day during Special Mass on her knees, asking Mother Superior for permission to make her perpetual profession in the Society of the Little Sisters of Pity, resolving to undertake a life of perfect chastity, obedience, poverty and service. It still made her uneasy to discuss it and yet it could not be avoided. 'No, I think it's obvious enough now why I joined the Order. I sought refuge. I should add that I found God, Mr Luciano, but only in His own good time.' 'And Carter turns up like something out of a bad movie, saying I've to come to take you away from all that.' 'I suppose you're right,' she smiled. 'With the Devil trailing behind?' 'Is that supposed to be you? If so, where are the horns?' 'Oh, I don't know. We all end up the same way,' he said, suddenly sombre. 'The one absolute certainty, Death.' He took her arm before she could reply. 'Come on, let's get out of here.' Carter was waiting in the library with Savage and Det-weiler when they went in. *Ah, there you are,' he said and started to make the introductions. 'Sister Maria Vaughan, Captain Savage.' 96 She put up a hand. 'Plain Maria will be better in the circumstances.' She took Savage's hand briefly and sat down, pulling off her turban as she did so, revealing dark hair cropped very closely to her skull, giving her a boyish look. 'Christ Almighty t * Detweiler said in a whisper. Carter said, 'Mr Luciano, you've already met.' Savage nodded, Detweiler glared, and Luciano, indifferent to both of them, lounged in the window seat. Carter said, 'May I make one thing clear? I've been concerned with this kind of intelligence operation for some time now and as far as most of them go, the truth is that, succeed or fail, it isn't gong to make a scrap of difference to the war as a whole.' Savage frowned, as he was bound to do at a suggestion which so put down his own war career. 'Don't you think that's going a little far, Colonel?' 'No I don't, but one thing is for sure. It isn't true of this present venture. If we can get into Sicily in one piece, if Mr Luciano and Maria between them make the contact we hope for, then many lives will be saved. If we fail, Pat-ton's army will sustain thousands of needless casualties. It's as simple as that.' There was silence. It was Savage who finally said, 'When do we go, sir?' 'Tomorrow night from RAF Hovington in a Lancaster bomber, straight across France and the Mediterranean to Algiers.' 'And then?" 'Sicily any time within four or five days after that, depending on the best conditions for the drop. One more thing, Captain Savage. You and Detweiler will be operating in civilian clothes. You understand what that means if you fall into enemy hands?' 'They've been shooting Ranger and Commando prisoners in uniform under the terms of Hitler's Kom- mandobefehl for two years now, sir. I can't see that it tnak.es much difference.' 'As long as you understand that. Now gather round the map, all of you, and I'll go over the whole thing in detail.' In Bellona, at the same moment, Vito Barbera was climbing a short wooden ladder to the coffin room above the mortuary. He opened the cupboard at the far end and felt for a hidden catch inside. The entire back, shelves and all, swung open to reveal a cubbyhole, containing a radio receiver and transmitter. He switched on the light, sat down, put on the earphones then waited patiently for the allotted hour as he did three times a week. He straightened, suddenly excited as he started to receive a signal. He reached for a pencil and made notes. Behind him, the secret door opened and Rosa entered with coffee on a tray. He motioned her to silence and continued to write. After a while, he took off the headphones and sat there, reading what he had written, a look of astonishment on his face. 'Is it something important?' she asked. 'Carter is returning.' 'On his own?' she said. He shook his head. 'No, Rosa, not on his own.' Looking for Carter after supper, Luciano was directed to the firing range in the basement
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