Chapter 4: Opernplatz
Josef lost time how long the ride was. The entire time, he patted Tiara's head to calm her down.
The truck stopped. “Get out!” A Soldier pointed his rifle at them.
“Relax man, I am going already.”
“Don’t do anything stupid now.” He threatened as Josef helped the filly out of the back. “Get in there!” The human and the filly were locked into a basement.
“I don’t wanna die!” Diamond broke down on the floor, crying her heart out.
“Shh, don’t worry, we will find a way out.” It wouldn’t be simple as soldiers patrolled the Opernplatz and snipers were on the rooftops.
Karl was on his way to the Opernplatz. He overheard two Germans. “I can understand why the SS-Hauptsturmführer wants to execute Schwaiger, but a private that only wants to get his daughter to safety?”
“Sucks. I would want to help them, but escaping from here would be impossible.”
“I feel sorry for them.”
“Me too comrade. I pray that it will be quick.”
Bastards! It wasn’t Karl’s objective but none of them deserved this. He felt a little bit guilty after he saw both passed out after they made it out of the facility and the convoy.
The basement had no windows. Josef couldn’t see what was going on outside.
He had to smile at the memories when he was a kid. He always came with his parents to the Opernplatz as the library had books about almost everything.
He never thought that this place would be his grave.
Tiara hadn’t stopped crying. She feared for her life. Josef just prayed that she would be spared. After all, she didn’t do any wrong.
Jenny used to work on the library. That was the place where they first met.
Josef had a flashback.
He was on vacation as he served the fatherland well. The young private decided to visit the library. History was his favorite subject in school.
“Hello, I am Jenny, how can I help you?” The young woman asked. “Greetings, I am looking for the history section.”
“Just up the stairs.”
"Thank you. Did anybody tell how beautiful you are?”
She blushed. “Thanks for the compliment.”
Josef walked upstairs. As always it was quiet. While he was reading, he heard Jenny, “Please leave me alone.” He walked down to see what was wrong.
She was harassed by an SS-Hauptsturmführer. It was the same who called him traitor. “Why don’t we go to a nice restaurant?”
“I said, leave me alone! I am not interested in a cold-blooded sadist! The Hauptsturmführer grabbed her arm.
“WHAT did you just call me?! If you think you can push me around, you’re wrong!” he was about to slap her.
“Hey! Leave her alone! This is a library where things go quiet.” Josef blocked him.
“Are you questioning my authority private?!”
“No, but I think you had a little too much. I ask you kindly to leave her alone… NOW.”
“You think you’re scaring me? I show you what happens to people that are standing in my way.”
He let go of jenny to get his SS dagger. Josef however was faster, as he grabbed the arm of the Hauptsturmführer and twisted his arm causing him to drop the dagger.
“You force me to do this.” Josef threw him out of the library.
“You gonna pay for this!” The SS-member screamed.
The visitors watched everything. They clapped their hands in applause.
“Thank you, sir.”
“I just did my duty. Name’s Josef.”
Jenny looked at the soldier with brown hair and green eyes with an amorous glance.
“Do you want to go to a restaurant after my work is over?” Josef returned the glance at the women with brown hair with matching eyes. “Sure, why not. I am on vacation anyway”. After this, they dated and married.
Josef never thought that this would be his punishment.
He hummed a lullaby to Tiara.
The door opened. The SS-Hauptsturmführer escorted by to soldiers with MP 40 walked in.
“Time for your execution.” He looked at both with a sadistic look.
They were forced outside. Next to them was a man with glasses and a suit.
“Please, don’t kill me!” The filly begged for her life.
“Your father will pay with your blood! I waited a whole year for this.” He cocked his Luger. “On your Knees.” She got on her knees, her eyes closed.
“You can’t do this to her! She didn’t do anything!” The man was enraged.
“I can do this. Anything is fair to punish a traitor.
I make it quick. I always do.” Before he was able to execute her, a sniper bullet to the head killed him.
“Sniper, take cover!” One of the soldiers shouted, before he was killed. Using non-lethal force, Josef knocked the other out and took his MP 40.
“The shot came from the library. We should meet our savior.” The man cocked his Luger.
“Right. After you.” Diamond was trembling.
“I- I am still alive?” She slowly opened her eyes.
“Yes, you’re still alive. Let’s go to safety.” Slowly recovering from her shock, she nodded and got on her hoofs.
The sniper covered their path from the library. “For the Fatherland!” a still loyal Wehrmacht soldier took cover but was killed by the sniper in the head.
As all soldiers they encountered used MP 40s, ammo was plentiful for Josef.
Diamond Tiara followed him close and took cover whenever he told her. Still he could see how scared she was.
Josef himself did not want to kill his own comrades. Instead, he tried to suppress them or only to incapacitate them. He killed before but that were resistance fighters trying to sabotage the area he guarded. But even back then, he tried to make them surrender or tried to incapacitate them without killing them, just as he tried now.
After a while, the small group reached the library.
The sniper was no one else then Karl.
He noticed that the man was bleeding. Josef and fortunately Diamond Tiara were unharmed.
“You’re hit. Let me take a look.”
“No time. The Reds are coming. You hold them off. We’ll be fine.”
“But I need information.”
“Hold them off. If you don’t, we’re all dead!”
“Tiara, go with him upstairs, I will help Karl out.”
“B-but Daddy!”
“I’ll be fine. Now go! I don’t want that you get hurt. For your own safety.”
“Okay, daddy, I understand.” Josef could hear that she was afraid of the Reds.
“I managed to get your gear.” Karl gave him his trusty K98.
“Thanks. I owe you one.” Your owe me nothing. Let’s get into position before the Reds arriving."
Both men took position on the upper floor.
“Is that a Mosin-Nagant?” Josef hadn’t noticed this before.
“Yes Josef, a Mosin-Nagant 1891/31. Beautiful.”
“The Russians are here! There’s a truck coming from the North!” The man exclaimed.
An Opel Blitz was stopping. Josef acted as spotter. He saw that this weren’t normal Russians. They wore thick uniforms and had ammunitions belts around the torso. “Damn! Those guys are Elites! Be careful. Had the misfortune of fighting them at the Battle of the Seelow Heights, before I was, sent back to Berlin.”
“Thanks for the tip.” The Elites were all armed with PPSch-41s. Josef fired his K98 at them and said where the Elites were. They returned fire but the PPSch-41 wasn’t accurate at this distance.
It would be all over if they would reach the entrance.
Together, they took the Elites out. “Another truck from the North!”
A second truck rolled in. 4 Elites stepped out. As before, Karl and Josef managed to take them out.
As Josef reloaded his rifle, he saw an Elite soldier near the entrance. Wanting to protect his girl, he grabbed his MP40 to intercept the Russian.
While the Elite, was a well experienced veteran, he still was taken by surprise as the young private took him out at the stairs with a burst of the MP40.
He returned to Karl. “Good shooting I must admit, for a young private like you.”
Josef blushed at the compliment. Tiara was holding her ears. “The assault is over. We are safe. For now.”
“Really?” She uncovered her ears.
The man was bleeding and coughed. “Thank you for the rescue. But I fear that it was…” he coughed. “… a waste of time. Wolff… has a plan… V2s… Tabun.”
“Tabun? Where’s that?” Karl asked.
“Not a…” The man coughed again. “Not a place…”
“What is it then? What’s Tabun?” The man died before he could give an answer.
Josef hugged Tiara as he cried over his dead. “I am afraid I can’t help you either. I don’t know what Tabun is.”
“You don’t need to apologize. You better get going. Thanks for your help.”
“And I thank you for saving my life.” Diamond Tiara gave Karl a big and tight hug.
“I only did my duty.”
Josef used one of the trucks. He helped his sweetheart on the passenger seat.
She looked sad. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s my Tiara. For me it was something special.”
In an attempt to cheer her up, Josef putted his cap on her head. She giggled.
“Let’s go, shall we?”
“Yes, sir!” She saluted.
On the way to the flak tower, private Diamond Tiara had pulled the cap over her eyes to doze.
“Finally, we’re here!” Josef exclaimed as the flak tower was in sight. It was already evening, but after a long journey that had made it. Finally.