Almost a blasphemous thought, but ... everyone at the institute knew the Germans were exploring the possibility.
Else’s eyes and mind widened. “You think the Germans sent Gebhardt to—”
Knudsen pressed his finger to his lips and glanced upstairs. “We should be very careful what we discuss around him. We don’t want to help our neighbors to the south.”
Indeed not. If the Germans built an atomic bomb, the Allied cause would be lost.
“Rask is keeping a close eye on him,” Knudsen said. “He put an end to that conversation.”
“I might not like Mortensen, but I don’t think he’d—”
“Not intentionally. But he’s a proud man.”
And Gebhardt fawned over him. Else thought he did so to avoid abuse, but what if he had other motives?
Footsteps thumped down the stairs above, and Else and Knudsen exchanged a look and stepped out of the stairwell.
They headed down the hallway, and Else’s stomach twisted. Gebhardt took the ferry home to Germany at least once a month. He said he visited family, but what if he gave reports to German physicists?
Knudsen opened the front door for Else, and a cool autumn evening greeted her.
The Institute for Theoretical Physics remained open even though Niels Bohr was half-Jewish.
Everyone assumed Werner Best, German Reich Plenipotentiary to Denmark, allowed this due to high international regard for Bohr, but what if they were mining the institute for information?
On the sidewalk, Laila waited for Else, as she had back when she worked at the Mathematics Institute next door.
Else said goodbye to Knudsen and grinned at Laila. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Laila held out a portfolio to Else. “We need copies—today.”
Else grimaced. “I can’t. Mortensen is out of town. I can’t say I’m making copies for him.”
“Then—then say they’re for Wolff.”
“He’d never ask me.”
Laila’s gaze became almost frantic. “We need them. Today.”
The churning in Else’s gut resumed. “I can’t go back inside without a reason. It’d look suspicious.”
“Stop being—” Laila’s face pinched in annoyance. “Be brave, Else.”
Else’s mouth tightened. Part of being brave meant not letting others push you into unnecessary danger. “We need to be both brave and smart. If people at the institute start wondering—”
“Don’t worry. Bohr’s on our side.”
“Not everyone here is.” She felt that more deeply now. “If I getcaught, it could unravel the whole operation. Fru Riber already asks too many questions about our late hours. The next person who asks questions might ask them of the Gestapo.”
Laila sighed and her shoulders slumped. “I—I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m just so...”
“Come on. Let’s go home.”
They walked in silence down Blegdamsvej, then crossed the bridge over the chain of rectangular lakes that curved around Copenhagen’s city center.
Laila hauled in a loud breath and gazed down the length of water. “We have a source in police headquarters. Hundreds of Gestapo men arrived in Copenhagen this week.”
Else’s mouth fell open. “Hundreds? Oh my goodness. Are they cracking down on freedom fighters?”
