Free The Devil's Blessing by Tony Hernandez Page B

standing directly in front of them.
    The outline of his helmet was clear: he was one of them, a Nazi, and therefor a friend. But if their friend was to find out what their real motive was, he would quickly become their enemy.
    Even from the distance that they were at, he was something of an oddity. He waved to them like a man who was stranded on an island and was happy to be found.
    Was he alone? Probably not, since the motorcycle next to him had a passenger cart next to it, and meant that there were more.
    “Heil Hitler!” the man said as they approached. He was still too far to make out a decent look at his face, but his enthusiasm was hard to contain.
    “Heil Hitler,” Ingersleben said, as well, giving an almost lazy salute, not raising his voice.
    “Grenadier Matthias Althaus!” the man said, smiling, extending his hand. His teeth were dark and stained.
    “ Unteroffizier Erich Ingersleben,” Ingerslben said, hoping that his title might cause an impression on the young man. It did. He quickly straightened up.
    “I’m sorry, Unteroffizier! I don’t see your markings!”
    “Wouldn’t want a Soviet sniper to pick me out, now, would we?” Ingersleben said with a grin, allowing the new Nazi to relax.
    “No! Of course not! Even the Finnish have excellent marksmen!”
    Which was true. This war was making heroes from all sides, and the stories were leaking out. Instead of making most men angry, it just gave the enemy that much more respect. It was good to know that their enemy was a tough one and not a push-over.
    “Where is your commander?”
    “My commander?” Althaus said. “He’s over there, on the other side of that church. I’ll take you to him.”
    “There will be no need to do that.”
    “Sir?”
    “Must I repeat myself? You can ask my men. I do not like to repeat myself.”
    “No, of course not,” Althaus said, all aflutter. It had been days since Ingersleben had put fear into someone. He was happy to be doing it again. It was him in his best element.
    “I just thought—”
    “You thought what?” Ingerlsben said, stepping right into the upright man’s ear.
    “I just thought you would want to rest or eat some food, after coming so far from wherever you were.”
    “And where would we be coming from?”
    Grenadier Althaus was confused, not sure of what answer to give, or why he was being questioned so. “I’m not sure, sir. How would I know?”
    “Exactly,” Ingersleben said, taking a step back from the near-trembling man. “We are coming from the east and headed to the north of here, to meet with men in the other front.”
    “What town?”
    “What town?” Ingersleben came back to the man’s ear, looking as if he was ready to bite the man’s ear off.
    “No, sir. What I mean is, what town were you coming from?”
    “And this concerns you because?”
    The man was sure to piss himself. He finally shrugged like a child and said, “I dunno. Just curious, sir. I’m sorry.”
    Ingersleben took a step back, even farther than before. He gave the frightened man a smile. “No need to apologize, young Grenadier. You must understand, our mission is need-to-know only, from Berlin, and we can’t be sharing information, now, can we?”
    “No, of course not.”
    They stood and stared at each other for a moment. They all knew the protocol. Grenadier Matthias Althaus was on patrol of this area. He was to ask for papers from everyone, including those in uniform. He knew that, and they knew that. The only question was--would he dare ask for proof of their orders now?
    “You will excuse us now. Heil Hitler.”
    “Heil Hitler!” Althaus said, with a little too much excitement.
    As they walked by the German and made their way farther east, Otto turned to see Althaus one last time. The impromptu grave they had made was no longer the only thing that made him feel uncomfortable to leave behind.

Part II of IV

    Week № 14 of 1945
    ✠
    2nd April through 8th April

    Schneidemühl
    Grenzmark