Sins of the Fatherland (Scott Jarvis Investigations Book 6)

by Scott Cook

  “I agree,” Ariel said, “The risk isn’t justified.”

  Audrey laughed. It was a low and humorless sound that sent a chill up my spine, “As of now, Imani, I’m in charge of this operation. I represent the federal government as a central intelligence agent. And I’m authorizing this recovery. I demand it, in fact.”

  “Just a goddamned minute, lady!” Brody snapped, rising to his feet and leaning over the table, “This is my ship. I decide what missions we undertake and which ones we don’t. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not in the United States right now.”

  “Oh, how wrong you are,” Audrey said with cool deliberation, “As of now, I’m in charge, Brody. And you’d better get used to it.”

  “A CIA agent?” I asked, “I think you’d better come clean, Miss Lambert. I have a source that informs me that you’ve been terminated. You’re no more a CIA operative than I am.”

  That unpleasant laugh again, “Jarvis, you think you’re so smart, don’t you? And who was your source? Was it Imani? Or should I say Ariel Mizrahi.”

  That sent a hush over the room and I flinched. A quick glance at Ariel showed that she hadn’t reacted outwardly. Her expression was still neutral.

  “What?” Al-Rajid asked.

  “Oh, you mean you didn’t know?” Audrey chuckled, “Your slutty little oceanographer is in fact an Israeli Mossad agent. What do you think of that, Brody? Oh, and your captain here? He’s a British intelligence agent with MI6. Isn’t’ that something?”

  I was getting a very loud alert signal in the back of my head. I didn’t like where this seemed to be going. Something told me that if it didn’t stop soon, there’d be trouble.

  “Here to prevent anyone who might have ill-considered plans from getting their hands on those canisters,” Ariel said, “yes, I’m with the Mossad and Joe is with Her Majesty’s secret service.”

  “So you aren’t a marine biologist?” Al-Rajid said in astonishment, “And McClay isn’t a licensed captain?”

  “Of course we are,” McClay offered, “our true professions allow us to operate under cover. I’m sorry Jibreel… Jack… but there are bigger concerns.”

  “Damn,” Brody commented without any indication of anger, “You two have been with us for two years.”

  “And enjoyed the living Christ out of it,” McClay said with a grin.

  “Well,” Audrey said, “Now that everybody’s cards are on the table, I think it’s time I did the same.”

  “I think it’s time you stood down, Bunny,” Lambert finally spoke up, “This isn’t like you. Let it go. Scott is right, we should contact the Coast Guard or even the Navy and let them handle it.”

  She gawked at him, “And let the government get its hands on this weapon of mass destruction? The very thing they’ve been hiding for seventy-five years? I don’t think so, granddad. No, I say that we send Brody and Jarvis back down there to collect that cargo and then I’ll decide what to do with it.”

  Brody folded his arms across his chest, “Nope.”

  Audrey smiled. It was the kind of smile a cat might give the canary, “Oh, I’m afraid you have little choice.”

  “You talk about putting all the cards on the table, Audrey,” I said, getting to my feet, “Then let’s lay them all out, shall we?”

  She stared daggers at me, “What does that mean?”

  “It means that there are others here who aren’t who they claim to be,” I stated, “Isn’t that right, Master Chief?”

  Audrey sat at the foot of the table and Lambert between Juan and me. His face fell and took on a look of utter sadness. I gave him an apologetic look and he nodded. Juan only looked utterly confused.

  “What does that mean?” She asked hotly.

  “It means that things aren’t what they seem,” I said, “Haven’t you ever wondered how your grandfather could know so much about both submarines?”

  “He was there, Jarvis,” She snapped.

  “Yeah, he was a low-level kid on an American submarine,” I said, “and yet his detailed story of the Ariovistus could only come from an eye witness.”

  “That German kid told him all about it in the raft,” Audrey stated.

  “Yes, that’s true,” I said, “Ernst Schumer spent hours telling Henry Lambert about his side of the story. And Henry Lambert did the same. But only one of those boys was ever rescued.”

  “Yeah,” Audrey said, “The little Nazi bastard tried to slit granddad’s throat, but granddad was able to turn the tables on him.”

  “Really?” I asked, glancing down at Hank, who looked miserable, “Just like that, huh? He just happened to wake up in the nick of time and killed the German instead?”

  Audrey’s face was going pale, “What are you saying? What the hell difference does any of this make now? It’s got nothing to do with—“

  “It’s got everything to do with this situation!” I roared, “Because Henry Lambert didn’t wake up in time. He didn’t stop Ernst Schumer from killing him. It wasn’t Hank Lambert who was rescued… it was Ernst Schumer!”

  Chapter 34

  The dining saloon erupted into a chorus of disbelieving gasps, murmurs and even shouts. Audrey Lambert was on her feet now, her face crimson with rage, her right index finger levelled at me in a way that made me think she wished it were a twenty-four pound cannon.

  “You’re a liar!” She shrieked, “You bastard! You son of a—“

  “Bunny!” Lambert said, getting to his feet now, “That’s enough! He’s right… He’s right…”

  That killed the hubbub in a hurry. Audrey just stared, her glance shifting between Lambert and me, “What? Granddad…”

  Lambert sighed, “He’s right. You know, it’s funny… funny what the mind can do. For most of my life, I think I really came to believe I was Henry Lambert. Of course, once you came to me with this U-boat situation… it was like waking up from a dream.”

  Audrey spluttered but could think of nothing to say. Everyone else just waited in shocked silence.

  Lambert sighed, “The story was true, Scott. Hank Lambert and I did share that raft for a day and night. We exchanged stories, stories about our side of the mission, stories about our lives… but I got scared. I was on watch and had a lot of time to think. Too much time, as it turned out. I began to believe that if we both got picked up, then they’d throw me in prison, or worse.”

  “So…” Al-Rajid said softly, “So you decided to make sure only one of you got rescued. So nobody would know. But how did you hide the fact that you were a German?”

  Lambert, or in truth Schumer, chuckled softly, “I spoke very good English, even then. I had always been a quick study. I listened to Hank talk for hours and picked up on his pronunciations. His colloquialisms. We even played a game where we both tried imitating the other.”

  “So you decided to become Hank Lambert,” I said not unkindly, “I guess it worked… but what about Lambert’s family and friends?”

  “It worked so well I almost forgot the truth over the past seventy-five years…” Ernst said softly and then looked at me sadly, “He didn’t have any. Hank’s parents were killed in a car accident before he joined the Navy. It was one of the reasons he joined up, because he had nowhere else to go. The Lambert’s were a small family who lived outside of Milwaukee. There really weren’t any family, except an estranged aunt. And he and I looked a lot alike. Same eyes, hair, height and build. It was surprisingly easy to pass. The Navy gave me a discharge and a GI bill. Hazardous duty pay and a settlement as part of their cover-up of the incident. They wanted it kept quiet and were happy to see me disappear into the fog, as it were.”

  “So you’ve been Hank Lambert all these years, but not…” Brody marveled.

  “In a way, I am,” Ernst said, “I’ve been Hank so long that Ernst Schumer is just a distant memory. Like a character you might have played way back in high school. I got married, had a family and after a few years, went back into the service. Nobody ever questioned me. I had a new social security
card, new I.D… all that was lost at sea, so they issued new ones. I lived Hank’s life… I suppose partly in homage to him. He saved my life, after all.”

  “Madre de dios…” Juan muttered in disbelief.

  “But your brother and mother,” I said, “your plan for revenge… is that what this is all about?”

  Ernst or Hank or whoever chuckled sadly and shook his head, “No, son. I let that go long before you were ever born. Hell, I started to see things different even before I met Hank. If anything, I don’t want that horror below us to touch anyone today. Hitler, the Nazis… they were a horrible abomination that needed to be destroyed and deserve to stay buried. I wanted to make sure that’s what happened.”

  He put a hand on my arm and smiled wanly at me. I felt sorry for him, in spite of everything. He’d lived the life of a good man for a long, long time. My instincts told me he was telling the truth, too.

  “Leave him alone,” Audrey hissed, “You son of a bitch… how could you be so cruel to such a gentle old man! You’ve even got him convinced of your lies.”

  Juan stood now and held out his hands to her, “Senorita…”

  “What?” I turned to her, cutting Juan off, “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? Drop the act, Audrey. You’ve known all along.”

  She backed up a step as if slapped, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  I scoffed, “Oh, please! You knew. Maybe not for long, but once you started digging into the situation, you found out. You really think the government didn’t know about Schumer? Or at least suspect? But at the time, with the political climate being what it was and with the new threat of Russia looming, one German kid who might be impersonating an American kid just wasn’t a big deal for them. But somebody, somewhere, kept a record. Somebody kept tabs on Schumer. Over the decades, things got lost in the shuffle, but there was a record, wasn’t there?”

  “Bunny?” Lambert… I couldn’t help think of him that way… asked in confusion, “Is that true?”

  “Oh, it’s true,” I said accusingly, “And she found out when somebody contacted her. Somebody who knew or suspected the truth about her family. Some person or organization who wanted to peel the lid off this mystery for their own gain. The same person who broke into Yad Vashem and found Simon Wiesenthal’s notes on Ariovistus. Isn’t that right, Audrey?”

  She went cold then. She simply stood there and glared. It seemed like minutes passed before she moved or spoke again, and when she did, things went from strange to dangerous.

  A slow smile spread across her features. Again there was that something in her expression, her speech and her manner that worried me. Something not quite balanced, perhaps.

  Her right hand came up and a lethal looking black pistol rested there. It was maybe a thirty-two semi-automatic. A small gun that was as deadly at close range as my own Colt 1911… which was nowhere at hand, of course. She held something else in her left hand, though. A small device that truly caught my attention.

  Juan turned his body so that he was blocking Hank. It was a subtle move and I wonder if he realized he’d done it. I noticed and felt a surge of admiration for him.

  “You’re so smart, aren’t’ you, Jarvis?” Audrey said with a cold ring of victory in her voice, “You just figured it all out, huh? Its people like you, people who can’t keep their fucking nose out of others’ business that make this world the shit pile it is. People like you and that Yahoodi whore of yours who deserve exactly what you get.”

  “What the fuck…” Brody muttered.

  “No one move,” I instructed.

  “Good advice, for once,” Audrey quipped, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day, huh Jarvis? Too bad you weren’t just a little bit smarter, though. Maybe you’d have been able to see this coming. But sadly for you and your friends, here, you’re just a small time, nickel and dime gumshoe. A guy whose brains don’t quite live up to his arrogance.”

  “Have you got something to say, or are you just going to stand there and blather?” I asked snottily.

  She snorted, “Oh, I’ve got plenty to say. Here’s what’s going to happen. We’re all going back aboard that submersible. Brody, Jarvis and the whore are going to suit up and recover those canisters. I really only need one, though. Then we come up here and I leave with it, nice and easy.”

  “Bunny…” Lambert implored, “Stop this.”

  She shook her head, “Sorry, granddad. But this is bigger than you or me.”

  “You’re the one that hired those four hitmen,” I stated, “and the fifth? The one who shot Bin-Kazar in my office? Who are you working for? ISIS? The Hamas? And why didn’t you have him kill me while he was at it?”

  She laughed that unbalanced evil laugh again. It was disconcerting to see real, unbridled and unabashed evil finally reveal itself, “You don’t know the answer to that? First, as to who I’m working for… that’s none of your damned business. Second, I needed you to help me get here. Couldn’t very well kill the only person who might stumble onto the true location, now could I?”

  “We won’t help you,” Brody said flatly.

  “You don’t’ have a choice, Brody,” Audrey stated, “You see, your buddy Jarvis here just didn’t see the big picture. Let me paint it for you all. First, I’ve disabled all radio communication except for the underwater link to the sub. Secondly, I want to draw your attention to this remote I’m holding.”

  She held up the small device in her left hand. It was simple enough, a rectangle of plastic with a red button covered by a clear plastic shield. It was obvious what it was.

  “This is a remote detonator,” She explained, “Linked to half a pound of Semtex. C4. I’ve placed it in the engine room. Do you know what eight ounces of plastic explosive would do to this ship?”

  That got a groan from the crowd.

  Audrey laughed, “And furthermore, I’ve rigged it with an additional secondary detonator. Should either engine be started…”

  The implication was obvious. We were trapped and she held all the cards.

  “Of course,” Audrey continued, “The more I think about it, the more I realize that I only need two divers. What I don’t need, in spite of your size and strength which would be handy, is a wanna be hero intent on causing trouble. If you’re good at anything, Jarvis, it’s being a pain in the ass.”

  What happened next was totally unexpected. Chaos seemed to explode in the small compartment, as if it had been biding its time just waiting to be unleashed.

  I expected part of it, anyway. I knew she was going to shoot me that was obvious. The unexpected part was how fast the old man moved once his granddaughter started to train her weapon in my direction.

  There were six shots, sounding like small explosions in the confined space. Six rapid bangs that blended with shouts, a scream and the sounds of furniture tumbling. Something hard and fire-hot burned its way across my rib cage just under my right arm. At the same time, something large and solid slammed into my chest.

  I lurched to my left, my right arm wrapping around Hank, or Ernst’s, chest and pulling us both to the deck and nearly landing on top of Juan. Even as I fell, I felt the passage of air whoosh over my head as something… no someone… vaulted over us in Audrey’s direction.

  Pain exploded in my side as I hit the deck. I ignored it and placed myself over the body of the old man. It was only when I heard the watery intake of breath… or the struggle to take one that I started to realize what had happened.

  I thought it was me, but I found I could breathe easily. Yet each time I did, a hammer blow of pain shot across my torso. It was only when I saw the pale face of the old sailor beneath me and felt the warm wetness of blood staining the front of my shirt that I realized he’d been hit. At the same time, I saw Juan’s pale face beside me, twisted into a grimace of agony. His shirt front too was stained dark with his life’s blood. He blinked and tried to sit up. I pushed him back down and turned my attention to the old man.

  “Hank!” I rasped, pushing myself off him
and looking down.

  There were three small bullet holes in his shirt front and a dark patch of blood rapidly expanding across his narrow chest. He looked up at me with wide, glassed over eyes.

  “Hang on,’ I said softly.

  The retired Master Chief managed a pain-filled smile, “All right, son… lived a good long life… and fitting. I can finally… repay the debt… debt I owe Hank…”

  “Patron…” Juan croaked and again tried to raise up on his right elbow. I could see that he’d been hit twice, although the bullet holes weren’t near his heart, “Senor Yarvis… help him… he’s a good man…”

  “Easy, Juan,” I said, pushing him back to the deck, “Take it easy.”

  Lambert reached out with his left hand and took Juan’s right, “You’re… a good boy, son…”

  Ernst Schumer aka Henry Lambert drew in one last rattling breath and then exhaled slowly. He did not draw another.

  “Granddad!” Audrey Lambert’s voice screeched, seeming to come from a long way off. It held the sound of true anguish, an anguish I shared.

  I struggled to my knees, my own blood seeping out and down my right side. I quickly touched where the bullet had hit. It had grazed me, but broken at least one rib.

  “You…” Audrey growled at me, “You… you…”

  Ariel was clutched in Audrey’s right arm, the gun gone but the detonator still held in the other. Ariel’s face was calm and she even managed a wink at me. Had she let herself get captured?

  “Me?” I asked, anger boiling over, “You shot your own grandfather, Audrey. Isn’t it enough now? Stop this. If there’s any humanity left in your black soul, stop this!”

  “You’ll pay for this, Jarvis,” She hissed, her right arm going up to clamp down around Ariel’s neck, “you’ll pay, I swear it. Nobody moves! Anyone so much as takes a step and I’ll press this button.”

  “And blow yourself up, too?” McClay asked.

  “I think she’ll do it,” I said, “Do as she says. Everybody stay calm.”

  “First smart thing you’ve said,” Audrey sneered at me. The look in her eyes made my blood run cold. Something was truly off with her now. Perhaps it was her grandfather’s death that had pushed her over, but the mind behind those eyes was not entirely sane.