The First Wave by James R. Benn Page B

they were transferred to another prison, since their jailers knew Algiers would soon be entered by the Allies.”
    “Kaz,” I said through gritted teeth, “They’ve got Diana. I saw her yesterday.”
    Kaz looked stunned. His eyes opened wide and his mouth sort of hung open. He turned to Harding.
    “Is this true, Major?”
    “Yes, we both saw her in the courtyard with a group of rebels the Gardes Mobiles had rounded up.”
    Kaz’s face went dark. I knew this wasn’t easy for him. Diana made him think about Daphne, and Diana in danger would only make him think about Daphne, dead in a rigged car explosion. I still thought about Daphne all the time. She had been my first real friend in England, even though at first she’d thought I was kind of a jerk. I’d had a crush on her, but that was just loneliness. When I met her sister Diana it was like a thunderbolt. There actually had been lightning and thunder, which seemed only normal. Daphne was the older sister, dark haired, beautiful, very sophisticated and elegant whether she was in her blue uniform or in an evening gown. Diana was different. Tall, with long blonde hair, she was more at home on a horse than dressed for a night on the town. She was really good-looking, although not movie-star beautiful, like Daphne had been. She had a strength in her, something steely in her eyes, a hardness in her grip, that dared the world to deny her anything. Daphne had been at peace with her place in the world. Diana wasn’t, but at least she was alive. I hoped.
    “We have some of the Gardes Mobiles in custody,” Kaz said as we left the cell. “We can question them.” He reloaded his revolver as he talked. I thought about the French jailer tumbling down the stairs. I thought about the cold look in Kaz’s eyes, which he kept focused on his pistol.
    “Kaz, had you killed anyone before?”
    “Yes, Billy. Two of them, outside,” he answered, knowing I had meant before today.
    When I first met Kaz, he seemed like the sort of fellow who would’ve collected butterflies except that he couldn’t stand to hurt them. A nice guy, but a bookworm. Now he had three notches on his gun—that I knew about—and was ready for more. I kind of liked the old Kaz, and was beginning to worry about the new one.
    “Tell me what’s going on, Lieutenant,” Harding said. Kaz looked at him blankly, still trying to take in what had happened to Diana.
    “With the invasion,” Harding said sarcastically. “You remember, all those ships and men with rifles?”
    “Yes sir,” Kaz said, pulling himself together. “All the landings went well. General Giraud has arrived, but very few Vichy officers regard him as having any authority. Admiral Darlan was here when he landed—”
    “We know,” snapped Harding.
    “General Juin has declared an armistice in and around the city of Algiers, at the orders of Admiral Darlan,” Kaz said. “It covers only this immediate area, and talks are now underway between General Mark Clark and Darlan. General Eisenhower is expected as soon as the area is secure.”
    “All right, let’s find out what we can here and then get to headquarters,” Harding said.
    “Captain,” Kaz called out to the Commando officer, “are your men searching the premises?”
    “Standard procedure, Baron.What are you looking for?”
    “Prisoner lists. Show us to the administrative section.”
    We trotted up the stairs to the third floor, where the main offices were located. A cooling breeze came through the open windows along the hallway, above the dusty courtyard. I searched for the spot where I had seen Diana just a day ago.Worry made my gut ache. I turned away and followed Kaz into what looked like the main office. He was already at work, going through file folders. Except for being in French, it looked pretty much like any police paperwork. Lots of forms and carbon paper. Typewriters on four desks pushed together, file cabinets around the room, a row of tall windows, and a big desk