David drove Franz and Hans from the Embassy toward the residence, and listened to more details of their exploits. "After eating, we went into the forest and recovered our bundles of firewood, wanting to continue our disguise as we walked toward Freiburg."

"That was clever. Two men walking ten kilometres along the road doing nothing would be suspicious."

"You taught us well. We even got a waggon ride for a few kilometres, and we sold both bundles as we arrived in town."

David grinned. "After lunch, I'll take you into the shopping district so we can buy you some clothes." He looked down at the heavy boots Franz was wearing and chuckled. "Some shoes also. Dress will be informal this evening, but not this informal."

"This auto is much more comfortable than the lorry," Hans said from the back seat. "It smells new."

"I received it this morning." David glanced at the odometer. "It has only fourteen kilometres on it so far."

"What happened to the lorry?"

"Nothing. One of you will be driving it back to Sonnenhang tomorrow. Do either of you have driving experience?"

"I was being trained as an ambulance driver. Nearly finished when I was assigned to this duty."

"Probably similar to handling the lorry. What about you, Franz?"

"I've never been behind the wheel, but I spent a lot of time cranking the engine and repairing tire punctures on my father's car." He turned to David with a questioning look. "I was going to ask. Nobody cranked this. The engine started on its own. Does it have a spring like the lorry, and you already had it wound?"

"No, it has a battery-powered electric motor which turns the engine. There's a push-button down here on the floor."

David steered the car beside the lorry, switched off the engine and set the brake. "Come, the butler will show you to your rooms. We'll clean up and have lunch, then go shopping."

<><><>

David laid the Lancia operating manual down and stood to greet Maria when she burst into her suite out of breath. "The butler told me you were here." They merged in a hug. "He said the two other men had arrived. I'm so relieved."

"Well before noon. How was your last day of classes?"

"It was mainly a review." She began unbuttoning his shirt. "Two more days of review next week, then we do the written exams and the practicals. I'm finished on Thursday afternoon."

David undid her skirt and let it fall to the floor. "I'll be taking a sales trip into Germany next week. To Freiburg and then to Donaueschingen."

Maria unbuckled his belt and undid the trouser buttons. "When? Will you be back by Thursday evening?"

He stepped out of his trousers as he unlaced her bodice and gently caressed the freed breasts through her blouse while he unbuttoned it. "I'll be driving to Bienne on Monday afternoon for a meeting. I'll be back here for the night, then leave on Tuesday for Freiburg."

Maria slipped the blouse off her shoulders. "So Tuesday night there and Wednesday in Donaueschingen, you'll be back on Thursday."

They sat on the carpet and undid each other's shoes. "Probably mid-afternoon. The new car arrived this morning, so it will be easier and much quicker."

Maria stood and slowly turned circles on her tiptoes, her arms raised over her head. "See any bulge yet?" She giggled. "I'm being silly. It won't begin showing for weeks yet, but my breasts seem to have started growing, They're increasingly tender."

David swept her off her feet and carried her to the bed, pulled back the duvet and placed her on the sheet, then stood staring at her. This still seems a dream to me. Her exquisite beauty, our tender sharing, our ease with each other, our love. All so surreal compared to the war. He lay with her and pulled the duvet to cover them as they merged.

"You seem in a daze, David. Is everything alright? Nothing's gone wrong, has it?"

"I'm still plagued by thoughts of killing, by images of shooting the brakemen. Gruesome scenes pop into my head — unrelated memories from the trenches. Difficult to focus on here, on now, on us."

"Maybe if you talked about it with me, you could get rid of the noise in your mind. Would that help?"

David sighed and nodded. "Probably would. Guess it's silly to keep the details from you now. They're history."

"I know a lot of it anyway, why not fill in the rest; pour it out of your mind and let it go. You've been carrying a lot of things, a lot of tension." She tilted her pelvis gently a few times and moaned. "I'll interrupt you when I want to focus on my explosions. Tell me some exploding train stories to link them."

An hour and a quarter later, as they sat in the bathtub washing each other, David said, "Some of the earlier intercepted messages from both the Höllentalbahn and the Schwarzwaldbahn mentioned an earthquake. I suppose the tremor of the explosions could seem like that. This gave Franz and Hans extra time to flee the areas."

"The Germans will likely use the story to fool the people. Tell them the roads and railways are out because of an earthquake."

"I hadn't thought of that. It would certainly be a fine way for them to keep the sabotage under wraps. They'll need to reassure the people that their war is going well. They need continued support. I bet we'll see newspaper stories about an earthquake."

"Can you get German newspapers here?"

"The Embassy gets a steady supply of them. Also of the Swiss newspapers from the Germanic sector, like the Zürcher Zeitung that carry German news."

"That's so strange to think about. People in Switzerland still supporting the German atrocities."

"It's more supportive of their own culture and language, I think. The same way the French side supports France. It'll be interesting on Monday to see the dynamic in Bienne. The city sits on the border between the French and the German sectors, and the population is half and half. One side calls the city Bienne, the other side calls it Biel."

"Surely they've learned to live with each other, to tolerate differing opinions. Probably choose with whom they associate, with whom they do business."

"I'll find out." He kissed her nose. "We're pretty clean here, we should rinse and dry, then dress for dinner."