At one guard’s upheld hand, Emma stopped the truck mid-way through the gates. The man with the nametag that said Leroy leaned into the open window, brown teeth displaying either poor dental hygiene, a lack of fluoride, or both.
“Thank you for coming, Medicine Woman. The children are sick, we don’t know why.”
“Glad to be of service.” Emma dared not look at Bronco. She was clearly expected. Who told them she was coming? Was it the undercover FBI agent? She thought Bert had kept them out of the loop. “Please show us where to go. I have to unpack my supplies.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Leroy hopped on a three-wheel all-terrain vehicle, an ATV, and led them past a barracks to a smaller wooden outbuilding with a weathered hand-painted sign identifying it as the Clinic hanging over the door. The place looked like something left over from a 1960’s TV Western. He pointed to a parking spot reserved for physicians, and she nosed the truck into the space.
As she climbed out with her bag in hand, an overhead speaker crackled to life. “Attention Aryan women. Bring your sick children to the clinic now.”
Emma turned to Bronco, who had the backpack on his shoulder and said in a low voice, “Let me guess, only Aryan children get treatment.”
He nodded. “Guess so.”
“Leroy,” she said in a louder voice. “Can I get inside, get set up?”
“Yes, it’s open. We don’t lock our doors here. This here is the safest place in the world.”
She doubted that, but chose not to argue the point. “Thank you.” Emma climbed the three steps, her boots clomping loudly on the timber. Bronco followed behind, his boots echoing hers. She opened the door and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room.
Leroy said, “Light switch is over here.” The room glowed with bright light revealing a reception desk, waiting room with chairs, and an open door to what turned out to be an exam room. Despite the antique exterior, everything inside was spotless and dust free. The chrome examination table gleamed, and a counter on the side held jars of tongue depressors, alcohol wipes, and adhesive bandages. An otoscope and ophthalmoscope sat in chargers on the wall and a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, both shiny and new, sat at the side of the counter. She opened drawer after drawer, each of which held organizers and every variety of instrument a physician or nurse practitioner could want. Truth be told, she had no idea what half of these things did.
Leroy stood in the reception room, a worried look on his face. “Is everything to your liking?”
“Yes, it’s beautiful. Where are your camp doctor and nurse? I usually work with Western medicine, not alone.”
“They—um—well, never showed up.” He took his hat off and scratched his head. “We offered a lot of money, too, but nobody would come. That’s why when the Obergruppenführer said he saw you coming in a vision, we were told to make you welcome.”
The Obergruppenführer—Jack—saw her coming? Her heart somersaulted down to her feet and stayed there. They were doomed.
****
Bronco hung back in the waiting room, giving Emma the space and opportunity to establish herself. The woman was a natural, she hadn’t missed a beat. Time to ask a few newbie questions.
“So, tell me Leroy, when do we get to blow things up?”
The multiple gun-toting man favored him with a look reserved for idiots. “You don’t get to do shit until we say so.”
“You sure were happy as hell to see my old lady,” he grumbled putting a hard emphasis on the last two words, as a righteously indignant real man would be.
The man gave him a hard stare. “We need her. Don’t know about you.”
“Man, we just drove all night, all the way from Vegas. We showed you how important this is to us. What else do we need to do?”
The man gave him a rotten toothed grin. “For starters, drop your pants.”
Bronco shrugged. So the jerk wanted to see if he was circumcised. Fine. He did as ordered. “Happy now? Not Jewish.”
Leroy nodded. “Okay. Good start. You can pull ’em up.”
Shaking his head, Bronco wondered what test would be next.
“Open that backpack. I need to see what you’re carrying.”
Oh, this was going to be fun. Not.
“Sure. Just do me a favor and lower your weapon. Don’t want you to shoot my cat by accident.”
The man’s face twisted in derision, and he lowered his weapon with a laugh. “Aww, the big man has a widdle biddy puddy-tat in his bag?”
“Um, sort of.” He unzipped the mesh top. “Come on out, Gaucho.”
In one leap, the bobcat was on Bronco’s shoulder.
Startled, the guard reflexively lifted his rifle.
“Leroy!” Emma’s voice cut through the tension. “That’s my medicine animal. You hurt him and I lose all my power. You sure you want the Obergruppenführer to hear about how you took away my powers?”
The man lowered his rifle. “Sorry, Ma’am, I had no idea—”
“You be sure to tell all your pals if they harm one hair on that cat, they will be hearing from the Obergruppenführer, and not in a good way.” She looked at Bronco. “I need Gaucho with me while I see the children.” She pointed out the door at the front porch.
A line of blonde women in jeans and shearling jackets held pajama-clad children, wrapped in blankets, streamed up the stairs and into the waiting room. At the front of the line stood the woman Bronco had seen during his remote viewing. The twins, so active when he saw them, leaned against her, glassy-eyed, runny-nosed, and lethargic. Behind her children coughed and sneezed, and mothers wiped little noses and stroked small heads.
Bronco handed her the leash, telling the cat to stay at her side. Gaucho chirped, jumped down to the floor, and padded over to Emma.
“What do you want me to do?” Bronco had no idea what was going on, but it didn’t look good.
“Are there any medical records for these children?” Emma asked Leroy.
He shook his head, “It’s the mother’s job to take care of their kids. They’re supposed to keep a diary for each of their kids. Obergruppenführer commands it.”
“Okay, we will need to see each diary so I can get an idea of what to use for treatment.” She lifted her chin at Bronco. “Baby, would you go and collect the diaries please? Start from the back of the line. Leroy, go with him so they know he’s legit.”
Taking his backpack, he went outside, expecting the queue to end at the bottom of the steps. Instead, the line of mothers, toddlers, and infants, streamed down the road in front of the clinic over to the barracks. It had to be a quarter of a mile long. Shaking his head, he walked along the line, murmuring hellos and offering assuring noises to the stricken, weeping mothers. With each step, his heart sank a bit more. Like the twins in the reception room, every child had a runny nose and glassy eyes. Some coughed and sneezed, others were freckled with red spots on their faces and hands. He began to walk faster, practically jogging to the end of the line.
Leroy shouted at the terrified women, “Give this man your diaries. Drop them in his bag. Now. You’ll get them back when you see the doctor.”
Fumbling in pockets, tote bags, and purses, each woman dropped her black composition notebook into his backpack and whispered, “Thank you” as he passed by.
No matter how horrible the belief system of the parents, no child deserved to be without medical care. The sins of the father should not be borne by the children. He knew that first hand. What the hell was going on here? He’d never seen anything like it in his life. Along with many other things, as part of his transition to Homeland Security his training had included identifying the presence of germ warfare. Had his crazy brother been testing biological weapons on his own people? On babies and children? How could he do this to his followers?
Backpack filled to the brim, he raced along the line back up the stairs and into the reception room. Leaning the backpack against a wall, he stacked the last notebooks on top of the teetering pile. Emma motioned to Bronco
to come inside the exam room. In a low voice she said, “Are your immunizations up to date?”
“Yes, I’ve got everything for germ warfare, including cholera. You thinking biological warfare, too?”
She shook her head, smiled at the mother with the twins, and said, “I just need to take a look at your diary.” She plucked the top notebook off the pile, began flipping through the pages, set it down and went on to the next one, then the next.
“No,” she said in a low voice. “Not warfare. Bad decisions. It appears these children have never received measles, mumps, or rubella vaccinations—or immunizations of any kind.”
“What—is that even legal?” He struggled to keep his voice down. The idea of not immunizing a child in this era was mind-boggling. “How is that possible?”
“My guess is these women do whatever the Obergruppenführer commands—including not seeing doctors outside the compound.” She turned to the woman with the twins. “Now, I need to start bringing in the children and figuring out what we can do.”
Bronco stepped aside and smiled at the blonde woman who seemed so familiar.
Emma said, “Your name please?”
The blonde threw her shoulders back and said with pride, “Frau Obergruppenführer, the SS leader’s wife.” She stepped into the exam room with the twins, closed the door and gripped Emma’s hand with both of hers. “Tell me now, what do you plan to do about this measles outbreak?”
Chapter Fifteen
After placing the sniffing, sneezing twins on the exam table, Emma motioned to the woman to take a seat in the only chair in the exam room. “Frau Obergruppenführer—”
“Call me Eva. It is the name I was given when I joined the American SS, a symbol of my rebirth in the movement.”
“Eva.” What a disgusting homage. Was her maiden name Braun? “Why do you think this is a measles outbreak?”
“Did you see the kids? Before I joined the SS, I was a registered nurse, worked at St. Vic’s in Billings. Textbook signs and symptoms.”
“Okay, I agree it looks like measles.” She glanced at Bronco. “Any idea where these kids would get it? It looks like none have been immunized, is that correct?”
Eva nodded. “Yes, Jack was quite adamant. Said it caused autism. I tried to argue with him.” She shook her head. “That’s the day I learned not to disagree with him. Fortunately, he only broke my arm. I was able to set it myself, get it to heal properly, a little awkward given I was pregnant with the twins.”
Sickened, Emma checked to see if she heard correctly. “He beat you while you were pregnant?”
Face blazing, Eva stared at the floor and whispered, “Yes.”
Emma took her hand. “That’s classic domestic violence. You know that, right?”
Eva looked up, and a tear trickled down her cheek. “I was such a fool. Two years ago I met Jack at a political rally for a local candidate. I didn’t care about politics, I was there working the first aid tent, earning some extra cash. Jack and a couple of other men brought in an older man who fainted. It was hot as blazes, so no surprise.”
Emma squeezed her hand.
“He was so handsome, so caring to that elderly man, so charming to me.” Eva shook her head. “Fool that I am, I fell for him. He asked me to come here. I quit my job, sold everything, gave him all my money.” She shook her head and the trickle of tears became a flood. “His men watch me like hawks. He uses the boys as pawns, threatens to take them away from me if I even look like I’m thinking of disobeying him. Please don’t say anything. If he knows I told you all this—he’ll kill me.”
Seething inside at the abuse this woman had endured, Emma vowed to free Eva as soon as she could. “What you tell me is confidential.”
Eva flicked the tears off her face and took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
Emma kept a poker face. “So, no immunizations for the kids. What about the adults?”
“They’ve come from all over the country, so my guess is they had vaccinations. This is the only outbreak we’ve had in ten years.”
“How many adults are in this community?”
“Aryans?”
“Yes.” Emma bit her tongue.
Eva looked to the left, a good sign she was telling the truth. “About five hundred. But the compound is built to hold two-thousand. With the Internet, they’ve been able to increase recruitment efforts, so Jack anticipates more coming.” She frowned. “Like you.”
“Other than us—who are immunized, by the way—any other new people in the community?”
Eva frowned. “Asians—slaves Jack brought in to do the dirty work on the compound.”
“Um-hmm.” Now they were getting somewhere. “What kind of work?”
“They clean the houses, watch the children at daycare, take care of the horses, and serve food in the dining hall—that sort of thing.” She glanced back and forth between Emma and Bronco. “Why?”
“How did they come here, if I may ask?”
“I’m not sure how they got here from Asia. They came in the trucks from Canada.”
“Did anyone check to see if they had been immunized before they got off the trucks and began to work?” Disease didn’t respect global boundaries or political beliefs. Most likely the trafficked victims brought measles with them when they got on the boat and headed to Canada.
Eva shrugged. “Jack never tells me anything that’s not related to my assignments. My job is to work on the Internet, keep our website up to date, help recruit members, and keep the money coming in.”
Emma weighed her words with care. “Frau Obergruppenführer—Eva—I need your help. I have no cell service here, I need you to get me on your computer so I can contact the appropriate medical personnel for help.” The satellite phone in the truck was not appropriate at this time. She needed to co-opt Eva, get the woman to do her bidding.
Panic crossed her face, and Eva opened her mouth to protest, but Emma continued.
“You’re a nurse. You know what happens after the runny nose, fever, and rash. Next comes respiratory distress and ultimately, brain infections which can lead to brain damage. Without proper medical care, kids can die from this.” She pointed at the twins. “Do you really want to see your babies suffocate to death or have seizures and die in your arms?”
Tears filled the blonde’s big blue eyes. “But Jack―”
“Are you prepared to go out there and tell every desperate mother standing in line that they must sacrifice their child for the SS?” Struggling to keep her emotions in check, Emma took a deep breath.
“He can be so mean. I used to love him, but he’s gotten worse, crazier since I had the twins. I’m afraid he’ll really hurt me this time—or the boys.”
“Do you love your children?”
“Yes.” Tears streamed down Eva’s cheeks. “Very much. That’s why I’m here today, to help them.”
“What children will the Obergruppenführer have for the new world order if they go untreated? Some will survive. But many will die or be brain damaged. Will you be able to live with yourself knowing you could have done something?”
The blonde put her face in her hands and sobbed. “What do you want me to do?”
“Let me have access to the Internet. I will do everything I can to keep public officials away from the compound. They can tell us what to do and drop supplies at the front gate. Please, allow me to help you, that’s why I’m here.”
“Okay, but not now. It will have to be later, when all these people are gone.” She gripped Emma’s hand again. “Jack has eyes everywhere. Snitches like Leroy get rewarded.”
“Allow me.” Emma opened the exam room door and stepped out in the waiting room. Rocking their sick children, the mothers looked up expectantly. “Listen up, please,” she said in a loud clear voice. “We have a measles outbreak.”
A collective gasp filled the room and anxious, chirping voices sent the message down the line.
“First, you must all go home and keep your children isolated from other c
hildren. No one, and I mean no one is to go in or out of your home unless they have been vaccinated against measles.” She took a deep breath. “This is a highly contagious disease. When your child coughs, the droplets are left floating in the room and are infectious for up to two hours.”
She turned to Leroy, whose eyes were bugging out of his head. “Two hours?”
“Were you vaccinated against measles, Leroy?”
“I dunno. I don’t think so.”
“Then you can catch it, too.”
His face drained of color. “I’m feeling a little feverish, now that you mention it.” The rifle slipped out of his hand, and he fell to the floor in a dead faint.
Well, that was easy.
“Go home. Isolate your children. Give them lots of fluids. If you have children’s acetaminophen, use it. If not, I will be coming house to house and bring medicines to you. I repeat, go home and isolate your children.”
The orderly line, which had bunched up around the porch to hear her announcement, was now an unhappy, unruly crowd. A heavy set woman shouted at her, “Why should we believe you? You’re not Aryan.”
“Please, you need to listen to me. Your children’s lives, your lives depend on taking these measures.”
The women exchanged uneasy glances, but the mouthy one didn’t relent. “On whose say so?”
Gaucho padded onto the porch and sat by her feet. The pack moved back two steps. Bronco came up behind her and murmured, “Eva is right behind you.”
“Frau Obergruppenführer, would you like to say a few words?” Emma stepped aside for the woman to come through with her babies.
“My husband foresaw Emma Bearkiller’s arrival. She is a powerful medicine woman. If you disobey her, I will report you to my husband. Now, do as she says. Go home, isolate your children and take care of them.” She clicked her heels, gave a Nazi salute, and said, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. Sieg heil!”
Heels clicked, arms saluted, and a chorus of Sieg heils responded to Eva’s shout.
Emma thought she would never live to see this on the land of her ancestors. It was all she could do not to vomit as she joined the chorus and saluted.
Legacy of Evil Page 15