A Double Edged Wish (A Cat Among Dragons Book 3)

by Alma Boykin

  “That’s fine, Miss Na Gael. I’d rather have facts than fuzzy guesses.” Esthergorm stood up and Joschka and Rachel followed.

  “Have you eaten yet, Miss Na Gael?” Joschka asked as he held the door.

  “No, sir,” and the two men frowned at her. They all but glowed with protective concern. Great. Joschka’s going native. I’d better warn him not to hover or something bad will happen, like my biting his head off.

  Esthergorm ordered, “Joschka, have something sent to where you are working. And Miss Na Gael, do not hesitate to tell someone if you need help with something. I understand that you have a reputation for working longer than you should.” Rachel bristled at the General’s words, but limited herself to a quick glare at Joschka.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll try to be more careful than usual.” I hate being wrapped in tree-fluff! I’m not a child, sir. Rachel did her best to look grateful for his concern.

  Joschka didn’t look at his old friend, but he could sense her frustration and chagrin. He sympathized—he didn’t like having people make allowances made for him when he was injured. But he didn’t want her pushing to the point of collapse, either!

  Rachel forgot her annoyance as she started reading the reports. In fact, she became so absorbed in the material at hand that it took two tries to get her attention when the afternoon tea arrived. “Miss Na Gael?” the orderly inquired, but she didn’t reply. “Miss Na Gael?” Still no answer.

  Joschka motioned for the corporal to let him by. He dredged the depths of his memory for the correct words, then snapped in Trader “Commander, wake up!”

  That got her attention. She blinked and covered Joschka’s language switch by apologizing to the orderly, “I’m sorry, Corporal. When I get busy I tend to revert to Gaelic.” The soldier accepted her explanation and apology.

  After they finished their light meal, the colonel made certain that the corporal had left, then turned to Rachel. “What have you found?”

  “A problem. The autopsy results are consistent with stroke induced by use of an incompatible psycho-control device. But,” and she ruffled the pages, looking for one bit of information, “and you’ll need to confirm my translation since my technical German is still weak, but what killed them was heart failure. And that matches the trace I picked up from the circuit when I touched it.” The woman stood up and paced a little. “Someone stopped their hearts before the brain damage could kill them, Colonel.”

  Joschka mulled over what she’d said as she walked back and forth. “Someone. Are we talking about that trace of Power that I sensed, Miss Na Gael? Or someone else?”

  “At this moment I can’t say, although I’d lean toward someone else. Again, that’s based on what I picked up from the chips.” The Wanderer didn’t look happy and Joschka didn’t like where this seemed to be heading.

  He tapped on her shields, «Commander, could those chips be used to control a non-human?»

  Her answer reassured him a little. «No. Not those specific chips. You have to know the basic genetic code of the species you’re trying to manipulate, so for example I would be unaffected. Even if someone is half-human, the other half will prevent the device from working. It might kill them, but not allow control.»

  She continued aloud, “I really should see where the bodies were found, Colonel. From there, it might be possible to track back to where the two soldiers had been prior to their deaths.” As she spoke, Major Tom Peters opened the door, listening in.

  “And how would you do that, Miss Na Gael?” he asked, vaguely disappointed that neither of the others seemed surprised at his presence.

  “Comparative mineralogy, Major Peters.” At his questioning look she explained, “Traces of soil and stone were found on the bodies. It is quite possible to compare those sediments with local soil where the soldiers were found, and with samples from the surrounding area. We are lucky, actually.” She smiled at him. “This area has a long history of mining, so there should be records of mineral compositions from almost every valley in the region. If what was on the soldiers doesn’t match where they were found, it is relatively simple to track down where the material on them came from. Time consuming,” she allowed, “but simple.”

  Peters’ jaw had started dropping at her explanation, then snapped shut. “Miss Na Gael, where did you learn that kind of thing?”

  “My training is in the life sciences, Major Peters, but my outside interests include geology and business.” Which was true, Joschka realized, just not quite in the way the man would interpret the statement. Rachel did her best to be polite, harmless, and feminine and Peters responded, softening a little as the Austrian watched.

  “Thank you. I’ll let you get back to your work Miss, Colonel,” and he shut the door behind him. The Wanderer gave him a few seconds and then winked at her friend, who had a sudden coughing fit.

  That evening General Esthergorm caught Joschka after he had taken Miss Na Gael to the pension where she was staying. “Col. von Hohen-Drachenburg, how did you come to know Miss Na Gael?”

  Since they had come up with a mostly-true story, he replied easily, “I learned of her while I was stationed in Vienna and she was attending advanced classes at the University there. A mutual acquaintance introduced us.” Just not when we were in Vienna Joschka thought privately.

  The general seemed troubled about something. “That comment she made about the British was rather odd.”

  “Yes sir, but I would not be surprised if she had indeed worked with them as a consultant. Despite her hot temper, she’s very discreet and serious about her work,” Joschka reassured his superior. “She had just left England when I contacted her, in fact.”

  “That matches her passport. Well, I hope she can help us sort this matter out quickly. Major Peters was making noises this afternoon about our ‘overly methodical’ progress.” Esthergorm didn’t have to say anything more, and he dismissed the colonel.

  The next morning Col. von Hohen-Drachenburg and Miss Rachel Na Gael went to the valley where the two American soldiers had been found. She studied the ground along the roadside and surrounding grassy area with great care as he kept an eye out for “other interested parties,” as she had phrased it. All at once she made an intrigued sound and trotted down the gentle slope to the edge of a small stream. The Wanderer rolled up her sleeve and knelt, then fished something out of the pebbles in the stream, returning to her amused companion with her find.

  “Herr Colonel, you mentioned a curse. Would it have something to do with not crossing running water?” she inquired, holding out an oddly shaped piece of metal.

  Joschka studied her trophy, noting the pattern of fine lines engraved on the surface. He looked around to make certain no one else was in hearing distance. “Not per se. And that’s a micro-engraved circuit board.”

  “Affirmative. One that won’t be used here for another five decades, at least.” She pointed to some fine thread-like wires dangling from the broken edge of the metal. “Not good,” she murmured under her breath.

  Back at the crime scene, Joschka squatted down and poked at the soil with a knife blade. “Miss Na Gael, this doesn’t look like the material found in the victims’ uniforms.”

  Rachel agreed. “No, it doesn’t.” She gazed around the landscape. “But I must say, if one were planning on waking up dead, this is a very nice place to do it in.” They were on the edge of a glacial valley. A few steep-roofed wooden houses clung to the slopes and cattle grazed in the grassy avalanche chutes between stands of pine trees. Fresh snow gleamed on the peak that dominated the scene and the air had a clean, piney scent to it. “And there’s even an opening to the underworld. How convenient,” she mused.

  What on? Oh, and Joschka followed to where she pointed with her cane. He could just see a cave mouth, almost hidden in the trees. He used his binoculars to inspect the entrance and frowned. “Comman, er Miss Na Gael, that shouldn’t be there.” Joschka studied it through the glasses. “No. That’s too clean to be a cave.”

  Rach
el brushed a bit of hair out of her face. “How so, Colonel?”

  He offered her the binoculars. “Here, look, oh,” and he caught himself and flushed a bit. She didn’t help by chuckling at his discomfort, then pulling a monocular out of her satchel. “Look at the edges of the hole, and the ground around the mouth of the ‘cave’.” Joschka told her.

  “Hmmmm.” She did as he ordered. “It appears even and sharp. Like a cave in a geology illustration,” Rachel said.

  “Correct. Not like a natural cavern or a mine should. There are no tailings or fallen rocks outside of the entrance, and the opening’s edges look smooth, not rough. Trust me, Miss Na Gael, I know what a natural cave should be like in this area, and that’s not it,” Joschka assured her.

  “I think we should go see what’s up there,” Rachel suggested, smiling with excitement.

  Her host shook his head. “Not without telling someone and bringing along more people, Miss Na Gael. I don’t trust whatever that is, cave or no.”

  Back at Army Group headquarters they located a detailed geologic map of that particular valley. “No caves,” Rachel observed, tapping the sheet. She skimmed a mineral survey analysis of the area. “No mines, either. Or at least none as of 1935, because there are no commercially valuable minerals, according to the report. Although,” her voice trailed off and she frowned, riffling the pages. «Correction,» she sent privately «no currently valuable minerals. Some of these will be in high demand in a century or so.»

  Joschka left for a moment to take care of some business. When he came back to the office they were borrowing, he found Rachel so lost in thought she might have been in a different galaxy. He tried to get her attention and failed completely.

  Nearly half an hour passed before she returned from whatever universe she’d been wandering. “Miss Na Gael, you’ve got to stay in the here and now,” Joschka chided, trying to hide his growing concern. “Or at least not get so lost in thought we can’t find you.”

  Rachel seemed to be cogitating over something. Then she nodded abruptly, decision made. “Joschka, there is one thing that will penetrate, no matter how distracted or spell-bound I seem. If I give you that will you promise never, ever to tell anyone else?”

  He considered, then agreed. She turned so she could see him clearly. “Use my real name. Rakoji da Kavalle. That will get my attention any when, any where.”

  “Rakoji da Kavalle,” he repeated quietly and she waited, watching his reaction. “It’s pretty. A bit musical,” he said. “And it’s safe with me.” As are you, my friend, he thought to himself.

  “I think I need to consult with Gräfin von Hohen-Drachenburg, if she is amenable,” Rachel said thoughtfully. “And to plumb your knowledge on local folklore.”

  The next morning Rachel awoke to thick fog and an odd feeling in the air. Joschka seemed twitchy, so she didn’t tell him about the person who had been lurking outside the pension the previous evening. Instead, the Wanderer continued her research work while trying not to look over her shoulder too often or too obviously.

  That afternoon Joschka, Major Peters, General Esthergorm, and Miss Na Gael discussed what she had found so far. Joschka had brought the two chips in, after “finding them” at the crime scene the previous day. Apparently the Austrians had not seen fit to inform the Americans about his little discovery and Rachel also kept her mouth shut.

  “The men suffered strokes consistent with an adverse reaction to the attempted implantation of these devices,” Miss Na Gael began, pointing to the two chips. “Roughly an hour later, judging by the autopsy results, a concentrated electrical impulse was used to stop their hearts. That is the cause of death, although one suspects that they would have died anyway from the brain damage, just not nearly as soon. After death, the bodies were relocated to the place where they were found and either the killer or the person who implanted the chips left the scene, crossing the stream near the road at some point in the process.” She finished her outline and waited for the questions.

  Major Peters frowned. “Why stop the hearts if the men were dying anyway?”

  Rachel pursed her lips. “I’m not certain but I would suspect that it was to cover up the brain damage. No, let me correct myself. To limit the brain damage, so it would not be as obvious to a pathologist. Cause of death would then have been reported as simple coronary failure.”

  “And what are those things?” Peters continued.

  Joschka was very curious to hear how Rachel was going to cover herself. She didn’t disappoint. “Are you familiar with transistors and integrated circuits?”

  The pale blond American seemed puzzled at the jump. “Transistors are used in radios and other things, Miss Na Gael. Beyond that, I don’t know much.”

  She smiled. “The radio application is not that far from what these are. They are an unusual form of receiver for radio-type signals that then seem to act as remote controls. Medical experiments have been done with something similar using rodents and trying to control major muscle groups as a way to treat paralysis by bypassing the damaged nerves.” Rachel’s expression darkened and she grew very serious. “It appears a person or persons unknown selected these two soldiers as guinea pigs to test controlling an entire human body. I have heard rumors that a few researchers had advanced the technology to the point where such implants could be devised this small, but those were purely rumors. Until now.”

  General Esthergorm and the other men looked at the chips, and at each other. “Who has this level of technology?” The black-haired general wanted to know.

  “Possibly two labs that I know of in the United States, one in Britain, I assume at least one in the USSR, the French, and perhaps the Japanese through a joint academic project between the University of Tokyo and Cal Tech. These are all civilian,” she cautioned, “so there may be military projects that I’m not aware of.”

  The American frowned darkly. “That sounds just like something the Soviets would do, especially if they have the chance.” He made notes and studied the Austrians’ consultant. “You seem to know a lot about this for a general researcher,” Peters observed with more than a hint of suspicion.

  The edge of Rachel’s mouth twitched and she said quietly, “I’ve developed a rather intense personal interest in neurologic reconstruction over the past few months, sir.”

  General Esthergorm redirected the discussion. “Do we have an idea where these men were before the bodies were moved?”

  Joschka unrolled a map. “Yes, sir. The mineral traces match those found in this valley, here,” and he indicated a spot on the other side of a ridge from where the bodies had been found.

  “Have any of the local people been able to describe who left the bodies?” Peters wanted to know.

  “No. No one we’ve talked to saw anything or heard anything out of the ordinary that night—no vehicle traffic, no strangers, nothing,” Joschka told him.

  The American wasn’t satisfied, but even he had to admit that there wasn’t much else that could be done along that line if the valley residents didn’t know anything. “Can you bring one or two in for more detailed questioning?”

  General Estergorm shook his head. “No, Major. Unless we have a warrant or we find physical evidence connecting one of the civilians to the deaths.”

  Peters looked less and less satisfied. “I don’t like your saying that the Soviets could have this sort of technology,” he told Miss Na Gael. “And to be trying it on American soldiers! That’s an act of war.”

  “It’s an act of war only if it is, indeed, Soviet—a hypothesis for which we have no evidence or proof just yet, Major Peters,” Rachel politely reminded him.

  “Are you defending them?” he demanded.

  “No sir. However, I don’t want to rule out a possible third party, especially if that party is attempting to, as you would put it, frame the Soviets or the Austrians or someone else.” Rachel did her best to pacify the American.

  He snorted and said something under his breath about “women are always
too trusting.” Peters continued briskly, “It seems that this has gone beyond your resources, General Estergorm. I’m going to inform my superiors what you’ve found so they can take proper action.”

  The Austrians winced. “Major Peters, if you insist, I can’t really stop you. But be careful how you phrase your message,” Estergorm cautioned. “I’d hate for there to be an international incident based on a false accusation, one way or another.” The blond hemmed and hawed unhappily but acknowledged the general’s point.

  After more discussion of what had been found and how best to proceed, the meeting came to an end. Joschka was impressed with both Rachel’s managing to keep her temper in check and her covering his and her discoveries and extra knowledge. After General Esthergorm and Major Peters left, Rachel let her guard down a little and Joschka sighed. “He sees almost as many people in the shadows as you do,” the Austrian teased lightly.

  “At least mine are really there! Colonel, I realize that he is supposed to be worried, suspicious, and aggressive, but he’s starting to wear. And whatever’s in the air is not helping...” Rachel’s voice trailed off and her eye narrowed. “Colonel, you mentioned a curse.”

  “Yes. I can’t really translate the full shades of meaning into modern German, but it goes something like ‘Spirits taken, bodies bound, cursed be those who leave these grounds. Power walking, justice face, from the great book be erased’.” As he recited it, Joschka felt a bit of a chill and Rachel did as well, judging by her hunched shoulders. “The book I first read it in claimed that the curse referred to those who volunteered with the Hapsburg, Swedish, or other armies and left the region. It was so difficult to make a living here that the lost labor could starve a family, or so the expert claimed.”

  “You disagree,” Rachel observed, smoothing the hair on the back of her neck.

  He folded his arms, shrugging. “Look at the Swiss and parts of the Tyrol, Miss Na Gael. Extra men had to leave to support their families. And the language doesn’t fit. The word I translated as ‘power’ is not in German, or the local dialect. It’s in an older tongue, one that’s been almost dead for centuries.” Joschka didn’t say what language and Rachel raised an eyebrow but didn’t press him.