Flight of the Valkyrie

by Christopher Vale

  “We received your message, Brygida,” Alena said, all business as usual.

  “Good,” Brygida smiled. “I was worried the Centre would not pass it along to you. It’s worse than we ever imagined. The International has completely infiltrated Washington. They are running the CSOS now.”

  Alena glanced down at the floor and then back up at Brygida. “The International?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Brygida said.

  “We’re not here about the International, Brygida. The Centre wants Kammler.”

  “Well, the CSOS has him.”

  “And they want the Bell,” Alena added.

  “I’m afraid that will be impossible,” Brygida said.

  “Why?” asked Alena.

  Brygida reached over and picked up a newspaper and tossed it to Alena. Alena glanced down at the paper, The Pittsburgh Patriot. She saw the headline, “Giant Acorn crash lands in Kecksberg.” Alena scanned the story. “They tracked the Bell to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” she said.

  “Yes, if we assault an Air Force base we very well might start World War III,” Brygida said.

  Alena nodded, agreeing with Brygida that it would be impossible to recover the Bell from a military installation. “Well, we get Kammler then,” Alena said.

  “We kill Kammler,” Brygida shot back.

  Alena frowned. “Brygida, the Centre wants him alive,” she said. “They were very specific about that.”

  “Do you know who this monster is?” Brygida asked.

  “Of course I do,” Alena replied. “I hate the Nazis as much as you do, but we have our orders.”

  “Let’s just tell the Centre that we couldn’t capture him…that it was better to have him dead than in the hands of the Americans. I’ll take the blame.”

  “No, Brygida,” Alena said as she shook her head defiantly. “We capture him and we take him to Moscow. Once they have the secrets of the Bell, I have faith that he shall meet the horrible end he deserves.”

  “Unless they give him to the International,” Brygida said.

  “None of our comrades have any more love for the Nazis than we do, Brygida,” Alena reminded her. “The International has no power in the Soviet Union,” Alena said.

  “Are you sure about that, darling?” Brygida asked.

  “Yes, we are the last hope of defeating the global fascists,” Alena said pointedly.

  Brygida reached over and placed a hand on Alena’s. She knew that Alena was a true believer in the cause. Why shouldn’t she be? After all, it was the Soviets who rescued her from the brutality of the Nazis. She was too blinded to see that the Soviets were just as brutal, even though she had personally suffered at the hands of Soviet agents during her training. Badly.

  “Alright, my darling, we shall capture Kammler and spirit him back to Mother Russia.”

  Alena nodded and smiled. She decided to relax her tone a bit. “It is good to see you again, Brygida,” she said. Brygida stood and crossed over to her hugging her tight. Both women laughed when Alexi stood and wrapped his giant arms around both of them.

  “I love you,” he said.

  Brygida kissed him on the cheek. They released each other as Brygida wiped a tear from her eye. “How about some hot cocoa?” she asked and Alexi nodded excitedly. Brygida moved to the kitchen and removed a small pot from a cabinet, and then took milk from the refrigerator pouring it into the pot. She lit an eye on the stove and then placed the pot on top. Alena joined her in the kitchen.

  “So, what about Axel and Rolf?” Alena asked. “I guess you haven’t made contact yet.”

  Brygida shook her head. “I had finally gotten the nerve. After weeks of just watching them.” Brygida sighed in annoyance at herself for waiting so long. “I was walking straight toward Axel. I shouted his name and then I saw him.”

  “Kammler?” Alena asked.

  “Yes, Kammler. Our eyes met. He recognized me too, I could tell. He has not changed one bit. He looks as young as the day he first escaped me.”

  “Is he like us?” Alena asked referring to their genetic enhancements.

  “I don’t know,” Brygida said. “There were rumors about the Bell of course.”

  “That it’s a time machine?” Alena asked skeptically and Brygida nodded. “I’ve heard that. I have trouble believing that though.”

  Brygida laughed. “Me too darling. Me too, but you know twenty-six years ago I would have had trouble believing any of this.”

  “I guess so,” Alena said.

  “I’ve learned that anything is possible, especially when it comes to new ways and weapons for governments to destroy us.” She tore open a package of cocoa powder, poured into the pot, and stirred it in.

  “Well, that is why we need Kammler. If America has the Bell, no matter what it does we need one too. We cannot let the fascists win. Only the workers and the people can defeat the International, Brygida. It does not matter how many banks they own or factories they have, they are nothing without the workers and the people.”

  Brygida nodded. “Yes, my darling, of course,” Brygida said. “Now let us figure out how we are going to get Kammler for the Centre.”

  “I am serious about taking him alive, Brygida,” Alena said sternly.

  Brygida flashed a smile. “Absolutely, darling. I shall let the Centre deal with him when we get him to Moscow.”

  Alena nodded. She wanted this to go smoothly. She was very close to Brygida and owed the woman her life, but she knew that Brygida had her own agenda. An agenda that was not always in line with that of Moscow.

  “How about pulling out three cups darling?” she smiled at Alena.

  Chapter 8

  The caravan of CSOS vehicles drove north from Washington into Maryland at a quick pace. In the lead was a pick-up truck driven by Agent Ford with Agent Hamil riding shotgun. In the bed of the truck sat Axel and Rolf, ready to fight off any attackers if necessary. The middle car, a long black Lincoln, was driven by Tom. Dawn sat in the front seat beside him and Professor Hayes and Kammler sat in the back seat. Bringing up the caravan’s rear was another long black Lincoln, transporting Ian and three other armed CSOS agents.

  After discovering the Valkyrie’s apartment, Tom telephoned Ian who ordered agents to pick up Axel, Dawn, and Rolf. Professor Hayes, who was with Rolf at the time, insisted on coming along as well. The plan, suggested by Mr. X presumably with the clearing of the President himself, was to transport Kammler, as well as Team Blitzkrieg, to the Marine Barracks at Naval Support Facility Thurmont—more commonly known as Camp David. The facility was located in the hills of Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland, approximately sixty miles north of the city. There they would be secured until the CSOS could better determine what was going on, who the so-called Valkyrie was, what she wanted and who she worked for. Or until CSOS simply eliminated her as a threat.

  The caravan wound through wooded hills as they moved further and further from the city, the traffic and lights of Washington far behind them. Tom cracked a window to blow out the smoke from his cigarette as he followed closely behind the lead truck.

  “I don’t envy Axel and Rolf freezing their tails off up there,” Dawn chuckled as she stared at Axel and Rolf decked out in winter gear as they bounced along in the bed of the truck, huddled down behind the cab to shield themselves as best they could from the wind.

  Tom chuckled. “Do you think it’s as cold as Siberia?” he asked.

  Dawn looked at him with a frown. “Ugh,” she said as the memory of the bitter Siberian cold flashed through her mind. “I doubt it. That place was miserable. I hope this job never takes me to a barren land of ice again.”

  “I’ll take that over the steamy jungles of Vietnam any day,” Tom said as he finished his cigarette and flicked the butt out of the window sending orange ashes fluttering around in the blackness of the night.

  “Well, Vietnam had bugs—lots of bugs—so I’m going to have to agree with you. Why can’t we ever get missions to Hawaii?” Dawn laughed.

&nbs
p; Tom laughed with her. “No kidding,” he said. “When I was with OSS during the war I used to complain that we got stuck in Europe instead of being the lucky agents, sitting on Filipino beaches sipping drinks and working on their tans.”

  Dawn laughed out loud. “Oh, I am sure that’s all the agents in the Pacific theater were doing,” she said sarcastically.

  “Most likely,” Tom replied with a snicker. “What do you think Professor? Those lazy bums in the Pacific basically had a four year tropical vacation,huh?” Tom glanced in the rear view mirror at Hayes who was deep in thought. “Professor?” he asked.

  This jarred Hayes from his thoughts. He glanced up and his eyes caught Tom’s in the mirror. “I’m sorry, Thomas, I was thinking about something,” he said. “What did you ask?”

  “Nothing Professor, don’t worry about it,” Tom replied. “Dawn and I were just joking around.”

  Dawn turned around in her seat to face Hayes. “Something you want to talk about?” she asked.

  Hayes stared into her eyes for a long moment. He quickly stole a glance at Kammler who simply sat staring out of the window. The German did not understand English and was completely uninterested in their conversation. Hayes turned back to face Dawn. “Something had been gnawing at me about this woman, this Valkyrie, we’re hiding from. So I did some digging and I think I know who she is.” He began to laugh. It was not a humorous laugh but one clearly displaying his discomfort with the entire situation. “But the bigger question is not who she is, but rather how I handle disclosing her identity and what we will do about it once it’s been disclosed,” Hayes said appearing to be speaking more to himself than to the others.

  “What do you mean?” Dawn asked clearly confused by Hayes’ near rambling on the subject. “Who is she?”

  Hayes released a long sigh and glanced again at Kammler who remained uninterested. He glanced back at Dawn as he struggled with whether he should go ahead and tell her and Tom, but before he could Tom interrupted him.

  “Something is going on,” Tom said as the car began to slow. Dawn turned back around and faced forward to see the truck stopped in front of them. Tom pulled up behind the truck and they watched as Axel and Rolf climbed out of the truck’s bed. Tom rolled down his window and leaned his head out. “What’s going on?” he shouted to Axel.

  “A tree is laying across the road,” Axel shouted back. “Don’t worry, Rolf will have it moved in a jiffy.” Tom nodded.

  “That seems awfully suspicious,” Hayes remarked as he turned and peered uncomfortably out of the window.

  “I agree,” Tom replied before turning to Dawn. “Why don’t you use your magic and see if anyone is out there, darling?” he said.

  Dawn nodded and then closed her eyes. Contrary to what Tom said Dawn did not possess any magic powers, but she did have incredible psychic abilities and they had grown even stronger since her experiences in Vietnam. Dawn’s mind’s eye floated through the trees and shrubs along the hill sides surrounding them, searching for any danger. Suddenly, she opened her eyes with a gasp.

  “There is a woman with a rifle!” she shouted as she glanced at Tom.

  Tom stuck his head out of the car window. “Valkyrie’s here!” he shouted. “It’s an ambush.”

  Kammler’s head whipped forward as he recognized the word “Valkyrie.” He glanced at Tom and Dawn just as a shot rang out and a bullet blew through the back right window. Tom shifted the car back into drive as Dawn laid down in the seat, covering her head with her arms. Tom hit the gas as another bullet shattered the window.

  “We’re getting the hell out of here!” Tom said as he pulled a u-turn while stomping the gas pedal to the floor, screeching the tires as they sped back toward the city. Dawn lifted her head a bit to look back outside. The rear car was following them. She stared past it to see blue bolts of energy launching into the trees as Axel covered their retreat.

  Axel continued to blast the trees as he watched the cars drive away to safety. He then turned to Ford and Hamil who stood behind him with their guns drawn. “Get in the truck and drive along the road. Rolf and I will try to flush her out.” Just as the words left his mouth, Hamil was hit in the chest and fell backward landing on the ground. Axel spun back around and hurled blue lightening bolts up into the tree line, sending sparks flying upon impact. The bolts were fired wildly. He had no idea where the shooter actually was. He turned back around to see Ford kneeling over his fellow agent. Ford’s eyes caught Axel’s and he shook his head from side-to-side, indicating that Hamil was dead.

  Axel turned back to the woods, his blood boiling with anger. “C’mon Rolf,” he shouted as he waved his brother to the front. Rolf’s heavy body armor would stop a rifle blast. Axel’s suit would not. Axel followed his brother up the hill into the trees.

  “There she is!” Rolf shouted and Axel leapt out from behind Rolf to see the silhouette of a woman with rifle crest the hill and disappear down the other side before he had a chance to fire a lightening bolt.

  “Hurry!” Axel shouted to Rolf as he sprinted past the safety of his bigger, slower brother, not wanting the let the Valkyrie get away. Axel crested the hill and just as he began to run down the other side he felt the butt of a rifle slam into his jaw. He fell flat on his back.

  Rolf crested the hill soon after. He reached for the woman, but she dodged his grasp as she swung the rifle like a club, knocking his massive hand away. She spun and punched him in the face. He swung at her in return, but she was much too fast and easily ducked the blow. She stepped close to him, elbowed him in the throat and then grabbed hold of him to use his own weight, and the hill, against him, tossing him down the hill. Rolf rolled head over feet until he landed with a splash in a small stream below with a shout as the cold water shocked him.

  Axel sat up, still a bit dazed. He began to push himself up to his feet when suddenly the heel of a boot slammed into his temple and everything went black.

  Axel did not know how long he was out. When he came to, Rolf was carrying him down the hill back to the road where Axel saw the truck waiting for them, Ford at the wheel. “What the hell happened?” Axel asked his brother.

  “She kicked our butts,” Rolf said. For some reason that caused Axel to chuckle, but the chuckle hurt his head too much.

  “Oh God, my head hurts,” he said as he rubbed his temple.

  Rolf soon reached the truck and opened the passenger door, sitting Axel down beside Ford. “You alright?” Ford asked.

  “I’ll live,” Axel said, but no sooner had the words left his lips than he turned and threw up onto the pavement. Rolf barely got out of the way in time. Axel wiped the vomit from around his mouth. “Damn that girl can pack a punch,” he said. He slammed the door closed as Rolf climbed into the bed of the truck. He looked down at Hamil’s lifeless body lying beside him and started to cry as they drove back to Washington.

  ***

  “How are you feeling?” Rolf asked Axel as they stepped onto the elevator at CSOS headquarters.

  “Better,” Axel replied. “My head is no longer pounding. It’s just a dull ache now.”

  Rolf pressed the button marked ‘B’ and the elevator went down. The doors opened into the basement and they stepped off to find two armed guards. “Welcome back,” one said with a smile and opened the double doors to the lab allowing Axel and Rolf to step through. Once on the other side, Axel and Rolf walked down a long corridor before coming to the room where they kept their uniforms. There they found Dawn and Tom speaking to Steve Quakenboss, the head of the CSOS sci/tech development division.

  “Steve,” Axel said with a friendly smile causing everyone to turn to face them. “Just the man I needed to see.” Axel tapped the side of his head. “Any chance I can get a helmet? I just had my bell rung and it is still ringing.”

  “What happened?” Tom asked.

  “We caught up with Valkyrie and…” he turned to look at Rolf. “Tell them what she did, Rolf.”

  Rolf frowned. “She kicked our butts,” he said.<
br />
  “So she got away?” Tom asked.

  “Yes,” Axel replied. “But not before she killed Hamil.”

  Suddenly Dawn crossed to him and threw her arms around him. She began to cry into his chest. Axel returned the embrace. “It’s alright Dawn,” he said. “I know Hamil was a good man and he’ll be missed.”

  Dawn pulled away and wiped her eyes. She turned to look at Tom who nodded at her. “It wasn’t just Hamil, Axel,” she said.

  “What?” Axel asked. “Who else?” Dawn placed a hand to her mouth as she began to sob. She shook her head indicating that she couldn’t say it.

  Tom stepped forward and placed a hand on Rolf’s arm, patting him. “Um, Professor Hayes is dead,” Tom said through dry lips. Axel and Rolf simply stared at him for a moment. Then Axel swallowed hard.

  “How…” he began to say, but then stopped and cleared his throat. “She shot him?” Axel asked. Tom nodded.

  “Valkyrie shot Professor Hayes?” Rolf asked.

  “Yes Rolf,” Tom replied as he looked up into the giant’s large round eyes. “He’s dead?” Rolf asked as tears began to stream down his cheeks.

  “Yes, Rolf, he’s dead,” Tom replied softly.

  “But he was going to come live with me at the Home,” Rolf said as he sat down on the floor and began to weep. Dawn moved to him quickly and wrapped her arms around his massive shoulders. “Oh honey, I am so sorry.”

  “I loved him,” Rolf said through a sob.

  “I know you did sweetie,” Dawn replied. “We all did.”

  Axel looked up from his brother to Tom. “I want this Valkyrie, Tom,” Axel sneered. “If we can capture her and get some information from her, fine. But if not, I’ll be happy to just put her down.”

  Tom turned to Steve. “Would you mind giving us a minute Steve?” he asked.

  “Sure, Tom,” Steve said and walked away, leaving Team Blitzkrieg alone.

  Once he was satisfied Steve was out of earshot, Tom turned back to Axel. “Well, one thing is clear,” he said. “We have a mole at CSOS.”