Lieutenant Krauser, who was holding the hand lamp, kept pressing the button in his hand, and three long and two short light signals flashed continuously with sufficient brightness.
But disturbing and impatient things happened one after another at the same time.
After trying it once, I found that there was no response. Then I tried it again and found that there was still no response.
"What's going on? Could it be that the SS troops on the opposite side slipped away and were not on duty?"
Seeing that the light signal was not answered, Sulovechenko calmed down and asked questions calmly. Krauser, who was slightly impatient, was worried that his "loyalty" would be questioned and he would be included in the distrust list, and he was anxious to defend himself.
The words of explanation came out immediately.
"It shouldn't be. The SS troops stationed in Area Z are all elite field division troops. It's impossible for them to make mistakes like this that only second- and third-line garrison troops would make, unless..."
"Unless they feel there is no need to reply, they will know it is fake as soon as the light comes on, or we have been exposed, right?"
"."
Krauser became even more anxious after hearing this. Sulovechenko almost pointed at his nose and hinted: "Did you or someone under you have a spy, leaked the news, and tipped off the other side? Or
Just say you are lying."
Krauser, who was anxious to explain something else, was about to speak, but before he could say the words, an unexpected situation suddenly occurred.
"Wait. What is that? Look, there is light on the other side of the river. Is that a reply signal?"
Sulovechenko, who was paying close attention to the situation on the other side of the river, was really sharp-eyed and did not bother to listen to Krauser's explanation. He just kept watching the situation on the other side and quickly made a discovery.
As soon as Sulovechenko spoke, Krauser, who didn't want to criticize anymore, immediately looked around. After a few seconds of observation, excited words came out.
"That's right! It's in response to the light, three short and two long, they have received the signal!"
"What's next?"
".Do you trust me?"
Answering a question with a question is not a polite way of answering. Sulovechenko, who knew what it meant, stared intently at Krauser in front of him for two seconds, and used two seconds to find what he wanted in the other person's eyes.
s answer.
"Go ahead, be careful on the road and pay attention to safety."
"Um."
Although he already knew the secret code for the connection, Sulovechenko still decided to send Krauser up to make the connection instead of himself to prevent unexpected situations.
It’s not that Sulovechenko is a coward and is afraid of death, that’s not the case.
Imagine that now is the time when the situation is unclear and the SS scum on the opposite side is most vigilant. If you go up there as a "fake German" at this time, if you are asked a question that has nothing to do with the code and you can't answer it, you will be nothing but a bad person.
Dishes lead to exposure, and there is no other possibility other than failure of the action.
Let Krause know more things at least, and reduce the foreseeable uncontrollable risks to the theoretical minimum.
The price is that when Krause is out of Sulovechenko's direct control, what he wants to do and what he will do is entirely up to him.
If he really wants to tip off the SS scum on the opposite side, then this is the right time. As long as he does it properly and can even save himself and the tip is successful, the SS on the opposite side can open fire immediately and kill Sulovitch.
Coe and Alsim's group will fight here.
If the dog leash is too tight, it will strangle the dog.
Sometimes, if you want to use a dog and want the dog to do well, you must loosen the leash of the dog. A dog that is always tightly tied to your feet has neither deterrence nor practical significance.
Safety is certainly safe, but turning a dog into a mascot for the sake of safety is putting the cart before the horse.
It is precisely because he understands this truth and knows what risks are worth taking and what risks are not worth taking that Sulovchenko made such a choice on the premise that he believed that his judgment was reliable.
And the next step is to see whether Sulovechenko's judgment is accurate and whether the temporary trust given to Krauser is correct.
Under the watchful eye of Sulovechenko, who was close to the low wall on the river bank, he put down his weapons for safety's sake, not even taking his gun.
Krauser, who left the STG44 at Sulovechenko's feet, quietly walked down the river bank step by step and stepped onto the pontoon without knowing how many pairs of eyes were watching him from the dark.
"Erica!"
A low-pitched whisper sounded quietly, and the secret code shouted out was the same as what Krauser had just told Sulovechenko.
"Erica!"
Krauser, who didn't wait for a response, shouted again. The other side of the river in the darkness was so quiet that it was scary. Only the bridge deck, which was not so stable under the feet, undulated slightly under the force of the waves of the river. It was stuck in the center of the bridge.
Without waiting for a response, Krause stood there without daring to move forward.
"."
"Damn it! What are these SS bastards on the other side doing?"
Sulovechenko didn't know what Krauser, who was standing in the center of the bridge, was thinking. He only knew that his uneasiness about the current situation was indeed growing stronger.
Just when Krauser, who was in the middle of the bridge, was about to shout for the third time, the sudden echo from the darkness startled both Sulovechenko and Krauser themselves.
Of course, it would be a bit too exaggerated to jump up and down on the spot with a frightened heart.
"Izha!"
"."
He stood motionless in the middle of the bridge for two seconds, as if he was trying to figure out whether the voice he heard was correct and to make final confirmation.
The next thing he saw was Krauser turning around and raising his hand in the direction where Sulovchenko was in his impression, without making a sound.
At some point, Alsim, who had quietly arrived at Sulovechenko's side, saw this scene and asked.
"What does that mean?"
"It means let us pass."
".Can you trust him?"
"Then how about we turn around and go back?"
"."
Alsim was speechless after being scolded. He turned around and glanced at the figure still on the bridge, and in the end he could only make up his mind to take a gamble.
"Go up, but don't go up all at once. Go separately and pass some people first."
"I think so too."
Sulovechenko, who was among a group of real Germans, led his men up, while Alsim took Sulovechenko's place and stayed there to wait for further news.
Just when Sulovechenko started to move, Krauser, who was stuck in the middle of the bridge, also moved at the same time.
But he didn't expect that the moment he stepped off the pontoon with bare hands and stepped onto the ferry on the other side of the river, two muzzles protruding from the hidden whistle were already pointed at him.
Krauser, who anticipated that this might happen, was not afraid, but responded calmly and spoke in the direction of the muzzle.
"I have passed the stress test. Comrades, don't you believe me? I am Lieutenant Hans Krauser. I brought people here to transport the wounded the day before yesterday. Have you forgotten?"