As Hans Dietrich regains consciousness, neither sound nor light invade his senses. The pain in his shoulder is still present but has slightly subsided. When he reaches up, he finds the handcuffs removed and a fresh proper bandage around his shoulder. Also the strange sensation of feeling a bullet still buried in his shoulder which he has had before seems to have left. Someone has provided him with medical treatment. This could either mean that he is not yet fully condemned and still has a right for proper treatment as a Wehrmacht officer or it could mean that the Obersturmbannführer is not willing to allow Dietrich to escape his kind hospitality through death any time soon. Lack of water and exhaustion soon have the young Hauptmann return to a dreamless sleep over his musings.
A rough hand on his shoulder jerks Hans Dietrich awake. "Aufstehen!", a SS soldier shouts a him in an unfriendly manner. Apparently, he is quite convinced that the officer in front of him is indeed a traitor or he would not act with such open hostility. Disoriented and dizzy from lack of water, Hans Dietrich tries to rise to his feet only to feel his knees buckling underneath him, barely catching himself at the rim of the cot he has slept on. Losing his patience apparently, the soldier grabs him under the left shoulder and drags him to his feet forcing the swaying man into an upright position which he is still unable to remain in.
"Geben Sie mir bitte etwas Wasser, dann kann sich mein Kreislauf stabilisieren", Hauptmann Dietrich rasps out with his voice almost breaking from dehydration, as he tries to reason with the soldier to give him some water to stabilise the prisoner's blood circulation which is affected by the blood loss from the bullet wound as well as the lack of something to drink. His efforts earn him a harsh beating into the stomach with the butt of the guard's gun which causes the prisoner to collapse back on the cot where he stays panting for breath. The soldier hits him a second time to keep him downed, before turning and marching out of the door.
Shortly afterwards, the soldier returns with Hauptsturmführer Metzlich who Dietrich has met a few days ago as Obersturmbannführer Waldheim's second in command. "Hauptmann Dietrich", the man sneers with sadistic glee, "halten Sie es wirklich für klug, Widerstand zu leisten." The accusation that he is stupid enough to put up resistance sparks enough righteous anger in Hans Dietrich to snap back at the SS man in spite of his rasping voice: "Ich leiste keinen Widerstand. Ich habe lediglich um Wasser gebeten, um meinen Kreislauf zu stabilisieren." Explaining his plea for water, he cannot stop himself to remark sarcastically in spite of struggling with every spoken word: "Ich bin zwar kein Mediziner, aber das könnte nach Blutverlust durch eine Schusswunde and Schwitzen vom Laufen durch die Wüste tatsächlich helfen."
Hauptsturmführer Metzlich is apparently as devoid of humor as his name suggests and merely growls: "Der Sarkasmus wird dir schon noch vergehen, Verräterschwein!" The change from the formal "Sie" to "du" along with the curse word clearly show his reduced self-control and loathing of the Afrikakorps officer who Metzlich has already declared guilty. For the moment Dietrich is glad about the iron bars separating him from the man, as he would have expected to be beaten for his insolence otherwise. The look Metzlich is shooting him clearly promises exactly that to happen later. Despite his obvious loathing, he orders the soldier to call a medic and have Dietrich checked. His final contemptuous statement reveals this to be not in the least motivated by concern for the well-being of a fellow German officer, but keeping the Hauptmann alive as long as possible during the interrogations to follow.
As Feldunterarzt Dr. Ludwig Sommer enters the prison area, he stops short at the barred door, while staring at the young Hauptmann he has served under for the past few months. Hans Dietrich has always conducted himself with pride and dignity, keeping a proper outward appearance and straight posture under almost all circumstances however dire they may appear. After all, his soldiers have admired him for this steadfast attitude of hardly ever showing weakness in front of his men or enemies, while not being unkind and showing chivalry and compassion whenever he could afford that.
He has treated the Captain the previous night, after the man has collapsed unconsciously while being dragged toward the command office and jail. Removing the bullet from his shoulder and stitching up the flesh wound has been the lesser part. The true challenge has been stabilising the severely dehydrated man with a transfusion of saline solution and keeping his blood circulation from collapsing completely with a blood transfusion. The stress of the blood loss and the run trough the desert after hours of a car ride in the heat without being given any water has been too much even for a healthy, young desert veteran. It is apparent that the SS officers have come freshly from Berlin and hold no regard for the necessity of giving a prisoner far more water in the desert heat simply to keep him alive than would have been necessary in central Europe.
The SS guard grants the medic access to the prisoner's cell. "Hauptmann Dietrich", Ludwig Sommer gently calls out to the huddled figure on the cot. Dietrich stirs at the sound of his name and cranes his neck to look in the medic's direction. "Dr. Sommer", he rasps the man's name in form of a greeting, his exhaustion and pain apparent in his hoarse voice. Gently placing his hand on the Captain's uninjured shoulder, the Unterstabsarzt helps him to sit up, before handing the young officer a canteen with water. "Langsam trinken", he warns to drink slowly which is hardly necessary for a man with the desert experience of Hans Dietrich, but Sommer cannot rely on him being fully aware of his actions at the moment.
Drinking some water carefully, gulp by gulp, feels like an immense relief to Hauptmann Dietrich. His foggy mind is starting to clear, his dizziness subsiding and the gaze he focuses on Ludwig Sommer becomes steady enough to not worry the medic any further. As Sommer's gaze moves from the drawn face of the officer to the bandage around his shoulder, his frown deepens again, as he can observe light red staining shining through the bandage. "Lehnen Sie sich zurück, Herr Hauptmann", he orders the injured man to lean back. "Ich muss den Schulterverband wechseln." Dietrich nods quietly in understanding not wishing to strain his voice any further by speaking unnecessarily.
After Dr. Sommer has fulfilled his work with practiced precision, Dietrich hands him back the now empty canteen with gratitude: "Danke, Doktor Sommer!" Glancing over his shoulder at the guard, Sommer finally can ask the officer with a whisper: "Was wollen die von Ihnen, Dietrich?" The Hauptmann shrugs wincing at the pain in his shoulder, as he snarls in indignation about the accuations of treason against him: "Beweisen, dass ich ein Verräter bin." Then, his tone become more moderate, pleading with the medic to look after his men in case he might not survive his ordeal: "Doktor. Falls ich das nicht überlebe, schauen Sie mir bitte auf die Männer!"
"Was soll das Geflüster?", the guard interrupts them, suspicious of their whispering. Doktor Sommer smoothly pretends that this has just been a medic talking to assure his patients health, before the guard shoos him out of the cell. Then, the guard turns back toward Dietrich repeating his original order: "Aufstehen!" Carefully and slowly, Hans Dietrich rises to his feet while steadying himself at the wall with his good arm. "Mitkommen!", the guard orders him to come along. Carefully and slowly, to not lose his balance the Wehrmacht officer walks along the steadying wall. After the first few minutes of staying upright and moving around, his blood circulation has become stable enough for him to move without requiring support and he would finally be able to increase his speed, but refrains from doing so. Deciding he would rather be underestimated, Dietrich moves slowly towards the door of his former office, while spending his gained time on carefully observing his surroundings and the SS guards. Overall, he has counted five SS soldiers on guard duty which is quite a heavy guard schedule and keeps almost all of Waldheim's troop that Dietrich knows of busy at any given time. At some point they will have to sleep and be replaced by his own men as guards.
As Hauptmann Dietrich enters his former office, he finds Leutnant Brunner moved from his usual desk to a corner of the room with a make-shift table, while Hauptsturmführer Metzlich has taken over Brunner's desk and Obersturmbannführer Waldheim Dietrich's own desk along with his office. Briefly, the German officer wonders what makes the room feel so oppressive and then realises that he is actually missing Fritz' bark and yelps which have greeted him every day in the past several weeks when he has entered his office. Hans Dietrich is hoping briefly that the cook would have had the presence of mind to hide the dog and that the two SS officers have not shot the poor beast. Then, his mind focuses on his own situation again.
Waldheim smiles his deceptive smile, while Metzlich's face already tells about his awaitening of a torture session. "Herr Hauptmann. Gut, dass Sie es geschafft haben zu unserer Besprechung", Waldheim speaks, as if they were all joining a staff meeting. Dietrich refuses to let himself be taunted so easily and remains silent. Leutnant Brunner looks up in surprise as the guard enters with his the wretched, injured prisoner and all color drains from the thin man's face, as he recognises his former Hauptmann. Shaking his head almost imperceptibly, Dietrich hopes that his junior officer will understand the message that he should keep out of this and not risk his own life.
"Der Obersturmbannführer hat mit dir gesprochen, Judenfreund!", Metzlich shouts his derogatories at Dietrich angrily when the Afrikakorps officer refrains to answer. At least, Hans Dietrich would have the satisfaction of not having lost his nerves and temper before the SS officer. Waldheim's casually polite tone is far more dangerous, as he promises future torture: "Keine Sorge, Hauptsturmführer Metzlich. Der wird schon noch reden." Turning his attention back to Dietrich, he continues in the same casual tone: "Nehmen Sie doch Platz, Herr Hauptmann." Motioning for Dietrich to take a seat which the Hauptmann reluctantly and slowly follows, straining his muscles, as the instinct to flee become almost unbearable to resist. Leutnant Brunner in the background has stopped his pretense of work completely and is staring at the scene playing out with rising horror written clearly in his face. The SS have their reputation among the regular army not without reason.
Casually, Waldheim opens his large file folder and starts to turn document by document. "Sie stammen aus einer Offziersfamilie mit Reputation", he starts out with Dietrich's family having a tradition in military service. Hans Dietrich's face turns grim, as he sees photos of his mother, a German aristocrat, and his father, an Oberst of the Wehrmacht. He frowns at the photos of his sister and her husband, a SS officer himself. The next photos are of his uncle, a Navy Vizeadmiral commanding a sub-marine squad, and his aunt, a school teacher. Both their sons are not present in the family photo collection, maybe because they are already dead, sunk on sub-marines in the Atlantic ocean. Turning the page again, Waldheim reveals the photos of Dietrich's other aunt, his father's and uncle's sister, with her husband, a medical doctor. Their daughter, a young nurse, is the next photo in the collection.
To Hans Dietrich's suprise, Waldheim takes her photo out of the folder. "Stehen Sie Ihrer Cousine, Elisabeth Wolf, nahe, Hauptmann Dietrich?", Waldheim asks almost casually whether Dietrich is close to his cousin, but the Afrikakorps officer notices the tone of a lurking predator in his voice. The question and tone make a shiver run down Dietrich's spine. Summoning his power of will to not outwardly show his discomfort, Dietrich answers with carefully intoned neutrality: "Ich schreibe ihr alle paar Monate, wie auch meiner Schwester und meinen Eltern". The Hauptmann answers truthfully that he writes to her every few months as he does to his sister and parents, as this is no information worth hiding given how easily it can be checked.
"Hat sie Ihnen gegenüber jemals etwas von ihrer Arbeit erwähnt?", Waldheim continues his interrogation. Dietrich is confused to be questioned about his cousin talking about her work as a nurse in a military institution rather than interrogated about his own misdeeds as they are perceived by the SS. "Sie hat geschrieben, dass sie als Krankenschwester arbeitet, in einem Heeresspital oder einem Gefängnis."
Waldheim's smile turns far more unpleasant, as he continues: "Wussten Sie, dass Ihre Cousine tot ist?" For a moment, Hans Dietrich is too perplexed to react to the question about his Cousin's death, then he shakes his head in the negative: "Nein, Herr Obersturmbannführer. Wann und wie ist sie gestorben?" The question of the when and how of her death induces a truly sadistic gleam in the SS officer's eye, as he answers: "Sie hat vor zwei Wochen versucht ein paar Juden beim Ausbruch aus einem Lager zu helfen, wurde des Vaterlandsverrats für schuldig befunden und standrechtlich erschossen." In spite of his pride, Hans Dietrich flinches, as he hears that his gentle and compassionate cousin has been tried as a traitor and executed after trying to help some Jews to escape from a detention camp. If looks could kill, Dietrich would have slain Waldheim on the spot.
Focusing his full attention on the Obersturmbannführer all too soon turns out to have been a mistake, a Metzlich considers Dietrich's murdereous glare at his superior officer an admission of treason and an attitude he wishes to correct appropriately. The German Hauptmann is taken completely by surprise, as the SS man's fist strikes his face from the side. Before he can recover, Metzlich deals him several blows to the head for good measure. "Genug", Waldheim orders finally, as he sees their prisoner's head lolling to the side, his gaze unfocused. Motioning in Leutnant Brunner's direction, he barks his orders: "Wasser. Schnell." Brunner dashes off, as if the Rat Patrol were behind him on their Jeeps and returns with a pitcher of water and a glass in less than a minute.
"Geben Sie es ihm!", Waldheim barks and Brunner does not need to be told twice to give his barely conscious Captain some water. "Hauptmann Dietrich", he speaks timidly in a low voice and Dietrich stirs slightly at the sound of his name. "Trinken Sie!", Brunner presses the glass against the other's lips who drinks after a moment of hesitation. "Danke, Brunner!", Dietrich murmurs softly. As their injured prisoner regains his posture and strength, Waldheim orders Leutnant Brunner back to his work: "Sie können wegtreten und Ihren Dienst fortsetzen, Leutnant!" Metzlich takes the glass from his hand and glares intimidatingly at the young Lieutenant who scurries off into his corner.
Waldheim retakes his seat behind Dietrich's former desk and continues with his interrogation, as if nothing has happened. "Die Hinrichtung war Ihnen also offenbar nicht bekannt, Hauptmann Dietrich. Wussten Sie von den Verbindungen Ihrer Cousine zu Widerstandszellen?" Hans Dietrich's head is spinning more from the incredible news that his twenty year old compassionate and pacifistic cousin should have been part of a resistance group than from Metzlich's blows to his head. Tasting blood from his split lip, he is considering his next step more carefully. Their only reason for telling him such things could be that they want to maneuver him into revealing his own own connections with resistance fighters. If not for the dire situation, Hans Dietrich would have laughed at the irony that he who has not set a foot into Germany since 1939 would now find himself accused of holding connections with German resistance groups. Being neither a spy nor a traitor, but finding himself accused of both, he wonders how he should manage to escape his impending doom. Neither Rommel nor his father would be able to help him. The latter would rather execute his son himself than have the family's honor damaged by accusations of treason.
His musings have obviously taken too long, as Metzlich repeats his previous motivation tactics, this time hitting the Hauptmann's torso rather than his head. Apparently, he still is smart enough to not kill him quickly by accident or at least Waldheim has him well enough under control. Breathing heavily after the ordeal is over, Dietrich finds a glass tipped to his lips. The first gulp he takes makes him cough out the vile substance. Metzlich has given him salty water in the same glass as before.
Waldheim steps into his view and continues with his mock polite tone which is unnerving Dietrich more than he cares to admit. "Sie können sich das leicht oder schwer machen, Hauptmann Dietrich. Das liegt ganz bei Ihnen." Dietrich merely shakes his head and answers with the same statement he has repeated several times in as neutral a voice, as he manages to maintain: "Ich kann Ihnen nichts dazu sagen, Herr Obersturmbannführer. Ich habe Deutschland seit mehr als 3 Jahren nicht betreten. Ich habe keine und hatte niemals Kontakte zum Widerstand. Weder bin ich ein Vaterlandsverräter noch ein Spion." Both SS officers clearly look as if they did not believe a single word about having no contacts to resistance or being neither a traitor nor a spy. Waldheim shakes his head in mock disappointment at his prisoner's stubbornness.
Hauptsturmführer Metzlich beams with joy as if Christmas would have come early. "Metzlich, Sie dürfen ihn bearbeiten, aber passen Sie auf, keine bleibenden Schäden zu hinterlassen. Und lassen Sie ihn auf die Krankenstation bringen, wenn Sie fertig sind." Dietrich tenses in anticipation of what is to come, when Waldheim hands him over to Metzlich with the warning to cause no permanent damage and to send him into medical care afterwards.
"Hauptmann Dietrich... Hans", Dietrich stirs slightly at the sound of his given name. Gradually, his senses return to him. A hand is placed on his left shoulder and squeezing gently. Sounds of rustling and the smell of disinfectants invade his senses, before he finally gathers the strength to open his eyes. Doktor Ludwig Sommer leans over him with a frown marring his face. "Endlich", the MD sighs with a some relief. "Sie waren gut 2 Stunden vollkommen bewusstlos, Mensch." Dietrich's clouded mind needs a few seconds to process the information.
The Hauptmann struggles to guess how long Metzlich has been working him over, before he has finally managed to escape into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness. With the return to awareness, also the pain all over his body returns forcefully. Closing his eyes with a groan, the officer evens out his breathing to better deal with the waves of nausea and pain striking him, until he feels accommodated with his situation. Shifting his eyes to the windows without moving his body too much reveals that it is dark outside, assumably evening or night. As if reading his mind, Doktor Sommer informs him: "Es ist 20:30 und mittlerweile dunkel." Lowering his voice to a whisper, he inquires about Dietrich's crime: "Was bei Gott haben Sie verbrochen, dass die SS so mit Ihnen umgeht?"
Closing his eyes again, Dietrich sighs and answers in a hoarse whisper: "Meine Cousine wurde als Widerständlerin und Verräterin erschossen." Doktor Sommer is speechless for a moment. Of course, he is as much aware of the concept of clan liability as any German, as it is a relevant part of the NSDAP propaganda and politics against all Jews as a whole people. But that the SS would act that aggressively against a German officer like Hauptmann Hans Dietrich despite his proven loyalty and reputation within the Afrikakosps has been unthinkable for Ludwig Sommer until now. The camp medic finds himself unable to think of any other comfort he could possibly give to the man who has been his commanding officer for a full year and proven time and again that he cares about his men's wellfare and is willing to put his own life at risk for the protection of his soldiers, the man who has always acted with as much chivalry, as the Hauptmann's position would allow him. Therefore, Ludwig Sommer squeezes the young Captain's shoulder reassuringly: "Geben Sie nicht auf, Herr Hauptmann! Sie haben sich nichts zu Schulden kommen lassen."
Dietrich squeezes his eyes shut with a pained expression on his face. If only the good doctor knew what kind of transgressions he has accumulated of his own accord in the eyes of Waldheim. Even though loyal to the bone to his homeland which his family has served as officers for the last 4 generations, his personal code of honor and concept of chivalry drilled into him from early youth clash with the reality of people like Waldheim or Metzlich becoming more frequent in the army. Especially the sub-branch of Hitler's personal task force, the SS, act with brutality and often sadism beyond military necessity while the likes of Dietrich fall by the dozen every day loyally following the command to withstand a superior enemy.
Ludwig Sommer lets the desperate young officer deal with his emotions for a minute, before literally shaking him out of his reverie. "Hauptmann Dietrich, wir haben Befehl, Sie zurück ins Gefängnis zu bringen, sobald Sie dazu in der Lage sind." Dietrich's gaze focuses on the medic. What else could he have expected than to be ordered back to jail. "Sie sollten davor noch etwas trinken und sich waschen. Ich habe eine frische Garnitur für Sie", Sommer continues compassionately and Dietrich thanks him for being so considerate to not only provide him with water and soup but also the chance to wash, shave and change into clean clothes, however long they would stay clean after that. Doktor Sommer helps him with maneuvering his injured shoulder while putting on a fresh shirt.
Looking more like himself in the clean trousers and shirt despite the bruises on his face, Hauptmann Dietrich is escorted back to the jail by a nervous young private from his own unit, Gefreiter Wolf Bauer, and a very determined looking SS guard who glares at the injured prisoner. At least they do not harass him any more and he can lie down on the cot and find some dreamless sleep induced by pure exhaustion.