The Warsaw Messenger

Introduction

Poland fought for its life after it was invaded by Germany on September 1st 1939, but it fell to Hitler’s forces in late September, and was then divided in two between Germany and Russia. Britain, who had signed a common defence pact with Poland stating that “the United Kingdom should give Poland all the support and assistance in its power”, could not rush to Poland’s aid, militarily at least. Poland was alone and defeated, without support from her allies.

Hitler was taking over Europe. Who would be next? Could anything be done to stop him? How could Britain find out what was really going on inside Poland?

This novel is inspired by the amazing feats and courage of some very brave Polish men and women who worked undercover for the British Secret Intelligence Service, [later the SOE], risking their lives traveling from Hungary, crossing over the Tatra mountains in Slovakia, into Nazi occupied Poland several times in 1940 and 1941 to gather intelligence, help Poles to escape and support resistance groups there.

Although this is a work of fiction, it has been set within the historical events and timelines during the early years of WW2. This, I believe, gives authenticity to the novel.

Kate Duprez

Prologue

“Oskar, hurry!” Anna called over her shoulder as she carefully navigated her skis between the trees.

“You’re too fast!” the Count shouted after her.  Yet the threat was real. He knew he had to keep up. 

Anna sucked in a breath and kept focused on the trail ahead. Trees, hidden rocks and crevices made skiing in these mountains treacherous at the best of times. The light was fading quickly and if Oskar slowed them further, they’d be stuck out here for the night. Sitting ducks for the patrols that swept the mountainside.

She slowed to a halt, allowing the downhill edge of her ski to hold her steady as she waited for the Count to catch up. Again. Although proficient, it had been some time since Count Oskar Lipski had spent time on his skis and it showed. His chest heaved as he drew up beside her, his breath hot and painful, causing clouds of steam in the frigid air. His normally smooth, handsome features now florid with exertion.

“We’re going to be late for the contact,” she stated bluntly as he caught his breath, wheezing and coughing. A shade of rose tinted her cheeks, although this had more to do with the frozen air. An icy wind whipped up snow flurries around them and the cliffs of the Tatra Mountain range towered high and foreboding behind them. This wouldn’t be a safe place to stop for the night. 

“How long till we reach the shelter?” Oskar puffed, wiping the back of his arm over his damp forehead. The chill would soon set in and creep into their bones and they might freeze to death, but there were far greater risks at play here. Anna stiffened as a sound drifted towards them.

“Guards!” she hissed, though the shouts and barking dogs were certainly too far off for either her, or Oskar, to be heard. “We must move quickly, Oskar! Please! I know you’re tired, but if we don’t reach the shelter before nightfall, we’ll never survive the night.” 

She didn’t need to add the obvious detail, that if the patrols caught them, they were done for anyway. The maps and Polish currency they carried were destined for their contacts, a fledgling Polish resistance movement across the border. If they were discovered, the Nazis or the Slovaks would eventually execute them, if they weren’t shot on sight first. Since Hitler had invaded her country nearly five months ago, the mountain borders weren’t as easy to get across. Unless you had done it before…

“Now!” and without waiting for a response, Anna turned and skied down the mountainside, zigzagging expertly past rocks and saplings bent over with the weight of snow. To her relief, Oskar stayed close behind her this time, shadowing her turns so that they were skiing in the same tracks, as one.  Fear drove him past his flagging stamina. The patrols were too close. 

In another life, Anna had whooped and laughed as she’d flown down the slopes. She’d skied here so many times. In another life, with another man. Not with patrols at their back and an unknown reception awaiting them in Warsaw.

Her lungs were burning by the time they reached the lower slopes of the mountain range in southern Poland, above the resort town of Zakopane. And then she saw the flicker of lanterns below them. 

“Do diaska!” she muttered beneath her breath. What the hell were German patrols doing here, advancing towards them? Unless they’d gone off track? She slid to an abrupt halt, ignoring Oskar’s muffled curse as he almost skied into the back of her. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.

“Look!” she snapped, aiming a gloved hand toward the lights dancing on the snow below them.  How would anyone know that she and Oskar were making this trip tonight? It was top secret. Top. Secret.  She fumbled through the heavy padding of her coat, reaching for the silk map she’d tucked inside her brassiere. Oskar peered over her shoulder at the material as she unfurled it.

“Do you think we’re lost?” he asked. 

She shot a quick glance at the nearby ridges, then turned to look in the direction they’d just come from. By all accounts, they were in the right place.  But they were late, and it was bad luck that there was a patrol climbing towards them from the foothills, tonight of all nights. In the wake of Poland’s defeat in September, the Germans must be trying to stem the flow of the Polish airmen and military trying to escape to fight for the Allies. But then again, who knew what drove these Nazi fiends to do what they did? 

“No. Not lost,” she said grimly. “But we can’t go ahead as planned tonight. We’re going to have to find a place to hide.”

“Hide? Out here?” Oskar was aghast. “We’re going to die!”

Anna shrugged, wishing she hadn’t been paired with this man. It had seemed like a good idea a few months ago, but the fantasy of being a spy was no match to the harsh reality of it. And while Oskar appeared wiry and agile, his lavish lifestyle had left him out of condition, in contrast to the raw resilience she’d built up over years of skiing and hiking in these mountains. 

“We’ll do what we must do,” she said firmly. “We’re lucky the weather isn’t a blizzard like the other night.”

 Oskar shivered, remembering how two nights ago, during the raging blizzard in the Cicha Dolina, the steep valley on the Slovakian side of the Tatras, they’d heard cries somewhere outside their hut, but couldn’t see anyone through the driving snow and wind. They found the couple the next morning, frozen together at the foot of a tree.

The lights were brighter now and harsh shouts rang across the slopes. Too close. And with the dogs…

She swept her eyes across the frozen expanse. The snow was deep. Clusters of conifers, their limbs struggling under the weight, were anchored in the dense powder, and then she saw it. The lower branches had been grazed bare, and a trail of deep tracks meandered through the trees towards some cliffs.

“Follow me,” she said to Oskar. “And don’t disturb the tracks.” He glanced down at the trail, frowning.

“What are we doing now?” he asked. Anna fought the urge to roll her eyes. What was wrong with this man? Surely, he could see the solution.

“If we ski parallel to the path the deer have taken, then take a turn away onto the ice, the dogs will follow the deer tracks. The snow is falling so fast it should cover our tracks.” She didn’t bother keeping the impatience from her voice as she explained. “They’ll think the dogs have been distracted.”

“And then what?” 

“We make a shelter for the night,” she said, setting forward on the trail. Any more ridiculous questions and she would scream. 

While the going was harder through the powder, it had the advantage of quickly filling the trail left by their skis. By the time the patrol arrived here – if they did – there should be no sign of their passage through the trees. She hoped.

Oskar cursed as he followed behind her. She knew he was questioning her decision, but she couldn’t see any alternative. He hadn’t come up with any ideas. They’d never get past the patrols ahead, and without some cover, they’d freeze. 

Laboring through the trees, and veering away from the deer trail, she saw a cluster of rocks ahead.

“There!” she indicated with a ski pole. “We can use the rocks as shelter and dig ourselves into the snow for the night.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Oskar snapped. “How the hell do we sleep in the snow?”

“It’ll be warmer,” she replied. “We’ll have to huddle close. You’ll see.” The reality of lying close to Oskar wasn’t appealing any more. Oh, he’d been a great lover…but was he the man for this mission? Not when she seemed to be making all the decisions…and a woman at that. The London office would be shocked at her taking over the lead from Oskar, but someone had to. In the fading light she could hardly make out his features now, but she could still see the scowl.

“I don’t see how the snow will keep us warm,” he muttered.

“Unless you’d rather take your chances with the Nazis?” 

Oskar was silenced. The shouts below were now loud enough to clearly make out the words and the dogs had begun their frenzied barking. Anna knew they were picking up a trail. Maybe theirs. 

‘Please…please follow the deer…’ she prayed silently.

“Fine,” Oskar grumbled. “If you insist.”

Anna turned toward the rocky outcrop, pulling up abruptly as they drew near. Using her ski pole, she unclipped her boots and buried her skis in the soft snow.  She slid her shoulders from the straps of her backpack, letting it fall beside her as she dropped to her knees, shooting a look over her shoulder at him.

“Get your skis off. Dig!” she hissed, burrowing her gloved hands into the snow. “Make a hollow. Fast! If we can cover ourselves before they come, they may go straight by.”

Without argument, he removed his backpack, buried his skis and slid into place next to her, shoveling snow with his hands.  They dug in a frenzy of flying limbs, flying snow and the knowledge that if found by the patrol they’d probably be executed on the spot. 

By the time the hole was deep enough for both to lie in, Anna was soaking with exertion and adrenalin.

“Get down!” she urged, reaching into her backpack for the lightweight, waterproof sheet she’d packed into it. The thin, dappled gray and white material would hopefully camouflage them within the surrounding rocks. She waited as Oskar burrowed into their shallow hiding place, then nestled herself into the curve of his body before pulling the sheet over them both. As they flattened themselves against the snow cave wall, the soft drift of the flakes forming a protective blanket over them, Anna cocked her head and listened. Silence. Where was the patrol? 

“Now what?” Oskar whispered, his breath warm and comforting.

“Now we wait,” she whispered back. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that God was watching over them.