by Mark Spaid
“Mein Fuehrer, we have a party member who’s talking about Stalin’s whereabouts,” Goering said as he stood behind Hitler in Stalin’s office.
“Where is he?”
“We have him in a holding cell at KGB headquarters.”
“Very well, when I’m done here we can go see him.” There were photographs for the local papers and Hitler’s legacy. He finished his tour of the buildings then went with Goering to see the man who knew where Stalin was.
“Ask him where Stalin is?” Goering said to the Russian interpreter.
“He flew to Omsk ten days ago then he was going to Vladivostok,” the interpreter said.
“What was his final destination?” Goering asked.
“He’s not for certain; he thinks San Francisco was one possibility and also Buenos Aries.”
“Well, that’s not very definitive,” Goering said.
“Is he still in Vladivostok?” Hitler asked.
“He thinks it’s possible,” the interpreter said. “It seems the United States is reluctant to grant asylum to a Communist. Anti-Communist sentiment is running high and Hoover is out for blood with any Communist, domestic or foreign. Capturing Stalin would be the pinnacle of Hoover’s career. The FBI is all over the west coast hoping to nab Stalin if and when he arrives,” Goering relayed to Hitler.
“Is there a chance he’s still in Vladivostok?” Hitler asked. Goering heard the answer and turned with a surprised look.
“He says he may still be in Omsk.”
“What? How?”
“It seems that Vladivostok doesn’t want him either. No one wants Stalin, least of all the Russian people.”
“We should send SS units to Omsk immediately,” Hitler commanded.
“I already have and Himmler’s on his way himself.”
“Very good, Goering, let’s wait and see what happens,” Hitler said as he grinned and left the room.
Omsk was a city of about three hundred thousand so it wasn’t a village. It was a major population and rail center. Three thousand regular army troops arrived to a city without police authority of any kind. The army left a week ago and policemen had been throwing off their uniforms and fading into the countryside or running out of town. Residents had been looting to the point where there was no bread in any stores, medical help had broken down as supplies, especially drugs (morphine and other sedatives) were stripped from every hospital and doctor’s office. The Germans quickly restored order, which included shooting three to four hundred looters. Word spread rapidly and the looting stopped. The army found a medical supply house, that the looters apparently didn’t know existed. SS doctors were brought in and the hospitals and doctor’s offices were resupplied. Physicians returned to work and the hospitals were again functioning.
The SS arrived in force a day later along with Himmler and began policing the streets, which included rounding up Jews and Communist party members, most of whom were identified by community snitches. In addition, the SS was conducting a house to house search for Stalin. Rumors were all over town that he was hiding somewhere in the city waiting for a way to get to Vladivostok…a city that didn’t want him. After two days a contingent of SS soldiers saw a man standing in front of a house and pointing. They approached him and he spoke in German.
“Stalin killed my dad and brother in the purge of thirty-eight. The KGB arrested my wife and she died in one of their dungeons. Stalin’s in the basement, hiding. There are three men with him and they’re armed.”
“Stand aside,” a lieutenant said and motioned for three of his men to go to the back door. Then he and the other two charged the front door and broke it down. In the basement they found Stalin crouching in a corner. The three guards surrendered without a fight and were taken outside. They tied Stalin’s hands and gagged him before taking him outside, into a car and to KGB headquarters where Himmler was waiting. They sat the prisoner in a chair and tied his hands behind him. Himmler questioned him but he didn’t answer anything. Hitler arrived and stared at Stalin from twenty feet away. Stalin never looked at Hitler and Hitler never spoke.
“Take him to Berlin with the rest for trial,” Hitler said then he Himmler and Goering met and talked. The rest was a long list of top Communist Party members. Molotov, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov, Beria and others. They’d be charged with crimes against The Third Reich and the German people. Zhukov, the top Soviet general, shot himself after the army disintegrated. At the trial and it’s a stretch to call it that, the defendants were subjected to a couple of screaming, maniac prosecutors shouting in their faces and in the end, they were all sentenced to death by hanging. The executions were filmed and sent to theaters across the European Continent. The SS used piano wire for effect and to emphasize their brutality. In the end they were all dead so it made little difference. Stalin was last to be hanged and Hitler was there on a chair in the front row to watch. Stalin looked straight ahead with a defiant look on his face...he was hanged and it was over. Hitler looked at the body swinging back and forth then got up and left without a word. The Soviet Union was subjugated easily and Nazification began all over the vast country.
The United States was conquered similarly. In April of 1948 an enormous armada of warships set out across the Atlantic. Thirty-six carriers each with a hundred and forty planes, two hundred and fifty destroyers, eighty-six cruisers armed with rockets carrying atom bombs, one hundred and forty submarines, supply ships, tankers and one hundred thousand German marines on troop ships. The United States was busy in the Pacific and the home guard was wholly inadequate. Three hundred miles away rockets were launched at Washington and three atom bombs landed on the capital. The President and cabinet were meeting at the Whitehouse and Congress was in session. The entire government was wiped out…the city was leveled. Two atom bombs were launched at New York City. One was designed to land on the outskirts about ten miles away and the other over the Bronx. Hitler didn’t want to destroy the city…it’d be used as the Nazi capital. Two million people died in New York but the city was largely intact. Round the clock bombing of air fields and military bases continued for days and German troops landed with tanks and began moving inland. Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Pittsburgh were all given ultimatums to surrender and they did. The SS took over the cities and gathered all the Jews they could find and…well you know the rest. Very quickly the United States was conquered. There was no government so the military…navy, and army in the pacific gradually suspended their efforts against the Japanese. Generals MacArthur and Eisenhower were in Australia but with time they decided to send the ships back to Pearl Harbor and the men back home to America. Not to belabor the point but just like the Soviet Union, the United States was subjugated and Nazified. Hitler had conquered the world at least the part of the world that mattered to him. Asia and Africa would be dealt with later.
This was the world of the alternate Time Line. Those four Nazis who went back and convinced Goering to convince Hitler to invade England instead of Russia did all of this. The world turned upside down. Anything of substance that was created after the war in the original Time Frame, every great idea, work of art, literature etc. was all gone. It was a world of Nazi tyranny and brutality.
The Time Frame had to be reversed back to the original one and four people…well four people and Belinda were charged with the task of saving civilization.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“I don’t know if we can make it past security,” Tatiana said as she peered through binoculars. She looked long and hard for a pair without any metal in them and found some at a pawn shop back in Bloomington.
“They must’ve entered here,” Captain Shellhause said.
“Yes, but they had identifications and spoke fluent German,” Little Wolf said.
“And, they were all men,” Belinda said.
“Yes, and I don’t know if they’d take very well to women getting past security,” Tatiana said.
“What if you disguised yourself,” Tom suggested.
> “As a man?” Tatiana asked.
“Yeah, tuck your hair under a hat, lower your voice or don’t talk at all, stay behind us and hide when we enter,” Tom added.
“You’re quite good at objectifying, Detective,” Tatiana said with a smirk.
“I know it sounds demeaning and I hope you know I wouldn’t say these things if it wasn’t a dire situation.”
“I know and I think I could pull it off but that leaves Belinda and no, she can’t pass for a man.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“I played a pirate in my fourth grade Halloween Party,” Belinda offered. No one knew who I was until I took off my mask.”
“I’m sure you were most convincing” Captain Shellhause said, “But I think you’d agree that several…well, changes have occurred to you since the fourth grade.”
“Yes, and drastic ones at that,” Tatiana said.
“I know and so does everyone else,” Belinda said as she turned and looked at her shape.
“Some things transcend time travel,” Tom whispered to Captain Shellhause.
“I heard that,” Belinda said and gave Tom a look.
“Sorry”
“That’s alright, I know what I look like and I’m very happy with me. The whole female world wishes they could look like. Belinda Fanelli. How could that bother me…” She stopped for a moment and looked away thinking about something. Then she had that big Belinda smile and turned to everyone. They all looked at her wondering and cringing at what she was thinking.
“What is it, Lind?” Tatiana asked.
“We have a problem to be sure just like you said. You four had your plans and they didn’t include anyone else, especially me. You can’t just leave me here, though I’m sure the thought entered your heads at least momentarily. We all have to go back together so you have to take me along.”
“What’re you getting at, Ms. Fanelli,” Captain Shellhause asked.
“This; Tatiana goes in as a man and I go in as a high-class escort.” There was silence as Tatiana looked at Tom and Captain Shellhause.
“High-class escort?” Tom asked with a strained look on his face as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Very high-class,” Belinda added.
“Why?” Tom asked.
“To get inside for one and to go where we want to for another,” Belinda answered.
“But you’re not dressed for that and you don’t have a wardrobe with you…or do you have a wardrobe with you?” Tom asked.
“No, Tom, this is all I have to wear plus a surprise or two in my bag,” she said and held up a small grip.
“These guys will want glamour and glitz if they’re going to, well… you know,” Tom said.
”Yes, I know. Give me a few minutes and I think I can make myself presentable,” Belinda said.
“What do you guys think?” Tatiana asked.
“I have to say, it makes sense,” Captain Shellhause said.
“What do you think, Little Wolf?” Tatiana asked. “You’ve been quiet.”
“I’ve been watching the road and the guards at the gate but I heard.”
“Well?” Tom asked.
“I believe in Miss Belinda, always. I’ve seen her turn heads that were unturnable,” Little Wolf answered. They watched the entrance for any pattern while Belinda was gone. There were only two guards so, they looked for a weakness. They couldn’t rush past or a quick call would bring down twenty guys with guns to shoot them. No, they’d have to use their guile.
“We need to convince them were legit,” Tom said.
“Wow,” Captain Shellhause said as Belinda walked back the group.
“Lind, you’re a wonder,” Tatiana said as she walked around her friend shaking her head and grinning. “Jo always said you could walk out of a swamp and look beautiful and I think she’s right.”
“I do what I can,” Belinda said smiling. She’d brought along a short skirt that would be an eye opener in any decade but unheard of in 1939. She had on glamorous make-up, her hair was nice looking as always and she opened her shirt to accentuate her bosom. In all a very high-class escort as she said.
“You can get and keep their attention at the gate, Lind. All we need is for them to believe us and your high-class escort ruse just might do it,” Tatiana said.
“Very high class,” Belinda remined her. Tatiana smiled and they readied for their attempt at entering the grounds.
“Here goes,” Tom said as they approached. They waited for the last vehicle to enter and then there was an opening. They actually hoped that while they were being questioned by the guards that another car or truck would approach. If so then the guards might feel compelled to move things along.
“Halt,” the first guard said. He was a lieutenant. The other guy a corporal.
“Heil, Hitler,” Captain Shellhause said and the lieutenant returned the salute. He did all the talking since no one else knew enough German. The corporal eyed Little Wolf up and down. Despite the pale make-up, Little Wolf projected an image that was very non-Aryan.
“What’s your business here?” The lieutenant asked.
“We’re here for Minister Goering.” The lieutenant looked behind the group then at the corporal.
“Where’s your vehicle?”
“Engine trouble a few miles back. We walked so we didn’t…disappoint Minister Goering,” Captain Shellhause said.
“Your papers.” The lieutenant looked at the packet of papers that Captain Shellhause gave him. Everyone was nervous, except oddly enough, Belinda. She still didn’t entirely understand what they were doing or why their present position was a precarious one. She stood smiling and hidden behind Tom. That was part of their scheme. In Bridge, Belinda would be the ace of trump. They were saving her for the last-ditch effort if they needed it.
“Is everything in order, Lieutenant?” Captain Shellhause asked.
“What’s your business with Minister Goering, exactly?”
“We have a delivery for tonight’s entertainment,” and with that Belinda walked up to the lieutenant. Like any man who sees her for the first time it’s very, very eye-opening and is frequently accompanied by a gasp or a wow. The lieutenant was no different. He lowered the papers and perused Belinda up and down, all around and every way possible. Belinda was the only woman any of them knew that could strut standing still. She put on her best and most alluring pose and managed to wiggle her breasts. The lieutenant began smiling and handed the papers back to Captain Shellhause. The corporal was also salivating. As they stood there a truck pulled up behind them but the lieutenant didn’t notice. After a minute or two he just stood staring.
“What’s your name?” He asked in German
“Belinda,” she said in the most simpering baby talk she could muster and finished it with a poke to her dimples with her index finger and pouting her lips. She had a German dictionary that she’d been using when she could on the trip here. She recognized benennung and thought he must be asking her name. With the lieutenant fully mesmerized by Belinda, Captain Shellhause thought it was time to make his move.
“Are we okay to go?”
“What?” The lieutenant asked snapping out of his trance.
“Can we go now?”
“Oh, yes,” and they were waved inside. They walked rapidly as the lieutenant and the corporal stared at Belinda until she was out of sight.
“Now what?” Tom asked.
“We see if the four are already here,” Tatiana said.
“I thought we knew we were days ahead?” Captain Shellhause asked.
“We’re not sure of anything,” Little Wolf said. “Miss Tatiana’s right; we need to find these guys if they’re here and keep an eye on the gate in case they haven’t arrived yet.”
“Let’s get inside if we can,” Tatiana posed.
“What do we do when we’re inside?” Tom asked.
“Try to blend in,” Tatiana said.
“Blend in...you’re kidding I hope,” Tom remarked.
“No, we’re going to have to pull this off,” Tatiana insisted. “Captain Shellhause will do all the talking. I do know some German but it’s hard for me to hide my Russian accent. They made it in the building and with most of the stares aimed at Belinda, any conspicuousness that would be directed at Little Wolf for his features or Tom because he apparently couldn’t talk were all concentrated on the person that Belinda called the most beautiful woman in the world…Belinda. Men of all rank swarmed around her with offers of drinks and cigarettes plus a few invitations for a rendezvous later in the night at various secluded locations. She politely and cleverly put them all off and eventually managed to escape and found an empty room. Tatiana was watching Belinda carefully to see she didn’t get into any danger. These men were predators…animals in every sense of the word. She was a target for molestation and Tatiana wouldn’t let that happen. One of the advantages of using Belinda at the gate to distract was they were able to enter with guns in their belts. She’d use it if anyone posed a threat to Belinda. She wouldn’t let anything happen to her friend. If it meant sabotaging their mission and an early departure then so be it.
“Hey, you okay?” Tatiana asked as she followed Belinda and shut the door behind her.
“What, oh, yeah, I’m fine.” But it didn’t look like she was fine and Tatiana walked up to her and lifted Belinda’s chin up to look at her.
“Are you sure?” Then the tears started and Belinda put her face in her hands and cried. “What’s wrong, Baby?”
“I feel so dirty after that. I hate playing a bimbo. I know I’m not smart like everyone else and I am kind of a bimbo…obsessed with my looks and I know that’s the only thing I have that makes me special but it gets old.”