"Who is Nikolas, Anna?"
"He is the only man I ever loved" was the reply.
"Oh brother, another love-sick girl. And what is he doing in Souda Bay?"
"He is the captain of a ship. I must see him!"
"Why are you favoring one leg? I meant to ask you before."
"It's a long story, Irene ... a horrible, long story. We were attacked by a German plane, and both of us were wounded. I, in my leg, and he in his arm."
Irene placed her arms around Anna and commented, "It serves you right, you foolish girl, to fall in love with a man."
"He is worthy of my love, Irene. How about you?" Anna asked.
"My story is not so happy, Anna. An alcoholic, abusive father ... need I say more? I've been on my own for a long time," Irene paused. "We have to get out of here, we must deliver these papers."
"The fumes are getting stronger," said Anna, covering her nose.
***
The door opened and the beam of a flashlight was aimed into their eyes, blinding them. The heavyset man had a pencil-thin mustache and balding hair and was wearing a filthy white shirt with a black vest over it. His body odor mixed with the cellar fumes and the alcohol on his breath made Anna nauseous.
"It is time for you two to come out," he bellowed.
The women gladly obeyed, walking behind him to a larger room, dimly lit by a kerosene lamp, with a wooden table and three chairs in a row. On the dirty bare walls was a lone portrait of Lenin. Three men entered and sat on the chairs, while the person who brought them out of the dark room stood by. The three men were dressed in World War I uniforms and Cretan knee-high black boots. The one in the center spoke:
"You are accused of murder. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty" was the reply from both women.
"You not only killed two men, you also conspired to disrupt the orderly operation of the liberation army."
"But, but, I ... we ...," Anna tried to speak.
"And I may as well add espionage charges to that, Miss Blondie. But then, you can only be hung once. You are American, aren't you?" he asked, lowering his glasses to look over them. Anna did not reply. "You are here on a mission, which you refuse to divulge. What are you doing in Crete? Here, in particular? And you." He looked at Irene. "Why are you helping her? I was going to let you defend yourself ... but you see the charges are overwhelming against both of you. No attorney is here to represent you. All three of your witnesses are dead. And you can't give me a believable explanation for why you're here."