Rastenburg, East Prussia, Farm of Tadeauz Malewicz
December 14, 1943, 0145 hours
Vladimir looked at the clock. It was late – well after midnight – but not yet time for him to make his radio contact with the relay agent in Switzerland. He rolled himself off the bed where he had been waiting and moved to the small table against the wall of the attic room where he slept. He moved the table aside and removed the mirror that was hanging above it. Then he felt for the small nails that were holding the mirror and pulled.
A small section of the wall came off to reveal a small storage area containing the radio equipment. He hurriedly set up the equipment so he wouldn't miss the transmission window. If he did, he would have to wait until the next time the Swiss contact would be monitoring for radio messages.
Vladimir had met General Stauffen in the morning to obtain this second set of plans. They had used the same method as last time – General Stauffen had arrived at the farm very early under the guise of receiving fresh eggs.
This time, the General had been more at ease. He had told Vladimir that he had seen the radio detection equipment in place at the Wolfsschanze that would have trapped him if he had transmitted the information himself. Now Stauffen knew that Vladimir was being honest and readily passed the information to Vladimir.
But Vladimir also sensed that Stauffen had the belief that he was more important than the information. He felt that this went beyond normal self-preservation. It was almost as if Stauffen believed he was destined for something important. Vladimir knew he would have to try to find out what that was, but it would have to wait until he gained more of Stauffen's trust.
Vladimir looked at the clock again. It was time. He had already turned on the radio equipment so that it was warmed up and ready to go. After sending the recognition code several times on the proper frequency, he finally received the confirmation response. He then relayed the information that he received from Stauffen in the morning. He received the acknowledgement response and signed off the transmission.
Then he changed frequencies and made contact with The Center. He informed them of the success in getting the second set of plans and asked if there were any special instructions for him. Receiving none, he signed off.
He started to shut off the equipment to put it back into its hiding place. Before he cut the power, he had an idea. Tuning the transmitter to the proper frequency, he sent the proper recognition code. After a few seconds, he received a confirmation reply. He smiled and proceeded to send his message.
After signing off the transmission, he put the radio equipment back into it hiding place and hung the mirror back on the wall. He went to bed smiling, happy that he had decided to send his message.