Free Cold Lonely Courage (Madeleine toche Series Book 2) by Soren Petrek Page A

with her. He’s serious, Madeleine thought. I’m being warned.
    “When do I meet Hartmann, Captain?”
    “You go to a public place tomorrow at two pm. He’ll contact you there.”
    “How will he know where I’ll be?”
    “Don’t worry. He’ll know, Madeleine. He’ll know,” Teach said, a sober expression on his face. “Now get some rest. From here on out, you’ll report directly to him.”
    Madeleine stood up and left the room. As she walked down the hall she had no idea where she was headed. I’m going to be taught to kill Germans by a German, she thought. The world’s gone completely mad.
    The next day Madeleine sat on a park bench in Piccadilly Circus. Despite the constant bombings, people bustled about. The wail of the air-raid sirens was familiar to her. They seemed as much a part of the city as the buses and old taxis that careened around, narrowly missing pedestrians and the odd horse cart, carrying supplies.
    These people have suffered so much, Madeleine thought. Thousands were killed during the Blitz. But they’re tough. What a fool Hitler was to wage an air war against these people. England’s pilots and their spitfires proved that to be true.
    For the hundredth time, Madeleine looked for the man she was supposed to meet. She sat on a bench that gave her the best vantage point. People passed her in every direction. Women hurried by, carrying packages of rationed groceries. More SOE tests, Madeleine thought, tiring of watching and wondering.
    Maybe he’ll wait until I leave and surprise me from some dark corner. No, I’ll stay put and make him come to me, but he has the advantage. I have no idea what he looks like. Teach said he’d find me. I suppose he will.
    As the hours dragged on, Madeleine thought about what lay ahead. At Churchill’s direction, disrupting the German war effort and creating maximum chaos were the two most important goals of the SOE. Set Europe ablaze, he said.
    Madeleine watched the traffic thin out as people went home. There wasn’t much nightlife except for a pub tucked around the corner. When the door opened, she could hear the sound of patrons enjoying a drink. Blackout conditions were in effect. I guess everything is a target, she thought. Civilians are bombed indiscriminately along with military targets.
    The street cleaners came out. Funny how even in the midst of the chaos of war, the orderly and proper life of the British continued, she noticed. Madeleine watched a lone dustman collecting garbage, moving away from where she sat. Soon he was out of sight and she forgot about him.
    “You’re patient, I’ll give you that,” a hollow voice said behind her. The words lacked any inflection; an icy finger of fear flickered down her spine, hearing his heavy German accent.
    Madeleine whirled her head around and saw a man standing behind her. He had materialized out of nowhere. She caught his eyes first and looked into a flat, bottomless pool. They seemed to lack any distinctive color as he looked at her, standing a few feet away. He couldn’t look more ordinary, she thought. He’s not tall, short, thin, fat, or in any way distinctive. But he does seem familiar. I must have seen him recently, if not today. So many people passed me on the street; maybe he was one of them.
    “Where did you come from, sir? I know I’ve seen you before, but I don’t know when,” Madeleine said.
    “Don’t you remember the policeman that tipped his hat to you, or the drunk sailor who stumbled into you and gave you a wolf whistle?”
    “Those men were you? I hardly noticed them, but they couldn’t have been the same man.”
    “Yes, mademoiselle. Those two and others. Hiding your appearance just takes practice. I’ll show you that, and many more things. But you already have the most important skill. The one that’s hard to teach.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I already told you, patience. Doing the things I’m going to teach you requires little physical strength or endurance. It’s