6. Spy Versus Spy (Season 2)

Virginia's faction of the Resistance. This particular courier allegedly had microfilm of New German military strategies that would be valuable to the British m Yes, Marie, it's Father Gun. But what Virginia didn't know was that the man on the other side of the door wasn't actually Father Acomb. He was Robert Alesh, a Nazi operative who had managed to

infiltrate the Resistance while posing as a priest. Virginia, currently going by the name Marie, had been told to accept the microfilm and Father Acom's possession and send it back to London. By this point, August, Virginia was an experienced spy and superbly cautious. She had had dangerous run ins with a Gestapo before, and it had spooked her enough to jump start a new identity That meant a new

name and a new home. She had to establish herself all over again, but it was better than being caught. Before opening the door, she first had to test the visitor with a predetermined code. Have you treated the cats on the roof? Yes? But they won't take a brandy with that, Virginia unknowingly allowed Robert Alesh entered her home, a man whose mission was to identify her and then hunt her down. Come in, father, I'm Steven Talty and from diversion. This is good Assassin's Season two. Being killed

would be the easy part. Being tortured would be the hard part. All intel suggests she is behind many of the prison bricks over the country. She's dangerous, so sabotage plus a little espionage paramilitary operations make things blow up. The message for Captain Bobby and I'd be leaf. I have found the nest of the Limping Lady. Episode six, Spy versus Spy. Thank you my a lovely own. Have you lived here alone a few years? A wonderful place

to raise children. I think I suppose do you have any right away, Virginia suspected something was off about the priest. He made himself comfortable way too quickly. He was supposed to be a spy carrying a valuable asset, an asset that, if discovered by the Nazis, would mean his immediate deportation to one of the kill caps. Virginia was used to less candor from the people she worked with. They were usually more nervous and would get right to the point.

Some of them experienced bouts of full on paranoia, like the pilot she saved in her first mission. This Father Account wasn't fitting the bill, but Virginia knew she couldn't just act off her gut. She'd have to keep entertaining, catch him slipping up. No, no, children, would you like to take a seat, Yes, thank you, and yes please. It was then that Virginia noticed Father Account's hands. They were delicate, smooth and fine, as though he had never done a day of hard labor in his life. This

relaxed her. Most of the Gestapo had some sort of previous low level military background. Their hands would have been coarser. Some hint that they'd worked with their hands. Father Account had the hands of a priest, so maybe that part of his story checked out. She noticed that Account was staring at her intently. A she had been given a description of the limping lady that he repeated in his head, trying to line up the details with the woman he saw in front of him. Mid thirties, dark hair, long

slender nose, arched eyebrows, and thin lips. The woman calling herself Marie was fitting most of the description, which she didn't seem to have the most obvious tell. As far as he could see, she wasn't limping. You have the microphone, so it's right to business. Then I was under the impression we were fighting a war, and maybe time was of the essence. Well then, yeah, new German strategies for our men in London. Thank you. It might be best to keep you moving. Do you need any supplies for

the trip back? You're having me off just like that. I keep first encounters brief. When you've run my trust, then we'll throw a party when I've and your trust. My dear woman, I've just risked my life to bring you bloods from behind enemy lines. I fought London would have thought you some semblance of bedside manner. Those lessons must not have stuck. Virginia's attitude was giving a lesh pause. He had always assumed that the limping lady would have

some manner of calm professionalism. She'd been so successful leading jail breaks and rallying men to ambush German troops that he expected a level of control over every situation. After all, this assignment was a simple handoff. Marie was shifty, he couldn't help but feel as though she was fresh. But he had gotten her to admit that she was indeed an agent with London, and frustratingly, Virginia took a seat at the table early in their conversation San which meant

that Alesh couldn't check on her limb. He decided to try and verify the other bit of information given to him by the Nazis. You are also doubling as a reporter, Yes, for an American paper. This was a major red flag for Virginia. While she had been writing for the New York Post early in her spying days, she had since stopped once America entered the war at the end of

forty one. She couldn't write those unflattering profiles of Nazi occupied France without attracting major attention, and since she had stopped, she hadn't told anyone in the resistance about her early reporting a reporter. What do you mean? I had heard you were a news reporter at one point for some people, something about New York. I know that must have been someone else. Ah, I see. Virginia's caution led to her X move. Maybe her smartest. We have rotate here at

the house. Perhaps it was someone else who was staying here. Do you need money for the trip back? Lesh was frustrated. He wasn't getting anywhere, and it was clear that if he kept pushing back, he gave up his position too early. He must have been pretty sure that the Marie in front of him was actually the limping lady, but he couldn't confirm it, not until he saw her leg. Just a few francs would get me to Paris, not much

Frank's Again, sirens sounded in Virginia's head. Father account had asked for Frank's instead of the German currency of Reich's mark, the primary currency and Nazi occupied countries, spies had to be careful being captured with Frank's could be perceived as French loyalty. In Virginia's experience, everyone legitimate asked for bikes mark, but she didn't press the error. She instead leaned over and grab bikes mark from her dresser drawer. Care you go.

She gave them to father account without correcting him. A Lessons seemed to notice his slip. He'd hoped he could trick Virginia into getting up and walking, but she kept the money close by and remained seated at the table. We'll let be all Yes, I look forward to working with you in the future. You as well. Father. I don't forget to Marris. I am a priest. If ever you find his job has led you to do things you are not proud of and you need confession, I

am available. Virginia considers this offer after the break. Hi, I'm Natalie Emmanuel from Ramsey in Fast and Furious to Sunday and Game of Thrones. I've loved playing roles of women whose resourcefulness, intelligence, and inner strengths are pushed to the limit. We will continue to do everything possible to avoid an armed conflict. The situation is a grave run. In history class, were all taught the stories of great

wartime leaders. But the stories have always been about men. Now, for the first time, we listened to a new podcast that brings you the stories of the fearless, powerful women leaders war queens. We are driven by necessity to prepare to defend what was just gain our freedom and our very being joined the Daughter Father History team of Emily and John Jordan every week as we bring you the stories of extraordinary leaders war queens, all of them legends.

Listen to War Queens on the Iron Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. M H. There's no one stop shopping for parsing out the enemy. I think what they teach you is that your assets only as good as your last meeting. That's Karen Shaeffer. She worked for the CIA for twenty six years. Over the course of her tenure, she held many positions that took her all over the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, where she served as an operations officer. Your number one thing

is that tingly spider sense. Right when you're going to be meeting or dealing with these folks regularly, if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and paying attention and asking them questions and making sure you're aware of their personal as well as professional situation. You're in a typically sense of something's off. However, when dealing with people like Robert Alesh or Father Alcong Shaeffer warrant that you

have to be careful of your own preconceived biases. We don't want to believe that a Catholic priest could possibly be working with the guests that you know, it's inconceivable, right, and yet it's not so. It's what is referred to as falling in love with your asset. Making sure that you to the greatest extent you can maintain that professional distance with the folks that you're working with, because you have to constantly be able to question, Okay, has something changed?

What are their motives? Does it still make sense that they're working with us? Does it not? You know what? What's weird about this? You have to be asking yourself all those questions pretty regularly. A few days after Father a CON's visit, Virginia was contacted by s O E headquarters in London. She had asked them to run a background check on on Kom to make sure he was who he said he was. The s O said they found everything in order. A Coln had a history as

a priest in a number of congregations around France. What they didn't know was that the Gestapo had gone to great lengths to protect Aleshia's cover as a column, including falsifying records of his employment, it should be noted with the help of the Catholic Church. Hearing that Father a Khan was the real deal relaxed Virginia a little, but it didn't assuage for suspicions entirely. She had already planned to abandon the town house she was staying in, but

she decided she wasn't in danger just yet. Doctor Roussey, himself a prominent resistance operative, seemed to approve of Father Akhm. That counted for something. Meanwhile, Robert Alesh went to a Nazi barracks and contacted his superior Klaus Barbie, and informed him that he was unsure if the woman he met was indeed the Limping Lady. Y. Yes, Captain Bobby, this is Alesh. Per few made contact, Yes, but I wasn't

able to land a confirmation. Then what good are you if we have begun a working relationship, whether she's the Limping Lady or not I've infiltrated Heckla will find her and maybe snatch up some other agents. In the meantime, your time is limited, alesh. If you don't bring us results in the next few weeks, they'll put you on a train over the next few days. Unless set up new meetings with Virginia so they're in person interaction with sparse.

Virginia still had her suspicions and would leave drop points for a lash where he could leave or pick up items deemed necessary for the resistance. Lesh was growing worried he need did a new strategy. He decided to set up a meeting with Virginia under the pretext that an associate of his had been arrested by the Nazis. It was a likely story. The Gestapo was escalating seemingly random interrogations,

and their methods had become even more deranged. Because the Gestapo have no legal limits, they focus on getting information as quickly as possible from the people they've arrested, and the way they do that is physical torture. That's Andrew or the professor we've heard from who runs the Institute for Military History at Kansas State University. I mean usually they just started by beating people with clubs to see if a little blunt force trauma would get people talking.

If it didn't, they got more creative electrical shock, breaking fingers, pulling out finger and toe nails. Uh. You mix this up with denying them access to the outside world, denying them food, or conversely drugging them to try and weaken

their resistance. You feed them false information. As the pain gets worse, you promise them that will all stop if they just tell you the thing You want, the names of the people they work with, the authentication codes for their radio so the Germans can send false messages back to Britain. Whatever it is the Gestapo wants, they'll demand it in exchange from making the pain end. And then

at the end they'll mainly execute the people. With these horrible methods and more, the Nazis had managed to capture more resistance operatives. Virginia had been informed by headquarters that on August fifteenth and sixteen, a rate in Paris led to the arrest of several resistance members. She had initially been worried that Father A Khan was one of the captured. Yes, who is it, Father, I can, But then a calm showed up at her door for their meeting. Come in,

oh Ma. It's often they captured Pierre the dumb stap or they got him. I think he had compromising material, contact names, addresses, things he wouldn't even share with me. Slow down, father, We've got to warn them. We've got to warn the contacts on the list. When did this happen? Just till they are just yesterday? Virginia hadn't received any news of compromised material from headquarters, especially from an arrest that would have taken place just the day before. I

need the contacts. We have to warn them, or you have to get me out of the country, sent me to a quartos. I would be I've been arrested yesterday. Were you not all underground? Underground? Because of the raids? Which raids? With those two words, Alessia had made a clear mistake. Virginia had heard all she needed. She didn't know if the man before her was a Nazi, but she knew he couldn't be trusted with any new information. The raids she mentioned were well communicated in the resistance network.

They've been told to go underground and cease all operations until they could figure out what information the Nazis were able to get out of the new captives until Heckler in the larger resistance could assess their losses. They were told not to make any moves. If Father accomp wasn't aware of this, it meant that he hadn't been spending the time within the resistance that he should have been what you'd be doing. Virginia didn't know the extent of the damage, but she knew she had to act quickly.

She had to get accompt out of her home and contact headquarters immediately. Going back to Bertie and Wit from the instructions, that's it. Wait for me to contact you. You can return in September and we figure things out from there. September go now, you can't be here. Alesh left Virginia's home satisfied he had finally gotten what he needed as she had shuttled him out the door. He had gotten a clear view the agent he knew, as Marie had a limp how this endangered Virginia After the break.

Following that consequential meeting at Virginia's home, Robert Alesh did not in fact return to Paris as Virginia had instructed. Instead, he chose to visit the Puis de Dome area. We snaked his way into another s OE funded resistance faction, this one code named green Heart. Virginia sounded the alarm on her suspicions of other account immediately, but by the time the alarm was heard throughout the other resistance networks,

the damage was done. Alesh was given access to more code names and assets, and while he didn't learn the limping lady's real name, he was able to decipher her radio code name. He learned that the woman he met, Leone, was in fact a top s O agent. He notified the Gestapo in a very pleased Klaus Barbie being burned is devastating. That means your whole network could be compromised. That's Chris Costa, the executive director of the International Spy Museum.

So there are many elaborate ways that an officer who is running agents is compromised. They can be exfiltrated tactically in a place like France, that would be an elaborate operation, but sometimes agents just couldn't get out in time if you were held by the Germans. I think the goal was to just survive without giving up the network. Forty eight hours after that, everybody knew you would be compromised because you would not be able to sustain the bad treatment,

the torture, the deprivation. But if you could hold on for forty eight hours, once you're in custody, your network could also disappear because they would be next. Virginia had mounting pressure on all sides. She was scheduled to return to London as part of a regular rotation of s o E agents, but she felt that leaving meant abandoning vulnerable people. She changed safe houses again to escape the immediate clutches of Klaus Barbie and the Gestapo, and took

up residence on the opposite side of town. Then a November seven, Virginia received word that the Allies would be invading North Africa and an attempt to fight off the German presence there. American generals believed they couldn't take back France unless they first established a presence in North Africa. The Germans, realizing this, chose to send a new wave of Nazi support to France. France would become the secondary home for German forces, and the country would soon become

an even more active war zone. If Virginia chose to stay, she'd be considered in force residents. The American in banking forth as made landings at all Ran and Algiers on the north coast of France, North Africa, and somewhere on

the west coast. The actors on these crumbled as they fled, dropping huge features all the way to the border, jathan lands and men abandoning whole unit, especially a Pagan unit, leaving hundreds of guns and tanks behind them, and thousands of troups and how a dozen valuable headquarters and many many thousand dead. Virginia made the difficult decision to leave Leon. She took a train south to the town of Perpignon, which was one of the final stops for individuals hoping

to cross into Spain. But while she had understood her journey would be treacherous, she still underestimated just how difficult it would really be. After arriving in Perpignon, Virginia had to find a guide who could manage her escape across the border. For months, she had helped coordinate getaways for others, mostly exposed agents and Jews. Now she was going to attempt the escape herself. They need to cross the Pyrenees

a dangerous, mountainous trek of thirty snow covered miles. To make things worse, the Gestapo had grown wise to this escape route, meaning that Perpignon was pepper with eagle eyed Nazis looking for spies. Virginia stood in the small town, gazing in wonder and terror at the enormous mountain range before her. Somehow she was going to have to make thirty mile trek with only her one good leg. In that moment, it seemed like a choice between two deaths.

The mountains could kill her or Klaus Barbie could and she'd never let Barbie take her alive. Coming up on the next episode of Good Assassins, the people of Marseille are astonished, according to LICI Radio, at the large number of troops the Germans are pouring into the city. Again, alarm bells sounded in Virginia's head. Well, it's it's a trade of mantains. It stretches from the Atlanta to the Mediterranean, like you kind of belt, and it's a very natural

border between France of Spain. She radioed to London, saying that she was out of France and in Spain and halfway to where they would catch the train to Madrid. If you have any questions for us about Good Assassins, if you're curious about some aspect of Virginia Hall story, or have any comments on the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at Good Assassins at diversion audio dot com. Make sure you spell assassins correctly. Again,

that's Good Assassins at diversion Audio dot com. We'll try to answer your questions on a future episode. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Diversion Pods. Good Assassins is a production of Diversion Audio in association with I heartpot Casts. This season is hosted by Steven Talti and written by C. D. Carpenter, Produced and directed by Kevin

Thompson for Real Jet Packs Productions. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein, with editorial direction from Scott Waxman, Additional research and reporting by Sophie McNulty. Theme music by Tyler Cash featuring the voices of Mikayla Is Caerdo, Raphael cork Kill, Lenna Klingeman, John Pierkes, Andrew polk or Lock, Cassidy Manouel Falciano, Sean Gormley Matthew Ament and Steve Rautman. Sound design, mixing and mastering by Paul Goodrich. Sound editing by Justin Kilpatrick. Executive

producers Jacob Bronstein, Mark Francis, and Scott Waxman. For diversion audio see simply for diversion audio,