Enemies and Traitors: The Norsemen's War: Book One - Teigen and Selby (The Hansen Series 1)

by Kris Tualla

  The boy stopped struggling, but his body was as stiff as the towering trees surrounding them. Teigen loosened his hold a little.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  The boy sniffed, but didn’t answer. Teigen had hold of him from behind so he couldn’t see the young man’s face.

  “Hiding from the brown bastards?”

  The boy hesitated, then nodded.

  “Are you alone?” Teigen pressed.

  He nodded again.

  Teigen felt the boy’s body relax in increments. “If I let go, will you stay and talk to me?”

  When he didn’t answer, Teigen offered, “I’m a sergeant with Milorg. I can help you.”

  At that the boy twisted to look at him. Scared brown eyes searched his from under a filthy mop of what looked like blond straw.

  Even in the freezing air, Teigen could smell the dirt on the boy’s body.

  Teigen let go and rolled to the side, sitting in the snow. “What’s your name?”

  The boy sat up, warily brushing snow from the front of his clothes. “B-ben.”

  “My name’s Teigen.” He held out his hand. After a pause, Ben accepted it and gave it a firm shake. “Nice to meet you. Why are you hiding, Ben?”

  Ben looked like he was going to cry. “My full name is Benjamin. Benjamin Isaksen.”

  Teigen’s shoulders slumped. “You’re Jewish.”

  “My father’s Jewish.” Ben shot Teigen a challenging look. “My mother’s family has been in Norway since the Vikings.”

  “Doesn’t matter to those Nazi assholes, though, does it?”

  Ben shook his head.

  “Have you been in the mountains for the last four months?”

  “Some of them, yeah.”

  “So none of your family is still in Norway?”

  Ben’s composure crumbled like fresh snow. “They—they shot my mother the night they came to take us.” He wiped his cheeks leaving streaks of dirt across his face. “They—they said she was a traitor for breeding with filth. They left her body lying in the yard.”

  “And your father?” Teigen asked gently.

  “They said they were taking him to Germany for ‘experimentation’—him and my older brother.” Raw gasping sobs convulsed Ben’s overly-thin frame.

  Teigen fought his own empathetic tears. “How’d you get away?”

  “I was hiding in a closet—the one with the coal chute. I climbed out and ran.”

  Ben’s face fell into his hands as fresh spasms gripped him. Teigen wiped his eyes before pulling the boy into his arms. Ben’s cold and starving existence was so close to his own recent imprisonment that fear and hopelessness exploded in his chest, leaving him shaking.

  He held Ben while they both calmed, rocking him slowly in the snow, until the boy’s sobs abated to gasping, hiccoughing breaths.

  “How old are you?” he asked when he thought the boy could speak again.

  The answer came from behind his arm. “Fifteen.”

  Teigen unwound his arms and grabbed Ben’s shoulders. The realization that his own arms probably felt this thin just a few months ago solidified his resolve.

  He looked into the boy’s eyes. “You’re my cousin now, do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Ben’s brow furrowed. “No.”

  “I’m taking you with me,” Teigen stated. “We’ll get you new papers and a new name. As far as the brown bastards will know, you’re my cousin and I’m tutoring you for your secondary school exams.”

  “Are you a teacher?” was apparently the first question that came to Ben’s mind.

  Teigen smiled crookedly. “I used to be. Now I work with a traveling group of Milorg actors.”

  Teigen climbed to his feet. “Come on. Follow me.”

  Ben clambered to his feet, awkward, long-legged and knobby as a newborn foal.

  *****

  Dierks made no comment about Teigen’s unexpected companion, his only response being to open the car windows a little when the heater intensified the boy’s unwashed aroma.

  “He’s about my size. I’ll bring over some clothes,” Dierks offered as he and Teigen carefully unloaded the backpacks of explosive materials from the trunk of the car.

  Teigen shouldered the packs while Ben stood nearby, hunch-shouldered and clearly frightened. “Thanks for everything, Dierks.”

  Dierks grinned. “It’s been fun. And I’ll follow the news to see if our efforts are successful.”

  Teigen grinned and shook his friend’s hand. “I’ll see you in six months.”

  As Dierks drove away, Teigen led Ben into the hotel’s lobby. “Just keep your eyes forward and walk beside me.”

  Once safely in the elevator, Ben heaved a shaky breath.

  “After we get you cleaned up and in new clothes, no one’s going to give you a second look because you’re with me,” Teigen assured him. “Do you mind being called a Hansen?”

  Ben said no, but his face resembled a woeful hound.

  “It’s not forever. You can be an Isaksen again when the Germans are defeated.”

  “Okay.”

  Teigen contemplated what to put on the boy’s papers. “What was your mother’s maiden name?”

  “Thorkelsen.”

  The elevator doors opened and Teigen led Ben down the hall to the room he shared with Bennett.

  “After we leave Oslo tomorrow, I’ll make sure you have a bed.” Teigen unlocked the door and opened it. “But for tonight, sleeping on the floor beats sleeping in the snow, at least.”

  Ben walked into the room. “Leave Oslo?”

  “I told you—it’s a traveling troupe.” Teigen crossed to the bathroom and turned on the water. “Come on in here and take a shower. Dierks is bringing you some new clothes.”

  Ben stood in the white-tiled bathroom doorway looking like he’d entered heaven.

  “You can use the soap and the shampoo there.” Teigen pointed to his own toiletries. “And that comb, if you don’t have lice.” Teigen leaned closer, examining the boy’s hair. “Do you have lice?”

  “No. I stole gasoline and used it to keep the nits away.”

  Teigen nodded. “Good.”

  He stepped out of the small, white-tiled room. “Toss your clothes out after you take them off. If they’re not too worn, I’ll have the hotel laundress wash them tonight.”

  Ben gazed at him, looking stunned. “Thanks.”

  “Okay. Get to it. I’ll see about supper.” Teigen almost closed the door before he remembered to ask, “Are there things you don’t eat?”

  “No, we didn’t observe the laws. I’ll eat anything.” He looked like he was going to cry again. “We even celebrated Christmas.”

  Teigen smiled reassuringly and pulled the bathroom door solidly shut. Well. That’s that.

  Now what?

  *****

  Bennett, Teigen’s unflappable roommate, accepted the story of Teigen’s new charge without blinking.

  “I’d have done the same thing,” he said softly. “I mean, you couldn’t just leave him out there by himself.”

  “I hope Dahl agrees.” Teigen stretched out on his bed while he waited for the shower to turn off. “I’ll take financial responsibility for him, of course.”

  “We could make him part of the troupe,” Bennett suggested while he changed clothes for dinner. “We can always use another hand, and at his age he might be able to pass information without attracting unwanted attention.”

  Teigen’s mouth twisted. “I don’t want to put him in danger. He’s had enough of that.”

  Bennett stood in front of the mirror, watching himself button his shirt. “Are you really going to tutor him?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “Just wondering.” Bennett spun to face him. “How do I look?”

  Teigen laughed. “Like the ladies better be careful. Where’re you going?”

  “Supper and a dance hall. You pay five kroner to dance with a girl.”

  While that sounded like hell fo
r himself, it sounded like fun for his gregarious friend. “Who’s going with you?”

  “Gunter.” Bennett frowned. “Do you think he’ll get all the good-looking girls?”

  “No, I think you’ll do fine.” Teigen laughed again. “He’s not Dahl, after all.”

  Bennett rolled his eyes. “No kidding. When our glorious star is around, women don’t notice anyone else.”

  The bathroom door opened and Ben exited in a cloud of rising steam. One white towel was wrapped around his head and a second around his waist. His gaze jumped to Bennett.

  “Uh…”

  “Hi, Ben. I’m Bennett.” The props manager held out a hand. “Welcome to the Royal Shakespearean Acting Troupe.”

  Ben kept a tight grip on the towel at his waist with one hand but shook Bennett’s hand with the other. “Shakespeare? Really?”

  Bennett nodded. “You like Shakespeare?”

  “I love Shakespeare.”

  “Really?” Teigen sat up. “You do?”

  The adolescent blushed. “I’ve read Romeo and Juliet at least a dozen times.”

  “Well, we’ve focused on the comedies,” Bennett explained. “Considering the condition of the world at the moment.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  Ben leapt back into the bathroom and closed that door.

  Bennett answered the knock and was handed a pile of clothes tied with a rope. “Uh, thank you?”

  Teigen climbed off the bed to claim the clothing. “That’s for Ben. From Dierks.”

  “I’ll take this opportunity to leave you then.” Bennett stepped into the hall. “Have a good evening.”

  “You, too,” Teigen said as the door closed. He walked to the bathroom door and rapped a knuckle against it. “Hey, Ben—the clothes are here. I’ll leave them on the bed and take yours down to the laundry.”

  “Okay.”

  “After that our supper should be about ready.”

  “Okay.”

  Teigen hefted the sack of filthy clothes over his shoulder and left the room, locking the door behind him.

  Chapter

  Twenty Four

  February 26, 1943

  Oslo, Norway

  Teigen spent last night on the floor. After their supper he went to speak with Dahl about his changed situation, and brought the troupe’s captain to meet Ben. He found the boy curled in a ball on his bed, dead to the world.

  “Guess I’ll meet him tomorrow,” Dahl said when they retreated into the hallway. He gave Teigen a scrutinizing look. “Are you sure you want to take him on?”

  No.

  But sometimes in life doing the right thing was required, even if it was less than convenient. Or even downright hard.

  “Bennett suggested we could use him as a runner,” Teigen floated the idea. “He thinks that being so young, Ben won’t attract suspicious attention.”

  “That’ll be Ben’s decision, I think.” Dahl said as he turned to leave. “In the meantime we’ll definitely put him to work.”

  Teigen stretched and knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you almost ready for breakfast? I think my navel is touching my backbone.”

  Ben opened the door, dressed in his new clothes. He looked embarrassed. “I wanted to shave…”

  Teigen considered the adolescent’s nearly invisible blond sprouts. “You shaved last night for the first time in months. Give your face a rest until tomorrow.”

  Ben nodded. “I just want to look respectable.”

  Teigen’s gaze traveled over the clothes that were the right length, but hung on Ben’s skinny frame. “You look fine. Now let’s apply our efforts to fattening you up.”

  *****

  Selby heard all about Teigen’s new acquisition from Dahl when they shared a breakfast table. When Dahl finished eating and went to settle the troupe’s hotel bill, Selby decided to wait in the dining room to see for herself.

  What was Teigen thinking, she wondered as the waiter cleared the dirty dishes. What unmarried man would drag a teen-aged stranger out of the woods and give him his own bed?

  Selby stared out the window at the blustery morning and sipped her tea. Teigen was certainly interesting.

  “Selby?”

  She turned and looked up into Teigen’s bright green eyes. Her heart lurched a little. “Good morning.”

  “May we join you for breakfast?”

  “Um, yes. Of course.” Selby set her cup down and waved at the empty chairs. “I’ve already eaten, but I’ll stay and keep you company.”

  A tall, lanky teen stepped out from behind Teigen and claimed a chair. His blond hair was overlong, his brown eyes wary, and his clothes were loose.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” he said in a voice that sounded uncomfortable with its newly lower range.

  Teigen pulled out the chair next to Selby. “Selby Sunde, meet Ben Thorkelsen Hansen. The newest member of our troupe.”

  Ben’s gaze shot to Teigen. “That’s my name?”

  Teigen unfolded his napkin. “Do you object?”

  “No. I like it.” Ben blushed, his cheeks turning a blotchy red. “Thanks.”

  Selby watched Teigen encourage Ben to order as much food as he wanted. His attention to the boy was matter-of-fact, respectful. As if talking to a peer. Nothing like she expected.

  “I’ll be tutoring Ben while we travel,” Teigen said after taking a bracing sip of coffee. “So when this mess is finally over, he can take his university exams.”

  “Mister Hansen says he taught upper secondary school,” Ben ventured.

  Of course he knows how to treat the boy. He’d taught that age in school for the last several years.

  Teigen leaned toward Ben. “If we are to be believed as cousins and troupe mates, you’ll need to call me Teigen.”

  Ben’s face reddened again. “Yes, sir.”

  Teigen flashed a crooked grin. “Considering our age difference, I’ll allow sir if that’s what you’re comfortable with.”

  Ben’s eyes widened as his breakfast plate was place in front of him.

  “Eat as much as you can,” Teigen instructed. “But don’t make yourself sick. Remember what I told you last night.”

  Selby’s curiosity was awakened. “What did you tell him?”

  Teigen waited until his own plate was set in front of him before he answered. “When you’ve been starving, it’s hard on your body to eat too much too soon. And what you eat is important. Nothing too hard to digest.”

  He knows because… Once again his terrible ordeal rose up in front of her.

  “Did you have trouble when you got back?” she asked.

  Ben looked at her, surprised. With his mouth full he asked, “Back from where?”

  Teigen’s expression sobered and a haunted look dimmed his gaze. “I was one of the teachers taken to the work camp in Kirkenes. Do you know about that?”

  Ben stopped chewing and stared at Teigen. “How long were you there?”

  Teigen cleared his throat. “Start to finish.”

  Ben’s gaze stayed fixed on Teigen. “So you know what it’s like…”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  At that moment, Selby understood everything. “No wonder you rescued Ben.”

  Teigen’s brow twitched and he looked at her as if she was dense. “I’ve been freezing and starving and hopeless, it’s all true—but I wasn’t alone. Ben’s situation was far worse than mine. There’s no way that I would’ve left him out there.”

  Selby’s throat thickened. “Some men would have.”

  Teigen shook his head and speared his potatoes with his fork. “A real man would not.”

  Ben looked suddenly uncomfortable. “I—I think I need to go upstairs…”

  Teigen handed him the room key. “Come back down when you’re done. I’ll wait here.”

  Ben grabbed the key and bolted.

  Selby was still a little hesitant about the wisdom of Teigen’s unorthodox actions. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll steal from you again?”

 
Teigen coughed a laugh. “There’s nothing to steal.”

  Selby frowned. “I thought you collected your things from the boarding house.”

  “I did.” He smiled at her. “But I was a bachelor living alone in a single room. I didn’t have much.”

  Selby pointed at the unfamiliar sweater he was wearing. “Is that sweater from before?”

  “Yep.” Teigen looked down at the traditionally Nordic pattern. The shade of green around his shoulders perfectly matched his eyes. “I’m glad it was still there. It’s one of my favorites.”

  Selby blinked in surprise. “Wasn’t everything still there?”

  “Mostly. All my clothes, my shaving kit—thank goodness—and the wooden chest from my chemistry class which came in very handy this week, I have to say.”

  That was it? “You certainly led a Spartan existence.”

  Teigen shrugged. “I don’t need much. But now I’m glad that my textbooks were in the box. I was going to give them back to the school, but instead I’ll use them with Ben.”

  At the mention of his new ‘cousin’ Selby’s composure began to slip again. This man’s actions were so… unexpected.

  “I need to go.” Selby stood and dropped her napkin on the table. “I’ll see you when we leave.”

  She turned and hurried out of the dining room before Teigen could see her tears.

  *****

  Selby lay on her bed and sobbed. Teigen Hansen’s character was shaking her to her core—and she hated him for it.

  Every wall that she so carefully constructed—resting firmly on the foundation that all men were, at heart, brutish, selfish and cruel—was threatening to crumble in the face of the teacher.

  Even when Teigen faced the scheming Elsa and her lies, the worst he did was shout. And then he unbelievably offered her a way out of at least part of the hole she’d dug for herself; the only part he held some control over.

  He might even have done more if he could. That thought prompted a fresh wash of tears.

  And now, when a fugitive half-Jewish boy stole his food out in the wooded mountains, Teigen responded by pulling the adolescent under his protection. Without hesitation he provided food, clothing, and shelter for now, and tutoring so Ben could resume his life when the Germans were defeated at last.