Tilted Axis

Chapter:39

     "No I refuse, you can't put him in a cell!" I protest. I stand with Killua in General Andrés quarters. The general sits behind a large desk with me standing opposite of him. The room is actually well furnished, given it sits underground. Or the fact it is the first line of defense for southern france.

     "I'm sorry, Monsieur Freecss. But we will obey protocol here. You will too. He has to be interrogated properly." General André says to me. Killua stands behind me. His hand clutched to my shirt sleeve. I'm starting to wonder if he is actually acting now. I can hear Alice purring faintly.

    "Why won't you take my word for it? He's an innocent man! Not ten minutes ago you said you would give us food and bunks!"

     "You will lower your tone, private! You will obey my orders as you would your own commanders. I cannot currently trust your judgment. As far as I am concerned, you could be in a state of shell shock. If that's the case, your judgment is clouded and you could have saved a spy or sympathizer." André explains in a hard commanding tone.

     I grit my teeth. Just our fucking luck. We get to safety and now a new roadblock appears before us. I look at Killua who looks back at me with a worried expression. There's no telling what they could do to him. "Before I listen to you, promise me that he won't be harmed." I say more harshly than I intend, staring at the commander. "He's saved my life and I won't let him be tortured as thanks."

    The French General groans. "Mon Dieu. Are you this stubborn with your commanders?" He slumps back in his leather seat.

     I nod. I put my arm over Killuas shoulder. "If you put him in a cell, you put me in there too. You can interrogate him if you want, but you will not torture him. I won't let you throw him in a cell 30 meters under the surface either!"

     André drags his palm down his face, seemingly in disbelief. "You could be court martialed for insubordination, you know that right?" He asks quietly.

    I nod. "I also should have been removed from basic when I was shot. Yet here I am."

      The Frenchman chews his lip before leaning forward against his desk. "Fine. I'm putting a pin in this. It's late. You will be allowed to the mess for rations, if you choose. You do not let him out of your sight, Freecss. Afterwards, you will both go to one of the unused officers quarters. We just had a man be transferred a few days ago. I'd send you to the barracks, but my men are wary of him. I'll have Morrow show you around." The General presses a buzzer on his desk. "Should either of you cause trouble, so much as a hair out of place, you will be put in the cells. Am. I. Clear?" He asks sternly.

     I nod quickly. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

   He waves his hand dismissively. "Go stand out in the hall. Morrow will be here shortly. I'll see about someone getting a box and some sand for the cat. I don't want shit all over my facility."

     I nod again and turn on my heel. Killua keeps himself close to me as we exit the room and into the corridor. When the door shuts behind us I sigh. "Well, it could have gone worse...Guess they fear anyone that speaks German." I mutter. "How are you holding up?" I ask Killua.

     He shifts his eyes around the corridor and mutters a small "okay." That's all I've gotten from him currently. Small snippets of English. Or he will respond in German. It's understandable as well. If he suddenly starts speaking fluent English, it won't turn out well for either of us.

    We continue standing in silence till Morrow appears before us. "Well well well...You have been spared the Generals wrath." He says grinning slightly.

     "Only because you are here. If you weren't there earlier to vouch for me, it's likely we would both be in a cell." I replied. "So you didn't get sent to aid the RAF?"