Plenty

- He's arrived - Yes, yes.

There he is. He's here. There! You see? etc.

I see the other one!

Stop!

Stay behind the others.

What is it?

What's he doing?

He's got a suitcase

There!

- Don't move. - What are you doing here?

Ah… nothing. Give me a moment…

I can explain everything

We'll open his suitcase?

Yes!

And your French is not good.

I'm sorry, we were forced to take advantage of your light.

The plane was losing fuel.

I'm afraid I'm supposed to be… eighty miles further on.

Do you think… could you tell me where I am?

You've landed near a village called St Benoît. It's close to a town called Poitiers, all right?

Yes, I think I have heard of it, you know…

So, how do I look?

I'd rather not look at you too closely. It's an element of risk we don't need to take.

In my experience, it's best... it really is best... if you just obey the rules.

I'll take you to the village. Then you must make your own way.

How long have you been here?

About a year, off and on.

How's everyone at home?

They're fine.

The boss?

He's fine. He, um… gave me some cufflinks at the aerodrome.

Told me my chances.

Fifty-fifty?

- Yes. - He's getting out of touch.

How's it been?

Well… the Germans are still here

Well, I suppose that's our brief. Keep them here… keep them occupied.

- Keep them from the front. - Worst thing about the job.

The more successful you are, the longer it goes on.

A friend…

a friend who was here used to say, "Never kill a German,

always shoot him in the leg. That way, he goes to hospital, where he has to be looked after;

he'll use up enemy resources.

But a dead soldier is forgotten… and replaced."

- Right. Let's go… - Okay.

Goodbye… and good luck, eh?

Cafés are bad meeting places... much less safe than they seem.

And don't go near Bourges, it's very bad for us.

And don't carry anything in toothpaste tubes... it's the first place they look.

And don't laugh too much. An Englishman's laugh just doesn't sound the same.

Are they still teaching you to broadcast on the lavatory?

- Yes. - Well, don't.

The whole dodge is badly out of date.

Gestapo have been crashing into lavatories for a full two months now.

Never take the valley road beyond Poitiers. I'll show you the side road.

And that's it, really. The rest, you know… or will learn.

Get out.

Where's your gun?

- Let's get going. Come on. - I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…

- I'm so frightened! - Let's get going. Quickly.

I'm not an agent, I'm only a courier, I just carry messages to certain circuits.

I came tonight... it's my first drop... there's literally no-one else.

I can't tell you the mess in Poitiers!

My... my f... friend that I told you about, he's been taken to Buchenwald today,

he was the wireless operator. His name is Tony…

- I need to talk… - Can't talk.

I need to talk, What's the point, what's the point of following the rules?

I don't… want to die. I don't, don't want to die like that…

Un ciel pommelé.

What do we call it?

A mackerel sky.

Hm…

I don't have to go on. I'll stay if you like.

- Do you have a code-name? - Yes, it's "Lazar".

Hm.

- Would you like some tea? - Yes, very much.

Am I right? Is this your first trip?

Bonjour Susan.

Bonjour.

- Bonjour! - Bonjour…

Ah, bonjour, Susan.

Bonjour, Monsieur Villon.

I was just going through the post.

And yesterday's shipment... it got there okay?

Yes.

Au revoir.

He's dead!

Yes. He's dead.

Ah! Brock.

- Good morning. - Morning.

This is very much Third Secretary stuff, I'm afraid.

There's a man called Radley… dropped dead in the foyer.

British. Would you mind doing the honours?

- Not at all. - Thanks a lot.

Oh... there's a widow, by the way.

Really?

British Embassy.

Heart attack.

- And the widow? - Over there, sir.

Mrs Radley?

I'm afraid your husband's had a heart attack.

I thought so.

Everyone at the Embassy will do all they can.

The police would now like to take the body away.

I shall go with them.

Or course, I mean, you're welcome, if you'd like, if you want to…

come with me to the mortuary…

No.

I'm sure you can cope.

Merci.

Mr Brock.

Will I see you? Will you come to the Embassy?

Yes, of course. This shouldn't take long.

Ah, Brock. Join us. You're welcome.

Ambassador.

I've just been conveying to Mrs Radley the government's condolences.

A uniquely upsetting experience.

Quite.

But at least for him, it was painless.

I would hope. He was packing the car. We were planning to move on this morning.

We only had two weeks… we were hoping to make Innsbruck... at least if our travel allowance would last.

It was our first holiday since the war.

Brock, a handkerchief.

No.

I was… persuaded to opt for an embalming.

I'm afraid it may involve you in some small extra cost.

Excuse me, but you'll have to explain the point.

- I'm sorry? - Of the embalming, I mean.

Well... ah... particularly in the summer, it avoids a possibility of the body exploding at a bad moment.

I mean, any moment would be bad, that goes without saying, but... on the aeroplane, say.

I see.

Mm. You see, normally the body's simply washed, and, uh…

I don't know how much detail you want me to provide…

- I think it would be better if... - No, no, I would like to know.

Tony was a doctor. He would want me to know.

Well, to be honest, I was… … surprised at how little there is to do.

There's a… small bottle of spirit... colourless... and they simply give the body a wash.

The only other thing is the stomach.

Now, if there's been a meal... a recent meal… - Tony had eaten...

at breakfast, I think. Erm, you insert a pipe into the corpse's stomach to let the gasses out.

They insert it and there's a strange sort of ssssssigh…

- I think… - It almost leaves no mark.

Apparently, when the morgue attendants are bored sometimes they set light to the gas for a joke.

- Makes one hell of a bang! - Shall we all have a drink?

But I'm sure it didn't happen in this particular case.

No.

There is gin… there is tonic… Yes?

Thank you.

I'm afraid we do need to discuss the practical arrangements.

The whole subject is very distressing… but do you want the body flown back?

Well, I can hardly stash it in the boot of the car.

What the Third Secretary is saying… not buried on foreign soil.

No.

Quite.

You see, for the moment, the Government picks up the bill.

But later, we will have to charge it to the estate. If there is an estate.

I'm sorry... I don't mean to interfere.

Well, I think we now understand your needs.

I'll have a word with the travel people…

and make a booking for tomorrow morning's flight, if that suits?

Yes, of course.

You will be travelling back with the body, I assume?

Yes.

No other dependants? Children…?

No.

He doesn't like you.

I'm sorry?

The Ambassador.

Oh, well, no. I don't think he's over the moon about you.

I shouldn't have said that.

No, it's just that… Darwin thinks that disasters are examinations in etiquette;

- which fork to use in an earthquake. - Darwin?!

- Is that his name? - Hm…

the mission all think it's God's joke.

God dashing off a modern Darwin who is in every respect less advanced than the last.

I'm sorry. We sit about in the evenings and polish our jokes.

Brussels is rather a debilitating town.

Mm.

Is this a bad posting for you?

Well, I had hoped for something more positive.

Fresher air.

The flag still flies over a quarter of the human race and I would have liked to have seen it, really

Whereas here… we're left with the problems of the war.

- I wasn't his wife. - No.

- Had you realised that? - I thought it possible.

What about… Darwin?

- Did he realise? - Lord, no. It would never occur to him.

We met during the war.

Tony was a wireless operator for the S.O.E. I was a courier…

motoring together it was easier to say we were man and wife.

In fact, I was barely even his mistress.

He rang me a few weeks ago, and…

I was amazed that people in our organisation didn't know each other all that well. I mean...

even now you don't know who most of your colleagues were.

Perhaps you were in it. Perhaps I met you.

I don't know.

Those of us who went through this kind of war…

I do think we have something in common. It's a kind of…

impatience. We don't suffer fools.

Back in England, the people who stayed behind can seem childish, and a little…