The darkness hid the snow as it fell but Schneider could see that the light snowfall had sprinkled the ground with a dusting that blew around in little swirls when the wind kicked up. The leaves on the ground moved around as if large hands were brushing them here and there. Nature was the only one speaking this night. It was cold, dark and unnaturally quiet. One could almost hear the snow hitting the ground.
As Schneider’s eyes readjusted to the dark, he found what he was looking for. He strode over to what looked like a cave-like opening in the hillside across from the clearing at the end of the road. Set back in the darkness of the opening was a barely visible large steel door. The door was reset into a concrete wall about eight to ten feet from the opening. He could see the structure was fairly new. The concrete was fresh and the door did not have the tell-tale signs of rust that would surely occur facing the elements.
This entrance was plain. There were no lights, signs or warnings. The structure looked like a natural cave. In front of the “cave” there was a clearing; no pavement of any kind. It was simply the forest’s dirt floor. Looking closer, a formidable guard force was hidden from view. The guards could see anyone approaching. And if not expected, death would follow swiftly.
“Please, sir, over here,” Schneider summoned as he stopped just inside the cave. Rauch walked over, clearly not happy with the situation. But at least it got him out of the wind. “We must check in.”
A puzzled Rauch strained his eyes trying very hard to see and understand what the hell this fool was saying.
“Check in? What the hell are you talking about, Oberleutnant?” queried Rauch stepping closer to Schneider. Was this guy crazy? Then his eyes adjusted and he saw the steel door and concrete. A bunker!
Within seconds a small slit opened on the concrete wall’s left side. Schneider presented his orders and identification along with Rauch’s to the pair of guard eyes peering from the gun slit in the wall. Rauch turned his head to the right and saw three guards manning an identical setup on the opposite wall. Just a few inches of the barrel of a Maschinengewehr-34 light machine gun poked from another concealed port aimed directly at them. Schneider passed the credentials through a small steel port into a safe-like box. The port closed. It was quiet as death as the two men waited in the cold darkness. After a full five minutes, Rauch was incensed.
“This is ridiculous. I’m freezing standing out here. I’ll be in the car,” huffed Rauch as he turned away, hunching over trying to make a smaller target for the cold wind. “Let me know when they answer or if they answer. I’ll give them three more minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” answered the oberleutnant, shivering as much from fear as from the cold.
Rauch trudged back to the staff car parked in a clearing just off the gravel road, about ten meters from the bunker door. As he walked back he looked around, noticing several slight indentions in the grass and dirt. They were tire tracks, some large ones at that. It looked like other vehicles had been here. He was amazed that the oberleutnant had even found this needle-in-a-haystack. After driving for hours, turning up at this God-forsaken place was even more puzzling. It was downright baffling! He reached the car, opened the rear door and climbed into the back seat. It was cold inside, but at least he was out of that damned wind. The back leather seat was frozen, creaking as he struggled to get comfortable. What heat the car had generated had withered away with the motor not running. How in the hell did I get into this mess, Rauch thought to himself.
He peered through the fogged-up side window, straining to see if Schneider was still there. He wiped the cold glass with his glove leaving a blurry opening. He peered out trying to make out the figure of Schneider in the darkness. Yeah, the good little oberleutnant was still there, probably afraid to move.
What happened to the German Army, wondered Rauch. We have nothing but shave-tailed kids playing soldier. They are so young, so intent on serving the Fatherland. Dumbasses! They had no concept of what was really going on. He looked at Schneider. He was the perfect tin soldier.
Rauch turned away from the window. He closed his eyes trying to clear his mind from distractions. He could hear the rumbling of the trucks’ engines parked behind them. The truckers seemed to have more sense to keep their vehicles running even though the meager heating units sucked. But any warmth out here was better than none. Goddamned army…
Suddenly a voice growled from a small speaker imbedded in the ceiling of the concrete structure.
“When the door opens, enter quickly and stand in the center of the room.”
Schneider turned and called to the major to join him. They were going in…
CHAPTER TWO
This endeavor started two days ago when Major Rauch received “secret” orders sealed in an official Schutzstaffel message pouch. The messenger, accompanied by a guard, burst into the headquarters building demanding to see Rauch. When the orderly in charge offered to take the pouch, the messenger leered at him with such devilish eyes that the orderly simply stopped in mid-sentence and turned away like a beaten dog.
“This pouch is to be delivered to Sturmbannführer Rauch personally,” snapped the messenger. The guard stood at attention two steps behind the messenger. Both were immaculately dressed; so perfect they looked like statues. Everyone in the room fell silent. All work ceased. It was as if time froze for a moment as Rauch slowly stood up from his desk across the room.
“I am Sturmbannführer Rauch,” trying to relish the importance of the moment being afforded him, although internally his mind was racing… what the hell have I done? All eyes turned upon him as he strolled over to the messenger, making damned sure he showed no emotion even though he was definitely worried. He was present when other officers had been arrested on the spot for various infractions. He even witnessed a fellow officer dragged outside, placed against a wall and summarily shot. Anything was possible in this German army. But this affair seemed different.
“SS Sturmbannführer Reinhardt Rauch?” the messenger repeated.
Rauch nodded, still perplexed. He realized that it had to be something important, but what?
“Sorry, sir; I must see your identification papers. Those are my orders!” the messenger snapped as he stood so stiffly at attention Rauch thought the soldier might break.
Rauch reached into his tunic and presented his papers. The messenger smartly reviewed and returned them to Rauch along with the message pouch.
“Thank you, sir. Heil Hitler!” The messenger clicked his heels and snapped his right arm into the extended position of a Nazi salute.
Rauch casually returned the salute with a half-hearted wave of his right hand. The messenger returned to attention.
“Good day, sir!” snapped the messenger as he whirled around, clicked his heels and strode out of the headquarters with the guard following.
Rauch took the pouch. He glanced around the room, noticing everyone was watching his next move. That lasted for just a second. Almost immediately they returned to their work as if nothing had happened. Rauch had a thin smile on his face as he strode down the hall to an empty private office. Thank God the army realized his importance by selecting him. It was about time. He closed the door and placed the pouch on the table in the center of the room, still relishing the fact that he got this critical set of orders. It did make him feel important. He checked that the door was locked. He smiled to himself and sat down, enjoying that he was opening significant orders; orders from SS headquarters no less.