Odessa Strikes
Page 2
The Third Reich may have ended but the possibility of a Fourth Reich is held in the hearts of many ancestors of the Nazis.
Hatred doesn’t die with its leader.
Thank you for reading the Odessa trilogy.
Bobby
Author’s Note about Gunner Fox and the Gray Fox Team
June 13, 2019
Major Gunner Fox, United States Air Force special operator and experimental aircraft test pilot had paid his dues. He’d performed beyond the call of duty when his country needed him. He’d suffered emotionally when his wife, Heather, a NASA astronaut, died during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. He found himself in a dark place after her death, without a reason to live.
Until America needed a hero. A previously undiscovered asteroid was on a collision course with Earth. It was deemed to be a planet-killer, a near-Earth object equal in size and destructive capability as the one that brought the dinosaurs to extinction.
In a time of desperation, America turned to Gunner and his fellow operatives, Major Cameron “Cam” Mills and Lieutenant Barrett “Bear” King. Major Mills, a childhood friend and the person who introduced Gunner to Heather, has always been by his side. She attended special forces training with Bear and the duo offered the perfect complement to Gunner’s advanced training, special skills, and vast knowledge obtained during his college years when he received his degree in the earth sciences.
During the asteroid mission, Gunner, Cam and Bear become reacquainted with Colonel Gregory Smith, Gunner’s mentor while he went through SERE – Air Force Special Warfare training at the AFSOC facility in the Florida panhandle. Col. Smith left the Air Force to join DARPA, the secretive government agency falling under the Department of Defense budget. He was always referred to by his DOD codename: Ghost.
After the success of the asteroid mission, Ghost was instructed to build a team around Gunner Fox. He brought on FBI Special Agent Theodora “Teddy” Cuccinelli because of her expert computer skills. Her abilities to access virtually any server or computer system earned her the moniker—Jackal. She acts as the eyes and ears for Gunner, Cam, and Bear when they are on a mission.
Ghost was tasked with naming this new team and he chose Gray Fox. In the early eighties, a new special operations force was created under the purview of the Joint Special Operations Command of the U.S. Army. Known as Intelligence Support Activity, or simply, The Activity, their role was to gather intelligence prior to special operations and to deploy assets to handle covert, off-the-books missions.
Over many decades, The Activity deployed specialized units into a variety of ops under codenames including Gray Fox. During the War in Afghanistan, Gray Fox fought alongside Delta Force in the mountains against the Taliban. Their unit spearheaded the search for Saddam Hussein and his family during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Gray Fox unit was mothballed for nearly twenty years until it was revived by Ghost to be led by Gunner Fox.
Gunner, Cam, and Bear would stand in front of a speeding train for one another. When called to duty, the repeat the secretive motto of The Activity, they’d reply—send me. They have each other’s six and are committed to their team’s motto:
Day by day.
Minute by minute.
Ride or die.
We stick together.
Real-World News Excerpts
MORE THAN A DOZEN EUROPEAN BILLIONAIRES—LINKED TO BMW, L’OREAL, BOSCH, AND OTHERS—HAVE FAMILIES WITH PAST NAZI TIES
~ Forbes, April 2, 2019
Last week, the German billionaire Reimann family, whose JAB Holdings owns Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread and Pret a Manger, admitted to profiting from, and taking part in, Nazi abuses and slave labor during the Nazi regime.
The family was far from alone in participating in Nazi activities or profiting from the Nazi regime. More than a dozen European billionaires and their families whose business roots predate World War II—including Kuehne and Nagel’s Klaus Michael Kuehne and Knorr-Bremse AG’s Heinz Hermann Thiele—had ties to Nazism through contracts, slave labor, the appropriation of stolen goods or other means.
Many of these billionaire companies openly acknowledge, and apologize, for those ties, though monetary responses are rarer.
FORD AND GM SCRUTINIZED FOR ALLEGED NAZI COLLABORATION
~ Washington Post, November 30, 1998
Three years after Swiss banks became the target of a worldwide furor over their business dealings with Nazi Germany, major American car companies find themselves embroiled in a similar debate.
Like the Swiss banks, the American car companies have vigorously denied that they assisted the Nazi war machine or that they significantly profited from the use of forced labor at their German subsidiaries during World War II. But historians and lawyers researching class-action suits on behalf of former prisoners of war are busy amassing evidence of collaboration by the automakers with the Nazi regime.
THE ROLE OF SWISS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE PLUNDER OF EUROPEAN JEWRY
~ Institute of the World Jewish Congress, Jerusalem, 1996
Switzerland's reputation as a neutral safe-haven during World War 11 has been badly tarnished by recent revelations about its wartime transactions with Germany. What began as an examination of the dormant bank accounts of Holocaust victims has gained momentum to include the whole gamut of Swiss financial dealings with the Nazis. In recent months a vast amount of incriminating documentation has been unearthed that reveals the sinister side of Swiss "neutrality".
Switzerland served as a repository for Jewish capital smuggled out of Nazi Germany and the states threatened by it, and also for vast quantities of gold and other valuables plundered from Jews and others all over Europe. Right up until the end of the war, Switzerland laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen assets, including gold taken from the central banks of German-occupied Europe.
At the war's end Switzerland successfully resisted Allied calls to restitute these funds, and in the Washington Agreement of 1946 the Allies contented themselves with acceptance of a mere 12% of the stolen gold.
WHY ARGENTINA ACCEPTED NAZI WAR CRIMINALS AFTER WWII
~ ThoughtCo, January 22, 2020
After World War Two, thousands of Nazis and wartime collaborators from France, Croatia, Belgium and other parts of Europe were looking for a new home: preferably as far away from the Nuremberg Trials as possible. Argentina welcomed hundreds if not thousands of them: the Juan Domingo Perón regime went to great lengths to get them there, sending agents to Europe to ease their passage, providing travel documents, and in many cases covering expenses.
Even those accused of the most heinous crimes, such as Ante Pavelic (whose Croatian regime murdered hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies), Dr. Josef Mengele (whose cruel experiments are the stuff of nightmares) and Adolf Eichmann (Adolf Hitler's architect of the Holocaust) were welcomed with open arms. It begs the question: Why on Earth would Argentina want these men?
Contents
Epigraph
Für meine Mutter. Ich liebe dich!
Das folgende beruht auf wahren begebenheiten
The Oath
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part II
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Part III
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Part IV
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Epilogue
THANK YOU FOR READING ODESSA STRIKES!
New Madrid Excerpt
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Epigraph
“Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA – ordinary citizens don’t need guns, as their having guns doesn’t serve the State.”
~ Heinrich Himmler, early 1940s
“Bioterrorism is like earthquakes; you should think in order of magnitudes. If you can kill 10 people that's a one, 100 people that's a two. Bioterrorism is the thing that can give you not just sixes, but sevens, eights and nines.”
~ Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder
“Chemical weapons are something that scares everybody.”
~ King Abdullah II of Jordan
“People start getting scared. They’ll allow anything. Goodbye, freedom. Hello, Third Reich.”
~ Lewis Michener, fictional character, Showtime’s Penny Dreadful
Choose Freedom!
~ Author Bobby Akart
Für meine Mutter. Ich liebe dich!
Das folgende beruht auf wahren begebenheiten
The following is based on a true story.
The Oath
The following oath was repeated by millions leading up to World War II. Most of them meant it. Many did not.
Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid,
daß ich dem Führer des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes
Adolf Hitler, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht,
unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will,
jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.
I swear to God this holy oath
that I shall render unconditional obedience
to the Leader of the German Reich and people,
Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces,
and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared
to give my life for this oath.
Prologue
Years Past
Youth State Summer Camp
Catskill Mountains
Near Kingston, New York
The Catskill Mountains in New York were defined by abandonment. The seventeenth-century colony known as New Netherland gradually disappeared, leaving historic buildings to fall into ruin. Those who moved into the area as New York City grew into the largest metropolis in America were mainly lumbermen and farmers. Over time, Rust Belt factories grew upon the banks of the Hudson River, only to be rebranded as distilleries or left to disintegrate. Even the hospitality industry that had defined the Catskills for the past century fell into shambles.
The Catskills had become the playground of the wealthy from New York City to Connecticut. Historic buildings, including churches, were converted into second homes to be used a few weeks out of the year. Small towns along the Hudson River struggled to maintain their identity as the big-city interlopers rolled in to visit periodically.
Eventually, this charming part of New York State became focused on securing its share of the almighty tourist dollar, leaving its historic nature behind. Hudson, Saugerties, and Kingston became exits off Interstate 87 for politicos traveling from the Big Apple to Albany, the New York State capital.
There was one annual event held near Kingston every summer since 1935 that was not designed to attract tourist revenue. It was known as the Youth State Summer Camp, and its purpose was to create and identify future leaders. Ivy League academia was praised for churning out U.S. presidents and corporate CEOs. However, for over a hundred years, Youth State was acknowledged as the breeding ground, if you will, of the most powerful future leaders of America.
It was a national program put on annually in forty-nine states, except Hawaii. Participants applied to camps and were put through a rigorous selection process. The most qualified and those with contacts were chosen for states like New York. The young boys and girls who didn’t make the cut of the upper echelon of Youth State Summer Camp programs were relegated to less desirable camps located in the Northern Rockies.
Youth State simulated the political and financial operations of a small country for a two-week period each summer. Brilliant and socially connected high schoolers were selected to form a government, wage political campaigns, hold elections, and taught to commit the occasional dirty trick. Others, who were financially inclined, were tasked to head multinational corporations. Their role was to interact with those in political power to benefit their financial goals.
Social interaction was considered an integral aspect of the simulation. A financier’s roommate could one day be the politician raising taxes or holding the purse strings in Congress. Through the years, lifelong friendships and contacts were made between the attendees.
Some of the more noteworthy New York participants in the past included President Bill Clinton, Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Outside of politics, Apple’s Tim Cook took part in Alabama, and renowned basketball player Michael Jordan attended in North Carolina one summer.
The invited observers at Youth State, as they were known, were every bit as important as the young attendees. Imagine college football recruiters at a high school game. They’re looking for players with the right physical characteristics, a high football IQ, and good academics. They’ll also review the player’s social media accounts to get a feel for the player’s character and work ethic.
The observers, who came from both political circles and the world of high finance, studied the attendees at Youth State to identify future leaders. Great leaders were passionate about their vision for the future. They had a strong sense of mission and purpose. They were passionate and fiercely dedicated to carrying out their vision.
Their communication skills had to be second to none. Inspirational people led with optimism and empathy, whether real or contrived. Make no mistake, the great communicators of our time were selling something. Whether it be a product or a political ideology, communicators had to be convincing to get people to respond.
At each Youth State Summer Camp in every participating state since 1946, Odessa was present, as were their children. They had to evaluate their own against the future leaders of America. They looked for strengths and weaknesses. They identified potential pairings. Who would be good political allies in the future? Which ones would be viable business partners? Were there potential arranged marriages to spread Odessa’s reach into the mainstream of American finance and politics?
Over many decades, Odessa made good use of their attendance at Youth State. Years ago, Sophia Jorgensen’s father had identified Remy Weber as a worthy suitor for his attractive fifteen-year-old daughter. Weber’s pedigree as the nephew of famed international financier György Schwartz, of Katonah, New York, would enable the Jorgensen family to insert themselves into one of the most powerful geopolitical forces in the world.
Another individual caught the eye of old man Jorgensen that summer. Jon Taylor was the son of the governor of New York. Born in New York City, he was brash and cocky. He was fiercely passionate about the political ideology he’d adopted from his father. He and Remy Weber were also inseparable.
Sophia’s father was an astute judge of character, just like his grandfather before him—Heinrich Himmler. He charted a path for his granddaughter’s life that included a courtship and marriage to Remy Weber. A rise
up the political ranks of American government partnered with Jon Taylor. The end result was Sophia being married to the man who was the most trusted confidant of the President of the United States at a time when America was about to be brought to her knees.
Part I
The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.
~ Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor, AD 121–180
Chapter One
Present Day