Free The Invasion of 1950 by Christopher Nuttall Page A

know the risks,” Davall assured him, feeling sorry for the policeman. When – if – the German army reached Suffolk, it would have punched out most of the British army and probably taken London, leaving the Grey Wolves and the other underground movements as the only source of resistance. Johnston would be watching the Germans, knowing, perhaps, that they would know what he knew about the underground units…and what they might do to make him talk. “I’ll take care of everything.”
     
    He watched as Johnston left his house and headed on to his next destination. Without his uniform, the burly policeman still looked like a soldier even though he hadn’t been in the army for years. Riding a bicycle, he still looked remarkably normal out in the near-countryside, but like so many others of his age, he had a military bearing. The conscription program had been going on for so long that hundreds of young men had gone through the army…and, soon enough, it would be James’s turn as a soldier. Only six years…
     
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” Kate asked, softly. They’d been married for twelve years and he had no secrets from her now. “You could just abandon it all…”
     
    “I was a young man back when I agreed,” Davall said. “Even so…”
     
    The Germans hadn’t come, not back then. He’d had a child with Kate and known that the war would cost him more than just his own life. The treaty had seemed to bring peace for a time, but Gubbins had kept the underground units up to date just in case of war breaking out again…and now it seemed the war might be on the verge of re-igniting. If it did come to his home…
     
    “I have no choice,” he said, softly, and took his wife in his arms. “I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.”
     
    That afternoon, he slipped back into the woods and walked down a path that was hardly ever used, even by walkers and young couples out for some privacy in the woods. The Grey Wolves all lived – with one exception – away from the main body of the city itself, spurning contact with the suburbs and living near the forest, where they could take refuge if they had to escape in a hurry. It wasn't a perfect place to hide, but a man who knew the area well could escape while his hunters were still looking for him…and hide anything in the forests.
     
    They'd cached the arms and supplies near an old house, one that made a convenient navigation post for the team, and it was fairly easy to find the location of the cache from it. He checked around the entire position first, just in case, before finding the hidden sheet of wood they’d buried just under a layer of dirt. It took a moment to find the edges and then pull it up, revealing a hidden pit stuffed with weapons and explosives, as well as a handful of other tools and some money. The Germans, it was generally expected, would want the British to use their money – that was what they had done in their other conquests – and so money had been provided. The weapons were all in good condition; they’d all been put through a course in handling them and treating them with respect, and they’d wrapped all the weapons up in covering.
     
    It’s all there , he reassured himself, and carefully hid the cache again. If Hitler came to Britain, Davall would be able to hit a few of the Nazis before the Grey Wolves were hunted down like dogs. He strode away from the cache, found a path leading back down towards the village, and became an ordinary walker again. There was nothing to show that he had just been looking at enough weapons to fight a small war.
     
    He checked his watch as he moved. He would have time to eat dinner with Kate and James before meeting the other Grey Wolves and discussing plans for the future. Somehow, deep inside, he was sure that this was the time – or else all of their preparations would be for naught.
     
    ***
     
    “I never liked the sea,” Captain Harry Jackson confessed, as he stood next to