Hammelburg Area, Farm of Friedrich Wagner
December 20, 1943, 2245 hours

"We have determined that Hans Dietrich and Franz Hurst seem to work as a team," Otto Bauer said to the assembled group.

"Always?" Hans Wagner asked.

"Ja," Max Becker answered. "They are always together. Also, they must be scheduled to be at the old factory that is being worked on. They go there every night between eight and nine in the evening."

Hans Wagner was silent as he pondered this fact.

"They haven't missed an evening yet, since we've been watching," Otto added.

"That would work out well," Hans mumbled, more to himself than to everyone else. Then he looked up and said, "Do they follow the same route to the factory?"

Both Otto and Max nodded. "They have to," Max replied. "There is only one entrance, and the road leading to it does not lead anywhere else. The road is not heavily traveled. Hans and Franz seem to be the only ones using it until the men they are replacing leave."

Hans grinned with pleasure. "Now that is excellent news!" he exclaimed.

"Do you have an idea, Hans?" Karl Wagner asked his brother.

"I believe I do," Hans replied. "You know that road, Karl. Our farm is only a few kilometers away through the woods."

Karl nodded. "Yes, now that you mention it, I do know what road you are talking about," he said.

"It cuts right through the woods to the factory," Hans continued. "There are no turn-offs and it's not wide enough to turn a car around. And the best part is that it's a winding road through the trees."

"A perfect place for an ambush," Karl agreed. "We would just need to block the road, and they would have to stop."

"There are plenty of trees we can chop down to block the road," Rudolph Albrecht said.

Hans shook his head. "We don't want to chop any. We wouldn't want the noise," he replied. "But there are plenty of fallen trees that we can drag into the road."

"I see," responded Heinrich Schneider. "We block the road, preferably right after a curve in the road so that they don't see it until the last minute. When they stop, we are there to greet them."

Hans nodded his head vigorously. "Exactly," he agreed.

Ilse Wagner had been watching the proceedings silently from her seat against the door of one of the barn stalls. "And then what?" she asked. "What do you plan to do after you stop them?"

Her brother Hans looked at her with fire in his eyes. "I plan to teach them a lesson they will never forget," he replied with hostility.

The hate in his voice scared Ilse. She knew what her brother had in mind, and deep down inside, she had to admit that she wanted the two men to pay for what they did to her. But hearing her brother say what he planned made her shiver.

"So when do we do it?" Rudolph asked.

"Tomorrow," Hans replied.

"So soon?" Ilse asked.

"We've waited long enough," he responded. "We do it tomorrow night, when they drive down that road to the factory."

Heads nodded in agreement with the plan. Ilse was excited that something was finally going to happen, but also scared that something could go wrong. The last thing she wanted was for anything to happen to her brothers on account of her.

"We'll pick our spot a couple hours before, and then gather the brush that we need to block the road," Hans ordered. "We should have that complete and be waiting by eight in case they decide to make it one of their early nights."

Everyone added their agreement to the plan, and the meeting broke up. As Ilse walked back to the house, she thought of what they were going to do. All of this was because of her.

No, she thought. It is not because of me. I didn't ask for them to attack me, in fact I begged them not to. Now they must pay for what they did. Once they do, I will feel better. But as she entered the house, she had the dreadful feeling that this was only the beginning for her brothers. She knew they would not want to stop at this. Dear God, she thought. What has happened to us?