Chapter Five
Germany 1942
Hugo Stiglitz walked down the somber hallway, stacks of folders in his large arms. Hugo had been stationed in France since June of 1940, when France had surrendered to Germany. France was a beautiful place, but Hugo still loved his homeland. As he reached the room filled with hundreds of filing cabinets, he placed the folders in their correct spots. The Gestapo were very thorough with their record collection, allowing them to easily retrace their steps if need be. As he placed the last file in the drawer, a name caught his eye.
'Vogel, Warner' Beneath the name was a stamp for redirection, meaning the incident took place elsewhere and possibly needed a second opinion. The Sargent grabbed the binder and closed the drawer. Hugo walked back to his office, the folder tucked tightly beneath his arm. As he reached his office, he locked the door and closed his blinds. (An obvious sign that he did not want to be disturbed.)
Hugo pulled his chair up to his desk, and opened the folder. The first page in the binder reported the incident as happening in October of 1940, around eight months ago, filed by a Gestapo officer in Luxemburg, Germany.
The second page had a full profile Warner Vogel, who was the owner of the household. He was a decorated veteran for the German army and was suspected of hiding Jews in his house. The profile held his accomplishments of the first World War along with his family information. The picture that was included with the file was Eleanore's grandfather.
At the bottom of the page was a single word. Deceased.
Hugo flipped to the next page, finding a profile on Hedda as well and noted that the picture matched Eleanore's grandmother. In her section, it held information on her family background. She was also suspected of hiding Jews in the home and was on several occasions caught outside minutes after curfew.
Deceased.
Hugo's heart sank as he flipped to the next page, reading his beloved's name at the top. Eleanore Elizabeth Vogel, suspected of operative and espionage activities. It had all the information someone could possibly need to kill her. Her father was an American solider and she was sent to Germany when she was thirteen after her parents were killed in a natural disaster. The paperwork depicted Eleanore as an American spy, brainwashed by her departed parents.
Hugo forced his eyes to the bottom of the page, his jaw clenched.
Hugo slammed his fist on the desk over and over and over causing blood to begin pooling beneath his rugged skin. He punched the adjacent wall, leaving a whole the size of his fist. Hugo could feel his eyes become wet, forcing him to wipe his face with the sleeve of his coat. Hugo took a deep breath and grabbed the picture of Eleanore, stuffing it in his inside breast pocket after giving it a hard kiss. He flipped through the rest of the file, collecting the names of the Gestapo officers that oversaw the slaughter. One by one he wrote them down and flipped through the rest of the file to see if there was anything else he needed to know.
He was going to avenge Eleanore Elizabeth Vogel, if it was the last thing he ever did.
It would took Hugo Stiglitz nearly two years to track down every son-of-a-bitch that killed Eleanore with his trusty dagger at his side that read: Honor is my loyalty.
And honor truly was his loyalty.