On the Road Long Lost [Open]

[Nicholas Ealing]

OOC: Sorry for long wait and short post. Ideally, should be the other way 'round.

"I take it you are in charge of these soldiers and as such, you can be of assistance to me. Would you be so kind as to accompany me inside this plane?"

"How could I refuse such a generous offer?"

Nicholas smiled as he got to his feet. One of the German NCO's lowered his machine gun, but did so slowly and cautiously as if it pained him to do so. He was ill at ease. It unnerved him that the Lieutenant had maintained a cheerful grin since the Allied surrender. Prisoners didn't tend to smile. That was just an...unwritten rule.

Sensing the man's unease, Nicholas took a casual step forward and threw an arm around him. "Cheer up, mate. Might never happen!" The Unteroffizer pushed Nicholas away in alarm.

"Oh, come on, Fritzy. Feel the love, eh?"

"Move," growled another soldier, gesturing with his weapon, his English awkward. Nicholas held up two hands in a theatrically defensive gesture and, giving the confused German sergeant a cheerful salute, followed the Gestapo officer towards the grounded plane.

Although he had managed to keep his fear well-hidden, the first seeds of worry and doubt had began to be sown in the cloudy depths of his consciousness. He knew that German troops would not harm him - or at least, not harm him much - but the Gestapo were...something else. In a different league. Why were they here anyway? They were hardly going to try and prosecute him for not paying the electricity bill, were they? No, something was wrong. Very wrong.

Horribly wrong.

Nicholas followed the Gestapo officer into the dismal aircraft. The second he had set foot inside, his blood ran cold. "Richard..." he murmured. Dalton lay there, looking more peaceful than Nicholas had ever seen him before. A puddle of blood had formed around his skull; his hair was matted with the stuff. Nicholas suddenly realised that he had never actually seen Dalton with his eyes closed before. Would he ever get to see him with his eyes open again?

Shaking slightly, the Lieutenant kneeled down at his young friend's side. The others seemed to ignore him. All pretence of confidence, of arrogance, of being one step ahead vanished. Now, he was just another soldier. Hoping, begging, that a comrade was still alive. His finger trembled as he struggled to find a pulse. He had known soldiers to have been killed from less of a blow. Through gritted teeth, he at last worked up the courage to place his forefinger on Dalton's limp wrist.

There was a pulse. Gloriously steady, wonderfully...there. Dalton was alive, unconscious but alive. All things considered, this seemed quite a good compromise. He was certainly less grating when he was unconscious. Suddenly, it struck him. They had attacked Dalton. He wouldn't have tried to fight back, he wasn't that stupid. They had knocked him cold just because they could. Bastards.

Nicholas rose steadily to his feet as the so-far unnamed officer made his way towards the limp bundle that contained Adelheid. "Don't hurt her," said Nicholas suddenly, just as the Gestapo man approached. He had no idea what the Gestapo wanted, but if it was the girl....What would they do to her? He couldn't let them hurt her but...what choice did he have?

"Heidi."

The leader spoke the single word so gently, Nicholas only just heard him. "She says her name's Adelheid," he said carefully, scratching the back of his neck as he approached his captor. "I don't..." he sighed. "What's going on? Who is she and what the hell is she doing half-dead in a field in Belgium? I mean...what...who are you? What do you want with her? What's going on? I know I'm not exactly in a position to ask questions here - you with the...gun...and all - but...please. Officer to officer, gentleman to gentleman. Just...what's going on?"

[Otto Wolff]

An icy fear gripped the Kriminalkommissar's heart as he stared at the small bundle of clothing sheltering the girl. Until this moment he had not been sure if the girl in question even truly was Heidi and he had prepared himself to face disappointment the moment the first group had radioed in the news about the dark-haired girl. Now that he was certain he had found Heidi, his insides felt heavy with worry. What if she was not even alive anymore, what if he had found her too late? His fingers clenched into a fist momentarily, the leather of his dark gloves creaking in the cold air.

The Allied lieutenant moved away from Otto and towards the unconscious, or maybe even lifeless, Allied soldier. Behind Otto, Brenner's hand went instinctively for his pistol. Otto glanced quickly at his companion and shook his head. If the lieutenant wanted to check on one of his soldiers, let him do so. He was unarmed and hardly of any danger to them. Brenner left the pistol inside it's holster, although he did so reluctantly. He was even more nervous about the entire situation than Otto was and had accompanied the older man on this mission only due to their mutual trust and respect. They had been working together for several years now and wherever Otto went, Brenner was usually there, too. The younger Gestapo officer shifted his weight from one foot to another anxiously, watching as Otto made his way towards the child.

The tall, dark-haired Kriminalkommissar leaned in closer, desperately hoping to see some signs of life on the girl's features. She was pale and her cheeks had sunken in due to malnutrition, reminding Otto of the prisoners he had seen inside the various concentration camps. She looked nothing like the girl that had ran away from Otto's apartment, yet Otto knew that this was Heidi. Otto's gloved hand moved towards the girl, but was stopped in mid-movement by the Allied lieutenant's words. "Don't hurt her."

Otto's dark eyes moved sharply to regard the lieutenant and he wanted to spout out something venomous at him for even considering that Otto was going to harm the child. A cold anger flared in his eyes for a moment, but then Otto realized that the situation did indeed appear quite outlandish and that the man was only trying to protect the child. Besides, his words implied that Heidi was still alive and Otto withdrew his hand very slowly, keeping his eyes on the lieutenant who was now moving closer. "She says her name's Adelheid," the lieutenant said carefully, looking quite perplexed and maybe even lost. Otto's muscles tensed involuntarily, but his face remained an emotionless mask as he listened to the various questions the Allied officer had for him. Who was the girl and what was she doing here? Who was Otto and what did he want? "Officer to officer, gentleman to gentleman. Just... what's going on?" the lieutenant pleaded, stopping to hear at least some answers from the German officer.

"Lieutenant, do you really think that a Gestapo officer would answer such questions posed by an enemy officer? Were I to answer all of your questions, I'd have to shoot you, now wouldn't I?" There was an almost uncharacteristic sharpness to the man's words, although his voice was coated with wry sarcasm. Otto's dark eyes narrowed for a moment as he regarded the lieutenant, but then he seemed to relax slowly. "You or your men hold no interest to me, lieutenant. I'm here only for the child. You merely happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe the right time, if it saved the girl's life. And when it comes to Heidi, or Adelheid, as you said. She is... my grandchild," Otto's voice was lower towards the end of his sentence and his attention turned towards the child once again. He did not mention the fact that the girl was not actually related to him by blood, although they shared similar features, both of them sporting dark hair and eyes. It was no concern of the Lieutenant's and Otto's answer was dictated by pure courtesy. The Allied officer had been courteous enough and Otto felt it was only gentlemanly to grace him with at least some kind of an explanation.

"I'm here only to take her to safety," Otto's words were not really aimed at anyone in particular, he did not owe any more answers to the lieutenant. The imposing Gestapo officer leaned towards the child once again. His gloved hand moved in to gently brush some hair away from Heidi's face and Otto could now see that the girl was still breathing. Seeing her in such a sorry condition filled Otto's heart with guilt and his eyebrows furrowed into a frown. If he had been more mindful, maybe Heidi would have not ran away from him. The Kriminalkommissar's gloved fingers traced a gentle line over the child's forehead, making the scene all the more absurd. Even though his SS-uniform was covered by his long, dark-grey coat, the Totenkopf-decorated peaked cap and the swastika-grasping eagle on the arm of the coat made it quite clear where Otto's allegiances lied. When Otto spoke again, his voice was again low and slightly husky, his words were aimed at the child alone. "Heidi, das wird sich alles finden. Ich soll Sie hier nach Hause nehmen."


Translation:

"Heidi, das wird sich alles finden. Ich soll Sie hier nach Hause nehmen."
"Heidi, everything will be all right. I'm here to take you home."

[Heidi]

Though in the haze of unconsciousness, the will to seek the green land was still strong. Adelheid could vaguely hear voices in Not-Nazi and German, swirling through to her in the dark, and she did not like it. No matter who they were, she was going to fight them, and get away and get to the green land. Her Rhys-angel's land. She wasn't going back to the Nazis, or to the Not-Nazi prisons, where they thought she was a Nazi, and she wasn't going back to Doctor Strumfelder...never again would she go back to Doctor Strumfelder. She was not his daughter, not someone he was going to turn into a Nazi, not nothing.

"Heidi, das wird sich alles finden. Ich soll Sie hier nach Hause nehmen."

No.

Not home.

Germany was not her home anymore.

She had been born and raised in a German orphanage. The war had lasted a very long time for her, and it had; Adelheid had been six when the conflict had broken out. She had seen the good little children become nasty and mean to each other, and that Hitler-man yelling on the radio didn't help. She had seen the Nazis do terrible things, and take away her home, and hurt her and the other people and Herr Claude.... And they had Doctor Strumfelder, too. Adelheid would not go back there, no matter how hard someone tried, unless they dragged her back while she was kicking and screaming. Bad people weren't going to control her any longer!

As the small spark of indignation and determination flickered inside of her, she slowly opened her eyes. With the same speed of thought, she registered the familiar voice's face, feeling something vaguely similar to unsettledness as dark eyes looked back at her. Despite a blank-looking expression, she recognized Herr Otto, and with that, felt a hint of fear. If he had come to find her, then Doctor Strumfelder might have....

She tilted away from him, burying her face in the soft warmth surrounding her, eyes screwing shut. Refusing to look at him, Adelheid prayed quietly that everything would go away, and that everything happening was a bad dream, and that maybe the cold had gotten to her. The lingering raven outside the plane window, however, knew better, cawing loudly and dropping off the aircraft's nose. It hopped through the snow until it reached the door, where it settled, ruffling its dark feathers. Glancing at Nicholas, it croaked loudly, trying to get his attention; whether or not anyone else would notice it was to be seen. It then gazed at Nicholas, a strange sort of challenging in its eyes, as if to say, "So, what are you going to do now, Mr. I'm-Such-A-Cheery-Englishman?"

[Nicholas Ealing]

So the man was her grandfather? This was a surprise in itself. The Lieutenant had never really assumed scum like the Gestapo even had reproductory organs; a kind of failsafe to make sure they never contaminated the gene pool.

Whatever the case, Nicholas had never heard of the Gestapo taking part in a domestic. It seemed strange to think that such formidable, clinical men as these actually had families. How could they even look their children in the eye? Or hold bloodstained hands with their wives and girlfriends? Nicholas took a deep breath, hate bubbling in his throat like bile.

He didn’t know why he was suddenly so angry. The hopelessness of the situation, the brutality with which they had treated Dalton, the fact that to these men thought him so utterly insignificant they hadn’t even tried to apprehend him properly. Everything. Years of hate, anger and disgust towards the Nazis and their brutality seemed to explode inside him.

He knew he had to keep the Gestapo man talking. Before they had lost contact with the plane, the pilot had given them an ETA of a few minutes. Surely they couldn’t be too far away. If Nicholas could stop the enemy from leaving the crash-site, then maybe allied air support could fly in and save the American squad from capture and humiliation. But how could he keep him talking?

Nicholas glanced towards the window. His captors seemed to ignore him; as the enemy had said, he was of no interest to them. Through the pane of clear glass, Nicholas could see that his men were still being held at gunpoint. Whether or not they had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time was undoubtedly irrelevant to these men; they would be dragged off to the P.O.W camps and would linger there until the war’s end. Nicholas knew that if the worst came to the worst that he would not be in imprisonment for long. He was a favourite of High Command, hand-picked by British intelligence to take part in the godforsaken Brittany mission. They would get him out, they looked after their friends.

But a few of the boys…Three members of the squad were still in their teens, Dalton was only a few years older than the greenest of the green. Nicholas wasn’t sure whether or not they’d survive imprisonment. And even if they did…what kind of shell would be left behind after that kind of hardship? No. There had to be something Nicholas could do to guarantee their safety. There had to be…

For a mad second, Nicholas thought about making a grab for Brenner’s weapon. If he managed to overpower the German, he could hold the Gestapo officer at gunpoint. Kill him? It could be so quick. The man wasn’t even looking in his direction, concentrating on the little girl. In a couple of seconds, the deed would be done…

No. Don’t be stupid. Even if he managed to take down the two men in the plane, what then? The enemy outside would be shooting to kill, both Nicholas and the other prisoners. He couldn’t put his men in any more danger. He couldn’t.

There has to be something else.

Keep him talking. Just keep him talking.

“And you’re such a fantastic grandfather, aren’t you?” said Nicholas quietly, staring the intimidating Gestapo officer down. “A wonderful guardian. Not at all the kind of man who’d leave his grand-daughter to freeze to death, alone, in a snowdrift in Belgium. No. I can see she’d be safe with you.”

He spoke coldly, knowing full well that he would almost certainly pay for his disrespect with a severe amount of pain from the officer’s grunt. But if he could just get them to concentrate on him, maybe they’d stick around. Nicholas broke into an unsettling grin and brought out the last few squares of chocolate from his pocket. He popped a square in his mouth and gave the two a wink. “Fancy a bite?”

[Otto Wolff]

The Kriminalkommissar stood motionless as he saw the girl's eyes slowly flicker open. He was almost desperate to see that look of recognition upon the child's features, maybe even relief and delight, but instead the child shrunk away from him, closing her eyes and hiding her face. Otto frowned and realized that the girl had never seen him in his uniform. Not as a Nazi. Otto considered the fact for a moment, figuring that this might have something to do with the unexpected reaction of the child. He removed his peaked officer's cap slowly, placing it under his arm. "Heidi, Sie müssen nicht sein haben Angst. Ich habe irgendetwas nie getan, um Sie zu verletzen, haben ich jetzt? Ich bin nicht dabei, irgendjemanden Sie auch verletzen zu lassen," Otto's voice was smooth and quiet, he was not sure if the Allied lieutenant had any understanding of the German language, but it did not matter whether he understood or not. Otto was here to rescue Heidi and he would not let anyone stand in his way.

The Gestapo officer's words were rudely cut off by the Allied lieutenant, who was now boldly staring at him. “And you’re such a fantastic grandfather, aren’t you?” the man asked and Otto stood up straight very slowly, turning his attention at the officer. “A wonderful guardian. Not at all the kind of man who’d leave his grand-daughter to freeze to death, alone, in a snowdrift in Belgium. No. I can see she’d be safe with you,” the lieutenant chided and Otto could not help his fingers from curling up into a fist. The man's words had hit far too close to the mark and guilt hung over Otto even more heavily than earlier, although under this feeling another emotion was churning now, too. After several years of alcoholism and blind rage, Otto had turned his life around and now prided himself in containing his emotions and always thinking before acting. The lieutenant's words almost made the man break his own rules and for a moment Otto just wanted to slam his fist right into the man's arrogant face.

It wasn't his fault that Heidi had ran away, he had done his best to take care of her, he had protected her. Even against his own sense of duty, he had kept the girl's identity a secret to protect her from harm, something he would have never even imagined himself doing. His loyalty was devoted to Germany and Germany alone, but lately he had found his beliefs faltering. He had not wanted for any harm come to the girl and he had kept her safe, even before discovering their unlikely connection through his son's recent marriage. The Kriminalkommissar stared at the arrogant lieutenant, who was now casually offering chocolate to him, as if nothing had even happened. The flames of cold anger were still burning in the Kriminalkommissar's eyes and very slowly, only barely, did he manage to contain his fury. He let his gloved fingers uncurl once again and the man breathed out deeply. The lieutenant only wanted to rile him up. He had been perfectly polite the moment before and here he was now, hurling insults at him. It's obvious, Otto, don't let him fool you. You are far more smarter than that.

The Kriminalkommissar let himself breath out slowly, his dark eyes narrowing as he regarded the Lieutenant sternly. "I do not care what you think, Lieutenant, nor is this any business of yours. Step back, I'm taking the girl with me," Otto said sternly and behind Otto, Brenner pulled out the Luger from it's holster to emphasize the Kriminalkommissar's words. Otto waited until the Lieutenant had moved back, before turning his attention back to the girl, his expression softening somewhat. He knew he did not have much time to explain his actions to the girl, he wasn't even sure if the child would understand. "Heidi ich weiß, warum Sie Angst haben zurückzugehen, weiß ich, wer derjenige war, die Sie verletzen. Herr Claude erzählte mir alles. Aber ich bin nicht dabei, irgendjemanden Sie verletzen zu lassen..." Otto glanced briefly at the lieutenant at this point, before turning his eyes back at Heidi again. "...Adelheid."


Translations:

"Heidi, Sie müssen nicht sein haben Angst..."
"Heidi, there is no need to be afraid. I've never done anything to hurt you, now have I? I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, either."

"Heidi ich weiß, warum Sie Angst haben zurückzugehen, weiß ich, wer derjenige war, die Sie verletzen..."
"Heidi, I know why you're afraid to go back, I know who was the one that hurt you. Herr Claude told me everything. But I'm not going to let anyone hurt you..."

[Heidi]

He hadn't hurt her, but he was going to; that was all Adelheid could think of. In the past year or so, there had been too many people who had hurt her, chased her away and never believed her. Those that did genuinely care for her had seemingly turned their backs on Adelheid - and the one she felt the closest to caring for her, Herr Claude, had been left behind. She had forced herself away from him, all out of fear and, in her mind, necessity; she was terrified of being found by Doctor Strumfelder. And the Nazis. And the Not-Nazis. A lot of people, really. It was this fear that had driven her on since the emptying of the orphanage, and Adelheid had known nothing other than running - running and dodging bad people.

She had had enough.

Adelheid didn't bother looking at Herr Wolff. She only buried herself deeper into the soft thing around her, and the stern, Not-Nazi words frightened her even more. Something bad was going to happen, and she wasn't strong enough to run or defend herself. Her slingshot was in one of her jacket pockets...that is, if someone hadn't taken it from her while she was unconscious. Her little heart raced, and she trembled slightly - she was trapped.

"Heidi ich weiß, warum Sie Angst haben zurückzugehen, weiß ich, wer derjenige war, die Sie verletzen. Herr Claude erzählte mir alles."

Her blood ran cold, her heart stopping for a moment. Another mental line was drawn, this time through Herr Claude's name - he had betrayed her. He had been hurt by Doctor Strumfelder, and he had become Adelheid's friend, and he had betrayed her. The sheer magnitude of the thought, irrational as it might seem, sent a wave of numbness over the child. Everyone was going to take her back to Doctor Strumfelder, and he would hit her, and lock her up in that wardrobe, and she'd never be free and see the outside again, and...and...and....

"Aber ich bin nicht dabei, irgendjemanden Sie verletzen zu lassen.... Adelheid."

Adelheid couldn't take it. She wanted to cry, but instead, the whole world went dark again. Body slackening, she became a limp heap amongst the overcoat's folds, breathing shakily and hoarsely. Unbeknown to her, she had begun to hyperventilate slightly as she went into a panic attack, and for the sake of her continued existence, her body shut down. The girl wasn't dead yet, but it would be a while before she woke up again.

The raven crowed loudly, flapping its wings as it looked with concern around the corner. It hopped into the interior of the plane, unnoticed by those who could not see it. It froze, gazing intently at Adelheid's unconscious form, before tearing its eyes away and looking at Nicholas neutrally. It was still waiting for him to do something more, to see what else he was capable of, but was not that intent on making the Lieutenant do such. That was simply not the raven's job to do.

[Nicholas Ealing]

"I do not care what you think, Lieutenant, nor is this any business of yours. Step back, I'm taking the girl with me,"

The Lieutenant took a deep breath. This isn't your problem. Let him take the girl, give up, accept your fate. Why can't you ever concentrate on your own bloody well-being? Just stand aside or you'll get a bullet in the head. And no amount of lotion will solve that, will it?

Nicholas blinked. Lotion? Where did that come from?

He sighed and began to step aside but the look on the girl's face forced him to freeze and to think for a second. Even while unconscious, her face was a picture of fear and mistrust and pain. She had expressed no joy to see the Gestapo officer, no happiness, barely any recognition. Just...fear. The kind of fear one could smell in the air. The kind of contagious fear that drove people mad, turned people into dumb animals. The kind of fear that no happy little girl would feel when greeted by her grandfather. "No..." Nicholas whispered, his voice cracking. He wasn't sure the slimy figure in front of him had heard him - in fact, he was sure he had not - but it didn't matter.

Ever since he had lost his nephew, ever since his body had first been overwhelmed and drowned in the pale beams of numb agony, he had been determined to prevent any other child suffer like he doubtless had. Suffer at the hands of the Nazis. Nicholas knew nothing about the little girl, little about her grandfather, but he knew something was wrong. But what the hell could he do?

"Heidi ich weiß, warum Sie Angst haben zurückzugehen, weiß ich, wer derjenige war, die Sie verletzen. Herr Claude erzählte mir alles."

Nicholas cocked an eyebrow. He had recognised that name. Claude, Josef Claude. The American corporal who had been damned fool enough to get captured - twice - by the same man! Not exactly a shining display of competence for a man rumoured to have once belonged to the British special forces. But then Strumfelder was no ordinary man. Even now, while his empty, withered body lay several feet beneath the earth that had shed not a tear over his passing, his spirit lived on. Like the remnants of an explosion. The dust and debris and destruction lived on in the wind, a mist that still seemed to dog Nicholas' footsteps. He's dead. He's dead. He'd dead.

"Herr Claude?" said Nicholas, deciding to go with his instincts and assume the man he spoke of was the young corporal. "Josef Claude? Corporal. Nice hair. 3rd Infantry Division, 3rd Armoured Brigade, Charlie Company...ooh...second platoon? That Josef Claude?"

The cockiness had returned. The arrogance. The casual insolence. Like the colour in his cheeks, it had returned to Nicholas Ealing. He just hoped he had managed to keep the chap talking...

[Otto Wolff]

Otto's words were of no use in calming the child down. She only tried to hide herself more effectively under the thick overcoat, as if not looking at Otto would make him disappear. Things did not get any better when he got to the part where he mentioned Herr Claude. Instead, Otto's words seemed to completely devastate the poor girl. She trembled uncontrollably and her breathing became erratic, coming in short, desperate gasps. Otto did not even have time to react to this before the girl suddenly fell limp and almost lifeless. The Kriminalkommissar quickly bowed down low over the girl, his expression full of alarm and worry as his gloved hand touched the child's cheek. For a moment it had looked like as if the girl had lapsed into some kind of a seizure as a last, violent sign of life and for that brief moment Otto was sure that he had lost Heidi. Studying the girl's features he could see that she was still alive and her breathing was once again more even, making it seem as if she was sleeping.

The Gestapo officer's eyebrows were still furrowed in worry and his mind was quickly going through the different options available to him. His original plan had been to just take Heidi with him, of course, although he had not really thought about it quite as thoroughly as he most likely should have. Initially he had not even been sure if the girl in question was Heidi and he had already prepared himself to face disappointment. Now that he had found her, the burden of guilt that had been hanging over his shoulders felt all the more heavy and he had not expected it at all. Seeing the girl in such a poor condition and recognizing the fear and despair in her eyes had made the tall Gestapo officer feel unsure if he was actually trying to help the girl or if he was merely trying to soothe his own conscience. Of course he wanted to keep the child safe, but was that really all there was to it? Was he trying to make up for his past failures as a father? Trying to atone for the cruel and violent things he had done while serving the Reich? Watching the girl, her face smudged by dirt, her cheeks sunken in by malnutrition, Otto felt the need to step away. He wasn't so sure why he was here anymore and instead of fighting the feeling, he let the feeling of guilt consume him, as if a huge, black bird had just spread it's wings over him. He could hear the Lieutenant talking, but he had missed the beginning of his sentence entirely and managed to pay attention to it only midway through. "...Charlie Company... ooh... second platoon? That Josef Claude?"

The Kriminalkommissar turned his attention towards the Lieutenant once again, but this time he appeared even slightly weary and the Allied officer's words seemed to have little effect on him. He was going on about Claude and even if it normally might have surprised Otto to have the Lieutenant know that particular Jew, the fact seemed very insignificant now. All Otto could think about was Heidi, how he would take her with him back to Berlin, confine her within those dismal walls again and for what future? The quick victories of the early days of war were now just distant memories and even if Otto would manage to somehow secure a different identity for the girl, she would always live in constant fear and doubt. Was that something he really wished to push upon a bright, innocent child like Heidi? And to what end..? To ease his own guilt? Outwardly Otto showed little emotion and only his frown and the clenching of his jaw betrayed the battle that was being fought inside the man. He had to make a decision and he had very little time to do so. Face it, Otto. You may be her grandfather, but this is no way to prove that you care for her.

Only now did Otto's eyes actually focus on the Lieutenant and he had clearly completely disregarded the man's words about Claude. Instead his attention was now fully on the Allied officer and the Gestapo officer's black eyes bored into him as Otto tried to sense the true nature of this man. He acted arrogant and cocky, but the Kriminalkommissar had always been a good judge of character, whether foul or commendable. He had tried protecting the girl and it was clear he was not the kind of man who would hurt a child. There was an air of kindness and caring to him when he regarded the girl, although those feelings were now clearly replaced by disgust and hatred towards the Gestapo officer. What it the Lieutenant could take Heidi to safety? She would be in a safer place, away from Nazis, away from Strumfelder and safe from the prejudices that had taken over the country Otto called his own. It pained Otto that he was not so sure of his mission anymore and he rarely felt that way about anything. This was the first time he had come face to face with such a complicated and personal matter - he could not solve it the way he usually would. Previously he had trusted on the laws of the Reich and upholding and guarding those laws had been the driving force behind his actions most of his life. He had already circumvented the laws more than he cared to admit, all because of this girl. No, he would have to base this decision on what he felt was the right thing to do.

He already knew what it was.

"Lieutenant," Otto's mouth felt dry when he finally spoke and he found it difficult to find his voice at first, making his initial words come out as a hoarse whisper. "When you found the girl... Where would you have taken her? I understand that she would be safe and well taken care of.. should she end up behind your side of the lines?" the tall man stood in front of the Lieutenant proudly, but his expression was somewhat strained, as if posing the question caused him either pain or discomfort.

[Nicholas Ealing]

OOC: Bleh. Another short post. Pathetic, I know.

"Lieutenant…When you found the girl... Where would you have taken her? I understand that she would be safe and well taken care of.. should she end up behind your side of the lines?"

Nicholas observed the Gestapo officer, anger, defiance and curiosity vying for supremacy on his chiselled features. “I don’t know,” he answered, his mouth jumping to attention before his brain could protest. “I wasn’t going to cut her up into little pieces and throw her into the Atlantic, if that’s what you’re worrying about.” The ghost of a smile flickered across his face. “I would have taken her back to base, given her something to eat, a place to sleep. And then…when she recovered…I don’t know. Asked her about her home, her parents, that sort of thing. Found out where her family lived and…taken her back. Hopefully in a slightly more aerodynamic contraption than this,” he added, giving the plane’s bodywork a good-natured tap.

He still didn't quite consider himself to be a soldier, not really. In his mind's eye, he was still the nervous, scrawny volunteer he had been six years earlier. Just a volunteer. A fresh-faced schoolteacher, a man who should be holding a ruler, not a revolver. But war...

You don't get to make choices in war. That's not what war's for.

“We’re not supposed to even be here,” he said, speaking more or less to himself. “Plane just…went down. American engineering, eh?” He smiled sadly. With every second, his impending capture seemed to grow even more inevitable. Backup wasn’t coming. It never did. And now his men were going to pay the price. “Do you have any medics with you?” he said suddenly, addressing the nameless gentleman. “For my friend. Just a…bandage will do. He’s lost a lot of blood…”

This much was true. It was only now that Nicholas realised how much blood was seeping from the ugly gash on Dalton’s forehead. Poor bugger, Nicholas thought to himself. He glanced back up at his captor. "Look after her, won't you?" he said absently.

The raven was still there. It almost seemed to be smiling.

[Otto Wolff]

OOC: Sorry for the long and messy post, I was trying to wrap up things here....

Yet more poisoned words from the Lieutenant. Otto was hardly surprised and he regarded the man silently, unflinching - his venom was wasted on him. More important matters were occupying the German officer's mind right now and Otto started paying the man more attention only once he answered the question about Heidi's fate more seriously. He would find her parents and take her back? Well, there was a barrel of laughs. "I doubt you would want to take her back to her family, seeing as her mother is in Germany and does not really care about her child. No, she would need another place to grow up. Definitely somewhere outside Germany," the man noted, glancing at the raven-haired child. He knew quite well that his words were contradicting enough, he had just said that he was the girl's grand-father, but it mattered little what the Lieutenant was to understand and what not. Otto saw things much more clearly now and he knew that were he to bring Heidi with him back to Berlin, the child could never live a comfortable, normal life. No, she would be safer elsewhere. Happier, too.

When the Lieutenant questioned Otto about medics, the Gestapo officer shook his head. "No such luck, I'm afraid. But this is an airplane, they should carry first aid kits somewhere... unless the Allied forces are totally incompetent, after all," Otto remarked with both amusement and scorn. He had no interest in the fallen soldier or his survival and time was of the essence. "I'm sure you will find one on your own. Now, there is something else about the girl-" Otto's words were interrupted by the commotion outside and Brenner stepped into the doorway just when a shaky SS-Schütze was about to barge in. "Was ist es jetzt?" Brenner asked testily, he was not feeling too comfortable about any of this. The young German soldier breathed out before answering. "Die alliierte Truppen, sie bewegen sich in in diesem Augenblick, sie sind fast hier. Sturmscharführer Weisfeld sagt, dass wir die Gefangenen sammeln und uns zu Verteidigungspositionen in diesem Augenblick bewegen müssen!"

Brenner glanced back at Otto, who merely raised a hand at him. The younger Gestapo officer regarded the Schütze again and nodded. "Wir werden dort bald sein. Gerade Dinge hier beendend," Brenner said in a low and steady voice, but Otto could easily tell that his friend was getting nervous. If they were to get caught by the Allied forces, they would be in grave trouble, indeed. Otto wasn't expecting anything less than multiple grueling interrogations and a swift execution after - not really something he had planned on experiencing, for certain.

Quite unexpectedly, the tall Gestapo officer's hand went for his Luger and he pulled the pistol out, his dark eyes focusing intently on the Lieutenant again. "Do not make a move," the man warned in a low voice, glancing towards the doorway once again. Instead of pointing the gun at the enemy officer, the Kriminalkommissar aimed the Luger at one of the cushioned seats of the aircraft. Two very loud shots rang in the confined space of the airplane, rendering everyone inside nearly deaf for a good moment. Otto let his hand relax, Luger still in hand, waiting for his hearing to return before speaking again. "You are dead now, Lieutenant. At least try to act like it and do not run out of the aircraft while the Waffen-SS is still waiting outside," Otto raised a set of dark eyebrows and Brenner stared at his superior in disbelief. He was letting the Allied officer go.

"Do not think I hold any sympathy for you, Lieutenant," Otto remarked sharply. "The girl needs a safe place to go and it is your task to see that she is taken care of and well provided for. She is.. She won't be safe in Germany, she must find a place to stay elsewhere," the man's voice drifted off slightly when he glanced at Heidi. It would be better for her this way, Otto could not keep her under lock and key in Berlin forever. "Just make sure she gets out of here safely. And tell her-" Otto's words were interrupted by the steady rumble if fighter engines, the sound slowly and surely growing in volume as the Allied fighters started closing in on their destination. "Otto- Herr Kriminalkommissar, sie sind bereits hier!" Brenner remarked from the doorway. "Wir müssen uns beeilen!"

With a somewhat pained expression, Otto took one more glance at the girl and then at the Allied officer. "Lieutenant," the Gestapo officer said in a low voice, veering around and starting towards the doorway of the aircraft as the sound of engines and the shouts from outside became all the more distinct. Brenner shook his head, looking both exasperated and skeptical at the same time. "Alle Mühe war umsonst?" the man asked grudgingly and the lament inside Otto burst into a sudden flame of rage. "Ich bin nicht dabei, Strumfelder sie finden zu lassen! Jetzt, geh endlich los, gehe!" the Kriminalkommissar growled, pushing Brenner out of the aircraft and stepping outside just in time to see the chaos that was taking place.

The Allied forces had moved closer swiftly and Sturmscharführer Weisfeld had trouble keeping his men in control. Some of them had been getting ready for a fight while some figured that it would be best to just shoot the prisoners and retreat quickly. Weisfeld had managed to get the situation in control with sharp commands, but things fell completely apart when the Allied aircraft showed up. Two Curtiss P-40's roared in closer and targeted the Axis forces further apart from the fallen American airplane. Soldiers scattered for safety as bullets whizzed through the air and the Allied prisoners huddled closer to the plane for a while, starting to flee as soon as they noticed the window for escape. Some of the soldiers from Waffen-SS opened fire on the escaping prisoners and some merely made their way towards the tree line to escape from the Warhawks.

Otto stared at the scene for a moment, Luger still in hand, spotting Weisfeld frantically shouting orders at his men and telling them form up for defense. The Allied reinforcements were moving in fast, but the appearance of the Warhawks had driven some men into a state of blind fear. "Sturmscharführer! Lassen Sie Ihre Männer sich zurückziehen, es gibt nichts, um hier zu gewinnen, Sie haben bereits die Gefangenen verloren. Zurückfallen!" Otto growled as he walked towards Weisfeld, ignoring the fact that the Warhawks had already made their initial run and that they would attack soon again and with greater accuracy now that the prisoners were making their way back to their allies. Weisfeld turned around to regard the Kriminalkommissar, his blue eyes burning with cold anger. "Ich weiß nicht, wer Sie denken, dass Sie, Herr Kriminalkommissar sind, aber das ist eine Entscheidung, durch den Waffen-SS, nicht die Staatspolizei gemacht zu werden!"

The two men stared at each other for a moment, completely oblivious to the mayhem surrounding them. The grip of Otto's gloved hand on his Luger tightened for a moment, but then the man sneered. "Mach, was du willst, Sturmscharführer. Sie haben bereits die Gefangenen verloren, ich glaube, dass das nur passend ist Sie verlieren Ihre Männer in einem sinnlosen Kampf auch. Lass uns gehen, Brenner." The Gestapo officer's words were useless, because Brenner was already few steps ahead, anxious to get to the safety of the forest. With one final look at the fallen aircraft, Otto spied a black raven taking off from the fuselage of the plane. For some reason the sight made him stop for a moment and he watched as the large onyx bird made it's way to the nearest tree. The eyes of Odin were ever watchful, were they not?

"Otto!" Brenner growled and Otto turned around, holstering his Luger as he followed the other Gestapo agent through the snow and into the forest just as the Warhawks started their next pass.


Translations:

"Was ist es jetzt?"
"What is it now?"

"Die alliierte Truppen, sie bewegen sich in in diesem Augenblick, sie sind fast hier..."
"The Allied reinforcements, they are moving in right now, they are almost here. Sturmscharführer Weisfeld says that we must gather the prisoners and move to defensive positions right now!"

"Wir werden dort bald sein. Gerade Dinge hier beendend."
"We will be there shortly. Just wrapping up things here."

"Otto- Herr Kriminalkommissar, sie sind bereits hier! Wir müssen uns beeilen!"
"Otto- Herr Kriminalkommissar, they are already here! We must leave now!"

"Alle Mühe war umsonst?"
"All this trouble for nothing?"

"Ich bin nicht dabei, Strumfelder sie finden zu lassen! Jetzt, geh endlich los, gehe!"
"I'm not going to have Strumfelder find her! Now, let's get a move on, go!"

"Sturmscharführer! Lassen Sie Ihre Männer sich zurückziehen..."
"Sturmscharführer! Have your men retreat, there is nothing to gain here, you have already lost the prisoners. Fall back!"

"Ich weiß nicht, wer Sie denken, dass Sie, Herr Kriminalkommissar sind, aber das ist eine Entscheidung, durch den Waffen-SS, nicht die Staatspolizei gemacht zu werden!"
"I do not know who you think you are, Herr Kriminalkommissar, but this is a decision to be made by the Waffen-SS, not the State Police!"

"Mach, was du willst, Sturmscharführer..."
"Have it your way, Sturmscharführer. You have already lost the prisoners, I guess it is only appropriate you lose your men in a meaningless fight, also. Come on, Brenner."

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following CP has been issued:

Heidi - 10

Ealing - 12

Wolff - 8

-JT