by J. R. Sharp
It only took about two minutes for everybody to gather their jackets and hats and get into ranks outside. Giorgio stood between two soldiers with his hands tied behind his back. Gino and Giacomo were in front because they were already dressed and came out before most of the other soldiers. The sergeant called the troops to attention. The colonel asked Giorgio a series of questions related to anti-Axis-power meetings being held off the compound. Giorgio acknowledged going to the meetings but said they were not anti-Axis meetings but rather discussions of how to improve the country in its current state of confusion. As Giorgio completed his statement, Colonel Specca pointed to a small building next to the barracks. German soldiers opened a door and out came a man and woman dressed in all black. Both looked as if they had been beaten. The German soldiers escorted them to Giorgio, who now looked more defiant than scared.
The Italian colonel asked the two witnesses if this was the soldier attending the rally. They pointed to Giorgio and nodded. The two were then whisked away and put back into the building.
The German officers approached the colonel, leaned in, whispered and then stepped back. Colonel Specca flashed the officers a look of disgust but complied with their orders.
“Private Giorgio Giovani, you have been found guilty of all crimes and will face a firing squad. May God have mercy on your soul.”
The soldiers grabbed Giorgio and escorted him to a wall of the building where the couple had emerged earlier. There, a line of Italian and German soldiers waited with rifles in hand. Sergeant Sal blindfolded Giorgio and whispered something in his ear. He lit a cigarette and put it in Giorgio’s mouth, then departed with head hanging low. Giorgio spat out the cigarette and yelled, “The hell with the Axis powers; support the Allies!”
The soldiers raised their rifles, took aim, and the colonel gave the gesture to end Giorgio’s life.
At about 0700 the next morning, Gino and Giacomo were getting their jackets to head out for their work assignments when they noticed a crowd by the window near Sergeant Sal’s room. They went to see what the fuss was all about. Gino was revolted but not surprised to see the man and woman who condemned Giorgio hanging from a tree by their necks with caps over the heads.
Giacomo pointed at a sign at the bottom of the tree. It read, This couple was guilty of treason and sentenced to death by hanging.
***
Gino immediately thought about his visits, albeit infrequent, to his hometown to see his wife. Security had tightened; the Germans continued to crack down on deserters. If caught, the Germans would surely end his life and his wife’s. Still, he missed his family desperately and couldn’t fathom not seeing them again. He needed a new plan, and he would need Giacomo’s help.
Chapter 13
GINO HAD NOT BEEN able to travel to Pordenone for quite some time. He stayed loosely in touch with his family by befriending civilians, usually older men or women, who traveled from Rome to Venice and to Pordenone and beyond the Italian borders. These travelers would take letters and bring back information from the workers’ families on a regular basis. Of course, there was a fee or some sort of bartering. Gino learned that Catherina was expecting their second child, and Giacomo received a letter saying his family was safe and doing well. They were happy about their situations but needed to decide what to do if things went the wrong way in Rome.
As the summer weather improved, the amount of work for the soldiers in Rome increased. The winter had been colder than normal, compounding problems with the city’s electrical grid. They were so busy that Gino had convinced Colonel Specca that he and Giacomo needed their own vehicle so they could work more efficiently. Hours wasted being transported with laborers could be spent repairing electrical lines, Gino argued.
The colonel, wanting to please the Germans, agreed and was able to find a Taunus sedan they converted into a work vehicle. They moved all their tools, cables, switch boxes, and about anything they needed into this sedan so they could get any job done. The only stipulation was the car had to be parked in front of the barracks each evening, with the only exception being if they were on an emergency job.
“What do you think the problem is, Giacomo?” asked Gino.
Giacomo inspected a fuse that wasn’t working correctly. The fuse fed an apartment full of German soldiers.
“Well, the leads looked burnt, and it was most likely singed because these scums use too much electricity. We could tell them we can’t fix it and move onto the other jobs.”
“Isn’t this the third time this week we’ve had to fix this problem?”
“No, I think it’s the fourth.”
They chuckled; they were making their visitors uncomfortable without getting into trouble. Giacomo pulled out the old fuse while Gino readied a modified used one for installation. Normally, they would replace the old fuse with a new one. But in this situation, they made a slight modification to the fuse. Nothing the ordinary eye would catch, but a trained electrician would notice the leads were set to fail earlier than normal. He snapped it into place and power returned to the apartment building.
Gino was in the driver’s seat when Giacomo climbed in the passenger side. They’d modified the passenger seat due to his height, back problems and eyesight issues. Gino put the car into gear and headed toward their next job, which was about a kilometer away.
As they pulled out of the driveway, a German car pulled in behind them. Gino stopped the car, and Giacomo turned to see a German and an Italian officer in the car blocking them.
“What do they want from us?” remarked Gino. Both officers approached their makeshift work truck.
“Are you the electricians?” asked the Italian officer.
“Yes sir! What can we do for you?”
“You need to follow us. There has been an emergency and we need you to fix an electrical issue at one of our hotels.”
“I am sorry, sir, but we have strict orders from our colonel not to go anywhere except for our work orders.”
Giacomo held the paper showing their assignments for the day. The Italian officer raised his head over the car’s roof and looked at the German officer, who was standing straight with his thumbs in his black belt looking at Giacomo. He was in no mood for belligerence and told the Italian officer so in German.
The German wore a black uniform with matching hat. Giacomo had his right hand on the door handle, and his left held a nine-inch assault knife hidden underneath the work-order paperwork. He wasn’t going to let some Gestapo thug take his life without a fight. He was ready to make his move when the Italian made an offer.
“What if we gave you some money and cigarettes for your time?”
Giacomo’s grip eased.
“We’re listening to your offer. What’s the job?” asked Gino.
“The Hotel Roma needs better electricity for its residents. We will give you a month’s pay and a case of cigarettes.”
Gino knew what hotel they were talking about and how important it was to the officers. It was their playhouse, complete with a bar, girls and gambling.
“How about a month’s pay for each of us and two cases of cigarettes, and we will make the hotel our first priority every morning.”
The Italian looked at Gino for a minute and walked over to his German companion to discuss their counteroffer. As the German left the passenger side of the car, Giacomo returned the assault knife to its resting place under the passenger seat. Gino waited for about ten minutes before he got out to see what was taking so long. The officers waved him over.
“We will give you the pay and cigarettes if you also make sure the officer barracks is checked every day as well,” the Italian officer said.
The German carried two cases of cigarettes from their trunk to the electricians’ car, and the Italian handed Gino a stack of money thick enough to be two months’ pay.
“Now go fix the Hotel Roma and make sure the electricity stays on at the barracks.”
Gino took the money and watched them get into their car and pull away. He counted
the money, took half and handed Giacomo his cut.
“Thank you, sir! Shall we head toward the Hotel Roma to make the necessary repairs?”
“Well, I think we should. Can I get one of those new cigarettes?”
“Not until the Germans get their power, mister,” Giacomo said, chuckling with his partner.
***
Hotel Roma was outside of Rome’s southern city limits and beyond the control of the Roman Catholics and local police. Everybody knew if the Germans wanted anything, they usually received it, and this playhouse was no exception. The hotel was a gesture from the Italian Fascists to make the Germans happy. The hotel had been a popular retreat for local politicians, military and business partners to meet and set rules. It was also the place for gambling, drinking and prostitution, for which it was now primarily used by the Germans.
It was built in 1930 with a grand entrance, spiral stairway leading to the bar, a complete kitchen, and more than fifty rooms, including three suites usually occupied by senior military officials. The building was off the main highway into southern Rome that connected most of Italy’s major cities, including Naples. The exterior was white marble, and a grand stairway led to the entrance, which had two Norwegian oak doors that stretched over twenty feet high and were closed most of the time. Entrance into the hotel was made through an adjacent door. Most regulars used a side entrance, which was often crowded with patrons and military officers. Enlisted personnel were forbidden, except those who worked at the hotel.
“Wow, this is a nice hotel. Nothing like the ones we work on in Rome,” said Gino as they pulled up. Giacomo nodded and guided his large frame out of the sedan. No cars were parked in front of the hotel, which meant they were in the wrong place. Gino started to say something to Giacomo, but it was too late; his friend was already climbing the stairs to those huge doors. He decided to follow. Giacomo was about to knock on the huge door when the smaller side door opened to reveal a doorman.
“This hotel is for military officers—not enlisted personnel. Have a nice day,” said the doorman as he closed the door.
Giacomo looked at Gino with a huge smile and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Gino walked past his friend to knock on the side door. The doorman opened the door, and before he could say anything Gino said, “We are here to work on the hotel.”
The doorman responded, “What kind of work, and why aren’t you using the side entrance like everyone else?”
“Well, that would explain why there aren’t any cars in front. We’re here to fix the electrical problems the hotel is currently having.”
“Wait here; I’ll be right back.”
As they waited, a long black sedan pulled into the entrance and parked behind their work vehicle. An enlisted German chauffeur emerged and opened the back door of the sedan. Out came a senior German officer in all black. He wore a German pistol on his side, long black boots, and his uniform’s creases were sharp enough to cut. An attractive young lady slid out of the back seat after the well-pressed officer.
Gino could tell she was a local girl and not a German. The officer held out his right arm and the pretty lady slid her left into the crook as they walked up the stairs. Gino and Giacomo saluted as they stepped by. As Gino stood motionless with his right arm extended, the side door opened. The doorman gave the Italians a dirty look and held the door open for the newly arrived couple.
“Good afternoon, Colonel. Glad to see you again. I hope you enjoy your stay. Your suite is ready. We have already checked you in and I will make sure your bags are taken to your suite,” said the doorman.
The colonel tipped the doorman and led his lady friend into the hotel without a word.
“Hurry up and give me a hand with their bags. I will show you where to park your truck and the electrical problems.”
Giacomo and doorman retrieved the colonel’s bags while Gino moved their truck to the side of the hotel. Gino was standing at the bar sipping a beer when Giacomo came through the main lobby.
“How did you get a beer?”
“I asked the bartender for one and he gave me one. I figure I had nothing to lose but a beer.”
They laughed as Giacomo held up his hand for a beer as well. They stood inconspicuously by the bar and looked around at the ornate scene.
“As far as I can tell, there don’t seem to be any electrical problems here. I walked through most of the lobby and some of the other areas of the hotel, all of which had electricity working just fine,” said Giacomo.
A loud sound came from a distance—a train headed into Rome from Naples. As the train passed, the lights in bar went out and so did half the lobby lights.
“Well, that answers a lot of questions,” remarked Giacomo.
Once the train passed, all the lights came back on. They finished their beers, tipped the bartender, and walked the grounds to find where the electrical connections came into the hotel. They spotted wires coming from a huge distribution panel by the railroad tracks.
“Well, I guess we should go over there and see what’s happening,” remarked Gino.
They walked across a field of tall grass to the railroad tracks about 400 meters from the hotel and crossed the tracks to where the wires came down the pole and into the panel.
“This must be the main panel for this whole area. There must be a loose wire or connection somewhere,” remarked Gino.
They looked up and down the panel, careful not to touch anything for fear of being shocked.
“There is the main switch, but it has a lock on it. I wonder who has the key?” asked Gino.
“I don’t know, but it has a German sign on it. Let’s go back to the truck and get our tools so we can fix this problem and go back to Rome.”
“You go ahead and get the tools. I’m going to see if I can find the problem.”
About fifteen minutes later, Giacomo returned with tools, but Gino was nowhere to be found. He called for his friend instead of walking to look for him. Giacomo’s back was bothering him, and so was his good eye.
“Gino, where are you?”
“Over here, and I found the problem, but I don’t think it’s a problem. More of a situation.”
Giacomo walked over.
“Look at this switch someone put here. If you flip the switch, all the electricity will go out at the hotel. But it’s broken, so that’s why the vibration of the train shorts it and only some of the lights go out. This switch was spliced in without ever taking the lock off the main panel. Look at where it’s tied into the line. They covered it with rocks, but it looks like the big tree branch over there may have hit this switch when it fell, or something else happened to cause this switch to go bad.”
“I’ll bet the only reason this is here is so that someone can turn the lights off at the hotel and enter at night to kidnap or kill people,” the always suspicious Giacomo said.
“I was thinking the same thing. Do we repair the switch or remove it?” responded Gino.
Giacomo retrieved a new switch connector and some jumper wire from the toolbox. In five minutes, he had it fixed without any assistance from Gino.
“I guess we should bury the switch, go back to the hotel and wait for a train to come by to see if we fixed the problem. We should do this in the bar to make sure the lights are okay.”
They buried the device and packed up the tools.
As they entered the bar, they saw four German officers drinking beer and the bartender cleaning glasses. They walked to the bar and ordered two beers. As they waited for their beers, the doorman walked in and headed for them.
“What are you two doing in the bar? I told you; no enlisted allowed in here. Why are you not working on the electrical problem?”
“We are working, and we’re having a beer while waiting to see if our repair works,” replied Giacomo. The bartender placed two beers in front of them.
“Waiting for what?”
“We are waiting for a train,” they answered, picking up their beers and taking a sip.<
br />
“Why are you waiting for a train in the bar where you’re not supposed to be in the first place?”
“We think we fixed the problem, so we need to make sure the lights don’t go out when a train goes by the hotel. The train vibration may be causing the lights to go out. We have to wait and see, so we figured we might as well have a beer while waiting. Please let us do our jobs.”
Gino saw the Germans listening to their conversation. The doorman was agitated and about to call hotel security when everyone in the bar stood and saluted at the same time. The German colonel entered with his lady in tow. They were going to have a few cocktails before dinner.
“Let them stay and drink a beer. I am tired of my lights going off and on all the time,” said the colonel. “Everyone go back to your drinks and don’t mind us. We will be sitting in back waiting to be served.”
Giacomo relaxed as the colonel passed him and gave the doorman a get-lost gesture with his right hand. The doorman turned and left the bar. Gino and his friend sat and drank their beers, wondering how long until the next train passed. Gino couldn’t help but notice the bartender looking at them as if he were hiding something or keeping a secret. The bartender poured them two more beers.
“These beers are on me, guys. I hate the doorman, and to see him get put in his place makes for the best day ever.”
Giacomo and Gino smiled and raised their beers in a toast.
“Do you know when the next train will come by the hotel?” asked Gino.
The bartender looked at his watch. “In fifteen minutes.”
“Well, we have time for one more after this one, and then we need to head back to Rome.”
The bar was getting more patrons and the noise level picked up. They were on their third beer when they heard the familiar sound of a distant train approaching. As the train got closer, Gino turned around to see everyone at the bar staring at him and Giacomo. News traveled quickly; everyone wanted to know if these two electricians from Rome fixed their problem. The train came and passed without a light even flickering. Everyone in the bar cheered and clapped; even the bartender smiled.
