PREPARE RECEIVE GROUP OF SIX NUMBER PARACHUTISTS CODENAMED JACKDAWS LEADER LEOPARDESS ARRIVING

ELEVEN PIP EMMA FRIDAY SECOND JUNE

CHAMP DE PIERRE.

"My God," he whispered.

Champ de Pierre was a code name, but Dieter knew what it meant, for Gaston had told him during the very first interrogation. It was a drop zone in a pasture outside Chatelle, a small village five miles from Reims. Dieter now knew exactly where Helicopter and Michel would be tomorrow night, and could pick them up.

He could also capture six more Allied agents as they parachuted to earth.

And one of them was "Leopardess": Flick Clairet, the woman who knew more than anyone else about the French Resistance, the woman who, under torture, would give him the information he needed to break the back of the Resistance-just in time to stop them aiding the invasion force.

"Jesus Christ Almighty," Dieter said. "What a break."

THE SIXTH DAY

Friday, June 2,1944

CHAPTER 27

PAUL AND FLICK were talking.

They lay side by side on his bed. The lights were off, but the moon shone through the window. He was naked, as he had been when she entered the room. He always slept naked. He wore pajamas only to walk along the corridor to the bathroom.

He had been asleep when she came in, but he had wakened fast and leaped out of bed, his unconscious mind assuming that a clandestine visit in the night must mean the Gestapo. He had had his hands around her throat before he realized who it was.

He was astonished, thrilled, and grateful. He had closed the door, then kissed her, standing there, for a long time. He was unprepared, and it felt like a dream. He was afraid he might wake up.

She had caressed him, feeling his shoulders and his back and his chest. Her hands were soft but her touch was firm, exploring. "You have a lot of hair," she had whispered.

"Like an ape."

"But not as handsome," she teased.

He looked at her lips, delighting in the way they moved when she spoke, thinking that in a moment he would touch them with his own, and it would be lovely. He smiled. "Let's lie down."

They lay on the bed, facing one another, but she did not take off any clothes, not even her shoes. He found it strangely exciting to be naked with a woman who was fully dressed. He enjoyed it so much that he was in no hurry to move to the next base. He wanted this moment to last forever.

"Tell me something," she said in a lazy, sensual voice.

"What?"

"Anything. I feel I don't know you."

What was this? He had never had a girl behave like this. She came to his room in the night, she lay on his bed but kept her clothes on; then she questioned him. "Is that why you came?" he said lightly, watching her face. "To interrogate me?"

She laughed softly. "Don't worry, I want to make love to you, but not in a hurry. Tell me about your first lover."

He stroked her cheek with light fingertips, tracing the curve of her jaw. He did not know what she wanted, where she was going. She had thrown him off balance. "Can we touch while we talk?"

"Yes."

He kissed her lips. "And kiss, too?"

"Yes."

"Then I think we should talk for just a little while, maybe a year or two."

"What was her name?"

Flick was not as confident as she pretended to be, he decided. In fact she was nervous, and that was the reason for the questions. If it made her comfortable, he would answer. "Her name was Linda. We were terribly young-I'm embarrassed at how young we were. The first time I kissed her, she was twelve, and I was fourteen, can you imagine?"

"Of course I can." She giggled, and for an instant she was a girl again. "I used to kiss boys when I was twelve."

"We always had to pretend we were going out with a bunch of friends, and usually we started the evening that way, but pretty soon we would peel off from the crowd and go to a movie or something. We did that for a couple of years before we had real sex."

"Where was this, in America?"

"Paris. My father was military attach at the embassy. Linda's parents owned a hotel that catered specially for

American visitors. We used to run with a whole crowd of expatriate kids."

"Where did you make love?"

"In the hotel. We had it easy. There were always empty rooms."

"What was it like the first time? Did you use any, you know, precautions?"

"She stole one of her father's rubbers."

Flick's fingertips traced a course down his belly. He closed his eyes. She said, "Who put it on?"

"She did. It was very exciting. I nearly came right then. And if you're not careful..

She moved her hand to his hip. "I'd like to have known you when you were sixteen."

He opened his eyes. He no longer wanted to make this moment last forever. In fact, he found he was in a great hurry to move on. "Would you..." His mouth was dry, and he swallowed. "Would you like to take off some clothes?"

"Yes. But speaking of precautions..

"In my billfold. On the bedside table."

"Good." She sat upright and unlaced her shoes, throwing them on the floor. She stood up and unbuttoned her blouse. She was tense, he could see, so he said, "Take your time we have all night."