Perishable Goods, part 2

“I knew you’d come,” were Elsa’s first words when I stepped into the apartment.

“And I knew you’d say that. Let’s just get this done quick.”

She smiled wryly.

“Of course. Where would you like to start, Mr Dante?”

“Oskar,” I said firmly. Between her and Karl, I’d heard my surname more times than I cared to count.

“Oskar it is, then. Did you ask about the lieutenant?”

“Yeah,” I said, “he saved Grandpa’s life.”

She nodded. “Jutland, I think it was. He was my uncle. The way I see it, your family owes mine something.”

“Well,” I said, shifting uncomfortably, “let’s see the cargo then.”

“Right over here.” She led me to an unpainted door at the back of the room, the naked wood contrasting sharply against the apartment’s stylish décor. “Here’s your cargo, Oskar,” she said, and with that flung it open.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and my nose longer to adjust to the smell. Behind the door was a small space, about the size of a broom cupboard. Huddled in the corner were two men and a woman, barely recognisable as human beneath a carpet of filth.

“Oskar,” Elsa smiled, for all the world as if there wasn’t a family of refugees crowded into her closet, “meet the Novaks.”

“Novak? Is that Polish?” I asked after a moment, clamping a hand to my face to keep out the stench. Elsa seemed unaffected.

“Czech. As you can probably tell, they’ve been here a while. We have to keep them in here, in case your friend Karl or any of his goons come knocking. It’s your job to get them to London.”

“And where will you take them from there?”

“Away,” she answered simply. “I have friends there that will deal with them. That’s all you need to know.”

I shrugged. It seemed fair enough.

“And what are their names?”

“You’re asking an awful lot of questions for a no-questions-asked job. The parents are Samuel and Esther. They only speak Czech, so there’s no point talking to them. The boy is Joshua. He knows a little English and, since that’s our only common language, it’ll have to do.”

Joshua looked a lot older than he was. Even though I could see now that he couldn’t have been much older than eighteen, his eyes shone with a fierce determination, whereas his parents’ were dull and grey.

It was he now who clambered to his feet and pointed a dirty finger at me.

“Is he… going to save us?” he asked. His words were deliberate, laboured and heavily accented, but just about understandable.

“Yes, Joshua,” Elsa nodded, her eyes welling slightly, “he’s going to save you.”

* * * * *

“Relax, Dante,” Karl grinned, raising his arms in mock surrender. “What, can’t live with us taking Grandpappy away for a while?”

“And where are you taking him?” I snapped, ignoring the bemused gazes of the uniformed men standing around me.

“Like I said, away. Exactly where is no concern of yours.”

“On what charge?” I paced restlessly to the end of the room, before turning around and wheeling back. I could tell Karl was watching with great amusement.

“Let’s see… Willem Dante…” He rifled through a pile of papers, before pulling out a particular document. “Here we are. Harassment of an officer in the execution of his duty.”

“Meaning?”

“He was annoying me. The sooner he’s inside, the better. That guy takes cranky to the extreme.”

I paced across the room again, clutching my head with one hand. “This isn’t right. Grandpa hasn’t done anything wrong.” I spun around, glaring once again at him. “Isn’t there anything I can do for him?”

“Let’s see… no,” Karl answered flatly, packing away his files.

“Listen… Karl…”

“Officer Schneider, I think you’ll find.”

I felt my throat dry. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to the cool surface of the mirror.

“Officer Schenider,” I whispered, voice cracking slightly. “What if I told you I’ve been seeing this woman?”

“Good for you.”

“A woman called Elsa Winters.”

Karl’s head jerked up. “Elsa Winters?” He leaned back again, a thin smirk curling the edges of his lips. “Oh, I know about Miss Winters, alright.”

“What do you know about her?”

“Well, Miss Winters- not her real name, I’d bet- is wanted in several different regions for… anarchistic activities. She’s dangerous, Dante. An enemy of the state. You want as little to do with her as possible.” He helped himself to a glass of wine from Grandpa’s table, still half-full. “We’ve had people higher up the chain tracking her for some time now. She operates out of a little flat in the capital.”

“Amsterdam?”

“Brussels. She travels a lot. Point is, Dante, we can strike a deal here. We’ll let old Grandpa Willem go,” his voice dropped a little as he downed the glass, then leaned forwards, “if you bring us our friend Elsa Winters.”

* * * * *

“You seem distracted, Oskar.”

“I’m fine.” I kept glancing around at the Novaks, huddled in the corner of the room. Every time I did, Samuel and Esther’s heads dropped; Joshua just stared warily back, the whites of his eyes standing out against the dirt accumulated on his face.

Elsa removed her glasses and rubbed her temples. She seemed a little more exhausted with each passing minute.

“Mr Dante… Oskar… you don’t seem to appreciate how urgent this is. We need to get them out of the country before tomorrow evening, Monday max.”

“I’m concentrating.”

“Good. Now,” she jabbed her finger at the map of Europe laid out on the table, “we can take this road to…”

I wasn’t listening. Outside I could hear the thump-thump-thump of motors, the repetitive whir sending chills down my spine.

“…if we go by car to Calais, then we can…”

Wheels ground to a halt against the rough stone cobbles. Somewhere down below us car doors clicked open.

“…and then on to Dover, I have a friend there who…”

The doors slammed shut. Voices began to rise, heated words spiralling through the frosty morning air.

“…and after that we should…”

“Elsa,” I grabbed her arm, cutting her off. “You need to get out of here. Now.”

“Oskar! What do you-”

“Schneider’s coming. I think he’s already here. You’ve got to go!”

“But… Oskar, I don’t…”

I ran my hands through my hair, twisting the well-combed strands into knots.

“I sold us out, alright,” I said belatedly, staring intently at the carpet, “I had to… there was nothing I could… I mean, what would you…” I trailed off, silence filling the vacuum between us.

We stood there for a minute, half-listening to the clattering of soldiers on the ground floor. I pulled my hand away from my hair, and a few grey threads came away with it.

“You need to go,” I whispered eventually. “Leave by the back door.”

She didn’t move. Her feet stayed cemented in place, whatever little colour she had rapidly draining out of her skin.

“Elsa, do you trust me?”

She said nothing. I grabbed her by both shoulders, and her head shuddered, as if awaking from a trance.

“I… I don’t know…” she said, her eyes welling again, their surfaces shimmering in the light.

“I need to know now, Elsa- do you still trust me?”

“I… I’m not sure… I… I think so… yes, Oskar, I do. God knows why but I do.”

“Good. Go to the Church of St Nicolas, at the top of town. I’ll meet you there.”

“But what about-”

“Don’t worry about them. I’ll get them out of here, I’ll look after them. I promise you. Now go!”

She still didn’t move.

“Elsa…” I pleaded, but trailed off as she shook her head.

“It’s Marise,” she said quietly. “Marise van Buren.”

“Marise. They’ll be here any moment, and when they do, you’ll get the inside scoop on the very camps you’ve been trying to keep the Novaks out of. You have to leave, and you have to leave now. Please!” I squeezed my forehead, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Please.”

For a further agonising second, she stood frozen, undecided. And then she was gone, the click of the door behind her the only reminder that she’d ever been there at all.

I sank into a chair, burying my face in my hands. Already I could hear the tramp of boots on the staircase.

“What is… going on?” Joshua asked after a minute. I ignored him. My head was spinning, my thoughts fragmented into a thousand shards, spinning away helplessly into space.

Eventually the door creaked open, Karl’s figure framed bodily in the doorway. After him strode a dozen men, each with a rifle slung over their shoulder.

“Is that them?” he demanded, motioning towards the Novaks. Almost unconsciously they huddled a little closer together.

I nodded bleakly. Karl signalled to the soldiers; a pair grasped each of them and hauled them roughly towards the door. Samuel and Esther just gazed despairingly at the floor as they were dragged away. I tried as hard as I could to meet Joshua’s eyes as he was led past me, but couldn’t bring myself to.

“So where’s our friend Elsa got to?” Karl said, glancing grimly around the room.

“She’s gone to the Church of St Nicolas,” I replied, looking up again, “And her name’s Marise. You can probably catch up with her before sundown. Where are you going to take the Czechs?”

“Away. What does it matter to you?”

I shrugged.

“I guess it doesn’t,” I said weakly.

“You don’t look well.”

“What’s with the concern all of a sudden? Please tell me you’re not actually going to start caring,” I gulped, sliding down in my chair a little. “I’m as well as anyone can be after selling their soul to the invaders.”

“Please don’t see us as an occupying force, Dante. Think of us more as compulsory guests.”

I said nothing. Karl fiddled uncomfortably with his armband.

“Listen, Dante… Oskar,” he said, kneeling down beside me, “you may question what you did here, but believe me, it was the right thing. We’re building a better world. And now, you’re a part of that.” And then he was gone, leaving only the sound of the wind and the tramp of boots fading into the distance.