The speaker paused as the personal memory caused a ripple of laughter around the room.
“It was April 27th when they made their way from the bunker. Her father, my mother, and a few key advisors. My sister didn’t know her own mother, she only ever knew her father. Not that the world knew of her existence. Born to a carefully selected partner she was, in her father’s eyes, the most perfect child. She was always his favorite, of that I can testify by personal experience. She was an amazing woman, as many of you know.”
A round of applause and many shouts of ‘here here’ interrupted him for the memory of his sister.
“The plane journey as you can imagine was long and slow and for a young girl, interminably boring. She remembered landing many times in total darkness, swooping out of the sky and landing on fields lined with hastily built fires. The smell of fuel burnt at her eyes as the plane refueled before once again leaping into the sky. Finally they reached a villa on an island called Fuerteventura where they spent a wonderful week. The breaking news of the war being over barely registered, as the news of her father’s death was the only news she could focus on. However, he and my mother stood right in front of her, despite reports of their deaths coming over the radio.
“She realized why the double was in the bunker. He was there to provide her father, our father, an escape. A few days later, another interminable journey began, a journey by U-boat that culminated not far from here, my birthplace, where I spent the first few years of my life with my father prior to his death. But not before he had given us the seed to grow and prepare for our new coming, our new beginning.
“You are all, almost entirely, like my sister Lebensborn, carefully selected Aryan mothers, growing the seed of true believers from the old Reich for the rebirth of a new Reich.”
A thunderous applause erupted. People jumping to their feet, saluting the son of their founder.
“Please let not us forget our partners, as it was only with their help we have grown over the last two generations to be in a position to once again have a country to call our own. Where is the grand wizard?”
The Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan stood up and waited for the applause to calm down. “You are too kind. Our fathers’ fortuitous meeting was a day that shaped what we are today. It was your father that showed us the light, let us see the future and deliver what we see here today, a new dawn. We ended the protests, our supporters were encouraged to go to college, join the military, become politicians, rise through the ranks to our seats of power. That is how you make change. It’s taken us many years. Our pure daughters have borne the seeds of your great leaders, helping create the great Americans we see here today. A perfect blend of Aryan power that will lead us forward and with the might already within our grasp lead us on to a greatness befitting your father’s memory.”
The hall erupted again.
***
They landed and were directed to a spot at the far end of the apron. A refueling aircraft was not going to get a spot near the terminal building, which was perfectly fine with them. They powered down the engines, cracked open the door, and waited for a security check. It never came. A USAF aircraft was obviously all the evidence that was needed to secure an easy entry to Bariloche. Of course, it helped that the aircraft had originated in Florida and not Washington, according to its flight records.
Ten minutes after landing, Alex, who had posed as one of the pilots just in case, pulled the hatch in the floor that led to the cargo area below.
“Looks like we’re fine,” he said.
The group pulled themselves out of the hold and were immediately split into two groups; those staying behind and those going to the island. As much as Clay wanted to stay with his kids, he needed to go. It was his duty. Joe wasn’t leaving his side. Sandy wasn’t leaving his. Likewise, Mike made it clear he was with the president.
“Give me a gun and you got nothing to worry about here!” Ramona said. She’d protect the children with her life.
The three Force Recon Marines stepped forward. “We’re with you!” they said, looking at Joe.
“I’m happy to come but I’ll be wherever you want me to be Mr. President,” offered Sarah
“I can handle a gun,” said Clara.
“Me too,” said Tess, quickly followed by Jack.
“I can’t,“ Daryl said. “I’ve never really liked guns, to be honest.”
“I’d really appreciate you staying here, Sarah, thank you. And Daryl maybe best you stay here.”
“Carlos,” said Joe. “Yeah, you’re staying here too.”
“Why me?” he asked. He would, Joe knew, follow whatever order he was given.
“You made the joke earlier,” said Joe, “so you get to babysit!”
“So what’s the plan?” asked Clay.
“Same as D.C.. You’re still the president, you’re their Commander-in-Chief.”
“We’re assuming we can trust them?”
“Mr. President, so far we’ve met very few people we can’t trust, we have to assume the vast majority are loyal to you. Those that aren’t have obviously been very carefully placed where they need to be. I think the closer we get to the island, the more wary we need to be.”
“So what, we walk over and jump in a helicopter and tell them to take us to the island?”
Joe nodded. “If they refuse, we’ll kill them. If they refuse their president, they’re obviously a traitor.”
“Or one of your old buddies,” said Clay. Alex, Carlos, and Bobby looked away sheepishly.
Their trip to the island proved uneventful. The pilot of the USAF Black Hawk had, like the tanker pilots, been only too accommodating and extremely nervous at ferrying his Commander–in-Chief. He’d even been accepting of, with numerous apologies from Clay, about his subsequent binding and gagging until things were resolved, one way or another.
Their journey to the main lodge wasn’t quite as easy. Bobby only just managed to slit the throat of the first golf cart driver who was about to raise the alarm. After that, it was clear they were in far more hostile territory. They stopped the cart before they entered the main clearing that surrounded the lodge and crept through the shrubbery.
The building was surrounded. A thunderous applause from inside caught everyone’s attention, including the guards.
“I know that guy,” Mike whispered to Joe and Clay. “He used to work with me, one of our best men. If he’s outside he’s not with them. He’s close protection.”
“How do we get his attention without getting anyone else’s?”
Joe pointed to the man and Sandy walked out and headed towards him. The agent watched her come. She let him pat her before walking back towards Joe, hidden amongst the trees and shrubs.
“Are you sure?” asked Clay as the agent followed Sandy to see where she had come from, his hand ready on his pistol.
He reached the bushes and looked in. Mike stepped into his view. “Dave, do not react! It’s Mike Laing.”
Mike was aware that both Bobby and Alex had Dave in their sights, just in case he did.
“What the…”
“Dave, I said don’t react. It is very important you look as though everything is okay. The guards are looking over with some concern now.”
Dave turned. “It’s nothing!” He shouted over his shoulder. “One of the sniffer dogs got loose!”
“I’m with the president, Dave. It’s a very long story but we need to get into that building ASAP. Can you trust the men you’re with?”
“No,” was his simple answer. “Two of them are crazy. I’ve never met them before but Jesus you should hear how they talk about people.”
“Another time,” Joe said hurriedly. “Where does that door lead to?”
“The basement,” said Dave, “with full access to the main building. It’s why there are so many of us. Whoever arrived to speak must be a big deal, the guard doubled as soon as he pulled up.”
“If we create a diversion out front, you think you can get us in?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
“Okay go!” instructed Joe.
Joe told Bobby and Alex what he wanted. They nodded and disappeared into the undergrowth.
Joe raised his suppressed M4 and followed Dave through the scope. If he was a traitor, he’d be the first man down.
A loud crack from around front echoed through the woods. Bobby or Alex had whacked a tree with a large branch. They would repeat the effect. They were Force Recon, they knew how to keep out of sight.
Dave signaled to his colleagues around him, touching his earpiece to his ear. “Around front, there’s something happening, I’ll stay here. Go!” he urged. Three of the four obliged, the fourth didn’t, he stayed with Dave, his eyes peering into the woods with renewed intensity.
Joe fired and caught the man right between the whites of his very alert eyes. He dropped to the ground next to Dave.
Joe, Mike, and Clay rushed across the open ground. Joe and Dave bundled the body of the man into the basement as they went.
“Stay here. If they ask, he disappeared into the woods. If they don’t buy it, and we’re rumbled, a warning shot would be appreciated if possible,” said Mike.
“It’s the least I can do,” Dave said proudly.
When they reached the basement, the applause was finally dying down. Karl Leipzig started to speak. Clay halted them and put his finger to his mouth. He knew the man. Not well, however, anyone in Clay’s position would have had to know him. They were directly below the dining room and could hear everything being said. They kept looking at each other as the old man continued, to check they were hearing it correctly.
He paused and another round of applause began.
Joe looked at Clay. “He’s talking about Hitler? Is he saying he escaped and lived near here?”
“There were rumors he escaped but, well, to be honest...” he paused, considering what he had just heard. “You know, the only proof he was dead were eyewitness statements from his most ardent supporters. We’re talking about people who lied and deceived for a living. Rather convenient that they burned his body and to this day we’ve never had one piece of DNA to prove it was in fact him that died. The greatest criminal in history and we simply believed his most fervent supporters that he was dead, no proof or evidence.”
“The world needed him dead to heal.”
“Quite possibly. Stalin always claimed he’d escaped.”
“Lebensborn?” asked Mike.
“A program. I think it was Himmler’s idea. Young Aryan women were impregnated by the Nazi elite to create the perfect race. The more women they could impregnate the better. By the sounds of it Hitler himself partook in what was basically a government approved scheme to screw around on your wife with beautiful young women.”
The announcement that they had a partner in their atrocity and the introduction of the grand wizard stunned them once again to silence. Clay’s face fell.
“You okay?” asked Joe.
Clay shook his head, he was anything but okay, though not because he had discovered the KKK and Nazis had effectively gone underground sixty years earlier to consolidate their power and grow to where they were about to take control of the country.
It was the voice, a voice he recognized all too well.
Chapter 90
The Baldwins prepared themselves for a grand entrance. They had been given the five minutes’ heads-up. They would be part of the fanfare that would hail the new beginning for America. A lifelong Klansman, Vic had been only too happy to be chosen to be father to what would become a future leader of the country. His wife, impregnated with Nazi seed, was an honor that he had taken on and had ensured him and his family a security like no other.
His brother’s fortunes had ballooned because of Ed. The Leipzig Foundation had ensured Baldwin Enterprises had succeeded in almost all they had done. Ed was to be a future leader, his bloodline was undeniable and tracked back to Himmler himself. Ed Baldwin was Heinrich Himmler’s grandchild. Ed’s childhood had been spent between America and Argentina. Any holidays were spent where possible with his other family on the banks of that same lake a few miles to the north. Understanding the principles and doctrine that would drive his and his country’s future, and appreciating his past and the importance of his bloodline were fundamental.
Vic checked his son’s bowtie, retying it for the third time. It had to be perfect.
“Ready?”
“Absolutely,” said Ed. He opened the door to the corridor where a guard of honor that would escort them into the dining hall awaited.
“We’re waiting for the grand wizard to finish his speech, it’ll be a few minutes yet,” advised an usher that would lead them into the hall.
***
The rapturous applause below filtered up into the hallway. Elsa walked towards the door, breathing deeply, trying to contain her nerves.
“Evening, ma’am,” said the agent guarding the door.
“I’m here to escort the president down to dinner,” she said as casually as her nerves would allow. She was surprised at how nervous she was. She didn’t normally do nerves.
“Nobody told us you were coming.”
She shrugged. “Not my job. My job is to escort the president down to the dining hall.”
Elsa considered opening her clutch. Her throwing knives would end this one way or another very quickly.
The door opened behind the guards. Val Caldwell looked out. Elsa had never met her in person, only seen her in photos and on TV.
“Yes?”
“I’m here…”
“I can see you are, come in. Eric—sorry, the president is through there.” Val gestured to a bedroom off of the lounge.
“A bit overdressed for a doctor, aren’t you?” Val called as she walked into a kitchenette.
Elsa ignored her, too focused on who was behind the door. She opened it, and found President Eric Warner sitting by a dressing table, his head in his hands.
She closed the door behind her as he looked up, kicked off her heels, and lunged towards him. He looked across to his bed. His pistol was by his bedside table. He lunged but she had the drop on him.
”Ma’am, the doctor you called for the president’s headache is here,” announced the agent, opening the door to the lounge area and letting the doctor in.
Val shot out of the kitchenette, pulled open the door to the bedroom, and gasped in horror.
***
Clay was still in a trance as the grand wizard drew to a close. Another thunderous applause followed.
“What’s wrong?” Joe asked.
“Nothing,” Clay replied. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s like they’re proclaiming their new dawn, ignoring you even exist,” said Mike, confused as to what was happening.
“To them I don’t, I’m sure. There’s nowhere they don’t have someone willing to make the sacrifice to further their cause. As far as they’re concerned I’ll never be president again. I am a dead man walking. The minute any one of their supporters sees me they’ll kill me.”
“Not if we have anything to do with it,” Joe assured him.
“My friend, my dear friend, I’m not sure even a Joe Francis Kelly promise will get us out of this now.”
“What the hell has happened to you? Who was that grand wizard guy to do this to you?”
Thunderous applause broke out above them, quickly dying down when a gavel battered against the table above.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to welcome the future of America. A future that will be safe in his hands for many, many years to come. A future that will see our ideals and power rise once again over mankind. It is thanks to your hard work, your belief in our ideals, that we have risen once again. Seventy years on from the depths of despair, our Fuhrer had a dream. He never let that dream die. It may have dulled but it never died. He cultivated that dream though us, his children, with total belief in our ability to deliver his dream. And today I give you—”
“A fucking nightma
re!”
Joe recognized the voice. He turned, as did Mike, to where Clay had moments earlier been standing. He was as they both already knew, gone. A door to their right was open, revealing a staircase leading up to the ground floor. They both raced to the door, colliding with each other in their desperation to get to Clay.
Joe won and was almost at the top of the stairs when the first shot was fired.
Chapter 91
Clay couldn’t listen any more. He crept to the door he assumed led upstairs and with the help of the droning voice from above managed to escape Joe’s and Mike’s security conscious reaches. He climbed the stairs and appeared next to a man with some type of equipment. He had no idea what he was doing but the look on the man’s face suggested he was most definitely not happy to see Clay.
Clay punched him once on the side of the head. It was a punch filled with so much anger and frustration the man was lucky it didn’t kill him. He fell to the floor very unconscious.
Clay looked out from behind the curtain that had obscured the technician and across the stage where the top table was situated. A group stood at the other side awaiting their introduction, a curtain obscuring them from the main body of the dining hall. He felt sick. The Baldwins were front and center, ready to accept their accolades. Beyond them was another group.
“Deliver his dream and today I give you…”
He couldn’t stomach it a second longer. The betrayal was complete. Clay had no idea how they had managed it. He stepped out onto the stage interrupting the speaker. “A fucking nightmare!” he said, staring into his wife’s eyes at the far end of the stage. Eric was by her side, a blonde woman excitedly clutching his arm.
Who were these people? He looked at the top table where the grand wizard sat staring at him, hatred in his eyes. Clay and his father-in-law had never really liked each other at the best of times.
Gasps filled the room until the first shot was fired and panic ensued.
Captive-in-Chief Page 34
