Mission Summary and Team
Monday, May 26, 1941 – 3PM
The team returned from Bruz after Raymond and Norris spent a night in jail. They had been accused of assaulting the driver of the butcher van and stealing the van. Their accuser’s toolbox and clipboard were found among their possessions. Raymond told the local police inspector that he had found the toolbox and clipboard on the ground. He also said that the man was probably part of the ring of art thieves he was pursuing because he had been seen previously in their travels and had a map with various locations they had been to in Rennes identified in invisible ink. He then interviewed Norris, whose story did not exactly match Raymond’s. The inspector was skeptical, but he had no evidence to support the alleged victim’s claims, so he released them in the morning and suggested that they leave Bruz.
While in the cell, Raymond heard the rantings of a vagrant in the next cell. The man spoke of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, the ancient sleeping thing that had created the universe and would destroy it and start anew if ever awakened. He presumed that the man was speaking of the Sleeper. It turned out that the man had been a janitor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes until the rail yard bombing the previous year. Raymond conjectured that this was the event that had triggered the summoning of sensitives to the city, and that perhaps what they were all looking for was in the museum. That night, Raymond, Laurent, and Norris all had the same nightmare, though only Laurent was unsettled by it.
On the way back from Rennes, they noted a signal from Alexandre and went to the drop location to collect a coded message. Back at the apartment, they decoded it and learned that the radio had been compromised and that Alexandre had assumed a new cover as Francis Larocque, a crane operator rebuilding the rail yard. Francis said that he and Antoinette would await the next delivery from London with the new radio in a couple of days.
At the Apartment
Raymond considered going to the Museum of Fine Arts, but recalled that it was closed to the public. It had been commandeered by the Germans. He recalled that von Laue’s organization was probably based at the museum.
Laurent was concerned about the ring of homicidal butchers. He suggested making contact with the Resistance to tell them of the butcher van and see what they know of the attackers. He also wanted to get a report back to N. He set out to arrange a meeting.
On The Street in Rennes
On his way to the Resistance communication drop, Laurent was approached by Yann Abgrall, the Resistance man from Betton, who they had not seen since they fled the village. Yann greeted him as Simon, his old code name, but Laurent responded all the same. Yann asked how he was and Laurent suggested getting a drink somewhere to get off the street. Laurent was on alert as Yann was on the hit list from N.
At Café Morvan
Yann led him to Café Morvan, which was on the north bank of the river in the center of town. They took an isolated table in the corner.
Yves told him that the network in Betton had been broken. Maelys was the only one he knew to be in the clear. She was still working at the POW hospital, and as far as he knew, so was Antoinette.
Yann asked how Kalb and Todt were killed. He had heard stories about them being attacked by a monster. Laurent confirmed that the same creature that had attacked Millard and Talon attacked them as well.
He was able to get out of Betton through his Breton nationalist collaborator colleagues’ influence with the French authorities. He said that the Nationalists might be willing to provide the support Yves group could not do anymore. Laurent asked why the Nationalists would help them. Yann replied that they had learned that the Germans were no better than the Parisians. They had expected to be partners with the Germans, but were not being accepted as such.
Yann told Laurent that he brought him to this café because it was a meeting place for the Nationalist cause, and pointed to a group in the far corner who he identified as them as the Nationalist Central Committee. Laurent noted that the waitress seemed very familiar with Yann, though she did not speak to him by name. Laurent scrutinized each of the men and noted that one looked familiar. Yann told him that that man was a recent arrival from Alsace-Lorraine who threw around a lot of money. Laurent identified him as Rene Celle.
Laurent suggested holding off on the introductions at that time. Yann questioned the delay, citing that they must need assistance since the collapse of their support network. Laurent replied that the team was keeping a low profile since the Betton incident. Yann agreed, to Laurent’s surprise, suggesting that it might be better to introduce the whole team together, which Laurent realized was a bad idea.
Laurent asked how he could be contacted. Yann told him to leave a message with an old woman vendor in the market where they met, and she would get it to him. Laurent asked if that was why Yann in the market. He said that he a people all over Rennes reporting on happenings.
Laurent asked what was happening, since the team was in seclusion. Yann there was a lot of movement of German military personnel and equipment out of the area recently. Trains were passing through the rail yard heading east. They were being loaded elsewhere since the rail yard was still being rebuilt.
Yann mentioned that there was talk of increasing radio intercept activity by the Germans. Rumor had it that they now had detection equipment that would fit in a briefcase or steamer trunk, enabling them to patrol in more discrete vehicles. Yann did mention a big hole in the German preparations: all the vehicles they were using had “WL” on the license plate, which stood for Wehrmacht-Luftwaffe, indicating that they were from the German military motor pool.
At this point, Yann realized that he was using Laurent’s old cover name and asked how he should be addressed. Laurent had been ignoring the oversight to keep Yann at a distance, but in the face of the direct question, he replied that his name was Royce Lamy, a longshoreman.
Laurent asked if Yann had an escape route available should they need to get out of Rennes quickly. Yann replied that if the need arose, his colleagues could probably arrange something fairly easily, and that was another reason for them to meet. Laurent made to leave, and Yann asked how he could get in contact with the team. Laurent panicked and told him to leave a message with the woman in the market.
On The Street in Rennes
On the way back, Laurent concluded that Yann had been compromised. He had not known the current cover names. He had proposed getting the whole team in one place. He had a contact in the market that must have reported on the knife attack, but he acted like he was out of the loop. Laurent questioned the information that Yann had provided. He also realized that Café Morvan was the location for signaling for a meeting with von Laue.
Laurent detoured to the fountain where he left a chalk mark in a specific location to signal for contact by the Resistance. Then he returned to the apartment and filled in the others on the events of the afternoon.
At the Apartment
As Laurent arrived at the building, the landlady noted his arrival just as curfew was beginning. She inquired about his employment and assurances that the rent would be available when it was due. Laurent told her that he had been assisting in the art theft investigation. The landlady seemed satisfied and let him pass.
At the apartment, Laurent found that Antoinette and Maelys were there cooking dinner for them all. They had a roast that was given to them by a German officer in thanks for the care he had received from them.
They considered their options. It seemed unwise to blow up the Ollivier factory if chemical weapons were being produced there. Instead, they planned to go to the Museum of Fine Arts and the rail yard in the coming days. They did not trust Yann, and would ask the Resistance to put a tail on him and see what he was up to.