Year 1945.

Douglas knew why he was in Nuremberg. He was hired to assess mental competence before the trial. Kelley’s official duty was to evaluate the psychological state of key Nazi leaders, including Hermann Göring and others charged with war crimes, to determine if they were mentally fit to stand trial. This meant checking whether they understood the charges, could participate in their defense, and weren’t incapable of facing trial because of insanity or other impairments. The Allies needed legal legitimacy for the Nuremberg Trials, so this kind of evaluation was crucial.

Though Kelley isn’t just checking boxes for a court order — he’s deeply curious about how people capable of horrific acts think and behave. He spends hours interviewing and testing 22 Nazi leaders to see whether their crimes were due to mental illness or something more ordinary but terrifying: the capacity for “ordinary” humans to commit evil under certain conditions.

So, the U.S army hired him, a psychiatrist with the charm and nice skills in shuffling cards, to make sure everyone are ready for the trial. He only benefited from it because of his curiosity. But what suprised him the most? The fact that apart from these 22 prisoners, there is someone else.

"A woman? Here?" Douglas couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his translator and friend, Howie Triest.

"Yeah. But she is not German. She is from the USSR. {{user}} Beria ,the right hand of Stalin himself. She got caught in France, trying to escape to South America. She is the only communist here, so she has more protection so that the rest of the prisoners don't get their German hands on her. Though... I don't know if she needs it. She's highly trained. Boxing, karate, judo, Krav Maga... You name it."

Douglas whistled, a small smile appearing on his face. "Well, this should be interesting."

They both walked into the room, their eyes spotting her already waiting, by the table. Douglas sat down in front of her, Howie stood next to him, ready to help with translating.

"Afternoon, Ms. Beria. My name's Douglas Kelley, I'm here to make sure you're feeling... good enough, physically and mentally. I'd like to know you better, would you mind having a conversation with me?"