Chapter 31

The Dark Dance

October 1943
Gestapo Headquarters, Warsaw, Poland

 

“Irena.” Klaus said the words in a gentle whisper. He stood over the Polish woman, who was still passed out. She was tied ankles and wrists to a chair. Her head was slumped to the side. She was starting to grimace, starting to come to.

It had been Irena all this time. How had he missed this? He remembered the investigation at the office. He recalled pulling her out of the line at the Umschlagplatz. He thought she’d just been concerned about a Jew or two that she had known, but now he realized it was so much more than that. He shook his head. He normally saw things so clearly, but for this woman he’d seemed to have a blind spot. He wondered why. Perhaps it was because he saw something of himself in her. She was strong, persistent, fanatical about her duties. While he could never understand her socialist leanings, he had sacrificed everything for his own ideological beliefs. Only to be betrayed by his own people. The same was happening to Irena now. One of her own had given her up to save themselves. To make their own life a little easier. Such was the way of the world.

He nudged her ankle. “Irena,” he repeated. She opened her eyes halfway and slurred some words in reply. He touched her leg, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Irena. I need you to wake up.”

Her eyelids fluttered and opened. She stared out with a glazed expression for long moments, but finally focused on Klaus. He saw the shock and surprise as she realized who she was looking at, where she was. Her body jerked as she tried to rise. Her body dragged to the left and the chair toppled over. She hit the concrete floor hard.

Klaus nodded his head and a guard ran forward, seizing her and bringing her chair back up with her in it. She looked at him again, eyes full of terror.

“Irena. What on earth am I going to do with you?”

“My mother,” she managed to whisper. “She’s ill. She needs a doctor.”

Klaus shook his head. “No sense in worrying about her now.” He tapped his cheek with his index finger. “Unless you are willing to tell me everything I want to know. Yes, that would be a solution,” he said finally. “And a wise one for you.” He took a step and loomed over her. Her head arched back, struggling to meet his eyes.

“Yes, you know what’s coming, don’t you Irena? But no matter what you’ve feared, what you’ve dreaded, you cannot imagine what it is really going to be like. Your mother is ill, you say? If you tell me what I want to know, she’ll get assistance today. What’s more, you won’t be touched. You’ll be released and you can go on with your life with that Jew lover you have in hiding.”

He saw her eyes widen. “Oh yes, we know about him too. We know much already, Irena. I’m only asking you to tell me a little more.” He saw the struggle in her eyes. He smiled to himself. She was going to break, perhaps without him having to apply any pressure. This was surprising, and so much more than he’d hoped for.

He motioned for the guard, who brought him a chair. He sat down in front of her and put his hand on her leg again. “Irena,” he whispered. “I can see it in your eyes. You don’t want to go through this.” He leaned forward. “The war is almost over,” he said. “You can live out the rest of it in peace and quiet. You can save your mother, your lover, anyone you name—within reason. But I need something from you. I need egota. Give me egota and a hundred children you’re hiding, and you’ll walk out of here today, intact. We’ll take care of your mother and we’ll leave you alone for the rest of the war.”

He squeezed her leg again, gently. “We know you’re hiding hundreds of children, Irena. I don’t need all of them. Just a few. I need some arrests, and I need egota. You can play the rest of your game. You can save most of them.”

She stared at him, her face still full of fear and indecision.

“I’ll give you an hour,” he said. “Then we must begin.”

He stepped out of the room and returned to his office. His tea was laid out on his desk just the way he liked it. He poured himself a cup and measured out his sugar. Closing his eyes, he took a sip and allowed himself to relax. This was going to be far easier than he’d feared. Now he just had to consider what to do with the information. If he gave it directly to the colonel, Wagner would assuredly take credit. He was going to have to do something he’d never done before: He would go out of channels and send the information to Hans Frank through some of his contacts in Kraków. He could imagine the colonel’s face when he realized that Klaus had ignored his orders, gone around him, but was protected because of the victory he had achieved. He smiled to himself. Perhaps he would get his old position back. He could imagine the colonel standing by, furious, while his things were gathered up and Klaus moved back into the office. That would be sweet revenge indeed.

He checked his watch. The hour had passed. He returned to the cell. He knew immediately that there would be a delay. Irena’s face was stony and full of defiance. She’d reached some sort of conclusion. The wrong one. He shrugged. No matter, whether early or late, she would come around.

“Are you ready to tell me what I’ve asked?” He already knew what her answer would be.

She stared at him for long moments. There was just a hint of indecision in her eyes. This was the last moment she could make a deal without any physical consequences to herself. Finally, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

“That’s too bad,” Klaus said. He removed his service dagger and bent down. He slashed the knife across the back of her hand. A thin line formed. She gave out a scream, and struggled in her chair, but her wrists were firmly tied and there was nowhere she could go. The cut was deep, and it quickly filled with blood, the liquid dripping out onto the floor until it made a small pool below her. He stood up. There were tears in her eyes and she gasped at the pain.

“So it begins,” said Klaus. “I’ll let you think about that and we can chat again this evening.” He turned and walked out of the room. She’d chosen badly. No matter. She would talk. He’d seen it in her eyes.