Georg straightened his posture and set his chin with indignation as he waited in the main vestibule of the Rathaus for Herr Zeller to arrive. He looked with scorn upon the two soldiers who had been ordered to watch him while Zeller was summoned. Despite their stiff stances and seeming aloof mannerisms, Georg could see that they were both eyeing him with caution and had their hands positioned over their pistols.
In the background, the swinging pendulum of a grandfather clock was the only sound as Georg waited. He listened to the monotonous drone absently; his mind preoccupied with his soon encounter with Herr Zeller.
Suddenly, a door slammed and Georg was startled. He instantly turned around to see Herr Zeller entering, accompanied by Johannes and Ludwig.
"Well, well, well," Zeller greeted with feigned surprise, "If it isn't Captain Von Trapp."
Georg smiled tightly at him and stood still, despite the overwhelming desire he had to grip Zeller by the collar and throw him on the ground. "You have your wish, Herr Zeller. I've come to join you," he said icily.
Zeller raised an eyebrow at the Captain's cold tone and after a moment, took a few steps closer to him. "Manners, Captain. Please," he smiled with arrogance.
"And I could have sworn that you were supposed to join us last night," Zeller continued sarcastically.
Georg set his chin and took a deep breath to calm his ire. He looked Zeller in the eyes and forced himself to be subservient. "Yes, well I'm here now," he said with a cynical half-smile.
Zeller walked towards Georg, patted him on the back, and placed an arm around his shoulder, causing Georg to stiffen with hatred. "I see you've come to your senses, Captain," he said with mock politeness.
For a moment, the Nazi kept his arm around Georg's shoulder in spite. Suddenly, he turned to Ludwig and Johannes and his evil smile dissolved into a broad scowl.
"Disarm him!" Zeller ordered.
Johannes and Ludwig bolted forward and seized the Captain under the arms, one on either side of him. Each Nazi searched him for weapons as Zeller and the two other soldiers looked on.
Georg stiffened at the display, but did not protest, allowing them to perform their task and hoping that they would not discover the pen he had stuck inside the inner lining of his jacket arm.
When they did not find anything, Johannes and Ludwig pushed the Captain out of their grasp with force, causing him to stumble forward.
"Very good, Captain," Zeller said in a patronizing term. "I'd suggest that you keep up this behavior if you know what's good for you."
The Captain veered around to face Zeller and forced a smile. "I only have good intentions," he said flatly.
Zeller raised his eyebrow at Georg's choice of words. With a low scowl, he turned to face Johannes and Ludwig and nodded slowly with silent instruction. Suddenly, the two subordinates lunged forward and again grabbed Georg under each arm. They pushed him up against a wall and held him tightly in restraint.
Zeller sniggered. He walked towards Georg, his eyes never faltering. "I think you meant that to offend me, Captain," Zeller spoke in a flat voice with a chiding shake of his head.
"Please bring me my daughter," Georg said icily as he held Zeller's gaze.
"Yes, your daughter. I almost forgot about her. Perhaps you should be questioning her intentions?" Zeller said with a grim smile. "She's quite the tease, Captain."
Georg clenched his teeth together sharply and he felt the heat rise to his face. "If you laid a hand on her, I'll--," he began, but suddenly stopped and forced a smile. He took a deep breath to calm his anger and looked Zeller coolly in the eyes.
"I beg you, Herr Zeller, please release her," he said through tight lips.
Zeller shook his head at the Captain and raised an eyebrow. "Release her, Captain? Surely you don't think I'd do something foolish like that? At least not without getting something worthwhile in return. It's only fair," he said smugly.
The Captain set his chin and forced his face to stay calm. "Take whatever you want from me, Zeller," he said bluntly.
Zeller walked closer to Georg and locked eyes with him. "Your wife perhaps? Or another daughter? You're putting ideas in my head Captain," he taunted.
Georg felt his heart rate quicken and instinctively stiffened his shoulders. "Still known for your chivalry, hmm?" he retorted through a cool half-smile.
Zeller sniggered smugly. "I was about to ask you if you were still known for anything, but we all know the answer to that already, Herr Von Trapp."
The Captain felt his temper about to snap at the patronizing remark, but merely continued to stare at Zeller without flinching.
Zeller held his gaze for a long moment before suddenly turning to Erik, one of the soldiers standing in the doorway, and shouting an order. "Get the girl!"
The soldier nodded his head and turned quickly to retrieve Liesl, giving the Captain a chance to cool his temper and hope that Zeller had enough mercy to release his daughter without putting up a fight.
The door slammed shut behind Johannes, Ludwig, and Herr Zeller as they hurried to greet the Captain. Rolf felt relief at the sound, knowing that he was away from his superiors for the time being. Nonetheless, he was also overcome with worry at the realization that he was once again left alone with Liesl.
Turning away from the door, Rolf focused his attention on the far corner of the room without so much as a glance at his charge. With a deep breath, he crossed the room and sat down at the desk, pretending to busy himself with a pen and a blank tablet. His thoughts, however, were preoccupied with the information he had just heard and the knowledge that, beside himself, nobody outside of Zeller's close circle knew about it.
Without realizing it, Rolf kept glancing at Liesl out of the corner of his eye and could see that she had not moved her gaze from the door. He frowned at the sight, knowing that with Herr Zeller against her family, Liesl's hope of escaping could easily be disappointed.
After a few minutes, he stood up and with a nervous glance toward the door, walked toward Liesl and sat on the couch facing her. "Listen to me, Liesl," he said in a tone that managed to lure her attention from the door.
"They've closed the borders out of Austria. I heard for myself," he continued in a whisper while looking at her with sincerity.
Liesl stared at him with wide eyes of disbelief for a moment before turning her nose slightly upwards and returning her gaze to the door. "Why should I believe you?" she asked in a haughty manner.
Rolf sighed deeply and glanced toward the door over his shoulder. He stood up and began to pace the length of the couch. "The last train leaves at 12 from Innsbruck and goes to Milan; after that, there's nothing," he told her with urgency, hoping to persuade her doubt.
Liesl sat in silence, contemplating Rolf's words. Suddenly she turned to him and with a frown, she narrowed her eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"
Rolf stopped pacing and straightened his posture, his back still turned to Liesl. For a moment, he stood still and did not speak.
"Well?" she persisted.
Slowly, Rolf turned around and looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "Just remember what I'm saying," he said lowly. He watched Liesl for a moment before returning to the desk across the room.
He was on the verge of sitting down in the desk chair when he heard a knock. Rolf veered around at the sound and began to walk towards the door that was already opening.
Erik appeared in sight and entered the room, nodding at Rolf in greeting. "The Gauleiter has requested that she be brought upstairs immediately. I've come to get her," the young soldier said to Rolf with a cock of his head in Liesl's direction.
Rolf nodded and moved aside while Erik walked to Liesl and pulled her to her feet with a rough tug at her arm. He watched with seeming indifference as his peer pushed Liesl forward to walk and she winced with pain.
Seeing that she was injured, Erik turned to Rolf and winked cynically. He tightened his grasp on her arm and continued pushing her forward toward the exit. She tripped and Eric turned again toward Rolf with an evil smile.
Rolf forced a smile mutely.
Impatiently, Eric bent down and picked Liesl up to carry her up the stairs, knowing that her injury would delay their arrival, something Zeller would not appreciate at all. A moment later, the door slammed shut.
Rolf waited a moment until he heard the footsteps disappear and then opened the door and walked into the hall. He sighed deeply and started to go upstairs to return to his quarters. Silently, he said a prayer for Liesl and her family, something he had not done for quite some time.
Captain Von Trapp and Herr Zeller stood mutely in each other's presence, neither of them looking fully at the other but both of them unable to refrain from eyeballing each other every few minutes. Zeller had dismissed the young soldier who had been guarding the Captain, leaving only Johannes and Ludwig in the room with them. Both soldiers stood stiffly against the wall, one on either side of their leader.
Herr Zeller kept looking to the door with a scowl, his patience deserting him and his temper coming forth. He wondered what was taking Erik so long to retrieve the girl.
Suddenly, the door swung open and Erik entered carrying Liesl. Her dress was torn and her face was dirty, but the happiness in her eyes upon seeing her father was unmistakeable. She looked toward him and their eyes locked.
Georg gave her a reassuring look and never removed his eyes from her, even when Ludwig and Johannes grabbed him under the arms and pushed him back up against the wall. The Captain struggled to release himself from their grasp, but the two soldiers held him in tight constraint.
"Please let her go," Georg said coldly. His eyes narrowed and he cast an icy glare at Herr Zeller, who was contentedly watching the scene from the sidelines.
With an evil smile plastered on his face, Zeller walked forward and approached his enemy. "You heard the Captain's orders. Let the girl go," he said with cynicism, speaking to Erik, but never removing his eyes from the Captain.
Turning to the side and giving a slow nod at Erik, Zeller confirmed his instruction. Seeing the gesture, Erik roughly put Liesl to the ground and pushed her forward with force, causing her to stumble on her weak ankle and fall forward. She gasped loudly as she fell to the ground.
"Leave her!" Georg growled.
Zeller looked upwards and smiled with feigned calmness upon hearing the order. "I thought I made myself clear, Captain. Your words mean nothing," he said smugly.
"Do what you will to me, but please let her be," Georg begged with mock politeness. He shifted slightly in the Nazis' grasp, but the two soldiers reacted with force, overpowering him and slamming him back against the wall.
Zeller sniggered to himself and slowly walked toward Liesl, who remained sprawled on the ground, her arms tightly bound and her slip sticking out from underneath her dress. He squatted down next to her and grasped a handful of her hair in his fist. Zeller tugged at it with force, causing Liesl's head to jerk to the side so that she faced him.
He moved his hand to her chin and held it tightly in his grip, running his other hand along her jaw line. He could feel Georg's eyes burning into him as the Captain looked on protectively.
For a second, Zeller's movement stopped when he saw his soldiers press the Captain further against the wall as he squirmed in their hold. However, he immediately resumed his teasing, this time running his finger over Liesl's lips.
"We've enjoyed her company very much, right?" he asked in a haughty manner, looking straight at Liesl for confirmation.
Without hesitation, she nodded perfunctorily and her trembling increased. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced toward her father and cast him a look of terror.
Zeller saw the action and rudely cocked her chin upwards again.
"She was taught to act polite in any situation," Georg retorted coldly.
Zeller raised an eyebrow at him, and his phoniness suddenly dissolved into a deep scowl. "She's a surly, opinionated brat who needs to be put in her place. Just like her father," he spat.
Zeller still held Liesl's chin between his fingers although he now glared at the Captain. His attention diverted for a moment, Liesl suddenly opened her mouth wide, jerked her head out of his grasp, and bit down hard on Zeller's hand.
"Damn!" he snarled, shaking his hand in pain. He pushed Liesl forcefully from his grasp, causing her to fall forward on the ground.
Quickly Zeller got to his feet and looked from the Captain to Liesl. "You'll both regret that!" he warned them flatly.
Zeller approached Liesl again and grabbed her under the arm, yanking her to her feet. "Lock her up!" he ordered, his face reddening with anger and his eyes glazed over with cruelty.
"In the dark," he continued with an evil smile at both Von Trapps.
"And make sure you prevent this from happening again," he ordered, holding up his bruised hand. He reached into his jacket, pulled out a handkerchief, and threw it at Erik. Zeller then thrust Liesl in the young soldier's direction.
Erik caught the girl in his grasp and pushed her forward toward the door. She again stumbled on her bad ankle and Erik jerked her to her feet once more. He gripped the cloth and struggled with Liesl to get it around her head, although her protests made his task quite difficult.
"Father!" she screamed, moving her head from side to side to avoid the dreaded cloth. Erik's strength quickly overcame her, however, and he knotted the cloth tightly around her head
Georg's strength suddenly seemed to increase. He bolted forward with a sudden movement and loosened the Nazis' grip on his arms. Almost immediately, Johannes pounced upon Georg as he tried to escape, which brought them both tumbling to the ground.
Georg struggled with the burly soldier, all the while fighting to keep an eye on Liesl. Through his own and Johannes' movements, he saw Erik pick Liesl up and leave with her through the door they had entered only moments earlier.
Suddenly, Georg felt a hand on his collar as he was pulled to a standing position again. Despite the action, he glanced toward the now empty door where Liesl had sat seconds earlier.
A sudden sharp blow to his stomach jolted Georg's attention and he shot his head up to see Ludwig standing before him. Georg swung his hand back and went to punch Ludwig in the face, when Johannes grabbed his wrist from behind. Ludwig lunged forward simultaneously and the two soldiers forced the Captain against the back wall.
Zeller approached the trio with his arms behind his back. His face was contorted into a fierce look and his eyes were black with rage. He moved his hands in front of him to reveal a pistol. With force, he jabbed it into the Captain's abdomen, causing him to stiffen.
"It really didn't have to come to this, Captain," Zeller snarled.
Georg's eyes narrowed at Zeller, as if daring him to shoot, and the two glared at each other unrelentingly. Suddenly, a loud shot broke the silence.