“Why?” Dawn asked.
“Something fell out of the sky and they want us to check it out. But first we’ve got to stop and pick up the Professor.” Tom shifted the car into gear, pressed the gas, and drove out of the parking lot.
***
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Dayton, Ohio
Axel, Tom, Dawn, and Professor Julian Hayes stepped down the stairs from the U.S. Air Force plane that had flown them from Andrews Field in Maryland to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. They stepped onto the tarmac near a large hanger as two military officers and a civilian walked out of the hanger to meet them.
“Professor Hayes?” an Air Force officer with stars on his collar asked as he neared them.
“Yes,” Hayes replied.
The officer held out his hand. “Major General Nash Turner, United States Air Force.” He motioned to the Army colonel standing beside him. “This is Colonel Dalton, U.S. Army.”
Hayes shook each man’s hand. “A pleasure gentlemen,” he smiled. He then looked past them to the civilian standing a few feet away. “And you are?” he asked.
The civilian smiled and stepped forward extending his hand. “Rance Jennings, Assistant Deputy Director of Special Projects at NASA.”
Hayes nodded. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jennings,” he said. He turned to Tom, Axel, and Dawn. “These are my colleagues from the Clandestine Scientific Operations Service—Agents Thomas Fleming, Axel Smith, and Dawn Williams.”
The three men nodded a greeting to them all.
“Is this it?” Tom asked as he spread his hands wide.
“I’m sorry?” General Turner asked, clearly confused by Tom’s meaning.
“I expected more alphabet agencies to be here than just us and NASA,” Tom replied.
The general smiled. “Yes, so did we. Someone called them off. We were told you guys and NASA would be the only ones involved in this one and that Air Force and Army were to help with anything you needed.”
Axel leaned over to Dawn. “No CIA? This trip might not be too bad after all,” he whispered. Dawn chuckled.
“So what do you have to show us?” Professor Hayes asked.
The general smiled. “Right this way, sir,” he said and turned back toward the hanger. Everyone followed the general. They walked past a row of armed military police securing the area, through a door into the hanger. It was pretty heavy security for a hanger already quite secure on a military base.
As they entered the general turned to speak again. “We’ve seen a lot of unusual stuff here, Professor Hayes,” he said. “Wright-Patterson examines all foreign air technology captured. We’ve studied Japanese, secret German jet technology, and, of course, Soviet weapons, but no one has ever seen anything like this.”
They walked up to a tall object covered with a heavy, black tarp. The General called the colonel to help him and they pulled the tarp off to reveal a large, bell-shaped metal object. Hayes and Tom glanced at each other, and then back at the object.
“And you say this fell from the sky in Pennsylvania?” Hayes asked.
“Yes,” the colonel replied. “That’s where my men and I found it yesterday and removed it to here.”
“Any idea of how long it had been there?” Tom asked.
“A few hours,” the colonel said.
“I’m sorry did you say hours?” Hayes asked.
“Yes, sir,” Colonel Dalton replied.
“It seems to be covered in mud and dirt,” Tom remarked.
“Yes, sir, it had been partially buried in the ground,” Dalton said. “We wanted to wait to clean it in case…hell I don’t know why, but you never can tell with this stuff. I’m just an old soldier.”
“I need a ladder,” Tom said as he glanced around the hanger.
“There’s one,” Axel said and jogged over to a step ladder that leaned against the wall of the hanger. He lifted it up and brought it back to Tom.
“Set it there,” Tom said pointing at a spot just in front of the giant bell-shaped object. Axel complied. “Thanks,” Tom said as he climbed up the ladder. He started wiping the mud and grime away from the top of the object with his handkerchief. “Oh, my,” he said and moved his head out of the way revealing to everyone a large swastika painted on the side. Tom’s eyes met Hayes’. “Die Glocke,” he said and Hayes nodded.
“That’s impossible,” the NASA man mumbled.
“What is?” the general asked not realizing what the others were referring to.
“Well, General, if this is what it appears to be, our intel says it disappeared from Germany in 1945,” Professor Hayes said.
“What does it appear to be?” the general asked.
“Die Glocke,” Tom said. “It means ‘The Bell’ in German. It was Hitler’s Wunderwaffe.”
“A wonder weapon,” Axel said for the benefit of Dawn and the others that did not speak German.
“Not a wonder weapon, Axel,” Tom replied. “The wonder weapon. The weapon the Nazi’s believed could still win them the war even as Berlin was about to fall in 1945.”
“What does it do?” General Turner asked.
“Who knows?” Hayes replied with a shrug.
The NASA man spoke up. “There is speculation of course. Everything from a time machine to an anti-gravity device.”
“What?” the colonel asked as he and the general chuckled a bit.
“Don’t laugh gentlemen,” Hayes said. “This weapon disappeared from Germany twenty years ago and you say it fell from the sky in Pennsylvania two nights ago.”
“Are you telling me this thing is a time machine?” the general asked.
“Sort of,” Hayes said.
“What are you thinking?” Tom asked.
“I’m thinking about Einstein,” Hayes replied with a wink, then turned to Dawn. “My dear, do you think you could…” he paused searching for the words “…have a look inside?”
“I can try,” Dawn replied as she stepped closer to the Bell. She closed her eyes and placed her fingers on her temples.
“What is she…?” the colonel began, but Hayes shushed him and he fell silent.
“There is someone in there,” Dawn said.
“Who?” Tom asked.
“A man…wearing a uniform. A Nazi uniform,” Dawn said. “He is dead. No, he’s alive, but asleep. Wait, he’s waking up.” Her eyes popped open.
“Do you know who it was?” Axel asked.
“We’re about to find out,” Dawn said and no sooner had the words left her lips than the Bell began to open. It was as if the top simply rose up revealing a chair and a scraggly looking bearded man in a Nazi uniform sitting in it.
The Nazi’s eyes flicked from person to person. “Where am I?” he asked in German.
“Ohio,” Tom replied.
The Nazi smiled. “America. I made it to America.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Who are you?” Tom asked in German.
“Hans Kammler,” the man replied.
“Dear God,” the colonel said as Tom looked at Hayes and Axel felt the electricity begin to tingle in his fingers.
“Do you know who that is?” Dawn whispered.
Axel nodded. “The devil,” he said.
“How long have you been inside Die Glocke?” Tom asked.
“I am not sure,” Kammler replied in German. “Several days at least.”
“Days?” Tom asked. “Herr Kammler, it is 1965.” Kammler’s eyes went wide. Then he began to laugh. The laughter grew more and more boisterous and he soon began to clap his hands.
“That’s enough, Tom. We need to get him back to Washington to do a debriefing.” Hayes said before turning to Jennings. “I assume there will be no objection from NASA?”
“I don’t really care what happens to Kammler,” Jennings said. “But we want the Bell.”
“Well, I am sure your boss can arrange that,” Hayes said and then turned back to Tom. “Tell Kammler he is coming with us.”
“Alright,” Tom r
eplied. He relayed the message in German and Kammler nodded with a smile as he stepped out of the Bell.
“Whatever you need,” Kammler said.
“General, do you think we could get him some different clothes? He’ll stand out a bit dressed like an SS officer in D.C.,” Hayes said as he motioned toward the Nazi uniform.
“Shouldn’t be a problem, just give me half and hour.”
Axel looked at Tom. “Baby sitting another Nazi, huh?” he asked.
“Looks like it,” Tom replied.
“You know, I’m really starting to dislike my job,” Axel said.
Chapter 3
Washington, D.C.
There was a chill in the air as Brygida sat on a bench watching the building that held the CSOS offices where she knew Axel worked. She had watched this office everyday since Alena had told her about him—that he and Rolf were her sons, taken by the sinister Nazi SS Colonel, Hans Arnulf to become super soldiers for the Third Reich. Every day she watched Axel come to work and every day she planned on approaching him and introducing herself. However, everyday she got too nervous and let him slip by, into the office.
Brygida had followed Axel on more than one occasion, stalking him, as she used to stalk high ranking Nazis she planned to assassinate. She had seen him take his coworker, the woman Alena said was named Dawn, out on numerous occasions and realized they had become more than friends. From the looks of it, their relationship was advancing fairly quickly.
Brygida had come close to introducing herself to both Axel and Rolf one time when Axel had taken his brother to a ball game, but they looked so happy together, she did not want to ruin their day. At least, that was the excuse she told herself. She always had an excuse, but the truth was she was nervous. Terribly nervous. As she would begin to approach Axel, the butterflies in her stomach would start flying around. Her palms would get sweaty and her mouth would go dry.
Today was the day, though. Brygida was certain this time. At least, she had told herself that she was certain. Nothing was going to stop her from walking up to her son and introducing herself to him. She had rehearsed it many times, but she knew it would still come out garbled when it actually happened. How in the world could he believe that she was his mother when she looked no older than he did? Brygida glanced at her watch again. Axel was two hours late today. She knew she could not sit there all day waiting for him. It would look too suspicious if someone noticed her. The last thing she needed was federal agents interrogating her. She stood up and determined that their introduction would have to wait another day. She reassured herself that she would meet Axel tomorrow—yes, tomorrow for certain—while secretly relieved he had not shown up for work.
Brygida began to walk along the street toward the CSOS office building, intending to casually walk past it before crossing the street, when a black car pulled up to the front. The door opened and Axel stepped out. Brygida’s heart started to race. Axel reached back and offered his hand and assisted Dawn out as well. Brygida briefly thought of not introducing herself, because Dawn was with him, but then she scolded herself knowing that it was just another excuse. She had determined to meet him today and now that he had arrived, she would do so.
Axel was staring at the car as Brygida made her way toward him. Other men were getting out of the car, but Brygida was so focused on Axel that she did not turn to look at them. “Axel,” she said. It was too late to turn back now. He looked at her and she flashed a smile. He narrowed his eyes, clearly not recognizing her, but returned a friendly smile anyway.
One of the other men crossed in front of Axel and Brygida’s eyes met his. She recognized him immediately. Hans Kammler! It had been twenty years but the Nazi still looked the same as he had when he had escaped from Brygida in the Bell.
“You!” Brygida heard a voice shout and turned to see Tom walking swiftly toward her, pistol raised. “I know you! Put your hands in the air!”
Brygida’s eyes flashed back to Axel who, with the assistance of Dawn and another man was hurrying Kammler into the offices. Brygida raised her hands obediently as Tom approached. “Turn around!” he shouted. Brygida began to turn around, but Tom had moved too quickly, coming into arms reach and Brygida’s hand snapped forward, snatching the pistol from Tom’s hand before she landed a right hook that knocked him off of his feet. She then raised the pistol, firing at Kammler. She only got off one shot, missing and hitting the side of the building, before the Nazi was safely inside.
Brygida chased after them but suddenly Axel stepped out of the doorway to block her path. “Axel…” she began, but before she could say another word a bolt of blue energy leapt from Axel’s hands, slamming into Brygida and sending her flying across the street.
Axel ran to Tom, assisting him to stand. “Are you okay?” Axel asked clearly concerned.
Tom nodded. “Yeah, but wow, that broad can land a punch,” he said as he rubbed his jaw. He straightened and glanced around searching for her. “Where is she?”
Axel pointed to Brygida’s body laying on the sidewalk across the street. “I hit her pretty hard,” Axel said. Then his voice turned somber. “Honestly she may be dead.”
“Well let’s hope not, I really want to find out who she is and who she works for,” Tom said as the two men stepped off the curb into the street. As they did so they saw Brygida begin to rise, pushing herself up onto her feet.
“What the hell?” Axel asked under his breath, shocked that the woman could recover so quickly after being hit with that much electricity. There was no way someone any smaller than Rolf should be able to stand after a blast like that. “Stop!” he shouted.
“Axel, please, don’t fight me,” Brygida answered back as she raised her hands defensively. “I promise I am not your enemy. That man is a Nazi,” she said referring to Kammler.
“How do you know my name?” Axel demanded.
“If we can all just calm down,” Brygida said.
“How do you know my name?” Axel asked again as he began to glow blue building up an even bigger charge than before. He planned to knock her down and keep her down this time. Brygida realized what was happening, that he was about to zap her again. This day was not going the way she wanted and the fear that she might be killed by the son she so wanted to love, terrified her more than anything ever had before. She knew there was no talking to him now, things had become too violently confrontational too quickly. Brygida turned and sprinted away. Axel and Tom chased after her as quickly as they could, but Brygida was too fast. She turned a corner and when Tom and Axel finally reached it, she had disappeared.
“That is one elusive woman,” Tom said as they scanned the streets searching for her. “Last time I encountered her she leapt off of an overpass onto a moving vehicle.”
Axel nodded. “But who is she and how does she know who I am?”
“I don’t know, Axel, but one thing’s for sure, she hates Nazis. Each time we get one she shows up to kill him.”
“Yeah, makes you wonder which one of us is on the right side, doesn’t it?”
Tom ignored the comment, but patted Axel on the shoulder. “Let’s go see if Kammler can shed some light on things,” he said as he and Axel walked back up the street toward the CSOS office buildings with Tom rubbing his jaw.
***
Dawn met Tom and Axel as they stepped off of the elevator. “Did ya’ll get her?” Dawn asked eyes jumping back and forth from Tom to Axel.
“No, she got away,” Tom replied, frustration ringing in his voice.
“Where’s Kammler?” Axel asked trying to forget the woman for a moment.
“I don’t know,” Dawn replied. “Ian met us and hurried him away.”
“How about the Professor?” Axel asked.
“He followed Ian,” Dawn replied. “I wanted to wait and make sure you two were okay.”
“Well then, let’s go talk to Ian,” Tom said with a smile, before leading the way to Ian’s office. “Is he in?” Tom asked Martha as the three strode past her desk. They did
not bother waiting for an answer before opening the door and stepping through to find Professor Hayes sitting in a leather chair speaking to Ian from across his desk. Kammler was not present.
“Welcome back,” Ian smiled.
“Thanks,” Tom replied as he fell into one of the two remaining leather chairs. Axel offered the other to Dawn and she accepted with a smile.
“So you were attacked coming into the building?” Ian asked as Tom pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket, removed one, placed it between his lips and lit it with a zippo lighter.
“Yes, by the same woman who attacked Arnulf in the hospital,” Tom replied. “The one he called the Valkyrie.”
“Are you sure?” Hayes asked as he scrunched his eyebrows together.
“Positive,” Tom replied.
Ian shook his head. “That’s what Kammler said too. He said that she tried to kill him before. He called her the Valkyrie.”
“But that’s impossible,” Axel said. “How could Kammler have known her? This woman didn’t look any older than me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself old man, she looked years younger,” Tom said with a smirk as he blew a stream of smoke from his nostrils.
“But Kammler doesn’t look like he has aged since 1945 either,” Hayes reminded him.
“How is that possible?” Dawn asked. “Is the Bell really a time traveling machine?”
“Not directly. Not in the H.G. Wells sort of way, but yes in a round about way,” Hayes responded. “At least, if my hypothesis is correct.”
“Well, Professor, are you going to give us this hypothesis before Axel dies of old age?” Tom asked before taking a drag from his cigarette.
“We have some evidence that the Nazis had successfully developed anti-gravity. The foo fighters seen by Allied pilots for one and, of course, the experience the three of you had in the tubes of that alien base, would certainly qualify,” he said referring to Team Blitzkrieg’s mission a few months earlier in the jungles of Vietnam.
“Right,” Axel said, “but what does that have to do with time travel?”
Flight of the Valkyrie Page 4
