The Dirty Duo (Schellenburg)

[Jean-Luc Laroche]

1942, Rhineland, Germany

Soft white flakes fell from the night sky. During the last few hours rainfall had changed to snow and it was beginning to accumulate. A dim candle light glowed from the window of an old farmhouse located just off the main road. Beside the main house there was a darkened barn, the rest of the property was open and surrounded by fields covered in a thin white blanket. Inside Jean-Luc sat at the kitchen table, laid out in front of him was a map of the area. While smoking a cigarette he studied the map in the direction which his business would take him. He had crossed into Germany two days ago, England had informed him that certain radio codes would be in the area and it would be his job to extract them. He was told the task was very important, many lives were at stake on this one. From what he knew the British had attempted this action before, it resulted in disaster. All the Brits were either captured or killed. The Germans misunderstood the raid, they believed it had been an attempt to capture an officer from their command staff who was in the area.

The fire in the stone fireplace had died down. Jean stood up slowly making his way over. He selected a medium sized round log from a neatly stacked pile on the floor. Jean leaned forward quickly dropping it into the flames, He reached down grabbing a second log which he also added. When the fire began to pick up Jean was content, out of habit he took a quick glance outside, there he spotted the dark shape of an automobile coming up the driveway. He began to get nervous, the headlights were off but it was alone at least, if they were Germans maybe he could take them. The resistance fighter disappeared into a back room, he dug under the bed and withdrew a German semi-automatic G41 rifle. He pulled back on the action, loading a bullet ready to be fired. Jean continued to watch the vehicle approach, he was expecting a Aaron's return anytime so the cars presence wasn't exactly abnormal. He just hoped that this would be friend rather than foe.

Jean leaned forward and blew out the candle located in the middle of the table. The Frenchman retreated to a backroom where he closed the door half way. The car had stopped, he could now hear someone approaching the front door.

[Aaron Hroda Schellenburg]

As the darkness ascended over the horizon, stealing every ounce of the colorful light that once was painted in the sky, a lone car rumbled down the paved road. It's headlights were off, blindly slicing through the darkness on it's journey to the safe house located remotely in the German countryside. The driver, a young man of German and Jewish origin, sat quietly in his thoughts and silence, his mind whirling a mile a minute. Occasionally he would glance out of the driver side mirror for anyone following him. Aaron reflected on what occurred to him earlier this afternoon.

-Earlier today-

Aaron was sent out by his Resistance partner Jean into the nearest town to acquire information about the crucial radio codes for Britain. The car ride to the spot was nerve-wrecking for him, this was very different from any experience he had with running errands. But Aaron hid his heightened anxiety behind the best neutral mask he could muster. Aaron knew that he was on a tight schedule, he needed to find this man by the name of Crow before sundown. It was crucial for him to obtain this information and return it to his partner before it was dark. He eventually made his way into town and located the small establishment he was supposed to meet the mole in. Aaron parked the car a few spaces away, near the entrance of the small cafe. He let out a sigh as he killed the engine and tucked the key into his gray woolen overcoat pocket. The exposed area's of Aaron's skin was met with the biting kisses of the German winter.

It was a bittersweet memory about his life as a German, the bitter part of the experience was his returning to a country that his mother and himself fled from. Aaron pushed his feelings aside as he made his way to the worn, screened door. The scent of various foods and stale walls met his nostrils as he made his way into the cafe, sitting at the nearest table to the door. Now all he had to do was wait. The time span from when he sat down to when Crow sauntered over to his table was extending, slightly irking the nervous man, but Aaron understood that Crow had to make sure that he was the mole.

"I see you came alone no? Good good. Now- let's get down to business, you must be Jude."

The man seated before Aaron spoke. Crow held his eye contact with Aaron as he appeared to be studying him. The man seated before Aaron appeared to be in his mid to late forties with a slightly aging face, wearing civilian clothing, and held a mixed accent of German and French. The agent appeared to be relaxed in this situation but impatient also. Aaron relaxed a bit in his seat as he spoke.

"Ah yes, I am Jude. You must be Crow then."

Crow gave Aaron a small nod as he looked around and leaned a bit closer to Aaron. He quit the small talk as the atmosphere surrounding him turned serious. The agent reached in his coat pocket and retrieved a folded manila envelope. Aaron looked carefully at it and noticed that it had the British stamp on it. It was legit. Crow held his eye contact and his grip on the important information.

"Now Jude, you should know why you are here, so I will not waste my time with the sugar. Recently the Germans have obtained radio codes to transmit to military stations. Now these codes are the key to advert the Allies and conquer the war.- The details are tucked away in this envelope. You should understand how this should not fall into the wrong hands or we are done."

Crow quietly and hastily spoke, trying to paint Aaron the picture of what they are up against. Aaron nodded in response to the outline of the information. A small smile glimmered in Crow's eyes as he set the envelope onto the table and slid it to Aaron. The latter retrieved the envelope and transferred it to his inner overcoat pocket. In a blink of an eye, Crow raised from his seat and bid Aaron adieu before vanishing into the cold air. Aaron waited for a minute before leaving the cafe behind, making his way to the car.

~

Aaron pulled back to reality as he drove off of the main road to the unpaved road that led to the farmhouse. He remembered the time he first met Jean Luc, it was a strange confrontation but it did lead Aaron here. For that he was thankful. Aaron made his way into the narrow driveway, slowing down to a halt in front of the house. The German-Jew cut the engine and exited the car and into the cold snow. He closed his door shut as he made his way to the front door, Aaron noticed that the house was dark. It was a bit bizarre, but he shrugged it off and presumed that Jean ran out of wood or fell asleep. Aaron reached on top of the door frame for the spare key. His slender fingers, wrapping around the metal as he jiggled the lock and entered the slightly dark home.

"Jean. I got the oranges."

Aaron spoke out into the darkness with the agreed code word for the information. One can not be too careful in case the hideout was infiltrated by Nazi's. Aaron cautiously made his way further into the house, stopping in the kitchen. His clothed body and face was illuminated by the roaring fire in the stone fireplace. So he is awake. Aaron thought to himself as he pulled out the chair, facing the doorway leading to the back of the house and sat comfortably in it. He chose to keep his mouth shut in case German's were posted in the home. He knew what to do in these situations, but he did not have the comfort of his Luger by his hip. He foolishly left it in his room in his nightstand drawer.

[Jean-Luc Laroche]

Upon hearing the familiar voice Jean flicked the safety on his rifle. A loud, “Click”, echoed in the darkness. He emerged with a grin on his face while leaning the G41 against the door frame, “Mon amis, how did it go?”. The Frenchman took a silver lighter from his pocket, he held it close to the candle and gave it a flick. A flame appeared lighting the wick, Jean held the lighter in place for another moment then dropped it back in his pocket. Jean had been training Aaron over the last couple months while he carried out courier duties for the resistance. England had been in cotact Jean about the code which the Germans were using. They told him to go ahead extract the codes which he would then hand over to a SOE agent operating across the border in France. To his knowledge the Brits had already attempted this before but to no effect. Jean had informed his commanders about the German Jew Aaron Schellenburg months ago, now they finally decided to utilize him properly. The Brits liked the idea of using Aaron due to the fact he was a German. Jean’s handler in London made it perfectly clear that Aaron had to be on board 100%, Jean of course reassured them.

Something no-one knew about Jean-Luc Laroche was that he left France after the surrender in 1940. He fled to England where he was trained in sabotage, marksmanship and hand to hand. The Brits at that time were recruiting many young men looking for revenge against the Germans for what they had done. Jean-Luc’s father had been killed in the initial invasion, his mother had died when he was young. After he completed advanced training the Brits parachuted him back in to cause havoc behind enemy lines. The trust between them was solid, If he vouched for Aaron they would surely listen. Many allies around Jean-Luc could never understand his relationship with the British. The name Le Spectre, or “The Ghost” had been his original call sign. One day one of the resistance members in his cell heard him communicating to England over the radio using it, from that day on the name stuck.

Jean liked Aaron overall, they also had something in common. The Nazi’s had taken something very dear to them away. Aaron deserved to be in this fight just as much as him. Jean intended to do everything he could to keep him in it, but their game was a dangerous one. Jean gestured toward the fireplace, “I just put some logs on, come stand over here”. He decided to let Aaron warm up before he told him what needed to be done next. Earlier that day certain plans were put in motion, they had been arranged weeks before the mission was to take place. Jean-Luc took a decorated cigarette case from inside his shirt pocket. He removed one placing it to his lips, tossing the case on the wooden table.

[Aaron Hroda Schellenburg]

Aaron was relieved when the familiar "Click" danced to his ears. He was met with a grinning Jean as he set the semi-automatic G41 propped on the door frame, not hesitating to ask the German-Jew about the experience.

"It went pretty quickly, but all was well."

The young Resistance fighter replied, leaning back a bit in the chair. A small shiver crawled up the man's spine as a winter's draft whisked in the kitchen. A shaky sigh, followed by a tightening of his jacket around his torso. It has been months since he first met Jean-Luc, he never thought that he would escape with his life in Bruges and end up in the Fatherland. Once again his mind swam with memories and thoughts. When Jean offered the warmth of a roaring fire, Aaron gave a small nod as he rose from his seat and made his way over to the fireplace. An instant warmth enshrouded his cold body as he stared into the flame.

"Oh, before I forget... Crow gave me the rest of the information."

Aaron's slender hand made his way to the opening of his jacket and fished out the dingy manilla folder from the inside of his overcoat; he held it out for Jean to grasp.

"He gave me the basic outline of what to expect from this notice. We could not fully talk because of the location."

A small smile inched on the corner of his thin, chapped lips. He decided to add some hidden banter in what he told Jean about Crow. But all too quickly it faded as Jean received the envelope from his hand. Aaron had no true idea what details were being held in that folder. All he could comprehend was the important radio codes that the Nazi's held in their possession.

[Jean-Luc Laroche]

Jean pulled a chair out and sat down at the table. He tore the envelope open and unfolded the creased contents. Two small brown booklets fell out, above a picture of the Nazi eagle he read the words, “Deutsches Reich Ausweis, hmm well here are our papers”. Jean slid Aaron’s across the table and opened his own. Inside was his personal information, occupation and recent photograph, he grinned at Aaron, “Heh, these are really good fakes”. The lines listing his personal information stated Jean was a Captain in the Whermacht. During his previous occupation it said he had been a stone mason from the Hessen area. Setting the ID book down he selected another piece of paper from the envelope, this was an official invitation to a party. He let out a deep breath as he considered what could happen during this operation. He had never taken part in anything like this before, The Frenchman hoped his near perfect German would be on point for the mission.

“This isn’t going to be easy. Until we do the mission communication is in German only. I am pretty sure I speak well enough but correct me if I am ever wrong. It could save our lives”. Jean shook his head, “Now, here is the risky bit I have yet to tell you. You and I must go into town tomorrow and retrieve the rest of our equipment for this. It will be from a local tailor shop, there will be many Germans in the area..heh, well of course because we are in Germany”. He gave a light shrug and briefly paused letting his words sink in, “We try this.. if we can’t do it then fuck it because I’m not dying on this side of the border, no offence my friend”. Jean-Luc smiled politely at Aaron who stood by the fireplace. Jean took a quick glance outside then refocused on Aaron, “As you may have guessed we need to be ‘dressed’ for the event. It won’t be your normal suit and tie situation”. He looked over the papers laid out on the table, “The problem is town is crawling with Germans. There is no other way in except during the day as a curfew is in place. We have to get in and get out undetected, they get a hint anything is up and it’s all over my friend”. The entire time he spoke Jean’s face remained very serious, “It will help the war effort IF this can be done. But, we are only two men and this is a mission for a whole unit of commandos”.

Jean got up from the table and began to pace, “If one of us goes down you know the drill. KEEP moving”. Jean took a small metal case the size of a pill and set it on the table. “That is yours, cyanide, it kills in 30 seconds. You won’t feel a thing, hell it’s better than falling into the hands of the Gestapo”. Inside Jean was nervous like he was before any mission but he never let it show. Fear was contagious, it spread like wild fire.

“So the plan is to collect our equipment and prepare ourselves for the task ahead. I’ve told you everything so far Aaron but let’s go over it one more time”. Jean spoke slowly, “You are a Lieutenant in the Germany army. You escort me as my aide. You speak most of the time, I will just look important and speak when spoken to. We went over the German military stuff, like the ranks, proper salutes and such. Hmm.. Oh, from there we attend this event where we steal the radio code from a room inside the chateau. I have a rough floor plan of the building, it’s not perfect but it’s something to go on at least”. Jean suddenly sighed, “Ugh, this sounds fucking crazy”.

[Aaron Hroda Schellenburg]

Aaron's attention shifted from the bellowing flames in the fireplace to his Resistance partner, who took a seat at the single wooden table. As Jean slid Aaron's false documentation away from him, Aaron moved to a seat parallel to his French companion. Aaron lifted the paper in his hands, as his eyes scanned over the pen name, military status, and previous profession. He also noticed that a recent picture of him was clipped on the upper right. The German-Jew listened inventively as Jean spilled the facts about the current mission. He decided to bite his tongue and focus on the document before him, occasionally sending nods to Jean to signify that he was listening.

His attention was again snapped when Jean paced around the kitchen, giving him strict instructions to keep moving in case something goes awry. He watched as Jean placed a metal capsule filled with the poison of cyanide on the table in front of him. "That is yours, cyanide, it kills in 30 seconds. You won’t feel a thing, hell it’s better than falling into the hands of the Gestapo"[/b]. Aaron chuckled a bit at Jean's words as his slender fingers took hold of the metal capsule and placed it on the outside pocket of his overcoat. He made a mental note in his brain to remember to transfer the capsules later on.

The young man gave his companion his undivided attention as he began to break down the operation and what is expected of him. Aaron leaned up to view the crude map of the target chateau when Jean unfolded it on the table before him. Aaron's nerves and fear brewed inside of him as the realization of this dangerous mission in set before him more clearly.

"I know that it is crazy, but it is not impossible."

Aaron softly spoke, loud enough for Jean to hear him; looking the Frenchman in his eyes as a encouraging smile painted on his lips.

[Jean-Luc Laroche]

Jean opened his eyes, letting out a low moan as he rolled out of bed. The farmhouse was still warm, coals from the fire were still glowing red. He removed a large pot from the stove top, pouring some of the warm water in a metal bowl beside his bed. Next he carried the bowl to a wooden table located in front of a mirror on the wall. Resting on the table was an expensive shaving kit with scented cream and a bottle of high end cologne. Jean proceeded to shave his face in the most particular manner, swiftly and neatly. The whole process took several minutes to complete. Once he had shaved Jean put more water on for coffee. Removing a cigarette from his case, the Frenchman opened the front door and stepped outside.

The countryside was covered in a blanket of snow. Thick fog had rolled in during the early hours of the morning, visibility was at a minimum. Jean-Luc nodded to himself while lighting the cigarette between his fingers. The weather would surely work with them, it could assist in masking their movements throughout the German occupied territory which surrounded them. After his smoke Jean closed the door, returning to the warmth of the cabin, there he began to think.

Everything was planned, now it was time for the action. The pieces to this operation had finally come together. There was no room for failure, failure could mean the loss of his life, Aaron’s and many, many others. Success could be the only outcome here.

Jean released a deep sigh as he glanced down at his watch. It was nearly time for them to leave in order to pick up the packages at the tailors shop in town. The uniforms arranged for them had been left by their previous owners who had been killed or listed as missing on the Eastern front. The shop owner disliked the Nazi’s and had agreed to supply some of these uniforms to resistance groups who could use them. Jean wasn’t exactly sure how all of this had come about but it wasn’t his place to ask questions. The Frenchman’s nerves were on edge, he was scared, any man who would say he wasn’t was a God damn liar. Men like Jean had a way of dealing with fear, they put it away and got the job done. In the field his fear turned to hatred for the Nazi’s which often helped him along.