by Stan Mason
I had to agree with her that the way I had treated her was absolutely shallow. I blamed my breeding in the newspaper although it was no excuse. It was impossible to rely on the trust of politicians, solicitors, doctors, priests and even judges. However with regard to my relationship with Linda Grayson I had gone too far. I need to find it within myself to make peace with her if nothing else.
‘I want to apologise to you most sincerely,’ I told her with a very apologetic expression on my face. ‘I was way out of line. I didn’t mean what I said about reporting you to the Prime Minister. It was in bad taste. Can you forgive me, Linda... please!’ Her eyelids flickered at my comments. ‘If you want to go to your luncheon date, I’ll see you later on.’
‘It’s already cancelled, Mr. Savage!’ she snapped, as her anger began to subside. ‘Do not even consider that we have a personal relationship. That’s over!’ she ranted. ‘What did you want to ask me?’
I knew at that moment I had made an enemy for life. ‘I need to examine the files held by the British Government relating to the United Nations War Crimes Committee. I believe that several thousand names are on the register. ‘
‘Why do you want to see the files? Why this line of investigation?‘’
‘The war criminals are of no interest to me. Most of them are dead anyway. I need to track down the children and grandchildren of the people on those files. I think I have proof that they intend to start the Fourth Reich.’
She though about the request and then typed out some words on the keyboard of her computer. She read the text as it came up and then turned to me. ‘Those particular files are lodged with the appropriate United Nations agency in the UN Assembly building in New York.’
‘Hold on a second,’ I cut in sharply. ‘The United Nations disclaim all knowledge and state that each individual member country of the War Crimes Commission holds its own files in secret. Who’s the person controlling that information in this country?’
‘How should I knew?’ she countered curtly. ‘I’m a technical adviser on defence matters. It’s not in my field.’
‘Come on, Linda!’ I persisted. ‘You weren’t elected to that committee in the House of Commons for no reason! If the British Government faces the possibility of being ousted, like all the other European countries, by the offspring of the Nazis, you must be in possession of a number of useful facts. You’ve got to help me out!’
‘You presume too much!’ she retorted angrily. It was clear that she intended to dig her heels in as hard as possible
‘You must realise the measures being taken by International Three Thousand are a danger to our national defence,’ I went on trying to find a chink in her armour. ‘When I read the first disk you have in your desk drawer, you had the whole thing set out. Die Stunde, Harry Kirk, the lot. Mind you, I didn’t see anything about Der Bankvorsteher.’ I watched her very closely but she didn’t take the bait.
‘You had no right to rifle my desk!’
I was sad that my comment failed to produce any reaction so I ploughed on doggedly. ‘I wonder why the Prime Minister had me brought to the meeting when you had the information all the time.’
She toyed with a pencil between her fingers showing her nervousness. ‘I thought you understood that. An independent evaluation of the situation was likely to expose different avenues of approach.’
‘Was it? Then let me have those files on the war criminals who found safe haven in Britain. Point me in the right direction, Linda.’
‘The issue’s beyond my control. You’ll have to contact the Prime Minister.’
‘Or Henry Jacobs of State Security,’ I forwarded.
She stopped playing with the pence and stared at me with a puzzled expression on her face. ‘Henry Jacobs?’
‘Someone I know has made an appointment with him to look at those files.’
‘I thought you told me that Henry Jacobs doesn’t exist.’
I recognised that she was playing a cat-and-mouse game with me.
‘He exists all right. I’ve seen him and so does State Security.’
She pursed her lips tightly. ‘Then you’d better make an appointment with him as well, Mr. Savage. I’m not my brother’s keeper!’
It was obvious that I would make no headway with her. She was too upset from my earlier behaviour to be willing to help. ‘Okay,’ I continued unabated. ‘Let’s talk about Lieutenant-Colonel Topham.’
‘What about him?’
‘He’s in defence and that’s in your field. Where can I find him?’
‘He’s on a course at present. Somewhere near Epping Forest in Essex.’ It was too much of a coincidence he was in that vicinity. ‘But he doesn’t exist in the Department of Defence!’
‘If you want to see him that badly go and find him yourself!’ she snarled, her attitude becoming quite intolerant. She picked up the telephone receiver. ‘Jenny,’ she spoke into it. ‘Would you mind telling my luncheon date that I’m now free.’ She replaced the receiver and stared at me coldly. ‘I think we’ve finished our conversation, Mr. Savage. I must ask you to leave these premises immediately. If you feel like rifling my desk please do so. You’ll find nothing there of any interest!’ She stood up and went to the door opening it for me to leave.
There was nothing more to say so I left the building. I had shattered my image in front of her eyes. Clearly she was disappointed but, as far as I was concerned, despite how beautiful Miss Grayson looked, I much preferred the company of Tania.
Chapter Twelve
The drive to Epping Forest was a delightful journey, mainly because most of the traffic was moving in the other direction. Even thought the morning began well with Tania by my side, and the sun shone brilliantly, I started out in an indifferent mood. First of all, I had no idea why Kirk had invited me to his home. I had got involved with these people far too quickly He was Heinrich Himmler’s grandson which didn’t endear him to me. Under normal conditions, I would never blame any grandson for the indiscretions of his ancestors. However this bad seed had been passed on. Harry Kirk wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and he could possibly turn out to be an even greater monster!
The residence was a large Victorian building surrounded by many acres of land. The façade still bore signs of the excessive craft and artistry of the nineteenth century masons even though it had been repaired and renovated on a number of occasions during the past century. The great portico with its graceful iconic columns and the large metal front door bearing the grotesque head of a savage lion, had admitted gentry by their hundreds for many centuries, I doubted whether Kirk had any legacy with which to buy such a prestigious property...except through Nazi funding.
I was welcomed by an old butler who led me into the enormous hallway. Everywhere there was exhibited affluence and luxury. I was shown into the library and selected a book from the shelves. As I became involved in the text, the door opened and Kirk entered. He was wearing a black uniform, with the new insignias on his collar and sleeves, and jackboots. Under his arm he carried a baton as though it was his authority.
‘Guten morgen, Herr Erdbeer,’ he greeted cheerfully as he crossed the room. ‘I’ve been thinking about you. Come...there are some things I want to show you!’
He hustled me out into the corridor and led me out of the building to a parade ground. A number of men stood to attention as he appeared, giving a German style salute. The men began to sing the strains of ‘Deutschland Uber Alles’ before running a flag up the flagpole I had never seen before... a red circle against a black background, pierced by two lightning flashes streaking through the centre. It was practically the same insignia worn on the uniforms.
‘Great, eh!’ muttered the Commander-in-Chief, showing his admiration for the flag by offering a similar salute to the men.
‘Why am I here, Herr Kirk,’ I asked politely.
; He smiled at me in a strange fashion which scared me rigid. What was going on in that Devilish mind? Himmler died at the age of forty-five so his grandson never knew him. The Nazi had been a racist and a fanatic... it was all in the blood!
‘That was an excellent and rousing argument you presented the other evening. I was very impressed!’
‘All I did was to expound some fundamental principles of national socialism. There was nothing new in what I said.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong, my friend,’ he countered. ‘You see, as generations pass, we forget certain basic tenets, Modern society brings change and it causes us to adjust our thoughts and ideas to new trends. Apart from the quality of your speech, you brought our attention to the original doctrine. It was most refreshing. Come, let me show you some of our work here!’
Kirk snapped his fingers to direct the men into action. They began to exhibit a grand martial arts display, performing many set-pieces to show their prowess. In due course, he led me back into the house, laughing gently as we strolled along the hallway to another room.
‘Don’t be troubled, Herr Erdbeer,’ he commented. ‘Our en are crack fighters. We have similar units all over Europe in advance of our campaign.’
‘You mean you’re developing an army,’ I observed fearfully.
‘We cannot afford to look weak and vulnerable. Even though our plan is currently passive, we need to develop an army for purposes of protection. We have to be strong to establish a United States of Europe. A strong army will ensure that it happens.’
We stopped outside another ornately-carved door as I pondered his words carefully. This time Germany did not intend to fail by sheer dint of error... as it had done in the last two World Wars. It was designed to ensure that the sons and grandsons of the Fatherland controlled the whole of Europe. I had to admit that, if it was allowed to continue, no one would be able to defend themselves against such a carefully prepared plan.
’I congratulate you on the way you’re developing the Fourth Reich,’ I told him, biting my tongue as the words left my mouth.
He laughed loudly. ’Not only the Fourth Reich, my friend, but the Fifth and Sixth. The Fourth will take us through the twenty-first century. The Fifth will establish national socialism on a far wider scale than has ever been seen before. The Sixth is expected to complete the programme to its fullest extent right up to the third millennium. What do you think of that?’
My mind was at sixes and sevens. The Sixth Reich would be totalitarian in every respect having absorbed every country in Europe into a Reichland. What would they try to do after that...conquer the rest of the world? It would be within their grasp in time if they were allowed to continue!
‘I nurse only one private regret,’ he went on. ‘I wasn’t able to be a member of the Hitler Youth Movement. I hadn’t been born at the time. We’re planning to introduce a similar system in due course.’
I smiled weakly as though I was in favour of the idea although deep down I dreaded everything he had told me. The enemy stood at the gates and it was no longer possible to close one’s eyes to the danger.
‘Come!’ he repeated, opening the door to usher me into the room.
There were approximately thirty people inside sitting in a hemisphere as they listened to a lecturer who spoke to them in front of a blackboard. He droned on for a while explaining the law of diminishing returns before launching himself into food production in the United States of Europe. Kirk withdrew me from the room by taking hold of my arm and closing the door behind us.
‘All very boring stuff to the creative mind,’ he complained, pulling a long face to accentuate his feelings. ‘If they placed all the economists in the world end to end, they wouldn’t reach a conclusion.’ He stopped to laugh at his own joke. ‘No doubt you can see how important it is to train people in order to integrate Europe both economically and financially for the future. Herr Graube, the tutor, is absolutely correct in his theories. There is so much waste in Europe which is absolute nonsense!’
He led me to another door and entered, allowing me to follow him inside. There were about the same number of people in this room listening to a different lecturer.
The reform of the legislature in Britain can only be accomplished by the dissolution of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There will be no Members of Parliament, only five Law Committees in various parts of Britain. Ultimately there will be no General Elections. A Central Committee will be appointed to ensure the rules of the new order are always in place. The laws with be made within the United States of Europe to encompass all the countries therein. They will be simple in their entirety with imprisonment for all crimes. Prisons will be very stark with no facilities of any kind for the inmates. The idea is to eliminate crime very quickly and the laws of indictment are swift and will include the death penalty for serious offences. Court cases will be kept to one single day, allowing Plaintiffs and Defendants half of one day each. There will be no very rich barristers and lawyers in our new society. Any changes will be unified and carried out by the Central Committee. We shall brook no delays or folly.’
Kirk took me out of the room nodding his head in agreement, ‘You see, Herr Erdbeer, we shall not require different governments to waste time and cause chaos. Our legislation will be simple and effective.’
He was right in a way but I deplored the concept of totalitarian control where people had no democratic rights. Clearly Kirk had been brought up to think that way. He led me to yet another door and then turned away. ‘No... this lecturer is very boring,’ he confessed. ‘You won’t mind if we give this one a miss but I think you’ll find this one interesting.’
We entered to find an entirely different set-up. A number of people were working independently on charts of different countries, checking information on population, as though operating an election campaign. On the wall hung a large flag with a circle on a black background. Inside the circle, the face of a lion, and the letter ITT were boldly displayed.
‘We call this the Election Room,’ boasted Kirk. ‘As our recruitment drive continues, we intend to prepare ourselves for future elections. I saw you looking at the flag. Our marketing and public relations staff assure me that the face of a lion is not only attractive to the eye but meaningful. And, of course, ITT stands for International Three Thousand. The lion will roar when we achieve success.’ He walked up to a man working on a chart of Italy. ‘What are you doing?’ he enquired.
The man looked up and got to his feet quickly before pointing to the chart with his index finger. ‘The continuous red line indicates the electorate of Italy at the present time, excluding children, criminals , gypsies and the like,’ he informed us. ‘The dotted red line is the estimate in ten years’ time. The black line indicates the number of ITT members in ten years’ time. The green one represent ITT numbers in twenty-five years’ time. It all identifies the timing of our electoral development within Italy in time to come.’
‘Forgive me for saying this,’ I cut in foolishly. ‘Elections normally take place every five years at which times the electorate make their own views, often changing sides.’
The man looked at me with a surprise expression on his face. ‘There’s an easy way of removing opposition,’ he said flatly. ‘Reduce their survival rate. Anyone who stands in our way will be eliminated. That will ensure our success.’
My host began to laugh loudly as he led me out of the room. ‘Don’t look shocked,’ he told me. ‘Once the programme gets under way, we cannot allow obstacles to stand in our path. Opponents will meet with unfortunate accidents. We’ve given it the title of ‘Planned Progress’.’
I considered such acts to be unsolicited murder but it would have been exceedingly foolish for me to express my views. Now I understood why Die Stunde was set for the first of June two thousand-and-fifteen. That was the kicking off time to start the new programme on a softly, softly, ca
tchee monkey plan. They would, no doubt, start to integrate themselves as a new election party. The thought chilled my bones and I felt an urge to tell the Prime Minister what was going on at the earliest opportunity. I went to the window to see the men still performing martial arts and I could see an observer standing to watch them. I recognised him instantly as Lieutenant-Colonel Topham! There was confusion in my mind as I looked again to make certain that my eyes were not playing tricks. I was losing control of the assignment. No one seemed to be what they appeared to be, and they tended to turn up in all the wrong places.
We went back to the library where Kirk closed the door and sat in a comfortable chair behind the desk.
‘We’ve checked your credentials which proved to be satisfactory,’ he related, pausing to choose his words carefully. ‘There’s a vacancy for a qualified person in the banking field in our organisation. As you know, we recruit at all levels but it’s difficult to find people in the Category A of the socio-economic scale. It’s even harder to find someone who’s fanatical about International Three Thousand. And then, suddenly, you appear on the scene...a senior banker... who appreciated the purist doctrines of national socialism. We are doubly blessed!’
‘Are you asking me to join ITT on a permanent basis?’ I asked, expecting him to stuff me into a room with other bankers. If so, my fate would be swiftly sealed for I knew little about the intricacies of the banking profession and would soon be found out.