by James Somers
Permission
The Mercedes-Benz 770K staff car trundled along the winding road of the Olbersalzberg in the Bavarian Alps toward the Berghof. Hitler’s personal home near Berchtesgaden had long remained his favorite. However, the war had made security an increasing problem.
He noticed with disdain the barracks which housed many SS soldiers in order to maintain constant patrols around the Berghof. The smoke machines which had been installed to hide his chalet style home from enemy bombers were, thankfully, not in operation today.
Truth be told, Adolf understood why these measures had been deemed necessary. He was the Fuhrer of the greatest nation in the world. He must be kept safe. Not to mention that the Allies were closing in upon Germany.
He had even taken his own more personal measures in order to avoid assassination by both human and Descendant agents. He and his beloved mistress, Anna Parks, each had their own body doubles. Using his mental control over her, Adolf had caused Anna to accept the name Eva Braun. She was known publicly by this name.
The real Eva Braun happened to be a different, less lovely woman altogether. She had been paired with Adolf’s doppelganger and the two had hit it off quite nicely. They might have even fallen in love by now, but Adolf cared not the least. Their purpose was to look and act like Adolf and Anna so that it remained much less likely for assassins to see success.
These days, Adolf rarely made public appearances at all. It could even be said that his stand-in was running much of the war effort on his behalf. He might have worried about this were it not for the fact that he had hand picked the man for the job.
Karlheinz Schuschnigg was an intelligent man and loyal to his Fuhrer. He had been consenting to the extensive plastic surgery which had been required to transform his appearance and he enjoyed the luxury and seeming power the position afforded him. After all, he was, for all intensive purposes, one of the most powerful men in the world now, even if it was only for the sake of a ruse.
He was allowed to use the Berghof, when Adolf was not scheduled to be there, and any other home or convenience that the Fuhrer had been afforded. They convened together regularly in secret and through correspondence sent between them by way of Adolf’s personal valet, Heinz Linge. Despite even these securities, he had placed Karlheinz under his personal mental control just as he had with Anna and many others. He would obey him without question, to the death if he required.
Adolf’s staff car passed through the gate with its two flanking guard houses. Two soldiers saluted with arms raised as his car passed between them. The Mercedes meandered along the drive until finally pulling before the house itself.
Heinz was already waiting to open the door. When Adolf exited the vehicle, his valet closed the door and followed him inside. He walked on through the entrance hall, passing curious specimens of cacti in majolica pots. He had taken to collecting them as a dalliance, fascinated by their prickly tenacity, surviving in conditions where others perished. He fancied himself to be of a similar nature.
The corridor took him past the large dining room paneled in costly cembra pine, his private study complete with telephone switchboard, and the entrance to the Great Hall. One of his favorite rooms in the house, it featured a collection of Teutonic furniture as well as a large world globe. He imagined controlling every country whose image had been inscribed upon it. An expansive red marble fireplace took up most of a side wall like the very mouth of Hell, and on another Hollywood movies were sometimes shown from an adjoining projection room.
“Miss Parks has been asking after you since her arrival, sir,” Heinz said.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“She is walking with the dogs,” Heinz replied. “May I relay a message to her?”
“Only that I will see her at Dinner, Heinz,” he said. “Until then, I’ll take some time alone on the terrace to unwind.”
Heinz nodded. “Very good, sir. I shall inform her and lay out one of your evening suits.”
“Has there been any recent communiqué from Karl?”
“None sir,” Heinz reported. “He is on his way to a conference at the Reichstag. When he telephones, I shall relay all that he says.”
Adolf nodded and went on, walking toward the glass doors leading to the expansive terrace. Heinz withdrew without another word. The Reichstag in Berlin may have been the seat of German power, but Adolf was fully confident in Karl to represent him there.
Adolf pushed through the doors, walking out onto the terrace. He was afforded a sweeping view which included snow capped mountains in his former home of Austria. Each time he looked upon them he remembered his beloved mother. And he remembered the Jews who had killed her there, renewing the fire in his heart.
He stood there stone still like a statue, allowing the breeze to wash over him. His mind was a storm of possibilities, survival his primary concern at this point. How long will I be able to stand in this place? he wondered. How long before the end comes?