While Ivas was afflicted by heavy rainstorms and Frank had to safe his belongings from a flooded cellar, the Japanese situation heated up. Both men already avoided to watch TV since a few days, because they couldn`t stand the continuous agitation anymore.
Yesterday, Bäumer had driven to Kedainiai with John Thorphy`s car to buy some buckets of wall paint. For today they had planned to paint the hall of the lower floor in a beautiful orange-brown color.
However, Kohlhaas had suffered a wakeful night. Nightmares or bad foreshadowings had still haunted him in his dark bedroom, but on the next morning he could hardly remember any details.
The idea to paint today, did not please Frank at all, because he felt languid and exhausted. But his friend Alf finally pressed him to join the renovation works. And it was a lot of work to do in this shabby house. After a while, they had painted a part of the ugly, gray walls in the hallway and Kohlhaas slowly became a bit more motivated. A beautiful environment fits to a healing soul, as Frank said to himself. This new year started with big clearing-up operations and many restoration works, also for the other inhabitants of Ivas.
Meanwhile, Steffen de Vries had taken over one of the old shops which had rotted for years, and already sold there various stuff and housewares. Thereby, the small village had its first “official” shop and some of the things the Fleming was hoarding, were quite needful. In the meantime, about 30 new inhabitants had come to the village and had moved into some of the old houses. Wilden had given the order to HOK to check everyone of them. He furthermore said that no more settlers would be accepted by him.
Among the new neighbours were a Dutch family from Amsterdam, a family from France and an Englishman, who had escaped from a detention center. Frank had had not much contact to the “new ones” so far, except for Ives, a Frenchman. He had talked with him about the situation in France a few days ago.
Ives seemed to be a nice guy and he had told Frank, that he had left his homeland over night, because of some illegal political activities. The remaining new inhabitants of Ivas were from Germany and Austria, where the pursuit of unpleasant persons had increased.
At midday, Kohlhaas went to the quaint shop of the Belgian, in order to buy a new paint roller. Meanwhile, they had halfway finished their work. Some of the walls looked really nice now and even the front door of the house had finally been repaired.
Steffen de Vries looked boredly through the dirty windows of his small shop, waiting for customers. But today, the rush of new buyers seemed to keep within bounds. When he saw the young man, coming from the square in the center of the village, he smiled and raised his hands.
„Hello Steffen!“, welcomed him Frank. „Still making millions?“
„Just forget it! But anything is better than nothing. I can have this old shop for free, as Wilden says. Yesterday, I have sold a jumper cable to one of the new ones. That was really a stubborn guy. His name is Richard, he has hardly said a word“, told the merchant.
„I need a new paint roller, Steffen!“, remarked Frank and looked at some boxes which were chock-full of all kinds of useful junk.
„Eh? Paint roller? I don`t think...“, Steffen de Vries disappeared into the backroom and Kohlhaas heard him rummage around.
„You know, we paint our hallway and I have only this old roller here. Thus, I can`t use it anymore”, said Kohlhaas.
„I'm sorry. I don`t have a paint roller. Only a large brush. But it`s still completely new!“, it resounded out of the backroom. The stocky Belgian returned and shook his head.
„Okay, maybe I will take the brush, it`s better than nothing...”, muttered Frank.
Steffen de Vries offered a tea to his potential customer and fetched his cigarettes. Then he scratched his reddish three-day beard and let his broad cheeks quake. The Fleming looked somehow funny now, and Frank had to suppress a laughter.
„Well, do you want to join the Japanese fight for freedom too, Frank?”, asked the Belgian then.
„What do you mean by that?“, asked Frank with surprise.
„You didn`t hear it yet? Sven and the other whippersnappers, here in our village, want to join a foreign volunteer corps to help the Japanese if the GCF attacks”, explained de Vries.
“Eh? No!”, replied Kohlhaas.
„They could need someone like you there. Sven has already asked for Alf and you”, said the Belgian.
„Volunteers for Japan?“ Frank was dumbstruck.
„Wilden has told me, the day before yesterday, that over ten thousand volunteers from many countries had already joined the Japanese army. European rebels, men from Iraq and the other Arab countries, Asians, Americans and whoever...”, told the Fleming.
„So many?“, asked Frank.
„And in the following months, thousands will probably still come. There is something brewing. The Japanese high command wants to summarize these foreign militiamen in volunteer divisions. I have also thought about going to Japan, but I`m just too old, and in addition, I have a family”, said the man from Flanders and lighted another cigarette.
„Aha, Sven and the others…“, hummed Frank.
Sven Weber was a tall, blonde hotspur and was eager to fight for Japan against the “Global Control Force”. He lived with his parents here in Ivas. In the last weeks, a bunch of other young chaps had clustered around the charismatic young man. All of the youngsters just knew only one topic anymore: The heroic fight for freedom which they dreamed about to join.
„Well, you know Sven. He talks about nothing else, since days: War, war, war! I`m indeed not that enthusiastic, but the boy still misses some life experience. I told him, that this won`t be an adventure vacation and he should better think twice, before he goes to Eastern Asia. But he still ignores all my warnings. You are probably his great idol, Frank. Your action in Paris has…“, said Steffen de Vries, but Kohlhaas cut in.
“I am his idol? What did you say, my friend? I thought that he doesn`t like me very much.“ Frank marvelled.
“No! Sven adores you! Believe me!“, returned the Belgian. “After your operation in Paris, I had to tell him every little detail. He nearly came every evening and pumped me with his countless questions.”
“Really? That`s new for me…”, said Frank.
Steffen de Vries looked at his interlocutor with a grin and explained: „The boy is your fan, Frank! And also Alf is a real hero for him. When Sven was here, some days ago, he enthused about you all the time. He knows five or six other young men who want to accompany him. Also Rolf, the son of Kai Hugenthal, is as keen as mustard for Japan.”
Frank Kohlhaas didn`t know, what he should think about this. It made him internally proud that these young men treated him as a hero, but he could imagine, what a real war would mean for those teenagers, driven by war fever.
Surely, it was politically very important that Japan could resist the power of the World Government, should it really come to an attack, but he was not very glad about the fact, that a group of youngsters wanted to join a nearly desperate fight - just to impose Alf and him.
Killing people was no fun and had nothing to do with an adventure trip for bored boys. And the probability not to come home again, was very big if GCF forces would really assault Japan.
Moments later, Frank said goodbye and went with the new brush, that Steffen de Vries had finally donated to him, back to the house and continued to paint the hall. He was thoughtful and taciturn for the rest of the day. In the evening, he told Bäumer about his conversation with Steffen de Vries and the tall man from Dortmund was also more than disturbed.
Wilden ran through his office and gestured wildly, when Frank and Alfred asked him about that “volunteer thing”. „This boy drives me insane since days. After I had told him, that more and more freedom fighters from all over the world go to Japan, in order to support Matsumoto, Sven is totally excited. In the last week, about 5000 partisans from Iran have gone to the island. Masaru told me that. It has been a big topic in the Japanese media, after the slogan: „You see, the whole wo
rld joins our fight for freedom! “
„How do all those men come to Japan?“, asked Alf now.
„They just seep through the meshes of the control network of the World Government in small groups. Then they gather somewhere in Japan”, explained the village boss. „Who is catched by the GCF, as a potential resistance fighter, is liquidated immediately. But the partisans from Iran, and also many other groups of rebels, have developed good structures in the last years. They even have their own ships or other transport facilities.“
„How does Sven want to come to Japan?”, asked Frank with a tense expression.
„Very simple! By airplane, as a passenger. He wants to take five men with him. All travel separately, so that they are not noticeable as a group. Starting from the 01.07.2031, all passenger flights to Japan will be forbidden, the same will be valid for cruises. But currently, it is still possible. Soon, nobody will be able to reach Japan anymore.
The state will be perfectly isolated from all other countries. And the Japanese will cordon off their country too. Furthermore, they will arrest or execute everyone who seems to be an agent of the Lodge Brothers. The sole exception are businessmen with special permissions. But this is nothing for us “normal people”, Frank. I think, Sven and the rest will reach Japan without bigger problems if the hurry up”, said Wilden
„Do you endorse this operation at all?”, asked Alf then.
„Well, I can`t forbid them to join the fight. Further, it is extremely important, that Japan is supported by every available soldier from other countries. Every honourable young man should actually be a volunteer in this substantial conflict!”, pontificated the gray-haired man.
„Thus, you also expect that from us? We are finally the “heroes” of Ivas - at least, in Sven`s eyes!“, said Bäumer and looked emphatically in Wilden`s direction.
„This is your own thing. I won`t force anybody. If I were younger, I would immediately join the Japanese army, even because it is so incomprehensibly important for the rest of mankind. This state must not fall, it must be defended! However, I`m nearly sixty years old and would probably be no great assistance on the front. Moreover, I must keep Ivas running. But you two are good fighters, what you have already proven in Paris. The best men in our base! You could be a real gain for the Japanes army. Nevertheless, I say this with mixed feelings, because I don`t want to lose you, boys”, explained Wilden and looked out the window, as if the whole situation would be unpleasant for him. Frank and Alfred did not reply.
Bäumer finally stood up from the black leather couch in Wilden`s office and said: „We will think about it. Could you accommodate us there if we would really go to Japan?“
„That would probably be the smallest problem. I have already spoken with Masaru Taishi about this. You, or someone of the boys, could stay in his house.”
Wilden avoided to look at his comrades and turned around. „I understand! You have already organized everything! However, the “great heroes of Paris” shall not miss the coming slaughter, right?”, said Kohlhaas spitefully.
The leader of Ivas was silent and just harrumphed quietly. „It is your own decision. Organizing is my job here. If I wouldn`t organize, Ivas would just go down the drain. That`s the way it is!”, answered the former entrepreneur and still avoided to look at the faces of his two fellows.
„We will come back to you!”, said Alfred and signaled his friend, that it was time to go now. The two rebels went out of the room and left Wilden`s house.
Julia, his daughter, came to meet them in the corridor and whispered some greetings. Alfred just nodded, while Frank looked away and didn`t answer her.
When the two men walked through their freshly painted hallway and sat down in the kitchen, they didn`t talk at all. Today they felt not as heroes and had moreover the impression that the village boss tried to apply pressure to them in a subtle way. Some days and nights they just brooded or discussed the for and against of a journey to Japan. In contrast to Sven they had already been able to satisfy their desires for adventures one year ago in Paris. And both were glad to be still alive. Furthermore, the men could imagine, what big calamity this coming war would bring upon the population of Japan. No, this would not be an adventure holiday – it would be a trip to hell.
On the other hand, they had chosen a life as resistance fighters and armed conflicts with the enemy were just a part of it. Japan was so far away, on the other side of the globe, but the battle for the only state on earth which had openly challenged the power of the Lodge Brothers was crucial for all other countries.
If the GCF would not be able to conquer the archipelago, it could become a disaster for the World Government which had the image of an invincible force. However, this conflict was of great importance. Was it not more than necessary to safe the only rebellious nation on the planet from the terror of the enemy? All the eyes of mankind looked at Japan in these days.
Should they just live their little lifes here in Ivas? Was it right to ignore the upcoming evil without doing something? No, this was not the right way in the long term. The fight was not over. To the contrary, it had just begun. A brave nation had risen, tearing the chains of slavery to pieces, and now, the existence of this nation was endangered.
In these days, it was Japan that gave so many millions a dawn of hope. This state showed the world, that resistance was possible - that the enemy was not godlike.
A milestone for the further course of world history had not been the assassination of Leon-Jack Wechsler, but rather the freedom fight of president Matsumoto. If he and his people would survive, then it would prove the vulnerability of the World Government. It would just clarify, that the Lodge Brothers were no “dark gods” with the mark of invincibility, but only unscrupulous criminals. The days passed and the brains of Frank and Alfred still worked strenuously.
Shortly afterwards, they went to Sven and spoke with him about the pro and cons of the whole thing. Finally, they consented. If they would not fight now, when would they ever want to fight then? Frank Kohlhaas and Alfred Bäumer decided to join the Japanese army.
Masaru Taishi