The concierge’s doorbell rings. It’s Ata, the young Moravec son, come to fetch Valčík. The concierge doesn’t want Valčík to leave. He could live in the attic, he says, on the fifth floor: nobody would look for him up there. Here, Valčík plays cards and listens to the BBC and eats the delicious cakes made by the concierge’s wife, which he says are as good as his mother’s. The first evening, he had to hide in the cellar because there was a Gestapo agent in the building. But he feels very safe, staying with these people. So why not stay? the concierge insists. Valčík explains that he’s been given orders, that he’s a soldier, that he is bound to obey, and that he must rejoin his comrades. The concierge shouldn’t worry: a safe haven has been found for them. Only, it’s very cold. They’ll need blankets and warm clothes. Valčík picks up his coat, puts on a pair of green glasses, and follows Ata, who is taking him to the new hiding place. But by accident he leaves behind the book lent to him by his previous host. The owner’s name is written inside. The fact that he forgets this book will save the owner’s life.
Capitulation and servility are the lifeblood of Pétainism, and old President Hácha—every bit as senile as his French counterpart—is a master in the art. To show his goodwill, he decides, in the name of the puppet government he leads, to double the reward. So Gabčík’s and Kubiš’s heads are now valued at ten million crowns
The two men at the church door are not here to attend Mass. The Orthodox church of St. Charles Borromeo (today renamed the Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral) is an immense building, and one side of it faces Resslova Street—that sloping street which runs from Charles Square down to the river, right in the heart of Prague. One of the men is Professor Zelenka, alias “Uncle Hajsky” of the Jindra organization. He is met at the door by Father Petrek, an Orthodox priest. Zelenka has brought a friend with him. This is the seventh friend he’s brought to the church. It’s Gabčík. They take him through a trapdoor to the church crypt. There, amid stone recesses that used to hold dead bodies, he is reunited with his friends: Kubiš and Valčík, but also Lieutenant Opalka and three other parachutists, Bublik, Svarc, and Hruby. One by one, Zelenka has brought them all here. Because, while the Gestapo is still tirelessly searching all the city’s apartments, no one has yet thought to look in the churches. Only one parachutist is missing: they’ve had no news of Karel Čurda at all. Nobody knows where he is, whether he’s hiding or he’s been arrested, or even if he’s still alive.