Alps, on the border of Austria and Switzerland
The carved-out path in the granite wall that snaked its way up the cliff side would have made the climb easy were it not for the build-up of snow and ice. And, as if to add excitement to the climb, the sun had begun to set, which made it a real challenge to all three climbers.
Max kept an eye on the descending cloud cover above them. At first it was a blessing, keeping them shielded from view, but in the past hour it had grown thicker, now threatening to engulf them before they could reach the opening on the cliff face.
Max stepped forward as the cloud cover cut off his view of Ditter, who was leading the group up toward the rock face entrance to the castle.
“Ditter?” Max called as he pulled on the stretched climbing rope in front of him.
Ditter poked his hooded face out from behind a rock outcropping, and a small cloud of condensed air exited his mouth as he said, “This way, Max.” Ditter pointed up to the thin crevasse that ran up the cliff side. “The path goes vertical now. Here’s where the climbing gets hard.”
Max studied the small crevasse and put his back to one side of the cold granite wall. With his feet he began to push up against the opposite wall. It was slow going at first, but once Max felt at ease with his grip he shimmied up.
The dense cloud cover had engulfed Max by the time he reached the small, flat step jutting out of the crevasse he was in. Above him was an old wooden pulley. Max peeked over, but could not see more than a few feet forward, so he pulled himself up from the hole and carefully walked the icy path. After a few steps he found the opening in the side of the inner wall. He took out a finger-sized waterproof pelican LED flashlight from his pocket and pointed its beam into the dark hole. All Max could see was a rough-cut, thin granite cave curving away from him.
Max stepped into the cave, holding the Glock 36 at the ready. After a few moments his eyes picked out what he was looking for—a wood door. The door was closed and the hall leading up to it lay empty, both good signs. He backed up and, once out on the ledge, began looking for a suitable place to set up the climbing equipment.
He began to hammer the arrow pitons into the granite wall. Even though there was the existing pulley, Max was not going to take any chances using it and set up his own pulleys. Once secure, he attached the locking carabineers to the protruding pitons, followed by the pulleys, and threaded the 50-foot climbing rope through it. He then ran the rope around a second pulley, which hung a foot above and to the side of the edge, and let the rope drop down the crevasse.
Ditter caught the rope, tied it to his waist climbing harness, then pulled twice, signaling to Max that he was ready to climb. Max found a good foothold and began to pull. The pulleys made easy work of hauling Ditter up the crevasse. Once up, Ditter stood behind Max and helped him pull Val up. Val made quick work as he grabbed the edge and pushed himself over. Once they were all up on the ledge, Max turned and retrieved the equipment that Val had tied up to the end of the climbing rope.
Ditter watched from the thin edge as Max and Val put on bulletproof vests and checked the guns and ammunition. Max carried the .22 in his aviator coat along with the suppressed Glock, the vintage triple barrel rifle, and he wore the bulletproof vest that he had taken off one of the assassins. Val stood on the other side, the most heavily armed of the bunch, with the two assassins’ MP5s, one in his hand, the other strapped to his back. He now wore Wolf’s tactical bulletproof vest, which was loaded with ammunition for the MP5s.
Ditter felt odd wearing the bulletproof vest and holding the suppressed Glock in his hands, but was glad to have a weapon. “Okay, we leave the ropes ready. Odds are that we are going to have to move fast. Val, you lead.”
Ditter stood back and watched as Val performed a slow scan of the tunnel ahead. Val would look the walls up and down, then the floor, and step forward. It took him some time to reach the wood door. Once there, he ran a small rectangular black device around the frame.
“Its not wired,” he said, pulling the door out a half an inch. Then he placed what looked like a dentist’s mirror through the small opening and reflected the light around the inside of the door’s frame. “Looks good inside.”
He pulled the door open and stepped through. Max and Ditter followed. Val saw the spiral steps opening on the right and stopped. He raised his hand and they all gathered in a small circle.
“Looks like no one has been through here since I walked these halls,” Ditter said.
Val nodded, recalling Ditter’s story. “I concur, but still…look out for any sort of wiring, just in case. Okay, this is where we kiss and say goodbye.”
“I think we should stick together. We saw how many sentries there were up top. We don’t know what we are stepping into,” Ditter said.
“Ditter, you and Max have a job, and that is to get Solange. It’s my job to find out if there’s something more sinister going on.”
“I understand, but I would feel more comfortable with the two of you.”
“Yeah, me too, especially with this lazy, no-good soldier covering your back.”
Ditter jerked his head and looked at Max.
“Ditter, don’t worry; we both know what we’re doing. Now let’s go get our girl.” Max tapped on his ear. “I don’t think we will get much use out of these radio transmitters inside these tunnels, but we should be okay once we’re in the castle. In any case, we keep to the plan—radio silence until we have the girl. I’ll click the transmitter three times. Now, Val, if you see something worth talking about, take note and we will see what we do once we are back here. Any questions?”
Val and Ditter shook their heads. Max fist-bumped Val, and stepped up the spiral staircase.
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Max stared aimlessly at the stairs circling up above him. It had been 15 minutes since they had started the climb, and he was getting frustrated and a bit claustrophobic. He had just begun to wonder when the stairs would end when the ceiling began to flatten out. Curiosity struck as he studied the odd shape above his head, trying to figure out what it was. He took one more step up where there was none, and stumbled forward, catching himself in a small hole in the wall.
They had reached the top.
Thank God.
Max looked into the shoebox hole he had used as a handhold. A metal ring swung lazily within. He looked up at the ceiling, then back down at the ring.
“Huh.”
“What is it?” Ditter asked, breathless from the climb.
Max aimed his light beam up at the ceiling and found what he was looking for. “Well, good, if we use it. Bad, if they do.” He pointed at a boulder as wide as the stairway walls, dangling above their heads.
“Scheissen. Did not see that...” Ditter said, taking a long, deep breath, “when I was last here.”
“Easy to miss when you’re on your way down, looking down at the stairs, not up at the ceiling.”
“You have a point.” Ditter looked past Max and down the tunnel. “The tunnel slopes up until we hit a granite door. Once past that we are in the castle.” He pointed up the dark tunnel.
Max hunched over to avoid the tunnel’s low ceiling and walked forward until he came up to a cross tunnel. He stepped in and accidentally pressed down on the raised cobblestone on the floor. A heavy granite door behind him slid closed, separating him from Ditter. Max reached out to stop it, but pulled his hand out at the last second as the door thumped shut. He looked down and found the switch, and pushed down on the cobblestone once more. The door clicked, then slid open. “Cool...I take it this is the granite door you mentioned,” Max said as Ditter stepped through. “Good to know it can only be opened from the inside.”
“I did not think it would have remained open all these years. At least now we know I was the last one in these tunnels.” Ditter pointed to the left. “That way is the kitchen, and to the right is the Great Hall, library, and the room I came in through.”
“Well, let’s be a couple of Peeping Toms, then.” Max winked at Ditter.
The kitchen was bustling with energy. Max saw 10 men working the area, preparing meals. He gave Ditter his place, and Ditter listened. After a few minutes, he smiled and closed the peephole.
“She will be taking dinner in her guarded room, but no mention where she is in the castle. It seems that she broke one of the guards’ noses, and they were all arguing about who was to take the food to her.”
“Well, she’s here, which is good and bad, but it’s a start. Let’s go see what’s happening elsewhere,” Max said as he aimed his flashlight up the thin corridor.
The SS major’s clicking heels resonated through the castle library. Ditter could see through the peephole that the room had changed décor since his last visit. The major addressed the officer sitting behind the desk, his back to Ditter.
“General, Phoenix Project is ahead of schedule. The last three evolutions have achieved a 100-percent retrieval rate. We have now almost three battalions—close to 1,500 men—going through medical and orientation. They will be fully armed and ready within the hour. The Phoenix evolution is now on schedule with another five transports within the next week. We have run the last two EMS Hive tests at 100-percent power. The new magnetic rails are holding power with minimal acceptable drain. All systems are go and ready for countdown and activation.”
“What have we heard from the Zurich team?”
“After the targets escaped into the forest, the team backtracked and split up. The Mercedes wagon was spotted in the woods and the neighbors reported seeing two men boarding a helicopter. The helicopter headed west and was not seen again.” The major handed the general a report.
“Continue,” the general said as he scanned the report.
“The aircraft spotted earlier has not returned, and the radar scans show the skies clear of aircraft out to 50 miles, except for the occasional crossing of commercial passenger flights above 30,000 feet.” The major took a short breath. “Activity is now Condition Two. All security teams are at their posts and ready for orders. The biologics teams are set up and ready for extraction. ‘All clear’ will be given once the cargo is secure. Time for activation will be—” He took a quick glance at his wristwatch. “—in 82 minutes, sir.”
The general thought for a moment. “Alert all teams to Condition One.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Inform the doctor that we will be down in…30 minutes. Have Fraulein Ludger at the control room’s observation deck by the time I get there. That is all, Major.”
The tall, blond-haired man in the black SS uniform clicked his heels together and shot out his right arm in a perfect Nazi salute, and exited the room. The general turned in his chair and took a minute to relax in the glow of the crackling fireplace.
Three shelves up running along the wooden column abutted to the wall, Ditter stared in shock at Wehr, who was dressed in an SS general’s uniform. He closed the peephole and turned on his flashlight. “Max, we have less than 30 minutes to find Solange.”
“Why?”
“They are taking her down to the observation deck. Whatever that means.”
“Observation deck?” Max asked, but Ditter left it at that as he hurried up the tunnel. Ditter found the peephole to the room, looked through, and hit the switch on the wall. The door opened in toward him, revealing a wall of cardboard boxes. It took them some time as they both worked together to gain access.
Max passed Ditter and headed to the room’s door. He slowly opened it and took a quick look into the hallway. The hall was dark. To his left he could see stairs and the glow of light coming from below. “Okay, Ditter. You stay here until I get back,” he whispered.
“No, I’m going with you. I know this castle better than you.”
“Don’t worry, I’m just going to scout the hallways to make sure all is clear. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Ditter grabbed Max by his arm. “Don’t be a hero. If you are not back in five, I’m coming after you.”
“It’s a deal.” He winked, admiring Ditter’s tenacity.
He arrived at the top of a stairway after a short walk. Muffled voices wafted up. The conversation stopped and was replaced by a techno beat.
Television.
Max headed down the stairs. He poked his head out into the hallway at the last step, and took a quick, two-second scan of what lay ahead.
Small flat-screen TV. Keyboard. iMac on top of an elaborate wooden desk. Long hallway, stairs at the end. Twenty-five meters. Chair pulled out, ashtray with unlit pipe on the tabletop. Smell of vanilla tobacco in the air. Nobody in sight.
He stepped around the corner and quietly walked a few yards past three dark-stained wooden doors, and ended up at the desk. He walked around, scanned it, and found a pad with names and measurements.
A toilet flushed behind one of the three doors. Max looked up from the desk, his brain working out an escape, when one of the doors began to open. Max instinctively jumped over the desk and ran full speed to the door, hitting it hard. As the door went back on its hinges, it slammed into the face of a portly man. The man, in turn, hit the back of his head against the bathroom sink, knocking him unconscious.
Max peeked around the door to find an old man dressed in a black uniform lying unconscious on the white marble floor. He reached down and pulled the cloth measuring tape off his neck. Max took one more look at his surroundings and smiled as he formulated a plan.
Ditter began to look around the room and in the boxes. He found black SS visors and caps wrapped in clear plastic. He looked at his watch once more, grunted, and moved toward the door. As he reached for the knob, the door swung open.
In the door frame stood an SS major.
Ditter raised his gun, but it was too late. The major dove forward and caught Ditter’s armed hand.
“Ditter, relax!”
Ditter struggled, but stopped when he recognized the major’s voice.
“What?” Ditter looked up from the uniform and realized Max was staring back at him. “What the hell are you doing in that uniform? I almost shot you.”
Max looked at the gun in Ditter’s hands. “Yeah, I guess that was stupid of me. Won’t happen again. Anyway, I think we just found our way in.” Max held up a SS colonel’s uniform, and looked past Ditter to the visor on top of a box. He walked to it, took off the plastic covering and put it on his head. “Hey, it fits!”
Ditter took the hat off Max’s head, went to another box and put a new hat back on Max. “They would have noticed that a major was not wearing the correct officer’s visor.” Ditter held up the first visor. “Look, no silver piping.”
“Good thing you’re here,” Max smiled, and looked him over. “Now let’s get you fitted.”
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Ditter, now dressed in a colonel’s uniform, told Max that he would do all the talking if they came across anyone. As they walked down the hall, Ditter assured Max that they had properly dressed for the occasion. “You will be fine...just don’t talk.”
“Don’t worry about me. Even though I can’t speak the language, I can at least understand some of what they’re saying.”
“The good thing is that in the SS, the lower ranks never spoke in the presence of a commanding officer, unless they were addressed, ordered to, or had a message to relay.”
They took a turn and headed into a wider hallway.
Up ahead, two lieutenants were talking. Ditter proceeded to reprimand Max for not having his paperwork ready for the up-and-coming fictitious meeting. The lieutenants, not wanting any part of the rage, lowered their gaze and tried to look busy as the colonel and his assistant walked by.
Max looked once more at his watch. They had less than five minutes to find Solange. Ditter pushed out a painted wood door and stepped into the grand stairway hall. A beautiful marble staircase ran the circumference of the three-story-tall room.
Ditter looked down from their perch to the bottom of the stairs, stopped, and turned to face Max. “See the two guards down below?” Ditter followed Max’s eyes as they darted to the guards against the far wall, flanking a white door two stories down. “That is the elevator shaft. If we wait here she is bound to show up, but what do we do then?”
“We go with her.” A full minute passed and next to the bottom of the staircase a door opened and Solange exited. “Ditter, here she comes.”
Ditter tensed and looked back to see Solange being escorted by two armed SS sergeants. “Follow my lead,” he said as he stepped down past the foyer entrance and down to the basement level.
“Are you sure about these red tags, Ditter?” Max asked, referring to the red tags found in the locked drawer of the tailor’s desk.
“Yes, I’m sure...at least, that was the way they worked over 60 years ago. Now be quiet.” Ditter straightened up, stepped onto the basement floor and headed to the elevator shaft.
“Sergeant.”
Solange and the two sergeants turned to see who was addressing them. Solange gasped as she realized it was her grandfather in the black SS uniform.
Both sergeants saluted simultaneously, causing a saluting chain reaction to the two corporals guarding the elevator gate.
Ditter raised his right arm from the elbow. He turned to meet eyes with his granddaughter and spoke. “Fraulein Ludger, your father has asked me to accompany you down to the observation deck and explain what we are about to see.” Ditter stepped aside just enough to let Solange see Max. Max had a blank stare, mostly due to the fact he had no idea what Ditter was saying.
“Pardon me, Colonel, but we must stay with Fraulein Ludger at all times.”
“I did not order you to leave, did I, Sergeant?” Ditter acted as pompous as he could.
The sergeant thought for a moment and gave in. “I apologize, Herr Colonel.”
Ditter just stared at the sergeant, trying to make the man uncomfortable. Satisfied that he had been intimidating enough, he turned to Solange. “The general has told me that you have not been a cooperative guest.” Ditter laughed and turned to the sergeant with the bandaged nose, who in turn gave a slightly humiliated smile. “I hope that you will not be breaking my nose, as well.”
A metallic shudder resonated behind the white, six-foot-wide door. One of the corporals turned and pulled it open. Behind it was an ornate iron gate. Ditter watched as the elevator stopped, aligning its steel floor with the castle’s dark wood floor. “Ah, here is the elevator. Sergeant, if you will?” Ditter faced Max as the corporal slid open the gate and the sergeants’ escorted Solange into the elevator. “Major, I know you are a busy man, and I have work to do before the countdown, but could you spare me a few minutes on our way down, before I let you go about your business?”
Max, still lost as to what was being discussed, just clicked his heels and did a slight bow in response. Ditter gave a slight nod to Max to follow him and they both stepped into the elevator. Max walked past Solange and the two sergeants, putting himself behind the group.
“Fraulein, did you know that the first time I rode this elevator I was a lowly lieutenant trying to earn my way up the promotion ladder? Who knew that so many decades later our great plan would still be in the works.”
Ditter looked back at Max to make sure he was in position. Max pointed his chin to the grand stairway. Ditter looked over as the elevator operator closed the iron gates.
General Wehr was beginning to go down the stairs from the grand foyer when the sound of the metal gate closing caught his attention. He turned around, and saw, past the elevator gate, Solange, her guards, and an officer.
Max was the first one to catch the look on Wehr’s face as he recognized Ditter in the colonel’s uniform. The elevator operator had just turned the lever when the general took out his gun as he shouted, “Alarm!” He pointed at the elevator and got off a shot. The bullets ricocheted off the iron gate. “Stop that elevator! Intruders!”
The soldiers guarding the elevator shaft turned and joined Wehr as they shot a burst at the passing elevator roof as it dropped out of sight.
Max was already fighting a close-combat, hand-to-hand battle inside the moving elevator with the big sergeant. Being the first to see Wehr’s reaction, Max had drawn his .22 and shot the closest sergeant in the head. The other sergeant’s reflexes were quicker than Max had anticipated, and Max’s bullet missed its intended target.
The sergeant knocked the .22 out of Max’s hand and began delivering a multitude of punches that Max managed to block. Max, in return, hit the sergeant straight on the broken nose. He felt the nose flatten as the punch shattered the cartilage within, spraying blood on Max’s hand and uniform. The sergeant grabbed his face in pain and Max took the opportunity to land three blows to his abdomen.
Ditter and Solange were busy, as well, both fighting the armed elevator operator. Ditter repeatedly hammered the butt of his gun into the operator’s face as Solange kicked him wherever she could.
Max’s blows didn’t do much, since they hit the sergeant’s bulletproof vest. The sergeant, furious now, lunged at Max, picked him up off his feet, and carried him to the far elevator wall. Max spread his arms out and swung them back in, slapping both of the sergeant’s ears, rupturing his eardrums.
The sergeant let go and stumbled back. He reached over his back and grabbed his MP5. Max did the same, looking for the Glock, but his opponent was quicker on the draw.
The sergeant took aim, and his head exploded, spraying blood, bone, and brain matter onto the sidewall of the elevator.
Max turned to see Ditter’s suppressed gun barrel smoking from the bullet that had just left it. Ditter looked at Max and asked if he was all right.
“Yeah. Solange, you okay?”
“I thought you were dead, Max,” she said, accompanied by a small sob.
“Not yet, honey, not yet.” Max put his hand on Ditter’s raised gun, pushing it down. “You had to do it, Ditter.”
“Yes, I did,” Ditter whispered, taking one more second to contemplate what had happened, then he ran over to the elevator control handle. “It’s a long run to the hangar. Are you ready?” he asked Solange as the elevator stopped.
Max pressed the communications button on the transmitter in his pocket three times. The elevator stopped in front of a green door. “What’s behind the green door?” he asked Ditter.
“It’s the green warehouse I told you about. We will have to run to the hangar if we don’t find a car.” Ditter slid the gate open.
Max picked up his .22. “I’m ready!”
Ditter pulled down on the bottom half of the green door. It slid down, and at the same time the top half slid up, revealing the extensive warehouse, and 20 fully armed SS soldiers pointing their weapons at them.