Chapter 5
The next month had them working hard, but they got good food, plenty of water and some rest.
While they were heavily guarded, they still managed to talk in the evenings about trying to find a way to escape and bring word back to the Allied forces.
One evening, after the meal, she signaled that they be brought to the ward for the overnight, but stopped Bucky with her riding crop. "Not you. Sit."
Bucky had been trying to use his charm on her, in an effort to sweet talk her, to get her guard down, as part of their plan for an escape opportunity, but it seemingly had no effect on her…..til now maybe….
"I have a proposition for you, Sergeant Barnes."
"Oh?"
"I will let all the others go, if you agree to stay willingly."
Bucky's jaw dropped. He was continually being taken by surprise by this woman.
"Why would you do that?"
"I told you before; you are all part of a plan."
"To win the war?"
She changed to her "American" accent. "Yes, but there is more at stake than you know, much more."
"You do a good American accent."
"Well, perhaps that is because I was born there."
Bucky was now totally confused. "What? Why are you working for the Nazi's then?"
"I'm not. I wasn't lying when I said that you play a critical part in this war, but there's more than one war going on here. I need your cooperation. I give you my word; your men will be taken on the truck to the closest part to the front line, given a map and compass to find the Allied camp."
"What about me?"
"You play a much different role."
"But I'll be a prisoner here."
"Not if you stay willingly."
"And you expect me to keep my word?"
"I believe you're a gentleman."
He laughed. If she only knew….
"Does that mean you're not?"
"It won't stop me from trying to escape."
"If you gave me your word, you would go back on it? Is that what gentlemen do?"
"A soldiers' first duty upon capture is to try to escape; being a gentleman has nothing to do with it."
She snapped her fingers, and one of the guards approached. "Go downstairs, choose one at random and kill him."
A curt nod and the guard turned.
Bucky sat upright. "Hey wait!"
She snapped her fingers and the guard stopped.
"You have a change of heart?"
"You can't just kill somebody like that."
"I asked you for your cooperation."
"That won't get my cooperation."
"Then give it, and I will see to it that the men are returned to the Allied side."
"Why can't you let all of us go?"
"I will release you when the war is over."
"No."
"Is that your final word?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Take him below, but isolate him until further notice."
Bucky was brought downstairs and locked in a room alone. It was as Spartan as their shared room, but at least there was a proper toilet. It didn't matter; Bucky wouldn't cooperate no matter what. He did have to find a way to protect the others tho.
All the rest were brought up for work and the meals the next day, while Bucky remained isolated. He paced his tiny room, thinking. By supper time he wasn't feeling so well. By bedtime he was experiencing internal cramping and back pain. By midnight, he was doubled over, arms crossed over his abdomen, and rocking in his bed to try and relieve the pain. His moans could be heard by the men down the hall.
The others kept banging on the walls, and shouting for help, but no one came.
By morning, some of the pain was relieved when Bucky had a bowel movement, but he was sore and achy. He experienced two more days of this, crying out when the worst of the cramping hit him.
Pleas and requests were made to the woman of the house, by all the men in the group, but she ignored them. Bucky was suffering from terrible constipation. Sweat poured from his forehead and ran into his eyes. His shirt was soaked with sweat, and his body was trembling with effort to evacuate his bowels.
Finally on the fourth day he was given some medicine. And he wasn't sure what was worse, because now he had diarrhea and cramping from that, plus he felt his behind was on fire.
Every 20 minutes, Bucky could be heard begging his body to please fix itself. Every muscle in his abdomen ached from the prolonged strain.
What he didn't know yet was that his food had been laced.
Back to constipation…then back to diarrhea.
The men could hear him, but were powerless to do anything about it. They couldn't even see him.
But they all knew by now, including Bucky, that this wasn't normal.
Another day and his stomach sorted itself out somewhat. The lacing of his food was temporarily stopped, and he was brought upstairs.
"Feel better?"
He gave her a nod.
"You can make this easier on yourself or hard, the choice is yours."
"You did this on purpose?"
'Yes."
"I won't cooperate."
"It's fine."
He eyed her warily. "Really?"
She passed him a bowl. "Pick out a slip of paper."
"What's this for?" He eyed the bowl suspiciously.
"You'll see." She waited just to see if he would do it. The slips were all blank. It was a test.
"No."
"All right then." She pulled a slip of paper out and gave it to the nearest guard. "See to it this is done."
The guard read the "message", nodded curtly and left the room.
Bucky went instantly alert. "What did it say?"
"You'll never know. Take him back downstairs."
"What did it say?" The pitch and volume rose in Bucky's voice. He stood up. She gestured and guards wrestled Bucky to the doorway, but he fought back, and this time he got loose!
He ran downstairs to find out what was going on. One of the men had gone missing!
"What happened? Where did they take him?"
"We don't know!" The remaining men chorused at him.
The guards had caught up by now, and there were now four. Bucky swung with all his worth and knocked the first guy down. A melee ensued, with Bucky's friends cheering him on.
The woman appeared and pointed a strange-looking pistol at Bucky. When she shot him, his whole body stiffened and trembled before hitting the floor. Then she pulled the trigger again and another shot of electricity made Bucky's body convulse on the floor.
Bucky's new friends were gob smacked to say the least. No one had ever seen a gun like that before.
"Put him in the big room. It's time we upped the stakes."