44 |

South of Marienwerder, West Prussia
Nazi Germany
February 3, 1945

 

Vogel sat in the back of the car assigned to him, his driver silently carrying out his duty, a duty Vogel wasn’t happy about. It had taken several days to get the permits to travel to Marienwerder, the location provided by the late Dieter Maier for the locomotive he had picked up, but one of the stipulations was that he had to take a driver familiar with the roads.

Command claimed they were concerned he might get lost and fall into Russian hands. It was more likely they feared he was making a run for it to rejoin his family. The thought had occurred to him, though traveling across Germany without being picked up would be impossible.

At least without the help of criminals like Gruber.

“We’re here.”

Vogel leaned forward, his eyes narrowing at the sight before him. There were several transport trucks being loaded by a dozen men operating heavy equipment, one truck stacked with what appeared to be railroad tracks.

What’s going on here?

They passed through what at one time must have been a gate, but the fence that surrounded the area was gone, only the posts remaining, and those were being removed. He surveyed the hill ahead of them, then pointed to the left, something appearing off. The driver stopped about fifty yards from the hillside, and Vogel climbed out, approaching what appeared to be a carefully disguised collapsed tunnel entrance. He had little doubt that given a few weeks, perhaps months, no one would even know there had been something here.

He turned and scanned the area, whoever was in charge clearly attempting to remove all evidence that anything had ever happened here. He knew from the records it was a mine, and that it was due to be shut down. So why would they hide any evidence it had been there? Perhaps if there was still something here to be mined by the enemy, but why the subterfuge? Just blow the tunnels, making it impossible to work.

None of this made sense.

Unless they’re hiding something else.

The locomotive had been here, he could even see where there used to be tracks leading to the disguised entrance, crews raking out the ground as he watched. The locomotive wouldn’t be here for no reason. It had obviously delivered something. The question was what. It was a question that would probably go unanswered, though whatever the answer was, it was worth killing for to protect.

He was convinced now more than ever that Hermann Lang had been killed here after delivering a secret cargo, then Dieter Maier was sent to collect the locomotive, and killed for what he had seen.

Nobody could know something was hidden here, and secrets that deep were held by organizations like the Gestapo.

Or the SS, like the colonel now marching quickly toward him.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

Vogel kept his immediate uneasiness hidden, or at least he hoped he had. An angry SS colonel was dangerous. Extremely dangerous, especially outside of Berlin, where he at least had some protections.

Vogel presented his ID. “Detective Inspector Vogel, Kriminalpolizei. I’m investigating a missing person’s case.” He decided a bit of the truth might get him out of this, but he had to be careful.

“Who are you looking for?”

“A train engineer named Hermann Lang. One of his colleagues said he might have been killed here by partisans. I was just hoping to confirm the story so his wife can stop wondering what happened.”

The colonel’s eyes flared. “This is military property, under the direct control of the SS. You have no permission to be here. You are under arrest!”

Vogel raised his identification and travel permits once again as his heart slammed.

He was about to die.

“I have the proper travel permits, and you have no authority over me.” He motioned to his driver to bring the car around. “I am, however, perfectly willing to discuss this with our superiors in Berlin.” He opened the rear door and climbed in. He leaned out. “Do you want to travel in my car, or do you have your own?”

The colonel glared at him, clearly unsure of what to do, no one probably having challenged his authority before.

Vogel couldn’t wait, as at least half a dozen guards were strolling over.

“Very well, I’ll see you in Berlin.” He shut the door. “Drive.”

His driver stared in the rearview mirror for a moment, unsure of what to do.

“Now, if you want to make it out of here alive,” hissed Vogel.

The man shook out a terrified nod then hit the gas, sending them toward the entrance a little too quickly.

“Slow down, or they’ll open fire.”

The gas was eased off, and Vogel resisted the urge to check behind them and see what was happening. As they cleared the gate without incident, he breathed a little easier.

“Are they following us?”

The driver glanced in the mirror then paled. “I-I think so. There’s a car pulling through the gate.”

“Okay, just stay calm. Set a good pace as if you’re in a hurry to get back to Berlin, but not a crazy pace like you’re trying to escape someone.”

The accelerator was pressed, pushing Vogel into his seat.

“Easy.”

“Sorry, sir. It’s just that I’m about to piss my pants.”

Vogel laughed, trying to make the man at ease while he too struggled to control his full bladder. He had little doubt this SS colonel intended to kill them both to preserve whatever secret was hidden in the former mine.

What didn’t make sense to him was the location. Why hide something of obvious importance to the Reich, where the Russians would soon be arriving? It made no sense.

His jaw nearly dropped as he realized what must be going on.

They were planning for after the war.

Was it weapons for an armed resistance? It was possible, though again, why here? Wouldn’t the resistance be in Germany?

Gold to finance the resistance? Again, why here? And if it were just gold, why not transport it to Germany? Even if the train were hit by the Allies, it was just gold. Pick it up, load it on another train, and continue on.

What if it’s something fragile?

He chewed his cheek. If it was fragile, the only thing he could think of was weapons. Ammunitions, bombs—that he could understand, again for some type of resistance.

And again he returned to the question of why locate it here and not Germany?

He sighed. Whatever it was, it was important to someone, and important to the SS. And the Gestapo.

And now they knew, without a doubt, he was involved.

Even if he made it to Berlin somehow, he wouldn’t be allowed to remain alive. They were killing all the witnesses, and he had known that, yet his ridiculous notion of justice had sealed his fate, and that of this innocent driver.

They were both already dead.

They rounded a bend, and he saw no one ahead, a decision made. “Stop here. Quickly.”

“Why?” asked his terrified driver.

“I have to use the bathroom. Quickly!”

The driver slammed on his brakes and Vogel stepped out before they had even come to a halt. The car carrying the SS colonel rounded the bend and skidded to a stop, the SS colonel leaning out his window.

“What is going on here?”

“Bathroom break!” replied Vogel as he relieved himself.

“Hurry up!”

Vogel glanced over his shoulder at the impatient Colonel, wondering if the man might just kill him here and now, though counting on him not wanting to shoot a man in the back while he relieved himself. “The more you yell at me, the longer this is going to take.” He finished, then drew his sidearm, stepping through the brush lining the road with it behind his back.

“It’s about time!”

Vogel nodded. “I agree.” He pumped two rounds into the colonel, then two more into the man’s driver. He double-checked that they were dead, then reached into the shoulder pocket of the colonel, retrieving a notepad he had seen him making notes in, just in case he had recorded the name of the detective inspector that had visited the mine.

Vogel’s driver ran toward him, his hands on top of his head, his mouth agape. “Are you insane? What were you thinking?”

Vogel leaned in and put the car in neutral. “That if we reached Berlin with him, we’d both be dead.”

The driver froze. “Why? What have you gotten me into?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with. You are my driver. You were following my orders, and I had all the proper paperwork for this journey. You did nothing wrong. When we arrive in Berlin, you will drop me off, then immediately report to your superiors exactly what has happened here.”

“They’ll kill you for sure!”

Vogel nodded. “Yes, I’m sure they will.” He pushed the car toward a nearby farmer’s access road. “Don’t just stand there, help me push this thing out of sight before someone finds us.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

As they pushed the car out of sight, Vogel realized he had now transitioned from loyal detective, to traitorous murderer, and every one of his colleagues across the Reich would now be searching for him.

And he could think of only one way out of his predicament.