A Long Story
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 3
Troy awoke to the sounds of the guards marching along the corridor toward the cells. They stopped at his cell and opened his door. Two soldiers rushed him and tied his hands while the others covered him with their weapons. They repeated the process with Moffitt.
Once both sergeants had been secured they were taken from the cell block to Captain Dietrich's office. Major Steinkopt sat at Dietrich's desk. He steepled his fingers and pursed his lips as the two sergeants were brought into the room.
"Did you sleep well Sergeants?"
"Like a baby." Troy grinned. "Captain Dietrich on the other hand looks like he didn't sleep a wink."
The Major glanced at Dietrich and smirked. "The responsibilities of running a base weigh heavy on the Captain."
"Funny." Troy grinned again. "He seemed to sleep just fine before you showed up here Major."
The Major showed his teeth but there was no amusement in his eyes. "Be that as it may, the Captain's health does not concern you."
"Sorry Major, did I hit a sore spot?"
"Sit down Sergeant, both of you." The Major snarled, no longer pretending to be friendly. The officer ordered both sergeants tied to their chairs. He waited until it was done before he rose to walk around the desk. "I am going to ask you some questions, I expect answers."
Troy cocked his head at the Major. "We don't answer to you Major; we don't care what you expect." Troy looked past the Major as Dietrich gave a barely noticeable shake of his head. Frowning, the sergeant turned his attention back to the Major.
The Major was smiling in anticipation. "I expected an answer of that sort." The officer admitted.
"Well there you go, you got what you expected."
"Let me explain how this will work Sergeant." The officer sat on the edge of Dietrich's desk. "I will ask you a question and you will answer." The Major held up a hand as Troy opened his mouth to reply. "Let me finish. I will ask a question and you will answer, or your men will pay the price."
Troy frowned, looking toward Dietrich.
"Don't look at the Captain." The Major snarled. "I am in charge here!"
"It doesn't matter who is in charge." Troy answered quietly. "We can't help you."
"That's unfortunate Sergeant, but perhaps Lieutenant Hoatz can change your mind. Lieutenant!"
At the Major's call there was a scuffle in the hall. The lieutenant from the night before strode boldly into the room. Behind him four guards manhandled Tully between them.
Tully struggled until he saw his sergeants. As soon as he saw them he stood on his own and allowed the guards to push him to one side of the room. He looked around but he didn't see his fellow private.
"Where's Hitch?"
"Hitch?"
"My other man." Troy growled.
"He's safe for now sergeant. We only have need of one of your men at a time."
Troy didn't like the sound of that but he didn't ask any more questions. He glanced over at Tully and Tully winked at him. There was blood on Tully's shirt and some dried on his face. A dark bruise on his cheek was mute testimony to previous abuse.
The guards tied Tully's hands to a support beam in the ceiling, leaving him just enough rope to touch the floor with his toes. They stepped back and looked at the Major for further instructions. At an order from the officer one of them picked up a wide leather strap from a sideboard cabinet and positioned himself behind Tully.
"Now Sergeant, I believe we are ready. My first question is a simple one. How many men are stationed at your present base?"
Troy glanced at Tully and frowned.
The Major barked an order and Troy flinched as the strap cracked against Tully's back.
"Sergeant?"
The strap cracked again as Troy clamped his lips shut. The question was repeated over and over. Tully grunted through the first round of hits, them he screamed through the next ones. He was back to grunts now when he responded at all.
"Enough!" The Major yelled. "You are a very stubborn man Sergeant, or perhaps the Captain is wrong and your men mean nothing to you."
Troy glared at Dietrich who had the decency to look ashamed.
"Perhaps it's the other one that you favor." The Major ordered Tully removed and Hitch brought in to take his place.
Troy noted that Hitchcock's wrists were already raw from the ropes. They began to bleed again as Hitch was hung from the beam.
"Again Sergeant, how many men are presently stationed at your base?"
Troy dropped his head and tried to block out the sound as his driver shared Tully's fate. All he could do was repeat his name, rank, and service number over and over.
The beating went on until Hitch passed out and the Germans could no longer wake him no matter how hard they tried. Angry, the Major ordered him returned to his 'cell'.
"The Captain told me you were stubborn." Major Steinkopt walked around Troy until he was standing behind him. "Tell me what I want to know or your men will suffer even more serious injuries."
"They are prisoners of war." Troy growled angrily. "This goes against all the rules of war."
"Bah! No one follows those silly rules." The Major declared. "Besides, no one will ever know why you gave us the information."
"What information?" Troy demanded angrily. "So far you've got nothing!"
"So far Sergeant." The Major agreed. "But today is only the first day. How long can your men hold out before they die? How long can you sit there and watch them suffer? You Americans are a weak lot; you put far too much value on an individual life. These methods would never work on a German officer. I suppose I should warn you Sergeant; Lieutenant Hoatz has many ways to cause pain, and he's very good at keeping a prisoner alive for another round."
"I can't tell you anything Major. If I have to let every single one of my men die to keep our secrets, I will. What I won't do is give you any information about our bases, our troops, or our plans."
"Then you do know the plans your commanders are formulating?" The Major jumped on the perceived information eagerly.
"No." Troy denied. "But I wouldn't tell you even if I did."
"I think you will Sergeant. Once your young men die I will start on your British friend. Can you sit there and watch him die too Sergeant?"
Troy glanced over at Moffitt and nodded. "If I have to, yes." Moffitt smiled at his answer.
"I don't believe you Sergeant. We'll allow your men to rest for a few hours and then we'll begin again. Lieutenant Hoatz has a few new very innovative ideas that he thinks you might enjoy. I'm afraid your men might not find them so enjoyable though." The Major waved at the prisoners and ordered them returned to their cells.
After the sergeants were removed he flopped down on the chair behind Dietrich's desk and fumed. "He will not answer our questions yet but he will not hold out forever. Perhaps after the privates die he will rethink his position."
"He won't talk, not even to save his men." Dietrich stated calmly. "I told you, none of them will tell you anything."
"They will!" Major Steinkopt shouted. "They will talk or they will all die slow, painful deaths."
"You have already told them that you plan to kill them after they talk." Dietrich reminded him. "What incentive do they have to cooperate?"
"They will talk to me or I will turn them over to the Gestapo. There are several Gestapo agents in the area at present; if the Sergeant continues to be stubborn I will have no choice but to release them to the SS for questioning. Believe me Captain, they will talk, and then they will die."
Dietrich shuddered at the methods used by the Gestapo. While he wanted to see Troy defeated, even that desire did not warrant such drastic and cruel methods. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Dietrich sought a way to escape from the Major's company.
"If we are done here for the moment Major, I need to check on my men. The doctor at the hospital was uncertain if several of them would survive, I would like to see if that diagnosis has changed."
"Of course Captain, I am certain that you have plenty of duties to keep you busy. I myself will check on the prisoners and Lieutenant Hoatz and I will determine a plan of action for later today. Plan to rejoin us after you've eaten, we can't allow the prisoners too much time to rest between sessions."
"As you wish Major." Dietrich fled the room as quickly as he could while still maintaining his dignity.