The Peregrine Omnibus, Volume Two

by Barry Reese

  “From the way you handled that airship, I would have sworn that your father was at the controls,” Sun Koh said. The intensity of his gaze made Elsa blush and she stammered a bit in reply.

  “Thank you, my prince.”

  Sun Koh gestured towards Arthur Grin, introducing him without further explanation. As he boarded the plane, he took Elsa into his confidence. “We are about to embark on something that could prove very dangerous to all three of us—but if successful, should assure the Axis powers of victory.”

  “I’m willing to serve you in any way,” Elsa responded, hoping that he didn’t take her words as anything improper. Though, truth be told, she was willing to serve in a sexual capacity, as well.

  Sun Koh sat down in the copilot’s seat, his eyes roving over the dials and buttons. “Your father was a genius.”

  “He was,” Elsa agreed. “I hope to honor him… I only wish I could purge the Jewish blood from my veins.” She took the controls in her hand, sitting beside Sun Koh. Her face was drawn tight in self-loathing. “I swear I will be loyal to you, despite my heritage.”

  “The Jews are one of the servant races,” Sun Koh said consolingly. “There are good Jews and bad Jews. They simply do not have the higher capacity that a true Aryan does. Because of your father, you will be able to attain things that no full-blooded Jew could ever hope for. You should be proud of that and strive to do your best. I shall never hold the race of your mother against you.”

  “Thank you. That… really does mean a lot to me.”

  Sun Koh reached out and clasped her hand tightly. “Are you ready to help pave the way for Aryan supremacy?” he asked with a knowing smile.

  “Oh, yes,” she laughed.

  * * *

  “I’m worried about Max.” Evelyn Davies looked a bit sheepish as she said those words, washing them down with a shot of whiskey. She winced as the burning liquid washed down her throat but she recovered quickly, pushing her shot glass across the table for a refill.

  Will McKenzie poured another drink for his friend and then gave himself another, as well. One of the youngest police chiefs in the country, Will had stood beside Max and Evelyn against vampires, werewolves and things he didn’t even what to call. It had changed his outlook on life, to be sure, turning him from a handsome and dedicated law enforcement official into someone who recognized that the world was far stranger than he could ever hope to understand. “He can handle himself. You know that.”

  “Sometimes I think he tries too hard to do it all by himself,” Evelyn answered. They were in the kitchen of the Davies’ home, which was quiet as a tomb. Little William, named after Will, was in bed, along with their housekeeper, Nettie.

  Will cracked a grin. “He thinks he’s protecting us.”

  “I know.” Evelyn leaned forward and smiled. Her auburn hair was hanging loose about her shoulders and Will couldn’t help but notice how lovely she was. She was beautiful but it was an approachable sort of beauty… a healthy dash of girl-next-door was mixed in with the glamour. “I was wondering if I should call one of his friends and ask them to check on him.”

  “He told you he’d call and let you know he was okay?”

  “Yes. And I haven’t heard a peep out of him.”

  Will stood up and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Who were you thinking about? Kaslov?”

  “Or maybe Ascott Keane,” Evelyn answered. “I thought Keane might be able to figure out where he is.”

  Will nodded. Keane was a ‘psychic detective,’ one who was famous for sparring with the crimson-garbed Doctor Satan. Both Keane and Satan had crossed paths with The Peregrine on more than one occasion. Will found Keane somewhat unnerving and he was about to say so when a knock came at the back door. Both Will and Evelyn jumped at the unexpected sound. “You’re not expecting anyone?”

  “Will, it’s almost 11 p.m. I don’t usually have visitors this late at night.” Evelyn walked towards one of the cabinets, opened it up and reached deep inside. Her hand came back with a small handgun.

  Will grinned, taking a few steps to the door. He opened it slowly, peering around the corner. When he saw the lovely woman standing there, he relaxed somewhat. It was Violet Cambridge, one of Atlanta’s top private investigators. She had jet-black hair and a trim figure that filled out her dark dress in all the right places. She was also one of Will’s former lovers, though their temperaments had proven too different for long-term happiness together.

  Violet was smart enough that she’d eventually put two-and-two together to figure out Max’s dual identity as The Peregrine. Evelyn had been concerned about this at first but she’d come to trust Violet, even though they had little in common.

  “Hello, Will,” Violet said. “How’s life with the Nazi going?”

  Will winced. Violet hadn’t been shy about voicing her opinion of his involvement with the former Iron Maiden. He held the door open for her and took a step back to allow her in. “Things are peachy. What brings you by?”

  Violet nodded at Evelyn, her ruby red lips parting in a grin as she saw the other woman’s handgun. “Expecting trouble, are we?”

  “Always,” Evelyn admitted. She set the gun down on the kitchen counter. “Get you something to wet your whistle?”

  “No thanks. I just came by to tell you that your boy might be in trouble.”

  Evelyn and Will exchanged glances. “What makes you say that?” Evelyn asked.

  “I was paying a visit to an informer of mine—name’s Glumm—and he told me that The Peregrine had been by recently, asking about a German superman named Sun Koh. Glumm says he’s heard since through the grapevine that Sun Koh is back and has been jetting around… and get this, there was a top-secret communiqué sent back to Germany that said The Peregrine was in German custody.”

  “Must not have been very top secret if you know about it,” Will pointed out.

  “Glumm has resources. That’s what makes him so valuable.”

  Evelyn let out a deep breath that she’d been holding. “If Max has been captured, I have to do something.” She moved towards the phone and paused for a moment with her hand on the receiver. “I’m calling Ascott Keane.”

  * * *

  The Peregrine wasn’t happy about this at all. He felt slightly rejuvenated after a bath and a hearty meal but his body still ached in a dozen different places and his midsection was tightly bound to prevent him further injuring his ribs.

  But worst of all was the fact that he was about to break into the private offices of a man who, under other circumstances, would have been a close friend.

  The Peregrine was in Manhattan, having been snuck onto the island after being transferred from the zeppelin to a private plane belonging to a Fifth Columnist. The entire affair had taken over 24 hours and made The Peregrine wonder just how far behind Sun Koh he truly was now.

  The area of Manhattan in which he was now moving was known as The Battery, which was located on the southernmost point of the island. Battery Park lay on The Peregrine’s right, a disreputable looking place if Max had ever seen one. Bums slept on park benches and trash littered the thick grass. Facing the park was a series of office buildings, most of them fairly recent. But the one that was The Peregrine’s target was an ancient thing, the bronze work on the front doors green with age.

  The Peregrine looked up to see that the stars were bright in the sky. He estimated that it was nearly ten o’clock, though he couldn’t be sure. Mueller’s men had taken everything that they didn’t consider essential, which meant that aside from his weapons, his pockets were nearly empty. He didn’t even have his long-range radio to call Evelyn.

  Max hurried across the street, having watched the six-story building long enough to assure him that no one was inside. All the windows were pitch-black.

  The front doors were unlocked and the lobby was clean, if somewhat barren. A directory on the wall indicated that the bottom two floors had no tenants. The fifth floor had a single occupant listed: Adventurers, Inc. The Peregrine gla
nced over at the elevator cage nearby. It was the old-fashioned kind, where the interior was visible through the grillwork. An old man in a overalls sat in the cage, resting his weary bones on the single chair within. His head was tilted back and he was snoring loudly.

  The Peregrine crept over as quietly as a mouse, retrieving a small capsule from one of his pockets. He broke it open under the man’s nose, holding his own breath in the process. The old man snorted loudly and then slipped into an even deeper slumber. The Peregrine relaxed, resuming his own breathing. The gas capsule worked very fast, putting a full-grown man into an unconsciousness that would last for up to six hours.

  After taking the elevator to the fifth floor, The Peregrine found himself facing a locked office. He knelt in front of the lock and expertly picked it. It was a challenging affair and took him nearly ten minutes, far longer than was usual. Before entering the office, Max took a moment to insert specialized lenses over each eye. Specially treated to enhance The Peregrine’s night vision, the lenses were just one more example of the vigilante’s mastery of the sciences.

  When he stepped inside, he found himself in one of the most unusual offices he’d ever seen: it was cluttered from floor to ceiling with oddities. A bronze Chinese figurine was perched in the window, while an Oriental rug that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years lay on the floor. Hunting riles were mounted on the wall, a diving bell was in the corner and every chair and couch was bent under the weight of books and magazines. A framed diploma from M.I.T. was on the wall nearest The Peregrine and beside it was a photograph of a young blond man, standing with hands on hips. This was Rush Randall and Adventurers, Inc. was his brainchild.

  A child prodigy with interests ranging from physics to aviation to mountain climbing, Rush Randall had grown up to become a veritable superman. With his partners in adventure Buzz Casey and Malcolm Dean, he had formed Adventurers, Inc. to help those in need. He had become a minor celebrity and The Peregrine knew that he was a potent addition to the arsenal of justice… but The Peregrine was crossing his fingers that their first meeting would not come tonight.

  The Peregrine moved through the crowded room until he came to a second door, one that led to a much better ordered office. This one contained two small chairs arranged in front of a desk. A photograph of Rush Randall was on the wall behind the desk, depicting the powerfully built man holding an elephant gun and standing with one foot on the leg of a fallen bull elephant.

  Max glanced about until he saw what he wanted: a small safe secreted against the corner of the back wall. Mueller had described it perfectly, having seen it shown in a photograph. Life Magazine had profiled Randall a few months ago and during the piece there had been an image of Randall posing in front of the open safe. The article had mentioned in passing how Randall kept the most valuable or dangerous of his acquisitions in his safe. One of the objects that could be clearly seen was an old battered nail. Though it didn’t look particularly valuable in the photo, Mueller had recognized it for what it was: the spiritual equivalent of a get-out-of-jail free card.

  The Peregrine moved to examine the safe and noted that the lock was, if anything, far more complex than the one on the front door. He broke three of his four remaining picks on the lock before he finally heard the tumblers click into place. When the door swung open, he found himself staring at quite a few unusual items. Given the time, he would have loved to spend time with each of them, puzzling out their purpose, but given that he was in a hurry to end his association with Mueller, he snatched up The Fourth Nail.

  Immediately, he felt a strange energy flow through him. He felt like his minor injuries were fading away like a memory and, even more importantly, that his spirit was being lightened. Little things that he felt guilty over suddenly seemed forgotten and all the petty sins he’d committed over his lifetime didn’t seem quite so important any longer.

  The Peregrine was still basking in this peaceful feeling when the lights in the office unexpectedly came on. He stood up quickly, coming face to face with Rush Randall. The blond man stood well over six feet, wearing a light brown shirt with pockets over each side of his chest and dark slacks. Black leather boots completed his attire. The Peregrine uttered a curse under his breath. He must have been holding The Fourth Nail for several minutes, not hearing Randall’s entrance at all.

  “Mind telling me what you’re doing?” Randall asked.

  The Peregrine slipped the nail into a pocket. “You and I aren’t enemies,” he began but Randall cut him off.

  “We are if you’re stealing from me.”

  “My name is The Peregrine and…”

  “I know who you are. I’ve seen the pictures. Now set that nail down on the desk and get the hell out of my office.”

  The Peregrine frowned, bristling a bit at the man’s tone. “No.”

  “Then I’m going to take it,” Randall said, his muscled body launching towards The Peregrine. He collided with the hero, slamming him against the wall but The Peregrine recovered quickly, jamming the palm of his right hand up under Randall’s chin. The blow snapped Randall’s head back and The Peregrine followed with a quick punch to the man’s rock hard midsection. Before Randall could respond, The Peregrine shoved him away, giving the vigilante a bit more room. He drew one of his pistols and pointed it at Randall, who paused in surprise.

  “You’re going to shoot me?” the big man asked. “It’s bad enough you turn out to be a thief, now you’re going to become a murderer, too?”

  “All I want is the nail. When all this is over, I’ll be more than glad to explain why I’m doing this… but I don’t have the time right now.”

  Rush Randall stared at him, slumping his shoulders in defeat. “Okay. Take it if you need to.” The Peregrine started to lower his weapon when Randall sprang forward with incredible speed. He backhanded The Peregrine’s arm, knocking the gun from his grip. He then wrapped his fingers around The Peregrine’s throat, applying incredible pressure. He lifted The Peregrine off the ground and continued squeezing, hoping to knock his opponent out.

  The Peregrine gasped, stars beginning to appear on the edges of his vision. He thrust out one hand, pressing against Randall’s face. He managed to dig his thumb into Randall’s eye and the pain caused the big man to drop Max to the floor.

  The Peregrine knew he had one chance and one chance only: he unsheathed the Knife of Elohim and stabbed Randall in the upper thigh. It was a painful attack and one that would slow even an athlete like Randall… but hardly a fatal one. While Randall cried out in pain, gripping his injured leg, The Peregrine sprinted past him. He didn’t slow down until he was in the elevator cage, hurriedly pressing the button that would send the motorized carriage downstairs.

  The Peregrine leaned against the back wall of the elevator and panted. He had the nail and that was the most important thing… but tonight’s events were just one more thing that Mueller and The Furies would have to pay for.

  CHAPTER VIII

  Fallen Valkyrie

  Käthe fought to keep her face neutral but it was difficult. Two days had been wasted on Mueller’s pursuit of The Fourth Nail and the leader of The Furies was growing increasingly concerned. The Peregrine was being led back onto the zeppelin now, the Christian relic in his grasp, and Mueller was beside himself with pleasure.

  Käthe was on the zeppelin’s bridge, Akemi and Imelda standing just behind. She was facing Mueller, who seemed to have either not heard or chosen to ignore what she had just said. “Captain?” she repeated. “I’d like to know what your plans are once you have The Fourth Nail.”

  Mueller sighed, his expression changing to one of tired acceptance. “The Fourth Nail will cleanse me of all my sins. It will give me a clean slate. Would you have me immediately ruin that by going back on my word as a gentleman? I told him I would let him go free and I shall.”

  “I’m afraid we can’t let you do that,” Akemi said. Her hand drifted dangerously close to the katana she wore slung over her back. “We’ve talked it o
ver and The Peregrine’s going to die.”

  “I assumed you three would want him taken back to Berlin,” Mueller said. “After all, you did send back a message telling command that he was here, didn’t you?”

  Käthe shrugged, not caring that he’d known about the message. It had gotten through and that had been the important thing. “All we said was that he was in our custody. Accidents happen.”

  “Did you happen to mention that I was bargaining with him for possession of a sacred relic?”

  “Of course we did,” Imelda answered. “They need to know that you’re a traitorous bastard.”

  Mueller tightened his jaw. “I have betrayed no one.”

  Before any of The Furies could answer, Horst entered the bridge, with The Peregrine close at his heels. The Peregrine was holding something in his left hand, wrapped tightly in a gray-colored cloth.

  Horst and Mueller exchanged Hitler salutes and then Horst stepped back, clicking his heels together.

  Mueller licked his lips in anticipation. “You have it?” he asked, his eyes flicking back and forth from the bundle to The Peregrine’s face.

  “Yes. Where’s Fritz?”

  Mueller nodded at Horst, who stepped out and returned with the youth. Fritz had a parachute strapped to him and he still looked frightened, but also hopeful. “There. You see? He has been well tended to since you left. Once you’ve given me the nail, you’ll be provided with your own parachute and then we’ll let you both jump. The wind should carry you to dry land.”

  “I want the parachute now.”

  Mueller took a deep breath but forced a smile. “You begin to insult me. I have given you my word.”

  The Peregrine’s eyes flicked over to The Furies, all of whom looked like they were seconds away from giving in to their desire to attack him. “I trust you, Captain,” he lied. “It’s the women who make me a bit nervous.”

  Horst appeared again, holding a parachute out to The Peregrine. The vigilante took the chute and examined it, making sure that it was in good working order. He put it on expertly and then tossed the cloth-wrapped nail to Mueller.