À bas les Boche

~ Louis LeBeau ~

Langenscheidt and Schultz sat in down at a table outside Le Mirage Café' with Hogan and LeBeau seated a few feet away at another table. The little Frenchman had sent a letter to his friend Henri Verlaine, asking to meet him here. To say Karl was nervous was to say the Sommeschlacht was a just schoolyard skirmish. Anyone in the restaurant or walking by could be Gestapo or an informer. He didn't think their chances were worth a tinker's curse if they got picked up. He shuddered at the thought of how many eyes could be watching them. Or how close death could be.

"Cold?" asked Schultz.

"No, just someone walking on my grave", replied Karl as he nervously looked around.

Schultz gave a little snort of laughter. "You are going to make yourself into an old man at this rate. We're in Paris. Enjoy it while you can." As he was saying this, he was trying without success to get the waiter's attention. Alas his efforts were in vain . The waiters passed them by as if the table was empty. Karl smiled at his superior's efforts. Silently he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Reichsmark and held so a waiter who was about to pass by them could see it. The waiter slowed down then stopped from his prior frantic pace and eyed the mark.

"Excusez-moi," Karl said to the waiter. (Pardon me.)

Looking at Schultz, Karl asked, "Coffee or beer?"

"We are in Paris." Turning to the waiter Schultz said, "A bottle of your best wine please."

"Eh? Je ne comprends pas," replied the waiter. (Eh?I don't understand.)

"Je voudrais une bouteille de votre meilleur vin maison et deux verres, s'il vous plait," replied Karl while handing the waiter the Reichmark. (I would like a bottle of your best house wine and two glasses, please.)

"Très bon monsieur," the waiter said pocketing the bill and hurrying from the table. (Very good sir.)

Schultz eyed Karl suspiciously. "What did you say and since when do you know how to speak French?"

Karl shifted nervously in the chair. "I just know enough to order a few things off the menu," Karl lied. Last thing Karl wanted was for him to stand out in anyway. If anyone knew he spoke French fluently his services might be needed elsewhere. While Stalag 13 might be one big well used latrine, it was still a safe place to be. A least there no one was shooting at you. Well most of the time no one was shooting at you.

He thought he detected a radio playing somewhere. The soft sweet notes of Josephine Baker's " J'ai Deux Amours" drifted through the air to land gently on his ears. He closed his eyes to savor every note. Karl thought about the artists, writers and musicians who made Paris their home. If things went well he might even have a chance to meet Picasso. What he would give for such a chance. A sigh of contentment passed from his lips.

"How can you sleep now that we are in Paris?" asked a confused Schultz.

Startled, Karl opened his eyes and looked at Schultz. "No, I was just listening to the music."

"What music?"

Karl listened closely but could no longer hear the siren's voice. Somebody must have turned the radio off. He felt the magic that had surrounded him, dissipate and vanish.

The waiter came back with the wine and poured it into two glasses before setting the bottle on the table and leaving. Karl picked up the glass and looked at the wine. He was not a big drinker. Maybe a Weissbier at dinner or maybe a couple with friends but that was all. He had gotten falling down drunk with some friends at the University and never cared to repeat the experience. Cautiously he took a sip. Not bad, he thought as he took another sip.

A young woman in a teal coat passed by and both Karl and Schultz checked her out. Karl was very impressed with the caboose the young lady had. Parisian women are so pretty. Perhaps I was a little too rash in swearing off women.

"Not a bad war after all, aye Karl?" Schultz said with a slight leer.

"What about them, Feldwebel?" Karl asked, uneasy about being out in the open.

"General," Schultz corrected. "Don't worry; I have the situation under control."

"Oh yes sir," Karl said as the buzz of the wine started to make him feel a little giddy.

Schultz took another sip of wine and said with appreciation," Very good wine. I hope they let us keep France after the war."

I just hope we're still alive after the war. But Karl kept that to himself and agreed with Schultz. Why spoil the mood? It was too nice of a day without the maudlin thought of the changes in their lives the war had caused and the changes that would happen when the war ended.

Karl's tense muscles were starting to relax when a dark shadow fell across him. Looking up he saw a SS officer with someone Karl suspected was a Gestapo agent. A cold fear pierced him as the two men stopped in front of their table. For a moment, Karl could have sworn his heart stopped beating. Both men walked around the table and took a seat behind him. It was then when he noticed; Schultz had been holding his breath too. Karl's hand shook a little and he doubted it had anything to do with the wine. I don't know how the Oberst can be so calm. I do not have the mortal fortitude to do this kind of work.

Karl saw a line of troops coming down the sidewalk. As they noticed Shultz, one by one they began to salute. This caused Schultz a great amount of chagrin as he had to keep puting down his glass to return the salute. Finally in total frustration Schultz moved his chair so he was facing Karl and not the street.

A devilish notion entered Karl's brain and percolated. Probably if he had not been drinking so much wine he would have never conceived such a thought. Just as Schultz sat down in his newly positioned chair, Karl sat up straight and snapped off the best salute of his life. In frustration Schultz returned the salute and then re-positioned his chair back to where it had been in the beginning. Karl almost burst out laughing, especially when another solider passed by and the entire scenario repeated itself. He drank more wine to try and muffle his laughter. Schultz must have seen the grin Karl was attempting to hide because he began to chuckle too.

As they sat there drinking and getting a little tipsy, the girl in the teal coat came walking by. This time she had on a camel colored coat and was with an older man. Karl watched as they sat down with Hogan and LeBeau.

She must have been scouting the area to make sure it was safe to have the meeting. I hope they decide quickly to get off the street because the Gestapo man behind me is making my skin crawl.

The waiter who had brought them the wine was back, wiping down the table. Karl noticed that he slipped Schultz a note. He watched as his Feldwebel read the note. Schultz looked at Karl and gave him the signal it was time to go. A relieved Karl placed a tip on the table and followed Schultz. They would meet Hogan at a prearranged place. He was glad to be getting off the street. He had a bad feeling about those two men and had the distinct feeling he would be seeing them again.

A/n:

À bas les Boche: "Down with Germans" with Boche being a derogatory term for Germans.

Sommeschlacht: Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest battle of WWI. By the time fighting had petered out, the forces involved had suffered more than 1 million casualties, making it one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded.(July 1,1916 thru November 18, 1916.)

Special thanks to Lizzi for her help with colloquial German.

The exchange rate of the German Reichsmark currency against the French franc was established by German government as one mark to twenty francs.

J'ai Deux Amours: "I have Two Loves" is Josephine Baker's signature song. I tells of her love for her country and Paris.

Weissbier: German wheat beer