by D. E. Daum
So far, the gunplay had not aroused any curiosity in the meeting place, probably because the walls were so thick and the building was soundproofed. Jane could not count on that indefinitely, so she decided to move forward and they entered the toxins into building’s the ventilation system. Once done they had twenty minutes to administer the antidote to those to be saved. The problem was she could not get near the entrance past the machine gun emplacement. She decided she and Evans would find another entrance. They were on the far side of the building from the gun emplacement, free to move with relative impunity, that is until they ran into a couple of guys who earlier had been in one of the unchecked buildings or were missed guards and came to check on the gunfire. They fired on Evans just as he was about to descend some stairs, sending his assault rifle flying. Evans was between Jane and the assailants, and she was able to get a shot off before they could shoot her. One of the assailants screamed and went down. The other ducked behind the corner.
Evans’ right forearm was bloody. The bullet missed the bone and seemed to have passed through. Jane hustled out from the stairwell and retrieved Evan’s rifle. As she dove back into the alcove a bullet hit the wall beside her. Jane got on the walkie-talkie to the snipers one at a time and asked each what he could see. The first two were not in a position to see the machine gun position, but the last one could. Unfortunately, the castle partially blocked off those manning the emplacement. Jane suggested that the sniper fire toward the position, to see if they would turn in his direction and become visible. Jane heard one shot, then fifteen seconds later two more shots and a big yahoo in her two-way radio. She heard what sounded like a body hitting the ground, then she heard a burst of fire next to her, the other assailant fell into the stairwell. Evans said loudly, “Got careless didn’t you?”
They heard more gunfire from the entrance of the building. Jane needed to get inside if she was going to save anyone. The door was locked, that is until a couple of nine-millimeter bullets crashed into the lock. Evans tried to use his left shoulder to bust through the door, but he was too weak from his wound. Jane wasn’t big, but she was mighty. She gave a swift kick, and the door banged in. They put on their gas masks and entered. They could still hear shots, but there was no one in sight.
* * * *
Kelly thought, “Shit!” as a fourth member of his platoon was shot. Why hadn’t they known of the machine gun nest? It must be new, or perhaps it isn’t manned unless an event is going on. A passenger truck burst forth from between buildings two and three, followed by a second and a third. Kelly couldn’t see how many men were in the trucks, but it didn’t matter, they were trying to escape. The plan did not provide for escapees. He stepped out of the doorway firing a burst, from his Barret 82A1 50 Cal. automatic rifle at the trailing truck. Kelly didn’t see what happened, for he was in the sights of the machine gun and had to duck into the doorway. However, he did see the reflection of a big flash and heard the following explosion. He wasn’t going to get a chance to take out the first two trucks. Hopefully, Rulan and his honor guard would handle that.
Kelly figured there were probably other entrances to the castle, but it was huge and he didn’t want to get lost. There were four commandos down in the motor court, and he wanted to give them as much cover as possible. Kelly had heard Jane talking to the snipers. Three shots rang out, and the machine gunners were down. Kelly sent some of his men to help the wounded commandos into the castle barracks. He and the rest of his group went to back up the commandos who remained hidden near the meeting hall entrance. The entrance to the meeting hall was eight feet below ground level down a flight of steps. There were multiple doors and as he got into place, several men in a panic were pushing through the door. Some had guns, and most were coughing violently. Some could barely walk. Some fell down and didn’t move, but the strange thing was, half of them were naked.
* * * *
Rulan was prepared for the escaping trucks, because Kelly had called ahead to warn him. As they got within a hundred yards, they would go over the tire shredders. Rulan knew that would be their opportunity. If the occupants got out, he had forty men to gun them down. If they kept coming, with flat tires, then they had RPGs—rocket-propelled grenades—and other heavy ordinance. The first vehicle came to a stop about sixty feet short of their location. Two Nazis were cut down when they got out firing. The others in the truck continued forward, flat tires and all. They knew they were in trouble, and headed for Rulan’s position. If they could ram through, they wouldn’t be able to drive very far but they might be able to get out without being shot, and make a run for it. As they plowed on, two men with RPGs stepped forward. The truck and its occupants never had a chance. The truck blew apart so violently that a few of the trees caught on fire. Strangely, the burning carcass started moving toward them like the Terminator in the gas station scene. What was going on? Rulan realized that the vehicle behind it must be pushing the burning husk to clear it out of the way, so they could escape. There was a crack, and a tree branch fell on a couple of his men. A heavy caliber machine gun started firing through the flames, and three of his men were hit. They were sitting ducks. When the trailing vehicle had successfully moved the burning husk out of the way, Rulan saw the extent of his problem. It was no ordinary vehicle, but a half-track, armored personnel carrier. They had nothing with which to take the measure of this unexpected vehicle. All they could do was scatter and let it pass.
Luckily, Starbird had provided for this contingency. As the armored personal carrier continued down the road to apparent freedom, it ran into a wire strung between two trees, causing a large detonation. Rulan kept his fingers crossed that it worked. The vehicle appeared to be unharmed, except its left track was blown off. It was effectively disabled. The driver made a mistake. He tried to drive with the broken track, which made the half-track go only in a circle. Soon it was off the road on steep terrain, and then tipped over. The driver lost control and it slid down the hill toward a stream, coming to rest sideways in the water. Three occupants exited the vehicle into the freezing mountain stream and walked shivering with their hands up toward their captors. Rulan had taken the operation’s first prisoners.
* * * *
Evans and Jane entered near the rear of the building. They would have to check the lower levels later. For now, the main level would suffice. The meeting hall was in the front of the building. They began checking the meeting rooms. The first two in the farthest reaches of the building were empty. In the third room, they found a dead naked man and two naked females. One was still breathing, so Jane gave her a shot. In the next room were four naked men and women, all dead. The next room had three men and Valerie, all naked. Valerie was barely breathing, and Jane gave her the antidote. One of the men, Helmut Engstrom, was on the list and still alive. He also got the antidote. Two more rooms yielded six naked men and three partially naked girls, one of each still alive. Jane saved the woman and let the man die. It was now obvious, that the Nazis were having a giant orgy for their closing ceremony. Jane said, “And these depraved guys want to rule the world!” The next room was different. It was set up like a house of torture, containing three men, all trussed up and naked. One rough-looking girl was dressed in a black leather dominatrix outfit. They were all dead.
They got to the main meeting hall. Kelly and others were tending the injured. There were three or four hundred men and women, some fully dressed, some partially dressed, and the rest naked. She would never forget the sight. Kelly, who also had a kit, had revived several women and a couple of men. The larger room had kept the toxin from taking effect quickly. Jane called Rulan and asked how it went. He told her about the close call and the casualties. She said they all had casualties and then asked him to bring up a half-dozen trucks. Jane caught Kelly’s eye and waved him over.
Kelly looked very sad and asked, “I had no idea, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” She smirked and followed with, “I guess we caught them with their pants down.”
It
was Kelly’s turn to smile now. “What is this? Gallows humor? Better keep the necrophiliacs out of here! I must admit, I feel real great.”
“Well, don’t feel too great. Valerie’s back in one of the meeting rooms. She’s alive, but she’s in bad shape.”
Kelly took off running. When he found her, Valerie was unconscious, her breathing shallow. He had an oxygen tank with him and He put the oxygen mask over her face. She opened her eyes, looked at Kelly inquisitively, and passed out. Kelly put his coat over Valerie, picked her up, and carried her to the front. He found Jane and asked, “Do you think we could get a medivac chopper to take Valerie and the others out?”
“Doubtful, but I’ll try.”
Jane came back after a few minutes and said, “Dickens has been monitoring our operation. He’s ordered a helicopter out of Ramstein. It should be here in twenty minutes.”
“Super, Jane! Thank you and thank the Colonel for me, too.”
“Just take care of her. She may be a bitch, but pervert bastards brought her up. She saved Mariam and maybe you, as well. We owe her.”
Chapter 3
Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Kelly insisted upon going along with Valerie and two other patients on the helicopter. The rest of the prisoners would be driven to Ramstein and questioned. Valerie had not regained consciousness. Kelly wondered if she had recognized him when she opened her eyes.
He kept a vigil at the infirmary. The doctor indicated he had done all he could for the young lady and it was up to God now. Kelly just could not sit down. They were able to save thirty of the pleasure girls, but Valerie was near death. Why couldn’t they save her as well? He went outside and started wandering around, never straying too far from the infirmary. Back inside, he checked on the other patients. There were three other girls and two neo-Nazis under care, none as critical as Valerie. Suddenly the loudspeaker blared, “Room A24, Code Blue. Room A24, Code Blue. Soon doctors nurses and technicians were running toward…My God it’s Valerie’s room. Kelly rushed to her room, but wasn’t allowed in. Finally when the emergency had abated, he was allowed in. Re-entering the room Kelly discovered Valerie had stopped breathing and a tracheotomy was necessary. She was now breathing mechanically.
As the doctor was leaving the room, Kelly asked the doctor why all of the other people who had been given the antidote to the toxin recovered while Valerie had not. The doctor said he wasn’t sure, but there was a large quantity of tranquilizers in her blood and perhaps that had inhibited the antidote or possibly caused an adverse reaction with the gas. He speculated it was her way of handling the depravity of the night’s circumstances or conceivably, if she had been trying to commit suicide.
* * * *
Colonel Dickens and Jane were interrogating the prisoners in an improvised detention and interview area within an abandoned and off-limits hangar. It was imperative they find out as much as they could about the two nuclear devices. Any method necessary to obtain the required information was acceptable. They’d saved or captured twenty-four of the neo-Nazis and managed to save two of the Nazi hierarchy’s top men, the sadistic Rudolf Eckert and Helmut Engstrom. Conspicuous by their absence were Dieter Bosch and Johann Hitler, either the leader or the figurehead of the nascent Nazi movement. He was not located among the dead or the captured, so obtaining his location would be secondary only to the warheads.
Dickens and Jane had interrogated three lower level men without success. They had Eckert brought in. They knew from conversations with Kelly that he spoke English, so they sent the interpreter away. Eckert was an imperious, bull of a man. They chained him to the floor and to the arms of his chair. Eckert had a sneer on his face, which Jane wanted to wipe off. There would be time for that.
“So you are American swine,” said Eckert. “You have won a great victory, but you will not prevail. Our victory is assured. It has been foretold by our Fuhrer.”
Dickens walked over to Eckert and without saying a word, punched him in the breadbasket as hard as he could, knocking the breath out of him and making him gasp for air. “Just so you don’t get the wrong idea about who’s is in charge,” said Dickens. “We are after information on two things and only two things. Where are the nuclear bombs you have? Where is your so-called Fuhrer? The sooner you tell us that, the more intact and quicker you will be able to return to your cell.”
Surprisingly, Eckert said, “What’s in it for me?”
Jane remembered this asshole. Here is the S.O.B. who took Valerie’s virginity and brainwashed her and other girls through puberty. Eckert is a pig. After one punch to the gut, he’s seeing if he can make a deal! A cockroach! Jane spoke up. “Rudolf Eckert, right?” He nodded. “For starters, you won’t have to be tortured. You will return to your cell. You look like a survivor. If you cooperate, you may manage to live out your life somewhere and in one piece.”
“Ha, I know better. You are Americans. You are weak. You don’t have the stomach to do what needs to be done. I spit on you.” Thereupon, he spit at both interrogators.
Dickens was not a particularly large man, but strong, versed in martial arts. He walked to Eckert, grabbed a part of his neck from behind. Eckert screamed and passed out. After Jane put smelling salts under his nose, he came around. He was dazed. Jane gave him a moment, then asked, “Do you remember where you are?” Again, he nodded “Well Eckert, what is your rank?”
“I’m a colonel.”
“Well, Colonel, just so you know, you are not really here, and neither are we. This is not an official United States operation. You are, in fact, a prisoner of a rogue operation, and your continued heath depends on our good will, and only on our good will. As a sign of my good will . . .” Jane grabbed Eckert’s left hand, Pinned it on the table and took out her combat knife,
Eckert’s evil grin faded. “What are you going to do?”
Jane didn’t answer him. Instead she set the sharp knife across his little finger. Holding his hand firm she put all of her weight upon the knife.
“No, No. no,” he begged.
Blood began to flow from the cut as she applied pressure. Then, all of a sudden, Thuunk! His pinky jumped from his hand, sending blood across the table.
“Yeooow . . . You bitch!” he yelled.
“That’s me, a rip-snortin’ bitch with a capital B and I just love dismembering misogynist pricks. Speaking of pricks, I’ll be saving yours for last, but that’s enough for now. I don’t want you to go into shock, so we’ll interview one of your confederates next. Perhaps he’ll be more cooperative. I’ll be able to work on you at my pleasure.”
“What did you mean, misogynist?”
“I mean I know all about your treatment of young girls. Deflowering them yourself at nine or so, brainwashing them to be party hacks, and training them to be party whores. I will delight in exacting some measure of revenge for these girls. Colonel Dickens, I’m done with him for now. Call the guards.”
“Wait! If I tell you what you want, how do I know that you won’t hurt me?”
It’s always the bullies who are the easiest to crack. She said, “You don’t. You have to trust me.”
Dickens spoke up, “I’m her commanding officer. You give us the information we want. If it’s accurate, I’ll see to it that no one touches you.”
“And you will let me go free. You must let me go free.”
“No deal, scumbag. Guard, take this piece of shit back to his cell and bring Engstrom.”
“Wait, wait! You‘re making a mistake. Helmut doesn’t know what you want. Wait, I tell you, wait ”
* * * *
Kelly was wearing a hole in the vinyl flooring. He finally sat down and tried to read a magazine. He tried for a few minutes when Evans came in.
“The Colonel sent me to see if you would like to help interrogate some of the prisoners.”
“I can’t, I need to stay here to watch over Valerie. Maybe I can help her somehow.”
“Why bother? She’s just a German whore –”
Kelly
was at his throat in an instant.
Evans dropped his hands and said, “Whoa – partner. I didn’t mean anything.”
Regaining control of his emotions Kelly released some of the pressure on Evan’s collar, but didn’t let go. “Let me tell you something. I’m going to forget what you said because you don’t know her history. She is just as much a victim of the National Socialist Party as any victim of the Nazis. They raped Valerie when she was only nine, trained her to be a sex slave, indoctrinating her as a Nazi and passing her around to members of the party. If she displeased her trainer, she was given to the rank and file, where she was gang-raped.”