"Hans Werner, a retired Federal Agency guy. He has fought a war in 1944 - 1945 for Germany and then joined the Federal Agency as he got his chance. This man is a gem by heart and while he knows everything, he is zipped tight with those secrets even at this age." praises Luca introducing Han to the couple.
"I realize your love for me Luca; he's just overdoing his job. I was supposed to be your guide from now on, which is a part of his business, for which he is promoting me", smiled Han from ear to ear giving Luca a look.
"So you guys from England?" asks Han
"Not really, we have an apartment there, but I am a French and she is Italian" responds Ralph
"You must be 'Ralph' I suppose"
"Yes, and she is Lilly, my fiancé"
"Of course, Luca gave a gist. I am sorry you had to face so much trouble during your beautiful days. We shall see to sending you back securely to your house within days" ensured Han
"Within days?" asked Ralph hesitantly
"Yes, we couldn't have anything arranged for the next 5 days"
"Nah, I mean we weren't planning to leave so early anyways"
"Do you understand the situation Mr. Chard? Its a war, I suppose your love can wait until you guys live first" said Han with a sly smile. Lilly raised her eyebrows.
"We were here to marry; we will finish the ceremony and leave in days if you insist"
"Not to insult you Ralph, but I'm sure you know the bomb that you felt was 200 miles from where you were sitting to eat. Just good enough for a man not in love to think France or England was a better place to be than this"
"I understand your concern Han, you are right. Maybe we shouldn't marry in Germany. Gods have spoken I suppose"
"Not really, I will have some more guests coming in and we would manoeuvre a lot throughout the country. But you need a bare minimum of a legit priest to get married and I don't think you can get one right now." convinced Han
"Which guests?" asked Lilly inquisitively
"There are more of the tourists that are feared by the attack and would want to leave as soon as possible. The authorities have handed this task to me"
"Is it going to be hard once they start with a full-fledged attack?" asked Ralph
"There are no full-fledged attacks in real life, all the attacks are designed and executed by trained professionals for optimum results which leads to the fact that any place in the country under attack is dangerous for those who wish to live."
"We are in a level 1 bunker and this bunker can hold up to a small bomb drop to a barely moderate bomb. As per a plan from the agency we need to shift to a level 3 bunker as soon as possible so everyone is safe but we'll have to wait until everyone arrives"
"How long would they take?" asked Lilly
"They have left from different parts of the country and would drop in anytime today. Bonn has old infrastructures but effective war systems making this place ideal for escape missions and less ideal for target attacks"
"You seem absolutely reliable, I think we can trust you" said Ralph with a smile
"I'm an old man, this is the second one for me. Wars are not very befriending when it comes to facing one. So you might as well trust god, I'm just experienced at surviving, not winning"
Han hands a bottle of wine and a large size pizza to the couple making them familiar with the bunker showing them their cabin and a shower to freshen up.
"You must be tired; you travelled over 450 miles to reach here. You should rest a bit, I shall see you in a few hours" said Han to the couple and climbed out of bunker
"Did you find him suspicious?" asked Lilly looking at Ralph
"Why would you?" asked Ralph
"How did he know your last name?"
"Maybe he checked our tourist documents, he seems good at his work" convinced Ralph
"Hmm. Let's rest a bit, who knows what's next to come" said Lilly and slid in her bed covering her face with the blanket.
Ralph walked towards the shower for a nice warm-water shower. To his surprise he saw a new face inside the bunker. "Is that a woman" he thinks to himself from distance.
Walking past the lady, she starts shouting at Ralph, "You said we will have all the facilities here, there is barely anything here"
"Apologies, Ma'am, I suppose you have mistaken me for someone else" responded Ralph politely
"Aren't you from the tourism crew?"
"I am a tourist"
"Owh, I am so sorry about that. I thought you are from the tourism team"
"That is okay, what kind of problem did you face anyway?"
"There are no parties here, a bunker bed instead of a double bed that I paid for and the technology here is outdated, I generally don't complaint but this one is really bad"
"Where are you from?"
"Russia" she says
"A bomb dropped in Thuringia, we barely survived. A man not in love would think Russia would be a better place to be in"
"Luckily, I'm a woman" she giggles *seemingly a little drunk
"My name is Ralph"
"I am Solomia, but you can call me Mia... that is what everyone calls me"
"We should be traveling together for a minimum 5 days from now, good to know you"
"How many more would be there?"
"I don't know"
"Maybe Han can tell"
"Han is away, he should return in few hours"
"You know a little more than you should as a tourist"
"Han told us before he left"
"Us?"
"My fiancé"
"Oh, I thought you were hitting... I'm sorry for being judgmental, old habits"
"That alright. So do they have warm water in here?"
"Yeah, the solar geyser. Will take a decade but do the job"
"On a paid holiday trip and you seem to be absolutely okay with that kind of service" speaks Mia sarcastically
"It's a war they've started and we need to escape the country as soon as possible. If we survive, we can see more of these holidays"
"It is not so easy; rumours speak of all the EU allies to be attacked within weeks as per the threat, somehow excluding England"
"Their EU tie-up broke long ago"
"But the map still shows it in Europe" said Mia while adjusting her bath robe exposing herself a bit
"Errrrrrrr....." Ralph lost the track with a character bruising look
"I mean, they aren't changing their location" he said and laughed to which Solomia smiled like she didn't understand that bit
A little embarrassed, thinking he made a mistake Ralph quickly looked at the shower and said, "I should rush, Han said we should rest before traveling"
"Sure" said Mia and walked away in style with a glass of wine in one hand and adjusting her robe on the way
Han quickly went in for the shower. The moment he stepped out of the shower he saw Mia sitting on the wash basin snorting some white powder carved on her mobile phone not noticing Ralph.
"Is that drugs?" he asked inquisitively
"This is adrenaline. A medicine that helps me breathe and work better, like a multivitamin tab"
"Aah, never heard of it."
"You should try if you doubt it"
Ralph walked to Mia slowly with a doubt in his mind while she smiles at him in a naughty way offering the drug on the mobile screen and handing a straw to Ralph.
Ralph has a snort and becomes a little energetic for real, but his sight is moving and he could sense a distortion in colour.