The International

by Christopher Vale

  “Axel, I…” Dawn began, but he interrupted her.

  “I don’t want that anymore though. Not after hearing about Sava. It’s too dangerous.”

  Dawn smiled. “Everything we do is dangerous, Axel.”

  “The missions yeah, but you shouldn’t be scared of being assassinated going home at night.”

  “I’ve been searching for Alena, too, Axel,” Dawn said.

  “What do you mean?” Axel asked.

  “My powers are getting stronger,” she explained. “I can feel things that…” she stopped. “But I have no idea where Alena is.” She had tears in her eyes.

  Axel reached across the table and patted her hand. “It’s alright, Dawn.”

  She shook her head. “No it’s not. I wasn’t born like this Axel. It was done to me just like it was done to you, but mine happened when I was a little girl.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “The government, the CIA I guess, did experiments on children from poor families. They would tell our parents that everything was alright. We were special, you see. Good grades in school or whatever. They gave my mom two hundred dollars. Do you know how much money that was to a widowed black woman in the fifties?” She paused to wipe her eyes. “I’m not sure what they did, something in my brain. Then they took me home. Told my mom that they’d check on me from time to time, which they did. I got to where I could do incredible things. It scared Mama at first, she thought I was possessed by the devil. But then she accepted it. From that point on the government took care of us. As you know, my dad died in the war. I never even knew him. So, the money Mama got was really helpful. And they paid for my college and…” the words drifted off as she began to cry.

  “It’s alright, Dawn,” Axel whispered.

  “It just hit not that long ago that the same people that experimented on you and Rolf and ya’lls mom, the same people that have Alena, are the people that did this to me. They brought those bastards over here.”

  “I know,” Axel said. “But we’re going to stop them.”

  Suddenly the door opened and four well dressed white men stepped inside. Axel doubted they were there to dance. He knew he could not endanger Dawn after what happened to Sava. He had to slip out before they saw him with her.

  “I’ve got to go,” he said, and Dawn noticed he was looking past her, to the front door.

  Her eyes went wide. She wanted so badly to turn, but fought the urge. Axel stood quickly and slipped away through the back and out the rear door into the alley behind the bar. Once he was gone, Dawn stood and walked into the ladies room.

  Chapter 3

  The water was boiling on the stove as Brygida tore open a box of pasta and poured it in. One of the things she loved most about America was how easy it was to find and prepare food. How could she ever go hungry here? In the socialist countries of eastern Europe, one sometimes had to spend hours in a bread line.

  Brygida was not sure how she had survived the plane crash. She had shot the pilot to prevent him from bombing Washington. The last thing she had remembered was the plane diving toward the ocean. The next thing she remembered was being rescued by an Argentine fishing boat. It had taken Brygida weeks to make it back up to the United States. Once she arrived she had contacted the Centre in an attempt to find Alena and Alexi and see if they were alright. Alena never responded. Instead, Brygida received a message from the Director of Special Operations for the KGB ordering her to remain where she was and someone would be contacting her shortly.

  Brygida had finally found Axel. It had been tough as he apparently was not going to the office anymore, or living in his apartment. When she found him she noticed that he was being watched, so she could not make contact with him immediately. She needed time to figure some things out. To lose the tail. To learn what was going on.

  Brygida turned around and opened the refrigerator. As she did so, she noticed something on the floor. She closed the refrigerator and stepped over to the door of the cabin. She squatted down and looked at three small circles of water on the floor. She touched one with her finger, noticing it was ice cold. She glanced up but did not see any leaks through the ceiling.

  Though winter was ending, there was still snow here in the hills. She had not been outside in hours so it was unlikely that this ice had come in with her. Which meant it had come in with someone else.

  Brygida stood and quickly sprinted for her bedroom. She snatched a black bag from the bed and tossed it over her shoulder. The bag contained everything she would need. She dashed back out of the room and toward the front door. As she ran she heard a sound to her right just before she reached the door, and turned her head to see a man dressed in black with a black ski mask covering his face leaping out of the closet while raising a pistol. Brygida spun and knocked the pistol away before he had a chance to fire.

  Brygida reared back to punch him in the face, believing that would immediately end the fight. As her fist flew forward, however, the man caught it in the palm of his hand. Brygida’s eyes popped wide. No man except Alexi had ever been strong enough to do that. She suddenly remembered Alena’s story of the man she had encountered in Prague and Brygida knew exactly who this was. The Night Specter.

  The Night Specter lifted his boot and slammed it into Brygida’s chest knocking her backward and into the log wall, sending pain searing through Brygida’s body. He produced a knife from a sheath on his belt and lunged at her. She deflected it and kicked him in the leg causing him to cry out in pain. He punched her with his free hand, slamming her head back. She had never been hit that hard before and she was momentarily dazed.

  She saw the knife flash forward and she barely ducked beneath it. She slipped away, running for the door. However, the Night Specter grabbed her before she could get there and tossed her into the kitchen. He slashed forward, slicing through the stomach of her shirt, but missing skin as she leapt backward.

  The Specter lunged and Brygida leapt out of the way, using his momentum to slam him into the wall and putting herself between him and the door once again. He spun around to face her and she suddenly noticed the boiling noodles. She grabbed the pot from the stove and flung the water at him. He threw his hands up to block it, shrieking in agony as she turned and sprinted away, out of the door and down the steps, the bag still on her back.

  Brygida leapt into her car, cranked the engine, threw it into reverse and sped down the driveway. When she was out on the road she shifted the car into drive and sped down the hill to Washington.

  ***

  Axel was stuffing clothes into a small overnight bag. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew he needed to get out of town, lose whoever was following him, find his mom and then go find Alena. He had no idea how he was going to do any of that.

  As he was packing he heard something behind him and he turned to see the same four men that had followed him into the bar. He zipped up the bag and threw it over his shoulder.

  “Agent Smith,” one of the men said.

  “Yeah,” Axel replied.

  “We need you to come with us,” the man said.

  “Who are you?” Axel asked.

  “We’re with the FBI,” one said.

  “Well, let’s see some badges then,” Axel replied.

  One reached into his coat as if to pull out his badge, but removed a pistol instead. He aimed it at Axel, but just as he did, Axel released a bolt of blue energy, hitting the man in the chest and knocking him backwards and to the ground.

  The next man closest grabbed Axel, but quickly realized that was a mistake as Axel shot a surge of electricity through his body. The man collapsed onto the floor. The other two men ran for cover, guns in their hands. Axel released a couple of blue bolts their way to keep their heads down as he sprinted for the door. His hand hit the nob and he swung it open, bounding down the steps as quickly as he could.

  Axel reached his car, opened the door and slipped inside. Suddenly he realized that he didn’t have his keys with him. “Crap!” he shouted, an
gry at himself. He climbed out of the car just as the men from inside reached the front door. Axel fled quickly, sprinting as fast as he could down the street.

  He was already getting winded when he heard a car following him. It was approaching quickly. He knew he couldn’t outrun it, but he could blast it. He spun, but the car pulled up beside him as he did and the passenger door swung open. A jolt of excitement shot through him when he saw Brygida in the driver’s seat.

  “Get in!” Brygida shouted and Axel obeyed, leaping into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut. “They’re behind us,” she said and Axel turned around and saw headlights quickly approaching.

  The car behind them slammed into the rear of Brygida’s car. “I got this,” Axel told his mother and rolled down the window, stuck out his hand and released a bolt of lightening, frying the car’s engine and sending the car rolling over to the side of the road as Brygida and Axel sped away.

  Axel turned to his mother. “Good to see you, Mom,” he smiled excitedly.

  She returned the smile. “You too, darling. Sorry I haven’t made contact earlier, but you were being surveilled.”

  “I understand. I’m just lucky you came by when you did.”

  “It wasn’t luck, Axel. I was attacked too, by an assassin that used to work for the Nazis.”

  “Used to?” Axel asked.

  “Yes, but I’m not sure he does anymore,” she explained. “Because only the KGB knew where I was hiding.”

  The two sped off into the night, leaving Washington as quickly as they could.

  Chapter 4

  Dawn was waiting impatiently, sitting in a hard-backed office chair, tapping her foot. She heard Tom Flemming’s voice and perked up to see him strolling along the hallway toward her. Tom was old enough to be Dawn’s father, and despite not having any superhuman powers himself, he was the leader of Team Blitzkrieg. Thus, Tom was Dawn’s immediate superior within CSOS. Tom had been speaking to his boss, CSOS Director Ian Johnson.

  Dawn stood and forced a smile, though it was a nervous one. Tom reached her and Dawn fell in beside him. “Well?” she demanded.

  “Well, it’s true the CIA wants you back,” Tom replied as he slipped a cigarette between his lips and lit the tip. “We don’t have the protection from above we had just a few months ago, and everything at the CSOS appears to be falling apart.”

  Everyone had been on edge since the mission to Antarctica. Team Blitzkrieg had executed the mission without orders and did so working with Soviet agents. Needless to say, there were a lot of people from various alphabet agencies that were not too happy with super powered humans running around conducting their own missions without orders. Those other agencies were constantly in the President’s ear, telling him to shut CSOS down or place it under another agencies purview.

  Then there was the incident with Mr. X. The man in black and his mysterious organization had been appointed by the President himself to oversee the CSOS. At first the uptick in funding had been welcomed, but with unpleasant events—like working with high-ranking Nazis like Hans Kammler—the men and women of CSOS were becoming uneasy. Axel’s little spat with their mystery boss had hurt the entire section. It didn’t help that Team Blitzkrieg had brought accusations that the entire U.S. government was infiltrated by Nazi moles, all the way to the top. And they had strong suspicions that Mr. X was one of those moles.

  Dawn sighed, but then changed the subject. “Did you talk to Ian about Axel? Agents were clearly following him and after what happened to Sava…” she let her words trail off. “He left the city.”

  “How do you know that?” Tom asked.

  Dawn tilted her head as she looked at him. “How do you think?” she asked. “Did you talk to Ian about him or not?”

  “Yeah I did,” Tom said as he blew a stream of white smoke from between his lips.

  “Well?” Dawn demanded a little too aggressively.

  “Well, it’s touchy, Dawn,” Tom snapped, displaying an uncharacteristic aggravation. He was usually so cool, and Dawn realized that this was bothering him at least as much as it was bothering her. “Axel really screwed up when he attacked Mr. X.”

  “I know that,” Dawn said softly.

  “Ian said he will look into it, but honestly, I think we might have ourselves to worry about.”

  “What do you mean?” Dawn asked.

  Tom stopped and turned to look at her. “I mean that I’d hate to see you stabbed to death like Sava,” he said.

  “I’d hate that, too,” Dawn smirked.

  “We stumbled into something big, Dawn. Bigger than we believed at the time. Ian has caught all sorts of hell just for bringing it up to the President that America might be infiltrated by Nazis. He thought the President was going to fire him on the spot. Now though, he’s worried the President might axe the entire division.”

  “Oh, no,” Dawn said.

  “But you and I don’t have to worry about losing our jobs, love,” Tom said.

  “Why not?” Dawn asked.

  “Because if anyone axes us, I feel quite confident it’ll be literal.” Tom then turned and continued walking. Dawn hurried to catch up.

  “So what do we do?” she asked.

  “I suggest we lay low for a while,” Tom replied.

  “Lay low?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Do you have family you could stay with for a little bit?”

  “I guess so,” she replied.

  “Good,” Tom said. “Ian told us to take a little time off.”

  “Time off?” Dawn asked.

  “Yes, but don’t worry it’s paid leave. Just a week or two. Until he can get everything sorted out.” Dawn nodded. “I’m going to go visit an old college chum that I haven’t seen in years.” He leaned over and kissed Dawn on the cheek. “Good luck, darling. Take care of yourself.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper. “Here’s the number to a message service where I can be reached.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “It’ll be okay,” Tom said with a wink. “Just take a little vacation and everything will work out. You’ll see.”

  The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Tom stepped inside turned and smiled at Dawn as the doors slid shut. He had lied to Dawn. He had no intention of going to see a college friend. He was going to figure out who this Mr. X was. It was time for some answers. He knew it would be helpful to bring Dawn along, and he desperately wanted to, but he didn’t want to risk her any more than he had to. If he went barking up the wrong tree he could ruin her career, for nothing. If he went barking up the right tree, well, that could end her life. Anyway, he wanted to get some more clarity before he involved her.

  The elevator came to a stop. Tom stepped off and strolled out of the building and across the street to the parking garage. Soon he was in his car and pulling out into the street. A few minutes later, Tom was stuck in traffic. Typical for D.C. on a Friday afternoon, but still annoying.

  The traffic lurched and limped along for some time and Tom pulled his pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket, removed one and placed it between his lips. He lit the tip with his lighter and inhaled deeply before blowing a puff of smoke out. “Come on,” he muttered under his breath, annoyed that he was still very much stuck in traffic.

  Tom jumped, suddenly spooked as the passenger side door opened. He breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Brygida slipping into the car. She slid over close to Tom and Axel climbed in beside her.

  “Good evening, Agent Fleming,” Brygida said with a friendly smile.

  Tom began to laugh heartily. “It is a good evening, Brygida. I am quite happy to see you alive.” Tom then leaned forward so that he could see Axel. “You too old boy. Dawn is quite worried about you.”

  “Well she has good reason to be, Tom,” Axel said with a frown. “Some men tried to kill us.”

  “Kill you?” Tom asked. “Who?”

  “Don’t know for sure,” Axel replied.

  Brygida turned to him. “We have
strong suspicions, however. I’m convinced the man who attacked me was the Night Specter. Which means it was likely the International.”

  “Okay wait,” Tom said. “Who is the Night Specter?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Tom, we’re not here to talk about him,” Axel replied.

  “What are you here to talk about, Axel?” Tom asked.

  “We need your help,” Axel replied.

  “To do what?” Tom asked.

  “To fly us to an oil platform in the middle of the ocean to rescue Alena,” Axel said.

  Tom chuckled. “Oh, is that all?” he said with sarcasm dripping from his voice. “How do you propose we do that? Am I just going to land on it?”

  “No, we’ll have to parachute in,” Brygida said matter-of-factly.

  “Okay, it sounds like you’ve thought this through. Good,” Tom said sarcastically. “Now, how do you plan on getting out once you have Alena? I won’t be able to extract you.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Brygida said.

  “Oh, love, I expected that type of recklessness from your son, but not you,” Tom said.

  “We can always take the sub,” Axel smiled.

  “Oh, yeah,” Tom laughed. “I’m sure it’s no different than driving a car.”

  ***

  The small plane flew over the Atlantic Ocean toward the coordinates Sava had provided for the oil platform where Axel and Brygida believed Alena was being held. Luckily the night was not too bright, so hopefully they would not be spotted. Tom had to call in a few favors to get the bird. It belonged to a contact from his OSS days who used to fly the team behind enemy lines. He looked at Axel, who wore his black and blue Blitzkrieg uniform. He smiled to himself. Dr. Quakenboss had been kind enough to let Tom take Axel’s uniform without too many questions.