Chapter 4: Workers of the World Unite

The band of resistance fighters looked more like a group of unemployed slackers hoping for a handout from the government relief office. Honey noticed there was a fair amount of female representation but that most of them looked lacking in either ferocity or the kind of energy it took to mount an active opposition to the Nazi regime. The males either fell into the 18 to 21 category or the over 55 category. There was not a single male of customary fighting age in the entire bunch.

Honey fit right into the motley crowd making them forget she was an outlander and British at that. Her French was comfortable and she tried her best to be respectful to each and every fighter with whom she entered into conversation. The men were a lot more accommodating than the women and she was certain it was because she was a female with a little bit of spark left and not one of the poor resistance females who looked like they had just gotten out of solitary confinement.

She checked over the armament being used by the group and discovered that most of it actually was German in origin probably stolen or taken from dead German soldiers. She elected not to comment on it because it might be interpreted as being critical and that was not in her mind at all. In fact, she thought it was a good idea because they would be able to get resupply of ammunition with very little difficulty each time they came into contact with the German forces. She also thought the ancient shotguns were perfect for the type of operations planned because they could "clear" a room or a house with a single round.

They had a serviceable radio secreted away in the basement of the secluded farm that served as a base of operations. When she queried about the radio man they just shrugged their shoulders and said,

"God is watching over Maurice now!"

The head of the group was an old man called Jean who spoke in a whisper because his throat had been damaged by an attempt at assassination with a thin piano wire. He kept the would-be assassin's ear in a glass jar on his mantle to remind everyone how he had to bite it off to distract the German sympathizer from completing his mission. She didn't even bother to ask what had happened to the poor lad assuming he was no longer a threat to them wherever he might be.

Her primary mission was to assist in establishing a pattern of re-supply points for air-dropping needed support items. The planes would come in low and fast and not land allowing them to avoid detection and destruction. That meant that the recovery of downed pilots would have to be shunted to a location closer to the coast and utilize the sea-based recovery system. It was slower but a lot less risky than the air routes.

Honey could sense that the older male resistance fighters were not pleased with the fact she was so young and so attractive but they were overjoyed with the logistical support her agency would provide to insure they remained a thorn in the sides of the German occupations forces in the area.

Jean told her he had been a survivor of Verdun in the "First War" and that his two sons had been lucky enough to be evacuated with elements of the Free French Army at Dunkirk after the debacle of the speedy French surrender. In talking with the members of the group, she was able to deduce that most of them were avowed Communists and hoped not only for a swift end to the Nazi occupation but to a Communist takeover of the French government. She filed that information away for future reference not wanting to cause any friction with her own headquarters.

Her mode of transportation was the borrowed bicycle that she used on a daily basis. Generally, when making radio contact, she would move the radio to a new location away from any house or barn to avoid being detected by the enemy's effective "Triangulation" method. It was the best way to avoid discovery that meant capture, followed by interrogation and torture and a quick bullet to the back of the head.

Her secondary mission was to make contact with a mysterious agent who had gone silent in recent months. He was a bit of a legend in the training school because he was the only survivor of the original group of infiltrators who had been dispatched to the Continent to make life difficult for Jerry. His code name was Jericho but nobody seemed to know his true identity. When she tried to find out more about him, her boss the Commander told her,

"Jericho was always a bit of a gamble. We knew he would either killed or captured just like that entire group but we needed some agents in play to slow the Germans down and give us a chance to re-group and mount a strong counter-attack. We are all surprised the fellow is still alive but he has taken to ground and probably very low on the trust side at the moment."

Jean just put his finger at the side of his nose when he brought up the subject letting her know that they should only discuss that subject when they were completely alone and out of hearing of interested ears. She finally got the opportunity on the night that all of the other resistance fighters were dispatched to the railway to derail a munitions train on the way to the Coast. Hitler was building a veritable fortress on the coastline to deter any invasion. She was fully aware of the strategic situation and knew such a move would be far in the future and really depend on the "Wild Card" of American involvement.