Espionage

The relationship between Donny and myself is one of pure animosity. We take jabs at each other every chance we get. Usually, I won’t go after him unless he opens his fat gob, like right now.

“I don’t even know why Raine keeps a dainty little fairy like you around. All you do is get hurt. ’Oh, look at me, little Mizz Landa. My daddy hates me and my mama didn‘t buy me a pony! No one wants me around and everyone wants to shoot me. Boo hoo!’ ” He did a poor imitation of me. A very poor imitation of me as he passed by. It was so poor in fact, that it made me want to vomit a little. He was referring to the blood that was dripping down my right arm from a bullet that grazed it. It didn’t do any real damage, but he wouldn’t let me live it down.

Now, bringing up my dead mother, that he didn’t know about and rather-have-him-dead father, that was crossing the line. Stiglitz looked at me, waiting to see if I’d do anything. He knew about my mother and the horrible things I saw as a child.

She met my father before he went into the service. They fell in love and yadda, yadda, yadda…they got married, had me and that is when the problem arose. It wasn’t the fact that my father didn’t want me, per say, it was the fact that he didn’t want a half-breed baby. My mother, who didn’t tell him until I was seven years old, was Jewish. By then he was in the service, doing horrible things to the any non-German, which moved on quickly to a more specific hatred; Jews. The hatred of Jews was sweeping the nation and soon to the neighboring countries.

He beat her. I remember every horrible detail of that night. The way my mother wailed as he beat her to death with a gold candlestick. I remember the blood. I remember the rage. I remember the screaming. I remember crying. I remember her dead body lying lifelessly on the wood floors. I remember the look on her face. I remember everything. My father took away the one thing that I could call my own, my lifeline. Growing up was as awkward as it got. My father raised me as more of a tom-boy than a girl. He didn’t pay much attention to me though because I was still ‘impure’. Through my teenage years I didn’t bring boys home, ashamed of what my father would think and ashamed of my father in general. The only boy he ever let have their eyes on me was Fredrick Zoller. He was and possibly still is a private in my father’s division. His personality was weird and he kind of pushed himself on me, but that was just how he was. His handsome face held nothing but a genuine smile every time we came into contact and I slowly developed a school-girl crush on him, thus blossoming our friendship. Though I was attracted to him, I never really opened myself up to him. We talked, but I never let anything out that shouldn’t be. He was, of course, part of the Nazi regime. And through everything about him that I fell in love with, that one flaw was what kept me at a distance. I still remember the heartbroken look on his face as the guards that caught me dragged me to my father’s building. It looked like a part of his soul was just sucked out of him. When he found out that I was against the Nazi regime and that I tried to leave, betrayal took the place of dread on his face. It tugged at my heart to see him looking at me that way. He was nothing but nice to me and there I was, trying to escape for my sanity’s sake.

I jumped up from where I was sitting on my pack and stomped over to where he was standing, talking to Utivitch. His back was to me, so he didn’t see me when I came up to him and gave him a swift kick behind his right knee. He fell to the ground, yelling. I grabbed a hand full of his dark hair and kept my foot behind his knee, making him immobile. One wrong move from him and so long right knee. After living the life that I did, I picked up a few things here and there from the soldiers at my father’s camps and at home.

Our little scuffles never get physical. This was just me showing Donny that I’ve had enough of his shit.

“What the fuck do ya think you’re doin’?!” He puffed out his chest and tried to move, resulting in him groaning in pain. I glared hard and cold at him as I put my head right next to his, ready to shed blood if need be. As menacing as he was, I’ve been through worse shit in my life than dealing with Donny.

I could tell that all eyes were on us, trying to see what our next moves were. Utivitch stood in front of us, with wide eyes. Well, wider than they usually are. Donny gripped his bat at his side so hard I thought it would’ve snapped like a toothpick right then and there. His neck was bulging from the rage and his dark brown eyes seemed almost black.

Like I said, I’ve seen worse.

“Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate beat the fuck outta ya. You wanna end up just like your little Nazi buddies? Huh?” He was spitting with rage. He had only seen me as a battered, weak girl. He didn’t know what I could do, what I was capable of. I could handle myself in any given situation, like this one.

“Actually, I vould love to zee you try, Donovitz. Hit me as hard as you fucking can. Show me zat you’re a real man.” I mocked him. I knew he wouldn’t do anything to me, he couldn‘t. Not in his position and even if he had the chance, he didn’t have the balls, not when he’s been around me for this long. “On zecond thought,” I gripped his hair tighter in my fist and pulled out my knife from my holster, putting it to his throat. “I could always use anozer scalp. Unlike you, I vouldn’t be afraid to do it vhile you are still breazing.”

“You’re going to fucking scalp me. You fucking crazy Nazi bitch!” He was shouting obscenities left and right and started thrashing a bit.

“Utivitch is short a few scalps, I’m sure he’ll be more zan happy vith yours. Am I right, Utivitch?” I looked up at him with a sadistic grin on my face. He shook his head wildly, hoping that it’d stop me. I dug the knife deeper into Donny’s neck, not quite breaking the skin, but if he were to move the slightest bit, it would start slicing. I pulled his hair back a little further, making him grimace. I brought my mouth right next to his ear.

“Don’t. Tempt. Me.” I whispered darkly, then pulled my knife away and shoved him forward. I walked back. I saw Wicki, Stiglitz, Omar and Hirschberg running past me. I swiftly turned around to see them all holding Donny back from running after me like a bull. I cracked my knuckles and my neck as I walked back.

“Let me beat the fuck outta this bitch! Let me go! Fucking…Fuck!” The men struggled as the thrashed around.

“Let him go. Let‘s zee vat he is really capable of.” All movement stopped. All the men looked at me like I was crazy. I saw Stiglitz give me a look that told me to back off. I just shook my head.

“Verdammt dummer Amerikaner. (Fucking stupid American.)” I spat on the ground at Donny’s feet, then turned back to the original direction I was going in when I bumped into a wall.

The Great Wall of Aldo.

His hands were made into fists that rested on his hips and that God forsaken lip was jutting out.

“I can’t leave you dummies alone for two fuckin’ go’t damn minutes without this here firecracker goin’ off.” He raised an eyebrow and pointed to me with his thumb. “Now, I know you two would love nothin’ more than to tear each other’s fuckin’ limbs off and feed ’em to the wolves, but I’m sorry to burst yer fuckin’ bubbles. You,” He pointed to Donny “Calm yourself. And you,” He looked down at me “Turn off that damn fuse ’afore you go blow yerself up into a billion bitty pieces. I’d like it if ya didn’t get yer guts and whatnot on my nice campin’ supplies.” His sarcastic tone did not go undetected as he turned around and walked back into his tent. I gave one last glace back at Donny and saw that he had cooled down a bit, and kept walking into the woods.