Official Report
British Intelligence
Code: 3986
Kathleen Winfred
It had been about six weeks since Von Steubon's disappearance.
The day things began to look up started as any normal day.
I woke up. I ate my meager day's ration of bread crust and water. I greeted Virginia from across the hall and Jessica, in her cell next to mine.
Albert was on guard duty for the first few hours of the day so the environment in our hall was better than it usually was. He played the radio. I watched Virginia, across the hall, swaying in time to the music. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, letting the music sooth me.
Albert left at the end of his shift and another guard took over. This one did not play the radio, nor was he friendly. He glared at us from his post at the end of the hallway.
Torture for the day was psychological. I was locked into a tiny, square, dark room and made to sit there. I lost track of time. I buried my face in my hands. I cried.
I was saved from my isolation by Pirot, who opened the door and let Schubert in, whispering to me that she was the guard for the next hour long shift.
One hour till it was over, she assured me.
Just one, and now I had Schubert.
I curled up in the corner, resting my head on my arm and allowing myself to fall asleep with Schubert next to me, listening to his steady breathing.
Later, when Pirot had taken Schubert back to her room, let me out of my prison, and was escorting me back to my cell, I saw Heinrich Schwab.
For the past month, he had been wearing a look of egotistical pride and pleasure at his new role as acting captain.
Now, he bore only a sour-faced glare and his old soldier's uniform.
Pirot locked me back in to my prison, then went back downstairs to fetch Schubert once more and give him to me.
Von Steubon's little dachshund had regained some of the weight he had lost. Pirot gave me an extra crust of bread, passed in with Schubert before she left.
Albert was guard tonight and he played the radio again, the soft strains of music drifting down the hall and lulling me to sleep.
For the first time in a while, I felt hopeful.
***
image: Ryan Gosling as Albert Holzmann
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Winfred
Historical FictionThe Women's Guard, The Soldier, The Nazi, The Spy. The Spy turned Prisoner. As they say, dead men (or women, as the case may be) tell no tales. But Kathleen Winfred isn't dead; she managed to escape. Now, the story of her capture by Nazis in occup...
