A Long Story
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 2
Troy and Moffitt were taken to Dietrich's cells and locked up separately. The two privates were separated from them and shoved back into the hallway where they soon disappeared. Troy grabbed the bars and tried to see where his men were being taken but a guard slammed the door at the end of the corridor and glared at him.
"Where are you taking my men?" Troy demanded.
The guard waved his rifle at the sergeant, yelling at him in German.
"Moffitt, what's he saying?"
"He's telling you to be quiet and get away from the bars."
"Ask him where they're taking Hitch and Tully?"
"They won't tell us Troy. I overheard one of the officers tell them to separate us and make sure we don't know where the others are being kept."
Troy glared at the guard, still gripping the bars. The guard used the stock of his weapon to try to smash Troy's fingers against the bars. A second guard appeared at the end of the corridor and watched the first guard and Troy.
"It's no use Troy; we'll have to wait until they relax a bit."
Troy looked at Moffitt and nodded before stepping away from the bars. He grinned at the angry guard who still stood in front of his cell and yelled at him.
"Did you hear anything that would tell you where they took them?"
"No." Moffitt answered. "But this is the only cellblock on the base. They probably want someplace they feel is safe to hold them. I would think they would choose a room with no windows if they had any."
"The storage rooms under Dietrich's office."
"That would be my guess." Moffitt smiled.
Troy nodded and began to pace the cell. "We walked right into this one."
"It would seem that way." Moffitt agreed.
"I should have listened to you."
"You followed orders Troy. Headquarters believed that Intel and they wanted us to get those plans."
"Boggs said it might be false information."
"And headquarters said it was good."
"Don't try to make me feel better Moffitt." Troy growled.
"Don't try to second-guess yourself. It's done Troy. Now all we can do is try to find a way to get out of here and find the others. Then we get off this base and go back and tell headquarters they were wrong."
Troy laughed bitterly. "Yeah, and they'll say we goofed up somewhere and it's all our fault."
Now Moffitt chuckled. "Since when did you ever care what headquarters thought?"
"Yeah." Troy agreed with a sigh.
"You will stop talking!" A voice yelled at them in English.
Troy and Moffitt looked toward the end of the hall where a lieutenant stood shouting at them.
"If you continue to talk you will be bound and gagged." The lieutenant continued once he had their attention.
"Where are my men?" Troy yelled back.
"You'll see them tomorrow." The lieutenant promised with a smile. "You will all be together tomorrow."
Troy and Moffitt looked at each other and Moffitt shrugged. Troy nodded and both men walked to their cots and sat on them. The lieutenant smiled triumphantly and nodded at the guards. Spinning on his heels he left the cellblock and headed for the street. Outside the building he checked on the guards assigned to stand by the door. Satisfied that they were alert and doing their duty, he hurried along the street to another building.
After a guard allowed him to pass he took the stairs to the basement. Another guard snapped to attention as he neared one of the doors.
"Is everything all right?" He asked the guard as he inspected the hallway.
"Yes sir." The guard replied. "The prisoner is secure and he has been quiet."
"Good, open the door, I wish to check on him myself."
The guard took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. The lieutenant allowed his eyes to adjust to the dark before he stepped further into the room. The prisoner was tied to a heavy wooden chair that was in turn tied to a solid wooden table. The gag in his mouth prevented him from speaking but even from across the room the lieutenant could sense the defiance radiating from the young soldier. Taking a flashlight from the guard, he checked on the bindings to be sure that they were secure. There was blood dripping on the floor from the deep abrasions on the prisoner's wrists. The lieutenant smiled at the sight, knowing that no matter how hard they were pulled or twisted, the ropes would hold.
"Sleep tight Private." He smiled. "Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day for you." Chuckling at his own 'gallows' humor, the lieutenant returned the flashlight to the guard and watched as he locked the room again.
Taking a turn in the hall, he followed the path to a second guard outside a second room. Like the first guard, this one's only job was to guard the door behind him. This guard too snapped to attention as the lieutenant approached. At the officer's command he unlocked the door and handed over a flashlight.
This prisoner was also tied to a chair but this chair was fastened to a large file cabinet bolted to the wall. Like his fellow private, this one was gagged. Again the lieutenant checked the ropes, pulling them tighter when he noticed a small bit of slack.
The prisoner grunted with pain but didn't otherwise react. Walking slowly around the bound figure, the officer studied the face in the glare of the beam. He expected to see fear, or at least uneasiness. He saw only defiance in the eyes staring back at him.
"You will not be so defiant tomorrow." He gloated as he stepped in front of the seated prisoner. His foot caught on the prisoner's foot and he stumbled and fell. The guard rushed forward to catch him but the lieutenant snarled at him to stay back. As he pulled himself to his feet he could hear the muffled chuckle behind the gag. Angry and embarrassed, he reacted violently. Drawing his hand back he hit the helpless prisoner across the face.
Blood began to drip from the prisoner's nose but there was still no sign of fear. The lieutenant stepped away, a chill running up his spine as the prisoner glared at him.
"Tomorrow private, tomorrow we will see who laughs last." Stalking from the room, the lieutenant ordered the door locked before he stomped away.
In the darkness of the rooms both prisoners strained against the ropes that held them. The lieutenant's threats hung in the air long after he left. There had been a madness in his eyes that was far more disturbing than any of his voiced threats. They expected to be interrogated; that part went without saying. It had happened before and it would probably happen again. Both men pushed it from their minds as they made every effort to be ready for an opportunity if and when it came. Neither one doubted for a second that the sergeants would be working on a plan to get them all out of the mess they found themselves in. After trying everything they could imagine to no avail, the two young men decided to get as much rest as they could for whatever was going to happen the next day.
