London 1942,
It was late afternoon and the spring sunset was casting shades of burnt orange and pink across the tables and inside the windows of Café Boheme, illuminating its patrons. Perched underneath the teal and white striped awning, Lily Darlington sat slumped over a steaming cup of tea, scribbling furiously in her notebook.
"I thought I might find you here" the deep familiar voice spoke as her ex-partner in arms, Jack Chapman, "Clinks" as she affectionally called him due to his affinity at celebrating every achievement, no matter how minute, slid into the seat opposite her.
"Don't you think the wound is still a little too fresh, Clinks?" Her sarcastic tone accompanied by a matching scowl.
Clinks studied the young woman, she had changed so much since their initial meeting 3 years ago. He had learnt quite quickly that her piercing green eyes could both kill you and enchant you with one single look, something which proved mighty useful during their last trip on the continent. Short worry lines had started to form around them, yet they remained ever beautiful, surrounded by thick dark lashes. A light scattering freckles adorned her cheeks and nose, only visible for half the year, they chased the sun, much like Lily in that aspect he thought to himself. Her dark hair was in its usual Coiffure, the curls brushing against her collar with the sides rolled back, though the stress of the job exposed itself through little greys that poked through at the roots, she swore she didn't dye it, even though one rather drunken night in Berlin he had helped her himself. She looked somewhat older than her 20 years, and yet so much remained of the vivacious young Lily he had originally met.
"Stop looking at me like that, I don't need your pity" her eyes bore into the teacup.
"If I'd have known they were going to demote you I would have told you beforehand. Ghastly business."
"Your purpose is no longer useful to the cause, we're ever so grateful for your service." She mimicked the British General. "Demoted, for one measly accident." She scoffed, glaring across the street.
"That accident did nearly kill you, and it was no accident if memory serves me correctly." Clinks replied, raising an eyebrow.
He vividly remembered that night three months ago when Lily, or Klara as she had been called back then, failed to meet up at their rendezvous point after an evening with General Von Durgen. He'd always deny it if she asked but he knew he'd never be able to fully scrub the memory of bursting into the ill fated apartment and seeing her and the General lying opposite one another, he face down with a bullet wound to the head, a lucky shot on her part. He can still remember the panic that flooded his body when he became fully aware of how saturated her evening gown was, evident by the knife still embedded and the crimson liquid oozing from the sideways gash. It had been their last day in Germany, they'd done 3 months without even a splinter. She had slept her way through Germany collecting vital information, he had the easy job of encoding and radioing it back to HQ in London, and now here he was, driving recklessly through the countryside to the evacuation plane with his partners body in the back wrapped in a curtain and haphazardly padded with anything he could find. He hadn't even know if she had made it till the following afternoon, following an agonisingly long debrief.
"Well I'm all knitted back together now, so why don't you go back there and then them that."
"You have a scar the size of Timbuktu across your abdomen." This time his eyes met hers.
Her face had lost its rosy glow at the reminder. She was well aware of her misfortune, she took in a deep breath as he continued.
He leant in as he whispered "what are you going to say to the next German Officer that Intelligence orders you to sleep with? Oh it was just an accident with a Gebäckmesser, I'm just a clumsy little housewife."
Her face was not that of someone amused by his poking, yet she couldn't disagree with him, in the SOE's eyes she had served her purpose.
"And what the bloody hell am I supposed to do now, sit behind a desk, after everything I've done over the last few years, fat chance" She scoffed at the idea. "I worked myself to the bones for this job, Clinks. 25, 25 women I beat for that position. Months of training at that god awful manor in the highlands. I'm the best female sniper they have, Braithwaite said that himself today, so they'll just throw me away?" Tears had started to form and she could feel herself wobbling.
"They aren't throwing you away, Darlington"
"They're opening my life to other possibilities?" She mocked as she brought the tea cup to her mouth.
"In a way, yes, if you hadn't been so forthright in ending the meeting abruptly." He leant down and withdrew a manila file from his briefcase. Her eyes flicking back and forth between him and the paper. "Colonel Braithwaite thought it might be appropriate for me to pass this onto you. In my intellectual opinion, I think he was worried you might bite his head off." Jack chuckled to himself.
"I don't follow."
"Turns out, ever since we've been back, HQ have been having many a meeting with our friends over the pond." He passed the open file over to her. "They're calling it Operation Daisy, bringing women to the front lines. The SOE have had so much success with female operatives, now the yanks want in. Braithwaite personally recommended you."
Her eyes started scanning the pages, trying to fully understand what was being presented to her. "Why me?" Instantly suspicious of the situation.
"You made yourself available." Jack offered her a cigarette, lighting his after she declined as per usual. "His words not mine, he also say you were a damn fine agent if that helps. It also helps that you happen to be American too, incase you've forgotten."
"My mother was American."
"Making you half American, isn't that how these things work?"
"I haven't been there since before I joined up, and I was only there once."
"Once, and stayed for two years." His sly response being accentuated by a long drag on his cigarette.
Lily took a moment to look over the information. "What's my objective?"
"To show the Americans that women can handle the front line. You're trained, experienced and you're the best woman for the job. This isn't a punishment, see it as an opportunity. The Parachute Infantry is in its infancy, this is your chance to be one of its founding members. I understand if it feels like a demotion. You'll have to start back from the beginning of basic training, and you'll have to pass jump school. The choice is yours, however, you don't have long to decide."
Lily placed the file back onto the table. Disappointment ached in her chest, having the honour of working alongside Jack for the last few years was something akin to magic, they had bonded almost instantly, becoming family to each other. She understood that her time with the SOE was over and her heart ached to have to let that part of her life go. "How long do I have?"
"I said I'd bring you back within the hour." Jack stubbed his cigarette out and stood.
"Jesus Christ, Clinks." Lily stood to meet him.
"I'm going to miss you desperately" he stepped towards her, extending his arm for her to take.
"I haven't said yes yet."
"Oh but we both know that you will. You know that those yanks are all piss and no wind, so you be sure to give them a right old bollocking if they bother you" he smiled, and with a wink they set off back to HQ.
