“In the meantime, find some grenades. I’ll hold ‘em off as long as I can.”
Kat reached back into her treasure chest and cracked open the first crate. “Get back, Lieutenant. Frag out!”
She yanked the pin and lobbed the potato stick grenade over Stewart’s head. He dived for cover behind a container full of artillery shells as the little bomb struck the top of the gangplank and rolled down, detonating underneath the first three soldiers boarding the ship.
Pernass leaped through the cloud of bloody pulp and bone without slowing. He tucked and rolled down the stairs while Kat pitched frag grenades like she was paid per blast.
“You’re going to blow the whole damn ship apart!”
“Relax. I’m not hitting anything important. Just ask them!” Kat flicked her wrist away from the half-dozen charred, and broken Krauts squirming around and focused on Pernass.
Before she could get a grenade in front of the Oberführer’s long legs, he disappeared in the smoke and maze of shipping cartons. Kat cussed and paused long enough to point at a larger crate. “Grab those Bangalore torpedoes and find somewhere naughty to hide them. Give us exactly 10 minutes on the fuses. Dore, make sure everyone’s synced up. They need to pop at the same time if we’re going to make a real impression.”
While everyone snagged a pair of bomb tubes and scattered, Kat reached back into the goody case and primed another deadly pineapple.
Just as she cocked back her fist, four Germans circled from the stern of the ship, spraying submachine gun fire as they bounded forward. She shifted aim and flung the grenade their way… at the same time, a pair of 9mm rounds stitched her upper thigh.
“Son of a…”
Kat abandoned her bomb nest and flitted behind another storage container. She kept limp-running towards the ship’s bow, the last place she’d seen the rest of the gang heading to. No one was in sight though.
Through the numbing fog of exhaustion and a searing pain in her leg, Kat forgot all about her sidearm until she rounded the next corner.
“Umph!”
She yanked on the pistol in her waistband as a helmeted figure swung a rifle butt around the next steel container. The blow clipped her shoulder instead of her temple. It was more than enough to buckle her knees. The pistol skidded away as her face bounced off the steel deck. “You bastards are worse than cockroaches.” Kat lay there and took a breath, not enough strength left to cuss in German, much less even to rise on her knees.
The soldier snarled and swung his weapon to her head. Kat chuckled at the tattered remnants of his trousers and the fresh, bloody shrapnel wounds underneath. “Oh, don’t take things so personal.”
She closed her eyes one last time as his shot rang out.
Then opened them with a whistle as the man’s forehead exploded, and the big meat sack dropped across her gut.
Kat wiped the red and gray chunks from her eyes, gawking as her savior ran up.
“Time to go home, Schatzi.”
A lizard part of her mind took over, flooding Kat’s nervous system with near-lethal levels of adrenaline.
“You!”
She levitated to her feet, swatting aside his weapon with one hand and flashing her open palm straight towards Oberführer Pernass’s nose. He deflected the blow with ease and knocked the girl on her bruised face with a lightning kick to her bloody thigh.
“Didn’t I teach you to fight from the ground if you go down? Never get up until the fight’s over. I thought we settled this that time you came at me with a butter knife?”
Kat bared her teeth and snaked her fingers around the dead soldier’s rifle under her body. “Well, I’m not ten years old this time…”
She flopped on her back, boresighting the gun at the Oberführer’s groin in one move. Pernass grinned and kicked the barrel as she squeezed the trigger. As the round blasted between his knees, he heaved Kat to her feet by her soaking wet ponytail.
“I was tough on you, won’t deny that, but it sure paid off, eh? I couldn’t be prouder.”
He waved at a fresh squad of Wehrmacht troopers storming onboard. Two broke off and trotted down the narrow corridor of shipping containers to collect their prisoner.
“So why don’t you come work for the winning side…”
Pernass spun around and fired at a green shadow above. Lieutenant Stewart dived off the nearest container, landing with both feet on the back of one trooper. He pounded his monkey wrench into the helmet of the other guy, using his cracking skull to break the fall.
The Oberführer shifted aim again as Atkins and Capson tried the same stunt on his head.
Both youngsters crumpled to the deck. Atkins with an elbow to the jaw and Capson with a headbutt to the nose. Pernass gave Kat another straight-leg kick when she tried to take advantage of the chaos.
“Is this amateur hour or—”
With a wolf’s howl, Sergeant Dore charged around the corner. He batted the Oberführer’s gun from his hand with a backhanded swipe and tossed the Gestapo man heavenward. Dore cocked out his knee and slammed the man down, ignoring every punch to his hairy face.
“No! We need him.” Kat tugged at his boot.
Instead of snapping the SS guy’s spine like a twig, Dore spun him face-first into the nearest shipping container.
Trufflefoot limped up while Dore shook. “Whatever you’re scheming, make it quick. Eight minutes.”
Pernass drew himself up straight as Stewart snatched him by the collar and swung his wrench. “We don’t need this piece of shit. Say hey to Captain Steele for me!”
The Oberführer cocked his head, laughing as he spit out blood. “Grow up, Lieutenant. We have bigger problems. I’m assuming Major Trufflefoot’s rush means you’ve rigged this ship to blow. Do you people want petty vengeance or a way out of here?”
“How do you know my… just what are you proposing?” Trufflefoot frowned at the German’s Oxford accent. Far more refined and cultured than his own.
“Surrender. We’ll work out the details later. For now…” Pernass ran his eyes over the endless crates of ordinance, “there must be a couple thousand tons of explosives onboard. Seven and a half minutes left. At least five until I could get a bomb squad here… I suddenly feel the need to report to headquarters. It’s several kilometers away. Would you like a ride?”
“We can’t trust this cheeky bastard!” Dore said, raising his weapon.
Pernass waved his hand through the air. “Now, I could sweeten the deal. Katelyn, you come with me, and I’ll give your teammates asylum all the way back to Allied lines. Including all those guys you left over in the flak tower as well. Don’t you think they’ve sacrificed enough?”
Kat glanced across the harbor, her eyes focused on the two remaining U-boats drifting a few hundred yards away. With the firing over, neither of the sitting ducks made a beeline out to sea, nor were they confident enough to return to port.
“You sick pig. Ghost Patrol’s already dead, aren’t they?” Pernass’s soulless eyes of the abyss twinkled.
“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t send them in here. Who’s the real killer?”
“Ja wohl, Oberführer!”
The German Sergeant Commanding the last checkpoint out of the harbor opened the gate personally and saluted. He struggled to hide his confusion as the senior SS Officer in the country rolled away, driving his covered truck without an aide in sight. One of the privates in the guardhouse started jotting down the truck’s unit number and time, as a matter of routine.
Kat peered out of a hole in the back flap as the Sergeant snatched the pen out of his hand and knocked “Hello!” on the private’s helmet.
As soon as they rounded the corner and entered the city proper, Kat crawled over Dore and the submachine gun he kept stuck in Pernass’s ribs. She slid into the driver’s seat while Stewart and Dore yanked the Oberführer into the back.
She hit the gas, just as God hit the port.
Between the freighter and the loaded trucks on the dock, 2,
000 long tons of ordinance fed Kat’s hasty IED. Roughly equivalent to a 2-kiloton atomic bomb. Naturally, the blast didn’t achieve maximum efficiency… you could hardly tell as the finger of God wiped the slate clean.
“Faster, faster, and fucking…”
A sand and debris hurricane roared after them, drowning out Atkins’s temper tantrum. With them entering the city three kilometers away from the epicenter, the blast wave gave only a gentle nudge.
The roaring cloud overtook them even as Kat clocked 100 km/h. Kat slammed the brakes and hyperventilated as a handful of civilians dashed across the road, coughing and choking, and fled on foot. Only a tiny fraction of the population she’d expect from the densely packed city.
“My God… what have I done? How many of these poor buggers did we just kill?”
Atkins plucked his way over the seats and pried the apoplectic woman from the driver’s wheel. His eyes bulged at the genuine terror on the girl’s face. He didn’t say a word as he edged the truck in gear and crawled through the crowd in search of high ground.
In the truck bed, Dore snarled at their prisoner while snaking a reassuring hand over Kat’s shoulder. For once, she clasped it and squeezed back. Dore’s gravel voice broke for an instant.
“It’s… nothing compared to how many those poison bombs would have killed. Focus on the son of a bitch who made us do what we had to.”
Pernass yawned. “If it’s any consolation, the Wehrmacht evacuated these neighborhoods a long time ago. Also banned civilians from coming within a kilometer of the base. For security purposes. Maybe next time we should reevaluate that strategy.”
He snickered and jerked a thumb out the back gate. The Mediterranean breeze whisked enough of the smoke away to see the port, just as Atkins crested a small rise outside the old city. Everyone else gawked.
The freighter was gone. The razor of God shaved everything within a kilometer radius off the earth’s face. The crumbling flak tower still stood tall, lording over a flaming junkyard stretching another click out.
Only some smoldering oil slicks marked the final resting place of the missing U-boats.
“You might have bagged a few local collaborators, but the mass grave in the morning is going to be filled with Germans. Impressive. Hey, my job offer still stands. Katelyn, darling, I’ll triple whatever these blokes are paying you.”
Kat wiped her eyes and howled, unable to muster a word. Nor even glance back at their charge. Lieutenant Stewart pried his eyes off the hellscape and wagged his head.
“But they’re your men. You could have warned your people about the blast at any time.”
Pernass shrugged. “Don’t you think that would have raised a few too many questions about what I knew and when?”
“So you just killed hundreds of your own to save your ass?”
Pernass sniffed. “Katelyn, where do you find these fools? Of course I’m more valuable than a couple of hundred draftees. Major, you silly English fellows can play at being gentlemen and wax on and on about your honor. Meanwhile, Germany’s busy doing what has to be done, not just to end this war, but end war itself by unifying the world… Enough philosophy. Truth be told, I think you did us a favor. Maybe this little setback will convince Hitler there are no shortcuts or magical weapons to end the war. We need full commitment.”
Trufflefoot blanched and sputtered. “You’re such a sick… ghoulish… over-the-top…”
“NAZI? What, were you expecting me to have a heart of gold under this Iron Cross?”
Pernass chuckled to himself and tugged out his pipe. He looped one arm over the bench seat’s back and crossed his legs. Flashing a charmless smile, he somehow sounded even more full of himself than in German.
“Back to the mundane business at hand. You cheeky fellows can’t wing things forever. It’s 1,200 kilometers back to Egypt. I’m sure you see me as some golden ticket through all those countless checkpoints. Think about it. You’ll have to do everything just right. Not make the slightest mistake, while I only need one small opportunity to get you all killed.”
Pernass tucked his lighter away. His hand came out of a hidden pocket in his blouse, dangling a pad of yellow papers. Dore flipped his weapon against Pernass’s temple. The Oberführer rested the pad on his knee and scribbled away.
With a final flourish, he hacked his name onto the bottom of the page.
“Welcome to the Herr, gentlemen… and lady. You’ve all just been drafted.”
Stewart caught the pad, puckering his lips at the indecipherable German. He chucked the orders at Trufflefoot, who held it at arm’s length between his shaking hands. He ran his eyes over the official letterhead and flicked a tongue over his cracked lips.
“So we’re undercover SS Kommandos raiding Allied lines? Is that such a routine operation that no one would question it?”
Pernass’s eyes twinkled. “Regular as coffee time. I’ll call ahead and warn the appropriate local Commanders… for the next five days. After that, the orders change from safe passage to execute on sight. Best to drop me here. Can’t let them find me too far from the blast. Have a safe trip.”
No one budged as Atkins picked up the pace. Pernass gave a tight grin and tamped out his pipe.
“OK, I see I’m working with a truck full of Napoleon’s here. This plan only works if I’m not with you. If I don’t report to the garrison Commander in the next few minutes, they’ll tear this city apart looking for me. I think we can agree that it doesn’t do any of us good if you’re found. I’d rather not deal with those types of questions.”
Dore howled and slammed his rifle’s buttstock into Pernass’s face.
Kat finally came to life, flipped over the seat, and snagged his wrist. She shook her head.
“Bullshit. Kat! How do we know this vampire isn’t going to send a panzer company after us the second he’s out of sight? It’s just another trap.”
She took a long breath and chuckled. “Because he’s scared. This time we’ve got him. Don’t let the evil villain act fool you. All the old man has left is his reputation. If we shoot him, he dies an even greater hero. State funeral, likely with Hitler himself placing a wreath. But if his men catch us now, with all this damage done… yeah, you’ll meet the Fuhrer again. I’m sure he’d love to view your slow execution.” She leaned in close and patted his skull.
“Isn’t that right, papa?”
An hour later, Oberführer Pernass leaned over a twisted girder on the sub pen dock. The salvage leader in the tug boat below shook his head and waved the giant Geiger counter tube around.
“Sir, the containers are more than just cracked open. We’re already at the red-line of radiation tolerance a hundred meters out. If we bring these U-boat hulls to the surface, we’ll all be glowing in the dark tonight.”
Pernass flicked his wrist. “Don’t worry. Just tow the wreckage out to deep-water and forget you ever heard about uranium. If I hear one rumor or joke from the enlisted men that these things ever existed, I’m holding you responsible. Any questions?”
The Captain nodded and saluted, before turning to his crew, who had faded away. The tug roared off to the safer task of playing with leaking dirty bombs.
“There you are Oberführer! I’ve had runners searching everywhere for you!”
Pernass spun on his heel and snapped the two-star General storming his way a parade ground perfect salute.
“My apologies, sir. I was busy doing what I could to organize the cleanup. How may I help you, sir?”
Tripoli’s Commanding General faltered in his stride and frowned at the Gestapo man’s sudden deference. “Ah… what the fuck happened? Look what you did with your Goddamn spy games! You have to explain this to Berlin yourself. I gave you the troops you requested, and you blew up my port! No one’s going to pin this screw up on me.”
Pernass raised his voice as the General’s staffers melted away.
“Beg your pardon, sir? Don’t know what your men were up to, but I’d say this is ample proof that Berlin needs to
send more air cover. Wouldn’t you agree, General?” Pernass pulled out a pocketbook and began jotting something down.
“What the hell are you talking about, Oberführer? Fighters wouldn’t have stopped these Commandos…” Pernass pitched his gravelly voice up, cutting him off with sharp disdain.
“Because otherwise, the Royal Air Force will keep bombing us with complete impunity.”
The General cocked his brow as Pernass gave his first smile in years.
“At least that’s what’s going in my report. Don’t worry. I won’t mention any rumors about how you let a small band of raiders just waltz in here and destroy half the port. Despite whatever nonsense the enlisted men spread around, no one on the General staff could believe you’d be that incompetent. On the other hand, I shudder to imagine what the Fuhrer would think if the official reports didn’t agree precisely. Don’t you, sir?”
The General roared. “Don’t give me that crap! I let you have full control of my forces. You demanded it.”
“Of course, sir. Just append the original written copy of that order to your report, and I’m sure the General staff will believe you.”
“Are you mocking me? The Wolf’s Lair sent explicit instructions that any operation by the Gestapo’s Department E is never to be documented. You’re supposed to be Hitler’s eyes and ears, you ass-covering son of a…”
Pernass sucked in his breath. “Quite a quandary. So either you made a mistake and have to explain it to the Fuhrer, or Hitler screwed up, and you need to tell him that. Or just maybe the enemy fucked us over? Be angry, fine, but don’t be stupid.”
Pernass flicked a lazy salute and marched away before the General could say another word. He stomped across the wrecked dock as a familiar face climbed out of a Command Car.
“Reporting as ordered, sir.”
“Relax, Captain Sparmann. We’ve lost enough good men for the day. No need for another firing squad.”
Sparmann folded his hands behind his back, hiding the trembling. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down again.”
“Humph.” Pernass kicked a random charred helmet in his way, ignoring the overcooked meat inside. “If I had a Mark every time I heard that. Or said it myself…” He squared his shoulders and crossed his arms, grinding his teeth to the east.
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