Wilhelmshaven

From the pier, Emery walked back to the safe house, changed into the Gestapo uniform and then took the car to go find Fritz. He saw the smoke coming up over the tops of buildings a short distance away and drove toward it.

Gestapo and Polezei presence thickened the closer Emery got. Soldiers were on foot, searching doorways, footpaths, and alleys and stopping people to ask questions. Emery drove slowly, taking in the scenes around him, trying to figure out what was going on, what had happened.

He turned down the street Fritz had left the car and now saw what had happened. The sight startled him and he stopped the car, looking at the destroyed vehicle a few feet away. The doors were blown out and hanging limp off the car, the trunk lid was completely severed and sitting a few feet away. The entire back side of the car was a blackened hulk of metal, wood and fabric. The front end was slightly damaged but Emery saw the German Army fender flags. Major Miller had been wearing an army uniform. Emery had a sudden sinking feeling.

"Soldaten?" A knock came on the glass.

Emery jumped and looked to see a Gestapo man was at the window. He rolled the window down. "What happened here?" he asked before the Gestapo man could ask him what he was doing there.

"The Underground. The American, Miller, was spotted in that car. We gave chase, but when we came around the corner the car exploded."

"The American was killed?"

"Nein. Witnesses say there was only one person in the car and they saw him get out before the explosion. The American, in appears, has gotten away."

"Then you are looking for an Underground man?"

The man nodded. "He apparently went that way," he pointed behind Emery. "We figure he can not be far from here. We think he is wounded."

"I see. Well, I will be on the look out here."

The Gestapo man nodded. "That would be appreciated."

Emery nodded and gave the customary salute. He then backed the car up, turned around and headed in the direction the Gestapo man had pointed.

Hogan, Carter and Newkirk, meanwhile, had returned to their vehicle. Dubois and his men were quickly brought up to speed on the events that were unfolding and that their task now was to locate Fritz before the Gestapo did. The Underground man Hogan had been talking to returned to the delivery truck with his comrade and they too set out to find Fritz, letting LeBeau and Kinch know that Hogan, Carter and Newkirk had made it to town.

Before sending Dubois off, Hogan asked about safe houses in town, and where Fritz might have possibly dropped Miller and the boys. Dubois gave the address of the closest safe house and Hogan, Carter and Newkirk drove in that direction.

Fritz, meanwhile, was waiting for his luck to run out. Nausea was grabbing at him but he fought it back, adrenaline keeping him standing and moving. He stayed ahead of the Gestapo but knew they were pretty much right behind him. Gestapo cars passed on the street slowly, soldiers were on foot. Fritz ducked into doorways, hid behind empty crates, snuck down a footpath, hid behind a pile of trash and down underneath stairwells to stay out of sight of the vehicles. The foot soldiers were far enough behind him as not to spot him yet. All the while however, he fought the urge to just collapse.

He wasn't even sure of where he was going. He knew he had no chance of making it back to the safe house. But he would not allow himself to be caught alive by the Gestapo. He would keep going until death itself finally took him.

From behind his latest hiding spot, a wooden ox cart parked in a narrow alley, Fritz ventured a peek to the street. The Gestapo foot patrols were still a good distance down the street. And there were no Gestapo vehicles prowling the street at that moment. Fritz took a chance and came out of the alley. He did a sweep as he crossed the street, looking both ways, looking all around. He reached the other side and continued up the street to the next narrow alleyway.

Up the street, Emery stopped at an intersection, debating which way to go. The sight of a soldier down the street holding his shoulder as he walked caught Emery's attention. He knew it had to be Fritz and that he indeed was wounded. Emery stopped short of pulling out into the street. He was dressed as Gestapo and surely Fritz would see the uniform before the face.

As he sat a moment, trying to figure how to approach Fritz without causing too much alarm, an ordinary delivery truck passed by. Emery noted the speed of the truck and found it odd. The truck was not merely passing through this residential area, it was as if the truck was looking for something. Emery watched and saw the truck slow considerably as it came closer to Fritz. He concluded they had to be Underground and he pulled out onto the street.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fritz saw the truck and then he looked up, seeing the Gestapo car. Busted. He stopped only a beat before picking up his pace to get to the next alley before the car got to him.

The men in the truck had started to get out when Fritz took off. They hesitated seeing the Gestapo car. Emery recognized the Underground men and he stopped the car behind their truck, flashing the headlights so they would know he was no threat. He then got out of the car, was recognized and followed them to the alley.

Fritz wasn't moving very fast. The nausea was becoming much more than he could stand and finally his knees buckled out from under him and he went down. Emery hurried to where his friend had fallen in a heap. "Fritz..."

Fritz turned slightly, raising his left arm in a vain attempt to fight against the Gestapo man who had him. There were other faces surrounding him too, but it was all a blur.

"No," Emery said. "Fritz, it's me, Emery..."

Fritz looked up at the face and at recognition he touched the side of his friend's face and gave a weak smile. "Emery, old friend..."

"Come on, we'll get you out of here." Emery started to pull Fritz's left arm to sit him up with LeBeau spotting Fritz's wounded right side.

Fritz resisted a moment. "Herr Miller...?" he said. "The boys...?"

Emery nodded. "They are on their way to the England." He smiled. "We did it."

"They made it to the boat?" LeBeau said. "Colonel Hogan will be happy to hear that!"

Fritz's smile was still weak but was now filled with relief.

"Come," Emery said. "If you can stand up I can carry you out of here to the car..."

Fritz nodded and shifted his feet to stand once Emery pulled him up. Emery steadied his friend for a moment before leaning forward and lifting Fritz over his shoulder. He carried the wounded man back to the street.

A few pedestrians were mulling around and saw the Gestapo man carrying the wounded Army soldier. But that was all they did was look. When they came out of the alley, LeBeau spotted the foot soldiers that were a distance down the street and he alerted the Underground men. They all returned to the truck and started it, turning the vehicle in the road to block the view of the foot soldiers. Emery hurried to the car, brought Fritz back to his feet and pulled the door open, offering a steady hand while Fritz got into the car. Once Fritz was in, Emery closed the door and got in behind the wheel. The delivery truck then completed the turn and drove on up the street. Emery pulled the sedan into the street with little fanfare and followed the truck. The foot soldiers saw this but thought little of it, thinking it to be one of theirs asking questions. The truck and car went up the road and turned, disappearing from sight.

LeBeau picked up the hand held radio. "Home Base calling Mirror Image. Bluebird has flown!"

Newkirk had no more than parked the car in front of the address Dubois had given when LeBeau's voice came over the radio. Hogan picked up his radio. "You sure about that Home Base?"

"Oui! Got it straight from the man who set the bird free."

"That's good news, Home Base. What about our Apple Dumpling?"

"Found him. We're taking him to be patched up."

"We'll catch up to you." Hogan turned to a grinning Newkirk. "Let's get out of here."

The truck and Emery in his Gestapo sedan managed to slip out of Wilhelmshaven by going to same road Fritz had come in on. The checkpoint, of course, was still wide open and Emery didn't look back once they cleared the bridge. The vehicles headed for Varel. Not long afterward, Dubois and Colonel Hogan in their respective vehicles crossed the bridge as well.

About thirty minutes after Emery and Fritz crossed the bridge, Major Hochstetter was coming to the grudging conclusion that Major Miller, and the Underground, had slipped out of Wilhelmshaven. The trail was going cold. The answers from residents were becoming a monotonous "no" when asked if they saw anything or anyone. Continued searching of the area revealed nothing. Reports of the bridge checkpoint having been cleared out and the subsequent destruction of the Army and Gestapo vehicles were finally reaching Hochstetter's already burning ears.

It was over. Hochstetter stood in the middle of the street looking at the destroyed cloned Army staff car clenching his teeth. The damnable Underground had succeeded again. He turned to one of the other Gestapo officers and ordered the rest of the search called off. "There is nothing to find now," he said. "Only a mess to clean up."

At the time Hochstetter called off the search, Major Miller and the boys were transferring from the fishing boat to the Royal Navy submarine. It would be another two hours before German intelligence confirmed that Miller was back on English soil.