Chapter 24
Gil woke without opening his eyes. He rolled from his side to his back, stretching. He turned to his side again, opening his eyes, watching Adelaide sleep to his left. He sighed deeply, brushing her hair behind her ear. He was worried about her. She wasn't as good as she pretended to be, he knew that. If she were, she wouldn't have let him be the first to wake up. She'd be gone already. He turned to look at the clock over his shoulder. It was almost 7 am. He closed his eyes with a sigh.
Cort's going to kill me. He wasn't afraid of the boy, but he didn't want to make him, or his mother, angry, though he doubted Margot would be surprised.
He looked back at Adelaide, his gaze drifting down the burn scar that traveled from her shoulder down her right side past her waist, though the worst of it was at her collarbone. Mixed with the burn were scars from shrapnel across her ribs. He touched them gently with another sigh. It was his fault. He sat up, stretching again, his back still stinging from the marks of her nails on his skin. He sighed again. He wasn't proud of himself for the night before. He was desperate, and she was distracting. He'd used her and she'd used him back. He stood, slipping on sweatpants and turned to his uniform which sat in a pile on the floor. He picked up each piece, dusting it off. He sighed, annoyed. He'd need to press it again. He knew he could have it done for him, but he didn't trust anyone else to do a good enough job. He laid the uniform on the dresser, glancing back at Adelaide again. She was still asleep. He looked back at the suitcase where she'd left the syringe and bottles laying on the clothes inside it. He looked at her again, walking up to the bed. He leaned over her, whispering in her ear.
"Adelaide?"
She didn't move. He could see the rise and fall of her breathing still in the rhythm of sleep. He smiled, and walked back to his suitcase, taking the syringe. Just one dose. More was too dangerous. He sighed deeply as the drugs worked almost instantly. He glanced back at Adelaide to see her sitting up, watching him.
"Do you do that every morning?" She asked, her voice almost as worried as her eyes.
He turned away, pausing for a moment before answering, pulling the needle from his arm and slipping everything back into it's hiding place. He nodded finally.
"How long have you been…?"
Gil shrugged, "A few months."
"Every day?"
Gil nodded again, "Not at first… but…" He shook his head, "You don't need to know any of this." He walked back to the bed and grabbed her wrist, almost pulling her up.
She stood, looking up at him, angry, "Really?" She wrenched her wrist free, shaking her head, turning away from him to pick up her dress, slipping it over her head.
"Wait," he stopped her as she turned to leave, taking her hand, "How soon can your family be ready to leave?"
She turned back to him, surprise barely hidden on her face, "You're actually going to help us?"
"I promised I would." Her surprise almost annoyed him. He kept his word.
She nodded slowly, looking up at him, "In this city…" She sighed, swallowing hard, "You just get used to people not keeping their promises."
"Well, I'm keeping mine. I said I'd help you in exchange for information, and that's what I'm going to do. I meet with the general again today. I'll see what I can do. I can't promise that it'll be easy. I need you ready to leave when I say you're leaving. Can you do that for me?"
She nodded, "Ja. We'll be ready."
Gil nodded back, "Good." He let go of her hand, "You should go. If you see Cort…"
"I'll handle my brother," She smiled with a slight laugh, "He's just trying to protect me."
"From me?" Gil smirked again.
"I guess he's smart like that."
Gil laughed, shaking his head, "You're quite a bit of trouble yourself."
She smirked, "I thought that was why you liked me?"
He rolled his eyes with a smile, "You're actually going to get yourself in trouble if you don't get out of here. I'll get in trouble too. I have a meeting to be at in less than two hours. I'll see what I can do for your family there."
She nodded, walking closer up to him again, planting a kiss on his lips, "Danke, Gilbert," she smiled. She leaned up to his ear, whispering, "Reiner Brandt."
He looked down at her, "Is that one of the leaders?"
She nodded once, looking up at him, "One of many. The more you help me, the more I help you."
He nodded, "Isn't that how we agreed this would work?"
She smiled, "Ja. I'm glad you remember. Don't forget that."
He smirked, shaking his head, "Oh I won't."
"Good," she turned, stepping towards the door, "The old train station," she whispered, walking out of the room.
He sighed as she closed the door. He wasn't sure if he loved her or despised her. It didn't matter. He needed her, and she needed him.
He turned back to his uniform with a frustrated groan, taking the iron and board from the corner of the hotel room.
…
GDR stood in front of the door to the meeting room. He had no idea how to ask for Adelaide's family to be sent over the wall. He tried to think of a reason, something he could use, some excuse to get them across. Anything. He didn't think his own request would be enough. He took a deep breath and opened the door, everyone standing and saluting him, except one man, who's back facing him. GDR froze, watching as the man stood, brushing his long tan coat as he turned around, a sickeningly childish smile on his face. GDR felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Well, GDR," Russia smiled, walking towards him, "Are you not going to say 'hello' to me?"
GDR shivered again, trying to force his breathing to steady and his voice to show no hint of fear, "Hallo, Russland," he set his jaw, bringing his shaking hands behind his back, standing up straight. He looked into Russia's violet eyes, trying to force himself not to look away, trying to steady his breath as Russia stepped closer to him.
"Has it been going well, GDR? I trust you have already learned valuable information for me?"
GDR nodded, "Ja. I have a name."
Russia grinned, "Wonderful! Please, come in, and share it with us."
GDR used every bit of willpower he had left not to wince as Russia clapped his arm around his shoulder, leading him to the table. He took his place next to Russia, who sat in the head chair. He looked around at the officers, the general, and glanced quickly back at Russia.
"Reiner Brandt. I have the name, Reiner Brandt."
"What source?"
"One I trust," he wasn't sure if that was entirely true, but it was close enough. He didn't exactly trust her, but he didn't think she had a reason to lie.
"And do you know his location?" Russia's voice was serious with a hint of excitement.
GDR nodded, "The old train station. I can lead you there."
Russia stood, "We will send a team in immediately. GDR, can you recommend soldiers for the job?"
GDR nodded again with a smile, "I can think of a few."
"Perfect. Can they be ready in three hours?"
GDR smirked, "They'd be ready in 30 minutes if I told them to be."
"We'll meet at the base in exactly 3 hours time. GDR, have your men there. As many as you think will be needed."
GDR nodded again, standing, saluting, "Yes, sir," he turned to the door, stepping out into the hall. He took a deep breath after the door was closed, his whole body trembling with fear. He felt sick. Russia was here. He looked at his hands, which shook hard enough to be clearly visible. He closed them into fists, trying to ignore the cold that had sunk into his chest.
He walked down the hall and to the front desk, asking for the car to be brought forward for him. He saw Cort out of the corner of his eye, helping one of the guests take their luggage upstairs. The boy didn't seem to notice him, for which he was grateful. He wasn't really interested in Cort being angry with him. He slipped out the front door to the car before Cort had returned. He kept his eyes down as they drove through the city. He didn't want to see it. He pressed into the inner corners of his eyes with a deep sigh, his hands still shaking. They needed to stop shaking. He could feel the muscles in his shoulders growing tense. He tried to relax, trying to shake off the feeling of dread in his stomach. He wasn't looking forward to Russia babysitting him. His thoughts were interrupted as the car stopped at the base. His soldiers would be waiting for him.
…
GDR walked behind Russia down the dimly lit hallway in the underground of the military base. They'd found Reiner and a few of the other rebels, but not enough of them.
"Thank you, GDR, for volunteering to help me with this," Russia said without turning back to look at GDR, "I've heard you're the best."
GDR smirked. He was the best, but he hadn't exactly volunteered. Poland's terrified face flashed in front of him for a moment. He blinked it away, setting his jaw. He didn't have anything to take. He could deal with it. It was only there for a moment. He stood straight as Russia opened the door. He knew how to be intimidating when he needed to be. He kept his face expressionless but confident, walking into the room slowly, not even looking at Reiner, who was tied to a chair in the room. He smiled as he heard Russia close the door, seeing Reiner shiver. He walked up behind him.
"Reiner, isn't it? Reiner Brandt?"
The man said nothing.
GDR smirked, "That is your name? Isn't it?"
The man still said nothing.
GDR clicked his tongue with a sigh, "You don't want to make this difficult, do you? All I'm asking is your name," he spoke softly, closer to the man's ear, smiling as he flinched away.
GDR stood straight again, pulling another chair from the corner and placing it across from the man, sitting in front of him, leaning back and pulling a cigaret from his pocket. He lit it, letting the smoke hit the man's face, smiling as he turned away.
GDR pulled another cigaret from his pocket, holding it out to the man, "Would you like one?" He noticed the man was shaking. He was practically a kid. He put the cigaret back in his pocket as the man shook his head. "How old are you?" he asked, leaning back in his chair again, resting his ankle on his knee. He looked back at the man, who was still shaking.
The man shook his head, trembling.
"And you are, in fact, Reiner Brandt?"
The man said nothing again.
GDR looked him over with a sigh, taking another deep inhale from the cigaret. He stood, walking around him again. He was barely an adult. He wouldn't be hard to break. GDR turned to his side, kneeling beside him, holding the cigaret in his mouth, unbuttoning the cuff of the man's shirt, pulling up his sleeve.
"W…what are you…?"
"Oh, so you do talk," GDR smiled, looking up at him, "That's good to know, I was beginning to worry." He took the cigaret from his mouth again, blowing smoke into the man's face. "Now, are you Reiner Brandt?"
The man nodded, slowly.
"And how old are you?" GDR stood again.
"N-Nineteen." The man's voice shook, though GDR could tell he tried to steady it.
"You're quite young for a rebel leader, it's almost impressive. You must be tougher than you look."
GDR walked to his other side, repeating the process of rolling up the man's sleeve, smiling as he shuddered again.
"What are you going to do to me?" Reiner asked through grit teeth.
"Only what I have to."
"What do you want?"
"Names, places… anything to help us stop your rebellion. Can't you see you're hurting your country, not helping it?" He sat back down across from Reiner.
Reiner said nothing, "I won't tell you anything," he said, setting his jaw.
GDR took another breath of the cigaret, standing again, walking to Reiner's right side. He put out the cigaret on Reiner's arm, watching as he winced, but didn't cry out. He was mildly impressed. Maybe Reiner could take more than he thought. He leaned in closer to the man's ear, speaking slowly.
"Do you know what 'Verschärfte Vernehmung' means?"
He heard Reiner's breath tremble, and the man nodded, "Ja."
"Good," GDR turned to sit across from him again, looking into his face, "I hope you're also smart enough to realize that it's not always necessary?"
Reiner said nothing, looking away from GDR, still shaking.
"At least, I don't want it to be…" He stood again, walking behind Reiner, "But not as much as you don't." He leaned in closer to Reiner again, putting his hand on the man's shoulder, smirking in satisfaction as he jumped, inhaling sharply, "Because I'm very, very, good at it."
…
GDR walked up the stairs into one of the officer's break rooms. Russia and a few of the other officers were inside talking quietly. He walked to the sink in the small kitchen of the room and started washing his hands, the water running pink.
"Did you get him to talk?" Russia asked, walking up behind GDR.
GDR shivered at Russia's approach but managed to keep his voice steady, "Not yet, but he will. I've barely started."
Russia smiled, "Your officers have been telling me how good you are. I trust I won't be disappointed?"
"Of course not," GDR smirked, looking up at Russia, turning the water off, drying his hands. He looked to his officers, "Make sure Reiner doesn't sleep," he nodded to one of them, "But give him something to eat."
The officer nodded and stood, "Yes, sir," he said and walked out of the room.
Russia leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and looking at GDR. "How tired are you?"
"I'm fine, it's Reiner who needed the rest," he smirked.
"Are you up for another interrogation? I hate asking you to do two at once, but we can't break this one."
GDR shrugged, "It wouldn't be too much for me." He took a glass from one of the shelves and filled it with water. He drank it quickly and turned back to Russia, "Lead the way."
Russia grinned, leading him out the door and back down the stairs. They stopped in front of another large metal door, leading to another empty room with two chairs inside. Russia opened the door.
GDR froze for a moment. A girl was tied to the chair, blood dripping from her fingers, her head bent down so her blood-matted hair covered her face. She looked up slowly as she heard the door creak open.
Adelaide.
A/N: Aaaaaand the plot thickens. Btw, 'Verschärfte Vernehmung' means 'enhanced interrogation'. You all know what that means, and we know Gil is good at it from Poland. We get to see a different side of him here, one that I don't usually see written out. Also, Russia's back, so that's going to make things interesting. Gil can't get away with as much anymore!
So many awesome reviews! Thank you so much! Aspiring Writer, I would love to help! Make an account so I can PM you and we can chat about writing styles! Thank you so much to all the loyal readers and reviewers! You guys are sure keeping my passion for this story alive! For those of you who don't love OCs so much, you can be happy that Russia has returned to make things even more interesting! And, as I've said before, the part of this story that involves OCs is only a small part of the story. Much more to come with the countries once GDR is doing being in Berlin! :D
Reviewers are given cookies and hugs as always! Thank you all again for your support!