Winnie's heart skipped a beat and Miles shook Andre's shoulders. "What do you mean they have Henri?" He almost shouted. Andre's face grew somber, and he stepped away from Miles.
"There are five soldiers at my house, and the officer told me that I had to find you two," He looked at Miles and Winnie, "and bring you back to the house. Or else..." his voice trailed off. Jesse stepped forward.
"Or else what?" he asked. Andre looked Jesse in the eye, his face flushed.
"They will kill him." He said. Miles raised his hands.
"Andre, you really think that they will kill a little boy?" he asked. Andre nodded.
"I don't have a doubt in my mind, Miles." he stated. In a swift motion, Andre reached into his back pocket and quickly produced a small pistol. He pointed it at Miles, Jesse, and Winnie, who were all gathered near the same spot, and they froze. Erik began to ask what was going on, but Andre cut him off.
"Erik, get over here." Andre snapped. Erik quickly crossed over to stand behind Andre, his face filled with remorse. Andre breathed in deeply. "Now," he began, "Tell me the truth." he said. Jesse raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about Andre?" Jesse asked. Andre tightened his grip on the gun.
"Why are the Nazi's after," he waved his gun at Miles and Winnie, "Them!" he shouted. "They wouldn't go through all of this trouble for a couple of American deserters." Winnie held her breath. "So tell me the truth now! Or I swear to God, I will shoot."
Erik spoke up, "We need them to save Henri, Andre." Andre's forehead creased. He nodded his head, and slowly aimed the gun at Jesse.
Jesse shook his head. "Andre," he said cautiously. "We are your friends." A small tear slid from Andre's eye.
"I thought friends told each other the truth!" he said. "They are going to kill my son. I need answers!" He cocked the gun, and pointed it back at Jesse. Nobody moved.
"We can't tell you, Andre." Winnie whispered. "But I know what to do to save your family." Surprised, everybody turned to Winnie. She approached Andre, and he quickly turned the gun on her. Jesse flinched, but Winnie didn't move.
"Andre please." she pleaded. "We want to help you."
Slowly, Andre nodded, and lowered his gun. Sweat streaked down his face, and he sighed of relief. "Ok." he said. "What is your plan?" Winnie bit her lip, quickly looking at Jesse, who gave her a slight smile of reassurance.
"First," she took a breath, "Gather the resistance."
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Von Kliest removed his cap and wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead, with his sleeve. He sighed, glancing down at the small boy sitting on the chair before him. He knelt down to look him in the eye, and the boy shifted uncomfortably.
"That's all?" Von Kliest asked, in broken French. The boy nodded.
"They were nice to me." Henri said. "They are my friends." Von Kliest rolled his eyes. He hated dealing with children.
"Did they ever do anything unusual?" he asked. "Did they eat food, sleep, do anything dangerous?" Henri looked puzzled, and Von Kliest worried that he had lost him.
"They ate food, and they slept..." he seemed to be struggling for words, and Von Kliest watched in vain. "They saved my friend from a fire!" Henri shouted suddenly. Von Kliest leaned forward, intrigued.
This is what he wanted to hear.
"They ran into the burning house, and they got her out just before it fell on top of them!" Andre bounced in his seat, happy to be getting so much attention.
"Thank you Henri." Von Kliest said, as he stood. Placed his hat back on his head, and heard a woman clear her throat, and he then noticed Cheri sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. He made eye contact with the soldier standing beside her, and then turned to address her.
"Yes?" he said, slightly annoyed. Cheri sat up in her chair.
"Monsieur, my son knows nothing more than I do." she said, clasping her hands together. Von Kliest stepped toward her. His face twitched.
"Yet, I wonder how much you know, Madame." He said. "What are you keeping from us?" Cheri looked at the ceiling, and then back at Von Kliest.
"We have told you everything that we know." She said, matter-of-factly. "They were our guests." Von Kliest paced before her chair.
"It seems that there is much that your friends are hiding from you." He said. "So the names are Winifred Foster, and Miles Tuck?"
"And Jesse!" Henri chimed. Cheri shot Henri a look to silence him, but Von Kliest didn't miss it.
"Jesse? Who is Jesse?" He asked Henri. Cheri spoke before her son could answer.
"He is a friend of the family! We knew him in Paris!" she said. "He visited a week ago." Von Kliest turned back to Henri.
"Is that true?" Henri looked at his mother for an answer, but Von Kliest grabbed Henri's chin and forced Henri to look at him. "Don't let her tell you the answer boy. Is it true?" Henri nodded.
Von Kliest let go of Henri and stepped back. They were in the living room of Andre's house, although the family didn't spend much time in there. The walls were paneled with wood, and a large window looked out onto the street. However, Von Kliest had ordered that the windows be drawn.
Von Kliest turned to address the two other soldiers in the room. One stood beside Cheri, while the other stood attention beside the open door. Von Kliest had also ordered two more soldiers to stand guard at the front of the house.
"Watch them." he said. They clicked their heels together, and Von Kliest exited the room. He walked through the kitchen, and out the wooden door that led to the garden. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lifted it to his lips. Lighting the cigarette, Von Kliest tried to piece together the information he had. Who were these Americans? And why couldn't they die? He took a long drag on his cigarette, and pulled his jacket closer to his body. The weather was getting colder. Winter would be here soon, he thought to himself.
"Sir! The Frenchman is approaching! He has the prisoners!" He heard one of his men call out. Von Kliest turned to go back inside, but he stopped, taking another drag on his cigarette.
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"Are you sure about this?" Miles muttered to Winnie. They walked side by side in front of Andre, who held his gun facing their backs. Winnie didn't answer Miles. She wasn't sure if this plan would work, but it was all they had right now.
She gave him a look, and said, "I hope so."
As they approached Andre's house, Winnie saw two Nazi's standing guard outside. Seeing the three of them approaching, one of the guards ran inside. Winnie heard him yell, "Sir! The Frenchman is approaching! He has the prisoners!"
Winnie shivered. She didn't like being called a prisoner. She thought back to her old home in Treegap, and how she used to feel that it was like a prison. The black iron fence surrounding the uninviting house used to seem like it was the only thing that kept her from ever exploring the outside world. Or in her case, the mysterious woods that her family owned. She shook the thought from her mind. She needed to stay focused.
She reached into her large jacket pocket, and gently rubbed her fingers against the smooth handle of the gun. Her heart began to beat faster in her chest, and she feared that Miles and Andre could tell that she was afraid.
They finally reached the front door, and the other soldier came outside. They gave Andre a look as if to say, well done. The soldiers looked as if they were twins, except one had brown hair, and the other had blonde hair. "What have we here, then?" The blonde one asked. He looked at Winnie in a way that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"The two Americans that I was ordered to bring," Andre answered. He voice quivered, and Winnie realized that he was just as scared as she was. However, if Miles was scared, he didn't let on. The soldiers nodded, and they moved aside to let them pass through the door.
Andre's house had been turned upside-down. Everything seemed to be thrown to the floor, or knocked over. They stepped over the remains of a large lamp, and then turned to enter the living room. Henri and Cheri were both sitting on chairs, and were being watched by two soldiers. They both had blonde hair, but one had brown eyes, while the other had blue. Winnie didn't see Von Kliest, and this surprised her.
"These are the Americans then?" One asked. Andre nodded, shooting a worried glance at Cheri. The blue eyed soldier addressed the other one, "Make sure they're unarmed." he said. The brown-eyed one nodded, and approached Winnie. Before she could think, she pulled the gun from her pocket and aimed it at the soldier.
The other one quickly drew his gun as well and trained it on Winnie. "Drop it!" he said. Miles quickly pulled his gun out as well and trained it on the blue-eyed soldier.
"No." he said. "You drop it." They stood for a moment, waiting for somebody to make a move. Suddenly, gunshots erupted from outside, startling everyone inside. Miles saw this as his chance, and he pulled the trigger on his gun, killing the soldier with the blue eyes. The soldier with brown eyes fired at Winnie, and she was knocked to the ground by the momentum. Miles quickly shot the other soldier. Henri and Cheri screamed, and Andre rushed over to them. "Are you alright Winnie?" Cheri cried. Winnie nodded as Miles helped her to her feet.
"It just missed me." she lied. The gunshots continued to be heard from outside, and Winnie feared that there were more soldiers hiding around than she had originally thought. "We have to go." She said.
"Where?" Cheri asked. Andre ushered her towards the door.
"I will explain later." He said. He turned toward the kitchen. "We have to go out the back. It's too dangerous out there." They began to follow him through the kitchen.
"Who is firing the other shots?" Cheri asked. Andre looked straight ahead.
"The resistance." He said nonchalantly. Cheri shrieked.
"What! But they will be killed!" Andre pushed open the back door. They stepped out into the small garden, working their way up the hill to cut across to another street. The gunshots had ceased.
"They are fine Cheri!" he said. "Its us I am worried about right now!"
"And rightfully so." a man's voice answered with a thick German accent. They turned around to see Von Kliest standing behind them. As he smirked, dozens of soldiers filed in behind him from the sides of the house.
They were trapped.