“Didn’t expect a tank,” Tom said with amazing calm.
“I knew this would not be easy,” Sava said. “That tank could blow us away any time it wants to.” As if on cue, they saw smoke emit from the canon on the tank, followed by a thunderous BOOM! A few seconds later the ground exploded in front of them sending dirt and other debris flying into the air and rocking their senses.
“That was a warning shot,” Sava said. “They don’t want to kill us, they want us alive.”
“But that doesn’t mean they won’t kill us,” Tom replied.
“No,” Sava agreed. “No, it does not.”
From their vantage point, Tom could see the river and jerked the truck off the road and onto the marshy ground. It was mostly clear, just some shrubs and cacti. They had not reached the minefield yet. The truck bounced along and they saw several Cuban vehicles roar to life, speeding away and angling to cut them off. Tom floored the gas pedal as they sped toward the river in a desperate race.
As they reached the riverbank, Tom slammed the brakes sliding to a halt and leapt out of the truck. Sava followed, gripping his large briefcase by the handle. Axel let loose bolt after bolt of lightning, disabling the approaching vehicles. He then turned to follow Tom and they ran along the side of the river toward a six-foot long, green motor boat which was secured to the bank.
The three men leapt into the boat as Tom pulled the starter cord, but the motor did not crank. He pulled again, but it still did not crank. Finally, on the third attempt the small motor roared to life and they jetted out into the river as quickly as the little boat could go. Axel watched behind them and saw a Cuban speedboat, complete with a machine gun mounted on the bow, giving chase. He shouted a curse into the wind.
Tom turned to see the speedboat. “Take them out kid,” he shouted at Axel.
“Gotta wait for them to get a little closer,” Axel said.
“Closer?” Sava asked clearly not understanding.
“Yeah, because I don’t want to miss and electrocute the water while we’re all sitting in a metal boat,” he explained.
Sava glanced down at the metal craft in which he sat and nodded. “I see your point.” Further away, on the right side of the river, Axel noticed two dirt bikes speeding toward them. The riders carried AK-47s. There was a burst of machine gun fire from the speed boat that splashed along the water beside them.
“Damn, that was close,” Tom said.
“Another warning shot,” Sava replied. “I doubt we’ll get many more.”
Axel turned back to see how close they were to the naval base. They were only about fifty yards from the fence line now. He could see Marines standing on the U.S. side waving and shouting for them to hurry. He saw Rolf standing with them. Axel turned back just as the boat let loose another burst of fire. This time the bullets hit the boat and the engine. They were knocked out of commission and the boat floated against the bank.
Axel knew he had to risk a lightning bolt before they were gunned down. He stood, took careful aim and released a burst of blue energy from his hands, electrocuting the speed boat and everyone on board.
Tom cursed as he glanced down and noticed their boat was taking on water. “Well gentlemen, we can either try to climb ashore and take our chances in the minefield or swim for it.”
Sava leapt into the water, not waiting for a decision and not wanting to risk the mines. Tom and Axel glanced at one another before following Sava into the river. Sava tried to pull his briefcase along with him, but it sank into the water, making it too difficult to swim and he quickly released it, deciding his life was more valuable than the contents of the case. The three men swam as fast as they could, but even with the current assisting them, they could not outrun the soldiers on dirt bikes.
“We’re almost there!” Tom shouted as the base was only about thirty yards away.
The sound of the motorcycles grew louder and louder. “Can’t you electrocute them?” Sava shouted to Axel.
“If I try to use my powers in the water, I’ll end up frying us all!” Axel replied. Axel turned to see the motorcycles almost on top of them, the drivers aiming their rifles at the three men in the river. He expected to die any second.
Suddenly, Axel saw the first bike get slammed into the air toppling end over end as if hit by a semi truck. He turned to see the massive shape of his brother, clad in body armor. The second driver fired his rifle at Rolf as he sped toward the giant, but the bullets deflected harmlessly off the heavy armor. Rolf swung a fist forward knocking the man from his motorcycle, several feet into the air and into the river below.
Rolf then turned and looked down at the men. “Hurry,” he said. “More are coming!”
Axel, Tom, and Sava swam the rest of the way quickly and well before the Cuban reinforcements could reach them. Once on the American side of the fence, the Marines helped pull them out of the water. Truckloads of Marines began to arrive to ensure the fence was secure, those on post having radioed for reinforcements as soon as the chase began.
Axel turned and looked at the broken and twisted motorcycle lying on the other side of the fence, astounded by what Rolf had done. Tom stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe we didn’t give your brother enough credit,” Tom said. “He saved our lives.”
Axel smiled. “Yeah, he is a real asset.” He turned and found Rolf standing proud as the Marines that had witnessed his actions told the others about it. Everyone was wide-eyed with disbelief as they listened. Axel walked over and patted Rolf on the back. “Well Krieg, you really saved our tails out there,” he said. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Axel.” Rolf smiled broadly at him. “That was my job wasn’t it?” he asked.
Axel nodded. “It was indeed, Rolf,” he said with a smile. Axel left his brother to thrill the Marines with tales of his strength and turned to find Sava and Tom.
“Time to get our friend here back to D.C.,” Tom said as Axel approached.
“Yeah, and out of this damned heat,” Sava said. “That was too close for comfort.”
“You made it, didn’t you?” Axel asked.
Sava smiled at him. “Yes. We all made it,” he said. “Thanks to you, Axel. You and that fellow,” he said. “He is your twin brother?”
“Yeah,” Axel said as he turned to look at Rolf.
“Very interesting,” Sava said.
“What is?” Axel asked.
“That the United States has begun using their prime humans for missions in enemy territory.”
Axel tilted his head and stared at him quizzically.
“Well, now there can be no doubt that the Soviets will learn of your existence. Perhaps that was the President’s intent all along. Tip your hand. And I suspect that, like the use of atomic weapons on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, this mission will take the Cold War to an entirely different level,” Sava smiled and then turned to walk to the military jeep that would drive them back to the rear.
Axel turned to look at Tom. “Is that what this was, Tom?” he asked. “Was this mission simply to demonstrate to the Russians what Rolf and I were capable of?”
Tom shrugged. “I don’t know, Axel. Does it matter?” Axel didn’t know the answer to that. “The mission was a success. Everyone is going home alive. What more do you want?”
Axel shook his head. “You’re right,” he replied.
“Come on, let’s get back to our room,” Tom said as he turned to join Sava in the jeep. “I want a warm meal and a hot shower before I collapse onto my rack.”
“Yeah,” Axel said. He watched Rolf for a moment. His brother was so proud of himself. Axel couldn’t help but smile. Then his smile vanished as Sava’s words echoed in his ears. Axel and Rolf had been genetic experiments conducted by an evil government. They had been rescued and put to service for a different government. They had literally been assets of one government or another their entire lives, but this was the first time that really sank in to Axel. It was the first time Axel thought of himself as an individual. Now he wondered, wer
e he and Rolf simply pawns?
Chapter 9
Washington, D.C.
Dawn Williams sat in a chair by an empty desk wearing her best navy suit and white blouse. She had been sitting there for over half an hour waiting to speak to Director Johnson. She was nervous and anxious. She glanced about the office. All of the other women employed there were secretarial and she saw absolutely no one else of color. Just like the CIA, the CSOS was a white man’s land. Not to say that she was the only black CIA agent, but finding the others was not easy.
Still, she was extremely excited for this opportunity. She had been training with the Agency for years and had recently graduated college. Today they had informed her that she would be working for the Clandestine Scientific Operations Service for a while. It was a temporary posting, they had assured her. She would come back to the Agency. She was too important to let go permanently.
After reading up on what they did at the CSOS—an office even more secret than the CIA itself—and who she would be working with, she began to get very excited about the opportunity. Soon however, her excitement gave way to nerves.
According to the files Dawn had been provided, the CSOS employed real life superheroes, like those out of a comic book. She could not wait to meet them—to see what they could do. She felt certain she would fit in nicely here, better here than the CIA. After all, to people who were accustomed to working with two guys created from Nazi genetic experiments, she could hardly be considered a freak.
Dawn heard a familiar voice and turned to see Director Johnson and his secretary, Martha, striding down the hall. She stood and smiled brightly at them. The Director caught her eye. “Just a few minutes, alright?” he asked, though it was clearly more of a statement than a question and he immediately turned away.
“Yes, sir,” she replied more to herself than to him. She lowered herself back down into the chair as Ian and Martha stepped into a conference room letting the door swing shut behind them.
***
Axel sat at the conference table, tapping it with the end of a pen. He was bored, but not nearly as bored as Rolf. “How much longer?” Rolf whined.
Axel glanced up at him. “I don’t know, Rolf,” he said, clearly beginning to tire of answering the same question over and over for his twin brother.
“Shouldn’t be long now,” Tom said more diplomatically from the other side of the room where he was pouring himself yet another cup of coffee. “Because if it is, I’m going to have to go to the bathroom,” he said with a wink to Rolf. He took a sip of his coffee and was just beginning to walk back to the table when the door flew open and Ian and Martha entered.
Ian was beaming, his arms outstretched as if he were going to hug the whole bunch of them. “Welcome home, gentlemen,” he said. He reached across the table to shake each man’s hand as they stood to greet him. “Well done!” Ian and Martha sat across the table from Axel and Rolf as Tom took a seat beside Rolf, blowing into his coffee cup to cool it.
“I met with the President this morning and he is very excited about the success of your mission,” Ian said. “He was a little concerned that you nearly instigated a war with Cuba in the process…” he let his words trail off.
“Couldn’t be helped, sir,” Tom said before taking another sip of his coffee. “We were betrayed by our contact, and the Cubans were persistent in their pursuit.”
“I understand that, and the President does as well. We wanted this defector. He can give us valuable insights into where the Soviets are, scientifically and technologically, in comparison to us.” Everyone nodded in agreement. “And it is much less a diplomatic nightmare to shoot down helicopters in Cuba than to shoot down Soviet helicopters in Russia.”
Ian’s smile disappeared as his eyes danced to each of the three men. “The success of this mission has given us some clout with the President,” Ian said. “The CIA has been screwing up clandestine operations for decades. But that clout comes with a price.” Axel sat back in his chair waiting for the other shoe to drop, as Tom chuckled.
“What is the price sir?” Tom asked.
Ian leaned back in his own chair and took a deep breath. “The CIA has been attempting to gain funding for a secret psionic program for years.”
“Psionic, sir?” Axel asked, clearly having never heard the term before.
“Psychics,” Ian clarified. “Clairvoyants and the like.”
“You mean like gypsy palm readers?” Tom asked as he and Axel looked at one another quizzically.
“Not exactly,” Ian said and then leaned forward toward them. “Look, we’ve heard from multiple sources that the Russians are using psionics. That they even spy on us by…” Ian searched the air for the term. “By astral projection,” he said.
Ian held up a hand to silence any comments he thought might be coming before they began. “If there is any chance that the Russians have people with psychic abilities that could aid the Communists against us, then we need to be able to counter that.” Ian watched the men across from him and was relieved to see that they were listening intently and neither had begun to laugh, yet. “Sava reconfirmed this Soviet program for us. That helped the CIA to convince the President to strongly consider funding the psionic program.”
“Alright, sir, but what does that have to do with us?” Tom asked.
“Based on our recent success and the fact that we are the Clandestine Scientific Operations Service, the President would very much like us to sign off on this psionic program before he commits a large chunk of money to it. In all honesty, I think he wants to be able to point the finger at us if it’s a huge waste of resources and the press finds out about it.”
“Sign off?” Axel asked clearly confused.
“The CIA has provided us with a psion and if we believe that their claims have merit, then the President will approve the funding.”
“Provided us with a psion?” Tom asked as his eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“She’ll be a member of your team.”
“She?” Axel asked, sitting up straight now.
Ian turned to Martha. “Could you please ask Agent Williams to come in?”
“Yes, sir,” Martha said before standing and walking to the door. She opened it and stuck her head out into the hallway. “Agent Williams, they are ready for you,” she said pleasantly and then stepped to the side to allow Dawn space to enter the room. Axel and Tom stood as she came in and both of their jaws dropped when they saw her. Rolf kept his seat and smiled at her, looking away shyly when her eyes met his.
“Agent Dawn Williams,” Ian said, “May I present Team Blitzkreig.”
Axel looked at Tom and then Ian and then back to Dawn and then back to Ian. “Are you serious?” Axel asked.
“I’m quite serious, Axel,” Ian said.
Axel shook his head. “This is a joke,” he said as he looked back at Dawn. His eyes then leapt back and forth from Tom to Ian. “We embarrassed the CIA and now they are playing a prank on us.”
“Axel,” Ian began, but Dawn cut him off.
“Agent Smith, isn’t it?” Dawn asked.
“That’s right,” Axel said.
“I assure you this is no joke,” Dawn said and then her voice firmed even more. “I am no joke,” she said.
Axel held up his hands defensively. “Look, Miss…” he began.
“Agent,” Dawn corrected him.
“Excuse me. Look Agent, Williams, is it?” he asked and she nodded. “I mean no disrespect to you personally. I am sure that you are an innocent victim of the CIA’s pranksters just like the rest of us, but this is clearly a joke. I mean, we show up the CIA and then next thing you know they want us to have one of their agents, a black woman, join our team. And as the cherry on top, they claim she is psychic.”
Dawn tilted her head and looked at him. “So, you think that because I am a black woman, I cannot be a good agent?”
“No, I don’t think that,” Axel said. “But I guarantee you all of those Ivy League assholes at the
CIA do.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Tom said. “I’m an Ivy League asshole.”
“So am I,” Ian said. “And we are not the ones questioning the qualifications of Agent Williams.”
Axel held up his hands defensively. “My point is that, while I am sure you were top in your class at Morehouse, there is no way the CIA takes you seriously as an agent. You’re a joke to them, just like us. We are a joke to them. They’ve made that clear on more than one occasion.”
Dawn released a long breath and when she spoke her voice was soft, but firm. “Agent Smith,” she began.
“Call me Axel, please,” Axel said. “I hate Smith. That was just the generic last name the OSS gave us because we didn’t have one.”
“Alright, Axel,” Dawn said. She smiled at him pleasantly. Asking her to call him by his first name was clearly meant as a peace gesture, albeit a small one. “First, Morehouse is an all boys school. But yes, I was one of the top of my class at Howard here in D.C. Second, the reason I was able to go to Howard is because the CIA believed in me so much that they paid for it. They have been interested in me since I was a little girl. I have been well trained, and while you are correct about a male chauvinistic, veiled racism that prevails through the Agency, believe me when I tell you, that the only reason they sent the ‘black woman’ is because I am the best psion they have by a long shot. I’m sure they would have preferred to send a white man, but none were up to snuff, psychically. This is not a joke. The CIA really wants this to succeed. I really want this to succeed.”
“So you’re the real deal?” Axel asked.
“Yes, I am.”
Axel nodded. “Well, let’s see it,” he said.
“See what?” she asked.
“Do something psychic.”
“What do you have in mind?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head.
“You tell me,” he smirked. “What’s on my mind?”
“I’m terrified to find out,” she countered.
“Fair enough,” he replied and then a smile spread across his face. “What color is my underwear?” he asked.
Origins of the Prime Page 8
