Code Name Hélène

In June 1944, Denis tells Nancy that there is a radio operator named Alex in Châteauroux, 250 kilometers away, who can help them get a message through. It is too dangerous to drive. Nancy decides she will bicycle to Châteauroux because no one will stop a woman on a bike. She bathes in the stream, puts on fresh clothes, buys a bike, and sets out. She bikes 200 kilometers and then spends the night in a barn. The next day, she passes through Saint-Armand, where she learns that the town of Bourges had been raided the day before. She is stopped at a checkpoint outside Issoudun where a Nazi soldier confiscates her brandy but lets her through. Finally, she reaches Châteauroux. When she gets there, she learns from an agent named Bernard that Alex has been shot in Bourges. However, Bernard knows how to use the radio and they send a message to London about their position and need for provisions and a new radio. Then she bikes back to the camp. She collapses when she arrives.

In March 1943, Nancy attempts to contact O’Leary from the train station to let him know that she is going to Toulouse. She does not reach him, but she speaks with Françoise.