Chapter 20: A bittersweet victory.
Author's note: this chapter also comes with subtitles.
5 June 1944, Monday at 1100 hours.
Back in the communications tent, Lt. Fisher filled in for Amanda. Normally, he wasn't one to engage in small talk, but not today. With the approach of D-Day, the Allied radio traffic was purposely kept lighter in the event the Nazi's were monitoring the airwaves for signs of the invasion. This left Lieutenant Fisher with plenty of awkward "dead air" time to tell me how "Amanda" overpowered him and Corporal Matthews at gunpoint, tie them up, and used the radio to tell the Nazi's the D-Day landing site. Maybe it was an aftereffect of the altered memory spell, but he seemed determined to fill me in on every minute detail that happened in the communications tent when I was away yesterday.
I sat patiently through most of it, but after listening to him tell me about overhearing "Amanda" talking to German agents about the location of the D-Day invasion for the third time, my patience had worn out. The full moon was tonight and without any "period potion" available, I was beginning to experience some premenstrual cramping and crankiness.
"Lieutenant Fisher, if you don't mind, I have heard enough. I don't need to hear it all again. Please just be quiet and leave me alone with my thoughts," I requested. It was impossible even for him not to hear the annoyance in my voice.
"But aren't you concerned that we could have been shot? Not to mention that the Nazis now know the location of the D-Day landings?" he asked.
"Of course I'm concerned. I just don't want to hear any more about Amanda. Besides, maybe the Nazis will think Normandy is a decoy. In either case, that's none of our concern at the moment," I replied in a huff.
It wasn't fair to take my feelings out on the Lieutenant, but at least it bought me fifteen minutes of silence.
It was after those fifteen minutes that everything suddenly changed.
Shortly after noontime, or about an hour after I returned from the coven ceremonies, we received an alarm from the control tower. Someone had climbed into a P-47 and taxied towards the runway. Lieutenant Oliver Booth in the control tower screamed at the pilot over the radio.
"Attention. Whoever you are in the P-47, you do not have authorization to take off. Return immediately or we will take lethal action," the Lieutenant demanded.
There was no answer from the pilot.
"Morina, this is Oliver. Call the Colonel and Squadron Leaders and let them know that an unauthorized person is about to take off in your brother's P-47," Lt. Booth called over the radio.
"Roger that. We're already on it," I replied, looking at Lt. Fisher who was already talking with the Colonel on the phone.
Agatha burst into the tent. She was breathless from running.
"Lord Ayresdon has escaped! He's taking off in your brother's P-47!" she announced.
"Where's Lee? Does he know?" I asked.
"I don't know," Agatha replied.
Oliver's voice crackled over the radio.
"Not another one! Identify yourself pilot in the second P-47. You are not authorized to take off!"
"Ollie, this is Lee Spellman. I'm going after my plane. That other pilot is Lord Ayresdon. He's a traitor, and he must be prevented from entering Germany," Lee's voice called out over the speaker.
"Lee, come back here. You don't have authorization," Oliver called.
"Sorry, Ollie. The Colonel can bust me if he wants, but I need to stop that plane. Spellman out."
There was only an audible "click" followed by the sound of static after that.
"Morina, did you get all that? I know he's your brother, but you have to notify the Colonel," Oliver called over the speaker.
"I heard, Lieutenant. Lieutenant Fisher is talking with the Colonel now," I acknowledged, looking over at Lt. Fisher who was on the phone and watching me.
I nodded and Lt. Fisher identified my brother as the second pilot to the Colonel.
Within minutes, Colonel Drummond was in the communications tent standing behind me.
"Your brother's a fool for disobeying orders and going up there alone, but he's right about stopping that plane from reaching Germany. Send word out to the squadron commanders," the Colonel ordered to the messengers standing nearby.
In less than half an hour, the 5-1-2, 5-1-3, and 5-1-4 squadrons were in the air in pursuit of Lord Ayresdon and my brother. Colonel Drummond remained by the radio to hear word of the chase. The atmosphere in the communications tent was tense as we waited for any word from the pilots. The only sound we heard was the steady static from the radio.
After about ninety minutes, Colonel Drummond checked his watch for the 20
th
time.
"They should be close to Calais by now," he commented, breaking the silence.
A few minutes later, a German voice broke through the radio static.
"Achtung! Unbekanntes Flugzeug! Identifizieren Sie sich auf der Stelle!" {{"Attention! Unidentified Aircraft! Identify yourself, now!"}} the voice called out.
"The Nazis have spotted someone approaching their airspace. They're asking for identification," the Colonel said behind me.
"Do you speak German, sir?" I asked.
"Yes, it was part of my officer's training. All pilots were required to learn German. It's extremely useful in countering Luftwaffe tactics," he explained.
"Hier spricht Himmelsfürst, ich erbitte Landeerlaubnis auf deutschem Boden," {{"This is Himmelsfürst requesting clearance to land in Germany."}} that was Ayresdon's voice.
"Someone named 'Himmelsfürst' or 'Skylord' is requesting clearance to land in Germany. That sounds like Ayresdon's voice alright, but why is he calling himself 'Skylord'?" the Colonel asked.
"Himmelsfürst! That's Ayresdon's code name, sir," I interjected.
"You know about that?" Colonel Drummond asked.
"Yes sir. That was the name I kept picking up in the broadcasts. It wasn't until yesterday that I was able to connect it to Lord Ayresdon," I explained.
"Wir haben keine Anweisungen erhalten, dass Himmelsfürst in den deutschen Luftraum eindringt," {{"I haven't received instructions about Himmelsfürst entering German air space."}} the unfamiliar German voice called out.
