Deception - WWII Resistance / Holocaust Novel

chapter 18: dr. freisler

As the sun sank lower in the sky, the light of day drained away and gave way to the velvety dark of night. There was all, but one building which was lit on the streets. As I neared the venue, the chatter of the crowd grew louder and the sound of violins filled my ears.

'May I check your bag Miss?' The man at the door asked.

'Of course,' I smiled, masking the sheer panic and excitement of what may come to be tonight.

His finger grazed the book, he looked up at me and gave it no further thought before welcoming me inside. Relief washed over me, knowing that I had made it inside without any hassles.

The room was a sea of uniform and some few young women dazzled in elegant dresses, some with fur. I grabbed a glass of champagne and drifted amongst the crowd. I tried to memorise each person's face which passed me by. I recognised several officers from work as well as secretaries from the other floors, but there were many new pretty faces which laughed, danced and dangled about.

At least a hundred of the freshly printed Race and Soul books lined the room, stacked neatly in rows on display.

Over the sound of the violins, a distant, hazy chatter could be heard from the corner of the room which was notably much more crowded. I could not make out any words from the several voices which spoke, but the hearty laughter rang in my ears.

As I whisked myself through the mass of bodies, I noticed a circle had formed around a slender man, who appeared to be nearing his sixties.

'Miss de Jong, is it?' a hand placed itself gently on my shoulder.

I turned to see the source of the voice, although I already well-knew who it was and yet it still felt as though my heart might explode as it began pounding erratically against my chest, 'Herr von Eberstein! What a pleasant surprise to see you again.'

Except, I knew he would be here.

He was the very reason why I was here.

'You look as stunning as I remember,' he kissed the back of my hand and it took everything within me not to rip it out of his grasp. 'Have you met Dr. Freisler? Come...' he began to move me along, '...this is a momentous moment.'

Von Eberstein stirred me in the direction of Dr. Freisler and introduced us.

'Congratulations, on your accomplishment,' I spoke through gritted teeth disguised as a smile and grasped the champagne glass so tightly between my fingertips I was surprised that it did not shatter. 'Herr Fehmer, told me a bit about your book, it sounds so... fascinating.'

'Not just fascinating, but of great importance,' Von Eberstein added. 'How else are we to progress as a nation without eradicating those inferior peoples.'

Dr. Freisler, obviously pleased with the compliments, launched into a discussion of the various methods and tools he had used to reach his conclusion of definite differences between Germans and Non-Aryans.

'What do your scientific methods say about me?' I joked.

'Pure Aryan stock of course,' Dr. Freisler stated firmly before erupting into a fit of laugher alongside von Eberstein. I forced myself to laugh with them, but inside the disgust and hatred for these two individuals began to over brew.

'Dr. Freisler, your speech is in five minutes,' an officer pulled him aside and Dr. Freisler bid us to enjoy the rest of our evenings.

I excused myself to the bathroom from Von Eberstein's presence, lying that I did not want to miss that speech. Once inside, I locked the door, dug into my bag and retrieved a copy of Race and Soul which I had stolen from the stock pile back at the offices. I flipped through the first few pages until a deep rectangular hole was revealed inside which hid the explosive. I turned the timer, setting it to destruct in five minutes.

I snapped the book shut, the sound of ticking counting down inside of my mind. Upon re-entering the room, I suddenly felt paranoid that I was being watched.

'May I have another one?' I asked the waiter and grabbed another glass of champagne with my free hand.

I did not dare glance down at the book in my other hand, as I slipped it onto a nearby shelf along with several other copies of Race and Soul.

'Quiet down everyone,' a man called out as he tapped a spoon against the side of a glass.

I downed the drink and placed the empty glass back on the tray, 'Thank you.'

'Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Freisler.'

The entire room erupted into applause as Dr. Freisler made his way up towards the small make-shift stage.

'Good evening everyone,' Dr Freisler stood up. 'It is such an honour to stand before you tonight and celebrate my latest work...'

The entire room listened intently, hung on his every word. I slowly made my way towards the back of the crowd, pretending that I was tipsy from too many drinks.

'I need some air,' I mumbled to the guard at the door as I fanned my face.

I had the fight back the smile on my face as I stepped out the door into the cool night air. The sound of ticking inside my head continued.

Soon.

Soon, I thought.

Soon it would be done.

Soon, my family would be avenged.

I looked down into my bag for my lighter and cigarette, knowing that I would need an excuse for being outside of the venue should anyone else see me. In the process of searching under the dimmed street light, my body collided with another, causing me to momentarily lose my footing.

Familiar strong hands grasped my shoulders to steady me, 'Mieke?'

'Wilhelm?' I replied in surprise.

'I know I'm late, but what are you doing outside?' He asked.

'Well, I –'

An instant later, a blinding flash of light accompanied by the noise as efficient as a thunder clap reverberated from behind with a force which flung my body to the ground. 

A/N It's Christmas Eve so here's my gift to you! Happy holidays to all my readers! I will be traveling from tomorrow for the next 3 weeks without a laptop so I will not be able to post regularly. If you have a moment, please drop a vote & comment. I love to read your thoughts about each character and interact with you guys.