The obscurity of the dimly lit room and the cold, dank air made Liesl shiver as Johannes and Ludwig carried her down a narrow stairway to the cellar of the Third Reich headquarters. She sat stiffly in Johannes' grasp and the soldier dug his fingers into Liesl's back as he supported her weight in his arms.
"Too bad the Trapp Villa is still being rearranged to our liking or we'd have put you there. I'm sure you would have preferred to be someplace familiar," the Nazi said smugly.
Ludwig sniggered behind them. "Your father would be so proud, hmm?"
Liesl felt a lump form in her throat, but merely closed her eyes and urged herself to not cry out with despair. However, when Johannes jerked her to the side and caused her injured foot to hit against the concrete wall, she couldn't refrain from wincing in pain. Liesl felt tears well in her eyes as her foot throbbed, but bit her lip and forced herself not to succumb. Still bound at the wrists and mouth, she did not have much rebuttal against the Nazis' careless movements and intimidating comments. Instead, she focused her mind on remaining strong and trying to ignore their torments.
The group went through a low doorway into a dark room and Ludwig felt around for the light cord. He pulled the string, illuminating a single light bulb that hung from the ceiling.
Johannes placed Liesl to her feet. He grabbed her upper arm and pushed her forward, forcing her to walk. Liesl followed her orders, despite the pain in her ankle, and was led to a single chair.
"Sit down."
She obeyed.
"Ludwig, go find Grüber and Schuhmacher. I'll stay here with the girl," Johannes ordered.
Ludwig nodded his head in response. "Keep her entertained," he replied with a smirk and an evil laugh. Ludwig continued to stand still, amused at the girl's fearful reaction as his comrade walked towards her.
"I intend to." Johannes stooped down so that his face was level with Liesl's and he grasped her chin between his two fingers. With his other hand, he stroked her cheek with feigned gentleness while staring unrelentingly into her worried eyes.
"Such a pretty face," he whispered while continuing to stroke her cheek.
Liesl inhaled sharply at the soldier's sickening touch and lowered her eyes to her lap. Ludwig and Johannes filled the small room with their gruff laughter, amused that they could intimidate the girl so easily. In their minds, a true sign of her naiveté and weakness.
Ludwig turned and walked toward the doorway. He opened it to leave and then turned around once more to face his companion. "Keep the cloth over her mouth. Wouldn't want anyone to hear her cry out, would we?"
Johannes tightened his grip on Liesl's chin and moved his face closer to her so that his forehead was practically touching her brow. "No we wouldn't," he said in a threatening tone. He pushed her chin with his hand in a rough manner, causing her face to jerk to the side.
Ludwig let out a bout of low, despising laughter and turned around to leave the room.
Liesl could feel her pulse quickening and her heart racing, yet she urged her mind to calm, telling herself that the soldiers wouldn't really disobey their leader. However, she still felt intimidated by their threats and advances. Even if she tried not to outwardly show her worry, Liesl knew that nobody was here to make sure they followed their orders; a thought that she feared very much.
The door slammed as Ludwig left and with one last glance at Liesl, Johannes rose and crossed to the far end of the room. He turned his back to her, lit a cigarette and then began to thumb through a pile of documents on a desk. He remained in this stance until he finished smoking. After grinding the end of his cigarette into a filthy ashtray, he turned around and again approached Liesl.
She could smell the stale smoke that lingered on his clothing and breath as Johannes crouched down towards her. Liesl felt her pulse quicken as he reached forward and began to twirl a strand of her hair between his fingers. She inhaled sharply and felt a knot form in her stomach when Johannes' other hand moved to the side of her neck and began tracing circles behind her ear.
Joahnnes leaned his face close to Liesl, practically touching his lips to the cloth that bound her mouth. "You're teasing me with that pretty face. I know you wouldn't tell anyone if we disobeyed, would you?" he threatened.
He swept his hand down Liesl's neck and let it linger on her collarbone, before moving his other hand to her knee and running his fingers across her flesh. His thumb and index finger fondled the end of Liesl's slip as it peeked out from underneath her skirt.
"Does the Captain know his daughter is such a flirt?" Johannes whispered to Liesl as he returned his hand to her knee.
Liesl felt her heart racing and her hands trembling at the implication. She exhaled deeply, forcing the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach to subside and her ire to grow. Suddenly, she thrust her bound arms downward, slamming Johannes' hand away from her leg. She heard it hit against the hard, metal chair.
"Damn!" Johannes spat, shaking his hand with fury to try to alleviate the pain.
Johannes glowered at her and clicked his tongue in scornful response. "Not a smart move at all." He lunged forward and slapped Liesl across the face.
"Get away from me!" she shrieked, a sound barely comprehensible due to the tightness of the cloth around her head. Her eyes glared with hatred and her face stung from the blow.
Johannes reached forward and grasped a handful of her skirt in his palm, kneading the material contemplatively. Liesl kicked her leg upwards, knocking his hand away from her skirt. Despite her injured ankle, she managed to get to her feet and tried to move toward the other side of the room; however, the Nazi grabbed her hair and forced her to turn around to face him once more.
"I wouldn't do anything else stupid if I were you. You haven't even seen my temper yet," Johannes scowled.
Liesl winced as the soldier tightened his grip on her hair and pulled her face closer to his. She pursed her lips and glared at her tormentor, noting that her breathing had become erratic in her fury and that her heart continued to race.
Voices at the door interrupted Johannes' concentration and he glanced upwards toward the entrance. It was pushed open and Ludwig entered first, followed by two other Nazi soldiers. Liesl was still in Johannes' grasp but was abruptly pushed downward toward the chair as the others turned to face them.
When the threesome shut the door behind them and stepped into the light, Liesl let out a gasp. Standing in front of her, staring wide-eyed and speechless at his charge was Rolf Grüber.
"Do you know her, Grüber?" Ludwig mocked upon seeing the boy's reaction to Liesl.
Rolf stared at Liesl for a second more and then narrowed his eyes with feigned indifference. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Thought I did, but I was wrong. I might have delivered a telegram to her father once or twice, so maybe that's why she looks familiar."
Liesl felt sick; as if she couldn't breathe.
"Bet you'd like to know her. Pretty little thing, isn't she?" Johannes asked with a wicked smile.
Rolf glanced once more at Liesl and his eyes softened for a moment, only to be replaced by a contrived stoic appearance. He nervously wiped his hands on his sides, but returned his gaze to Johannes upon hearing his name.
"Grüber?"
"She is. Even with that over her mouth," Rolf agreed hesitantly while motioning to the cloth on Liesl's mouth. His voice caught slightly as he spoke and he cleared his throat loudly, causing Liesl to glance upwards toward him.
Johannes snickered at her action and approached Liesl from behind, placing his hands on her shoulders and lightly running his hands through her hair. Rolf stiffened at the gesture, but forced himself to keep his eyes on the soldier.
"I'm sure she'll tease you just like she did to me while we were alone, didn't you, young lady?" Johannes retorted. He crouched down at Liesl's side and ran his fingers over her cheek.
Liesl closed her eyes for a second and then stared straight ahead, urging her mind to ignore the soldier's torments. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she sensed the onlookers watching her.
Rolf looked at Liesl nervously.
"Who are you kidding, Müller?" he questioned Johannes. "She's not old enough to even know what you're talking about."
Johannes raised his eyebrow at Rolf and stood up, his attention diverted from Liesl for a moment.
"Not old enough, hmm?" Johannes repeated. "You understand, don't you, Grüber? You're about the same age as she is." He let out a mocking laugh and glanced at the others with amusement.
Rolf placed his hands behind his back and absently kneaded his fingers together. He glanced around at the three guffawing soldiers and caught another glimpse of Liesl, bound at the mouth and wrists, staring into her lap out of fear and embarrassment.
"If you don't, I'd be happy to explain it to you," Johannes continued with scorn.
"Funny, Müller," Rolf said sarcastically.
Johannes approached Rolf and placed both hands on the younger boy's shoulders. "Or maybe Schuhmacher can fill you in on the details? He'll explain the basics to you. Maybe you'll need it someday," Johannes taunted.
The two soldiers glared rigidly at each other for a moment before Rolf broke the concentration. Johannes continued to stare at Rolf, although the boy's eyes kept diverting from making contact with his superior.
Ludwig and Hans Schuhmacher stood in the corner watching the scene with amusement. They sniggered at Johannes' degrading comments and practically fell over with laughter at Rolf's naïve response.
Ludwig decided to break the silence. He walked over to Johannes and patted him firmly on the back. "Let's get out of here. The Gauleiter wants us in his office for a few minutes. Schuhmacher and Grüber can handle the girl for the night."
Johannes glanced once more at Rolf and then turned to Ludwig, motioning towards the door with his head. "Let's go."
The duo turned to leave and stood in the open doorway when Johannes turned around a final time. He smiled an evil grin at Liesl. "I'll see you soon."
Liesl felt her cheeks grow red with fury and forced herself to move her gaze to her lap until she heard the door slam shut. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she would not have to deal with Johannes for the rest of the night. Looking upwards, Liesl saw that Schuhmacher had approached the desk across the room and had picked up a cigarette.
She turned her head to the side and found Rolf looking at her with shame and pity. She met his gaze for a moment and felt tears well in her eyes, yet she continued to stare at him through the moisture that clouded her vision. When she saw him reluctantly turn away, Liesl kept looking at him with disbelief and took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves.
"Grüber, you got a light?" Schumacher called from across the room.
Rolf moved his gaze to Liesl once again and just as quickly turned away from her tear-filled stare. He reached in his pocket and fumbled around for a lighter.
"Did you hear me?"
Rolf pulled the lighter from his pocket and stood to his feet. "Sure, I've got one. Here." With one final glance at Liesl, Rolf held the lighter in his palm and crossed the room to Schuhmacher.