Fire and Steel, Volume 2

by Gerald N. Lund

  He looked up, squinting at her with that same foolish smirk on his face. “What?”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Needed to shee you.”

  “Why?”

  Nothing. He was looking around again, still confused. There was a meow and a soft scratching at the door. Katya got up and let KK back in. “I told you,” she chided the cat. “You can’t go out without me.” The cat ignored that, took one look at Hans, and disappeared into Katya’s bedroom. She turned back to her guest. “Hans? Please tell me why you came to see me.”

  But he was gone. His eyes were shut and his head lolled back at a crazy angle. Shaking her head, she went into her bedroom and got a pillow and a blanket. She managed to get him lying down without too much effort, but he was too tall for the sofa and she had to bend his knees to get him to fit. After putting the blanket on him, she tucked it in around his legs so they wouldn’t slip out. Finally, she lifted his head and slid the pillow beneath it.

  She stood there for several moments, trying to figure out what this was all about. It had definitely rekindled her hope. When she hadn’t heard from him again after that night he had walked her home, she assumed he was another one of those men who slipped in and out of her life so casually. That had been almost a month ago now. But here he was again, popping into her life with absolutely no warning, just as he had before.

  She went back to her chair, sat down, and picked up her book. KK immediately reappeared and hopped back up on her lap. He settled in and began to purr. Absently, she reached down and stroked the cat’s head. But her eyes were on the sleeping figure across the room.

  “And just exactly what is it you need me for?” she murmured after a moment or two.

  4:17 p.m.

  Katya came awake with a start as the book slipped from her hands. It clunked KK on the head before it hit the floor. With a yowl, he leaped off her lap and slunk away in a feline pout. Stifling a yawn, Katya reached down and picked up the book. When she straightened she saw that Hans’s eyes were open—and clear—and that he was watching her.

  Katya gave a little cry. “Oh! I didn’t know you were awake.”

  Hans yawned and then burrowed more deeply into the pillow. “I’m not. This is an illusion.”

  “I would say so,” she laughed. “I still can’t believe that you’re lying on my sofa.”

  His face twisted in pain as he tried to roll more on his side again. “Ow!” His hands shot up and began to massage his temples.

  “Headache?”

  “I think the word is head explosion.”

  “Do you always drink that much in the morning?” she teased, getting to her feet. She didn’t wait for his answer. “I’ve got some Bayer. Would you like a couple?”

  “Bayer?”

  “Yes. Aspirin. For your headache. Would you like some lukewarm coffee with that?”

  Hans groaned and shut his eyes again. “Please.” As Katya stood up and started for the bathroom, he called after her. “I was pretty drunk, ja?”

  She turned and smiled. “I thought I was going to have to carry you up the stairs.”

  “I’m sorry.” He pulled himself up, biting his lip so as not to yell out. “Can you make it four aspirin?”

  She came back with the pills in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She dumped the pills in his hand and he popped all four of them in his mouth at once. But when she handed him the cup, he held up one hand to hold her off and then started chewing. Instantly his face twisted into a horrible grimace.

  “You’re chewing them?” she exclaimed. “Ew!”

  He grabbed the cup, took a big swig, and swished it around in his mouth before he swallowed. Then he downed the rest of the cup. Still pulling a horrible face, he said, “A trick an old army doctor taught me. If you chew them, they don’t have to dissolve in your stomach. Speeds up the pain relief by almost half.” His whole body did a little shudder as he pulled another face. “Which, incidentally, I do not recommend as a common practice.” He handed her the cup.

  “Would you like another?”

  “Yes!”

  When she brought it to him, he downed that as well and handed back the cup. Then he sat back and closed his eyes again. “How long was I asleep?”

  “A little more than four hours.”

  “Really? Four hours. Man, I was blotto.”

  “Pretty much.”

  One eye cracked open. “I was hoping for some disagreement.”

  Just then KK came strolling back out of the bedroom. He stopped, eyeing Hans suspiciously, and then with an imperious sniff he turned and went back into the bedroom.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “That’s KK. My cat.”

  “KK?”

  “Yeah.” Katya laughed. “For Kleines Kätzchen.”

  Hans scoffed at her. “Little kitten? That thing’s as big as a horse.”

  She nodded. “Eats like one, too. But he’s good company.”

  He took a quick breath. “All right. I’m sure you’ve got a ton of questions.”

  “Actually, no. I have just one.”

  “Fire away.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “But softly, please.”

  “All right. I don’t know if you remember, but just before you passed out, I was—”

  “I didn’t pass out. I just went to sleep very quickly.”

  “I see. Anyway, I was asking you what you were doing here.”

  “And what did I say?”

  “You said you needed to see me. I want to know why.”

  He nodded and then grimaced and started massaging his temples again. “Two reasons. First, if you will remember, I promised to buy you dinner sometime to say thanks for what you did for me the last time I was here.”

  “I like that idea. And second?”

  “Do you know if my discharge money came through?” Before Katya could answer, Hans explained how he had come back before Christmas and found the sign saying the Ministry was closed. “So I came in from Munich last night—actually, early this morning—assuming that now that the holidays were over, I could finally collect my check.”

  “And you found that same sign on the door.”

  “Yeah. What do you people do, take the whole month of December off?” Then he waved that question off. “Never mind. Do you know if Disbursement sent my check yet?”

  Katya leaned forward, her mouth pulling down. “As of Friday, December 20th, no. I checked the very last thing before I left that day. And, as you know, the Ministry has been closed since then. I’m sorry.”

  Hans muttered something under his breath.

  “What?”

  He pulled a face. “Never mind. Not fit for mixed company. And the Ministry won’t be open until next Monday, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Straightening, he looked at his hands for a long moment. “Katya, I . . .”

  “No, Hans.”

  “No what?”

  “No, I can’t go to the office and see if your check has arrived.”

  “Oh.” He lowered his head and rested it in his hands. “I understand.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” she said. She got up and went over and sat down beside him. Taking one hand in hers, she interlocked their fingers. “Normally, I could do that. And I would. But before we left that last Friday, our supervisor called us all together and announced that because the army was going to be working on a special project during the holidays, none of us would be allowed into the building until the holidays were over. And then they announced that we got the two extra days after New Year’s Day as a special bonus.”

  “Oh?”

  “None of us complained, of course. Two full weeks of holiday? With pay? Who cares if they told us not to come to the office during that time?”

  Hans turned to face her fully. To her joy, he didn’t remove his hand from hers. “So they’re not open at all until Monday?”

  “No, they’re not. Isn’t that what the sign said?”

  “It said after
the holidays. Well, today, the holidays are over. At least for the rest of us common folk,” he grumped.

  Katya stood up. “That reminds me. I have your rationing coupons. As a government employee, we get a more liberal rationing allowance.” She turned and went down the hall, returning a moment later with his book in hand. As she handed it to him, her eyes lowered a little. “I did use five coupons to help my mother get a goose for Christmas dinner. But’s that’s all I’ve used.”

  He took the book and slid it into his pocket without comment. “So why are you back here if you don’t have to work until Monday?”

  Katya waved a hand airily. “Four days with my mother and stepfather was plenty for me. So now,” she said softly, “we both have four days to kill.”

  Hans caught her meaning instantly but pretended he didn’t. “Actually, I’ve got to go back to Pasewalk and . . . uh . . . get my eye checked one last time.”

  “I see.” Disappointment was evident in her eyes.

  “But it’s too late to do that today. So, Fräulein Katya Freylitsch, how would you like to go to dinner with me?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Now?”

  “Yes. And no cheap little bistro. We both know that some restaurants do better getting around the food shortages, so you pick one out. My parents supplemented my funds somewhat, so let’s make the most of it. Go find your prettiest dress. Put on some makeup. Get out some dancing shoes.”

  “Really?” She jumped up. “You really mean that?”

  “I do.” Hans started to pull himself up and then groaned and fell back, putting a hand to his head. He lay back down and closed his eyes. “But, Katya?”

  “Yes?” Her face fell as she held her breath.

  “Don’t feel like you have to be in a hurry to get dressed,” he said. He cracked one eye open. “If you know what I mean.”

  Her laughter was like the tinkling of a bell. “And just how much time would you like me to take, Sergeant Eckhardt?”

  He was pleased that she understood. “I don’t know much about girl stuff, but I’m guessing it would take you at least half an hour to get ready. Right?”

  “Right. A half an hour at the very least.”

  “Good. But don’t feel like you have to rush. I’ll just wait right here.”

  8:05 p.m.—Ristorante Italiano, Tiergarten District, Berlin

  The Tiergarten, or “Animal Park,” was both a large park and a municipal locality in the borough of Mitte. Once a hunting park for royalty, it was now Berlin’s most famous park, and Hans guessed that in the summertime it would be packed with people. But even now, through the large front window of the restaurant, Hans could see heavily bundled-up couples walking hand in hand. Some carried ice skates.

  “Are you from here, Katya?”

  She smiled. “Please, Hans. Won’t you call me Katie?”

  “Yes. Of course. So are you from around here, Katie?”

  “No. I was born and grew up in Lichtenberg, which is a borough over in the east part of the city. I only came here when I got a job at the War Ministry.”

  “Is your family still there?”

  “Yes. My mother and stepfather still live there. I was the only child when my mother divorced my father. I was eight. My natural father remarried and had children with his second wife and lives in Köln. I see him every now and again, but. . . .”

  Hans was studying her as she spoke, and suddenly he said, “Actually, you are quite lovely, Katie.”

  She instantly blushed and ducked her head. “Why, thank you, Hans.”

  He meant it. Her face was round and petite. The blue eyes were set close together and gave one the impression that she was always on the verge of saying something funny. Her honey blonde hair, he was glad to see, did not come from a bottle of peroxide, and her skin was fair and without blemish. She did have one tooth that was slightly crooked and showed when she smiled, but it seemed to fit the rest of her somehow.

  “Please,” she said, blushing more deeply. “It embarrasses me when you study me like that.”

  He laughed but didn’t look away.

  She was thoroughly flustered now and laid down her fork. “I’m done. We can go anytime you like.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t. Considering what we just paid for a very mediocre dinner, you can’t leave your dessert on your plate. I’m in no hurry.”

  “All right.” She picked up her fork again.

  The wine had been better than he had expected, and it had left him basking in a warm glow. “You were supposed to say, ‘Oh, Hans, I am so full. I can’t possibly finish my dessert. Why don’t you eat it for me?’”

  To his surprise, she pulled the plate closer to herself. “Oh, no, you don’t. You already took the bigger piece. You’re not having mine, too.”

  He burst out laughing, causing people to turn and look at them. Her wit was so quick, and he liked her spunky independence. Most girls would have given it to him without protest. Katya took a large piece, put it in her mouth, and then, half closing her eyes in pleasure, added, “Besides, if I said I was full, you would know I was lying.”

  “That’s true. A piece of pork loin not much bigger than a postage stamp, two starchy potatoes, watery gravy, and a spoonful of canned beans. Before the war they would have been ashamed to call that an appetizer, let alone a dinner.”

  “I’m sorry. This used to be one of the finest restaurants in the Tiergarten.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s this way all over the Fatherland.” Hans picked up his wine glass and raised it like a toast. “But the wine was good. And the company is wonderful.”

  “It is,” she murmured. “So, I’ll finish my dessert, and then we can go.”

  “Would you like to walk back through the Tiergarten?” Hans asked. “Or is it too cold for you?”

  “Unlike you Bavarians, I was raised up north. It is not too cold for me.” Then her smile faded. “But. . . .”

  “What?”

  “I read that they’ve had some of the deserters from the army making trouble in the park.”

  Hans’s lips pressed together. “What kind of trouble?”

  “Oh, you know. Drunk and loud and obnoxious. Acting like the pigs they are. Accosting people. Demanding money.”

  “Do they frighten you?”

  “A little,” she admitted. “I never walk through there alone anymore. Not even in the daytime. Don’t they frighten you?”

  “No,” Hans said in disgust. “They’re cowards. Trash. Garbage. Most of them are from rear echelon bases, supposedly assigned to come up and relieve those of us who had been on the front lines for a long time or to keep us supplied. But there at the end, they turned and ran like the cowards they are. I’d like to meet some of them. Rearrange their teeth for them.”

  Katya was staring at him. “My goodness, I think I hit a nerve there.”

  Hans stared at her for a moment, almost surprised that she was there, and then he forced himself to relax. “We’ll go home another way, but maybe after I drop you off, I’ll come back through the park. Teach those bums a thing or two.”

  That genuinely alarmed her. “No, Hans. The papers are saying that there are thousands of them in the city now. And they’re mean. They beat up one old man because they thought he was a Jew. They run in gangs. ”

  “Packs, you mean. Like the dogs they are.”

  She laid a hand on his arm. “Promise me you won’t do that, Hans. I mean it. Promise me.”

  He took a deep breath, then another, surprised by the anger she had stirred up in him. “Okay. I promise. Not tonight.”

  Relieved, she turned back to her dessert. Leaning back in his chair, Hans turned away so that he wasn’t looking directly at her but could still study her. And his thoughts turned to Emilee. How different these two were, in appearance and personality. Katya was blonde with light blue eyes; Emilee had dark hair and dark blue eyes. Katya was slender and shapely; Emilee was a little plump. Though Emilee had a smile that could make him a little dizzy, she was more sober by
nature and took life pretty seriously. Katya’s smile was dazzling, and laughter seemed to be part of her nature. She had a gift for making him feel totally at ease with her, even after he had showed up on her doorstep roaring drunk. Emilee, on the other hand, had this way of forever keeping him off balance.

  “A Pfennig for your thoughts,” Katya teased, putting her fork down on her empty plate.

  “They’re not worth that much,” he said, reaching out and touching her hand. Then he raised his other hand and caught the attention of the waiter. “Check, please.”

  8:55 p.m.—Tiergarten District, Berlin

  Katya’s luck held. When they arrived in front of her apartment, Frau Schmidt’s lights were off—which meant she was not home from her holiday travels yet.

  Katya stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned to Hans. “Thank you for a perfectly delightful evening, Hans. It was wonderful.”

  “Well,” he mused regretfully, “I did owe you that much after turning up like a sotted old bum off the streets.”

  “Perhaps,” she said, smiling up at him. “But that doesn’t make it any less wonderful.”

  He reached out and took both of her hands. “Oh. Your hands are cold.”

  She pulled free and laid both hands on his cheeks. “Yes, they are. So what are you going to do about it?”

  He took her in his arms and leaned in. Then at the last minute, he hesitated. Oh, no, you don’t. She moved her hands so they were around his neck and pulled him in closer, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. The kiss was soft and sweet and lingering. When they stepped back from each other, Hans cocked his head and gave her a quizzical look. “That’s how you get your hands warm?” he teased.

  “You’d be surprised at how well it works.” And this time, she didn’t wait for him. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. For a moment he was surprised, but then he kissed her back. When they stepped back this time, they were both a little taken aback. Katya took Hans by the hand, suddenly shy. “Would you like to come up for a nightcap?”