Winfred

39

Official Report

British Intelligence

Code: 3986

Kathleen Winfred

A Way Out

Pirot led me down a hallway, a dark corridor which I had never been in before.

Our journey through the hallways of the prison ended all too soon and we arrived at a closed door. 

Pirot knocked, rapping her fist against the wood first twice, then three times, then once. 

The door opened, Albert on the other side. He nodded at Pirot, then stepped back, revealing Von Steubon.

I was quite confused, and Pirot had to nudge me to get me to step inside the room. 

I asked myself why Von Steubon, Pirot, and Albert had gathered here, in this secluded room. That alone was strange. It was made all the more strange just by the fact that they seemed to have invited me to their secret meeting.

Pirot led me to a spot at one end of the table, and Von Steubon took the spot directly opposite from me, as if this were simply an interrogation. Pirot and Albert sat down to the left and right of Von Steubon, at each side of the table. 

Once we were all seated, I spent a few moments of silence, staring at each of them. Von Steubon met my gaze and held it for a bit, but his gaze revealed nothing. Pirot's expression was somewhat sympathetic, and Albert was looking at papers that lay on the table before him. 

My entire body was tense; I refused to allow myself to relax for fear that I would shake like a leaf and cause the entire bloody table to vibrate, showing everyone present just how afraid I was. 

It was the ultimate test of trust. 

Did I trust Kare Pirot?

Did I trust Albert Holzmann?

Did I trust Friedrich Von Steubon?

Von Steubon nodded at Albert, and Albert looked to me. 

"Kathleen," he said. "We understand that you are to be transferred, day after tomorrow. Because of this transfer...An opportunity has opened up."

I stared at him blankly. 

"We have decided that, should you agree, you may not have to be transferred after all," added Von Steubon.

I looked at Pirot, who nodded. "You see," she said. "The guards are also being transferred, out to the front. We'll be getting new guards here. None of them will know who you are. We thought that you might...pose as a woman's officer, like myself, and perhaps gain some information that would be of use to the Allied Forces."

I took a moment to digest what they were saying. They were soldiers of Nazi Germany, and yet they volunteered to help me spy for the Allies?

"Is this...some sort of trick?" I questioned, faint disbelief in my voice.

Albert and Pirot looked at one another, but Von Steubon straightened in his chair. 

"It's one, or the other..." he said. "Ravensbruck. Or this. Both have their risks. In the end, your choice is really whether or not you trust us."

I held Von Steubon's gaze for a moment, taking in his words. This...Or Ravensbruck. 

Do I trust you?

I thought about Von Steubon's words from the last air raid. I do not believe what we are doing is right.

I decided that I trusted these three people in this room.

And so I nodded.

Albert picked up the papers, continuing to describe what I would be doing. When Von Steubon accounted for all the prisoners transferred, he would list Kathleen Winfred as dead by execution for insubordination and attempts to escape. Pirot would outfit me with a uniform and I would share her quarters. I would act as a woman's guard, just as she did. She would teach me; she would train me to act as a German woman's officer would do. Until this training was finished and I could play the part of Second Woman's Officer flawlessly, I would serve as Von Steubon's secretary. Information learned by Pirot, Von Steubon, or from Albert on the front, would be relayed to me, to be relayed to the British by a special code. 

I had one question. "Why did you choose me? Why not Virginia? Or Jessica?"

Von Steubon frowned. "Warum denken sie?"

And with that "why do you think" I received the answer that should have been obvious to me. I spoke German.

Aside from that obvious fact, I looked somewhat German. All together, I could pass as a German Woman's Officer.

I had, after all, done it before.

Pirot took me back to my cell that night. It was to be my last night in my tiny room.

I sat down on the edge of my hard cot and looked around. My eyes fell on the old tic marks in the corner. I looked to the tiny, high window. I pulled my thin blanket around me and leaned against the wall. 

Tomorrow, my role in the prison would change. 

For better or worse, I did not know.