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

“From there I was sent by CS1 to Cuba. I was promised home leave in England after this operation and I was determined to use it to find you.”

She finished her story and lay back on the sand. There was a long pause, “Well?” she said quietly. “Say something. What are you thinking?”

Kelly leaned over her and kissed her affectionately. “I was thinking,” he said, “that you, Sybilla, are the most amazing person I have ever met in my entire life.”

Down River

“I’ll need to have another look at those wounds,” she said.

“What, now?” exclaimed Kelly. In answer she took hold of his tee shirt and raised it slowly up his chest, finally pulling it over his head and placing it down beside her.

She gently massaged his chest then said, “I need to check on the wounds on your legs also.” She spoke softly as she undid his belt.

“This is all a bit one-sided,” he said, quietly but pointedly. Sybilla hesitated for a brief moment then nodded and standing up she untied her boots and pulled them off, then flicked off the socks. Unbuckling her fatigue trousers, she allowed them to fall and stepped out of them, then deftly removed her tee shirt, she was not wearing a bra. Finally, after a further moment’s hesitation she slipped off her pants and advanced on the still recumbent Kelly.

Sybilla continued to undress Kelly until he too was naked, then she lay full length on him. Kelly made to roll her onto her back, but she resisted.

“No!” she said. “You are the patient; I am the nurse. I carry out all of the healing processes. You just lie there and think of England.”

Agent Skadi made love to Kelly until they were both exhausted. They lay for a time in each other’s arms until it was almost completely dark, then dressed quickly and walked hand in hand back to the village. They had been allocated adjoining rooms in one of the larger houses in the village, but that night one of the rooms remained unused.

The trek to the final departure point was made under cover of darkness the following night. There were a few heart stopping moments, but they made good progress and arrived well before dawn. Prieto brought the boat out of its hidden mooring and proudly displayed it to the couple. Kelly wasn’t quite sure what he had expected, but it certainly hadn’t been a canoe with a canopy.

This, however, is exactly what their cruise liner turned out to be.

Alvaro supplied them with a map of the river, gave them additional instructions, wished them good luck and then after receiving their heartfelt thanks embraced each of them warmly. Finally, he took his leave. Kelly couldn’t swear, but he thought he detected just the hint of dampness in the big black eyes of the fearless revolutionary. One of nature’s gentlemen, thought Kelly.

Having removed the pointless canopy, they set off after dark had fallen the following night. At three in the morning, to their delight, they were arrested, having been discovered by a US patrol boat at the entrance to the bay.

The young naval officer who interviewed them stared incredulously at the pair as they told their story. Completely out of his depth, he called the senior duty officer to assist.

He was eventually joined by a US Marine Corps Major, who also declared himself astonished at their tale. Having started out as belligerent, the assertiveness and sheer authority displayed by the British couple completely threw him; the final coup had been when Sybilla had lifted up Kelly’s shirt to reveal the ugly welts left by Botvinik. The interview ended with the major shaking their hands and asking them politely if they would mind staying in a cell until his commanding officer came on duty.

The next interviewer was a Marine Colonel, the commanding officer of the marine battalion. He was shrewd enough to realise that even if half of this was true, he too was completely out of his depth. He quickly passed them onto a senior naval officer.

It was about 11 am when they were finally taken into Rear Admiral Andrews’ office. The British couple now felt they were at a level where they could share all. They told their story in detail, leaving nothing out. Sybilla gave Andrews the number she had memorised which provided a direct line to CS1.

Andrews surveyed them for a moment, shaking his head, before picking up the phone and instructing the person on the other end, presumably his PA, to get the number. A few minutes passed before the phone rang and Andrews answered it. He relayed the details of the two people in front of him and listened, clearly with increasing interest to what the person on the other end was saying. Thereafter Andrews contributed little to the telephone conversation other than to occasionally check a detail or reference with Kelly or Sybilla.

Andrews looked thoughtful as he slowly placed the receiver back into its cradle. After it clicked, he picked it up again and asked for another number. The response was fast this time. After exchanging salutations, he very briefly described to the recipient the situation that had arisen and gave the other person the number given to him by Sybilla. He’s checking up on the validity of CS1, thought Kelly.

Andrews nodded throughout the phone call and finally put down the phone with much more conviction. Looking up at them, he smiled.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “Agent Skadi and Agent Kelly. I am asked by ...” he hesitated, “the Head of CS to tell you ‘Good Job!’. He’s looking forward to seeing you both soon. Off the record, that message comes also with the blessing of our own CIA. They are mightily impressed.”

Andrews rose and walked around to the front of the desk and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Sybilla, Dan, we’ll have you home in no time!”

Decision Time

Dragan Kelly took the copy of the telegram he had sent to Sybilla,