The Time Portal 5: The Nazi

by Joe Corso

  As soon as the door to Kelb’s office closed behind him, Lucky created a portal to take him to where Nicky and Dukie were being held.

  While recovering from serious head and brain trauma after an assassination attempt perpetrated by Dirk Sommerville, Lucky’s boss at the time, he discovered, when he recovered from his injuries, that his vision, although terribly impaired, allowed him to see the life force emanating from every animate and inanimate object. Somehow, circuits had been crossed in his brain during surgery that enabled a unique ability in his consciousness, which allowed him to see portals, that allowed him to travel in time, but he could only travel to where the portals took him. It was when the billionaire Vlad Koros captured Lucky and had him imprisoned, that it changed. Vlad secretly hedged his bet and hired a firm that specialized in black ops, and during Lucky’s visit to Koros’s castle, they kidnapped the unconscious princess, and unknown to Lucky and Mickey, they flew her to the castle while the two men were being entertained. The boys said no to Vlad’s request to take him to see his ancestor and they were about to leave, but Koros stopped them, and asked them to come with him. He said that he had something to show them that would interest them.

  Lucky was shocked to see the unconscious princess lying on the bed with bottles hanging from a stainless steel stand and liquids dripping into her system primarily to medicate her, but also as a safety precaution to keep her unconscious and unaware of being in the future. Koros succeeded in coercing Lucky into creating a portal to take him to see his ancestor Vlad the Impaler of Dracula legend, with the unspoken threat of harming the princess.

  When Lucky was in the 12th Century, and he saw how sick the princess was; he knew she’d die if she didn’t get modern medical treatment. So he told Mickey to get the Med Pac they always carried with them, and Mickey brought it to him. He gave her a shot of antibiotics. Then, wasting no further time, he picked her up and whisked her through the portal, hoping he was in time for the CIA doctors at the Compound to save her.

  It was in Koros’s damp, dirty, rat-infested cell Lucky discovered that with patience and a lot of practice, he could create a portal to take him to wherever in the past or present he wanted to go, and right now, he wanted to go to where his friends were being held.

  Lucky materialized outside a small office. He was suspicious of a trap, so he studied the room carefully before attempting to enter it. The first thing he noticed, looking at the room, was it had no side windows, but aside from that, the office looked innocent enough. The entrance was all glass with a solid wooden door, and as he looked directly through the heavy glass walls on the side of the door, he was relieved to see his friends waving to him. He stared at the room a bit longer, trying to think of what it reminded him of, but the memory eluded him. He put the thought aside and attempted to create the portal, which would take him inside the room. But nothing happened. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t create the portal. His fear was that at any minute someone might come down here to question the prisoners, so he looked around for something, anything that would open the lock. He looked through the glass partition and noticed Dukie motioning toward the desk. Lucky went over to it, and then he looked at the guys again, to be sure that the desk was what they were pointing to. The two men nodded, trying to guide him toward the drawer. Lucky got it. He opened the center drawer and picked up the keys. He tried three keys before he found the right one. He opened the outer door, took a few steps into the room, and walked to the glass door. His friends waited anxiously for Lucky to find the right key. This time, the first key he tried unlocked the door.

  “Come on, guys. Let’s get out of here before we get company.”

  As they turned to leave, the outer door closed behind them, locking them in, and then a voice from a hidden speaker said, “The outer door is locked. Please step behind the glass door and close it.”

  The boys knew that there was nothing they could do now, so they backed up a few steps and allowed the glass door to lock automatically. Lucky assumed that if they had speakers built into the cell, then it stood to reason that they must have cameras observing them. He took a quick look around, studying the walls and ceiling for cameras. In his jewel thief days he had been an expert in locating surveillance cameras, but he couldn’t see any and if he couldn’t see any, there wasn’t any cameras, so instead of wasting any more time, he tried a second time to create a portal, but again, he was unsuccessful.

  “Titanium,” he muttered. That was fast work, he thought. He had hoped to free his friends before Mueller used the information Kelb had forwarded to him, but that was wishful thinking now that the trap had been sprung. “That’s it!!” he said, suddenly remembering what the room reminded him of while at the same time hitting himself on the side of the head with the palm of his hand. It reminded him of a LAIR. A box with bait in it, held open with a stick, like the ones used in the wild to catch a rabbit. Only this time, Lucky was the rabbit that was caught in the box.

  Ten minutes later, the outer door opened and a small, thin elderly man with a military brush cut, thin mustache, and large spectacles walked in and stood behind the glass door, studying Lucky as if he were a lab experiment. He reminded Lucky of Heinrich Himmler; in fact, he looked like Himmler, the man Hitler put in charge of the Gestapo. Lucky stared back at him with an unconcerned look on his face, but Mueller beckoned with his forefinger for Lucky to come to him. Lucky hadn’t intended to give in to this guy, but curiosity got the better of him, so he walked over to the glass door.

  “Mr. Campo, do not make this any harder than it has to be. I need your services for a little while and then I promise you that I will release you and your friends. But before we continue, please put your cell phone and any weapons you have on the floor in front of the door and back away.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t have weapons or a cell phone on me.”

  Mueller was suspicious. “Are you telling me the truth, Mr. Campo?”

  “Look, all I have with me is my watch, my pinky ring, and my wallet with a few bucks in it.” Lucky took off his jacket, and pulled opened his pockets. Mueller seemed mollified.

  “That’s enough. I believe you. Now, as I was saying, I want you to perform a little service for me, and when you have completed it, you and your friends will be free to leave.”

  “What kind of service do you want me to do for you?”

  “I understand that you have the ability to manipulate time and go wherever you want. Is this true?”

  “I don’t manipulate time. I use time to travel where I want to go in the past.”

  Mueller took his glasses off and sighed as he polished the lenses with his handkerchief.

  “It is also true that you can travel in the present. Is this not correct?”

  Lucky nodded. “Yes, that’s true. I can move from one place to another in whatever era or time I’m in, and that includes the present.”

  Hearing that, Mueller became so excited that he forgot himself, and actually jumped up, clapping his hands, like the old vaudeville song and dance man Eddie Cantor did while performing on a stage. “Wonderful, wonderful. I appreciate your candor, Mr. Campo. I assume that you can you take one or two of my men to, shall we say, a specific place in Russia?”

  “Most of the time, yes. Since I don’t know where I’m going, I may have to locate the place on a map, but I should be able to take your men to the place you want.”

  “Excellent. We’ll start right away, then. But first, I want your word as a gentleman that you will not try any tricks. This is a simple task that I’m asking you to do for me. Do it, and you and your friends are free to leave and I will compensate all of you for your time.”

  “Not for anything, Mr. Mueller, but I don’t need your money. I’m probably a richer man than you. Now where in Russia do you want me to take your men?”

  “To one of their nuclear arsenals. You see, Mr. Campo. I intend to blow Russia out of existence.”

  He said it as if he was inviting Lucky to a game of
tennis. Lucky nodded, pretending that what the Nazi had just said made sense.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t you go and get the men you want me to take to the Russian arsenal, and when you get back, you can give me all the details. Right now, I’m a little tired.” He looked up at the ceiling and swept his hand across the room. “You know . . . a little titanium tired.”

  Mueller waved a finger at him and laughed. “You Americans, always joking.”

  Titanium may have neutralized Lucky’s ability to create a portal, but it wouldn’t neutralize a signal being sent from his new iWatch. Once Mueller was out of sight, Lucky scrolled through the iWatch’s contact list and found his friend Oleg’s number. Oleg Karpov, head of security for the KGB, was now third in line for the Russian presidency, after Putin and Medvedev. This was achieved thanks to Lucky, who had removed a Russian bad guy, one Rudolph Zorski, Putin’s right hand man, thus opening the position for Oleg Karpov to step into. The two men became friends after Lucky took a nervous Karpov on a trip to 12th Century England, where Lucky introduced him to the king. They visited the construction of the pyramids, and then to the Roman Coliseum, where he witnessed gladiators fighting to the death. Oleg even met Princess Anastasia, who Lucky and his Australian friend, Charlie Hodge, managed to rescue from the mob that killed her family during the Russian Revolution.

  Lucky pressed the button on his iWatch and called Oleg’s cell phone, and he was rewarded when Karpov picked up on the second ring.

  “Oleg, this is Lucky,” he said, almost gasping from worry that Oleg couldn’t answer the phone.

  “Lucky, how nice to hear from you. Is everything all right? From the sound of your voice, I detect that maybe things could be better. Am I correct, old friend?”

  “Yes, you are correct, but it’s not me who should be worried; it’s you. Listen carefully, Oleg. Adolph Mueller, the German billionaire, is holding me and two of my friends. He blames Russia for destroying the Third Reich and he’s forcing me to take two of his scientists to one of your nuclear weapons stockpile sites. Right now, it’s unknown which site he’s talking about. He wants to destroy Russia, so he’s gonna arm a few of your nukes and set them off. I agreed to take his men there in exchange for our lives, but I want you at the site when we get there, so that as soon as we leave, your scientists can go in and disarm the weapons. I’ll call you back before Mueller gives me my instructions. Record our conversation and make sure that you go to the correct facility. Wait! I hear someone coming . . . no sense hanging up now . . . I’ll keep the phone on so you can hear what’s being said. I know you can record phone conversations, so make sure you record this one. Gotta be quiet; can’t talk now.”

  As soon as Mueller opened the door to introduce Lucky to his two nuclear scientists, Karpov pressed the mute key on his phone, and just as quickly, he pressed record on the state-of-the-art recorder connected to his phone.

  “Mr. Campo, let me introduce you to my two nuclear physicists. This is Dr. Otto Stein, and Dr. Rutgar Weiss. They are two of the brightest nuclear experts in the world and I have given them instructions to activate no less than two bombs. I have discovered that Russia stores its nuclear weapons at forty-eight permanent storage sites strategically placed across Russia, including ten national-level central storage sites. You will take them to the nuclear storage site in Moscow near the Kremlin, where my scientists will activate the bombs and set the timers.”

  Lucky shook his head. “You can’t be serious. You’re going to kill thousands, maybe millions of innocent people because of a perceived slight that occurred over fifty years ago. For God’s sake, man. There was a damned war going on back then. Why don’t you just forget about this madness while there’s still time?”

  Mueller’s face contorted into a mask of hate. “That will be enough, Mr. Campo. You will do as you are told. Now, are you ready to fulfill your end of the bargain?”

  “Yes,” Lucky said exasperatedly. “But first, I want my friends released, taken to your plane, and flown to the States, and then I’ll need a map showing the location of the exact location where I’m to take your men.”

  Mueller’s eyes were like ice, but his lips spread into a thin cold smile and, with a great deal of effort, he slowly nodded. “Very well. Here is the location of the Russian site.” Mueller handed Lucky a map with a red circle that showed the exact location of the nuclear site. “I will agree to your request concerning your friends, but not until you and the two doctors, like Elvis after a performance, have left the building. Then and only then, will your friends be released.”

  Mueller looked at Lucky and laughed. “See; even I can be funny at times.”

  Lucky didn’t return the smile. He wasn’t finished yet.

  “And flown home?” Lucky asked, wanting reassurances from this madman.

  “Yes, yes. I am a man of my word. I no longer have any use for your friends.”

  CHAPTER 11

  RUSSIA

  Oleg Karpov, the third most powerful man in Russia, looked at the other two men in his office: his deputy, Anatoly Smirnoff, and Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin. The blood drained from the usually unperturbed Putin’s face after Karpov finished explaining to them what Mueller intended to do.

  “My God,” he said out loud to himself, which surprised Karpov because Putin, a confirmed atheist, had said it. Before Putin could say anything further, Karpov’s intercom buzzed. His secretary informed him that the team of nuclear scientists he requested had arrived.

  “Send them in.”

  When the team of doctors entered the office, they were surprised to see their president standing alongside Karpov who was seated.

  The three Russian scientists listened to the recording.

  “How long will it take them to activate the bombs?”

  “I would think no less than an hour, maybe longer. They are busy now, activating them. How long will it take, and do you foresee any problems you might encounter de-activating the bombs?” Putin asked.

  “It should not take long, Mr. President, as long as the scientists left no booby traps on the bombs.”

  Oleg shook his head. “No, they wouldn’t do that. They will be confident that no one suspects that they have been there, and besides, setting booby traps takes time and I would think that these men, not being soldiers, would want to get out of there quickly.”

  Putin agreed, but added, “I agree with Director Karpov, but just to be safe, I want you to check to be sure we don’t have any surprises after you de-activate the bombs. Now, do you have the equipment you need?”

  “Yes. We didn’t know why it was needed, but we brought it with us as we were ordered to do.”

  “Good. There are three cars waiting outside to take you to the Moscow arsenal site. The men in those cars know nothing, so if you talk to one another, do not mention anything about what is taking place. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Mr. President,” the three men answered simultaneously.

  Lucky looked at the site on the map he was given. He fixed his mind on the Moscow site and willed a portal to appear. He didn’t know with any degree of certainty if the portal would take him there, except that it had always worked for him before. When the portal appeared, he told the two men to get on either side of him and hold onto his arms. Satisfied that the two scientists were tethered to him, he stepped forward and the three of them entered the constriction of the time portal. The scientists were men of numbers, algorithms, and formulas and they couldn’t believe what they were experiencing, but they put their trust in the man who had created this miracle.

  “Come on. Let’s get started,” Lucky said, hoping that they would exit the portal at the right location. Not knowing how much battery life the tiny iPhone was capable of, Lucky had disconnected the call. Now he pressed the call button and the private phone in Karpov’s office rang. There was silence on the other end, but then Karpov heard Lucky say, “It’s pitch black down here.”

  Oleg immediately pressed the record button.

&nb
sp; Lucky didn’t know it, but they were ten stories underground and there were two three-foot steel outer doors leading to the nuclear repository, with armed guards stationed strategically near each door. By benefit of the portal, Lucky and the two scientists had bypassed the unsuspecting guards and they were inside the storage area that housed the bombs. The three men pulled flashlights from their bags and turned them on. The place gave Lucky the creeps. There were enough ordinances in this cavernous room to destroy half the world, and he couldn’t wait to leave there.

  “Come on, guys, get to work and arm those nukes, and then let’s get our asses the hell out of here.”

  Lucky wasn’t interested in the work the scientists were going to do with the bombs. That would be Karpov’s worry. Lucky saw the bombs for what they were - weapons that by necessity were needed, but hopefully would never be used, and that nut Mueller was looking to destroy a beautiful Russian city, while at the same time hoping to kill millions of people, and for what? Revenge? The man was a sick, revenge-driven psychopath, who should be locked in an institution and the key thrown away. Instead of using his billions to help people, he was looking to destroy millions of people. Lucky just hoped that Karpov’s men were in position and ready to neutralize the bombs as soon as they left.

  For expedience and safety, the scientists decided to activate two bombs side by side in the center of the stockpile, rather than activating two bombs at different space intervals. This way, they would be close to one another should one of them need the assistance of the other. And besides, they didn’t want to be separated because as soon as the bombs were activated, they wanted to get the hell away from here as fast as possible.

  “Let’s get started,” Dr. Stein said, and the two men opened their suitcases and began taking out the equipment needed to activate the bombs. While the two scientists were working on arming the bombs, Lucky silently slipped away and searched the area, and then found what he was looking for. He went directly to his right and entered the room where the automatic handguns were stored in boxes with samples above them on the shelves. He looked around for a Hershel 5.7, but there wasn’t any, so he took three MP3 Grach 17 round Russian semi-automatic handguns, and slipped them under his belt and covered them with his jacket. He was about to leave, but stopped and picked up three boxes of 9MM hollow point rounds and, as an afterthought, he grabbed three grenades, and then he quietly returned to the busy doctors before they knew he had left them.