The Spy

It's 1944, in the midst of World War II, and a woman walks the street, lost in thought. Her khaki uniform shows she's a member of the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service -- the British Army's women's auxiliary branch). The ground is wet and slippery, and the streets are deserted. The ATS girl knows it's not safe to walk alone through this London neighbourhood at night, especially tonight with a thick fog. But it's the only way to reach the women's barracks on time and avoid a dressing-down from her superior, Sergeant Ramsey, who runs her unit with a rod of iron.

"All the other girls must have already returned already, leaving just me still out. I must hurry if I don't want to get an earful from that awful Sergeant Ramsey," she thinks. She quickens her pace and, startled, hears the splashing of water in puddles and the sound of footsteps getting closer in the darkness.

Suddenly, the silhouette of a stout man dressed in black, his steel helmet hanging at his side, startles her. "Watch out, Miss, we're searching for a dangerous escaped German spy. We believe he's hiding in this area," says the man, now recognisable as a policeman.

"A spy?" she asks, frightened.

"Yes, a skilled, ruthless German agent who sneaked into Allied Headquarters and photographed Top Secret plans for D-Day -- the planned invasion of France."

"Golly!" she gasps.

"Yes, we're in a tight spot. He will try to send all that information to the Germans any way he can. We think he's hiding in this district and is trying to transmit an encrypted Morse message to France. If he can't do that, he might try to get back to France and tell his bosses himself."

"I see," she nodded.

If we don't stop him and he gets a message through, our forces will be slaughtered on landing -- we might even lose the war!"

"Goodness me!" she exclaims, scared.

"We have to find him at all costs and either kill or capture him! Victory may depend on it!"

"If there's any way I can help..."

No, Miss. I don't think you can help us. Just keep your eyes peeled and make sure you don't bump into him," says the Bobby with a smile.

"Maybe he should hope he doesn't run into me!" the girl quips, laughing.

"Just mind how you go!" the policeman answers, taken aback.

"Thanks Constable. I'll be careful, and don't worry, if I find him, I'll drag him in," the girl blithely replies.

The woman continues walking, and soon hears a strange, metallic clicking sound. Her curiosity overcomes her fear and she tries to track down where the sound is coming from. This takes her to a dark alley. She stops at the corner and from there, she sees a man nervously bent over a large open suitcase.

Peeking around the corner, she notices what look like lamps inside the wood-lined suitcase. Then, she hears a clicking sound like an old telegraph machine and sees the glow of the little lights softly flickering on and off with each click. The woman looks hard at the stranger's outstretched forearm and sees his hand jerking up and down, appearing to transmit something.

Terrified, the girl quickly realises that the suitcase is a transmitter, and that the man is a German spy.

Panic grips her, she wavers, not knowing whether to run away, seek help (though she has no idea where the policeman is now), or to spring into action.

She recalls the policeman's words, "If he transmits the information, we could lose the war."

She still hasn't made up her mind. Meanwhile, the man keeps tapping out his message with deft little strokes on the transmitter key. Each click rings in her ears. She thinks that even if he had just started sending his message, he might already have sent the vital information.

With her heart pounding, she decided to sneak up on the spy. Meanwhile, the man keeps on tapping out his message, wholly absorbed in his task.

Frightened, the girl stops, realising the man could be armed. The man has his back to her. "He's only a few yards away" she thinks, noticing a book next to him that could well be a codebook for encrypting the message. "That looks important", she thinks to herself.

The woman creeps up on the man, trying to overcome her fear. All the while, she is thinking that if the transmitter and codebook were in Allied hands, they could be used to send false information to the Germans.

She inches closer, watching the spy who seems wholly wrapped up in sending his message. She think about what he must know and how valuable he could be if he were caught alive. But, she believes, the main thing is to stop the spy sending the full message or getting back to Germany to tell the tale.

"He hasn't heard me, his mind is on the transmission," thinks the ATS girl. "He knows just how important his mission is and he is eager to finish sending the message. Afterwards, he'll likely close the suitcase and hurry off to keep on spying and transmitting, or try to get back to Germany." Her heart raced faster.

"If he slips away, it might be very hard to catch him again."

Then she has a bright idea. Reaching into her handbag, she pulls out a tube of lipstick. She places the tube in her hand as if it were a gun. The spy is still tapping away. She presses the tube hard into the man's back.

"Do not move!".

"Freeze!".

Startled and bewildered, the man stops keying. He slowly tries to turn his head while keeping his hands up, as he tries to find out who is behind him and what his chances are.

"Don't turn around, Buster! Now get up, slowly"

The spy slowly gets to his feet, uttering the words, "Sounds like you are a woman. What do you plan to do? Maybe play the heroine? What's your game?"

"Shut up!" snaps the girl, "Now, do exactly what I say! Pack up the transmitter and close the suitcase!"

"Alright, don't get in a flap," the man does as he is told.

"Very well. Now, pick up the suitcase and walk. We're going for a little stroll to the nearest police station!"

"Do you really think I'm going to let myself be caught by a woman?" She smiles smugly to herself, not deigning to answer.

"What a great idea I had! Now I'll hand him in, all thanks to a lipstick!" the girl thinks excitedly. "I'll press the lipstick a little harder into his back to make him feel the 'barrel' a bit more," she tells herself.

"You're playing a dangerous game Miss," the German says as they continue walking. Suddenly, the spy spins round and tries to hit the woman with his hand to disarm her.

"Ow!" shouts the ATS girl as the spy's hand grazes her arm, knocking the lipstick from her grasp, the tube falling to the ground along with the spy's suitcase and codebook.

"A lipstick tube! You tried to capture me with lipstick?" the man exclaims, taken aback.

"Whoops!" gasps the young woman, swallowing hard.

The spy then lunges to retrieve the codebook and suitcase, ignoring the woman, who stands stock-still with fear as she watches him. After a few seconds, she decides to rush him.

" Stop that!" the girl shouts as she grabs the spy's arm.

"Let go of me! What are you doing?" the puzzled German hisses as he tries to grab the suitcase and the codebook.

The woman, scared yet resolute makes a grab for the spy's neck. In the struggle, she clings tightly to his neck, trying to pull him along while shouting, "Don't try to escape!" This makes the enemy agent let go of the suitcase and codebook, which again fall to the ground as he tries to free himself from her vice-like grip.

The German grabs her upper arms and shakes her hard as he tries to push her away. "That's enough! Do you understand? Now get away from me!" he shouts.

The ATS girl seizes his arm and the lapel of his jacket, trying to throw him off balance. She pulls his arm and jacket while using her hip as leverage. Meanwhile, the spy, whom she is still holding on to, tries to retrieve the suitcase and codebook.

The girl spins round, throwing the German off balance. His body is flung over hers and falls onto the wet pavement.

Bewildered, the spy looks up from the ground and mutters, "Damn it!" The woman returns his gaze and smirks at the great 'throw' she has just pulled off.

Still on the ground, the man starts rummaging through one of his suit jacket pockets. Alarmed, she notices him slowly pulling out an automatic.

His face red with rage, the spy glares at the woman, muttering under his breath, "You're going to pay dearly for this! Meddling bitch, you have it coming to you!"

With her heart pounding, the girl swiftly approaches him, lifts her skirt a bit, and kicks his hand hard. The automatic is sent spinning, landing a few yards away.

The khaki-clad woman stands before the German, who is lying on the ground nursing his injured hand. Their eyes meet for a second but then they both look away to stare at where the pistol has fallen.

The dazed man stays on the ground, clutching his hurt hand with the other, with the woman's shoes and calves beside him, her skirt hem nearly brushing his face. As he thinks about getting up, he looks up at her again, then shifts his gaze to the pistol a few feet away, and then to the suitcase and the codebook, both nearby. He quickly tries to think about his next move.

The girl too is unsure about what to do next. She looks down at the spy at her feet, glances back at the pistol, and decides to go and pick it up.

To the spy's surprise, the woman hitches up her skirt slightly -- just enough to lengthen her stride. Without more ado, she steps over the man, who doesn't have time to stand up. Seeing that she'll reach the gun first, he swiftly tries to grab her leg, ankle, or foot to stop her in her tracks. While still prone, he stretches his hand and manages to grasp her leg, and pulls it hard. This throws the girl off balance and she falls forward.

The spy seizes the chance to rise to his feet and moves towards the pistol, passing by the now outstretched woman. She swiftly puts her leg in front of his, making him stumble. The young woman seizes the moment to quickly crawl forward, stretches out her arm, grabs the nearby codebook and hurls it with all her might.

The German, who is trying to keep his balance, instinctively shields his face with his hands, unsure if the codebook has been thrown at him. Yet his swift reaction and the impact of the book throw the spy off balance. He slips on the wet ground and falls again, though this time without coming to much harm. This gives the ATS girl enough time to get up and approach him.

The man stands before the girl reaches him. As she stands in front of him, he looks at her and again glances at the automatic.

"Well, do you need a pistol to handle a woman?" she asks sardonically.

"No, I don't!" the German angrily responds, brushing himself down, "I wasn't planning to use it either. It would be foolish of me to fire a shot and tell everyone searching for me that I must be close by."

"True," the girl replies brightly, then she slowly sidles up to him.

"But now that you've found me, I have no choice but to kill you. You brought this on yourself by poking your nose in!", hisses the spy.

"Kill me?" the woman responds sceptically, with a smile.

"Yes! I can't let you go now, Fräulein. So, I'll go for the tried and tested method of strangling you with my bare hands! How does that sound?"

"That won't be easy, Herr Spy. It would be better if you gave up and came along quietly but that's your choice," the young woman said calmly but defiantly, staring at him hard.

"You British women are so haughty! But before I kill you, I'll confess that you've thwarted most of the transmission, especially the details about D-Day and the invasion beaches. You can be proud of that! But it won't make any difference. Tomorrow I'll head to Dover, where a U-boat will be waiting to pick me up. By the day after tomorrow, I'll be spilling the beans to the Führer himself in Berlin! Your sacrifice and death, Miss, will all have been in vain!"

"Thanks for the news! The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force will be thrilled to know there will be a U-boote skulking near Dover tomorrow! They don't take to your subs, don't you know?" says the girl with a laugh.

"Laugh all you like because the last laugh is on you!" he retorts angrily. The spy moves towards her with his hands open, ready to strangle her.

The woman stays stock still but at the very last moment, she quickly bends and twists, and grips his hands. Both of them struggle to keep their balance and avoid slipping on the wet ground.

"Damn it! Let me go!" the man shouts, as the woman deftly sidesteps his body but keeps pulling on his arms.

The spy desperately tries to free himself, while she pulls on his arms, making both of them struggle to keep their balance.

They engage in a frenzied dance, their feet splashing in the many puddles around them.

They are now nearly in a close embrace. The woman swiftly tries to put her leg behind his but her skirt and the spy's movements hinder her. Finally, she succeeds. With a quick sweep of her leg, she makes the spy fall on his side.

The surprised German, now lying flat on his back, is still wondering what has happened, while the ATS girl stands over him, looking down at him and laughing, "Well! Have you fallen? Weren't you going to kill me? So much for 'The Master Race! You can't even handle a woman! Maybe German women are a push-over but I happen to be a British woman!."

Thinking that he might be wasting too much time, the man wonders if it might be better to escape, even if he has to leave the suitcase and codebook behind. After all, he thinks, within 24 hours, he can tell the submarine captain that both have fallen into British hands. Once the U-Boote has radioed this to Berlin, they will change the codes, rendering both items useless to the British.

"I'm not going to waste any more time on you, Fräulein! I have bigger fish to fry! They're waiting for me in Berlin. Under other circumstances, I would show you the treatment I mete out to British woman but right now, I don't have the time. Auf Wiedersehen!"

The spy tries to rise but with a wicked smile, the woman slowly lifts her skirt, just enough to raise her leg and put her foot on the German's chest. She strikes a victorious pose, with her arms flexed, clenched fists on her waist. She grins and softly says "I think not, Mein lieber Herr!" She shakes her head, smiling, and adds, "Your Führer will have to wait because you're not going anywhere!"

Angered, the spy grabs the calf of the woman's leg on his chest, pulls hard, toppling her on top of him. He then tries to shove her off him but she quickly grabs his arm and lapel, holding him tightly. The spy struggles, but the ATS girl is remorseless, pressing his arm against his back with one hand and holding

his neck with her other arm.

The German is pinned down and starts to panic. He tries to use his free arm to grab the woman, but then she uses her leg to keep him still.

The man struggles with all his might, but he begins to weaken as the pressure and pain of the woman's grip begin to take effect.

"Let me go!"

"Not a chance!"

"Let me go for God's sake!"

"Ha ha, what's the matter? Can't break free?" the woman taunts, revelling in the man's plight.

"Damn it! You can't trap me!"

"I already have!"

The young woman feels her skirt steadily riding up and tries to pull it back down. She briefly releases the spy's neck to do so. He then tries to push her away, shaking his head vigorously. Failing to adjust her skirt, the woman gives up and once again wraps her arm around the spy's neck.

"Let me go!" the man cries out in desperation.

"Shut up!" the woman snaps angrily. She looks at her exposed leg and mutters in annoyance, "Damned skirt..."

At that moment, women's voices and laughter can be heard from the street at the end of the alley. Both of them turn their heads towards the sound. Through the dim light and fog, they catch a glimpse of female silhouettes. The fog clears slightly, revealing 5 or 6 women wearing what look like khaki ATS uniforms. They are likely returning to their barracks after leave and are walking past the alley.

On spotting them, the young woman's face lights up with joy, and she shouts for all she is worth, "Hey! Girls! Come here! I'm over here! Right here!"

The surprised women stop chattering and slowly make their way up the alley towards the two struggling figures.

With his eyes wide open and with an expression of surprise and terror on his face, the already half-suffocated spy now sees clearly how some uniformed women advance slowly but progressively towards him, he notices his shoes hitting the puddles and they splash the water that reaches her legs and her military skirts, and,as they approach him, he stares helplessly at the details of their uniforms, their buttons and their caps, and tries desperately to free herself, and, while her heart races completely, He watches terrified and helplessly, how, inside some increasingly nearby khaki-colored skirts, a female legs move slowly but inexorably towards him, and, dangerously, they are already very, very close.

"Hello, girls! You are in the nick of time! I'm so glad to see you! I was at the end of my tether!" exclaims the exhausted woman, who holds the spy tight, her eyes bright and brimming with joy.

The young women look at one another, puzzled as they gather round the pair on the ground, wondering just what is going on. Meanwhile, the spy, ringed by women wearing skirts and uniforms just like those of his fearsome adversary shakes his head and wails "No! It can't be...!, No!,No!,Noooooooo!."

The girls lean in over them, and one of them asks, "What's going on here?" Another ATS girl, looking at the rumpled uniform of the woman pinning the man down, "Are you an ATS girl?" "What are you doing here?" and yet another asks, pointing at the man, asks "Who is he?" He gazes back at her in evident distress.

"Yes, I'm in the ATS too," the woman says with relief. She looks at her captive and adds with a wicked smile, "And this man is a German spy!"

The uniformed women glance at one another in sheer disbelief before staring hard at the man, making him quake with fear.

"I found him using that suitcase over there, which turned out to be a wireless transmitter!"

One of the girls exclaims with disbelief, "What! You've captured a German spy all by yourself? "Girls, we must do something!" Another one adds, "We need to help her!" The man writhes helplessly, unable to shake off his captor's iron grip.

"Yes, and it wasn't easy, but... I finally got my man!" the woman says with relish but her voice reveals she is tired from the tussle with the German. She continues, "Yes, you can lend a hand! Grab that codebook, the suitcase, and the gun over there," her eyes beseeching them to do as she bids them.

The girls immediately pick up the items, and one of them asks, "And what about the spy?"

Panic seizes the man on hearing this, and he struggles to break free from the young woman while yelling, "No! Let me go!, No! NOOOO!."

The woman tightens her grip on the man's neck. He tries to resist, desperate to break free, but he is exhausted. He tries to speak but only grunts come out.

"Do you want to kill him?" one of the girls asks, surprised, as the spy groans.

"No, I'd rather take him in. He can be interrogated later. But as you can see, he's not playing ball."

"Well then, let's all take him to the police station!" exclaims one of them cheerfully.

The spy looks in terror at the uniformed girls staring at him. Now utterly spent, he just lies doggo.

"So, what do we do with him now?" one of them playfully wonders, looking down at the spy lying on the ground.

"Have you got some rope?" Asks the woman, with a wicked smile.

"No, we haven't," one of them replies. Another ATS girl pitches in, grinning from ear to ear, "Why don't we use our silk stockings! They'll do the job a treat!".