Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant

by Larry Townley

  Will then explained his idea for a rescue mission. After he was done several minutes later, the president said, “Damn, if you can pull that off, it might just work. What do you need to get started?”

  “I need your people to identify military personnel who have commando and explosives training, as well as native level fluency in German. The men who are chosen cannot initially be told what the mission is about, just that it is dangerous and they will be working behind enemy lines. I prefer them to be unmarried, but finding American commandos with native level fluency in German will be difficult enough.”

  “Do they necessarily have to be American commandos? What about Allied commandos with the same skills you‘re looking for?” asked the president.

  Will considered this for a moment before he replied.

  “If enough qualified American commandos cannot be found, then I’m willing to utilize Allied commandos as well. However, with the time constraints and need for mission secrecy, I think it best to keep it with one country at this point.”

  The president nodded at Will’s logic.

  “I will review each candidate’s military file and qualifications. I may decide to interview each of them as well to determine which ones will be suitable, and then make the determination as to which ones I want for this mission. I have some specialized training I will put them through, but time is short and I want to put this plan into action within a few days.”

  “I will call the Secretary of War today and have him review their files for suitable candidates immediately.”

  “Also, what about Donovan’s source? Once we begin this rescue mission it will be too dangerous for him to remain in place, and he should be extracted immediately as well. Do you have any information about the source?”

  “None. Donovan is keeping that information close to the vest. If I ask him for too many details regarding the source, he will become suspicious. He needs to remain in the dark on this matter.”

  “Any idea where he would keep information regarding such a valuable source?” asked Will.

  “Knowing Donovan he would keep the source’s file in his office safe where only he would have access to it. Why?”

  “I think it would be a good idea to know who the source is and what his motivation is as well. Plus, it would be easier to extract the source if I knew who he was and what he looked like. I can’t exactly go asking for ‘Condor’ when I arrive at the facility where they’re keeping the aliens.”

  “No, I suppose you can’t. Please keep me updated.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President. I will contact you at the same time tomorrow.”

  “How do you plan on getting into his office? The OSS office building is very secure.”

  “I haven’t had much difficulty getting in here,” Will said with a straight face.

  The president cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “No, I guess you haven’t. Look, tomorrow Donovan is coming over here in the morning at ten o’clock for a meeting. No one should be in his office at that time.”

  “Thank you. That information is helpful.”

  With that, the air around Will shimmered and he vanished again into thin air.

  Damn, I wish he would stop doing that!

  Roosevelt picked up the telephone in his office. His secretary answered on the second ring.

  “Yes, Mr. President?” she asked.

  “Contact Henry Stimson at the War Department. Tell him I need him in my office within the hour,” he ordered.

  “Yes, sir.”

  I sure as hell hope he knows what he’s doing, thought the president. If not, we’re all dead.

  The president quickly mulled over his options. After a few seconds, Roosevelt called his secretary again.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Contact Oppenheimer in Chicago. Tell him I need him on a plane to D.C. today.”

  “I’ll take care of it immediately, sir.”

  Chapter 33

  Sagarmatha: Inside of the Maze

  1480 A.D.

  Will had been meditating for approximately three hours and taking advantage of the down time to rest his mind and his body. His injury had almost completely healed.

  “Will Essex of Terra.” Will awoke to the voice of Portak. However, this time instead of just hearing Portak in his mind, Will turned and was face-to-face with him.

  Will’s eyes widened with surprise at the sight of the strange being in front of him.

  “How is it possible you are here?” he inquired.

  “I’m not physically on your planet. You are viewing a solid-light hologram projection of me. I am currently on my home planet of Altrusia, 10,000 light years from your planet. Because of my planet’s technology, I am able to project this image to your location. I can see and hear you as well as you can see and hear me,” Portak explained.

  Will shook his head. Although he was able to understand the principles of what Portak was describing to him, he was still fascinated to see the incredible image before him. Will thought back to the creatures he had fought in the maze, and he realized they must have been products of the same technology.

  “We have been closely monitoring your progress, and quite frankly we were astounded by your performance in all of the areas in which you were tested,” Portak stated.

  “I still have many questions. Foremost among them is why was I being tested?”

  “For millennia, my species has been responsible for maintaining balance, order, and peace in the universe. We are one of the most technologically advanced species in the cosmos. However, considering the size of the known universe, there are too few of my kind to accomplish this daunting task, and although my species is technologically superior, we are not as physically superior. Therefore, we must train and equip other species with the tools necessary to assist us in our guardianship of the universe.

  “Primarily, we look for members of species throughout the universe that are highly evolved - both physically and mentally - and try to recruit them to assist us in our mission. Depending on a specific planet or quadrants’ needs or problems, we tailor our recruiting efforts to be mission specific. Most of the species we train are mutants like you and have either superior mental or superior physical skills that we can enhance, if needed, in most cases. Few species have both physical and mental skills to an advanced degree. However, you are the first Terran, and, in fact, the first sentient being in more than 5,000 years, to have all of the skills and attributes that you possess.”

  At this revelation, Will looked somewhat stunned. He was trying to take in all he was being told by Portak. His mind was reeling.

  Portak continued. “After evaluating you and your skills, it is our desire to ask you to join us, and become one of our Guardians.”

  Will’s eyes widened somewhat in surprise, but he said nothing.

  “To become one of our Guardians would mean leaving Terra and coming to my planet for your training, and using it as your base of operations,” said Portak.

  “Does that mean I could never return to Terra, or Earth, as it is called by my people?” Will asked.

  “I do not know at this point,” Portak answered.

  Will thought for a minute then said. “Although I have certain skills and abilities, I am still only human. How could I possibly be of any use to you and your mission?”

  “If you remember, a few moments ago, I mentioned something about ‘enhancements.’ Let me explain what those are.”

  Chapter 34

  Altrusia

  After hearing Portak’s explanation of the ‘enhancements’ he had mentioned that were possible, Will’s mind was racing with all of the possibilities that had been presented to him. One thing that concerned him was that the enhancement procedure he had mentioned had never been tested on a human, and Portak freely admitted that neither he or his fellow scientists knew exactly what would happen if Will was subjected to it.

  Portak had given him several minutes to think about his options, of which there were really only two. Option one was to re
turn to his village and live out his days as a farmer, never realizing his full potential, and having to hide his abilities for the rest of his life. If Will chose this option, Portak also told him that he would have to erase Will’s memory of contact with him to prevent any unintentional exposure as humans were not ready to know of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms.

  Option two was to travel to Portak’s home world, join the ranks of the Guardians, allow them to perform the enhancements Portak had mentioned, and hope for the best.

  Although it was risky, Will knew that he could never return to England and be content with his former life. From what little he had seen and become aware of since being contacted by Portak, he knew his destiny now lie among the stars. Besides, since he had told Sherpa Surya to leave with his horse, it would be one hell of a long, cold walk back to Kathmandu.

  “I have made up my mind, Portak,” Will stated. The look on his face said it all.

  Portak nodded his head. “I am pleased Will Essex of Earth. To accomplish your travel to my planet, go to the entrance of the maze and activate the portal key with your hand.”

  Will did as he was instructed. Will placed his hand on the portal key, which was identical to the one he had previously used to open the passageway into the mountain. The portal key hummed to life and the symbols began to glow. A portal appeared and began to shimmer with a fantastic display of lights that ebbed and flowed, changing colors every few seconds, where a moment ago there had been nothing but solid rock.

  “You will need to key in the following code sequence exactly as I give it to you. However, before you do this I must send a device to you that will enable your human body to endure the rigors of travel through the wormhole portal.”

  Within seconds, a device appeared from the portal and landed on the ground near Will‘s feet. It looked like a belt of some sort, but was very sophisticated and intricate in its design. “Place the device around your waist and activate it by pressing the center symbol three times”

  Will picked up the device and did as instructed, and the device activated. A force field was generated, and totally engulfed Will’s body.

  “The code I will now give you will activate a portal by which you will be able to travel to my planet.”

  Will nodded that he was ready. Portak gave Will the code sequence, and as he keyed it in, the shimmering wall changed colors and frequency again.

  “All you have to do is step forward. You may feel somewhat disoriented, but you will be safe.”

  Will stepped forward into the portal, and he was immediately sucked into the wormhole that had been created.

  Will could not see it but after he entered the wormhole, the entire maze, along with everything that had been a part of Will’s trials and challenges, began to disappear, and everything returned to its original state. It was as if none of it had ever existed.

  What Will experienced next was beyond his wildest imagination.

  Chapter 35

  Office of Strategic Services

  Washington, D.C.

  1943 A.D.

  Donovan’s office clandestinely occupied the fifth floor of the National Institutes of Health building to maintain its cover. It was just before 10:00 a.m. the following day, and Will knew that Donovan had left for his meeting with the president as he had watched him leave his office and get picked up by his driver. Will then materialized inside of it.

  A quick glance with his power to see through walls allowed Will to determine the location of Donovan’s safe, and the fact that it was alarmed, which was located behind a painting on the wall behind Donovan’s desk. Original place to put a wall safe, Will thought sarcastically. With the alien technology at his disposal, the alarm system would not pose a problem.

  Will extracted a small device from his coat pocket and placed it on the safe. It not only opened the safe in less than two seconds, but it also temporarily nullified the alarm. Before removing anything from the safe, Will noted the exact location of everything inside so he could put things back precisely as he had found them.

  Within a few seconds Will found a file marked TOP SECRET: CODENAME – CONDOR, and, using his ability to read at hyper-speed, read everything in the file in less than two seconds; memorizing everything he needed to know about Condor’s identity and motivation for being recruited by Donovan’s organization. There was also a photograph of Condor that appeared to be fairly recent. Now at least Will would know who to look for.

  Outside of Donovan’s office, Will heard one of Donovan’s secretaries, Jennifer Thomas, walking towards Donovan’s office door. Using his vision powers he saw that she had her key out and was about to come in at any second. At hyper-speed he replaced everything as it was, and teleported out of the office just as she entered Donovan‘s office to drop off some mail on his desk.

  Chapter 36

  The White House

  Oval Office

  Within a couple of days, Will had received the files of twenty American, British, and Australian military personnel who had each met the basic qualifications of having commando training and native level fluency in German.

  There had not been enough American commandos who met his requirements, so the president had requested Stimson to reach out to his British and Australian counterparts for candidates. Stimson learned that four such candidates existed who were already working with their American counterparts as part of several task forces in various parts of the world, and their service records were readily available.

  As Will reviewed the files, he began to narrow that number down based on whether or not the candidate was married, had children, had disciplinary problems, or had not seen combat.

  Finally, he narrowed the number down to ten who met the qualifications and experience level:

  1) Karl Hauser, Captain, U.S. Army Airborne Rangers

  2) Klaus Schechter, 1st Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corp

  3) Peter Brunner, 2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Raiders

  4) Heinrich Hess, Ensign (2nd Lieutenant), U.S. Navy/UDT

  5) Thomas Wakefield, Sergeant Major, British Special Air Service

  6) Jack Robbins, Staff Sergeant, Australian Special Forces

  7) Stanley Becker, First Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Raiders

  8) Jaime Serrano, First Sergeant, U.S. Army Airborne Rangers

  9) Gerald Hammond, Petty Officer 1st Class, U.S. Navy/UDT

  10) Thomas Schultz, Corporal, U.S. Army Airborne Rangers

  Next would be the formality of contacting the men on the list to determine if they were interested in volunteering for this mission. Based on what he had read about each person, Will had little doubt that they would all volunteer. However, to be safe, Will added three alternates to his list as well.

  “Mr. President, I’ve made my selections of the ten men who meet the criteria I’ve established, along with three alternates should some of them not be willing to volunteer for this mission.”

  Will handed President Roosevelt the list, who looked over it carefully.

  “According to their files, it appears that each of these men is overseas already. I’ll have my Secretary of War contact each of their commanders and tell them they are needed immediately for an undisclosed mission. I see that two of them are not American. One’s a Brit and the other an Aussie. I‘ll contact their Prime Ministers to get the blessing for their participation, if they volunteer,” replied the president.

  Will nodded. “I would like to meet with each of them in their current locations, so if they decide not to volunteer, they can return to their unit as soon as I’m done with them. If they are available, I can have this done within a few hours.”

  The president looked incredulous. “But, they are deployed all over the world! How will you manage to meet with all ten of them within a few hours when they are literally thousands of miles from each other?”

  “Let me worry about that, Mr. President. You take care of arranging for them to meet me at their base of operations. Make sure their comma
nders know that Colonel Clark will be discussing a secret mission that has been sanctioned by you with each of the men. That will stop them from asking too many questions. I would then like to transfer the ones that volunteer to Fort Benning, Georgia for some advanced training as soon as possible. I will need you to make that happen as well.”

  The president nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll take care of it. But how will you do all of this in such a short period of time?”

  “As I said, leave that to me.”

  “Consider it done,” the president said shaking his head in resignation at not getting a straight answer. “But, one more thing, my commanders and my Secretary of War are going to want some type of explanation of this secret mission I’m asking these men to volunteer for. As president I have a lot of discretion, but I need to tell them something.”

  Will thought for a few seconds, and then gave the president an idea for an explanation he could provide if needed.

  “That just might work. I will consider it.”

  Will thanked the president and disappeared again.

  Chapter 37

  Near Libyan/Tunisian Border

  North Africa

  Twelve tanks, the remnants of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel’s 15th Panzer Division, were speeding across the North African desert. The 15th Panzer Division was better known as the Gespenster-Division, or the “Ghost Division," due to the speed and surprise it consistently managed to achieve in bringing the battle to its enemies.

  They were being chased by a unit of nineteen tanks from Patton’s Third Army, 4th Armored Division. However, overnight they had disappeared and their current location was being sought by the commander of the tank group, Captain Billy Ray Walker. Walker’s tank, an M-4 Sherman, nicknamed the “Death Dealer,” had twenty tanks with swastikas painted on its side to indicate the number of Nazi tanks he and his crew had personally blasted out of existence.