"Guten morgen, mein Kinderin."(Good morning, my child.)

She gasped aloud and drew back, trying to press herself into the wall. He had been watching her, not reading. She still could not see his eyes in the shadow, but she could vaguely see his teeth as he smiled at her. She couldn’t see it well, but it didn’t seem threatening at all. He spoke again in a soft, gentle voice.

"Haben sie kein angst, Anne. Ich wolle morden sie nicht." (Do not be afraid, Anne. I will not hurt you.)

She paused. He was not one of them after all. Perhaps. "Wie bist du?" (Who are you?)

His head tilted back as he grinned as if at some private joke. She saw a flash of blue eyes in the faint light of the window. He carefully closed the book and placed it in his lap. "Ich bin deine freund. Ich heiss Jared." (I am your friend. My name is Jared.)

Her eyes narrowed as she studied his wide, pale face, "Du bist nicht Juden." (You are not jewish.)

"Nein." (No.)

"Du bist nicht ein soldat?" (You are not a soldier?)

The man sighed, "Nein. Aber die soldaten kommt. Heute. Der Wehrmacht finden sie volle." (No. But the soldiers come. Today. The army will find you.)

Jared looked at his watch. He had to cut this close, or it wouldn’t work, but he may have cut it too fine. He was down to seconds now.

The girl stirred, "What do you want?"

He leaned forward, startling her. She was timid from her long stay here, and it was working against him. "Listen to me, child. They are coming to take you all away. But I have been sent to help you. I can take you away."

"My family?" The girl did not miss a trick. What an agile mind she had, to be through so much, and still so quick. Jared bowed his head and did not lie.

"I am sorry. I can only take you."

"Where."

"To somewhere safe. To a place where there is no suffering, where you will be protected by everyone you meet."

Her eyes grew wide, "To America?"

Jared almost laughed, "No, but somewhere just as nice, I promise."

"But my family, my sister cannot go?"

"No, they still have things they must do here, Anne. I am forbidden to touch them."

"Why me? Why only me?"

Oh, Hell, Jared thought. That was the one he had been dreading. He drew a deep breath, and took his best shot, "Anne, you have already done the thing you must do here." He held out the book. "The voice in these journals will torment the greatest leaders of the world for a thousand years. And more. You cannot know how many billions will one day read this book that you have written."

He gazed at her as he talked, hoping to give enough to coerce her without overwhelming her, "Trust me, child. The whole world will one day know the name of Anne Frank. But I have received permission to take you from what is coming. We don’t want you to be harmed. You’re too special. The world needs people like you more than you could ever know. Will you come with me?"

"My book? How do you know about it?"

He could hear jackboots echoing off of the brick walls outside. There was no time left!

"I promise I will tell you everything, and more, but you must come with me now."

A few rooms away, a pounding, wrenching sound. The secret door was being forced. The buzzer in Jared’s left ulna was vibrating like mad. He was at zero.

At the final moment, as he opened his mouth to call Athena, she relented. She heard them too, and he had in effect warned her what was in store for her if she stayed. Her brown eyes were large and round, "Ich wolle Gahe." (I will go.)

"Athena, quickly. Set two for downstream. All the way to the citadel, if you please."