“You can call me Avi,” the man said.
“You’re Israeli,” Daniel said, recognizing the accent. The name clinched it.
The man shrugged, but did not affirm Daniel’s assertion.
The woman who had seated them returned with a carafe of coffee and two mugs. Both men turned down food menus. The woman filled the mugs and left them alone.
“What’s this about?” Daniel asked.
The man stirred cream in his coffee as he cleared his throat and replied, “I understand the sensitivity of your position. I don’t want anything from you.”
“I don’t know what you mean by my position,” Daniel responded, trying to maintain a look of ignorance.
“I can elaborate on the specifics of your work, if you like,” Avi said. “Shall I begin with your title, or shall I describe some of your recent projects? Perhaps I could just mention a name: Jonathan McDougal, you know him?”
Daniel’s skin puckered in goose bumps, and he fought a shiver.
“That’s a yes,” Avi said as he took a sip of coffee. “I also know you two made a trade.”
Daniel remained silent.
“It’s odd how we interact – our two governments,” Avi continued. “We’re allies – strong allies – yet we keep secrets from one another. Well, sort of. We’re both familiar with the knowledge possessed by the other, if that makes sense, but the details we keep to ourselves. This practice would normally be okay – it keeps our relationship interesting. But the circumstances have become too serious to continue this way.”
Daniel knew from his time as a CIA operative that what the man said was true.
“The puzzle is quite complex – the one on which you currently work,” Avi said. “But it is impossible to solve if key pieces are missing.”
“How do you know what pieces we have?” Daniel asked.
“Why must it always come to proof,” Avi said, and took a sip of coffee. “Okay, I suppose it’s good that you require some convincing. You already know about the Red Wraith project and now, I suppose, you’ve discovered its objective.”
It was a question Daniel perceived as rhetorical. He nodded.
“So what’s the goal?” Avi asked.
Daniel didn’t want to answer the question. As it stood, he’d have to tell his boss everything that was happening, and he’d likely have to go through a polygraph screening to make sure he wasn’t a further risk.
Avi waited for a full thirty seconds and then sighed. “It was to controllably separate the soul from the body. Correct?”
Daniel nodded. He flushed with embarrassment. He’d only made that connection recently. Either the Israelis knew of this fact long ago, or they’d acquired the information from someone inside the CIA. Either was a cause for concern.
Avi continued, seemingly conceding that Daniel would confirm nothing. “You’re probably thinking the objective is to create beings with special powers so that they can spy, kill, wage war, and the like. And that’s certainly possible. But you should know that there might be another purpose.”
Daniel had no idea what was the man was talking about, but he’d suspected that there had to be more to it than making super-spies. “How do you know these things?” Daniel asked. “How could you know more than we do?”
“Why do you think Israel has been hunting Nazi war criminals for the past half-century?”
“Justice.”
“Justice is secondary,” Avi replied. “There’s more.”
“Yes?”
“Information,” Avi said. “Why do you think so many Nazis were found in South America, Argentina specifically? It was undoubtedly a good hiding place for a while after the war. But many of them were there well before the end of the war – even before Germany started losing.” Avi took a sip of coffee. “Why?”
Daniel didn’t know the answer.
“It was convenient,” Avi said.
“For what?”
“To get to Antarctica,” Avi answered. “And what’s there, Daniel?”
“The beacon,” he blurted. “You said it already – by the car.” He wanted to make it clear that he hadn’t divulged any information – something to keep his mind straight for the polygraph test that was to come.
“Just the beacon?”
Daniel was confused, but silent.
“A base, perhaps?” Avi seemed to speculate. “More than that.” He reached into his coat pocket and brought out a small data storage device. He set it next to Daniel’s cup.
“What is it?”
“Every Nazi war criminal captured by Israel since the end of the war had been interrogated by Israeli intelligence – Mossad,” Avi explained. “The uncensored transcripts of those interviews are on this device.”
“Why are you giving this to me?” Daniel asked, suspicious. Even as he spoke he was tempted to grab the device and run for the door.
“I know who you are, what you do, and with whom you work,” Avi said in a matter-of-fact manner. “I have been authorized to give this to you. After all, our two countries are friends.”
“Why me?” Daniel argued. “Why not give this to the director of the CIA, or the President?”
“What happens at our level – the highest level of intelligence – is not known to our temporary leaders,” Avi explained. “Presidents come and go, as do the usual intelligence operatives and appointed leadership. You and I … we are in for life. We are the true protectors of our countries. We are the thinkers, and the protectors of our secrets.”
He understood now: Avi was the Israeli equivalent of an Omniscient.
“This is a race,” Avi said. “And Russia and China are in it – everyone is in it.”
“What do they know?”
“Too much,” Avi answered. “Why do you think Chinese and Russian subs are in the area? Why do you think someone launched a torpedo at your submarine?”
“We’ve been making a lot of noise there,” he replied. “They’re worried that we’ve laid claim to something that will make us more powerful – the beacon.”
“It’s more than that,” Avi replied. “They know what you know, and are one step ahead of you. They’re already looking for William Thompson. And you are not.”
“William Thompson?” Daniel didn’t recognize the name.
Avi stared back at him blankly for a few seconds. “You don’t recognize the name?”
Daniel shook his head.
“He’s the Red Box inmate who’d converted.”
“Inmate 523?”
Avi nodded.
Daniel’s heart seemed to drop into his stomach. The Israelis had already identified the man, and it was therefore likely others had as well. “We know he’s important, but didn’t have his name,” Daniel confessed. But now he did, although he’d still have to confirm it – he’d probably ask McDougal to confirm it.
“He’s the key to something,” Avi said. “He was in Chicago a few months ago, but we lost him. Find him.”
“I don’t understand his importance,” Daniel said.
“He can separate his soul from his body,” Avi said. “He’s the most advanced human being on the earth. And he’s absolutely unique – there will probably never be another like him. It took over a half-century of torture to obtain him.”
“Why does his ability to separate make him so important, and how is he connected to the beacon?”
“That we do not yet understand, but we believe he has a purpose,” Avi replied. “You must figure it out.” As he concluded his statement, he stood and put on his hat. “Wait for five or ten minutes before you leave.”
Daniel nodded. He wasn’t going anywhere. As Avi walked out Daniel slipped the memory drive into his pocket. He stirred his coffee and wondered how he was going to sleep.
8
Friday, 22 May (1:19 a.m. EST – Antarctica)
McHenry reclined in his bunk and pondered the new discovery. The structure the divers had reported turned out to be iron beams and rebar, and about 50 rusted pipes, 10 inc
hes in diameter and of lengths that ranged from 10 to 20 meters.
The tubes added to the mystery. How had they gotten there? They couldn’t fit into a German U-boat.
The North Dakota was moving forward cautiously, and was safe for the moment. But for the first time in his life, McHenry sensed the world collapsing in on him. He’d been under the polar ice caps and slept on the bottom of harbors. Now they were more than 75 kilometers into the Antarctic continent. If they bumped the walls, they might trigger a collapse, or rip a hole in the hull. There would be no escape.
The only thing he could conclude from the discovery of the tubes was that there had been construction of some sort, possibly further up the tunnel. Perhaps the Germans built a submarine base. But that would be strange: it would be more than inconvenient for a sub base, and much more dangerous for WWII-era subs than for the North Dakota.
McHenry’s eyelids closed and his brain coasted to a halt. Sleep.
9
Friday, 22 May (12:59 a.m. CST – Baton Rouge)
Cho downed the last of his Cognac and breathed in heavily. The vapors penetrated his sinuses and made his nose tingle. He smiled and puffed on a soggy Cuban cigar as the smoke swirled around the balcony before heading out into the night. Things were progressing.
The late Agent Jennings had provided him with information and entertainment. Regarding the former, Cho was now aware of two things. First, a group of Red Box survivors were planning an attack on Syncorp. He was already on top of that problem. Second, another Red Box inmate was in Baton Rouge independent of the others: it was William Thompson – Inmate 523. Cho’s Chinese Intelligence overlords would be pleased, and he wouldn’t have to shut down Red Dragon. In fact, Thompson would be its newest acquisition.
Cho held back on that thought. The Ministry of State Security wanted the man, and it seemed urgent. Maybe he wouldn’t get the chance to work with him.
Regarding the entertainment, Cho got to practice dentistry for the first time. He recalled how Jennings had screamed for mercy as he removed the teeth from the lower right quarter of his jaw with a large beak-like pincer. He chuckled. It wasn’t easy pulling teeth: maybe he should have researched the technique beforehand. Most of them had cracked off at the base, but their roots were left intact – and he enjoying drilling them out. It reminded him of a root canal he’d had once, back in China.
Jennings was dead, Adler was loyal to Syncorp, and the other FBI agent, Natalie Tate, was turned. In her case it only took money. Now she and Adler would reel in Thompson, and Cho could make his delivery.
He savored another puff of the Cuban. Why did the MSS need Thompson, and why didn’t they explain it to him? He was confident that he was the only expert China had on Red Wraith. Why else would they charge him with the construction of the Red Dragon program? Maybe the MSS was going let him in on the plan once Thompson was in custody. He shook his head. That had to be it. It would mean abandoning operations at Syncorp – at least temporarily.
He shivered and walked from the balcony into the apartment. Whatever was going on, it had to be big.
CHAPTER IX
1
Friday, 22 May (11:40 a.m. EST – Washington)
After explaining his encounter with the Israeli to Thackett, Daniel passed a polygraph test, was debriefed, and cleared.
The storage device Avi had given him was passed along to CIA specialists to search for viruses and spyware: the Israelis were our allies, but it was impossible to determine whether the man Daniel had encountered was legit. More alarming was the fact that the man had found him and had knowledge of his work. Thackett speculated that Daniel’s identity had been compromised during the trip to Chicago. If that were true, Sylvia might also be at risk.
His meeting with the Israeli raised the danger level for everyone. If someone were able to follow them home, then they were at risk of being kidnapped or killed. Now the only place Daniel felt safe was where he was now – in the Space Systems building.
Daniel was pleased, as were Thackett and Horace, that they now had a lead on the identity of Red Box inmate 523. It still had to be confirmed, but he hoped McDougal might help with that, and also help to located the man.
The digital documents Avi had provided him numbered near 10,000 pages. They were mostly transcripts of Israeli interrogations of Nazi war criminals, although there were a few supporting documents. Daniel and Sylvia divided them: he started with the earliest, and she in the middle. They’d meet every few hours to compare notes.
He pushed his way through the questioning of concentration camp guards, engineers, and other minor players. Most of the men and women had been carrying out orders – heinous orders – but had no knowledge of the big picture. It was after reading more than 100 interrogation transcripts of seemingly irrelevant Nazi fugitives when he’d found one that seemed significant.
Untersturmführer – Lieutenant – Hans Demler, had been a low-level SS officer acting as a courier, and was in charge of selecting and transporting Auschwitz prisoners for treatment at a psychiatric facility called Kraken fifty kilometers west. The man denied that prisoners had been subjected to anything more than psychiatric evaluations. That was until the interrogator had informed him that mass graves had been discovered in a densely wooded area a half-kilometer behind the facility:
INTERROGATOR: Most had severed limbs. Why?
DEMLER: I do not know – I am not a doctor. I only transported people to Kraken –
INTERROGATOR: No – you also selected them. And, as you said, you are not a doctor. So how were you selecting them? What were the criteria?
DEMLER: I was instructed to choose those who were well-educated, but also in good physical health.
INTERROGATOR: How often did you do this? How many people did you transport?
DEMLER: Between 10 and 15 every week. We picked them on Sunday evenings.
INTERROGATOR: Every week? For how long?
DEMLER: Over a year.
INTERROGATOR: So, as an estimate, you selected between 500 and 750 people during that time.
silence
INTERROGATOR: You must speak. Nodding cannot be recorded.
DEMLER: Yes, approximately.
INTERROGATOR: Had anyone else been involved in selecting and transporting?
DEMLER: Only low-ranking guards to assist during transport. Different men every week. No one else was to know about the routine.
INTERROGATOR: Only you? No one else?
DEMLER: There was also the doctor.
INTERROGATOR: Who?
DEMLER: Dr. Mengele.
INTERROGATOR: Josef Mengele?
DEMLER: Yes. He was the leader of the project.
INTERROGATOR: What project?
(Demler does not answer).
INTERROGATOR: It is clear that you are complicit in nearly 700 murders – that is the number of bodies found behind Kraken. And they had been tortured. Your only hope to avoid being hanged is to tell us everything and hope that you give us something useful.
DEMLER: Okay. I was not supposed to know anything about this. Mengele would tell me things during our trips between Auschwitz and Kraken. He’d ride with me in the front of the truck on Sunday evenings to the asylum with the load of prisoners. And then I’d chauffer him back to the Auschwitz camp sometime in the middle of the week.
INTERROGATOR: What did he tell you about the project?
DEMLER: He said he was doing experiments with prisoners at Auschwitz to test procedures for his research at Kraken.
INTERROGATOR: What kinds of experiments – at Auschwitz I mean?
DEMLER: Medical experiments. Testing theories he had about pain, and tolerance to cold, pressure, drugs.
(Note to analyst: Demler’s testimony regarding Mengele’s medical experiments at Auschwitz has been verified. See reports AU518 and AU519).
INTERROGATOR: And what did he say about Kraken?
DEMLER: He did not give me details. However, he said they were making great advances in understanding pain. I ne
ver asked questions – I didn’t want to know too much to be a liability. But I did ask him once about the purpose of such research. They did not sound like medical experiments to me.
INTERROGATOR: What was his answer?
DEMLER: I will never forget the smile that came to the doctor’s face when I asked that question. I regretted it immediately. He told me, ”We are embarking on a new facet of humanity, or perhaps we will transcend it.” I did not want to learn more.
INTERROGATOR: Did you?
DEMLER: Yes. He said Germany had discovered something that would put the Aryan race in its rightful place in the world. But first there were puzzles they would have to solve.
INTERROGATOR: Puzzles? Like what?
DEMLER: They had deciphered some ancient document that revealed a special place on Earth – a place that, if accessed, would allow them to change the world.
INTERROGATOR: What document?
DEMLER: He called it weißen Stein.
INTERROGATOR: White stone?
DEMLER: Yes, white stone. There was an inscription of some sort. He didn’t tell me what it meant.
INTERROGATOR: Where is it?
DEMLER: I don’t know.
INTERROGATOR: You mentioned that you were a courier. Did you carry documents?
DEMLER: Yes.
INTERROGATOR: Did you see any classified documents?
DEMLER: Yes, on occasion.
INTERROGATOR: Explain.
DEMLER: Mengele was generally careless with files – he’d read them in the truck, and often set them on the seat between us. I only caught a few words here and there.
INTERROGATOR: What did you see?
DEMLER: The most unusual were those that had the words “Top-Secret” and “Red Falcon” printed on their covers. An emblem of a falcon carrying a strange symbol was usually positioned in the center. It was strange because official documents usually had an eagle with a swastika on them.
INTERROGATOR: You said Mengele mentioned a “special place on Earth?" Where is it?
DEMLER: He didn’t give specifics, but he said it was in an uninhabitable place. It was cold there.
EXOSKELETON II: Tympanum Page 18
