“Yes.”
The prospect put Audrey on edge. But her contempt for the Reich and need for action galvanized her. If this was something only she could do, then do it she would.
Ludwig spoke up. “How do we know she’s capable?” He was leaning against the wall now. He raised his glass in Audrey’s direction and the amber liquid swirled around. “She’s just a girl; she could blow the whole operation. What happens if—”
“I can do it,” Audrey interrupted, defiance shining in her eyes. She hadn’t liked him from the first poker night, and knowing he was resisting Hitler’s regime had not softened her distaste for him as it had the others.
“Excellent,” Claus said, clapping. He grinned at Audrey. “This is good. This is good.”
She returned the smile, but her eyes still sought Friedrich, whose face was dark, lips pressed together beneath his trimmed moustache. She knew him well enough now to see that he only wanted to spare her from another encounter like the fateful one with Vogt.
“But if you are to work with us, you must have a more German name,” Claus said. “They’ll never hire a buttery English girl to work at headquarters. They’ll definitely think you’re a spy.”
Audrey raised an arched eyebrow.
“An English spy.”
“But I’m half German,” she protested. “Mostly German, really. I was born here. This is my home.”
“Ira Kaplan was German, too,” Friedrich said. “A person’s name matters now. It has, in fact, come to mean everything. A man’s name can determine whether he lives or dies.”
The image of Ira’s body flashed behind her eyes. Perhaps this was the next, natural step in truly becoming the character she had invented for Friedrich and Vogt. She would assume a new name when she was outside these four walls, slip into the skin of a lioness.
“I can sort that, no problem,” Aldous piped up from the wing chair.
“How soon can you have them ready, Al?” Friedrich asked.
“A day. Maybe two.” He addressed Audrey next. “You’re sure about this?”
Audrey looked to Friedrich.
“Weber could prove highly useful,” he said. “This could be the best opportunity we’ll get to knock a wedge into his office.”
“And anything I might learn could help you?” Audrey asked.
“Yes.”
“To get rid of Hitler? To stop all of this?”
Claus sighed. “That’s the goal.”
Audrey smoothed her wool skirt, the fabric rough beneath her fingers. She thought of Ira, of the need for someone to avenge his pointless death. Of Ruth and Ephraim and who knew how many other Jews, imprisoned at these work camps. The reign of gunshots and swastikas and unbridled violence. The looming war that was certain to destroy the country she loved. Of Ilse. Her face—free and happy—shone brightest in Audrey’s mind.
“Then yes,” she said, unflinching now at the four sets of male eyes analyzing her, weighing her value and wondering if she would be worth the price. “I’m sure.”
Chapter 16
Audrey
BERLIN, GERMANY | JANUARY 1939
Fräulein Jakob?”
Audrey turned at the sound of her newly minted name. She was Ada Jakob now, with a fresh set of identification papers in her pocketbook, carefully worn and handled by Aldous to appear several years old.
“Yes, Herr Weber?” Audrey asked.
Her new boss, Rolf Weber, was leaning against the door frame of his office. A tall yet distinctly porcine man, Weber was responsible for the Department of Property Reclamation, the government office in which Audrey was now employed as a Junior Inventory Specialist.
Once the cell had decided that Audrey should secure a position within the department to try to gather intelligence, Friedrich had told Weber all about Audrey’s inventory of the Kaplan household before he and Vogt moved in, embroidering the details to amplify her skill set. Not that it would have mattered to Weber. He had taken one look at her and hired her on the spot.
“I need you and Schulze to go through the files from ’38. Confirm, then collate the year-end figures,” Weber was saying now. “Broken up by category. I need it by day’s end. Then this afternoon you’ll be going out with Ebner for on-site orientation.”
“Yes, sir,” Audrey replied. She’d been in training for several days, but this would be her first on-site assessment.
Johanna Ebner stood at her desk. “Might I have a private word, Herr Weber?” she asked.
“Yes, of course.” He beckoned her into his office, and she followed, shutting the door behind her.
Alone, Audrey allowed herself to relax. Johanna was the Senior Inventory Specialist who had been overseeing Audrey’s training. She was rather aloof but had been patient with Audrey, who couldn’t help but note the resemblance between them. Audrey guessed the young women Weber employed were all slim and blond.
A tsk from reception piqued Audrey’s ears and she walked through the doorway to find Frau Schulze, Herr Weber’s secretary, at her desk shaking her head. Audrey guessed she was in her fifties. She had iron-grey hair, was built like an icebox, and gossiped worse than a fishwife, which Audrey hoped would come in handy. If Frau Schulze could supply useful information for the resistance, Audrey could keep her distance from Weber.
“Did you catch that?” Audrey asked. “About the numbers?”
“Yes. He’s got some big meeting on the books for tomorrow. Guess they want a progress report. Come here, we’ll see to it.”
