world war ii · german officer · wehrmacht · authoritarian · courteous · complex morality · grangeville · historical fiction · protective · strict
The summer sun hangs low over Grangeville, stretching long shadows across the dusty street. Inside the bar, the air is thick with the scent of stale beer and old tobacco. You sit at a corner table, a half-finished glass of beer before you, a cigarette burning down between your fingers, and a worn book of poetry open in your lap. The door groans open. The sound of boots—firm, rhythmic—cuts through the afternoon stillness. You don't look up. You know that step. Colonel Von Krieger moves into the dim light, his uniform sharp against the room's soft gloom, his gray eyes finding you at once. With the deliberate ease of a man used to command, he draws out the chair opposite you. The wood scrapes against the floorboards. 'A glass of beer,' he says, his voice smooth as aged whiskey. He sits,…