Going Back

by Gene P. Abel

  Before Claire’s warning cry came, Professor Stein bumped into the Japanese man who had been hiding behind the front wall. For a moment they stood facing one another before the Japanese man remembered to bring up his gun threateningly in their direction. Professor Stein threw his hands in the air as Claire connected a foot to the man’s shin.

  The Japanese man cried out, his finger reflexively pulling the trigger. Much to Ben’s shocked surprise, however, nothing fired off.

  Out of ammo! Ben realized, and he voiced his thought aloud with a grin, “You’re out of ammo.”

  The other cursed in Japanese, turned, and ran off in the other direction. This left Professor Stein free to assess his surroundings.

  “There.” Claire pointed. “Behind that car. It’s Lou.”

  “But it looks like he’s got someone else pinning him,” Professor Stein noted. “One of the Germans, I think.”

  “Not to mention the firefight in the middle of the square itself,” she pointed out.

  “Germans look to hold the east and south ends,” he summed up.

  “Where’s Sue? She should be able to mop up half of them all by herself.”

  “No idea and no time to wonder. Come on, we’ll make a run for Lou.”

  With the taxi now overturned and burning off to one side, a small group of cops ran toward the fallen vehicle to use it as a shelter while they attacked some of the people shooting at them. Because the Japanese man had left his post, Agent Hessman was able to scurry over to that side of the car and gain some protection from the German still firing at him as well as from the general fight that had broken out across the square. He now had a better vantage point to observe what else was going on.

  He could see Ben and Claire, and now Robert and Sam as well. The latter remained in the deli across the street to stay clear of the shootout. Captain Beck was just poking his head out from behind a wall when a bullet shattered the glass window in the deli front. One of the gang members tumbled out of the doorway facedown onto the concrete. Captain Beck motioned to Dr. Weiss to take a circuitous route around the square.

  Ben and Claire dashed over to join Agent Hessman when the German behind him sent another bullet whizzing by his ear. But Lou noticed that the bullet chipped a section of wall behind where the delegation on the left-hand side of the landing was taking cover. Curious as to the different teams’ motives, Agent Hessman ducked low and waited for the next shot to come.

  He was not disappointed. This time a shot cleared his head but drew an even closer bead on that first delegate. He’s not shooting at me, Agent Hessman realized. He took a fresh analysis of the dynamics of the shootout. The ones hiding behind the corner of the building across from city hall seemed to mostly be aiming their shots for Congressman Lodge and the Japanese, while the remaining Japanese seemed intent on getting to Tojo and the Germans. A few of the Germans’ shots, however, were also landing close enough to that first delegate to be less than mere chance.

  They’re after that first delegate and Congressman Lodge, he realized. But then, who is he?

  The police opened up a solid mass of gunfire against the gang members hiding behind the building across the square, dropping half of them on the spot, as well as one of the Germans. The remaining gang members responded with a few shots of their own as they shouted their retreat, while the ones remaining in the deli had apparently found the back door. Some fighting still took place in the corridors of city hall, but that, too, was starting to turn in the direction of the defenders.

  “Okay,” Professor Stein said to Claire, “no better opportunity. Now!”

  They made a mad dash over to Agent Hessman’s position, while at the other side of the square, Captain Beck and Dr. Weiss saw the gang retreating and realized their own opportunity for escape.

  “Lou,” the professor said once they had joined him, “what’s our situation?”

  “Changing by the minute,” came the reply. “That delegate on the left side: Can you identify him? The Germans seem as interested in him as they are in the congressman.”

  “Didn’t see his face before,” Professor Stein replied.

  “The markings on his bodyguards’ uniforms look German,” Claire said. “But I wouldn’t think any German delegates would be over here after the war.”

  Gunshots still rang out, but the captain and Dr. Weiss made their way across the square, pausing when the army of police made a final charge for the remaining gunmen. Within city hall itself, the fighting was nearly finished, and the delegates were ready to withdraw. There was little time left for subtleties.

  Professor Stein took out his pocket computer, aimed it in the direction of the one in question, zoomed in for a good image, and snapped a picture.

  “Running a search now,” he said as he tapped the virtual keys.

  When Claire glanced back at him, her eyes went wide at what she saw Ben holding, and wider still as the pictures flashed across the small window on the device. She was speechless until a cough finally escaped her throat. The device settled upon a name and accompanying dossier.

  “Gustav Noske,” Professor Stein reported. “Founder of the German‍—holy cow, I think we hit the jackpot with this guy. This is the guy responsible for the rise of Adolf Hitler himself! Lou, take a look at this.”

  He leaned in closer to show Agent Hessman what he’d found, the revelation immediately catching the latter’s attention. But beyond that information, the device they’d used to retrieve it held Claire’s bug-eyed attention. She remained speechless in her incomprehension.

  28

  Another Piece of the Puzzle

  Gustav Noske,” Professor Stein explained. “Founder of the German Freikorps and the guy who led them in a series of bloody attacks against Communist uprisings after the First World War. Lou, the Freikorps is the precursor to the Nazi movement, and Noske here is the one who paved the way for Hitler’s rise later on. This one man is probably the single biggest living turning point anywhere at this point in history.”

  The gunfire from behind them ceased, while across the square the police rounded up all other attackers. The inner corridors of city hall had apparently been cleared because the dignitaries on the steps were being hustled inside. This pair’s attention, however, was fixed on the little screen between them.

  “Hitler becomes his protégé,” Professor Stein continued, “and the nationalistic Freikorps get a broken nation primed to accept the Nazi viewpoint as a viable way out of the economic ruin their country was left in. As far as the Germans would be concerned, this guy is their TDE.”

  “Which changes the entire purpose of what their meeting is about as well as the goal of the German team,” Agent Hessman said. “He wouldn’t be attending a meeting to hear Wilson speaking in support of the League of Nations.”

  “With Congressman Lodge out there, he’d more likely be here in a secret meeting of opponents of the league,” Professor Stein said in agreement.

  “So then, why would the German team be shooting at this guy? Lodge and Noske?”

  At the sound of a throat clearing behind them, they turned to face a man looming over them. The German who had been keeping Agent Hessman pinned down was not looking too happy.

  The throat clearing, however, had not come from the German but rather from the one standing behind him: a young black woman who had lost the large hat covering her short-cropped hair. She had a pistol to the man’s back, the one with the scope that she had used before. Claire caught sight of the weapon and her eyes widened in wonder.

  “What the heck happened here? I thought this thing was supposed to be covert,” said Agent Harris.

  Professor Stein saw the type of gun she was now holding against the man’s back‍—a different model than either the Germans or Japanese had used‍—and shook his head. “Does anyone pay attention to mission rules? We were absolutely not supposed to bring any modern weapons
with us.”

  “And if I hadn’t,” she countered, “you guys would all be dead and this mission over with.”

  “Okay, save the chastising for later,” Agent Hessman told them. “Sue, what’d you find?”

  At that moment, Captain Beck and Dr. Weiss arrived from the south edge of the square, unseen under cover of nightfall and the chaos of cops chasing down gunmen. Dr. Weiss carried a body while Captain Beck’s good arm dragged another along the ground, his remaining arm in a quick and dirty sling made from the ends of his own coat. They deposited the bodies to the ground behind the car with evident relief.

  “Had to take the long way around,” Captain Beck said as he caught his breath. “Particularly with one wing in a sling.”

  Dr. Weiss appeared ready to say something but was so out of breath that he simply waved his hand vaguely.

  “He means these guys are heavy and that he’s out of shape,” the captain translated. “I almost had to drag both of them myself with my one good arm. You academics need to exercise more. Anyway, this is the pair that first bought the farm when things exploded. I think the other teams already spirited away their own dead from the fight.”

  “About that,” Agent Harris reported. “A sniper was shooting at both the Japanese and the German teams, including these guys we have lying at our feet. I wasn’t able to catch him, but I did get a good look at him.”

  “Describe him.” Now Agent Hessman pulled out his own miracle device, punching in the information as Agent Harris dictated it.

  “Short blond hair, well built, obviously athletic. About forty-five would be my guess, but in really good shape for that age.”

  A couple more taps on his screen and Agent Hessman turned the display in her direction.

  “Was it this guy?”

  “Definitely,” she said after a glance.

  He took back the device and read off the basic information. “Major Günter Gabriel Greber, career German military.”

  “And armed with a very modern sniper rifle,” Agent Harris added. “Way beyond what the locals currently have.”

  “You hear that, Fritz?” Agent Hessman stood up as he addressed the German, meeting his gaze eye to eye. “One of your own people was taking potshots at the Japanese as well as your own team. So, what’s it going to be?”

  For a moment the German looked with disbelief at the image still displayed on Agent Hessman’s small screen, then the body of his dead comrade on the ground behind the Japanese man, and decided to talk.

  “My name is Ernst Fischer, combat specialist. Major Greber is our military rep. I have no idea why he would be shooting at his own team, but . . . I will cooperate and answer anything you want to ask.”

  “Good, because I have a lot of questions,” Agent Hessman began.

  “Not as many as I do.”

  Claire had finally found her voice, and on hearing it everyone froze, reacting much like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Professor Stein had his pocket computer in hand, Agent Hessman his own similar device, and Agent Harris a pistol that could not be mistaken for anything other than out of this world by the standards of the year 1919. She glared at them all, stepping past Professor Stein and gesturing to both Ben’s device and the weapon in Agent Harris’s hand.

  “You guys are way beyond feds, so what in all creation is going on here?”

  The team exchanged looks but were silent for a long moment.

  29

  The German’s Story

  Agent Hessman broke the uncomfortable moment with a more practical observation. “Not out here. Sue, secure the hardware; Ben, put the device away. We owe Claire an explanation, but right here and now is not the time nor place.” He pocketed his own device while the other two did the same with the computer and gun.

  “Exactly what kind of device is that?” Claire asked Professor Stein. “And, Sue, I’ve never seen a gun like that.”

  Then she noticed something about the German. “You . . . you’re not on their team, and yet you aren’t any more shocked by these devices than they are. You’re enemies and yet both in on the same conspiracy.”

  “No,” Ernst said, “not enemies. That is not the intent at all, I assure you.”

  “Someplace less out in the open first,” Agent Hessman repeated. “Ernst, you can carry your teammate there; Sam, the Japanese guy.”

  A look of momentary horror crossed the sweaty physicist’s face, an objection forming then quickly dismissed as Agent Hessman continued. “The dignitaries are all securely inside city hall so no one’s getting to them for a while. Night’s coming soon, so first good alley we can find. Until then, no one says a word‍—no matter how much Miss Hill screams. And, Sue, make sure she doesn’t go running off.”

  “Are you kidding?” Claire said. “I’m staying around for every last detail of this story.”

  In silence they made their way away from City Hall Square with the two bodies before the chaos of the search for more shooters might die down enough for someone to notice them. They navigated down a darkening street and thence into an even darker alley, until a nod from Agent Harris confirmed their location was about as good as they were going to get. They carefully lowered the bodies to the ground while Agent Hessman made some quick introductions.

  “I’m Lou, team leader. That’s Ben, Sam, Robert, and Sue. And that’s Claire Hill, local reporter.”

  Ernst responded with a brief nod, then faced Agent Harris. “Are you sure that was Major Greber you saw shooting at both teams?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” she replied. “Your man went rogue. So what’s going on?”

  “We came back here because of a TDW we picked up,” Agent Hessman explained, “and best we can make out, that’s part of the reason why the Japanese came back as well‍—to stop you guys from whatever you’re up to. That means that you people are the original cause of the TDW, and the rest of us are along for the ride. So, what’s the story?”

  For a moment Ernst said nothing, just looked at his dead companion with a sigh as he organized his thoughts. Claire, though, was very attentive. She wasn’t sure what she would hear, but she was not about to miss a single word.

  “Yes,” he began in his accented English, “our mission is to kill Congressman Henry Cabot Lodge and Gustav Noske. It is for everyone’s good, however. We hope with these deaths to stop the Second World War and the Holocaust.”

  “Wait,” Claire interjected, “what’s this about a second World War?”

  “Claire,” Ben whispered into her ear, “not now. I’ll explain later.”

  “Then you better get Jules Verne to help you guys out, because this is sounding more and more like something he’d dream up.”

  Ben laid a hand to her shoulder to lightly restrain her, then nodded to the German to continue.

  “When our machine came through final testing, we saw this as an opportunity, a way to avoid the coming horrors as well as to put Germany in a more favorable position without harm to anyone else. Think of it: no Second World War, no Holocaust. All that gets avoided.”

  “And all it cost were the lives of a couple of scientists at the symposium,” Agent Hessman ventured to say. “Or am I wrong in that assumption?”

  Ernst nodded. “Yes,” he continued, “it was a German who killed the two scientists at the symposium, but that was to protect the mission, to silence the discovery of how to more accurately trace our efforts back in time. At least until the mission was completed and the new, better world had settled in. Two lives for the lives of six million lost in the Holocaust, not to mention their lost potential descendants.”

  “Wait, six million people?” Claire interjected. “What kind of‍—‍”

  “Claire,” Ben began.

  “Claire,” Agent Harris said, her tone and look far more direct, “if you aren’t quiet, I’ll drop you and you’ll never know what’s goin
g on.”

  The reporter shut up with nary a sound more, just a brief glance to Ben for support and a cough.

  “Anyway, that is the basis of our mission,” Ernst finished. “Two targets in the hope of saving millions. Six million from the Holocaust and some eighty million from the war itself.”

  Hearing those numbers, Claire’s eyes bugged out, but a look from Agent Harris kept her silent.

  “Major Greber is a member of our team, yes, but he has the same orders as the rest of us. I can’t understand why he would want this mission to fail, if that’s what’s going on. As I said, this is for the good of the world.”

  “Is it?”

  This time it was Dr. Weiss who spoke up. Agent Hessman gave him his attention.

  “You got something, Sam? Sam here is our physicist,” he explained briefly to the German.

  “Simply that time may be self-correcting. If not Hitler, then who else in his place?”

  “He’s right,” Professor Stein agreed. “Even setting aside the ones that I know of who might be in a position to take Hitler’s place, there may be others lost to the eye of history who would have been in the right position if not for Hitler. We might avoid the Holocaust as we know it but end up with something far worse than the thousand-year Reich.”

  “Or we could avoid all that and end up with a world in peace at last,” Ernst countered.

  “So many questions,” Claire said to herself.

  Agent Hessman put up a hand for quiet and paced slowly with lips pursed. Four paces out then four back, he then paused to eye the two bodies before speaking again. “Both very good points, and before I continue on this mission, I want to know exactly what I’m getting into.”

  “Lou,” Captain Beck began, “the mission is to—”

  “See what’s going on, then by my best judgment take action,” Agent Hessman finished for him. “I cannot make my best judgment if I do not know all the facts. So, as long as we have a nice comfortable alley here and some time to burn before we need to take action against any possible targets again, I want to hear all of it. Both sides, pro and con. Ben, why don’t you lead off the discussion, and don’t hold back on account of Miss Hill’s presence anymore. I need this thoroughly hashed out before we take any more action.”