Micheline
Micheline sat alone in the rear office going over paperwork. She had returned from her errand, meeting with a contact near the French border about a possible new safe house, to find the canteen empty. Hannah had left with the convoy three days earlier. Matteo was nowhere to be found. There was a message waiting for her from Pascal that the wounded airman was almost well enough to travel, and she wanted to make sure that everything was in order here before she set off to rescue him.
She looked up from her papers, her thoughts turning to Hannah. Micheline had pretended to leave first after their farewell, but in fact, she had watched Hannah go around the corner with a sense of remorse. She hadn’t planned to like or trust Hannah. Use her for some clerical work, she’d thought, a few minor errands, an extra set of hands.
But Hannah had proven to be good—better than many of the others. Micheline didn’t want Hannah to leave. She needed her for the line. Even after she had found a way for Hannah to leave, she considered not telling her. But that would have been unfair. They had made an agreement, Hannah’s assistance in exchange for Micheline helping her to get out. The decision, if Hannah had chosen to stay, would have had to be her own.
It was no matter now. Micheline would find other assets to cover the work. That was the thing about the line: it was made up of dozens of individuals. No one was irreplaceable.
Micheline heard a sudden clattering outside the rear door. She stiffened, then leaped to her feet. She was not expecting anyone. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Hannah. “Hannah? What are you doing here? You were supposed to have left with the convoy.”
“Didn’t Matteo tell you?”
Micheline shook her head. “I just got back. I haven’t seen him. Tell me what?”
“When I got to the station, the police had just stopped the airmen. They were arrested. They’re gone.”
Micheline let the information sink in. Bile rose up in her throat. She swallowed, forcing it down. This was the business. They got as many out as they could, but sometimes it didn’t work. Still, the airmen placed their lives in her hands, trusted her to deliver them safely. She had failed.
“Get inside,” she ordered, taking Hannah by the arm and pulling her through the doorway roughly. “What happened?”
Hannah pulled away. “I don’t know.” For a moment, Micheline thought she might be lying. But Hannah’s eyes were wide, and it was clear from her expression that she was just as puzzled as Micheline herself.
“The police. How many?”
“Four or five.”
“What color were their uniforms?”
“Light brown.”
Sipo-SD. Her alarm grew. This was not a happenstance arrest by an officer on patrol. A group of Germans had known the airmen were coming.
“Someone knew about the convoy, and they betrayed us.”
“How did you manage not to be taken with them?”
“I was a minute or two late, and when I got to the station, the police had already started toward them. But I had not joined them yet, so I was able to slip away.”
Micheline let out a long breath like a whistle. “That was lucky. You would have been arrested as well. I’m glad you weren’t with them.”
Hannah pressed her lips together, the grim truth sinking in. “Not lucky. I have more bad news, I’m afraid. My cousin has been arrested as well.”
Micheline was caught off guard by this unexpected development. “What happened?”
“She was arrested on the Square de l’Aviation.”
“Arrested? But why?”
Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it was because I had used her identification card. Matteo was there meeting her and saw the whole thing.” This last bit confirmed what Micheline had suspected: her brother had become entangled once again with the woman who had broken his heart. “She was initially taken to Sipo headquarters.” This, Micheline reflected, was very, very bad. “Matteo went to see her and said he would let me know. But it has been three days, and I’ve had no word. That’s why I came here.”
Because he hasn’t found her, Micheline thought. “I’m sure he will come back soon,” she offered. But her concern for her brother grew. If he had not returned, it was because he was trying to do something, anything, to find and help Lily. Matteo was headstrong at the best of times. That, combined with his passion for Lily, would surely spell disaster.
Micheline’s mind whirled. “Two arrests. It can’t be a coincidence.”
“You think the two are related?”
“I don’t know.” Even if the arrests were somehow coordinated, the network was segmented, each person only knowing just enough. The traitor did not—could not—know everything. But Micheline’s uneasiness grew as she contemplated the extent of the possible breach.
“Micheline, we have to help Lily.” Hannah’s voice was pleading and pinched. “It is my fault that she’s been arrested. She has a young child.”
Micheline straightened. Lily’s arrest, while alarming, was the least of her worries. “I will make inquiries.”
“Inquiries? That’s all?”
“What else would you have me do?”
“I want to help her get out.”
“Out? If she is still at SD headquarters, that’s impossible. And if she isn’t, she’s been sent to one of the camps.” The Germans had created a few internment camps outside of the city where they held people who were to be transported east. But those were political prisoners and foreign Jews, not native Belgians like Hannah’s cousin.
Still Hannah did not back down. “Lily was arrested as a direct consequence of our work. With all of your connections, surely someone can help get her out.” Hannah softened her voice. “You help people escape. That’s what you do.”
Micheline searched for the words to make Hannah understand. “We rescue downed airmen. Freeing a prisoner is something else altogether. There’s no way to get anyone out of SD headquarters or the camps. And even if we could, the line only evacuates soldiers. Can’t you see? If we opened this up to refugees, there would be a flood, the whole line would be overwhelmed and shut down.”
“War forces hard choices about who to save,” Hannah acknowledged. “No one knows this better than me. But how can you not save a woman who had been captured as a direct result of our work?”
“Your cousin is Belgian,” Micheline pointed out, avoiding the question. “They aren’t deporting Belgian citizens. She will be all right.”
“You don’t know that,” Hannah shot back. “They were not supposed to be arresting native Belgians either. Plus, if they think she is me and charge her with sedition, they might kill her.”
Seeing the anguish in Hannah’s eyes, Micheline softened. “I wish I could help. My advice to you is to leave Belgium and secure your cousin’s freedom from abroad.” Hannah’s eyes widened with surprise. “You can still go. The transit documents I gave you are valid. We can find another route out for you.” She was giving Hannah another chance at freedom.
“Never. I have to stay here and help Lily, even if you won’t.”
“Can’t,” Micheline corrected. “You know you might be giving up your one and only chance to leave? I don’t have to tell you the favors I called in to get those papers.”
Hannah looked down. “No, and I’m forever grateful. But my cousin’s arrest...it’s my fault. I need to stay here and try to get her out.”
“I told you, there is nothing to be done.” Micheline wished she could offer some words of comfort or reassurance to Hannah, but there was nothing reassuring about war. Micheline hardened.
Matteo walked in then, his face grave. Hannah ran to him. “Have you found her?”
“She’s been transported to the prison camp at Breendonk. There’s no way to see her, but I was able to check on her through a contact. She is all right—at least for now.” Over Hannah’s shoulder, Micheline exchanged uneasy glances with her brother. That Lily had been sent onward from German headquarters at Avenue Louise was an ominous sign. The Germans had no intentions of freeing her.
“No!” Hannah cried. “The conditions are meant to be wretched there. Lily will not survive. And your sister refuses to help,” Hannah spat bitterly.
“I’ve explained to her that there is nothing to be done,” Micheline said.
“Micheline is right,” Matteo said gently. “We can’t simply storm the gates and free her. I would do anything to help your cousin. But this is beyond all of us.” There was a pleading note in Matteo’s voice, asking Hannah to understand. “I will keep trying.” He would not make promises he could not keep or raise false hope in her.
“You must be patient,” Micheline interjected. “These things take time.”
“Time?” Hannah spun to her angrily. “Time is not something my cousin has. I risked everything for you, including Lily’s life. And now because of this, she is in a prison camp, taken from her family. And you won’t help.” Hannah started from the room. “If you won’t help her, then I will.”
“Hannah, wait,” Micheline implored. What did Hannah possibly think she could do?
But she was already gone.