“Who?”
“Gus.”
He shot her a sharp glance. “Young lady, I am not going to break radio silence for the sake of romance.”
“What?” She flushed. She hadn’t thought anyone had noticed them together. “No, no. It’s not that. It’s… it’s my sister. She’s a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary, and she’s missing. I know where she was headed, but no one has heard from her in two days. The temporary airfield she was aiming for was near Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris. I’m hoping he might be somewhere near there.”
“He may be slightly busy, Dot. We do have a few things going on, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I have to try.”
He exhaled. “I cannot guarantee anything when it comes to Hydra. You know that.”
“I do. But if there’s a chance…” She held his gaze, needing him to believe that she meant no harm. “She’s my sister.”
He studied her, not blinking. Every second he spent analyzing her felt like an hour, but she’d stand there as long as it took to get his help.
“Dot, I haven’t mentioned it in a while, but you’ve been doing excellent work here.” He was still regarding her, but now he was nodding as he spoke. She had to assume this was part of his thinking process. “You’re catching a lot, and many of those messages have gone straight to London, saving lives.” He offered a reluctant smile. “You may be a bit of a rebel, but I appreciate having you on the team.”
She smiled inwardly at the thought that she was any kind of rebel. “Thank you, sir. So you’ll help me?”
“Hydra is not a personal telephone, Dot.” He was stern again. She had pushed too hard. “Hydra is a unique, extremely valuable piece of machinery. The only one of its kind. And at present, it is quite preoccupied with global issues.”
“Yes. I understand, and I would never dream of interrupting any of that.”
His eyes narrowed. “You have a different plan.”
“I’m trying to come up with one, to be honest.”
“Gerald would not be pleased if I agreed to this.”
She knew of Bill’s loyalty to Camp X and to Gerald. She lifted her chin with a confidence she did not feel, knowing this was her last chance. “I already know what his answer would be, Bill. The thing is, I believe there must be a way for me to seek Gus while not interfering with what is going on. I don’t think Gerald understands all the different facets of Hydra, but you do. So I have come to you, and I’m begging for your help.”
Something in Bill’s expression changed, and she gathered he wasthinking through how to accomplish what she was asking. After a moment, he stood, and she followed him inside.
“As you know, all our teams carry radios,” he told her, “and they are required to check in to update their status as long as it is safe to do so.” He gestured for her to sit, then he pulled over another chair and reached for the headphones. “I do have access to their general locations and frequencies, so hypothetically, we should be able to find them. Then again, there is rather an important operation stirring everyone up at the moment. They might be otherwise occupied.”
He picked up a small blue book then flipped through the pages until he found what he wanted. “I’ll put out a general call.” He held the book open with his left hand while his other reached for the key and began to tap.
Dot leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, listening. She never tired of the patterns, of the communication that could be accomplished with two simple percussive sounds, one long, one short.
... . . -.- .. -. --. / --. / -... . -.-. -.- . .-. / .-. -.... ---.. ----- .---- --.../ -.-. .- .-.. .-.. / .... --- -- .
Seeking G Becker R67257 Call home
He tapped it out four more times, then he faced her. “I’ll try again on the hour. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
“Thank you, Bill,” she said weakly. “Thank you so much.”
“Seems harmless enough,” he replied with a sigh. “I just hope it doesn’t muck anything up with Gus’s timing. He’s on a difficult schedule over there, destroying everything he can get his hands on.”
She liked imagining Gus like that, cutting wires, blowing up railway tracks, all while knowing in his heart that he was making a difference. In her own way, she was doing the same.
“Would it be all right if I stayed here with you?” she asked. “My shift’s not until eight. That way I could reach out to Gus myself. I still need to figure out a plan for after he responds, so I could just sit here and tap out the same general call again later.”
“I don’t see why not. Let’s hope he gets back to us soon, for your sister’s sake.”
fifty-sixDASH— Somewhere near Sainte-Honorine, Northwest France —
