Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant

by Larry Townley

  Hoffman also liked the company of girls as young as twelve and had defiled several of the local girls in nearby towns and villages. Some of them never made it back home alive.

  Hoffman had been raised by a father that was a strict disciplinarian as well as a German Army officer. His mother had been an alcoholic hausfrau who ignored the beatings given to Hoffman by his father for the slightest infraction. He respected his father, but he also hated him with a passion. As a young man Hoffman showed a talent for the piano, and his father pushed him to practice several hours per day, even when he was ill. He eventually tired of playing, as his passion faded from the years of his fathers’ brutal treatment; however, quitting was not an option. When Hoffman was 17, he auditioned for the last open position to enter the Berlin Conservatory. Hoffman‘s performance was outstanding, but he was defeated by a young Jewish boy who was better. After learning of his defeat by a Jew, his father beat him with a belt so hard it broke his skin in several places. His mother just watched, saying nothing.

  His father died of a heart attack not long after Hoffman’s twentieth birthday; he didn’t bother to attend the funeral. His mother died two years later after washing down a cocktail of sleeping pills with a fifth of scotch. He didn’t attend her funeral either.

  As an only child, he inherited the modest house he grew up in, and he promptly sold it after his mother’s death without a second thought.

  At 18 Hoffman, having failed in his bid to enter the Conservatory, joined the German Army. Years later, he became fascinated with the rhetoric spouted by a young firebrand Austrian after hearing him speak at a rally. That man was Adolph Hitler. He believed Hitler’s maniacal oratory regarding the Jews, and he learned to hate them as much as he hated his father.

  He became fast friends with Hitler and swore his undying loyalty and his life to him. After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, he rewarded Hoffman’s loyalty by promotion after promotion and by giving him whatever command he wanted.

  When the Eyrie was built, Hitler gave that command to him as well.

  Chapter 67

  The White House

  Oval Office

  The President sat with his head resting between his hands. After Will had left for Fort Benning to train his troops, the president had ordered Oppenheimer to the Oval Office for a serious conversation regarding the status of the atomic bomb project on which his group of geniuses was working. The president learned that Oppenheimer’s team had a working prototype, and although it was not the final version which would eventually be used on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, it would be more than capable of destroying a mountain laboratory.

  The president made his decision and ordered the deployment of the prototype atomic bomb they had completed to destroy the Eyrie. He ordered it loaded onto a B-29 bomber and sent it to destroy the Nazi facility, the aliens, and their spacecraft. He just couldn’t fully trust that the mysterious Colonel Clark and his team would be able to complete the task. The bomber left a couple of hours after Clark’s team had left.

  He shuddered at killing Clark and the soldiers under Clark’s command, but there were much bigger stakes, such as the destiny and survival of the United States and its allies, and possibly even the world. He prayed that Clark and his team would accomplish their mission and would be able to get out before the bomb struck. The president wondered if Clark could actually survive such a blast, but he found it difficult to believe that he could. He thought about contacting Clark through the commlink device but decided against it.

  God help me, the president thought after giving the green light for the bomb’s deployment.

  Chapter 68

  The Eyrie

  Lieutenant Hans Reinhard, Hoffman’s assistant, knocked on the door to Hoffman‘s office. After a couple of seconds, he heard the colonel say, “Come in.”

  As Reinhard opened the door to Hoffman‘s office, he said, “Begging the Colonel’s pardon, but I just received a call from the checkpoint. There are two SS officers, a general, and a colonel here to pick up the prisoners. Apparently, they have orders that were personally signed by the Führer and Reichsführer.”

  Upon hearing this, Hoffman raised his eyebrows.

  “What? Berlin did not call to let me know of their early removal. They were not supposed to transfer the prisoners for at least another month.”

  “What do you want me to do, Herr Colonel?”

  “I will let you know after I talk with them. I suppose that I should go and greet them personally.”

  “Jawohl.”

  Hoffman got up from behind his desk, put on his black tunic and hat, smoothed down the front of the jacket, and went to meet the two officers.

  I wonder why I was not informed of this early transfer? Hoffman pondered. But knowing the SS as I do, nothing would surprise me.

  East Side of the Eyrie

  Brunner was the first one to find and eliminate a hidden sniper with a hundred yard head shot. At first, he did not even realize that the weapon had fired as there was no recoil and absolutely no noise. The only indication that he had eliminated his target was by seeing a little cloud of red mist erupting from where the sentry’s head had been only seconds earlier.

  Holy shit! This thing is unfucking-believable, he thought after observing the kill shot. He quietly reported his kill to Wakefield and Becker via his throat mike.

  Becker was the next one to report a kill from almost two hundred yards about five minutes later. Wakefield followed suit ten minutes with a report of his first kill.

  Becker thought, Three down, no telling how many more to go. He then sat down and took a quick sip of water from his canteen.

  His thoughts drifted back to his days as a cop on the Los Angeles Police Department. He had been one of the youngest homicide cops in the department’s history when America became embroiled in the war. As a detective, his German language skills had helped him solve the high profile murder of a local politician with a dark secret in which a young German-speaking prostitute was the only witness to the crime.

  After some issues arose on his police department, Becker decided to join the Marine Corps like his father, who had served in World War I. Becker’s family was originally from Bavaria and Austria and eventually immigrated to Los Angeles, where Becker was born. After joining the Corps, Becker had seen his share of combat, both as a grunt in the field and as a sniper. He had seen action in Italy, where he was assigned as a sniper on an advance team. He now had thirty-five confirmed kills as a sniper, and knew that number would go higher after today.

  He had also been in London during several bombing runs by the Germans. At the time Becker was approached by Will to join his team for this mission, he was serving in London as attaché to a military intelligence group, but had been preparing to be deployed to the Pacific for more combat operations as a sniper. Becker had been toying with the idea of returning to the police department after the war, but now he was seriously contemplating going to law school and becoming a lawyer. After this mission, he would talk to Brunner, the lawyer in the group, to get some ideas.

  Main Entrance of the Eyrie

  Hoffman and a contingent of four armed soldiers were waiting at the main entrance to the Eyrie when Will and Schechter entered the facility, along with their escort from the check point. Serrano exited the staff car to let Will and Schechter out of the back of it. He then stood stiffly at attention outside of the vehicle. Upon seeing the general, Hoffman and his men snapped to attention and threw up their best Nazi salutes.

  “Heil Hitler!”

  Will and Schechter returned the salutes.

  Will then stated to Hoffman, “I am General Hoffmeier. This is my assistant, Colonel Miller.” The two colonels shook hands. Will remained cool and aloof, and did not offer his hand.

  “Welcome to our humble facility, General. I must say this is quite a surprise. I was not informed of your impending visit. I don‘t believe we‘ve ever met,” said Hoffman.

  “You were not informed of my visit because I chos
e not to inform you of it, Colonel,” Will said. “I have found that the best way to determine how good security is at a facility is to drop in unannounced. Wouldn’t you agree, Colonel?” Will ignored the comment about not ever meeting Hoffman before.

  Hoffman was taken aback by Will’s statement. He should have expected nothing less than from an SS general, but the abruptness of it still surprised him.

  “Yes, Herr General. I totally agree.”

  “Furthermore, I don’t trust that our communication systems are totally secure, and if I had alerted you, it might have also alerted the Americans or the British. We have taken many measures to ensure that the existence and location of this facility remains a secret from our enemies.”

  “Yes, of course, Herr General. Let’s go to my office, shall we?”

  Will and Schechter then followed Hoffman to his office. Hoffman’s four armed guards waited outside. Serrano stayed with the staff car. Their escort was dismissed to return to the checkpoint. The rest of Will’s men stayed with their vehicle as well.

  They entered Hoffman’s office a few minutes later. Hoffman offered them refreshments, which they declined. They declined an offer to sit as well. It was obvious to Hoffman that the general was not one to waste time on social pleasantries.

  Will noticed that Hoffman’s office was adorned with several valuable paintings. He recognized a Degas, a Matisse and a Cézanne hanging on the walls - no doubt stolen from their rightful owners by the invading Nazis. A personally autographed photo of Hitler hung in a place of prominence as well. Hoffman’s desk was made from expensive Brazilian walnut; two dark leather couches sat across from each other.

  “I see you are a collector of fine art,” said Will.

  “They were gifts from the Führer,” Hoffman replied with more than a hint of pride in his voice. “Now, General, I was informed that you are here to transfer some prisoners to Berlin? What prisoners would those be, sir? This is a research facility. We do not house prisoners here I’m afraid,” said Hoffman, his face stoic and unreadable.

  Will looked at Hoffman with that piercing stare of his, which made Hoffman very uneasy.

  “Colonel, do not insult me! I am here for the thirteen aliens that are being housed here along with their spacecraft and weapons! The same weapons that are wreaking havoc amongst the Allied forces! They are to be transferred into my custody immediately! I will be taking them to Berlin today for further interrogation on orders from the Führer himself!”

  Hoffman was totally unprepared for Will’s tirade.

  “I…I’m sorry, General. But you must understand my hesitation in this matter.”

  “I understand completely, Colonel, and I commend you for it. But you must understand that I am not someone who likes having their orders questioned!”

  “Yes, sir. I understand. I was not questioning your orders, sir, but it was my understanding that the prisoners were not to be transferred to Berlin for at least another month.”

  “I do not question the Führer, Colonel. Friends or not, you would be wise not to do so either - it would be your last mistake on this earth.”

  Hoffman was totally unsettled by the look on Will’s face and the menacing tone in his voice.

  “No sir. But, if I may, I need to see the orders you have.”

  Will nodded to Schechter, who handed over the phony orders to Hoffman.

  Hoffman looked shocked to see the Führer’s signature, which he recognized from seeing it many times before, along with the Reichsführer and other high ranking Nazi party officials.

  “These documents appear to be in order, General. However, as a formality, I must have one of my men contact Berlin to confirm these orders.”

  “Do as you must, Colonel. I would if I were you. I will be sure to inform Reichsführer Himmler of your thoroughness personally. While you are doing this, I wish to see these aliens for myself.”

  “Yes, sir. I will have my men take you there now, General.”

  “Thank you, Colonel.”

  Hoffman went to the door and called in one of his men from the waiting room to escort Will and Schechter to the area where the aliens were being housed. After they left, Hoffman ordered Reinhard to contact Berlin for verification of the orders.

  ***

  Before entering the facility, Will had begun searching for the Krelians with his vision powers. Due to the size of the facility, it took him several minutes to locate them. They were located on two different levels: a group of seven on the fifth level and a group of six on the sixth level. He located their spacecraft on the tenth level. He had not had a chance to locate their cache of weapons before entering Hoffman‘s office.

  Chapter 69

  Two Miles West of the Eyrie

  Schultz had found a small cave in which to hide. After setting up his equipment, he activated the device to block any incoming calls. Now he waited for an outgoing call that might never come. Schultz had just taken a slug of water from his canteen, when suddenly the communication interception device that Will had given him started to ring.

  Unbeknownst to Schultz, the device was actually alien technology that was designed to look like a 1940s field phone. Will had also given him a device that would be used to disguise his voice so he could replicate the voices of the people who worked in Himmler’s office as needed, a list of which was attached to the phone with a matching number as to whose voice Schultz was imitating.

  Schultz picked up the headset and answered it in the voice of a female operator.

  “Heil Hitler!” said Schultz.

  “Heil Hitler! This is Lieutenant Hans Reinhard. I am calling on behalf of Colonel Hoffman. I need to speak with someone in Reichsführer Himmler’s office at once.”

  “Jawohl, Lieutenant. Ein moment, Bitte. I will transfer you.”

  Schultz then placed the device on “hold” while he set up the voice-altering device to duplicate one of Himmler’s aides.

  “Reichsführer Himmler’s office. Heil Hitler,” said Schultz in a male voice.

  “Heil Hitler! This is Lieutenant Reinhard. I’m calling on behalf of Colonel Hoffman at the Eyrie. Who am I speaking with please?”

  “This is Colonel Von Draper, Lieutenant. What can I do for you and Colonel Hoffman?” Von Draper was one of Himmler’s senior officers.

  “Sorry to disturb you, Colonel, but there are two SS officers, a General Hoffmeier and a Colonel Miller here at our facility. They claim they are here to pick up thirteen prisoners to transfer to Berlin for interrogation. They have orders that appear to have been signed by the Führer and Reichsführer Himmler personally.”

  “So what is the problem, Lieutenant? Does Colonel Hoffman think a general of the Third Reich would be lying to him?” asked Schultz as seriously as he could.

  “No sir! He…he just wanted to be thorough and confirm that the orders were legitimate, sir. The Colonel had been told previously that the prisoners would not be transferred for another month.”

  “The Reichsführer did not tell Colonel Hoffman for security reasons. I’m sure he can appreciate that, Lieutenant. It was the Führer’s decision to move up the timetable. If you or the Colonel would care to debate that with the Führer or the Reichsführer, I’m sure that could be arranged. In fact, the Reichsführer is available if you would care to speak with him yourself.”

  “No sir! That will not be necessary, sir!”

  “Good. Then tell your Colonel that the orders are accurate and legitimate, and are to be carried out immediately. I will bring his thoroughness to the attention of the Führer and Reichsführer personally. Heil Hitler!”

  “Yes, sir! Thank you, Colonel. Heil Hitler!”

  Schultz then disconnected the headset and packed his gear.

  Damn, I ought to get an Academy Award for that performance, he said to himself with a smile.

  ***

  Thomas Schultz had grown up the polar opposite of Brunner. His family was poor and lived in housing projects for most of his childhood near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His f
ather was an out of work alcoholic who beat his German mother regularly, and when he tired of hitting her, he started on Thomas and his younger brother, Anthony. His father died of alcohol poisoning when Thomas was eleven. Thomas became a behavior problem at school and started getting in trouble with the law when he was twelve. His life of crime started with shoplifting and petty theft, but quickly evolved into car theft and burglary.

  At seventeen he was arrested only a few minutes after stealing a car that belonged to a wealthy shop owner. The judge gave him the choice of going to jail, or joining the Army. Thomas opted for the Army, which was the best decision he had ever made. His life needed the order and stability that the military provided. He volunteered for the Rangers two years after getting out of boot camp, had excelled in this outfit, and had gone on to become one of the best snipers in his Ranger battalion. He wondered what the judge who had given him the choice of jail or the military would say if he could see him now.

  Chapter 70

  The Eyrie

  Will, Schechter, and Hoffman’s armed guards entered the elevator and descended to the fifth level where they would observe the group of seven aliens. Will continued with his air of smug superiority, as he felt a Nazi general would act around subordinates.

  The elevator arrived at its destination and everyone disembarked from the elevator. The lieutenant in charge of the detail proceeded down a short corridor and came to a locked door with his group close behind him. The door was well constructed with at least six inches of solid concrete reinforced steel, which was opened remotely by a guard in a control center who was viewing the entrance through a state of the art camera. Using his ability to see through solid objects, Will located the control center on the second level. He saw that it was secured with a similar looking door with several armed SS soldiers protecting it.