance of any comparable aircraft. In the current difficult situation, sir, we would all agree that it is vital that Poland has every means at its disposal to defend and protect itself, and this aircraft would give us a significant advantage. Its standard bomb load is twenty bombs, totalling 4850 pounds, though we’re hoping this load can be increased to around 5700 pounds. Even with such a payload the PZL.37 will have a speed of around two hundred and fifty miles per hour and a range approaching sixteen hundred miles with…’
Major Szymański paused to catch his breath and everyone round the table watched General Brygady Wiśniewski. He nodded his head and Roman Loszynski thought he heard him mutter, ‘Impressive.’
‘And the purpose of today is to fill me with vodka so that I agree to the Polish Air Force buying hundreds of these wonderful aircraft, the most marvellous plane in the world?’
‘The purpose of today, sir, is to appraise you of an important development in connection with the PZL.37, which we think can help ensure it is the most effective bomber in the world.’
‘That’s quite a claim, Szymański.’
‘I know, sir. An important feature of the development of military aircraft since the end of the Great War has been the way aircraft have been designed with specific roles in mind: broadly speaking, this means fighters and bombers. By their nature, bombers tend to be slow and lack manoeuvrability but perhaps their biggest drawback is that dropping bombs from an aircraft isn’t a very accurate business.’
‘You can say that again.’
‘However, we believe that we may well have the prospect of going a long way to solve this issue with the PZL.37. This is where Professor Loszynski comes in. Roman, perhaps if you’d care to explain?’
Loszynski remained seated as he spoke, leaning forward to address his remarks directly to the senior officer, who was sitting across the table from him.
‘As Witold says, sir, ensuring bombs hit their target has long been a problem. It’s not surprising really: if you imagine an aircraft flying at twenty thousand feet and at two hundred and fifty miles an hour dropping a bomb weighing the best part of two hundred and fifty pounds – well, it’s asking an awful lot for that to be accurate. If I may give an example: imagine a house in the middle of a large field. Even if a bomber flies very low – below ten thousand feet – the chances of it hitting the house are remote. The bomb landing in the right field would be some achievement.
‘The Department of Advanced and Applied Electronics at Poznań University was asked to see if we could develop a solution to this and my colleague, Mr Bolesław Piotrowski here, and I have been working on this.’
Professor Loszynski asked Lieutenant Makowski to pass a case to him. From it he removed two boxes: one the size of a biscuit tin, the other smaller.
As he sorted them, he noticed the airport manager, Lubnauer, making extensive notes, which seemed odd, though perhaps no odder than him being there in the first place. Loszynski placed the two boxes in front of him and laid out a long electrical lead and an antenna alongside them.
‘We call these the Tatra boxes, sir, it was Bolesław’s idea.’
‘If I may explain?’ said Bolesław. ‘You may be aware that in the Tatra Mountains they have a tradition of making highly intricate wooden boxes. They are beautiful to look at, but more to the point, the boxes are also a puzzle: they can only be opened by working out the very clever mechanics – such as twisting one leg of a box one way and another leg in the opposite direction. We felt the secretive nature of these boxes would provide a good name for this secret project, sir.’
‘This is very much a prototype, but…’ Roman Loszynski prised the top open to reveal an array of wires soldered to various electronic parts. ‘The idea is to place the larger box as close as possible to the target. If you look here, there’s an opening to connect the lead which then runs from the box and connects to an antenna, like the one here. The idea is for the box to send out a signal that is transmitted via the antenna. The smaller box here is to be placed in the PZL.37. This box receives the signal from the Tatra box on the ground: when that signal is of a specified strength, the bombardier knows that is the optimum time to release the bombs.’
General Brygady Wiśniewski indicated the box should be passed to him. He looked at it carefully and lifted it up as if to weigh it. ‘It’s big, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Surely something like this would need to be much smaller, much less obtrusive? If it’s to be hidden in a place that is intended to be bombed, then something this size will stand out.’
‘It would indeed, sir, and we are currently working on scaling it down. And that’s not the only problem: the antenna we are currently working with is five feet high, which is clearly too much. We need to get that down to two feet at the most. But there’s another issue, sir.’
‘Another one?’
‘The maximum height at which the PZL.37 flies is twenty-three thousand feet. However, currently the signal from the main Tatra box extends no higher than twelve thousand feet. That is very low for a bomber to be expected to fly over a target, which is when it is most vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. We are working on extending the range of the signal to be much closer to twenty thousand feet, though that is proving to be problematic.’
‘And how long will all this take you?’
Roman Loszynski looked at Bolesław Piotrowski who spoke next. ‘It’s hard to say, sir, because this is a matter of trial and error – making adjustments, testing them and then going on to the next adjustment. I need to put Professor Loszynski on this full time and also employ a team of technicians to work with him and, ideally, we need our own dedicated workshop for the project.’
‘So how long, Piotrowski?’
‘Perhaps a year, sir, before we are certain that every aspect of this works.’
