“Well, I don’t have a lot of reference to how large a zero-point bomb should be, Tom,” Dawn shot back.
“Alright, use codenames from here on out,” Brygida said.
“I’m sorry,” Dawn said.
Brygida smiled. “It’s alright dear,” she said as she patted Dawn’s hand.
“Everyone knows that Tom’s codename is Canary, right?” Axel asked with a childish grin. “Just want to make sure no one missed that his codename is Canary.”
Brygida cut her eyes to him and he shut-up. She returned to business. “Krieg and Hammer should be able to move this thing, we just need to get to it without being stopped and somehow get it back up and out of here to the extraction point without being caught.”
“A place this big is certain to have thousands of troops,” Alena said. “There is no way we are going to just sneak down there undetected and then sneak back out carrying a bomb the size of a refrigerator.”
“Well, darling, you and I are going to cause a distraction,” Brygida smiled at her.
“It’ll have to be a big one,” Tom said.
“Oh it will be…Canary,” Brygida smiled and then turned and winked at Axel. “The rest of you go get the bomb.”
“Rendezvous?” Tom asked.
“The drop zone,” Brygida said causing Tom to raise his eyebrows. He knew what that meant. They would not be able to go back for Brygida and Alena if they reached the rendezvous, ten miles away, and the two weren’t there. Brygida was making it clear that the mission came first.
Tom offered Brygida his hand. She accepted it. “Good luck Valkyrie,” he said. He then did the same with Alena as Brygida turned to Axel and threw her arms around him. He returned the embrace as she kissed him on the cheek.
“Take care of yourself and your brother, Axel,” Brygida said as she wiped tears from her eyes.
“You, too, Mom,” he said as he fought back his own tears. “Come back.”
“Hey, I’m the Valkyrie—killing Nazis is my specialty,” she smiled.
Alena wrapped her arms around Axel as well. “If something happens, take care of Lexi, okay,” she whispered into his ear.
“I promise,” Axel whispered back.
Brygida turned to say good-bye to Rolf, but he still would not look at her. She stepped past him and wrapped her arms around Alexi. “We’ll see you soon, darling,” she said before saying good-bye to Dawn. She walked past Rolf and placed a hand on his arm. “Take care, Rolf,” she said. “I love you.” Brygida then jogged down the hall as Alena finished saying her good-byes and zipped after her.
Rolf finally turned to look at Brygida, but she was already gone. “Mama,” he said as he suddenly realized he might never see Brygida again and he didn’t tell her good-bye or that he loved her too or the million of other things he wanted to say to her. The things he’s wanted to tell his mother ever since he was a small child when he dreamed of finding her. Now she had disappeared and he desperately feared he’d missed his opportunity. “Mama,” he said again as he took a step in the direction she had gone and tears began to stream out of his eyes.
Axel and Dawn moved forward to intercept him. “We’ll see her soon,” Axel said and his brother turned to look down at him. Axel could tell he was very upset. “I promise,” Axel added. Rolf nodded. “But right now we’ve got to go get this big bomb that Dawn found, ‘cause we certainly don’t want the Nazis having it, do we?” Rolf shook his head.
“Let’s go,” Tom said. “I’ll take the lead. Psion you follow me to tell me where to go. Hammer and Krieg follow Psion, and Blitz will bring up the rear.”
Everyone nodded and followed Tom. They moved slowly and carefully, concerned that they might walk up on a squad of heavily armed SS soldiers at any moment.
They inched along the corridor ducking down for long stretches when the balconies of the floors opened up to overlook the U-boat bay below. Eventually they reached the service elevator. A single guard stood before it, bored, sitting in a chair staring into nothing.
“Is this it?” Tom asked and Dawn nodded.
Axel leaned around the corner and zapped the guard with a quick bolt of electricity.
“Alright, let’s go get this bomb,” Tom said.
Chapter 17
Brygida was in the lead as she and Alena made their way through the base with Brygida explaining her plan as they jogged along. The plan was quite simple, blow up a U-boat. If that didn’t cause a big enough distraction, Brygida didn’t know what would. She preferred simple plans. The more complicated they got, the more likely something would go wrong. Of course, once the U-boat was destroyed, she and Alena would have to fight their way out of the base, through possibly thousands of Nazi troops certain to be heavily armed. Hopefully, however, they would draw them all in giving the others a chance to get out with the bomb. If things got too tight, Alena could use her speed to escape.
They soon reached a stairwell and Brygida took Alena by the arm. “After this thing blows, I want you to run back up as quick as you can. Hopefully they won’t even know you are here.”
“I’m not going to just leave you alone,” Alena said.
Brygida cocked her head to the side. “Don’t worry about me, darling. I’ve been in some tight spots before you know.” She could tell by Alena’s expression that she had not convinced her. “I’ll have an easier time escaping if I’m not worried about saving you, too,” Brygida said.
Alena smirked. “Very well,” she said. “I’d hate to inconvenience you.”
Brygida gave her a quick wink and then glanced around the corner to see if there were any guards.
“Let me take point,” Alena said. “If you’re forced to fire that rifle, the whole base will know we’re here before we have a chance to blow the sub.”
“Be my guest,” Brygida said as she motioned for Alena to move ahead of her. Alena bolted down the stairwell and back up again before Brygida had even taken a step.
“We’re clear,” she said and Brygida had to suppress a chuckle. Alena led her to the bottom of the stairs. They knew that as soon as they stepped out of the stairwell they would be easy to see. Alena peeked out through the doors at the target floating in the water. There were a couple of armed guards standing on the dock between the stairwell and the submarines. “I’ll clear the way to the U-boat,” Alena whispered. She darted away before Brygida had a chance to object and was back a few seconds later. “Let’s go,” Alena said. Brygida ran as fast as she could, trying to keep up with Alena. As she ran she saw the guard’s bodies with their heads chopped off lying dead in puddles of their own blood on the dock.
The two reached the nearest U-boat and Brygida swiftly climbed the ladder to board. Alena followed her to the deck of the boat. They moved quickly to the hatch which, fortunately, was already open. Brygida slipped inside. She almost ran into a guard and his eyes popped open wide when he saw her. She brought her hand up slamming it into his throat, crushing it and making it impossible for him to breath, much less shout an alarm. The guard fell to the ground and Brygida and Alena stepped over him.
Brygida moved further into the sub, leaving Alena behind to kill anyone else who might happen to come aboard. As she walked through the U-boat Brygida planted explosives which she pulled from the brown satchel hanging from her shoulder. Brygida heard footsteps in front of her and quickly pulled the knife from its sheath on her belt. She watched the shadow as it came closer and just when it was the right distance she turned the corner stabbing a sailor in the chest while covering his mouth with her hand to prevent him from screaming. She watched the life drain from his eyes as she lowered him to the deck of the U-boat.
Brygida planted the final explosive charge and made her way back toward the front of the sub, setting the timers on the charges as she went. It did not take long to reach Alena.
“Any trouble?” Brygida asked.
“None,” Alena replied. “How much time do we have?”
“Five minutes,” Brygida said.
“Well then, let’s g
et moving. I don’t want to be anywhere near here when this thing blows.”
They climbed back up through the hatch, stepped out of the U-boat, and made their way along the deck. Suddenly, they heard a shout from above. “Halt!” a German voice called and they glanced up to see a soldier aiming a rifle at them. “Achtung! Achtung!” the soldier screamed, sounding the alarm.
The soldier fired his rifle at them and Alena disappeared in a blur leaving Brygida the lone target on top of the sub. She did not bother with the ladder, preferring to simply leap off of the deck of the U-boat to the dock below. The gunfire stopped as quickly as it started and Brygida glanced up to the third floor to see Alena had killed the Nazi. Now, however, they were separated by two floors.
Suddenly, soldiers appeared from everywhere alerted by the calls and gunfire of their compatriot. Brygida could no longer see Alena and assumed she was busy fighting. Brygida raised the rifle to her shoulder and opened fire. One Nazi fell, then another. She tucked the rifle and sprinted for the stairwell. She needed to get further away before the U-boat blew.
She heard boots on the steps above coming toward her and she stopped momentarily to wait, raising the AK-47 to her shoulder again. As soon as the first soldier came into view, Brygida opened fire and then rushed forward, taking the steps two at a time as she continued to blast away. She reached the second floor and noticed that the stairwell above her was full of SS troopers. She ducked out through the doors onto the second floor and ran away as fast as she could.
Brygida suddenly stopped when she saw her. It had been twenty years, but she recognized the face in front of her clearly. She was older and taller, but there was no mistaking Freyja. The super-Aryan wore a uniform not dissimilar to the first one Brygida had seen her in so many years ago. It was black and appeared to be an amalgamation of military fatigues and a gymnastics leotard.
Freyja’s bright blue eyes bored through Brygida as she recognized the woman who stood before her. Then her lips curled into a sinister smile. “Guten Tag Frau Valkyrie,” Freyja sneered in a sinister voice that sent a chill up Brygida’s spine. Brygida replied by squeezing the trigger of her AK-47. A burst of gunfire shot toward the Aryan warrior, but not before Freyja was already rolling on the floor in a gymnast's style somersault and back up onto her feet again, slamming the barrel of Brygida’s rifle away before the Valkyrie had a chance to adjust her aim.
Freyja side-kicked Brygida in the stomach knocking her backward and then slammed her jaw with an uppercut sending the Valkyrie falling onto her back, her rifle dropping harmlessly to the ground a few feet away. Freyja drew a pistol from the holster on her hip and stood over Brygida, aiming the weapon at her.
Suddenly, the entire base rocked as the U-boat exploded. Freyja was thrown off balance and Brygida took the opportunity to even the score. She kicked outward, sweeping Freyja’s legs out from under her, knocking the blond woman onto her back. Brygida scrambled for her rifle as she heard the boots of dozens of soldiers running toward her.
***
Team Blitzkrieg plus Alexi descended deep into the bowels of the Nazi base in the slow-moving service elevator. Everyone was nervous and on high alert as they descended ever deeper. The ancient metal elevator seemed to take forever. It was an enormous cage-like contraption that did not have walls. In fact, one could reach out and touch the sides of the elevator shaft or the cable if he or she wanted.
“What do you think?” Axel asked. “Are we going to get to the bottom and find a single donkey chasing a carrot on a stick to make this thing go up and down?” Everyone chuckled at the joke.
“Yeah, I feel safer flying in a plane piloted by Canary than this thing,” Dawn cracked.
“Hey!” Tom responded. “I’m an excellent pilot.”
Dawn turned to him and pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m only teasing you,” she said.
“Alright beautiful,” Tom replied with a wink. “Because it’s you, I’ll let it slide.”
Axel cocked his head to the side as he watched the exchange wondering what what going on between the two of them. He was about to make a remark when suddenly they all heard a loud explosion and the elevator rocked violently, slamming against the sides of the elevator shaft. Then it fell.
Everyone screamed as they plummeted to certain death at the bottom of the shaft. It felt like an eternity as they dropped, but really it was only a second, before the elevator jerked to a stop. Everyone glanced around before finally seeing Alexi, gripping the cable, holding them suspended in the shaft.
“Good show, Hammer!” Tom said excitedly, as relief washed over him. He could tell the large man was straining. “Krieg, give the old boy a hand,” he instructed. Rolf complied, grabbing hold of the elevator cable just below Alexi’s hands. “Alright, you two, now lower us down as carefully as you can,” Tom said.
Rolf and Alexi managed to work together to lower the elevator down the shaft all of the way to the bottom. Everyone scrambled off as soon as the elevator touched down.
Dawn stared up the large, dark shaft above them. “How are we going to get back up there?” she asked concerned that they would be trapped down at the bottom until the Nazis came and discovered them.
“Well, let’s hope these two are strong enough to pull us up,” Tom said as he patted Rolf and Alexi on the back. “Now, let’s go get that bomb.”
They turned around and faced large, metal blast doors, like those of an elevator. There was a hand crank to the side of the doors and Axel crossed over to it and cranked it causing the double doors to slide open. Tom stepped through first followed by the others. The room was large and filled with munitions of all sorts—bombs, missiles, artillery shells—you name it.
“Where’s this vault?” Tom asked and Dawn pointed directly back. They moved past the other munitions until they reached the vault consisting of an enormous steel door with a combination lock, just as Tom had feared.
“Anybody know how to pick a safe?” Axel asked. Everyone shook their heads.
“Well hell,” Axel cursed.
***
Brygida scooped up her rifle and turned to fire as a score of Nazi soldiers turned the corner. The soldiers quickly retreated with six of their comrades lying dead on the floor. Brygida then swung the rifle back in the direction of Freyja, but the Aryan was already too close and the two women fought over the rifle.
Freyja finally forced the rifle from Brygida’s hands and slung it across the floor. She then punched Brygida in the face and knocked her down. The Nazi soldiers crept out of hiding as Freyja leapt on top of Brygida. Suddenly, Freyja felt Brygida’s right arm around her waist, holding her tight. Freyja stared into Brygida’s eyes and then saw the woman laugh. Suddenly Brygida’s left hand came into view and Freyja’s eyes went wide as she saw a grenade in Brygida’s hand. The lever popped free and Freyja tried to pull away, but Brygida held on willing to kill herself to take out Freyja. As the seconds ticked away, Freyja grabbed Brygida’s wrist and in an act of desperation slammed the grenade as hard as she could, knocking it out of Brygida’s hand to go rolling along the floor.
There were terrified cries of “Grenade!” as the soldiers scrambled for safety, but there was no time. The explosion took out most of them. Freyja turned to Brygida who spat blood in her face.
“I am not the child you fought last time, Frau Valkyrie,” she hissed before slamming her forehead into Brygida’s, sending Brygida’s world spinning into darkness.
Chapter 18
Germany
1945
The engine of the German military transport truck roared as Brygida and the remaining survivors of the Red Patriots rumbled into the Soviet camp. Brygida quickly leapt from the passenger side and made her way to the command tent. Polkovnik Utkin emerged from inside the tent before she reached it. He noticed her immediately and a broad smile flashed across his face.
“Welcome back, comrade,” he said as he approached her. He was always relieved to see the Valkyrie return alive. He u
nderstood as well as anyone how many of the Red Patriots’ missions would end in failure if not for her. “Your mission was successful?” he asked expectantly as Brygida stepped in front of him.
Brygida shook her head. “No Polkovnik Utkin, it was not,” she said somberly.
Utkin frowned. “What happened?” he asked.
“Kammler escaped with the weapon,” Brygida said.
Utkin narrowed his eyes as he stared at her. One did not simply escape the Valkyrie. “How?” he asked perplexed.
Brygida shook her head and held her arms out wide in exasperation. “I have never seen anything like it,” she said clearly still in disbelief as to what she had seen. “The Germans were attempting to evacuate the weapon and we attacked their caravan from behind. I caught up to Kammler, took his car out of commission and he made a mad dash for the Bell. He opened it and climbed inside before I reached him. Then…” she let her words trail off.
“Then what?” Utkin asked his curiosity plain on his face.
“Then it just shot off into the sky and out of sight,” Brygida said.
“What do you mean ‘shot off’?” Utkin asked. “Is it a rocket?”
Brygida shook her head from side-to-side. “No,” she said. “There were no flames, and little noise. It just lifted off the ground, like a…a…a zeppelin, except not slow like a zeppelin. Faster than a rocket, but quietly. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Utkin looked away, staring at the ground. He then stepped past Brygida, deep in thought, trying to determine what he was going to tell his superiors. He had to choose what he told them very carefully. Failures of this magnitude could get an officer quickly demoted, or worse, executed. He took a few steps before remembering that he had news for Brygida as well.
“Oh yes, comrade I almost forgot,” he said as he turned back to Brygida. “Some documents you and your men captured in Breslau contained some information I think you’ll be interested in.”
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