The Bismarck Survivor

Chapter 7 - Negligence or otherwise.

Total word count: 6024 words.

Rudolf yelped awake as a loud banging came from his front door in the other room. The pilot had been getting all of the rest he could get after the crash, and it had been around two weeks since then.

He shakily stepped out of the bed he was in. Located in a small room, it was a simple one person bed with a white pillow and fairly fluffy similarly colored blanket to go along with it. Rudolf stumbled onto the nightstand to the right of the bed and clicked a switch on the lamp which rested on it,

The lamp illuminated the surrounding area sufficiently for view. There was a window on the left wall which was covered by a set of closed blinds with very murky light from the now rising sun leaking in through small crevices through the blinds. Behind the bed was a large painting of Heinrich Himmler and alongside the lamp rested a few medical papers on the nightstand. There was also a door on the right wall from which the banging had come from. The door led into the living room and kitchen area, and through there one could exit.

Annoyed, he opened the door and stepped into the main living space. It was a simple little area, with a beige carpet on the floor which was cut off where the kitchen began. There was a CRT TV against the wall with a couch adjacent to it on the other wall, with a coffee table in between the two. There were various papers and books strewn about, and there was another painting on the wall. This time of the former Fuhrer.

The kitchen connected into the living room through a gap in the wall. There was no door dividing the two and it led directly into a well lit room with tiled floors. There was a counter, sink, fridge, gas-lit oven, dishwasher, and a toaster. Alongside all of the various counters and such, of course.

In all, the apartment was quite small, maybe about 700 square foot in total size. Not cramped, but not particularly large either.

Another bang came from the front door which connected into the living room on the right wall.

"I'm coming!" Rudolf called out to sooth whoever was in such an urgent mood on the other side of the door. He turned the dead bolt lock of the door and opened it up quickly.

He wasn't in the most presentable of attires. The 5' 11'' male was wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants. Bags were visible under his dark blue eyes due to the lack of sleep he had gotten the night before. There were various bandages around his arms, and a noticeable area of stitches on his forehead down to his eyebrow. Not only that, but his knee was in a brace which gave him a limp.

And in front of him stood a rather tall gentleman in SS uniform. He was 6' 2'' and wearing a Gestapo all-black uniform, a very noticeable red armband around his left bicep. The man had brown eyes and his hair wasn't visible under his cap. He was flanked by two soldiers in Feldgendarmerie uniform, who were both holding MP-52s

"Erm... any you are...?" Rudolf asked the Gestapo officer.

"Scharführer Walter Chemnitz of the Military Police forces. We're here to arrest you under suspicion of attempted assassination of Karl Essyn. Please, make this easy and don't resist."

Rudolf was dumbfounded by the last sentence. He took a few steps back as the two Feldgendarmeries rushed to either side of him and grabbed his forearms. His hands were put behind his back and he heard handcuffs click behind him and his movement was suddenly restricted.

"What the hell?! I-!"

Before he knew it, the former pilot was being rushed out of the room by the soldiers. He was forced to hang his head as the few civilians in the hallway of the apartment complex stared at the man, wondering what the hell he had done.