Chapter 10

Saving the children from a cruel end at Ponary had been only half the battle. Now that he had them in his custody, it fell upon Ludwig to take care of these two little lives, to procure them adequate food, warm clothing, regular access to hygiene, and a safe place to stay. Equally-if-not-more-importantly, he had to protect them from all who would harm them, especially his own men.

Luckily for Arik and Nessa, he was a very powerful man, both socially and physically. So long as he managed to keep their staying with him low-key and explained in ways that minimized suspicion, he figured he had a fairly decent chance of arranging a trip for them out of Lithuania and into the hands of a caring relative or motherly stranger living in far away lands. But there was still plenty of room for things to go tragically wrong. One little slip-up was all it took, and should Hitler get too antsy to speed up his arrival to Berlin the situation was going to get a hell of a lot more complicated regardless. As it was the Führer had told him to hurry. Considering that he could in fact appear by him instantly if he so chose by committing suicide — something which he hated doing, but nonetheless had as a viable option if he could find a private place to do it — he may already be taking too long. Of course, he had no way of knowing for sure if his boss had meant for him to use that rather undesirable method of transportation — Hitler knew better than to outright command him to kill himself when others could be listening in — but he wouldn't put it past him.

The trek back through the Vilnius ghetto was just as miserable as the trip into it had been. Once again reducing the people in his field of vision to faceless, featureless, expressionless ghosts engaged in various nondescript activities in the background, Ludwig guided the children through as swiftly as he could, carrying Arik the whole way and slowing down only for a few seconds at a time to give Nessa a chance to catch her breath. Once or twice morbid curiosity prompted him to look down at the girl's face to gain some insight into how she might be feeling and reacting to the sights and sounds around her.

Her expression was…hard to describe. Sad acceptance beset with worry was the best way to explain it. She was clearly upset, but nothing seemed to shock or surprise her.

Made sense, considering that she and her brother had spent at least the last couple of weeks living here. They'd probably been through a lot in that time, seen and experienced things no child should ever have to see or experience.

At last they were out and walking freely along the footpaths. By now the snow had stopped falling and a few of the clouds had burned off, leaving the sun high and unobscured in afternoon the sky. Nonetheless an icy chill still hung in the air, and Nessa was pale and shivering by the time they reached Ludwig's vehicle.

The blonde nation loaded them both in the front seat with him. They were silent as tombs the entire half hour or so he drove around the streets of Vilnius trying to figure out where the best place to lodge for the night would be. Arik had fallen asleep with his head on his sister's lap under five minutes into the drive — Ludwig suspected he'd been sleeping in his arms for most of the time he'd been carrying him through the ghetto, too — and Nessa was probably either too frightened, too tired, or too overwhelmed to feel that talkative. She spent most of the trip leaning languidly against her door with a subdued, faraway look on her face, occasionally staring at her unlikely rescuer but averting her gaze whenever those intense blue eyes happened to glance her way.

Finally Ludwig decided on a small hotel located far enough away from all the main sites of interest to afford them a greater measure of privacy, yet close enough to a few stores to make shopping for necessities quick and easy. The receptionist at the front desk had been surprised to see two young children with him — two young Jewish children at that, as he could not remove the yellow stars without making all three of them look fishy — but he bought the story of them being needed for interrogation under special circumstances, and after Ludwig proved his identity, paid the fee, and signed in the ledger they were set up with a room.

Room 12, to be exact. Located all the way at the end of the corridor on the first floor, to the left.

This time Arik was going to have to walk. Ludwig had to keep up the façade of heartless SS Obergruppenführer, and anyway the boy's stomach had to be feeling a little better by now. A little mild exercise would do him good.

"March."

"Mhhm?" Arik groaned groggily, looking up at the Nazi with confused, sleep-ridden green eyes.

Ludwig caught his gaze and held it in his own, rigid authority burning strongly behind frosty blue irises.

"He wants us to start walking." Nessa explained hurriedly, a tremor of fear in her voice as she took her little brother by the wrist and pulled him towards the main corridor, "Come."

"Take the lead," Ludwig instructed her, "Room Twelve, all the way down. I'll follow behind."

Following behind better enabled him to watch and protect the children; his PPK was on standby in his inner coat, and he was fully prepared to use it lethally — even against his own officers — if he had to. In all likelihood the need wouldn't arise, but it was far better to be safe than sorry, especially where the Einsatzgruppen and rumors of his possible betrayal were concerned. At this point Ludwig wouldn't put anything past them.

Of course, he would never tell Arik and Nessa that he would kill to keep them safe. The more they believed his little charade of being just another ruthless asshole was real the more convincing it would be. Fear was the healthiest thing in the world for them right now.

Nessa uttered something that sounded like a weak 'Yes sir' and started down the hallway at what for her probably qualified as a brisk pace.

Arik was barely able to keep up.

That Lithuanian must have kicked him harder than I thought. Poor little guy. Ludwig resisted the temptation to pick him up and carry him again. They had such a short way to go — surely he could make it that far.

He could. They reached their room without running into anyone along the way.

Ludwig keyed open the lock and herded his two young charges inside. When everyone was in he shut the door solidly behind them and locked it.

Then he switched on the light and had a look around.

The main room was just as bare and Spartan as he expected, but slightly larger. Bare off-white walls halted at a thin tan carpet that covered the whole floor except a square patch to the immediate left where a small, round wooden table sat surrounded by four modest chairs. A queen-sized bed hugged the far right-hand corner of the room; a more child-fitting full-size version ran along the wall to the far left. The door to the bathroom faced the smaller bed. Apart from the garbage can flanking the table-and-chairs corner, the only other furnishings were a medium-sized nightstand situated near the head of the larger bed and the radio that sat atop it. Everything was flawlessly, immaculately clean, and the beds were made with military-precision. A faint scent of cleaners lingered in the air.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Ludwig liked the clean environment and simple layout. It kept things orderly and efficient, reminded him of his own orderly and efficient forever sparkling-clean home. Shelter secured. Now on to the next order of business, washing these…

"Are…are y-you going t-to…sh-shoot us?" Arik's voice was so small, his question so innocent and heartrending.

Jolted out of his thoughts, Ludwig looked down to see him staring up at him searchingly with impossibly large green eyes, his face ashen beneath a grimy mask of dirt and dried tears. Bedraggled, frightened, worried, and confused, he looked like a like a neglected little lost lamb who had just found shelter from a thunderstorm in the den of a wolf.

"Arik!" Nessa admonished quickly, stepping in front of her brother. Fear glistened wetly in her eyes as she also met Ludwig's gaze. "P-"

Ludwig cut her off abruptly. "Nein." Though his overall expression was stern and serious, subtle little hints of compassion nonetheless flickered about his features, accumulating around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. "Not if you do exactly as I say."

Spoken like a true asshole.

He was only pretending, but his own words disgusted him, made him flinch inside.

The conditional nature of the stark statement drained what little color the children had left in their faces. Arik shrank behind his sister. Nessa swallowed nervously and looked down at the floor.

"You want us to tell you about our parents, don't you?" she half-whispered, her voice despairing and utterly lost.

It was heartbreaking — she'd already lost contact with her parents, and now she was afraid of losing them permanently before she ever got a chance to see them again.

Sadder still, she never would see them again.

A dirty dagger of guilt slashed Ludwig's heart; even though he personally had not been responsible for their deaths, he still felt the blood of Arik and Nessa's parents warm and staining on his hands. He was a Nazi despite his aversion to genocide, a willing slave of the Führer. Sure, he wasn't out there helping his compatriots slaughter Jews, but by fighting on the frontlines he was simultaneously protecting their ability to do it and acquiring new areas in which they could do it.

"Nein. Not yet." He'd eventually have to break the news to them, but it was better to wait until after they were cleaned, clothed in fresh garments, and fed. It'd make things so much easier. "The first thing I want you both do to is take a bath."

Arik's whole face lit up. "A bath?" he trilled, "With warm water, and…and soap?

Ludwig nodded. "Of course. It'd be hard to wash you up otherwise."

Beaming, Arik turned to Nessa. "Hear that, Sis? We get to take a bath!"

Nessa smiled at him frailly before turning back to Ludwig, bowing her head and keeping her body-language deferential. "We're ready when you are, Herr Herrmann."