War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 276

Chapter 23

“N

ot worth the trouble shooting these bitches, lads.”

Tears of relief filled Lotte’s eyes as the man holding her stepped back and lowered his pistol. She unsteadily straightened her back, her gaze falling on Gerlinde, who stood against the wall, her eyes round and nervous red dots heating her cheeks.

She wanted to walk over and comfort her friend, but thought it prudent not to move, lest the tension in the room stirred again and one of the agitated soldiers did something everyone would later regret.

“Yeah, Eddie, not worth the bother, mate.” His pals slapped him on the back and walked him out, breathing an audible sigh of relief. The situation had escalated way over their heads and neither the soldiers nor the two women had known how to get out of this self-created mess.

Just seconds after the door closed, it opened again and the soldier who’d kept silent all throughout the upheaval returned, giving them a stare that was difficult to interpret. “You’d better come with me, before something else happens.”

Lotte nodded, and she and Gerlinde followed him like the sweetest puppies to a cell. As soon as he had locked the door and they were alone in the cell, Gerlinde turned around, glaring daggers at Lotte. The normally gentle woman trembled with unabated fury and pointed her index finger at her friend.

“You! How stupid are you, Alex?” Gerlinde’s voice turned into a high-pitched shriek. “I told you to keep your big trap shut, but no, you had to mouth off. You nearly got yourself killed. And me too!”

“I’m sorry.” Lotte hunched her shoulders, intensely studying her toe-caps.

“Look at me, when I’m berating you! What were you thinking by provoking them? I’m sure we could have sweet-talked them out of their proposal, but no, you chose to insult their manhood. Don’t you have the slightest idea how to deal with a man?”

“I guess I don’t.”

“Never in my life should I have embarked on this crazy adventure with you. I’m done with you and your antics.” Gerlinde’s shoulders sagged and she turned her face away, making the guilt flow over Lotte with a surge of power.

“Please don’t think that way.” Hot tears pricked the back of her eyes and she couldn’t hold them back. Her friend meant the world to her. And now her weakness of character – the one she had believed she’d conquered – had caused a rift in their friendship.

For years Lotte had worked so hard to keep her bullheadedness under control. She’d vowed to think first and do later, to always ponder the consequences of her actions and never act rashly again. And once again, she’d lost her wits and had steamrolled over the soldiers, making things worse – for everyone.

“Forgive me. It will never happen again, I promise.” Lotte took a step toward Gerlinde, but her friend backed away.

The tragic expression on her friend’s face sent a pang of regret through Lotte. “Oh, Alex, will you never learn?”

“I have learnt my lesson.” Lotte protested. “I will never put you at risk again or get us into trouble. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll get us out of this. I promise.”

“Sometimes I don’t know who you are.” Gerlinde sighed deeply. “I see this stranger and she scares me.”

Lotte shivered from the impact of Gerlinde’s words.

You truly don’t know who I am. Because I’m not Alexandra Wagner. There’s so much I want to tell you but can’t

. For a moment she hesitated, ready to spill the beans and tell her friend everything. The whole sorry truth of the mess her life had become. Starting with the stint that had sent her straight into a concentration camp, the fact that she’d been a spy for the British – the same army she had been running away from since Gram.

It was useless to try and make her understand. Gerlinde didn’t possess the gene of rebellion. In contrast to Lotte, she never felt the urgency to strive for justice, the overwhelming need to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, the enthusiasm to do what was right. Lotte shrugged, abandoning the desire to bare her soul.

“What now? Thinking about your next misdeeds?” Gerlinde asked with such a tired tone it only fortified Lotte’s decision not to tell the sordid truth. Not now anyway. She’d wait for a more suitable opportunity. When they weren’t holed up in a cell and when Gerlinde wasn’t spitting mad at her for almost causing their demise.

In the evening, the guard brought them food and they attacked the plates like hungry lynxes, ravenously devouring the contents. Their appetites sated, the women lay down on the two cots in their small cell.

“Promise you won’t make it a habit to end up in a prison cell?” Gerlinde asked in a conciliatory tone.

“I promise.” Memories of the time in Warsaw when the Gestapo had arrested her came flooding back to Lotte and she fondly thought of Johann, her knight in shining armor. She had loved him before, but after what he’d done for her then, she’d never stop loving him until the day she took her last breath.

“You don’t happen to know someone who could rescue us, by any chance?” Gerlinde seemed to have read her mind.

“Let me check my address book and get back to you,” Lotte said with a laugh, happy because Gerlinde wasn’t angry with her anymore.

“Come on,

ladies. You made quite the impression yesterday. Colonel Barber wants to have a word.” The warden rattled the bars of their cell door. “Hurry up. You don’t keep the boss waiting.”

Lotte jumped from the cot, straightening her dress and finger-combing her hair even as she slipped into her boots and walked to the door. She couldn’t have a bath and put on some clean clothes, but she wanted to look as presentable as possible. This Colonel Barber was probably poised to decide their fates.

Thus prepared, the two women followed the warden down the hallway with pounding hearts and sweaty palms. He led them into a large, furnished room that seemed to be the colonel’s office. Moments later two soldiers from yesterday’s fiasco entered the room.

“What are these two ladies accused of?” Colonel Barber asked, sitting at his desk.

The taller of the two soldiers nervously put a file down in front of his superior, and remained standing at attention with his comrade. The colonel scanned the pages of the file and looked questioningly at the two men, who stood straight as a rod, eyes ahead, feet together and arms at their sides.

“I heard there was an ugly incident yesterday, but these notes don’t tell me much,” Barber remarked, looking at the men over his glasses. “Perhaps you’d like to enlighten me, Private Briggs? I believe you were there and witnessed the event.”

The men didn’t move, but Lotte noticed the discomfort creeping into their eyes. One of the others must have snitched, or how did the colonel even get wind of what had happened? She’d expected them to keep their mouths shut tight, as their behavior hadn’t been up to protocol. And judging from their sweat-covered foreheads they knew it.

“Well, sir, it’s like the report states,” the man called Briggs mumbled and jumbled his words as he tried to rush his explanation. “These two ladies became difficult and had to be restrained, sir.”

“And you, Private Fallon?” The colonel fixed his piercing stare on the soldier who’d held his pistol to Lotte’s neck. “Did you find these ladies challenging in some way that required the use of your weapon?” He glanced at the fragile women, who didn’t look in the least bit threatening to a strong man.

“Yes, sir, out of hand they were, these two lasses.” Fallon squirmed under the colonel’s icy stare. “Look like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths right now, sir, but they were a couple of wild furies yesterday.”

“I see. And it took four of you to subdue these two women?” Colonel Barber asked sarcastically.

“They’re Nazi spies, trying to cross the border illegally. Told a pack of lies, they did. You can’t believe a word they say, sir,” Fallon answered.

“Please give Charlie a shout-out for three cups of tea, will you, Private Briggs?” the colonel instructed. “And remain in the room while I question the ladies.”

“Ladies, what do you have to say in your defense?” he asked Lotte and Gerlinde, who stood quietly at the opposite side of the desk.

Now or never.

This might be her only chance to make up for her rash behavior the day before.

“Sir, it is correct, we were German prisoners of war,” Lotte spoke boldly. “Under the laws of the Geneva Convention, we must be treated humanely, with respect for our persons and our honor.”

The three cups of tea arrived and the colonel took one and signaled Charlie to give the surprised women a cup each, while the men stood at attention in stunned, angry silence.

“You are quite right, Fräulein,” Colonel Barber agreed. “Are you saying you have not received proper treatment?”

“No, Sir, we have not. The abysmal treatment at Gram was the very reason we escaped, to protect our honor and decency.” She cast her eyes downward, partly because she was still ashamed at what had happened to her, but partly, too, to emphasize her point.

“I am sorry to hear this,” he replied. “I will definitely make enquiries into your allegations. And now, perhaps you can enlighten me about what took place between you ladies and my men yesterday?”

“Ladies, my bloody arse! Lying bitches is what they are, sir. Nazi bitches,” Private Briggs snapped. His contorted face flamed a bright red, and the veins on his forehead stood out like knotted vines.

“Private, you do have a flair for dramatics,” the colonel cautioned his infuriated soldier. “Calm down and mind your language, as we have ladies present. Please proceed, Fräulein.”

Lotte didn’t waver under his scrutiny, pondering how to best frame the situation to make the Colonel sympathize with her and Gerlinde. She couldn’t really rely on his moral code, because, although forbidden, forcing oneself on an enemy woman was considered a misdemeanor, a harmless offense that was better left unchallenged.

“Your soldiers entered the room and offered us discharge papers in exchange for sexual favors,” Lotte answered before the courage could leave her. “We declined their offer in no uncertain terms.”

“And that caused the entire commotion?” Colonel Barber asked with an amused smile.

Hot pangs of guilt reminded Lotte of her own outburst that had only served to aggravate the situation. “Not exactly, sir. I may have overreacted and called them names.”

“Names? What kind of names?”

Her ears burning hot with shame, she glanced up and met the colonel’s eyes. “Disgusting pricks,” she mumbled.

“And that caused my men to restrain and threaten you with lethal force?”

Lotte steeled her spine. She’d dug this hole for herself and her friend, she had to climb out of it now. “Sir, I believe it wasn’t until I called them a bunch of rotten unmanly cowards that they saw red.”

He sat very still for a long minute before he spoke again. “My men certainly aren’t cowards. They fought all the way from Normandy to Flensburg against the hideous Nazis. But that doesn’t excuse excessive force and use of weapons.” He seemed more amused than upset by Lotte’s explanations. “They know I won’t tolerate such behavior on my watch.”

“She slapped me, first,” Fallon said, trying to defend himself. But he only made things worse.

“Slapped you? A soldier in uniform? Well, that’s a reason to strike back with your pistol.” Colonel Barber raised one eyebrow, obviously toying with his men. “And why did she slap you?”

“Because he grabbed my breasts,” Lotte answered quickly. “Yes, I slapped this man, because it was a shameful thing to do and a woman has the right to defend herself.”

“Lies, pure lies!” Private Fallon looked at his partner and managed a weak laugh.

A small hand grabbed her elbow and Lotte turned to look into Gerlinde’s pleading eyes, giving her the silent order to stay put. She gave her an almost invisible nod. She regretted her outburst yesterday and had promised to make it up.

“Women usually don't fight an armed soldier, especially not at the border control,” Colonel Barber said.

“My honor was threatened, sir. I had to protest.” Lotte half-heartedly defended herself.

“Honor?” Briggs intervened. “Escaped Wehrmacht auxiliaries you are. You left your honor in Gram, from where you escaped.”

They had left their honor there, all right. But not because they had escaped. Gerlinde put her face in her hands, the shame of that day still haunting her.

“So, you are both escaped Wehrmacht auxiliaries,” the colonel said. It was a statement rather than a question.

“Yes, we are,” Lotte whispered.

“Enemy combatants on the fly. That doesn’t sound good for you. We have a special punishment reserved for those who still oppose us. You know that, don’t you?”

Private Briggs smirked and mumbled under his breath, “Hanged by your neck.”

“Wait!” Lotte cried out. “It was all my idea. Gerlinde, I mean Fräulein Weiler, she had nothing to do with it.”