the information you get through your office myself.’
‘You feel this is necessary?’ Marcus stressed. ‘Surely Field Marshal Rommel would have more important work for you than this mere administration job.’
‘I would be glad to help. These are Herr Rommel’s orders.’
Marcus stayed silent for a moment, then said, ‘There has been an acceleration over the last few months, and it has stretched our listening pool to their limits. If it is possible, I would prefer a few more members of staff to help them down there. This may alleviate some of the strain.’
Weissman must have agreed, because she heard him proceed towards the door and leave. As soon as she heard the door close, she went in to see Marcus.
‘What have we received over the last week?’ he asked her in a whisper.
She informed him of the directives they’d had and how she had adjusted them.
‘Change as many back as you safely can. Maybe allow two or three, the most significant, to go through with fake information. We have to give the dog a bone, but we don’t have to give away the farm.’
At the meeting the following day, Marcus made his presentation and Major Weissman listened but was unconvinced. ‘I plan to make a tour myself today and meet with your staff, if that is all right with you, Major,’ he stated abruptly.
Marcus nodded.
His commander looked at him. ‘This will not hinder your work for us, Marcus?’
He shook his head. ‘I am willing to do whatever needs to be done to make sure the correct information is received and translated.’
‘Then instead of travelling to a different office I would like to remain here indefinitely,’ added Weissman. ‘Help keep things on track.’
Vivi was staring down at her notebook and did not look up. She was writing the minutes of the meeting and dared not imagine what this might mean. Until now, they’d done a fair job of thwarting a lot of the enemy’s campaign, and the Resistance had managed to get messages through. Without even looking at him, she knew this was a concern for Marcus as well. They couldn’t allow all of them through, just the ones they’d thought were most significant. But now that Operation Fortitude, the code name for the upcoming invasion, was in full swing, it was an absolutely crucial time. The more secrecy they could create, the more impactful the offensive would be when the Allies finally showed their hand.
After that meeting, Major Weissman became an irritant. Each day he would arrive at the office and watch everybody working. He would go through files, read through things and listen to the translations.
It was on the third day that Vivi happened to be down receiving a message from a decoder when she overheard a conversation the major was having with a translator.
‘This code you translated that said “maximum effort, Calais”, do you recall it?’
‘I don’t remember it, sir. There are so many. It could have been any of those.’
‘It was so specific, do you remember this one?’
‘I remember maybe “maximum effort”. I don’t remember noticing the word “Calais”. Let me look in my records.’
Vivi recognised it straight away. They had changed it, added the word ‘Calais’ to keep the Germans from suspecting the real place of the landings. She tried not to show her concern as she smiled and chatted to members of the pool and then gradually made her way out of the room and back to Marcus’s office.
Vivi hurried down the corridor, and once behind the closed door, she had to catch her breath. He stood up from his desk with concern.
She rushed to his side and whispered in his ear. ‘They found out about “maximum effort” and that you added the word “Calais”. He is down there now talking to a member of the pool.’
Marcus nodded. ‘That gives me a little time to be ready.’
He didn’t get long though, because within a few minutes, Major Weissman was knocking at his door.
‘Major Vonstein, do you have a moment?’
Vivi exited to her room and left her door ajar again, but this time Weissman must have noticed it and came over and closed it loudly behind him, which meant Vivi had to walk to the door and listen with her ear pressed against it.
‘I have something extremely urgent to report to you. I think we have a problem here in your office.’
‘Then tell me, Major Weissman, so we can put this right.’
‘Do you remember getting this code?’ Vivi assumed he handed him the piece of paper.