part0025

A s Jacko made his way back home to their pension, the Afrika Korps with its panzer tanks was closing in on the Egyptian border. The Eighth Army with an inferiority in armour was fighting a succession of rear-guard actions, while falling back towards the small town of El Alamein on the Mediterranean coast, only about 65 miles west of Alexandria. At El Alamein, the bulk of the Allies’ available artillery was set up, from where it was proposed to make a stand.

The following morning word had leaked out in Cairo that Rommel’s army was on its way into Egypt. There was considerable panic, particularly amongst the old resident British officers who had been living like maharajas and princes frequenting the clubs, polo fields, swimming pools, cinemas, music halls and nightclubs in Cairo. The Gezira Sporting Club and the Turf Club were suddenly deserted except for a few drunk old men who couldn’t quite believe that all this might end. Resident staff officers with red faces, bristling moustaches and breathless anxiety were running around in circles, trying to find out the timetables of trains leaving Cairo for Palestine, Luxor, the Sudan or anywhere, and joining queues to banks, particularly the military branch of Barclays Bank where the queue had extended to several city blocks. The front desks at the Semiramis, Shepheard’s and Continental Hotels were like scenes from a madhouse, with the military aristocracy competing to check out as quickly as possible and porters struggling to handle loads of trunks, chests and other luggage. Hustling and bustling all over the city, the Cairo establishment gentry, including wives and mistresses, was on the run.

“Yvette has done an amazing job, Jacko,” said Johnny. “This notebook of hers is a goldmine. We’ll need to get hold of a copy of the same issue of Rebecca as the Germans have, as the page numbers are probably different in each issue and there have already been a few issues. The red cover should be a clue.”

“I’ll have a look for one this afternoon in the city library or one of the bookshops around here,” said Jamie.

“Good idea,” said Johnny. “If you can’t find one, no matter. We’ll get Yvette to take the original just before we close in and pick them all up.”

“Aha, now you’re talking,” said Jacko. “When will we do that?”

“Not immediately,” said Johnny. “We’ll have to coordinate that with Major Sansom, and possibly Hardcastle as well. We have to be sure that we get everyone at once, including all the German agents and the local groups working with them as well as the dancer, Fahmy, and possibly Yasmina. It will involve quite a lot of coordinated manpower.”

“Ah, I can see that the two prettiest girls in Cairo are about to join us,” said Jamie. “After Monique of course,” he quickly added with a grin.

“Bonjour, mes beaux troi Js,” Fifi called out with a wave. “How are you all?”

“We’re all well. Très bien merci,” said Jamie.

“Oo la, your French is so perfect, Jamie,” said Fifi. “Maybe you have French girlfriend like Jacko.”

“No, no, I just try to use my four or five French words now and again,” said Jamie. “Has Yvette told you about her experiences last night?”

“Bien sûr, she has all the fun,” said Fifi. “I only experience boredom – except this morning. I went to the lobby of the Continental Hotel this morning and is like an insane asylum or loon … how you say?”

“Loony bin,” said Jacko.

“That’s it, loony bin,” agreed Fifi. “So many uniforms and old men fighting each other to get to the front desk. Trunks and chests all over the floor. Loony bin!”

“Yes, well, I think we should get down to business,” said Johnny. “I believe you had a very successful evening, Yvette.”

“Yes, I was able to copy quite a lot from the documents and the book which I found near their wireless,” said Yvette. “It’s all in the notebook I gave to Jacko.”

“Has it got a red cover?” asked Jacko. “About eight inches by five inches?”

“Mais oui! Absolument,” Fifi replied. “Do you want me to steal it?”

“No, definitely not at this stage,” said Johnny. “We need your Henry to be able to communicate directly to Rommel when we can give you some false information at the appropriate time. We don’t know where he transmits his messages from but we are not too concerned about that right now. Are you girls worried about the situation with the German advance?”

“Non, non, not at all,” said Yvette. “After all, if the Germans come, Fifi and I are the girlfriends of Germans, n’est-ce pas? But we think the British will win anyway.”

“You will have to win soon,” said Fifi, “or I will also finish in loony bin.”

“Good. It was Jacko who managed to defuse the situation last night,” said Johnny. “Yvette did a good job of placating your man in case his feathers were ruffled. Have you got any news from the front?”

“As far as I know, there are only a few units laying landmines and fighting rear-guard actions in front of Rommel’s tanks while the rest of the Eighth Army have fallen back to El Alamein and beyond,” replied Sansom. “A good few of them are in Cairo and Alexandria to recuperate. Radio intercepts indicate that Rommel may well be very short of fuel or ammunition or both by the time he reaches El Alamein. His supply lines are very long.”

“Yes, that’s similar to MI6’s information. I don’t think our enemy agents here could do much to help him at the moment,” said Johnny. “We are trying to find the correct English version of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 classic, Rebecca , so that we can crack the code they are using to communicate with Rommel’s army.”

“Do you know what it looks like?” asked Sansom.

“It’s got a bright red cover and is about eight inches by five inches,” replied Johnny.

“I’ll keep an eye out,” said Sansom. “While you’ve been checking out your Kraut agents, we’ve been gathering up a few of the leaders of the local anti-British groups who are assisting the Germans. We caught one fellow last evening having coffee in a riverside café. He was one of the leaders of the so-called Brotherhood and is actually a brother of a former Egyptian Prime Minister, Hussein Sirri Pasha. When he saw us he tried to make a run for it but my Number Two, Lieutenant Soames, felled him with a perfect blow from his swagger stick. Quite a sight! He is singing like a canary and we have rounded up a few other rebellious leaders. Cut off the heads and the others fade away.”

“That seems wise,” said Johnny. “Anyway, when we’ve tracked down the right book and cracked their code I’ll let you know and we’ll plan a joint operation to gather up all the enemy agents together.”

“Jolly good, I’ll be in that,” said Sansom. “Thanks for coming in, old chap. We’ll meet again soon.”

A week later, artillery fire could be heard from Cairo as the Allied and Axis armies fought it out along the Mediterranean coast approximately 150 miles to the northwest. The mood on the rooftop bar at the Metropolitan Hotel was sombre, with customers mesmerised by the muffled crash of distant guns that contrasted with the dazzling sunset to the west. The regular crowd of reporters was there; however, most of the tables were filled by newly arrived officers and soldiers on leave from fighting in the western desert, mainly British, Australians, New Zealanders, Czechs, Poles, South Africans and Indians. There were also newly arrived Americans yet to see action. Yvette and the other barmaids were busy serving drinks when Jacko walked in and sat at the bar.

“Yes, thanks, Yvette,” he replied. “Have you seen much of the romantic John lately?” he asked her in a low voice.

“He has asked me to go with him a few times but I have only gone with him once more,” she said. “I don’t really like him. Still drinks and snores too much.”

“We will need you to visit the houseboat twice more, possibly when he is asleep,” said Jacko. “First, we need you to look at his wireless transceiver and get the frequency they’re using. Here’s a note showing you how to find this when you look at the radio dials.”

“That won’t be a problem,” she said. “What’s the second thing?”

“We need you to steal the red English book,” he said, “but not now. We’ll tell you when. It’ll be just before we arrest them.”

“Merde! So we get close to the end, n’est-ce pas?” she said.

“We hope so,” he replied. “There is one other thing. Those one-pound and five-pound notes given to you by Eppler are clever forgeries. We don’t want you to lose your money, so Johnny has agreed to exchange them all for local Egyptian pounds at the prevailing rate.”

“Merci, Monsieur!” she exclaimed. “The rotten salopard! Dégoûtant! He couldn’t even give me real money. Huh!”

“He may not have known,” said Jacko. “I think our friends have just arrived.”

Yvette moved away and started serving other customers as the two Germans, John and Peter, arrived and sat on two high stools at the bar. John looked quite grumpy. Yvette went over to serve the agents and gave them a radiant smile, which noticeably changed the mood of the burly German to elation. After serving them drinks, she chatted with them until called on to join the cabaret.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” she said. “I’m so glad that not all my favourite customers have disappeared. It seems that a large number of British officers are leaving Cairo.”

“I hope that has not caused you too many problems,” said Johnny.

“Non, non, non!” she said. “They have been more than replaced by officers from your Eighth Army and many Americans. Ah, the Americans. They like to spend a lot and are very appreciative of our performers. If it keeps up, this will truly be the American Music Hall, no?”

“We are pleased to hear it,” said Johnny. “We were a bit concerned that the big flap that has sent a lot of the old British residents scurrying away may have affected your business. You’re not concerned about the advance of the German desert army?”

“Non, non! It would be very sad if they come to Cairo,” said Badia, “I would lose so many of my friends, but I am not the one to play politics and I shall still be here. Do you think the Germans might win over Egypt?”

“We’ll be doing our best to prevent that,” said Johnny.

“Well then, I think you will win,” she said. “You will be interested to know that Sheena, the young girl whom you met, has now been promoted to one of the solo dancers in our troupe and you will see her tonight. Our leading dancer is still Taheya Carioca. No one can equal her and she only improves,” she said proudly. “I hope you all enjoy the show tonight.”

They had intended to leave after they had ascertained that Fahmy was still part of the Badia troupe; however, Jamie commented that it would be nice to again be entertained by the final act featuring Taheya Carioca, and Johnny agreed. During the introduction by Madame Badia, Jamie noted the arrival of Henry and Fifi who were shown to a table on the far side of the stage. There was, however, no sign of Jess or Greta. Jamie and Johnny detected many American accents at the tables around them. They enjoyed the show which was, as usual, entertaining, exotic and high quality, with Sheena giving an excellent performance.

At 3 am, Yvette quietly left the bunk of John Eppler who was already snoring loudly. She tiptoed into the room with the radio equipment, took the note Jacko had given her from her pocket and, following the instructions, wrote down the radio frequency the agents had been using that evening on the transceiver. She then left the houseboat, crept up the gangplank and made her way to the bridge to the east bank and from there to the houseboat she shared with Fifi.

Later in the morning, about 11 am, Fifi and Yvette found Jamie and Jacko sitting in the shade at their usual outdoor table at Le Coutume Café. They stood up as the girls arrived and Jacko ordered more tea and croissants from one of the waiters.

“Bonjour mes cheris,” said Fifi. “Only two of my Js today, n’est-ce pas?”

“Yes, Johnny has some other commitment,” said Jamie. “We thought we would come here in case you showed up. We’ve grown used to the tea but we don’t risk the coffee anymore.”

“I have something for you,” Yvette said to Jacko. “I have written down the numbers you wanted from the wireless equipment.”

“Ah, great! The radio frequency,” said Jacko as he studied the note that Yvette handed to him. “Yvette, you are amazing.”

“I also have something for you,” said Fifi. “I had a close look at the red book Henry has on his bedside table when he was under the shower. There was something written in pencil on the first page and someone had rubbed it out. Under the light I could make out the words ‘50 escudos’ from the pencil indentation. Does that mean something?”

“Yes, it certainly does,” said Jamie. “That means the book was purchased in Portugal. That must give us a clue to the right issue.”

“Am I not amazing then, too?” said Fifi with an exaggerated pout. “Only Yvette is amazing and not me?”

“You are definitely amazing, too,” said Jacko. “Both of you are the best.”

“Ah, now I feel much better,” said Fifi. “My love is returned. I don’t have to go to loony bin yet.”

“But you owe me some more money,” said Yvette. “John Eppler has fallen so much in love with me that last night he gave me forty-five pounds in fake one- and five-pound notes which I have with me.”

“No problem,” said Jamie. “I have local pounds here and can exchange them for your British pounds.”

“Oo la, this Monsieur Eppler must be much in love, n’est-ce pas,” said Fifi.

“Only if I am not available all the time,” said Yvette with a grin. “I think he loves whisky and wine more than me.”

“How does Henry pay you, Fifi?” asked Jamie.

“No problem. He puts money in my bank account like you do and he buys me dresses and trinkets,” said Fifi. “If I need some cash he gives me local pounds. Soon I am so rich I can buy you all.”

“I need to get some sleep,” said Yvette yawning. “Au revoir, mes amis.”

A week later, the news came through that Rommel’s tanks and army had been effectively brought to a stop at El Alamein just 65 miles short of their main objective, the port of Alexandria. MI6 sent messages through to Johnny that the British code-breakers, from intercepted German radio communications, had established that Rommel’s troops were exhausted and, because of their supply lines being overextended, they were critically short of fuel and ammunition. The Eighth Army was in no condition to take immediate advantage of this as they were also facing shortages of equipment and Cairo was filling up with Allied soldiers in need of rest and recreation. There was also a certain amount of incompetence in planning in the British General Headquarters, which had been under a cloud of smoke for the past week as the remaining staff feverishly burned documents and vital papers in case the Afrika Korps had broken through.

The many Allied soldiers who had now swelled the population of Cairo on rest and recreation noted bitterly that General Auchinleck, the British Commander-in-Chief, had moved his headquarters out of Cairo at the same time as they had moved in.

The following weeks saw a stalemate developing at El Alamein, with Rommel unable to move forward and the Eighth Army unable to push his troops back. During this period, Cairo almost returned to normal, although the old-boy-club network had almost disappeared to be partially replaced by Allied troops from the Eighth Army and fresh troops under training. None of this particularly affected the MI6 team who, together with Sansom’s Field Security group, were preparing a net to snare most of the known German agents and their local collaborators, except for the pseudo-Texan Henry Marshall whom they planned to leave at large for the immediate future.