Chapter Six – Newkirk Comes Out

After being roused from his cell, Newkirk was handcuffed to the guard and taken down the hall. Greta Baumgarten was removed from her cell, and Newkirk could see that she was scared of what was happening to her.

"Don't worry," he whispered to her. "It'll be all right. Don't be scared."

The guard laughed loudly. "I would advise you both to be very scared," he said. "There is someone here from Berlin to interrogate you, and he doesn't look like he's got any patience for the wrong answers. You might be in for a very long night."

Upon hearing that, Greta gasped. "Oh no, please," she begged. The guard said nothing as he tugged harder on her arm.

The guard opened one of the doors and shoved Newkirk inside. He stumbled into the room, followed by the guard dragging Greta along. Newkirk glared at the guard as he tried to steady himself. As he turned to see the occupants of the room, he heard a familiar voice.

"So, Hans Rumpelmeyer, we meet again," said the voice.

Newkirk glanced over and saw Carter dressed in his SS Colonel uniform slapping his gloves in his hands. He straightened up, knowing that since the original plan was ruined, thanks to him, Carter expected him to play along with whatever plan he had come up with now. He tried to give Carter the most defiant look he could, but remained silent.

Carter steeped closer. "I told you we would catch you," he said. "And now, here you are – caught trying to help this traitor escape. I guess that proves her guilt."

Greta gasped. "Wait, I've never seen him before in my life!" she cried.

"Silence!" Carter yelled. "You will speak when I tell you to!"

"Hey, that's no way to treat a lady," Newkirk complained.

"And you, Hans Rumpelmeyer," Carter said. "You must now be aware at this time, it will be impossible for you to escape."

Newkirk noticed the emphasis that Carter had placed on a few words – and had then glanced towards the guard's handcuffs. It took Newkirk only a split second to realize that Carter was telling him that something was about to happen and he had to free himself and Greta from the guard when it did. He didn't say anything, but gave a very slight nod of acknowledgement.

Carter must have gotten the message, because he turned and walked back to the Major in charge. "And what information have you gotten from them, Major?" he asked.

"Nothing, Colonel," the Major said. "They have been most uncooperative in answering our questions."

Carter lashed out at the Major, slapping him in the face with his gloves. "You incompetent fool!" he screamed. "Of course they will be uncooperative. Do you think traitors and spies will gladly tell you everything they know just because you ask?"

The Major looked stunned. "N-n-no Major," he stuttered. "I – I – I"

"Silence!" screamed Carter. He wheeled around to face Newkirk again. "Hans Rumpelmeyer, you are one of the most dangerous men in the Underground. You have eluded me for a long time and now you have been caught trying to help a traitor to the Third Reich escape Gestapo custody. It is time to stop playing games."

Newkirk could see that Carter was trying to communicate to him – to let him know somehow either what was going to happen, or when it was going to start. "So you say," Newkirk replied glibly. "What are you going to do about it?"

Newkirk watched Carter as he spoke. Carter smiled broadly when he understood what Newkirk had asked. "My dear Rumpelmeyer," he said in a dangerously calm voice. "In about a minute, you will find out what I am going to do about it."

Newkirk smiled. He had no clue what Carter's plan was, or if the something that was about to happen was a diversion or a rescue attempt, but at least he knew it was going to happen soon.

Just then, the office door burst open and Newkirk's jaw dropped as the room filled with young fräuleins. He looked around – there must have been at least ten of them, none of them older than their mid-twenties, and none of them hard on the eyes at all. One of the girls came over to stand by him, and gave him a knowing look, but said nothing. He looked over and saw that another girl had stationed herself beside Greta. He chuckled. Blimey, this is what I call a diversion!

The Major was shouting for the girls to quiet down, but it wasn't helping. After a moment, Newkirk heard Carter say, "Fräuleins, quiet down please. One at a time."

The girls grew quiet, and one of them stepped forward. "We want to know what you're going to do about it," she said to the Major.

The Major looked confused. "Do about what?" he asked. "Why are you here?"

The girl who had spoken turned to another girl and said, "Just like a man." A giggle rippled through the crowd. "We want to know what you are going to do about the strange man who is hanging around our boarding house, looking in all the windows," the girl said. "He just hangs around and peeks into all the windows – even when we are taking a shower! Imagine that!"

Newkirk poked the guard with his elbow. "I don't know about you, but that sounds worth imagining to me!" he said.

The guard nodded his head eagerly. "Ja, ja," he said, eyeing the girls in the room.

While Newkirk was poking the guard, he reached into his pocket and took out the key to the handcuffs. Once he had it, he looked around to try to make eye contact with Carter. He noticed Carter was ignoring everything else in the room and staring at him. He nodded to indicate that he had the key.

Carter stepped forward. "Fräuleins, I'm afraid you have come to the wrong place," he said. "You want to go to the police, not the Gestapo."

As if on cue, the room erupted in a mass protest. Newkirk took advantage of the confusion to unlock the handcuff from his wrist. As he did, he noticed the girl next to him stick her arm out, motioning for him to put the handcuff onto her wrist. As he stepped back, she slid quickly into place next to the guard and Newkirk quietly closed the cuff on her wrist. He moved around to the other side, and removed the cuff from Greta's wrist, motioning for her to step back and remain silent. The other girl slid into place and Newkirk quietly chained her to the guard.

As he stepped back, the girl that had taken his place was motioning for him to stay by the door, and was also making motions as if she was unlocking something. Then she pointed to the guard's pocket. Newkirk nodded and gently slipped the key back into the pocket.

Newkirk returned to Greta and whispered, "Don't worry. We'll be out of here in a second."

Greta was white with fear, but managed a feeble smile. "Danke," she said softly.

Carter raised his hands and shouted above the din, "Quiet!" The room grew quiet. "That's better," he said. "Fräuleins, I'm afraid we can't help you right now. But if you will step outside, we will take your complaints in a moment."

The girls grumbled, but Newkirk noticed that they started to move towards the door, sweeping both Greta and himself with them. He moved along with them as they left the office and headed towards freedom.