Chapter Text
Just One Call….
by RedDragon30000
reddragon30000@yahoo.co.uk
If you had seen him in the street, you would have though that he was just another German Luftwaffe officer, well built and tall, with a profile that was faintly hawk-like, a sharp face, with handsome dark eyes that seemed to be taking in every detail. But Major Reinhardt was not just any Luftwaffe officer. He had a job that was vital to the German forces occupying Belgium, the task of uncovering and breaking the evasion line that smuggled shot down Allied airman back to England. At least, it had been doing that until now. This was one thing that greatly puzzled Reinhardt. In the past few weeks, there did not seem to be anyone attempting to escape from Belgium, which gave rise to the possibility that the Allies did not need the air crew any longer.
Reinhardt's musings were cut short as he reached the door of his office. As he unlocked the door, and entered the adjoining room to his office, he noted that his assistant, Hauptman Muller, was not yet in. It was not surprising, Reinhardt was quite early today, and he smiled to himself as he imagined Muller's own surprise, and the apologies he would utter to his superior officer. Despite the dislike he felt for many of his colleagues in the Avenue Louise, especially Kessler, he was quite fond of Muller, who was an efficient and shrewd man, even though his appearance suggested a lazy attitude. Striding into his office, he picked his way carefully through the many files and pieces of paper that covered the floor. Reaching a bookcase that was also stuffed with files; he selected the one that he had been going through yesterday evening. A stranger observing all these files would think that Reinhardt was a man who noted down every detail, no matter how small. However, these files did not belong to him, but to his predecessor, Major Brandt. He was slowly and systematically making his way through the files, knowing that they contained leads that Reinhardt would not have been able to find in a long time.
As he absentmindedly lit a cigarette, dragging on it every now and then, he read through a sheet of conversations that Brandt had noted down when he had been eating at the Candide. This was another matter that puzzled Reinhardt; he could not understand why Major Brandt was paying so much attention to the Candide. He himself was quite fond of the place, and liked to eat there on a regular basis as the staff were very accommodating when it came to requests for simpler dishes then they usually served. As he was pondering this fascination with the Candide, the telephone on his desk rang. He laid the file on his desk, keeping it open so he would not lose his place, and picked up the telephone with one hand, snapping briskly "Major Reinhardt". "I have seen the airman that you are looking for Herr Major. I have found his hiding place."
The voice on the other end of the phone perplexed Reinhardt. From what he could make out from the voice, his informant was a girl. There was also something unusual about her voice, there was a harsh edge to it, almost as if she did not use it much and a slight hiss whenever she said the letter `s'. He frowned. "Where is this hiding place? I will need more details if I am to apprehend him". "In an abandoned farm just outside Senlis. If you wish….I could lead you there". This last statement was spoken with a large degree of hesitation, as if the girl was reluctant to have contact with anyone.
This was something that Reinhardt picked up on at once, and added to the mystery of his new informant. It could be that she was just nervous because he was a Luftwaffe officer, and she was afraid of doing anything that could lead to her arrest. However, it seemed that this reluctance was something more than that; he had detected a tremor in her voice as she had made the suggestion to lead him to the farm. This made it appear as if she was actually afraid of him, not simply nervous….He made a mental note to investigate this when he met with her.
"Herr Major?" Her voice startled him, jolting him out of his contemplations. "Where I am to meet you then?" There was silence for a few moments while the girl pondered this. At last she said "by the house you searched a few weeks ago". Reinhardt was surprised. "How do you know which one I searched?" There was a pause, and then the girl gave a snort of contempt, as if to indicate that Reinhardt was being very dense at the moment. "Herr Major, almost everyone in that part of Senlis knows which house you searched. Apart from the fact that you held a child hostage-" Here Reinhardt winced, that particular incident causing him to flush slightly with embarrassment "-Your men conducted your search with all the subtlety of a charging elephant". Reinhardt winced again, that one had been below the belt. Privately he agreed with her, but he was not going to let anyone insult his men. So she wanted to verbally spar with him? He could do that as well. "Oh, so you observed my men searching? Was that just because you were curious, or did you have your eye on one of them?" The girl spluttered indignantly, and then growled in frustration as she could not think of suitable retort. Reinhardt smirked; she was clearly an amateur in the art of verbal warfare.
In a disgruntled voice, she said "Alright, you win. I will meet you outside the house". Reinhardt nodded to himself. "Very well. However, I will need your name if I am to ensure that I am talking to the right person". There was such a long period of silence from his informant that Reinhardt began to wonder if she was still there. At last she said "My name…is Red Dragon." As Reinhardt opened his mouth to ask about her apparent name she cut him off. "I have amnesia. The only thing I can actually remember is that people called me that. It also seems to be more than just a nickname; it is almost as if it is part of who I am. I must go now. Goodbye Herr Major. I will see you later". There was a thud as the phone was put down at Red Dragon's end. Reinhardt slowly sank into the chair behind his desk, the file he had been reading still lying open on his desk, but he was not aware of it right now. All he could think about was this new informant, this `Red Dragon'. He believed that there was a big mystery to this girl, and he was determined to find out what it was.
end part 1