Chapter 8

Much to my surprise, the base wasn't our morning destination as usual. It was the Inn. No travelling tourists or businessmen occupied the premises as one would normally have expected. Instead, men in uniform milled about. The Innkeeper had obviously made up for the wartime shortfall in clientele, although I highly doubted the Nazi's were full paying customers as the business and tourist sectors had been.

The 'Inn' was not really an inn as conjecture would have it, more of a small hotel. A quaint stone structure on which ivy had thrived and flourished over many decades encompassed the twenty-room, three story building situated on what once must have been a manicured lawn with cherub fountains that had long since stopped peeing in the now moss covered basins. Whatever the name of the establishment on the sign high above the main entrance was, it was obscured by a huge Nazi flag.

The interior lobby was tastefully ornate in dark teak wood. Scenic paintings adorned the walls and sculptured busts of men and women unknown to me were scattered about on shelves and tables. A huge fireplace wall allowed a view into what was obviously a dining room on the other side, decorated in much the same wood finishing as far as I could tell.

From behind the front desk, a very obese man dressed in a starched white shirt and black bowtie greeted the colonel and his entourage of us young boys. Obviously the proprietor had spent better days welcoming better guests who entered through his front doors. Even I saw through the phoniness and fear that the man tried to mask. His survival, and maybe that of members of his family depended on his extended courtesy. As lame as it was he reminded me of my pathetic uncle who had lost everything in spite of his groveling before this officer.

Checking the colonel in, he gave him a key as if all was a normal transaction. He rang a bell and a youth of about sixteen appeared. I recognized him as a busboy from the base camp's officer's mess. Claus knew him of course and the two exchanged greetings in German. I was the only person with 'luggage' and felt a little uncomfortable when he tossed my duffel-bag over his shoulder and escorted us into the lift which took us to a third floor suite with two double beds.

The visit to the Inn was no side trip, I realized. It would be home indefinitely for the colonel. His uniforms hung clean and crisp in the open closet, the bellhop also showed the man his socks and underwear in the chest-of-drawers. Clearly prearranged by the colonel, someone had been ordered to transfer his effects from the base to his new residence. The only explanation I could reason was that he had had premeditated intentions on vacating the farmhouse that day. I wondered if his original plan was to leave me behind with my family, or if the unforeseen circumstances had forced his conscience to take me along. Sadly ironic, had he known, my uncle had only one more night to endure his nemesis' presence in his household.

At either end of the common hallway was a toilet, bathtub, and of course, running water. A luxury I hadn't seen since leaving home in the city. As if things couldn't be better, Claus directed me to the window. Below was a swimming pool that appeared well maintained above all else on the neglected property.

We enjoyed a fine breakfast in the dining room. No surprise that the fat proprietor would not be able to economically maintain a staff, German soldiers and the valet youth substituted. I would learn later that that was a security precaution, eliminating spies as much as possible in what was accommodation for powerful men who apparently came and went regularly. Yes, Claus was no stranger to the Inn, privy to much of its goings-on; a good ally for me to have.

The colonel left for the base, leaving us four boys to enjoy the hot, humid day in the swimming pool. Claus was first to strip naked, none of us had a bathing suit or shorts or even a pair of underpants. Alex refused to strip, still very sullen and at odds with his treatment by Claus and I. Some of the men lazed around in towels or swam naked. Three naked developing youths drew plenty of spectators not only from those men, but also a few uniformed passer-by's who found sudden excuse to linger about to enjoy a poolside coffee and chit-chat amongst themselves. They didn't blatantly gawk, however I would have to have been an idiot not to feel their eyes stealing lustful glances at us repeatedly as we used the diving board.

Claus strutted like a peacock, taking a few more bounces on the springboard than was necessary causing his genitals to flop about. I followed his example whereas Damon remained modest and covered himself as best he could whenever out of the water. There was no doubt in my mind that he was fighting off his inhibitions in order to humor Claus' opinion of him. At the same time Claus berated Alex who sat on the deck hugging his knees unyielding to the peer pressure from the one boy to be reckoned with if he had any good sense of his own well being.

Most of the crowd had dwindled, the men having whatever business to tend to, unable to steal more time enjoying the view. There were only a handful remaining who I assumed had the day off. Claus meandered his way to a man whose towel loosely covered his lower extremities as he sprawled like a beached whale on a lounge chair, one hand provocatively hidden beneath the terrycloth.

A towel in hand only used to dry his hair, Claus straddled himself at the foot of the lounger with his legs spread wide and they chatted and laughed a short while before rising. The man nervously looked around as he adjusted his towel around his waist from which jutted his unmistakable erection below his robust belly, bade the teen a rather loud overemphasized good morning and waddled his way indoors. Claus waited several moments, wrapped himself in his towel and made his way behind the man, swiveling his head to give us a devilish smirk and a wave of fluttering fingers. Why Claus chose that man to rendezvous in a tryst when he could have had a choice of a few better looking men who were ogling him was beyond me.

During his absence, Damon and I tried to console the withdrawn Alex. He was steadfast in being obstinate and whiny, sneering at me and pulling away when I tried to place my arm around his neck. I couldn't apologize if that's what he wanted, nor would I. He was a victim no different than any of us. As a victim, he was just like the innumerable other boys that I witnessed enduring much worse treatment, not to mention his own orphan pals that he had been spared the living nightmare of. I tried to relay that in no uncertain terms but he seemed unable to grasp the reality. In disbelief, he told me to fuck off. I even questioned whether Damon took me seriously or not. I gave up in frustration and went for a swim.

Claus arrived back about an hour later looking smug, the kind of upside down smile that one wore when he had something of importance to reveal while awaiting inquiry from the very curious observer. He kept me in suspense a long while to enhance the intrigue before giving up his coveted secret.

The man he went with was none other than an SS officer, he explained for my simple-minded benefit, as the Fűhrer's hand-picked elite police unit was called. Obviously he held a rank more powerful in the Nazi hierarchy than even the colonel or his superiors, having the ear of the fuehrer himself. In Claus' over enthusiasm, he described to me what would be the colonel's extreme delight when he learned that the man was a confirmed homosexual, although a married man with five children who not only sucked Claus' cock, but got the boy to fuck his ass hard.

Claus had gained personal information and then seduced the man's weakness albeit, unsure what would happen in the man's bedroom. Luckily he struck the man's weakness. I had no idea what all this meant, of course, however Claus was ecstatic and in such a good frame of mind with the outcome that he hardly bullied Alex all the rest of the day. Frank, the teenage bellhop, provided us with a soccer ball which we kicked around the front yard dressed only in trousers and barefoot. Even Alex participated in our two against two match.

Late that afternoon the colonel's jeep could be seen stirring dust from the crest of the long windy road to the basin. Claus couldn't keep his excitement in check. He attempted to run up the dirt road to greet his mentor. However, the sharp stones under his feet persuaded him to gingerly retreat back to the parched brittle lawn until the vehicle pulled into the circular driveway. We all laughed as Claus again danced, his feet burning on the sun-baked cement before hopping in the jeep. I was well aware of the information he had to so frantically tell the colonel even if I still did not understand the significance of it. The colonel looked intently at Claus showing no emotion as he was told the information Claus had for him. Afterwards he disembarked from the jeep hauling Claus like a sack of potatoes under his arm to the safety of the cooler lawn.

He asked Claus if we were given lunch. Satisfied that we were provided sandwiches at the pool, he led us upstairs, undressed and lay naked on one of the beds. His cock left no question of what he desired. Claus instructed Alex and Damon to tend to the colonel's needs. I wished that he had chosen me, but I was more than excited when Claus shed his trousers and lay on the other bed beckoning me between his legs with a smile. Claus thought of it as a certain privilege or reward that he felt deserved to lie as the colonel lay if not showing off his equality to us submissives.

Although I wished to swap places with Alex and Damon, Claus' cock was every bit as rewarding. Placing my envy aside to please the second-in-command, the unappetizing faint odor of scat reminded me where his cock had been hours earlier. I dared not complain when Alex wasn't living up to his due role. The colonel relayed his displeasure to Claus who, in-turn, screamed at the sniveling boy who had placed his burden onto Damon who didn't complain for having to make up for Alex's apathetic approach if only to protect his friend. I admired Damon for that loyalty to Alex. Still, he remained stubbornly defiant.

With one vicious shove of his foot, the colonel sent the boy flying off the foot of the bed to crash on the floor where he cowered and sobbed uncontrollably. Damon flinched in momentary reaction to tend to his downed friend, wisely prudent was his reconsideration of making that move that would have placed both his and Alex's position and ultimately their lives in jeopardy. I had little doubt that Alex's fate was sealed by then. I felt sorry for his foolishness, but pleased that he hadn't brought Damon's wits down with him.

A knock on the door was the next disturbance. The colonel yelled for the intruder's identity, finding it was Frank who had an important message to deliver. Entry granted, the bellboy blushed at the scene and hesitated, his hand still on the doorknob as if ready to withdraw, perhaps misunderstanding the colonels muffled order to enter, he apologized. The colonel beckoned him in, stepping over whimpering Alex which must have been an added peculiarity. The naked Nazi still receiving a blowjob asked Frank to recite the note which read that the SS officer requested his presence at dinner to discuss internal matters brought to the attention of the Schutzstaffel.

The blood curdled in my veins. After what Claus had told me about the SS, I feared that the colonel was in grave trouble. It could only be the assassination of the two criminal soldiers that brought the fat investigator to town. Although Claus had pre-warned him, the colonel showed just a quiver of concern upon his lips now pursed in a ghost smile as he sat up in bed.

It was Claus who dismissed Frank, a liberty I thought astonishingly presumptuous when he instructed the bellboy to take Alex with him and detain him pending final orders from the colonel. The colonel raised his hand and halted Claus. He instructed him to advise the SS man that he would be honored to meet him at dinner and for Frank to arrange with the maitre'd a terrace table closest to the swimming area with no other diners within fifteen feet of the two powerful men. My mother often said that she could see the wheels turning in my head when I was absorbed in something, I could see those same phantom wheels spinning in the mastermind's head.

Sex was no longer on the agenda, the mood stymied by the strategic need for planning in a hushed conversation with Claus as Damon and I played a game of checkers. Both of us could sense the tension rising from across the room. I wasn't wrong in my summation that a wolf was in our midst. A wolf much larger and meaner than the evil one that presided unchallenged over his pack; the supreme ruler in his vast den of iniquity; the very man that finally showed a weakness to another man though it was well masked.

Earlier, I had wondered about Claus' random decision to go with the vile looking man and if he had truly been randy. I also continued to wonder why that man and not others that he could easily have seduced. I almost felt stupid and then laughed under my breath at how naïve I was. I'd known the answer all along. Claus' role had been to ferret out potential adversaries of the man that he ... well, loved; the man who was his guardian. Claus was no fool. He saw the SS officer as a threat as soon as he discovered the man's status and sudden presence being more than a bit of coincidence. The Schutzstaffel didn't usually make house calls to war bound encampments preferring, instead, to stay well clear of field operations.

The colonel dressed in his finest uniform complete with medals strung on his tunic that I had not seen displayed before. He was handsome as ever. Looking in a mirror, he placed his cap perfectly on his head as Claus fussed and spit shined his leather boots before pulling each over and up the man's calves tying them tight just below the knees. I caught the man's eye, smiled and clapped in a little girl-like manner. I was smitten in a way that I felt a pang of shame wondering what the hell possessed me to do such a foolish thing. He smiled down at me, chuckled with an amused look and, with his leather gloves in hand, he led his wolf cubs obediently trailing from the room.

We couldn't resist having a little fun in mimicking the goose step all over again as we had tormented our chaperone the day before. Our bare feet slapping the tiled floor of the hallway gave us away rather quickly. He abruptly turned and caught us red-handed, sneered, then smirked and gave us the Nazi salute. We returned the salute while, at the same time, desperately trying to keep straight faced despite our muffled giggles. Now being well behaved, we carried on walking in step behind the colonel. We bypassed the lift in favour of taking the stairs down.