"Have you read the news paper?", Paul asked Will...

"No, not yet... Why?"

"... Here... Read the "Petit Parisien"...", Paul said, giving the news paper to Will...

On the front page, in large prints, it said:

"TOTAL VICTORY OF JAPAN OVER PEARL HARBOUR"

Under that title, the "Petit Parisien" had reproduced the French translation of a text from the White House, detailing the attack on the Hawiian islands...

A list of the sunk ships had also been reproduced, and Will began to read it.

He read that the battleships USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma had been sunk, that the battleships USS West Verginia, USS California and USS Nevada had been sunk or very seriously damaged. The USS Pennsylvania was safe...

Other ships had also been sunk, such as the destroyer Cassin and the destroyer Downes...

The "Petit Parisien" also said two hundred planes had been destroyed, and more than one hundred fifty had been badly damaged...

Will read the article to the end, then looked at Paul and said:

"But my poor Paul: It"s not a victory.... it"s a total defeat for the Japanese... They are probably crying their last tears in Tokyo by now..."

"Huh? ... Are you crazy, or what?", Paul answered, looking at Will...

"...Look at the list of the sunk ships over here... look..."

"Yeah?"

"...All you see on that list are battleships, destroyers... and so on, right?"

"...Yes..."

"Do you see the name of one single aircraft carrier on that list?"

"...No. So what?"

"Well, aircraft carriers are certainly what the Japanese were looking for at Pearl Harbour, not battleships..."

"But battleships are so big and so powerful...", Paul answered...

"Yeah... and so were the dinosaurs... Battleships are a thing of the past! They have been replaced by aircraft carriers..."

"... What the hell are you talking about?", Paul asked...

"Look Paul, you remember last May, when the Bismark sank?"

"Yes..."

"...As you know, the Bismark was our finest battleship... She was the world"s most feared warship... and she was known as the "Terror of the sea"..., huh?"

"I do remember..."

"Well, last May, she sank the Hood, Britain"s finest Battleship, then crippled the battleship "Prince of Wales"... but later, she was attacked by a very small plane -a single plane- from the British aircraft carrier "Ark Royal"... A torpedo from that small plane hit its rudder and disabled the steering... As the Bismark was no longer able to manoeuvre, she was attacked by other British ships, and she bravely fought until her guns fell silent, her last munition spent. Then, our guys scuttled her, as she was in danger of falling into enemy hands..."

"Yeah?"

"...So, you see: A very small airplane from an aircraft carrier was capable of disableling the world"s most feared warship... Now, if I were the Japaneses, I would very much like to know where the American aircraft carriers are.... Right now, they could be sailing to Tokyo, and Tokyo could soon be bombed from hundreds of planes from those carriers..."

"...I wonder if the Japaneses thought about that?"

"Oh sure! That"s why I say it must have been a big, big disappointment to them when they didn"t see aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbour when they bombed that naval base..."

"What do you think is going to happen now?"

"...In my view, the Japaneses have made a big mistake: It"s a giant they have awaken... Thank God, the Americans haven"t declared war to Germany..."

But that was going to change... since on December 11, 1941, Hitler declared war to the United-States...

"...He"s CRAZY!!! Totally insane...", Will shouted out, when he heard the news...

"...Calm down Will... Please! Calm down...", Paul said to him...

"Sure! Those clowns in Berlin are mad as hell, and you ask me to calm down? Hitler must be crazy! To declare war on the United-States, I mean..."

"... What can you do? Please, Will: Sit down!"

"(...) I can"t believe it! No, I can"t! Not only are we at war with England and Russia... but now, we"ll have the Americans on our back..."

"(...) And I have another bad news...", Paul said, looking down at the carpet...

"What else?", Will answered.

"(...) Well... Two weeks ago, I sent a long letter to my parents in New-York... telling them everything about the two of us... you know... I was expecting a reply from them... But since Hitler declared war to the United-States, my direct phone line to New-York has been cut... and I"ve been told it was no longer possible to send or receive letters from the United-States..."

"Huh? (...) But France is not at war with America...", Will answered...

"...I know that... But who do you think has control over the phone lines and the postal services around here, huh?"

"(...)"

"Yeah! ... That means I can"t talk to my dad and my family anymore... And I don"t see how I could receive a reply from them, thanks to the Führer...", Paul answered, with a very sad face...

"... I"m so sorry Paul... Really..."

"I know Will... I know you are. All of this happens at the worst of time..."

A few days later, they made a big Christmas tree at Paul"s mansion, just like the year before... and although they tried, they didn"t have much fun decorating it...

"... Are we going to Berlin for Christmas? My mum and dad are expecting us...", Will asked Paul...

"...Sure! Let"s go... And I"m sure Ludwig is expecting us too...", Paul answered, laughing... Then, looking at Lutz and Franz, Paul asked them: "Are you coming, guys?"

"... I can"t", Franz answered... I"m working..."

"...And I won"t leave him..." Lutz added...

"Oh yes, you are... you"re going to Berlin, I"m telling you!", Franz said to Lutz...

Lutz took Franz"s hands into his, and, looking straight into his lover"s deep blue eyes, he said:

"...Look Franz: I"m staying here with you... I won"t leave you all alone... and there"s nothing you can say to change my mind! I love you Franz, and that"s it!"

"But... I want you to go... to see your family...", Franz answered, with tears in his eyes...

"...I know... But I"m not going. Period!", Lutz answered.

Franz turned to Paul, and told him:

"Say something... I want him to go to Berlin..."

"... I think I understand how he feels... and if I were in his shoes, I would make the same decision... I would never leave Will alone...", Paul answered...

"...And neither would I...", Will added...

"See... and don"t worry Franz... I"ll see my family later...", Lutz answered, giving Franz a light kiss on his lips...

Two days before Will and Paul were about to leave for Berlin, Franz came to see Paul...

"(...) We received a long message at the Embassy from New-York... Since it was coded, I had to decipher it... (...) It"s from your mother... Please Paul, sit down..." Franz said to his friend, as he was giving the message to him...

Paul sat, then took the long message, and started to read it...

Franz kept silent and sat beside his friend...

As Paul read the message, he turned white, and tears came to his eyes...

When he had finish reading the message, he slowly put it down on the coffee table in front of him, and stared at the oil painting of his parents over the large fireplace...

Franz looked at Paul, and took his hands into his...

"(...) I"m so sorry, Paul..."

Paul turned to look at Franz. His eyes were full of tears. But he was silent...

"(...) What can I say, Paul... what can I say?", Franz said...

"Nothing", Paul answered... "I just can"t believe she wrote that..."

"...(...) I know..."

After a long moment of silence, Paul looked at Franz and said:

"...Now... not a word to Will about that message... Promise me! It"s almost Christmas, and I don"t want this message to ruin his fun!"

"But..."

"Not a word! Promise me..."

"I swear...", Franz answered.

"Thanks. I"ll tell him later... after Christmas...", Paul answered.

After Franz had left, Paul went to his bedroom, and cried all the tears he had... Thank God he was alone, and thank God Will was at work...

He cried for a long time, then fell asleep...

When Will got back from work that night, he found Paul on his bed, still sleeping...

He sat on the bed, gave his lover a kiss...

When Paul woke up, he looked at will, and smiled...

"How come you"re sleeping at this time of day...", Will asked, smiling at his lover...

"Oh... I wonder if I haven"t caught a cold... It"s nothing, really... I already feel better...", Paul answered, smiling...

"We won"t go to Berlin if you"re not feeling well...", Will said...

"That"s out of the question! A good night rest, and everything will be alright, I tell you!", Paul answered, with a grin on his face...

"...We"ll see about that...", Will said...

"Come on: Let"s go downstairs, and have supper... I"m feeling better, I swear to you..."

Paul put a big smile on his face, and nothing was said about the message he had received from New-York...

Two days later, Will and Paul flew to Berlin, where Will"s father as well as Ludwig were waiting for them at Tempelhof Airport...

"I"m so glad to see you, both...", Ludwig said, as he hugged them...

"And so do I...", Will"s dad said, as he hugged them too... "Let"s go home...", he added...

On Christmas Eve, they had a big party, and Lutz"s parents were there too... Lutz had explained to them he couldn"t make it to Berlin this time, since he had to work on some important papers in Paris...

They sang Christmas carols, and had a lot of fun... At least, Paul was acting as if he was having lots of fun... but in fact, his heart was bleeding...

"... At least, this year, you didn"t have to go to a Christmas party at the New Chancellery...", Will"s mum said, laughing...

"Thank God! I guess they are too busy with the war in Russia to throw a party! (...) But do you know what? Last year, a few weeks after that party, the German Embassy in Paris sent me a framed picture of me with the Führer... shaking hands...", Paul said, laughing...

"... What did you do with that picture?", Will"s father asked...

"...Oh, it"s in my study, locked in a drawer... Do you believe me, if I tell you I"m not running around, showing that picture?", Paul answered, laughing...

"...I can understand...", Lutz"s mum said, laughing her heart out...

"Yeah! So, as I said... with the war in Russia... There was no party this year...", Paul said...

"...I saw my brother the other day...", Will"s dad started to say...

"The Field marshal?", Lutz"s dad asked...

"Yes...", Will"s dad answered. "He had a heart attack last month, and when he strongly opposed continuing the advance into the Soviet Union because it"s winter now, Hitler refused to call a halt. Since his views were rejected, he asked to be replaced... and the Führer granted his request..."

"Did he say how things are going on, on the front...", Will asked...

"...He said our soldiers are freezing to death, right in front of Moscow..."

"Thank God, Hans is not there... According to his last letter, they took Rostov at the end of last month... He said it"s not so bad over there...", Lutz"s father said...

"... I wonder if this madness will stop one day...", Lutz"s mother said, with tears in her eyes...

"Oh it will, Ma"am... It"s just we don"t know when...", Will answered...

The day after Christmas, as Ludwig was out with a few friends, Will and Paul showed Will"s parents the military deferment papers they had received from the Wehrmacht...

"...Thank God!", Will"s mother said... "How can we thank you, Paul!"

"...We want Ludwig to come to Paris in June, at the end of school...", Will said...

"...It"s not easy for us to let him go, you know...", Will"s dad said...

"...I know dad! But he"ll be with us... and I swear to you, I will take good care of him! I just want to see him out of the Reich...", Will answered with tears in his eyes... "And I wish you wouldn"t stay in Berlin..."

"...Where would we go?", his dad asked... "We"re perfectly safe here... but we want to keep Ludwig away from the army for as long as we can... So your mother and I have talked a lot about that, and we"ve decided Ludwig will go with you... as long as you two swear you"ll take good care of him..."

"...Herr Von Rundstedt... I love Will more than anything in the world... and I love Ludwig as much as I love my own brother! So, today, I solemnly swear to you... and to you too, Mrs Von Rundstedt... That I"ll do all I can... and that I"ll use all the means at my disposal to protect your two sons! And I swear to you I"ll take good care of them...", Paul said, with tears in his eyes...

"We know you will Paul! We know you will, son... and we love you... We love you more than you can think...", Will"s mum answered...

"You don"t know how much that means to me, hearing you say that...", Paul said, crying...

"And I swear to you, mum and dad, that I will take good care of my baby-brother... I swear!", Will added...

"...Oh, we know you will, Will... that"s why your mother and I have decided Ludwig will go with you...", his dad answered, hugging his son...

Of course, when Ludwig got back, he was totally ecstatic about the fact he was going back to Paris nest summer, to stay there, with Will and Paul...

"Yeah bro...", Will said, grinning... "But don"t forget: I"ll be the one who will check your school"s results... and let me tell you, mister: They better be food, cause if not, it"s gonna be hell for you, I swear!"

"And you"re gonna have to obey what Will and Paul say to you... Otherwise, you"ll be back to Berlin before you know it! Is that clear, son? Is that clear?", Will"s dad said...

"Yes dad! I hear you loud and clear...", Ludwig answered... "I swear to you and to mum I will obey them... I swear..."

"Fine!", Will"s mum answered, smiling...

As Will and Paul were about to leave for Tempelhof, Will"s mum took Paul apart, and she said to him:

"...Here, son... Take this letter... Should something happen to us, I want you to give it to Will. Can I count on you?", she asked, with tears in her eyes...

Paul looked at her, and answered:

"...Nothing will happen to you..."

"Maybe... but swear to me that, should something happen... you will give that letter to Will..."

Paul took the letter and, looking at Will"s mum straight in the eyes:

"You know, Ma"am, I love you... so count on me... I will give it to him, should something happen to you..."

"I love you too, Paul... And I trust you...", she answered, before kissing him on both cheeks... "Now, go son..."

Will and Paul flew back to Paris, and one night, after supper, Paul looked at Will and said:

"... Before we left for Berlin, I got a message... from my mother... It came through the Swiss Embassy..."

"Oh... But why didn"t you tell me..."

"(...) I couldn"t...", Paul answered...

"(...)"

"But why?"

"Wait for me..."

Paul walked over to his study, took the message... and walked back to the drawing-room, then sat beside Will...

"Here: Read it. You will understand!"

Will took the message, and started reading it...

After he had read it, he looked at Paul, his eyes full of tears...

"(...) I... I can"t believe...", Will started to say...

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