Chapter 252: The Intelligence of "The Lady in White"
At 5:30 in the evening, Charles walked alone into the officers' club.
Lucia had told Charles this was her shift change time, and that the club was usually quiet at 5:30. Officers preferred to have dinner, bathe, and groom themselves before gathering there for a drink around six, so this timing was ideal for a discreet meeting.
Lucia, who had just started her shift, was wiping down the bar. When she saw Charles enter, her eyes lit up, the fatigue in them replaced with a warm smile. She quickly gave a word to her colleague, then deftly prepared two cups of coffee on a tray and, trying to keep her composure, walked toward Charles.
Lucia didn't want Charles to sense that, beyond her work, she was bringing an additional hope to their meeting. It would make her appear unprofessional, especially given the seriousness of the war and the nature of their mission. With Charles, that hope was almost a luxury.
"Missed me?" Lucia said softly.
She placed the tray on the table, and as she sat down, she slid one of the coffees smoothly in front of Charles.
Charles looked at the coffee in surprise. "I thought you'd bring me two glasses of wine."
"No!" Lucia shook her head with a smile. "You don't like alcohol at all, not even wine."
Charles looked at Lucia with a hint of confusion.
Lucia tilted her head slightly. "This is how others drink…"
She lifted her coffee cup as if it were a glass of wine, took an enthusiastic sip, closed her eyes, and gave a small, appreciative shake of her head as if savoring it.
"And this is how you drink…"
She raised her "wine glass" again, this time squinting, hesitantly bringing it to her lips, taking a tiny sip, then lowering her eyes and wrinkling her face like a crumpled cloth.
Her imitation was spot-on, reminding Charles of his distaste for alcohol. That's exactly how he felt—he simply couldn't understand why anyone would enjoy such a bitter drink.
"What did you do before?" Charles asked, intrigued.
Lucia laughed with a silvery sound, half-joking as she replied, "You've guessed it, Colonel. I used to be an actress—my specialty was playing the clown." She even pinched her nose for effect.
Charles smiled, knowing it wasn't true, but Lucia was indeed skilled at concealing her emotions, including her expressions.
Perhaps it was precisely this talent that had led "The Lady in White" to assign her to meet with Charles.
When it was time to discuss business, Charles leaned forward, a bit stiffly.
Lucia, however, leaned in naturally and placed a light kiss on Charles's lips, like a dragonfly touching water, then whispered in his ear, "That's how it should be done, Colonel. This is how couples should behave!"
Charles froze, caught off guard, as her light perfume suddenly made his pulse race, his breathing quickening slightly.
Lucia's gaze lingered on Charles, her sparkling eyes close to his, her breath warm on his face.
A glint of surprise and perhaps a hint of delight passed over Lucia's face. She gave a teasing smile and said with a touch of pride, "Could it be that was your first kiss, Colonel? I'm honored!"
Charles, unwilling to admit this, quickly steered the conversation back on topic. "Your intelligence is very precise, Lucia! I need to know more about the Germans—their artillery positions, airfields, warehouses, and so on. This might be a long-term task."
"Of course!" Lucia replied, her fingers lightly grazing Charles's cheek as she whispered like a lover, her tone soft and inviting. "We've always done this; we just didn't know who to trust with the information. Now I've found someone, unwaveringly."
For a moment, Charles almost believed Lucia's feelings were real—the tender gaze, the enchanting expression, and her heated, fervent lips… until he felt a slip of paper glide down his collar.
Charles now fully trusted Lucia's acting skills—she had to be an actress; her performance was that authentic and compelling.
…
Charles obtained the exact intelligence he needed: the precise locations of two German artillery positions.
What surprised him was that one of the positions had only been set up eight days earlier, skillfully camouflaged and yet to fire a shot, and still "The Lady in White" had pinpointed it, even down to detailing 32 105mm howitzers stationed there.
How had they managed this?
Could they, like Hali, be mingling at dance halls, drawing secrets out of German officers?
It seemed unlikely.
First, the German military had strict measures to safeguard intelligence, making it nearly impossible for ordinary officers to access such details, let alone leak them.
Secondly, even if a German officer were to "speak the truth after drinking," it was improbable that he would mention specific numbers of artillery.
If anyone directly asked, "How many guns and what caliber are at this artillery position?" it would immediately signal to everyone present that she was a spy.
Later, Charles learned that "The Lady in White" had a simple method: they monitored passing trains from windows, noting the artillery units, materials, and troops being transported in different directions.
Then they would track tire marks in the snow leading to the destination.
The Germans assumed that with so many vehicles passing by, the ground covered in tire tracks, no one would be able to distinguish between artillery units and supply convoys or passing troops, so they hadn't bothered to erase the tracks.
What they hadn't considered was that while individual tire tracks might reveal nothing, cross-referencing them with train movements and knowing that artillery units had reached the area made it possible to deduce their exact locations.
Charles immediately relayed the position data to Carter.
The bomber squadron had now been placed under Carter's command.
Previously, it had been under Eric's command for confidentiality reasons, and because the military had yet to purchase bombers.
Once the bombers had successfully destroyed a German airfield, proving their effectiveness, the military purchased all 20 planes at 55,000 francs each.
Charles made a profit of 600,000 francs, and whether more orders would follow depended on the squadron's future performance.
When Carter received Charles's call, he couldn't help exclaiming, "Colonel, your intelligence includes the exact number of guns and their calibers. Has Second Bureau become this powerful?"
"That's not your concern, Major," Charles replied. "All you need to think about is how to destroy it!"
(Note: Carter had recently been promoted from Captain to Major.)
"Yes, Colonel!" Carter replied. He hung up and immediately began planning.
He contacted the Army staff right away. "Directly across from your defensive zone, at 49.16 degrees north latitude, 5.386 degrees east longitude, there's an artillery battery set up in the valley. Mark its direction and range by 8 a.m. tomorrow!"
"Yes!" came the reply from the Army staff, who promptly dispatched an observer with high-powered binoculars and a map to locate the point overnight on the front lines.
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