Cast No Shadow, Peter Sharp [books to get back into reading txt] 📗

to go on. Putting all thoughts of Dieppe out of his mind, he said, “Thanks for agreeing to come back, Dan. We have need of good men. I wonder if you’d mind being second-in-command of 4 troop?”

“Of course,” said Kelly. “It will be an honour. Do I start straight away?”

“’Fraid so,” said Owen. “We are very short handed.”

“That’s fine,” said Kelly, rising. “I’ll find the Troop Commander and report for duty.”

Kelly felt an air of sadness pervading the camp as he made his way towards 4 Troop lines. He stopped in his tracks on hearing his name called. “Dan! Lieutenant Kelly!” Owen waved frantically from the HQ building, beckoning him to return. Kelly jogged back and raised his eyebrows as he approached Owen.

“Telephone call for you, Dan, in my office. Some commodore or other. Says it’s urgent!”

Part III

Return to Norway

Raid

“Kelly! Is that you, old chap?” The line was poor and crackly, the voice faint and distorted, but it was unmistakably the voice of Archie Jenkins.

“Yes Sir!” said Kelly. “Second Lieutenant Kelly speaking. Good to talk to you again, Commodore.”

“You might not think so when we’ve finished speaking, old man. Are you secure there?”

“Yes Commodore. I’m in Captain Owen’s office here in 40 Commando.”

“Good!” said Jenkins. “Have you spoken to the new commanding officer today?”

“No Sir, I haven’t,” responded Kelly, wondering where this was going.

“In that case,” said Jenkins, “I’m going to steal his thunder. Congrats are in order. I’m pleased to be the first to congratulate you on your promotion to First Lieutenant. Well done, old chap! It will be gazetted later this week.”

Kelly was genuinely pleased and expressed his thanks, but Jenkins cut him short.

“Don’t thank me, old man. Nothing to do with it. These things just seem to happen. Anyway, you may not thank me for the next bit of news.”

“Go on, Sir.” Kelly was intrigued.

“I want you to go back to Norway.”

Kelly was thunderstruck.

Taking no answer as consent, Jenkins went on, “We want to hit that plant! What do you say?”

“Count me in, Sir. I wouldn’t want to miss this for the world!” Kelly recovered his composure.

“Yes, that’s what I thought,” said Jenkins. “I want you to go as second in command of a Commando Force. You’ll have about a hundred and twenty men drawn from three troops, are you game?”

“Trust me, Sir,” said Kelly, fighting to contain his excitement.

“I do, Dan, that’s why I volunteered you for 2ic,” replied Jenkins drolly. “Now there is a complication.”

Kelly said nothing, but waited for the Commodore to continue.

“Phase one will have to be a stealth approach to clear the area for a landing and knock out communications. You will have a dozen SBS for that part.”

“And the complication?” asked Kelly.

“Quite simply that this phase must be led by someone who knows the area, that is to say, you, Dan.”

Jenkins waited for that part to sink in before going on, “The approach will be underwater to avoid detection. Therefore, old chap, you will need to get yourself trained!”

“You mean an SBS course?” inquired Kelly.

“Precisely” responded Jenkins. “If you recall I did promise you a selection assessment and at the moment that’s all I can promise, but there is a lot hanging on this, old man. If you fail the assessment, the raid may not be possible.”

“I’ll do my best, Sir. Do you know when I might be called to the selection assessment?” Kelly asked

“Yes, no hurry old man, as long as you fetch up in Eastney barracks by midday tomorrow. Give Owen my regards!”

With that the phone went dead.

First Lieutenant Kelly sat down in the chair indicated. This was the final part of the selection process and consisted of an interview with three of the section’s senior members to assess his ‘psychological’ suitability to join this elite section.

He had passed the other sections with little difficulty; he was a natural swimmer and had breezed through the swimming tests. His regular battle fitness training with 40 Commando and recent spell of active service had ensured that he had achieved the endurance and fitness tests. He had remembered his lessons on weapons at Achnacarry, so was able to strip, assemble and fire all of the weapons on that particular test. Now he faced the final hurdle.

What happened next surprised Kelly.

The senior person on the board, a Royal Marine Commando Colonel, spoke. “Lieutenant Kelly, well done. You have successfully completed all of the other parts of the assessment. Normally we use this part of the assessment to weed out the undesirables that apply to join the section, people who want to join the SBS for all the wrong reasons, glory seekers in particular.”

He shook his head, explaining, “We do not seek glory. Quite the reverse. We do our job best when we do it without anyone knowing where we’ve been or what we’ve done. We make no noise, we leave no trace, we cast no shadow.”

He paused before adding, “We have decided therefore, having taken advice,” he waited for the other two members to nod their approval, “to forgo this part of the assessment as far as you are concerned. Your past record speaks for itself, and we have it on very good authority that you have the mental attributes to join this section, subject to successfully completing the training.”

Kelly had a fair idea who the ‘good authority’ was.

The Colonel continued, “I am therefore delighted to offer you a place on the next training programme starting in three days’ time.”

Kelly responded immediately in the affirmative.

The Colonel smiled, stood up and extended his hand. “Hope you enjoy the training,” he said as he shook Kelly’s hand. “They say the assessment is harder than the training.”

Kelly inched himself up the cliff face using all his strength until he could just reach into the small crevice barely visible above his head. Once he had his hand inside, he curled it into a fist and wedged it between the two faces of the crevice, providing him with the best hold