Chapter 6

On Saturday morning Herr Farber was expected and Manfred shook Gerry until he was fully awake.

"We're eating early this morning, Herr Farber is visiting and we always take precautions whenever anyone visits here. After we eat we'll be moving into the pit until we get the all clear."

"Why do you do that?"

"It's Herr Farber's instructions."

Gerry noticed that Manfred's attitude had not changed; he was just as terse as he was on the night that he had first met him. Now he seemed more volatile, as if he were facing something that he feared.

While Cornelia sat next to him at breakfast he hardly heard her small talk; his mind was on Anna and he was fantasizing about her. He was planning, because now he wanted her, he wondered what he could do to attract such a woman.

After breakfast the men went back to their huts. They gathered all of their belongings, mostly clothing and any other evidence that would show that they were living in the huts and placing their personal items on their camping mattresses, they rolled them and tied them with rope. They took their identification papers and poked them into their pockets and carried their individual bundles into hut three where they lifted the flagstone and quickly passed their bundles down to waiting hands below.

Two camping stretchers were unfolded and the rolled mattresses were stored on them. Camping chairs were unfolded and each man sat and watched as Manfred turned the lantern down.

"There's limited air circulation in the pit and I don't want it filling with kerosene fumes," he said.

Each man sat serenely, patiently waiting for the all clear. Manfred brushed past Gerry as he stretched his legs out getting comfortable for the long wait.

"We don't take any risks, we can never tell if Herr Farber is being followed from the camp," Manfred spoke softly from his chair behind Gerry. "Hiding here is better than being dead," he chuckled.

Gerry wondered if this was the same Manfred, his change of attitude surprising him.

They had been in the pit for two hours and the air was stale and humid from the heat of the men's bodies.

Manfred leaned from his chair and quietly he said, "I want everyone to be careful, no noise. I'm going to open the vent for a while."

He moved under hut one and grabbed a lever and slowly moved it upwards. Well-greased rods connected to a dummy drainage sump that had a false wall; as he moved the lever the false wall slid back and cold air seeped in.

Slowly the hot air rose up out of the sump and within ten minutes they were comfortable again.

They had been underground since seven; it was now ten thirty and Manfred whispered, "Shouldn't be too long now."

Gerry was impressed by the way Manfred informed everyone, he seemed eager to ease their burden. He looked over at old Johan; he had his eyes closed, dozing.

Twenty minutes later he heard Anna's muffled voice floating down the sump, "All clear Manfred. Richard has arrived safely."

Gerry realised that pieces of the puzzle were starting to lock together now. Manfred was somehow a leader, but of what?

'Maybe that would explain the perspiration and his finely tuned nerves the night he me drove me to this farm. His volatility might be caused by something dangerous that he's doing? Who is Johan and the other men that I know only by their first names, ' Gerry wondered, 'I don't have all the answers yet.'

Manfred was first up the wooden stairs and they passed their mattress bundles up to him. When they were settled back into their own huts the men went to the house and were taken by Anna to a room on the ground floor. Seated at a large table were Herr Farber and Alex, waiting for them.

Farber greeted each man by their first names as they sat and when he saw Gerry he smiled, "Good morning, Gerry."

"Good morning Herr Farber."

Gerry stood again and bowed slightly.

"From now on only first names, I'm sure Manfred has told you that."

"Yes Herr..." quickly he corrected himself, "Richard."

Gerry thought again that he would learn more if he kept quiet, but he kept listening intently, his nerves on edge unsure of what was coming next.

"Men, how do you feel about setting off next Tuesday? You're a larger group than we have ever moved before and we're about one hundred and fifty kilometres from the Swiss border; it will be a long tiresome trek in some places. Getting across the Rhine will be the worst because of the constant patrols."

Richard paused as if he were thinking of something important. He turned to Johan.

"Johan I've tried to make this as easy as possible but I'm certain that it will be a strain on you. Are you feeling well enough to start out next week?"

"I am Richard; I'm much better now, you shouldn't worry about me, I won't slow anyone down."

"Manfred and Alex have been busy planning and coordinating with our contacts near Stuttgart where I think that you will be delayed for one or two days, unfortunately this means camping out in the open for two nights. Then you will be skirting around Stuttgart going slightly west of Tubingen. Seventy kilometres southeast of Tubingen you will be camping out again for one or two days before you make a dash across the Rhine and then ten kilometres to the Swiss border."

"What are the arrangements once we cross the Swiss border," Johan asked.

"While the American's have influence they can't overtly assist you in Switzerland. They will however, have an aircraft ready to fly you to London and from there you will be taken to the U.S.A. I'm not worried about this leg of the trek, Johan."

"Which part are you most concerned with," Johan asked.

"The section between Tubingen and the border will be the most difficult but we've done our planning and with luck there should be few unforeseen circumstances."

A knock at the door caused Richard to stop. Anna came in backwards drawing a trolley holding plates of food and flasks of coffee.

Gerry watched her moving the food onto the table, she was petite and he enjoyed watching her firm backside as she twisted and turned.

'She has that core thing that makes a man want a woman, something animal, ' Gerry thought.

As she left with her trolley Gerry cleared his mind to focus on Richard.

"Please help yourself," he waved at the food then he rose and taking two sandwiches he walked to Gerry, "I want to talk to you for a moment; bring a sandwich with you."

He led the way out and down the hall to Alex's study, "Take a seat, and eat up."

As Gerry ate his sandwich he watched Richard peering out of the window, he looked about the same age as his father; he had a heavy frame and brown hair, his belly slightly protruding. It was his wide forehead and eyes that spoke of his intelligence. He stared out of the window, preoccupied with his own thoughts; he was so preoccupied that Gerry doubted that he knew what was on his sandwiches.

Richard finished eating, "Damn it's going to rain," he said as if to himself then he sat behind Alex's desk wiping his mouth with his handkerchief. "I believe that Alex has told you what the camp Commandant had planned for you."

"Some of it."

Gerry eased back into his chair trying to relax because he sensed that Richard wanted to discuss serious business with him.

"He believes that you are a Jew as I did for a while. It seems that there were some errors made when they classified you and so he was planning to send you to an extermination camp in Poland. I took you out of that camp to save you from an early death."

"I'm pleased that you did that," Gerry said softly, a light smile of bravado on his face but fear shot through his belly.

"You will remember that I told you that the work here would be tough so let me tell you what I want you to do for me. You may have guessed by now that I have Alex and Manfred helping people to flee from Germany. In that meeting room we have some of the worlds leading physicists and mathematicians, you will never know their identity, both for their protection and your safety. I need more people to assist Alex and Manfred, in fact it was Manfred that recommended you for this job, he's had time to study you closely. He tells me that you keep your mouth shut and you listen and learn quickly, these are some of the qualities that we need."

Gerry came forward on his chair, surprised that Manfred had recommended him but how would he be assisting him.

"What would I have to do?"

"I could be precise by saying anything and everything," Richard chuckled, "but essentially you will be helping refugees flee from Germany. There's no job description for that but Manfred has told me that he is willing to train you. You have a number of shortcomings the biggest is that you cannot drive a vehicle but he can train you do this. And you know next to nothing about communications that are the backbone of our operations. These are only parts of the overall job that will be hard, challenging and very dangerous work; fatal if you make a mistake."

"I've had some dangerous experiences. Life threatening."

"Yes I know. On Tuesday you will travel with Alex and Manfred and the eight men that have been staying here on their trek out of the country. I've arranged for you to travel with them so that you can see what will be required of you for the future. Do you have any questions?"

"Many but they can wait until I get back here," Gerry replied confidently.

Gerry was worried, 'I might be biting off more than I can chew but Richard seems satisfied, what was it that he said, 'anything and everything' but of what?'

They left Alex's study and went back to the main meeting.

Manfred was on his feet, talking to the refugees. He paused as Richard and Gerry resumed their seats. On the table in front of each refugee was a yellow identification card.

"Tonight you will memorise your identification card, you must know every detail on it, keep repeating theses details to yourself until you become that person."

'He doesn't change his story much.' Gerry thought.

"Tomorrow immediately after breakfast we will meet here and we will rehearse you regarding your new identify. Don't worry about mistakes, it's better to make them here than in the field in front of an SS officer. By the time we leave here on Tuesday you will be the person shown on your ID card. Believe me."

Richard could see that Johan was tiring and he asked Manfred to terminate the meeting. It was late afternoon and as they left the meeting room it started raining heavily.

Manfred and Richard left the meeting together heading to Alex's study, Richard tapped Gerry on the shoulder to get his attention, "I have to leave now, I have a meeting in Munich tomorrow so I'll be driving for a while. If you need anything see Manfred or Alex. I'll see you when I return here in two weeks time. Good luck."

Gerry returned Richard's firm handshake and watched him walk to Alex's study. 'What have I let myself in for, ' he wondered.

Gerry returned to hut two and dropped onto his bed, he felt exhausted and his nerves jangled. He dozed and dreamed of Anna swimming with him in the river.

He awoke, Cornelia was lightly tapping on his arm, "Anna sent me to tell you that dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

"What time is it?"

"Six thirty."

He rolled onto his back and saw that Cornelia was beautifully dressed. He thought that she might be going on a date.

"You look beautiful, that's an appealing dress, going somewhere?"

"No, we always dress for our little party on Saturday after dinner. You like my dress?"

"You fill it perfectly, it's very becoming on you. You look very, very sexy."

"You are a magician, two words from you and I'm wet already."

"Where have you been for the last few days?"

"If I acted like a lady then I would tell you that I've been 'indisposed' but I can talk freely with you; I've had my periods."

"I see. I thought that you might have told your mother about our adventure in the woods and she warned you to stay away from me."

"Oh I told my mother, we talk freely about anything, she didn't warn me away. She told me not to get pregnant, that's all."

"Really? You can talk freely about these things."

"Yes, why are you so surprised?"

"Such openness is not possible in Holland."

Cornelia leaned in close; "Kiss me like you did down by the river."

"I can't you've still got your clothes on."

She raised her arm but before she could strike him he pulled her close and pressed softly against her lips, then his tongue slipped out and circled her lips, he delighted in her shivering response. He pulled away tasting her lipstick.

"My lips are red now," he said.

Johan entered the hut and seeing Cornelia sitting on the bed, Gerry stretched out with his mouth smeared with lipstick, he winked at Gerry. Then he grabbed Cornelia's arm.

"I think Cornelia's being a naughty little girl."

He burst out laughing at his own joke, picking up his leather jacket he left the hut.

"He's a lovely old man isn't he," Cornelia said.

"He's a very smart man too, I believe. He's what you described as 'one of them' isn't he?"

"Look, I know what goes on here, I'm supposed to keep quiet and not know anything and when I said that to you, I didn't know, because of your short hair, whether you were going to be working here or you were a refugee. That's all I meant to say."

"Then you didn't mean 'one of them' as being Jewish?"

"Hardly. My father was Jewish and he was killed by a mad mob in Berlin in 1935 I was only eleven."

Cornelia's eyes watered and a single tear escaped and rolled down her left cheek. Gerry rolled off the bed and pulled her close to him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"All will be forgiven if I can have another kiss."

Gerry kissed her tenderly and her response caused his erection to poke out.

"I can feel the magician's wand again. Oh dear, look at your face lipstick smeared everywhere. You know what you look like? A Berlin faggot."

With that she dashed out the door and he heard her laughing all the way back to the house.

Gerry looked for something to wipe his face. Finally he took the edge of his bed sheet and kept wiping until no further traces rubbed off.

Dinner was different; tonight the lights were low, dimmer than they had been before. The meal consisted of minute portions of meat but there was a variety of vegetables and sauerkraut.

'The people are behaving differently, ' Gerry thought, 'on previous nights they were reserved but now some of them are quite jovial.'

Anna was the life of the party; smiling, her soft banter endearing her to the men, a few of them pitched in and assisted her right to the end of the meal and the clean up afterwards. Gerry was amazed that men of such intellect would concern themselves with such menial tasks; such was his view of the world.

Alex brought bottles of schnapps, a small bottle of Jägermeister and a box of cigars to the table. The harsh schnapps did not appeal to Gerry but he watched fascinated as they poured it into small glasses and drank it straight. As a child he had been given Jägermeister when he was sick, his family believed that it relieved the symptoms of colds and bronchitis. When Alex offered him a drink he politely refused, he saw no fun in drinking cough mixture.

Soon the air was turning blue with cigar smoke; it reminded Gerry of the Eindhoven cigars that his father sometimes smoked. He saw Alex light up and he watched her in amazement. He had never seen a woman smoke before and he wondered at how sexually exciting he found it.

With heavy cigar smoke filling the room Gerry wanted fresh air and he walked out through the kitchen where Anna was putting the last of the dishes away.

"Hello Anna you've been busy today haven't you, it was a fine meal though."

She was hanging a wet dishcloth over the oven handrail of the woodstove then wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand she replied:

"That's a nice thing to say. Thank you. Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to get some fresh air."

"A fine idea, I'll come with you."

They stood in the cold dark night there was no moon but the rain had cleared away and sparse clouds scudded across the sky.

They heard the drone of heavy bombers; high up, they were flying southeast in the direction of France or Britain.

"Bloody war." Anna muttered.

"Has the war affected you Anna?"

"Yes it has; two years ago my husband and two young children were shot, I was lucky to escape, if you can call that luck."

He put his arm around her shoulders. He looked down on her short trim body; her head level with his chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you sad. It's my stupid mouth, I don't think deeply enough before I open it."

"That's okay. You're not stupid. What you're going to do next week is a great thing and I admire you for it."

"No I'm doing it because I must do it in memory of my best friend."

"Richard is my best friend he has hidden me here, given me a new identity."

A smile flittered across Anna's face, "Did you know that you now have a good friend here."

"Cornelia?"

"Yes Cornelia. You did the right thing and didn't take advantage of her; an uncommon trait in men. She thinks that you're a magician."

"Magician; so she's told you that too has she."

"She tells me everything."

Anna held onto his arm and turned to face him then pushed firmly against him feeling his growing erection.

"You wouldn't believe the details that she's told me, you've changed her from a girl into an adult without destroying her. She sees the world differently now."

Anna jiggled her breasts against him and rubbed her hands down his back.

Gerry looked down at her attractive angular face; he could barely see her smiling eyes in the darkness. He framed her face with his hands and moved slowly to kiss her. He felt her grip tighten around his waist, as his lips met hers. He kissed her softly at first but she pushed harder against him and then her tongue flashed out and circled his lips. At first it felt thrilling but then he realised that she was playing with him and he pulled away unable to control his laughter.

What she said next, electrified him.

"You didn't like that did you?"

But her sarcastic, lilting voice was more musical than Lien's.

"I liked it. It's just that I know that Cornelia has been meticulous in her detailed story of our tryst by the river. It's a little deflating."

Anna pulled him closer, "It's just my little joke, I didn't mean to 'deflate' you. I don't think that I did anyway I can feel it and it doesn't feel deflated to me."