Harald inclined his head towards the room. “Get inside.”
“You can't make us do that.”
“I can, and I will.”
“On whose orders?”
“On my orders, of course. Until we get settled and the men have their routine, you have to stay out of the way.” He paused, thought for a moment, then said, “Also, I don't trust you. You've had a very hard day, and you are not in your right mind.”
Dominik was not a man known for his temper, but he felt it rising. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “A hard day? Do you have any idea what you've done to us? These girls are without their mother, and I am without my wife! You have torn us apart at the seams and you talk about a hard day!”
Harald looked at him with infuriating patience. “Right now your wife is sitting comfortably in the back of a large black car on her way to your home city. You needn't worry about that.”
“And my girls? Should I worry about them crammed inside this box you call a cabin? Without their mother?”
“I could have you stripped and tied to the side of the ship until we reach port, Mister Kaminski. I advise you to lower your voice.”
“I will not!”
Zofia tugged at his sleeve. “Papa,” she said. “Papa, please stop yelling.”
He glanced down. Just seeing the look on her face broke his train of thought.
“I will have food and water brought to you within the hour,” Harald said. “It's the best I can do.”
“Any troubles here, sir?”
The tall soldier Jan stepped from out of the shadows to join his boss. He was predictably hunched over, but menacing enough even at three-quarter's height. Jan's job was to break things, and Dominik wasn't about to test him no matter how ridiculous their fighting quarters.
Sighing, Dominik turned to the other prisoner. “Mister Ari, please let us in.”
The man stepped back. “Lieutenant, sir,” he began, stumbling a little as the Kaminskis climbed past. “I know you want to get back to your duties, but I need to ask a favor. Just a small one, but it's important.”
“I'm not in the business of granting favors, Mister Quintus.”
“Well,” Ari said hurriedly, “I haven't been out of here in a while and… well you see… I have to go to the bathroom.” He lowered his voice. “Just a few minutes. If I could get some privacy—”
“I don't think so, Mister Quintus.”
“Please man, I'm begging you! These people, they're nice people. And he has two girls. I don't want to… you know… do that here with them. Please, I'll only be a moment. I don't even have to use the facilities, I can just go over the rails. You can send a guard to watch! Just don't make me do it here. Please.”
Harald thought, then shook his head. “No, Mister Quintus. You'll just have to hold it.” With all four prisoners inside, Harald moved to shut the door.
“You're a bastard,” Lucja said abruptly. She had held her tongue through the entire conversation, but she had had enough. There was a viciousness in her Dominik had never heard before.
For the first time, Harald looked almost regretful. He pushed the door closed and sealed it with an audible click. Dominik heard a valve spinning outside and knew they weren't getting out. If the ship sank or caught fire, they were doomed. If the rest of the crew died, they would starve. If this Ari fellow was a madman, they would be strangled in their sleep. Yes, this was turning out to be a hard day indeed.
Dominik took two steps to the far wall, letting his back slide down until his butt hit the floor. Zofia huddled on his left side, and Lucja crouched on his right, clinging to him as tightly as her sister.
Ari collapsed on the opposite wall. “I'm sorry about all that. They're not a very understanding people, are they?”
“How long have you been here?” Dominik asked.
“Since this morning. I spent all day yesterday in a car. I was blindfolded, so I can't even tell you where this is.”
“We're in Kiel.”
“Oh, well that certainly explains the weather, doesn't it? The Captain stopped in and introduced himself earlier this afternoon, and that's the only human contact I've had. I suppose I have to apologize. I've a bit of a weak stomach you see, and I've been in here for so long that it's gone all dodgy. I don't like being kept in here.”
“You don't have to apologize. None of us likes being here.”
“I'm hot, Papa,” Zofia said suddenly, pulling off her coat.
Ari tried to smile. “I wish we had a window. I suppose we'd have to deal with sea water splashing in from time to time, but I'd take it.”
Dominik helped Zofia and Lucja get comfortable, then pulled off his own coat and loosened his tie. It really was getting hot. It was a stark contrast to how freezing it had been above deck, but he supposed the proximity of the furnace and the confined space would do that. Zofia coughed once, gently, and he set her down on the straw.
“I don't like that man,” Lucja said.
Dominik nodded. “The army officer?”
“The one I called a bastard. I'm sorry, Papa. I didn't mean to swear.”
“He is a bastard.”
“I miss Mama.”
“I do too, but we can't do anything yet. We have to play his game for now.”
“That's good advice,” Ari said. “I know these people. They have great plans. Great Plans with a capital 'G.' The army was so scattered after the Great War they'll do anything in the name of king and country, now. I feel bad for men like Dietrich, I really do. They don't realize their fathers were listening to the same propaganda twenty years ago.”
“Did you fight?” Dominik asked.
“No, I was married and teaching at the time. I wasn't conscripted, thank God. But I doubt it would have made any difference in where I am right now. I could have given all four limbs to Germany, and if The Führer thought I'd be best served by staying in this pantry, I'd be here.”
“Do you really think he cares about the likes of us?”
Ari thought for a moment. “I can't say. The secret police have been running a strange game these past few years. And to think, the Gestapo didn't exist when I was a boy.”
“The cruelty of ordinary people is monstrous,” Dominik said. “My wife…” He couldn't finish.
“I'm sorry,” Ari said, now looking at the floor.
“I just don't know why it had to be us. I don't know why they put so much effort into our little family. We're nothing, aren't we?”
“I've been trying to figure that out. The men in black coats showed up outside the doors to my lab yesterday, and I was foolish enough to think they were looking for someone else. Someone else! Imagine! Before I knew it, I had a bag over my head and was riding up the highway in the back of a car. I got here with the clothes on my back, and that's all. I'm still waiting for an explanation.”
A sound like thunder reverberated through the walls, and Dominik jumped. He wondered if it had begun to storm outside when Zofia giggled, and he realized that Ari had farted.
“Sorry about that,” Ari said, holding his stomach.
“What is it that you do, Ari?” Dominik asked.
“I'm a statistician. Well, a mathematical physicist,” he corrected. “Officially, I teach at Humboldt University, but since the party took over the school, it hasn't been the same. I've been traveling when I can get away with it. My most recent sabbatical was to Oslo to study linear particle accelerators. But that would probably bore you to death. What do you do? Do you teach? You look like a teacher, if you don't mind me saying.”