A/N: Hey all. Thank you for your messages and follows. I appreciate it!
Here's the next chapter. Reviews make for happier days. Enjoy.
I woke to the warmth of the sun hitting my face through the window. I sat up, still holding the photo of Roe. I took one last look at it before folding it up and placing it inside my coat pocket next to my breast. I didn't want to leave it behind for someone to take or destroy. It would never leave me as long as I could help it.
I stood up, straightening my coat as I headed for the door. When I opened the door, I was greeted by the familiar faces of Fritz and Styne who both smiled warmly at me.
"Ready for another day?" Fritz asked.
I shrugged. "Like I have much choice."
He motioned for me to walk in front of him as we headed down the stairs. Once again, the moment my foot came off the last step, I could hear Utzig call out to me. I turned and headed towards his desk.
Utzig motioned to my camera and the film that sat next to it. "Don't disappoint me."
I picked up the items and started to load the camera with the fresh film. As I was working on that, I happened to glance at his desk. There were new pictures sitting before him. I froze.
He glanced up at me to see that I was staring down at the photos. He asked, "See something familiar?"
I shook my head and he turned the pictures around so that I could see them better.
They were dark. Clearly taken in the middle of the night, but you could make out white spots in the background as well as some white streaks in the sky. It finally dawned on me what I was looking at. I had taken pictures of D-Day from the boat that held the officers. I wasn't even sure any of them would turn out, but I distinctly remembered taking these photos.
Utzig noticed that I had a moment of clarity on my face. "Mind explaining to me what this is?"
I blinked away from the photos. "It's a barrage."
"No. I think not."
I furrowed my brow at him.
He stood up and said, "Don't lie to me, Jane. It's unbecoming. Tell me the truth."
I sighed slightly as I noticed the soldiers in the corner start to inch towards us, almost as if they were ready for the order to shoot me. I replied, "It's from the shores of Normandy."
He nodded. "I thought as much. I recognized some of the buildings in the background."
"What buildings?" I asked.
He reached down and picked up a small magnifying glass. Holding it out to me, he pointed to the picture. I took the glass and looked. Sure enough, under the microscopic lens, you could make out bunkers that were being illuminated slightly from the barrages.
I handed the magnifying glass back to him. "I had no idea that was there."
"I know. But it does tell me that perhaps you aren't being as honest with your answers as I would have hoped. Don't do it again."
I watched as he sat back down at his desk and continued his work. He never looked back up at me again, and the soldiers stood their ground, still waiting orders should they come.
I didn't give them a chance to hear any. I turned and left the building, finishing putting the film in the camera as I started to wonder what was in store for me next.
That afternoon, I watched as a couple officers in dress uniform pulled up in a Jeep. They were talking rapidly and laughing with one another. Without them knowing, I was already beginning to take pictures of them. It seemed almost familiar between the two of them, perhaps they were childhood friends catching up with one another, or maybe they just became good friends over the course of the war. Whatever the reason, they were close and you could tell just by watching them interact. It was almost as if there was no war, no hate, and they were just living life as we were all meant to.
Suddenly, one of them pulled out a pocket watch and looked at it. Upon seeing the time, the man motioned to the back of the Jeep. He pulled out a box and his friend helped hold the items as they came out of the box. I couldn't tell what they were doing until the first man finally put the box back into the backseat of the Jeep.
In the gloved hands of the officers was a delicate tea cup and saucer. I furrowed my brow and lowered the camera from my face. I found myself having a difficult time believing that these men were actually having tea. They poured the tea from a thermos and continued chatting away like civilized people. I continued taking my pictures of them at that point.
When they were finished with their tea, the men put the cups and saucers back into the box, tucking it safely into the Jeep before heading inside a nearby building. I turned to Fritz and asked, "Since when do you guys have tea?"
"We're still people, Jane. We always have tea if we can," he replied.
"How come you didn't have tea?" I asked.
He chuckled. "I'm working."
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.
He added, "I'm not an officer and therefore I don't have the privilege to do so."
Looking around and realizing there wasn't much to take pictures of, I sat down next to Fritz on the fountain ledge. "How long do you think I'm going to have to do this?"
Fritz shrugged. "As long as it takes, I suppose."
"What does that even mean?" I asked.
"Utzig is looking for something, I don't know what, but whatever it is, it must be important. If he fails to find whatever it is that he is being ordered to find, or if you don't tell him what he wants to know, they may bring in someone else to force it out of you."
"I don't even know what he wants from me," I complained.
He nodded. "I know, but that won't matter to the person they send in to get it from you."
"I don't even remember much of anything. Don't they understand that?"
"I don't think it's going to matter much to them. You're a prisoner. They all say that they don't know or they don't remember. I don't think they will care or listen until you say something they want to hear," he stated.
"And if I lie?" I asked.
"You die."
I glanced over at him. "Are you serious?"
He nodded. "I've seen it happen - and not just to prisoners, but to our own men."
I thought about everything he had said. It dawned on me just how serious this situation was becoming. I needed to ask Utzig exactly what he wanted from me before they brought in this other person because from the sounds of what everyone around me was saying, I wouldn't be having an easy time with them here as I had so far.
Fritz said, "You better keep taking pictures. You're running out of time."
His words echoed within my very being. You're running out of time. Even though he only meant what time I had left for the day, I felt that the message was more like running out of time for my life.
