The International

by Christopher Vale

  “Faster!” he shouted, panic evident in his voice. Axel saw his mother’s eyes pop wide as she turned to look at him.

  “Axel!” she shouted as she spun her rifle toward him.

  Axel followed her eyes spinning around and released a choked shriek of terror as he saw a shark’s head darting toward him in the water. He tripped over the next step and fell onto his back, the metal steps sending searing pain through his body. The sharkman leapt out of the water like a great white hitting a seal and Axel instinctively released a bolt of lightening from his hand. The blast of energy shot into the shark and slammed the monster into the wall.

  Axel tried to get to his feet, but they slipped in the rising water and he fell back down with a splash. He felt a hand on his arm as Alena helped him to his feet. “Get up!” she snapped. Axel could feel the cold wet of the water seep through his uniform. Alena had him on his feet and they ran up the stairs, their boots splashing in the water that was rising faster than they were running.

  Soon the water was at Axel’s knees, slowing him considerably. Then it was to his waist. He realized that soon he would be swimming up the steps. He silently prayed that the other sharkmen had been killed by the Nazis or were too busy feasting on them to explore the stairwell.

  The water reached Axel’s chest as he saw his mother turn around to look at him. They still had a few stories to go before the base broke through the surface of the ocean and, thus, the water would stop rising. Brygida stepped to the side allowing Alena to move past her. She then reached down and grabbed her son, yanking him out of the rising water.

  “I’ll take the rear!” Brygida said, realizing Axel could not use his electricity while submerged in water without frying all of them. The Valkyrie had super strength. She had a rifle. She would protect them. Alena and Axel kept moving and Brygida did her best to slog through the rising water.

  Brygida stared up above them. She could see light where the base broke through the surface. They were so close. They just had to make it up there. The water was rising fast and began to push her upward as it rose to her shoulders. It would overtake Axel again soon, though Alena could easily outrun it.

  “Alena!” Brygida shouted. “Get to the top!” There was no sense in risking Alena, too. Suddenly Brygida felt razor blades rip into her leg as she was jerked beneath the water.

  “Brygida!” Alena shouted as she turned her rifle to aim at the water where Brygida had disappeared. Axel spun around to see the rising water turn red. He could not see his mother. She was gone. Killed by a shark human hybrid. He wanted to cry; to scream, but he needed to get out of the water, before he became the next victim.

  Suddenly, he realized it was too late, as the body of the shark rose to the top. Axel screamed in panic as he felt a jerk on his arm. But when he glanced down he realized that it was a human hand that gripped his arm. His mother’s hand.

  Axel pulled Brygida up out of the water and felt a sigh of relief as he saw her take a breath. He then looked back at the shark. It had not come to the surface to kill him. The sharkman was dead, with ten or more bullet holes puncturing its body. As usual Brygida had refused to go down without a fight. Once again she had survived when everyone thought her dead.

  “My leg!” Brygida screamed.

  Axel lifted his mother into his arms as the water rose to his waist. He saw her leg. The flesh was shredded by the sharkman’s teeth, but otherwise seemed intact.

  “We’ve got to get to the surface!” Axel shouted at Alena as he threw Brygida over his shoulder. Alena nodded and led the way, still not moving as fast as she could, preferring to stay with Axel in case he needed help.

  The water rose faster than Axel could carry his mother and they floated up with it. All three of them were terrified, realizing that the blood in the water would attract the other sharkmen soon.

  “We’re almost there!” Alena shouted as they neared the hatch with sunlight streaming through. Before they reached it the water leveled off and Alena climbed onto the metal steps. She helped Axel pull Brygida up and they continued on their way.

  Axel had just pulled his feet out of the water when there was a splash behind him. He turned to see the sharkmen attacking the body of their comrade, tearing its flesh.

  Alena looked down at him. “We’re safe now,” she sighed. “Out of the water.”

  Axel frantically shook his head. “Those things have legs!” he shouted. “Run!”

  Alena panicked, turned and flashed up the last few steps and out of the hatch within seconds, leaving Axel and Brygida alone. Axel followed as quickly as he could manage, hoping none of the sharkmen would notice him. He reached the door, stepped through into the morning sunlight and quickly shut it behind him.

  He then lowered his mother to the steps causing her to wince with the pain. He then sat down beside her. “We’ve got to stop the bleeding,” he said. He could tell Brygida was already weakened from the loss of blood. He removed his belt and quickly fashioned a tourniquet. Just as he finished, Axel heard a loud bang against the door, and he noticed the face of a shark staring at him through the porthole, with its eerie human eyes.

  “Alena!” he shouted hoping for help carrying his mother. In response he heard two gunshots. He lifted his mother up off of the stairs and slung her back over his shoulder as he began to climb the metal steps to the top of the oil rig.

  When they reached the top they found a helicopter pilot and crewman dead on the ground, and Doctor Volker on his knees, Alena standing over him, his head jerked back, the barrel of the rifle pressed to his forehead.

  “Don’t do it!” Brygida shouted.

  Alena turned to see Brygida leaning on Axel staring at her. “Why not?” Alena asked.

  “Because the sharks will prefer him alive!” Brygida answered.

  “No!” Volker shouted in panic as Alena lifted him up off his knees and dragged him over to the edge. Just before they reached it, she saw two sharkmen ascend to the platform. They were hunched over on on all fours. Like wolves. Alena fired a burst of rifle fire hitting one in the head, sending it rolling down the steps. She then pushed Volker toward the other one. The sharkman seemed to get the point. It could have this one.

  It leapt at Volker as the mad scientist screamed in horror, knocking him over the side of the platform. Both man and beast fell down into the ocean below. Alena peered over the side to see red water, indicating that the sharkman was having its feast.

  Alena quickly turned back around to find Brygida sitting on the platform with Axel staring at her leg. “We’ve got to find a way out of here!” Axel shouted.

  “Don’t worry,” Alena replied. “I’ve already radioed for help.”

  “What?” Axel asked. “Help from who?” But then the sound of chopper blades cutting through the air caught his ears. He stood and stared out over the horizon as Alena turned around to peer in the same direction. Two helicopters were flying toward them. At first Axel was excited. Then he realized they were Soviet.

  Axel began to glow blue. He could shoot them down.

  “Axel!” he heard his mother shout. “It’s our only hope.”

  Axel nodded. His mother was right, and if they did not get help soon, she would lose her leg, if she survived at all. He let his body relax as the blue energy faded. Alena stepped over next to him. She took his hand, interlocking her fingers with his. Something they had not done since they were children sitting on the roof of the German facility where they had been raised.

  “Don’t worry, Donar,” she whispered, using the code name the Nazi’s had given him and his brother. “You’ll be safe. I promise.” She then pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply. He kissed her back. “And that’s for coming to rescue me,” she whispered softly.

  Chapter 8

  Tom tapped on Ian’s office door, but opened it and strolled inside without waiting for an answer. Ian glanced up at him over his glasses and laid the memo he was reading down on his desk. Tom stepped inside, closed the door, an
d plopped down in a high-backed leather chair across from his boss without waiting for an invitation.

  “I thought you were taking some time off,” Ian said.

  Tom shook his head as he removed a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket. “I’ve got more important things to do,” he said as he pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

  “Like what?” Ian asked.

  Tom lit the cigarette and then returned the lighter to his pocket as he drew smoke into his lungs. “Like figuring out how to stop the International,” Tom replied as he blew the smoke out from between his lips.

  Ian removed his glasses and laid them on his desk. “If there even is an International,” he said.

  “Ian, you’re smarter than that,” Tom replied.

  “Okay, Tom, let’s say you’re right, that this Valkyrie is right, that there is an international conspiracy of former Nazis that is taking over the whole world. Well, what do you intend to do?”

  “Figure out who they are and what their plan is,” Tom replied simply.

  “How do you propose to do that?” Ian inquired as he placed his elbows on the desk and interlaced his fingers.

  Tom took another drag off of his cigarette. “Well, I think a good starting point would be figuring out who Mr. X is,” Tom replied.

  “Good luck with that, Tom,” Ian said. “Honestly, I’m not even sure the President knows who he really is.”

  Tom frowned. “Well that is comforting.”

  “I’ve asked around, Tom.”

  “Well, assuming Brygida is correct, I know someone who might know,” Tom said.

  “Who?” Ian asked.

  Tom smiled slyly. “Hans Kammler.”

  Ian nodded. “Alright. So?”

  “So I need to talk to him,” Tom replied.

  Ian shrugged. “Well, good luck, old friend.”

  “Why?” Tom asked. “Where is he?”

  “Only the most secure military base in the country,” Ian answered.

  Tom narrowed his eyes. “Camp David?” he asked.

  Ian smirked as he shook his head. “Nope. An Air Force base in the middle of the Nevada desert.”

  ***

  Dawn bent over the metal wash basin scrubbing the clothes over a washboard in the soapy water. From where she sat she could see her uncle Jimmy plowing the small field next to the old wooden house. He still used a mule. His wife had died several years earlier. His daughter had married a man in town. An educated man who was trying to make something of himself. His unwed son still lived at home, but he spent his days working in the factory to help make ends meet.

  Dawn had come to stay with her uncle for a little while, more or less hiding out, as Tom had suggested. Her uncle was happy to help her, but she knew she wouldn’t get a free ride. There was a long list of chores to do, and “women’s work” was often neglected by Jimmy and his son. Since she had been there Dawn had done the cooking (much to her uncle and cousin’s great pleasure) cleaning and washing.

  Like many rural folk in Virginia, Dawn’s uncle didn’t own a washing machine. So she had to wash the clothes by hand. She liked to joke to Uncle Jimmy that, “at least you’ve advanced to a wash basin and board and I ain’t got to beat the clothes on a rock down by the crik.”

  “Had to,” her uncle had replied. “Kept findin’ tadpoles in my drawers.”

  Dawn heard an approaching car engine and looked up to see a long black vehicle with government plates driving down the red dirt road toward the house. She stood up and placed her hand against her brow to shield her eyes from the glaring sun. Who is this?

  Dawn turned to see her uncle walking toward her, the mule tethered to a rail. He reached her about the same time the car pulled into the drive. The vehicle stopped, the engine shut off and the driver’s side door opened. Dawn watched as Tom emerged in a black suit, white shirt and dark tie, looking every bit the part of a G-man.

  “Afternoon,” he said with a smile as he removed the sunglasses from his face.

  Dawn chuckled. “You’re gonna fit in perfectly here, Tom.” She then turned to her uncle. “It’s okay, Uncle Jimmy,” she said. “This is Tom Flemming, a friend of mine from work.”

  Uncle Jimmy didn’t seem overly confident in Dawn’s assertions, but began to back away, without a word, returning to his mule and plow.

  Tom crossed the lawn to Dawn. “Chatty fellow,” he smiled.

  Dawn laughed. “Yeah, well, when white guys in suits and fancy cars show up around here, it’s normally not good news.”

  “Fair enough,” Tom replied.

  “So what brings you out here?” Dawn asked.

  Tom spied a swing under an old oak tree. He smiled. “Come on, darlin’” he said in his best southern accent, “You gotta get me a glass of lemonade or tea or somethin’ first.”

  Dawn laughed, but then disappeared into the kitchen. She came back out with two glasses of sweet ice tea to find Tom rocking gently back and forth in the swing beneath the tree, puffing on a cigarette. She crossed the lawn and sat down beside him, handing him one of the glasses. He took a sip.

  “Whew, that is sweet,” he said. “But I like it.”

  “What’s going on, Tom?” Dawn asked cutting to the chase. “Coast clear? Can I go back to Washington?” she asked hopefully.

  “Well, love,” Tom said exhaling a stream of smoke, “I’ve had a busy couple of days.”

  “Busy how?”

  Tom chuckled as he sipped his tea. “For starters, I learned that Brygida is alive,” he said.

  Dawn brightened as she grabbed his arm. “Oh thank God!” she smiled gleefully. “How excited were Rolf and Axel?”

  “Rolf doesn’t know yet, and Axel was a little too busy running from assassins and jumping out of airplanes to really reflect on his reunion with his mother.”

  Tom recounted the story about how someone had tried to kill Axel, until Brygida saved him and then how Tom had dropped them both into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with no way of getting them back.

  “What are we gonna do?” Dawn asked.

  “That’s not our mission, darling,” Tom said and then finished the last swallow of tea.

  “What do you mean?” she asked. “What is our mission?”

  “To talk to Hans Kammler and find out what is really going on with Mr. X and the rest.”

  “Okay, well let’s got talk to him and then go rescue Axel,” she replied.

  “It’s not that simple,” Tom said with a wry smile.

  “Why not?” Dawn asked.

  “Because Kammler isn’t in D.C. anymore.”

  “Where is he?”

  “An Air Force base in Nevada,” Tom said, “known as Area 51.”

  Chapter 9

  Tom and Dawn drove along the lonely stretch of highway toward Area 51. They had taken a flight from Washington to Las Vegas where they rented a car and drove the three hours through the Nevada desert. Tom blew a stream of smoke out of the cracked window and then turned to Dawn with a smile.

  “It’s a nice day out here,” he commented, noting the warm weather that was common for Spring in Nevada.

  Dawn returned his smile. “Do you want to stop for a picnic?” she asked.

  “That would be lovely, but I think it would be better if we finished our mission first. Perhaps on the return trip,” Tom replied.

  “Return trip?” she chuckled. “I rather assumed that when we left Area 51 it would be in handcuffs to transfer us to Fort Leavenworth.”

  “Don’t be absurd,” Tom laughed as he flicked his cigarette butt out of the window sending ashes across the highway. “They don’t imprison women at Leavenworth. They’ll send you somewhere else.”

  Dawn threw back her head and laughed as well. “Well, that makes me feel better.”

  “So why is this base so Top Secret?” Dawn asked.

  Tom shrugged. “Ian claims that the Air Force tests secret jets and other weapons out here. But there is another rumor,” he said mysteriously.

 
“Oh?” Dawn asked her interest peeked.

  “There are stories that an alien spaceship crashed in New Mexico not long after the War ended, and the ship and alien bodies are being kept at Area 51.”

  “Really?” Dawn asked. Just a couple of years ago she would have dismissed those tales as ridiculous. Probably spread by the government itself to cover-up the secret weapons testing going on at the base. However, after Vietnam, she knew that aliens were very real and had indeed visited the earth and even built bases here. “What do you think?” she inquired of Tom.

  Tom shrugged. “I don’t know. What I do know is that Kammler is being held here. And I am a lot less interested in talking to aliens than I am in talking to him.”

  As he finished speaking Tom noticed a road sign warning that they were entering a restricted area of the United States Air Force. Another sign cautioned that unauthorized vehicles should turn around. Another sign warned that trespassers would be shot on sight.

  Dawn turned to Tom. “Maybe neither of us will make it to Leavenworth,” she said flatly.

  “Don’t worry, love,” he said with a confident smile. “We haven’t survived Nazis, alien robots, Soviet super assassins, and werewolves just to be killed by friendly military personnel.”

  Tom began to slow as the base entrance came into view. The road continued inside through fences with barbed wire. A guard post was positioned beside the road with an orange and white striped barrier gate arm. Several armed military police stood beside the gate, staring at them, hands on their firearms as they motioned for Tom to stop.

  “They don’t look that friendly to me,” Dawn said.

  Tom dismissed her concerns as he slowly drove up to the gate and rolled down his window.

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Tom smiled to the Airmen.

  “Sir, this is a restricted area,” an MP with senior airman’s insignias explained.

  Tom quickly produced his CSOS ID card. “Yes, I realize that Airman,” he smiled. “My name is Agent Thomas Flemming of the Clandestine Scientific Operations Service. This is my associate Agent Dawn Williams. We are here to see a Hans Kammler.”