War Photographer's Notebook

Somewhere in the English Channel, which was calm but filled with thick fog, inside a lost rescue buoy, five shipwrecked people sat around a table under an oil lamp, talking to each other and playing the card game originated in England. Ribic.

On the edge of the table, on an upside-down wooden box, a cheap radio produced in Germany was playing soothing classical music. On both sides of the radio, there were a P38 pistol and a Webley pistol, as well as A half-empty bottle of brandy and several glasses.

"The first eliminated person appears"

Phil, with a cigar in his mouth, moved the pin nailed on the homemade scoreboard and said gloatingly, "Victor, you are responsible for the first round of guarding, but don't worry, there will be an unlucky guy soon." I'll take over for you."

"Hope you guys have fun"

After finishing speaking, Wei Ran, who was also holding a cigar in his mouth, took out a cigarette from the cigarette box that was used as a bargaining chip and threw it into the lid of the lunch box in the center of the card table. Then he stood up and climbed up the ladder.

Hearing the card game continue below, he also took off the camera hanging around his neck, pointed at the other four people who were continuing the card game, and quietly pressed the shutter.

Climbing onto the deck shrouded in thick fog, the cold air made him shiver.

After looking around and finding nothing, Wei Ran put down the telescope in vain, closed the door of the observation tower behind him, wrapped himself in clothes tightly and walked to the edge of the deck, waved away the seagulls standing on the railing, and then leaned on it. He took a puff of the cigar in his hand.

Not long after, the door of the watchtower was opened from the inside, and Heidi, wearing a Luftwaffe uniform, walked up.

"Miss Heidi also lost?" Wei Ran asked in French with a smile.

"I'm not good at this kind of card game." Heidi walked to Wei Ran thoughtfully and also leaned on the railing.

After a moment of silence, Heidi asked, "Mr. Victor, could you lend me the telescope?"

"Of course." Wei Ran happily took off the telescope hanging around his neck and handed it to the other party.

Taking the telescope, Heidi asked again, "Which way is east?"

"In that direction?"

Wei Ran glanced at the compass on his wrist and raised his finger to point in the direction.

Hearing this, Heidi raised the telescope toward the east. After a moment, she sighed helplessly and returned the telescope to Wei Ran.

"Are you worried about your sister?" Wei Ran asked casually.

"yes"

Heidi nodded, took out the cigarettes that were used as chips from her pocket, took one out, put it in her mouth, lit it, and took a deep puff, choking and coughing repeatedly.

"She's just 19 years old"

Heidi said as if talking to herself, "Her name is Vanessa. She is studying law in Paris. She is a smart and brave girl."

"She will survive," Wei Ran said firmly.

"I hope so" Heidi showed a bitter smile.

Rubbing the aching jaw of his left hand, Wei Ran was about to change the subject when Heidi said apologetically, "Mr. Victor, I'm sorry, I threw the German pilot's radio into the sea."

"Yeah" Wei Ran nodded.

"As expected, you already know this," Heidi said as if it was true.

"Julian already knows this too."

Wei Ran raised his hand and pointed to the top of the mast, "There should have been a radio antenna there. Without that antenna, the communication range of the radio would have been impossible to contact the rescue aircraft."

"That's it"

A tired smile appeared on Heidi's face, and she confessed apologetically, "Speer was worried that Mr. Julian contacted the Germans through the radio. He. We killed several Germans. If we were captured, both of us would dead."

"You did nothing wrong"

Wei Ran reassured, "From your and Spear's point of view, throwing away that radio is the wisest choice."

"Thank you" Heidi casually wiped the tears that overflowed from the corners of her eyes, "Mr. Victor"

"Mrs. Heidi, if you have something to say, why don't you just say it?" Wei Ran said gently.

Gritting her teeth, Heidi lowered her voice and asked, "Why don't you and Mr. Phil kill Julian?"

"Are you worried about not having enough medicine?" Wei Ran was keenly aware of the girl's thoughts.

Since they had breakfast, Phil started playing cards as if he had forgotten to change Julian and Spear's dressings. But he did not hide the issue of insufficient medicine from Wei Ran, who could understand English, when he communicated with her before the meal.

"Didn't he accept it? Didn't he deserve to be killed?"

Heidi lowered her head and asked, "I am really worried about the shortage of medicines. I am worried that Spear will die at sea, and I am also worried."

"worry about what?"

"No, nothing"

Heidi was already kneeling on the floor as she spoke, covering her face and crying bitterly, sobbing softly, "I am too selfish, I am too selfish, I have harmed everyone!"

Wei Ran sat next to him on the damp and cold deck, leaning against the railing behind him and muttering to himself, "People are selfish, and because people are selfish, there are wars."

Wiping away her tears, Heidi also sat down against the railing and murmured in a desperate tone, "Originally, Spear and I were already planning the wedding. Then it was as easy for the Germans to break an egg. France was captured, then the British fled, and everything changed.

In order to survive, we postponed the wedding and even dared not contact each other easily. In order to survive, Spier agreed to marry a Jewish traitor and his daughter. "

"What did you say?" Wei Ran looked at the other party in astonishment, "You know this?"

The tearful Heidi nodded, "He never hid it from me. I know every step of his plan. Spier is also a Jew. Only in this way will he not be betrayed by his compatriots and have the opportunity to prepare to escape to England." of everything.”

"So you know everything."

"it's me"

Heidi buried her whole face in her arms, "It was me who killed three German gendarmes who wanted to rape my sister that disrupted all plans.

Originally, he could escape to England alone. After he escaped, I could take my sister to meet him in England through Spain.

It was me who insisted on staying and wanted to wait for him to escape before going to the UK to meet him. It was me who ruined all the plans. "

Hearing this, Wei Ran fell into silence.

He didn't know if he had misunderstood Spear, but he had not forgotten that the Jew had sacrificed him and Vanessa in order to escape.

"Your sister Vanessa," Wei Ran asked tentatively, "Does Vanessa know your plan?"

Hearing this, Heidi shook her head and choked with despair, "She doesn't know. She only knows that we were supposed to escape to Spain and then to England in mid-October. It was me. I was the one who killed Vanessa. It was me too." It hurt Spear.”

"Your sister."

Wei Ran rubbed his increasingly painful mouth, suppressed the words that almost blurted out, and comforted him, "And Spear, they won't blame you. No matter what, in order to save your sister, you will do whatever it takes to save your sister." That's reason enough to kill those three Germans you just mentioned."

"Thank you, thank you for your comfort."

Heidi wiped the tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, "I don't know why I am telling you these things. I just hope you can forgive Spear's selfishness and hatred, and I also hope you can forgive him for trying to let you take risks in the wind and waves. It depends on which way the wind blows.”

"I forgive him"

Wei Ran sighed, but he had mixed feelings in his heart. For a moment, he didn't know how to evaluate Spier. He couldn't even evaluate whether he was a good person or a bad person.

What if this happened to me?

Wei Ran sighed again, killed those little sisters of Suisui to ensure that Suisui survived? Why not sacrifice yourself? Yes, without Spear's knowledge of meteorology and only Heidi and Vanessa, maybe

No, it's not like that.

Wei Ran overturned his previous assumption and began to think about the possibility of not taking Vanessa with him to escape.

Is it a lack of supplies or is the goal too big? Or maybe someone had to attract the attention of the shore patrol to escape?

There were too many possible reasons under the circumstances, but no matter what, he couldn't find any excuse that could clear up Spear's abandonment of Vanessa.

"Leave the duty of standing guard to me!"

When Heidi was about to burn her hand with the cigarette she had only taken one puff, Heidi threw it into the sea. She wiped her tears with her sleeve again, grabbed the railing and stood up and said, "Thank you, Mr. Victor." , I feel much better after saying these things. If it is convenient, please leave me alone for a while."

"be careful"

Wei Ran, who still couldn't find the answer, gave the other party a worried word, then took off the telescope hanging around his neck and hung it around the other party's neck. Then he walked into the observation tower holding the extinguished cigar and closed the door before closing the door. He raised the camera and quietly took a profile picture of Heidi holding the telescope.

When he returned to the buoy, the card game around the table was still continuing. Three men of different nationalities and unable to communicate directly in the same language also helped each other translate what they said and had a slightly troublesome conversation. comminicate.

"Mr. Victor, is Heidi up there?" Spear turned and asked.

"Yes, she wanted to have some quiet time by herself, so I gave him the job of standing guard."

Wei Ran said calmly, while also picking up a box of matches on the table and relighting the extinguished cigar.

"How's the weather outside?" Spear continued.

"The sea is calm, but the sea fog is very thick." Wei Ran blew out a cloud of smoke and pointed to the oil lamp above his head and said, "It is much thicker than the smoke in the buoy."

"The wind stopped"

Spear frowned and muttered worriedly. Obviously, this was not good news for this Jew who was in urgent need of northeast wind.

"Mr. Spear"

Julian tapped his knuckles on the table and said in French, "It's your turn."

"Sorry" Spear apologized and focused on the card game.

Not long after, Spear was eliminated, took out a cigarette from his cigarette case and threw it into the lid of the lunch box in the center of the table.

"Mr. Victor, could you please help me climb up to the deck?" Spear asked Wei Ran, "It's too cold outside. I want to replace Heidi and come down to keep her warm."

"sure"

Wei Ran nodded happily, ignoring Phil and Julian who were still fighting for the three cigarettes in the gambling pool, and helped Spear climb onto the deck with a rope.

"Heidi, go down and warm yourself up."

Spear walked out of the watchtower and said, "I also lost to those two gentlemen. Let me stand guard next."

"I'll accompany you," Heidi, whose eyes were still a little red and swollen, said with a smile.

"No, let's go down."

Spier hugged Heidi with his uninjured hand, then looked back at Wei Ran, and then said, "I just want to have a chat with Mr. Victor." Hearing this, Heidi looked at it subconsciously. With eyes wide open, he finally nodded and walked into the watchtower alone.

It wasn't until Heidi's figure completely disappeared from the watchtower that Spear looked at Wei Ran and said, "Mr. Victor, can we have a chat?"

Talk to me no matter what

Wei Ran muttered to himself and at the same time closed the watchtower hatch behind him, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Did Heidi just say something to you?" Spear asked straightforwardly.

"Talked something"

Wei Ran walked up to the other party and suddenly said in Hebrew, "She confessed about throwing the radio into the sea."

"Do you know Hebrew?" After a brief moment of confusion, Spear also changed into Hebrew and asked a new question.

"As I said, I'm a linguist." Wei Ran spread his hands and said.

"I thought you were kidding" Spear shook his head.

"You are indeed joking." Wei Ran spread his hands again, "Actually, I am also a Jew."

"What did you say?" Spier was even more surprised this time, "Are you a Jew too?"

"Believe it or not," Wei Ran said indifferently.

"All right"

After a brief surprise, Spear also regained his composure, and said slightly helplessly, "I have guessed that Heidi will confess this matter to you, so Mr. Victor, what are you going to do with Heidi and me?"

"Someone has to pay the price for this, right?" Wei Ran said ambiguously.

"I asked him to throw the radio out."

Spier said calmly, "This is good for us all. If that damn German contacts the rescue team, we will not survive."

"Maybe you and Heidi won't"

Wei Ran said bluntly, "But maybe Phil and I are pilots, and our value is far higher than you. At least we can be treated like prisoners of war. If we can be rescued in time, even the Germans will be good."

"What's the value of a pilot?"

Spear's face showed an expression of helplessness that he had expected, "So is this why you and Mr. Phil didn't kill Julian?"

"You asked me to stay here just to talk about this?" Wei Ran deliberately stopped this meaningless topic.

"of course not"

Spear looked at the thick fog stirred by the breeze on the sea, and said in a disjointed way, "The northeast wind has become smaller. Soon, the ocean current in this strait will return to its original shape, flowing from southwest to northeast. Pushing us back to the French coastline.

Except Mr. Julian will be saved, we will all be captured by the Germans. Believe me, Mr. Victor, you and Mr. Phil will not enjoy the treatment you think as prisoners of war. "

"What do you want to say?" Wei Ran asked noncommittally.

"Let's make a deal," Spear said, turning around. "A deal that keeps us all alive."

"Do you want to kill Julian?" Wei Ran asked almost certainly.

Spear nodded candidly, "Our interests are the same, aren't we? As long as we kill him, I have a way for all of us to reach England faster."

"And so you can monopolize those medicines?" Wei Ran's words became more straightforward.

Hearing this, Spier smiled indifferently, "If you think so, you can throw the remaining medicines into the sea after killing Julian, or even throw me into the sea."

"Why?" Wei Ran looked at the other party suspiciously.

"I just want Heidi to survive," Spear gritted his teeth, "She must survive, we already have my child."

"What did you say?" Wei Ran looked at the other party in astonishment.

"She has been hiding this from me."

Spear's face showed a look of happiness, "She thought I didn't know yet, but in fact her sister had told me a long time ago."

At this moment, Wei Ran had the illusion that his brain's thinking and logic were in chaos.

"So I have to get her to England alive," Spiel paused, then added, "at all costs."

"Including Heidi's sister?" When Wei Ran said this, he chose to look directly into the other person's eyes.

"What?" Spier was stunned and looked at Wei Ran in confusion.

"Tell me about Vanessa. How did she separate from you?" Wei Ran asked straightforwardly.

"I'm sorry about Vanessa"

Spear sighed, "I don't know why she cut the rope to prevent us from getting separated. Heidi and I searched for a long time at the mouth of the A River. Later, our oxygen was really not enough, so I was forced to take him with us. Heidi left.”

"Did she cut the rope?" Wei Ran looked at the other party's eyes suspiciously, but he couldn't smell the stink of lies.

"I guess she wanted to give Heidi and I a chance to escape."

There was a trace of uncertainty and sadness in Spear's tone, "There were too many pursuers on the shore at that time. Mr. Victor, what do you look like? Are you doubting me?"

"Aren't you worthy of suspicion?" Wei Ran asked with a normal expression, "You just said it yourself, you will do whatever it takes."

"I swam in front of the three of us!"

Spear gritted his teeth, forced himself to calm down and explained, "How do I get around Heidi and cut Vanessa's rope? And why should I do that! Just because I am a Jew?"

"I can't tell whether what you said is true or false." Wei Ran took a step back and spread his hands, "and I don't care what the truth is."

"So are we going to work together?"

Spear took a deep breath, suppressed his anger and asked, "If we can kill the German pilot before noon, I will have the confidence to allow everyone to arrive in the UK before tomorrow morning!"

"Where do you get your confidence?" Wei Ran asked flatly.

"The weather gives me confidence!" Spear answered in a suppressed voice, "So do you want to cooperate? Even if you kill me after arriving in England, it doesn't matter if you kill me before landing."

"I don't want to answer your invitation so quickly." Wei Ran pointed to the top of his head, "before the weather turns bad."

"The weather will change soon." Spear looked up at the sky covered by thick fog, and the anxiety in his tone could not be concealed.

"what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about the weather tomorrow"

Spear took a deep breath and said like a prophet, "The weather will get better around noon tomorrow, and it will be good weather in the next few days.

The German bomber fleet overhead would be as numerous as before, and the water would flow back to the northeast.

We will also be sent back to France. "

"how do you"

"Mr. Victor, can you lend me your pen?"

Spear seemed to have given up on persuading Wei Ran, and instead made a new request, "I saw Mr. Julian return the pen to you before breakfast. Can you please lend it to me?"

"Last question." As Wei Ran spoke, he had already taken out the pen under the cover of his pocket.

"Just ask"

"In your plan, does Julian have to die?" Wei Ran asked seriously in Hebrew.

"My plan can 100% send all of us, including this buoy, to the British coastline. Do you think he won't stop it?" Spear asked rhetorically.

"I will look for an opportunity to ask Julian if he would like to live in England for a while."

"He is a proud German aristocrat, more traditional, rigid and arrogant than any German Junker aristocrat you know."

Spear snorted, "What you're suggesting is that he might as well kill himself with my dick in his mouth."

"You seem to know him very well?" When Wei Ran said this, he also handed the pen in his hand to the other party.

"My grandfather was a commercial steward to the Junkers"

While taking the pen, Spear said with disgust, "Their disgusting arrogance, I can smell it even if I am thrown into the wooden barrel where Swedish pickled herrings are!"

Taking another hard breath, Spear said, "Mr. Victor, thank you for the pen. Since you need time to think about it, please leave me alone for a while."

After a moment of silence, Wei Ran simply turned around and walked into the watchtower, but after closing the hatch, he was not in a hurry to get down.

He didn't know which words of Speer, who was sitting on the edge of the deck and writing in a small notebook with a pen, were true and which words were false, as if the Jew had hidden his heart around him. It's just as blurry in the thick fog that's within reach but out of reach.

Just at this moment, Phil's voice came from inside the buoy, "Okay, Mr. Julian, these cigarettes are yours. You win this round."

"Thank you"

Julian responded in Latin, then switched to German, and greeted Wei Ran who had just come down, "Victor, you came down just in time, a new round is about to start, do you want to participate? Or Go directly to stand guard?"

After hearing this, Wei Ran came over and sat at the table with a normal look, picked up his cup, drank the brandy in it, and said with confidence, "I won't be eliminated so early this time."

“You will know if you try it”

Phil greeted while shuffling the cards, "Miss Heidi, will you join in? Together we will eliminate Victor again, and then he can return to the deck and replace Spear."

Hearing this, Heidi nodded absently, glanced at Wei Ran and then sat on the folded blanket at the table.

The new card game had only started for less than 15 minutes. The navigator Phil slapped his forehead regretfully, stood up, took out a cigarette from the cigarette case and placed it in the lid of the lunch box in the center of the table, "Damn, I'm so unlucky. Why are they all bad cards?"

"Please replace Spear," Wei Ran said with a smile.

"Next time I'm going to send all of you to the deck." Phil made a bold statement before climbing up the ladder to the buoy deck.

"He seemed to have lost on purpose just now," Julian said in German that only Wei Ran could understand.

"Don't say that," Wei Ran, who also discovered something fishy, ​​denied it. "It's because of my good skills."

"Indeed, your card skills are indeed good." Julian agreed casually, as if what he just said was just an irrelevant joke.