by Mark Spaid
“Get out!” An officer yelled and the first man left. Ron was helped back onto his stool then the man snapped his fingers and a smallish man arrived with a first aid kit. He bandaged Ron’s ear and gave him pain relievers.
“I’m sorry this happened to you but he wasn’t wrong in impressing upon you the need for a speedy success to solving the problem.” The name on his badge was William Luther. He was a big man maybe six five with a muscular build and wearing black horn-rimmed glasses. From the insignia on his collar, Ron deduced that he was a colonel in the SS. The new SS since the original was long since disbanded. He lacked a uniform of course since that would be tantamount to flying a Nazi flag on one’s front porch.
“I know I’m under pressure but no one seems to realize that this is a decades old problem and the finest minds who ever lived have tried and failed to solve it. I have credentials as a theorist but not enough to solve this problem. I’ve just scratched the surface.”
“That’s too bad…we had high hopes for you but if you say you’re licked then I guess we should let you go but with a proviso that you talk to no one about what we’re doing here.” Ron was shocked at what he heard.
“You mean I can go and you won’t bother my family or me?”
“Of course not, we’re not cold-blooded killers, Dr. Shapiro.” Luther smiled and patted Ron on the back.
“What should I do?”
“You’re sure you can’t solve it?”
“Maybe not ever but certainly not in less than a year.”
“I see, well, I guess we should find someone else.”
“I can stay and try for a while if you want.”
“No, if you’ve hit a wall then we understand that and wish you well on your career as a college professor. You’re free to go.” Ron was still unsure but Luther shook his hand, thanked him then walked him to the door and waved as Ron drove away.
“Ron, is that you?” Candy asked as her husband came home.
“Yes.” He checked out the window and the car that’d been there for weeks, drove away.
“What’re you doing home so soon?”
“They released me.”
“What do you mean they released you?”
“I told them I couldn’t solve it…at least in their shortened time frame.”
“And what’d they say?”
“This guy named Luther thanked me, shook my hand and told me to go home.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, I guess so. The car that was across the street just left.” Candy looked out the window.
“Yeah, you’re right. So, now what?” Candy asked.
“I go back to college tomorrow and resume teaching and researching.”
“Will it be safe for the kids and me?”
“Yes, I think so. Luther said it would be and I think he can be trusted.” Candy was reluctant to let her guard down but she thought about it then looked out the window where the car had been surveilling them for weeks and nodded.
“Well, I’m glad it’s over. The next day Ron went back to campus, met with the dean and back to his department head. He resumed his teaching and his lab work and after a week he’d all but forgotten his period of “incarceration”. Candy went to work every day as a financial consultant and their two kids Felicia and Roger were busy at college. Friday was a slow day on campus. There weren’t many classes but Ron had one and afterwards he went to his lab to work on an experiment he was doing with the spectrum. By four in the afternoon the science building was all but deserted. It was Ron on the first floor, another guy in the Chemistry department on the second floor and Zeke the janitor. By this time on Friday he was in the basement in his office smoking a cigar. It was against the rules but he was safe with it and no one cared to get old Zeke in trouble. Ron was intent on the readings he was getting at the lower end of the spectrum and he never heard the door to the lab open and close. It happened quickly. A man from behind grabbed Ron and slit his throat. He fell forward on the lab table and the man quickly left, was out of the building and off campus in a few minutes.
At home, Candy was changing after work and sat down with a glass of tea to relax. She never heard the intruder who snuck up behind her, wrapped a nylon cord around her neck and began strangling her. She kicked and struggled but it wasn’t long and she was motionless. The killer checked for a pulse then left and disappeared along a back hedge.
On campus at the University of Connecticut, security was tight but for Roger and Felicia their residences were off campus. They lived in separate apartment buildings. Roger arrived at his front door and inserted the key. It was down a kind of a blind hallway. He touched the door knob when he was grabbed from behind and his neck was snapped.
Felicia was doing laundry on Friday night and was going to meet some friends later at a local eatery. She was in the laundry room in the basement alone. There’d been three people but the other two left. She heard a noise and called out but no answer then the lights went out. She always carried a small flashlight with her for this type of thing and she turned it on but saw nothing. She thought for a moment then decided she’d leave her laundry and go back to her room. She crept along the washing machines, went out the door and walked slowly to the stairs. She opened the door and started for the first step but never made it as she was grabbed from behind and stabbed in the chest four times. She went limp and fell to the floor. The killer left quickly and wasn’t seen by anyone. (A reminder by way of explanation for everyone. There was no getting away from these men. Once they set their sights on you, your life expectancy became very short).
* * *
“What?” Justin said as Dave stood in front of him grim-faced.
“We need to talk,” and Justin followed Dave into the den where Sol and Warren were waiting. Tatiana saw them close the door but didn’t follow. She’d talk to Dave later.
“Something’s wrong,” Justin said. Dave looked at Sol who nodded.
“It was on the news this morning out of Boston,” Dave said.
“What?” Justin asked then at that instant it hit him and he sat down and sighed.
“Ron Shapiro was found dead in his lab on campus…throat slit. Candy his wife was strangled in her home, Roger their son was in front of his apartment door with a broken neck and Felicia the daughter was found in the laundry room of her apartment complex stabbed to death,” Dave related then sat down himself. They looked at one another for a moment then Justin got up and walked to the window.
“Okay, what next?”
“We get ready because all three of us are on the clock,” Sol said.
“Are we sure?” Warren asked.
“Who else?” Sol asked. “Kumar and Shevelevitch are dead. They were the two leading figures in electromagnetism. Not to brag but who else is further in the field than we are?”
“He’s right, Warren,” Dave said.
“I suppose, I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part that we’d be skipped somehow.”
“Not a chance,” Sol said.
“What about Raul Diaz?” Warren asked.
“Dead,” Justin said.
“What?” Dave asked.
“I thought I told you,” Justin said.
“No.”
“Sorry, Dave but when you told me about this business and you mentioned that Diaz was a leading member in the field, I called a guy I know in East Lansing last night.”
“What happened?” Dave asked.
“Raul Diaz was found in his home shot three times...dead.”
“And, the neighbors heard nothing of course,” Dave said and walked away shaking his head.
“Knowing what little we do so far I’m sure these guys use silencers,” Sol added.
“That settles it then…they’ll be coming for us,” Dave said. “What do we do?”
“Whatever they want,” Warren said.
“We could be giving them the tools to conquer the world…to Nazify the entire planet,” Dave said.
“There’s no cho
ice,” Sol said.
“There’s always a choice,” Dave remarked.
“They’ll kill all of us including the children,” Sol said. There was silence for a long time as they were thinking of some way out.
“What should we do?” Warren asked.
“When they come for us, we have to cooperate. If we do what they want then everyone will be safe,” Sol said.
“What if we do solve it, then they’ll kill us for sure,” Warren posed.
“Not necessarily. If we can make ourselves indispensable then we can string things along,” Sol suggested.
“For how long?” Justin asked.
“For as long as it takes,” Sol replied.
“To do what?” Warren asked.
“To find a solution, that saves the world and our families,” Dave said.
“What’s that solution?” Warren asked.
“That’s what we have to find out,” Sol said. Warren shook his head and Justin stared out the window.
“We have to tell everyone,” Dave said.
“The kids too,” Justin said.
“Yes, but I see no reason to alter anyone’s schedule. The girls should continue to attend college when it resumes in the fall. Everyone needs to resume their jobs. The three of us will be holed up in a lab somewhere trying to do the impossible but who knows, maybe we can solve it,” Dave said.
“Let’s tell them,” Justin said and everyone met in the living room. Dave did most of the talking with Sol adding a few items. There was shock for most of them but some, like Tatiana, Jozette, Andy, Little Wolf and Julieta, were thinking about what to do to survive and protect everyone. Dave made an impassioned plea for confidentiality. Absolutely nothing could be said to anyone. They all understood and agreed to keep it quiet. They were told they’d be followed wherever they went but not to react. Just continue their days and nights as always. Dave explained that the people who were watching them would know that they’d been discovered. Everyone was to keep going as if nothing happened and not let on overtly that they knew. But under no circumstances were they to interact with their watchers. The girls understood and so did the adults. Belinda could be a problem but Tatiana and Jozette explained how important it was for her not to let the secret out and not to approach any of the watchers. She said she understood but Jozette and Tatiana were still nervous. Three days passed and no contact from anyone then Warren was in his office and there was a knock.
“Dr. Peabody,” a man said as he came in and sat down without being offered a chair and Warren knew right away that this was it.
“Yes.”
“I’m sure, you knew you’d have a visitor before long.”
“I did.”
“And, you know why I’m here.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You know what you’ll be asked to do?”
“Asked?”
“Well, required.”
“I do.”
“And, you know the consequences if you refuse.”
“Yes.”
“Can we count on you?”
“Yes,” Warren said without any hesitation.
“Good, Dr. Peabody, I like your attitude.” Warren lowered his head for a moment then looked up. He felt kind of like a soldier who’s been taken prisoner then gives away the position of his platoon.
“What do I do?”
“Be at this address tomorrow at eight am,” the man said and handed Warren a card. “A car will stop and pick you up. Don’t be late and don’t think about telling anyone outside of your family.”
“I won’t.”
“Good, thank you for your time and cooperation.” The man said with a sickening smile as he stood up and offered his hand. Warren shook out of fear. The man had a cold, lifeless hand and Warren felt a chill run down his spine. He felt dirty and cheap but he’d do anything to protect Ariel and his friends. After the man left, Warren closed the door and sat at his desk. He was scared; his knees shook and his hands trembled.
Dave and Sol were at Justin’s house sitting and talking about what else. They saw a man walking up to the front door and they knew exactly what he wanted. Dave answered it. Jozette, Belinda, Lexi and Ariel had taken the girls to the mall to break the tension and to get their minds off what was coming. Justin and Andy were in the kitchen drinking coffee. They knew who Dave was ushering inside.
“You must be Dr. Swanzy and you’re Dr. Isaacson,” the man said. The same one who visited Warren earlier in the day.
“Yes, we are,” Dave said and offered the man a chair. He wasn’t looking for a friend but there was no reason to antagonize these guys by being inhospitable.
“Thank you,” the man said and sat down eyeing Sol and Dave.
“What do you want?” Sol asked.
“Your help and I’m sure you’ll agree to that given the stakes at play.”
“We understand,” Dave said.
“Okay, then you know to defy us would bring catastrophic consequences for you and your family members.”
“We know your methods. Raul Diaz was a colleague and the whole physics world knows of Reva Kumar and Nikolai Shevelevitch.”
“Yes, we heard about their unfortunate demise.”
“Yes, unfortunate and Ron Shapiro and his family?” Sol asked.
“I heard that on the news about Dr. Shapiro and his family. That was a tragedy…a great mind and because of his death and those of Dr. Kumar and Dr. Shevelevitch I’m coming to ask for your assistance in solving a little problem we have in physics.”
“Why us?” Dave asked.
“It’s a pecking order of sorts. We started with Dr. Kumar and worked our way down. They were unable to help us when we asked them and, of course, can’t help us now so we found the next three people in your field.”
“Three?” Sol asked.
“I spoke to Dr. Peabody this morning and he agreed to help us. We followed his work in the desert on projecting high voltage across long distances without wires and I must say our people are impressed. Now, he’s not a theorist and as much as we need his experimental side, we do need some good mathematicians to solve our little problem.”
“Dr. Peabody is also, a brilliant theoretician,” Sol added.
“That’s good to know,” the man said.
“I take it this is not a request?” Dave said.
“Well, to be blunt…no. We’re enlisting your help and though you could refuse, I’m not sure I would if I were you.” Sol and Dave exchanged looks.
“We understand what’s at stake,” Sol said.
“Good because your reputations suggest your brilliance and tenacity at solving problems and we have one of considerable complexity.”
“Just tell us what to do,” Sol said and the man nodded with a grin.
“Be at this street corner tomorrow at eight am.” He handed Sol a piece of paper. “A car will take you to your location for work. Don’t fail to show up because you know what’ll happen if you’re not there.”
“We know.” He stood up and offered his hand. Dave shook it reluctantly.
“I think I prefer not to shake hands if you don’t mind,” Sol said.
“I understand, I don’t care to shake hands with a Jew anyway.” The man left, got in his car and drove away.
“We heard,” Andy said as he and Justin came into the living room.
“So, they tagged Warren also,” Justin said.
“Yeah, we knew that’d happen. He’s the experimentalist and a theoretician. They need him more than us if we ever solve it.”
“So, you’re going to do it?” Andy asked.
“What choice do we have?” Dave asked.
“None I guess,” Andy said.
“How much do you know about the theory?” Justin asked.
“As much as a hundred other physicists who’ve tried to solve it in the past,” Sol answered.
“What’re your chances?” Andy asked.
“Slim to none,” Dave said.
“What do we do in the meant
ime?” Justin asked.
“Carry on like we said,” Dave replied. Justin and Andy sat speechless.
“I’ve never felt so helpless,” Andy said.
“Join the club,” Dave said as he sat back and let out a long sigh.
1975
Everett Strope’s House
“You have done well, all of you,” Strope said as he held a meeting with the boys, their wives and their sons. The sons bore an uncanny resemblance to their infamous fathers. There was some deviation, of course, because of their biological mothers but the traits of the Nazi leaders came through. They were all juniors with the same first name as their fathers. Walter had Eichman’s facial features, Simon shared Borman’s face and eyes and George Klay had Goring’s eyes and mouthline. Randall and Donald who were the sons of Goebbels and Himmler respectively were near doubles for the natural fathers. Thomas Rutherford who was Hitler’s grandson had the brow and eyes of his grandfather and photos of Hitler as a young man showed a definite likeness.
“We all have sons, Mr. Strope. What’s our future?” Randall asked.
“To raise your sons as descendants of our glorious Fuehrer.”
“What of our daughters?” Teri Windsor asked.
“They are in a safe place,” Strope replied.
“But I want my daughter,” Teri continued.
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because the party will not allow it. I’ve told you that before.”
“Teri, stop complaining. The Greater Reich is all that counts,” her husband Simon said. The boys took well to their indoctrination and so did the girls during their youth but the birth of a child has an effect on a mother and it can trump any propaganda about the Fuehrer or The Greater Reich.
“I think Mrs. Windsor needs some medical attention,” Strope said and two men came from the back room and ushered Teri down the hall.
“No, not again,” she said as she was dragged into a back room. It’d not been her first brush with these men since her daughter was taken away. Girls were of no use to the Nazis as has been suggested earlier with the treatment of the baby girls at Schensburg. The Wrights, the Windsors and the Wests all had girls the first time and the babies were quickly taken away. There’s no reason to dwell on what happened to those little girls. Sons were all that was needed to carry out the plans of these Nazi descendants.