Fly, You Fools.

[Deleted]

The door burst open and bounced off the wall from the force of the blow, the door handle leaving a dent in the wood and twisting in its cradle. A dark form rushed into the room, brandishing a bayoneted rifle and swinging it from side to side, searching for a target. The rifleman didn’t hesitate at the entrance for long, having spotted another door he quickly crossed the room and kicked it open as well, bringing his deadly weapon up and scanning the next room as he had the first. He continued through the house, checking each room. The iron sights fell over beds, chairs, dressers and tables, but found nothing that would be considered a threat, nothing worth shooting.

The rifleman returned to the main room, his weapon still leading the way, the sharp tip of the bayonet acting like an arrow pointing out a path to take. Only when the rifleman was satisfied that the house was clear and empty did he walk back to the entrance and signal to the person waiting outside to come in. He then went back through the house to the bathroom he had found and started searching through the cupboards, ripping draws out and upending their contents into the sink. When he found nothing useful he darted into the bedroom, throwing open the dresser doors and pulling out the clothes that were hanging up. He tossed them onto the floor as he searched the dresser. Moving onto the desk he pulled it apart looking for anything useful, anything that could help. In the end he picked up some of the clothes and shredded them into strips of cloth, they would have to act as bandages.

He returned to the kitchen and pulled open the cupboard doors, finding tinned food and bottles of water before coming upon a bottle of rum. This could sanitise the wounds and give pain relief. Armed with this the rifleman returned to the main living room, dropping his medical items onto a table before rushing out the door towards a car that was parked a little way down the street. He swung open the door and climbed into the drivers seat, starting the engine and looking over at the bloody mess that was in the passenger seat. It hadn’t been long since their escape, and they had only just managed to loose their perusers and steal a car.
”Its ok, we’ll hide here for a little while, should be safe.” The car slowly rolled up the street until it was level with the house and stopped. The rifleman jumped out of the car and raced around to the passenger side, opening the door and reaching in to help his passenger get out.

He supported the young man across the street and into the house, closing the door with a swift backwards kick and dropping the wounded man into a chair. The rifleman collected his crude medical supplies and began cleaning the cuts and gouges with rum and bandaging them. Jace offered Casper the rum to help ease the pain.

[Casper Heniz]

The car had sped away so quickly that Casper had felt like he was going to faint yet again. It had twisted and turned and he had been powerless to do anything. Jace had been driving on and on, the cars behind had become smaller and smaller until they were completely out of sight. After a while, Casper had fallen into a slight faint daze and had not been aware of anything until Jace had stopped the car near a house. Jace then disappeared and Casper felt his wounds now the car had stopped moving.

They were bloody and he was in great pain. The gap where his tooth had been was throbbing as well as his wounds across his body hence why he was feeling faint. Jace returned quickly and muttered something which Casper did not quite hear so just nodded. He was then helped out of the car and he lent his whole weight on to Jace as they stumbled into the house. Next minute he was collapsed on to a chair and given something to drink along with Jace cleaning up his wounds.

”Thank you.” he muttered in German. He was thankful for what Jace was doing, rescuing him near death and all. Maybe Jace did love him like he had once done? Casper took a swig of the bottle, his hands shaking. The liquid hit his throat and it made him feel a bit more awake. He then began to cry, sobbing into Jace’s shoulder and putting his arms around him, hugging him close without it hurting. ”Thank you....thank you...” he gurgled out. The man had saved his life.

[Deleted]

There was so much blood; even Jace was covered in it. It didn’t make him uncomfortable, not in the least, as he was use to blood and being covered in it. But this was a very different situation in that he wasn’t trying to keep Casper alive long enough to cause some more pain, he was trying to make sure that Casper survived. But there had been so much blood loss that the poor boy had passed out in the car and had only just woken up. Maybe he had lost too much and Jace’s efforts were pointless? Either way he continued to clean the wounds with the rum and bandage them, if the boy died he died. Jace’s hand shook a little as that thought was processed and he felt a deep pain in his stomach.

He took a swig from the bottle and it calmed his nerves. He didn’t want Casper to die, even after all the years he still had fond memories of him, and he somewhat enjoyed Casper’s company. Even though Jace had spent years killing people like him, he had no regrets about those thousands of deaths but there was something in him that told him he would regret killing this particular person. Jace had ignored his mutterings of thank you while he worked, he still had several wounds left to clean and bandage when the boy suddenly flung himself onto him. Jace almost twisted away and punched the poor boy, but he repressed his self-defence instinct when it became apparent that the boy was crying, sobbing his little heart out. Jace stood there with his arms half up, the bottle of rum in one hand and a shredded cloth bandage in the other, looking at the sobbing form of his friend.

There it was, Jace suddenly knew why he didn’t want Casper to die, it was because Casper was his friend. Sure Jace had plenty of comrades, brothers in arms who had saved each other’s lives more times then was worth counting, but there was something there that had prevented Jace from considering them as friends, they where simply allies. People who shared the same views and worked towards the same goals, and yet here Jace was, caring for one of the people he had sworn to purge, letting him cry his heart out on Jace’s shoulder because he had just been rescued from a certain death at the hands of Kaiser.

Jace let the boy; he couldn’t stop thinking of Casper as just a boy, cry a little longer before gently escaping from his arms, now his uniform was covered in blood and tears, again, not something uncommon for Jace.
”I still have more cuts to clean, just lean back and try to relax.” Jace had summoned up his caring and soothing voice for those words, but they probably still came out like a harsh order. He poured some of the rum onto the wound on Casper’s hand before quickly wrapping it. He took a step back to survey his work, Casper looked like a multi-coloured mummy from all the different bandages, but the one colour that brought them all together was the blood they where soaking up and trying to stop.
”You’ll need food.”
He turned around and went into the kitchen, pulling down tins of soup and searching though the draws for something to open them. He took a bottle of water out to Casper and cracked the lid, leaving it within easy reach before returning to the kitchen.

How had it come to this? In the span of a few hours he had gone from being a promising member of the SS, to being a fugitive on the run.

[Casper Heniz]

He hadn’t meant to cry so hard. It just all came out. He was making Jace’s shoulder wet most likely and the poor man probably thought he had gone mental. It did comfort the boy when Jace did not move away and even put his arms up in a half hug. This was what he wanted; he wanted someone there for him; to help him. He had never had that previously and this was what Jace was – a helper, a friend. Yes, a friend. Casper had remembered when he had first met Jace that he had seen something different in him – usually his clients had been men hungry for sex but Jace had been different. Even though he was older than Casper, there had once been that naivety about him...Now...now, he was seeing the man without the anger he had heard Jace had been capable of before.

He felt those warm, comforting arms push him away and he sniffed, raising his tear stricken and bloody face towards Jace. He nodded and what Jace said and gulped, trying to stop the tears from flowing. He lent back in the chair a bit, gritting his teeth as Jace cleaned and bandaged the rest of the cuts. His tattered uniform did nearly not even resemble a uniform now. He looked down at his body and realized just how vicious Kaiser had been – multi-coloured pieces of cloth were everywhere, turning a bit red as he watched as the blood still tried to seep through them.

He held out his hand to Jace and winced, yelping slightly as Jace poured water on to the bloody hand. He watched as his hand was wrapped in the cloth and he smiled. He set it down on his knee, and with his other hand rubbed away the tears. He didn’t catch what Jace had said – something about food – and looked at the floor, trying to keep himself not from fainting again. He heard Jace in the kitchen and then looked up as he re-entered the room. He had brought some water with him and Casper took it gladly, taking huge gulps of it. It was refreshing and mixed with the rum it eased his pain a bit.

Whilst Jace was in the kitchen, Casper shakily got to his feet. He limped over to the kitchen door and watched Jace, the water still in his hand. ”Food yes.” he nodded weakly, leaning against the doorframe to keep steady, watching the man who was his saviour.

[Deleted]

In the end Jace had to use a knife to roughly hack open the tins so he could get at their contents. After a little more searching he’d found a pot and had everything cooking. He hadn’t looked at Casper since he’d been standing in the door; instead he was busying himself with his task at hand. He found some beef and began cutting it into small chunks so the boy wouldn’t have to chew too much with his injured jaw.

What the hell was he doing? Jace wasn’t a caring person, he didn’t have friends and he didn’t cook for them! The knife shook slightly in his hand as it slid through the meat. Why was he still cutting it? He watched himself take a handful of the diced beef and drop it into the pot, then with mild annoyance he watched himself pick up a spoon and stir the meat in. This wasn’t him; this wasn’t what he did, not anymore, not for years. Jace had taken turns in cooking for his squad as had every other solider, but it was always rough, battle field meals, the fires were always hidden and they always had a look out. That was normal, that was the way things should be, that was Jace Rosewic.

And yet, here he was, still stirring the meat into the soup. Oh god no! He was even adding a few cut vegetables! Who the hell is doing this? Jace’s hand began to shake move visibly, the smooth circular lines made from the spoon in the soup turned into rough zigzags and he stopped stirring before he knocked the pot over. In the still swirling soup he could see the life he had built slowing being dragged down, all that he had done, all that he had killed, destruction was all that he had come to know and he was very good at it. So why was he here now? Cooking a meal for one of the very people he had sworn to purge, Casper was unclean after all, right? He was filth, useless, something to be killed off, like a cancer to be cut out of the body that was the human race. Much like the rest of the world. Jace had never bothered to question the vision of his leaders, he never questioned Ante Pavelić when he joined the Ustashi, and he’d never questioned Hitler after joining the Germans. So why was he questioning now?

He looked up at last to the boy standing in the doorway, his friend Casper, was watching him. Could the boy see through Jace to the inner battle raging just beneath his skin? Why did Jace still think of Casper as a boy? Clearly he was no longer a boy, he was man, a solider, a killer. But Jace couldn’t see that, all he could see when he looked at Casper was the same boy he’d met all those years ago in the Berlin during the celebrations for Germany’s victory in the Olympic games before the war. Maybe that was it, maybe that was why Jace was acting the way he was, the way he use too, before the war. Casper was his link to his past; this boy was living breathing proof that Jace was once… what? More human? Peaceful? Kind? Softer? Nothing like the sadistic mass murdered he had become who took joy from the pain of thousands of people? Could he ever go back to what he was? Or were his hands too tainted with blood to ever come clean.

He was staring at Casper, he probably had been for a little while now as his thoughts tumbled and crashed together. When he found no answers for his silent questions in Caspers eyes he returned too cooking the soup, stirring it slowly. What could he say to the boy? After what they had just been through what could he say?

[Casper Heniz]

Maybe the idea of going to watch Jace cook had been a bad one. The small sound of Jace stirring the contents of the pan had gotten louder and louder and next minute he had stopped all together. From his position by the door, Casper could see that the man was shaking. Was he angry? Was he going to kill him? Was he turning into the monster that so many people like him where? He was ready to turn back into the other room, to sit away and leave the man to his own devices. But he couldn’t leave....no that was madness. Casper looked down at his body and knew he would not be able to leave without assistance and that assistance was coming from the man by the stove.

But then Jace had turned and was staring at Casper. There was something there in Jace’s eyes. A confusion; the way he held his body; the way his hands were shaking; his expression....nothing was said for a while. Casper could not take his eyes off of Jace, nor Jace off of him by the looks of things. Casper had thought back to when he had seen Jace on the street when he had been part of the Ustashi a few years back. He had been a different man than the one in Berlin, and now, he was different here again – similar to Berlin. Casper opened his mouth, about to say something but blood went down the wrong way from his toothless hole and he started to cough, choking on it. He lent against the doorframe, his whole body doubled over as he coughed the blood up, spitting it on to the floor. His body ached and he stumbled back into the other room.

The other room was not as light as the kitchen was. He did not know quite how to deal with Jace. He collapsed on to the sofa near the door and closed his eyes. He felt so tired, he wanted to sleep. His body ached like hell and he felt so weak. He lent against the soft cushions and opened his eyes again, staring at the room. The house had obviously been deserted for a while – or the owners had not taken very good care of it – it wasn’t a very furnished room which made it better really. The floor was now sticky and dark with Casper’s own blood which had luckily stopped sipping out of his body thanks to the bandages. He lent forwards and put his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. He didn’t know how he felt about Jace. The man had saved his life....he was forever grateful and was now making him some food. The man could have killed him along with Kaiser, or tortured him some more until he passed out into unconsciousness from the pain. Instead of bandaging him up, he could have killed him in this very room.

Something had changed in the man. Casper hoped it was for the better. For his own sake.

[Deleted]

Just more blood, that was all that had come out of Casper’s mouth. Jace had been hoping for something useful, like words. But all he got was blood. He shouldn’t have expected more from the boy, not in his state, not after what he’d gone through. They had only just made it out and the boys recovery would take days, possibly weeks just to return to normal, he probably wouldn’t be combat ready for months, but then again, Jace had seen men in worse conditions pick up a rifle and continue the fight. Jace found himself wondering if Casper would be that strong. Back in Kaiser’s office all the boy had done was whimper and beg, why didn’t he fight? Kaiser wasn’t that strong after all. Perhaps Casper had wanted to die?

It didn’t take long for the soup to cook and Jace was glad that Casper hadn’t stayed in the doorway. He needed a little more time to come up with something to say to him, anything, even if all he said was How you feeling? It would be a stupid question; the boy would obviously feel like crap but it would be something, if only to get the words flowing. Perhaps he should open with a joke? The idea of that was so ludicrous that Jace actually started to laugh. Quietly at first, a mere chuckle that quickly grew into almost uncontrollable burst of hysterical laughter. The laughter died away as quickly as it came, returning back to a little chuckle and then stopping completely and all of a sudden he felt better. The situation hadn’t changed at all, they were still being hunted and would be killed on site if they were lucky, but for some reason, he wasn’t worried as much as before. They had escaped once, ran right out of the middle of a military camp and had survived. Perhaps they could live through this after all.

A few bowls were found and filled with the hot soup; Jace also collected a fork and a spoon and left the kitchen, carrying the bowl of steamy soup over to Casper. The poor boy looked like death and the good feeling he’d had just moments ago was gone. Jace placed the bowl carefully down on the arm of another lounge chair before going around and shifting the small coffee table over to Casper, placing it close to his legs and depositing the bowl and cutlery right in front of him. Jace then returned to the kitchen and collected his own bowl and utensils before joining Casper in the other room. He sat there for a moment, motionless before picking up his spoon and taking a mouthful of soup, chewing the small chunk of meat slowly more thoughts ran through his mind. What would they do now? That seemed to be the most pressing question.

Perhaps they could escape into France? Get fake papers and jobs and live out their lives there? Always looking over their shoulders to make sure that no one recognised them or tracked them down. Jace looked up at Casper and decided that these questions would find answers quicker if he voiced them.
”I’m thinking France could be a good place to go. We could get fake papers.” Even as he voiced those words another idea was coming to him. They could join a resistance group. Fight back against the Germans, fight against the people that Jace had come to respect and fear, fight back against those he had sworn an oath to fight with. Everything had changed so much in so short a time. Would it really be that easy to switch sides?

[Casper Heniz]

He had tried to be strong, very much so. But the way Kaiser had just been mad and had just gone in with such force had frightened him. It had not helped when he had started cutting into his torso and pulling his tooth out had hurt him very much. He now felt sympathetic for the people he had mistreated in the camps. He had never wanted to hurt them; many times he had thought that it could have been him standing there, being shouted and hit all day, every day. By the time Jace had come along back in the office, Casper had nearly given up; he had wanted to die.

But now, things were different. They were free from Kaiser for now. Thanks to Jace. He heard laughter coming from the kitchen, raising his head he looked in that direction. It had gone from a chuckle to hysterical almost but then had died away. Casper frowned. What was Jace laughing at? It was not a situation for laughing. Having said all of that, the laughter had died away quickly so maybe Jace had been trying to make a joke to himself but had realised it was not the time or place to do so.

The hot soup was laid out in front of him. And then seconds later a knife and fork. ”Thank you, Jace.” he muttered, glancing up at the man as he went to collect his own food. He sat down next to Casper and sat motionless for a few seconds before eating as well. The soap was delicious and it warmed Casper’s aching body. The meat chucks were just the right size to not make it painful to eat. He swallowed the soap slowly. Even though better soaps were made before now, it was good by the fact that it had been made quickly and with the ingredients that Jace had found.

The two sat in silence for a while. Casper was ideally waiting for Jace to speak. They had only said a few words to each other since they had escaped and it had felt awkward for Casper to not find much to speak about....But then Jace voiced his feelings. Casper looked over and met the man’s gaze. ”Yes, I agree....or hiding? G-go underground....like rats....” he shivered at the thought. His voice was low and weak sounding. ”What was in that file, Jace?” he said after a moment’s silence. ”How much do they know about me....a-and what I did....?” he trailed off and went back to his soup, feeling sick to the stomach.

[Deleted]

Hiding like rats underground? That thought didn’t appeal to Jace at all, he hadn’t thought of it that way, he’d thought of it as laying low for a time before rising up again and striking swiftly at their enemies. Yes they could hide away and live underground, in some cave or sewer system. But how long would they be able to do that? Jace had no intention of dying like a rat, all huddled up and scared in a dark corner waiting for a German boot to come down and crush him. He just couldn’t do it, he’d have to fight someone. Jace had been built for war, and it was something he had grown quite fond of. He was going to say that to Casper but the boy continued speaking, asking about the file.

”I didn’t see too much, I scanned the words looking for my name, and when I spotted it I stopped reading. They knew about us in Berlin, they’d been watching you for years. To be honest I don’t know how you made it into the SS if they had that file on you. How either of us did.” He paused to take another mouthful of soup.
”Maybe they needed the man power back then? When you joined up, they probably didn’t expect you to survive for too long.” To be honest to himself Jace was surprised that Casper had survived this long. Unless the boy had another side that Jace hadn’t seen, he just didn’t seem like the soldier type. He didn’t come off as a killer who’d be able to follow the harshest orders of torture and murder that came with being in the SS.

So either the boy was very lucky to live up till now, or he had a hidden viciousness that Jace was yet to see. Either way it didn’t matter at the moment, it would matter later on, but right now all Casper needed to do was heal. Jace had enough ferocity for both of them, bubbling just under the surface and begging to be released. In that moment Jace realised that he wouldn’t be able to just hide away from the world, he could never just sit idle and hope they weren’t found. Already the rush from their escape had worn off, and the warmth it had brought was quickly ebbing away leaving nothing but coldness. If an opportunity arose to fight someone, Jace would jump on it.
”I don’t think hiding would get us very far Casper.” he said, continuing on with the first part of the conversation.
”The Germans control many countries, and their reaching out for more with every passing day and tightening their grip on what they already have. How long would we be able to hide?”

Jace pushed his chair back and got to his feet, spilling some of his soup he did so. He began to slowly pace around the room. He still wanted to fight, but he knew that unless he got fake papers and rejoined the Germans he wouldn’t be able to fight on the same side he once was. Perhaps he could act like a private assassin or spy, finding resistance cells and killing their leaders and tipping off German’s to the whereabouts of their bases. But that would mean working with the SS, and the chances of getting caught would be too high.
”If we joined a resistance group, they’d be able to help us stay hidden and give you better medical treatment then I can.”
As Jace continued pacing a new thought began to grow in his mind, something on a much larger scale then just joining a resistance. ”Or we can try and join the Americans?”

[Casper Heniz]

Casper listened to what Jace said. He was stunned about how much the Gestapo/SS knew about him. He hadn’t been aware at the time that he had been watched. Hell, a lot of other people had been doing exactly what he had been doing and....and Casper hadn’t seen them for years; hence why maybe the Gestapo had got to him later than the rest. Maybe a client of his had been an undercover agent? Casper thought back to those days – remembering the regulars as if it was yesterday – he knew them by name and face as he had spent many intimate hours with them – had one of them been involved?

”I don’t understand.” Casper said, staring at Jace as he said it. ”How did they know...I do not remember anyone being that interested in me...I...I just did what I was told...” he frowned and looked away down at his soup, taking another mouthful of it. Yes, it had been the manpower. Germany had been keen for people to join up when Casper had done – he had gone with the big wave of people and so no one had given him a second look. He had gone in and had been fine – he had got past the checking system obviously – unless they had been waiting for him to get himself comfortable in the SS and then BAM – like today.

His hiding idea had been rejected. Hell, it had only been a suggestion and he had a feeling that a man like Jace would not like to go underground...not from his background of work. ”We probably wouldn’t last very long.” he shrugged, taking another mouthful of soup. He had no ideas – apart from the ones that Jace had suggested. He was too tired really to think more.

A resistance group? Yes, medical treatment and a chance to fight back. They could give the resistance information. Then the Americans were mentioned. It seemed such a far off world, America. Casper had only ever heard of it from talk, he had never met anyone from there or been there. ”I only speak a bit of English.” Casper said truthfully, glancing at Jace. ”What about you?” In the half light that came through the gap in the curtains, Casper saw how tired Jace looked. The man needed sleep too. ”You need some rest.” he raised a hand and patted Jace on the knee, leaving his hand there like he had done all those years ago.

[Deleted]

Jace continued pacing around the room, “I don’t get it either, after that night I never thought I’d even see you again.”
He stopped dead in his tracks, had that been harsh? He had said it with tension in his voice, but it was tension directed at their situation, not at Casper. He just hoped the boy wouldn’t take it the wrong way, he couldn’t apologise if Casper did, Jace didn’t have it in him to be sorry anymore even if he wanted too.
”What do you mean you just did what you were told?” Jace resume pacing about, rubbing his thumbs and index fingers together, they were probably going to get off the topic of their next move, but it could help release some tension to talk about something else, maybe? Who knew, Jace’s world had crashed down around him and now he was sure that the only ally he would have from now on would be the boy sitting on the chair.

The thought that this was all Casper’s fault flashed through his mind, if the boy hadn’t of been in the pub, hadn’t of been such a smooth talker, hadn’t done this or said that then Jace wouldn’t be in this situation right now. But that thought was only a flash, Jace had never blamed anyone else for his problems before and he wasn’t about to start now. No, Casper was his friend, not an ally or a comrade; right now he was most likely the only friend Jace had. It was a hostile world out there after all, and two sets of eyes could spot danger better then one.

”I only speak a bit of English…What about you?”
Jace shook his head, for some reason he thought that Casper would have a good grip on their enemy’s language if only due to his rank. Not that Casper was an officer but Jace believed that he’d have a better idea about English then the average footslogger. Well, he probably had a better grip then Jace.
”I only know a few words.” Words like ‘shut up’; ‘come here’ and ‘screaming wont help’ were basically the extent of his English.
”It could be done though. Would probably be easier to join a resistance group.”

The pacing continued until Casper said something about tired, and suddenly his footsteps became heavy. He was indeed tired and he slumped down into the chair opposite the boy, rubbing his eyes with his hand. Suddenly a soft hand was on his knee, patting it gently and then resting there. He actually had to suppress the urge to kick out. Things had changed; Jace slowly lowered his hand from his eyes and looked down at Casper’s hand. Too many years had gone past, too much blood had poured over his own hands.
”Sleep sounds good.” He tried not to be too harsh, he smiled and got to his feet carefully and walked over to one of the bedroom doors, opening it slowly.

(Sorry if it isn't any good, tired...)

[Casper Heniz]

The tone Jace used was harsh, as if he didn’t care. ”I don’t get it either, after that night I never thought I’d even see you again.” Casper felt stunned. He had thought Jace was more than that. He had thought Jace would have come back to him. He had gone back to the pub, gone back to the hotel the day after and had waited for Jace...but he hadn’t come. Casper had gone on with his life but had felt slightly put out by Jace not being there again and now the way he said....he said....”I had waited...” but was cut off by what the man said next.

”Oh.” he watched him pace around the room. ”I mean, I just did what clients told me...if I was to be somewhere, I would be there. Or, if I was told to do something, I’d do it...I wasn’t doing anything wrong...Really, you could look at it that the clients are the ones to...to...” he trailed off and stopped, realizing what he had said. He had assumed that Jace had not once been a client, he was a friend. But he had paid him for his time...What Casper had meant that it should have been the clients who were the ones to be told off and killed...but life didn’t work like that.

”I know more than a few words – I could hold a conversation.” Casper said, glancing at Jace. The man had stopped pacing after a few more seconds. He had slumped down on to the chair and that was when Casper had placed his hand on his knee. He had expected some sort of reaction – a kind nod or something – something like the Berlin night. But all the man did was lower his head and look at Casper’s hand. Looking wasn’t a sign...?! But then the man got up – mumbling something and giving a smile and walking to the door. Casper let his hand drop, staring at the place where the man had been. He was disappointed.

”Sleep well, Jace.” he said, his throat dry as he glanced over at him. ”Thank you for everything.” he gave him a small smile. Why didn’t the man feel the same way? Why? Years apart had been what had changed. Casper remembered how Jace had been so willing; so engaging and now...nothing. He sighed, finishing his soup before getting to his feet slowly. He stumbled over to Jace; glancing up at him – those big, boyish eyes staring at those tired, sad ones. It was a few seconds before he looked away. He then turned and headed towards the other bedroom door. Outside, darkness was falling.

[Deleted]

The door closed behind him with a soft click, the dying light seemed to ebb through the thin curtain that covered the window. The bed looked rough and was unmade, as if someone had been dragged out from under the covers; they would have been beaten before being hauled out the door too, it was the standard procedure. Jace walked over to the bed and sat down on the end, looking up and staring at the ruined dresser. The draws had been ripped out and their contents thrown about. Jace got up and walked over to the dresser, running his hand over the top of it. This is what he did. This is what Jace Rosewic did for a living, he stormed houses and ripped people out of their beds, he beat them and dragged them out of their homes. People like the boy in the other room. People like Casper.

But Casper was the only person who could say they were safe around Jace, even though he’d seemed harsh out in the other room he liked the boy. He was fond of him, for some reason enjoyed his company, if only as a link to his past. Could he ever go back to that? Casper’s words floated through his mind. ”I mean, I just did what clients told me...if I was to be somewhere, I would be there. Or, if I was told to do something, I’d do it...I wasn’t doing anything wrong...Really, you could look at it that the clients are the ones to...to...”
Was Jace the same? That was all that he had done too, yes he had chosen to join the Ustashi and it had started from there. He wanted to make his country a better place, he had been dragged in by what he had been told and had believed it. Was Casper the same? Had Casper been dragged in like he had? Had he started to believe in and enjoy what he did? Would Casper go back if he could?

Jace leant against the dresser as his mind raced, his world was coming apart at the seams. He needed someone to tell him what the next move was, what does he do now? He had always had orders, he was a killer drone, he could make decisions in the heat of battle but as to where he fought… that was always left up to someone else. Up until now he had thought he was in complete control of his life, he chose to do what he had done, but really he had been following orders.
If I was to be somewhere, I would be there. Or, if I was told to do something, I’d do it...

The room seemed to be moving, Jace wasn’t even aware as he slid down the dresser, knocking draws as he dropped before coming to a halt on the floor, unable to fall any lower he brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped himself into a little ball. Defying Kaiser was the first time he had done something for himself; the first time he had disobeyed an order. A single tear rolled down his cheek as for the first time, Jace saw the faces of everyone he had killed in cold blood and felt sorry about it.

[Casper Heniz]

He had watched Jace close the door. The boy knew to leave him alone. He stared at the door for some time before entering the other bedroom. It was messy – clothes everywhere and the bed unmade. Not an unusual sight for Casper’s eyes. It was quite good in a way that these clothes were there – he would be able to take his shredded uniform off. There was a wardrobe near the door which had a load of coats in – again useful. Did he feel odd for removing people’s clothes? No, not really. The people who had owned them would probably never need them again.

If he had time, he would look through some of the clothes in the morning. But now he was tired. He stumbled over to the bed – the sheets were ruffled, but he smoothed them out. He sat down and suddenly heard a crash from next door. What was that? Was Jace in trouble? The boy stood up again, wincing as he stumbled over to the door again. He opened it carefully, ”Jace?” he called, coming up to the door and knocking softly. ”Jace? Are you okay?” he opened it slowly.

For the first few seconds, he thought that Jace had left him for there was no one in the room. He frowned, scanning the room quickly. His eyes came to rest on the man – he was crumpled on the floor, and looked like he was crying. His knees were hugged up to his chest.

”Oh Jace.” the boy closed the door behind him softly. He stood awkwardly just inside the room, wondering if he should go to him. He wasn’t sure if Jace would want him to come closer as the many years apart had changed things. After a few seconds, he decided to go near him. Slowly, he edged closer and knelt down next to Jace, wincing slightly as he lent against the wall next to him. He wrapped his arms gently around him, comforting him.

[Deleted]

The room seemed to be closing in around him, the walls loomed over him threatening to crush him under their weight. The whole world was outside those walls and it wanted to come in. It wanted to lay its weight on him and smother him. There was nothing stopping it now. There was no chain of command to fall back on that would make the world easier to handle, there were no orders to follow blindly and without thought. There was only Jace, alone with nothing keeping him up.

From now on Jace would be fully responsible for his own actions, without orders he would have no safety net of command. Without an army he was on his own. Wait, no he wasn't, he wasn't complealy alone. There was Casper, his friend and brother in arms. Jace had him, and if they found a resistance group then they'd have even more allies. Jace couldn't see himself going into hiding, cowering under floorboards or in a hay stack and waiting for the Germans to find him. No, he had to fight, but for the first time he would be fighting for himself. The next time he pulled the trigger he would be pulling it because he wanted too, because he had decided to kill not because he had been ordered too. He would have freedom.

Jace went suddenly still, his breath changed from near hysterical to calm and mesured. His eyes seemed to work again and he suddenly became aware of Caspers arms around him. How long had the boy there? Jace's first instinct was to wriggle out of the boys grip, but he felt warm, it was an odd feeling, but not all that unpleasant. Jace let out a long sigh and put an arm carefully around the boys shoulder.
"We're free Casper" he whispered and after a moment slowly got to his feet. His mind was clear and he found himself able to focus more. They were free, they had no master, no rules or regulations.

After another moment Jace looked over at Casper. The boy looked like hell. It hadnt been Long since Jace had wrapped his wounds but he wondered if he should redress them. Now that his little break down had passed he was able to think more clearly.
"how are you feeling Casper? You look like you need some rest" Jace motioned towards the bed. Casper was hurt and yet he had tried to comfort Jace, now Jace would do the right thing and look after Casper properly, help his healing any way he could, cause that's what friends did, right?