The Eve of Abounding Wickedness

by Mark Spaid

  “As you wish,” Cannover said and gave a signal to a subordinate who left the room to carry out the Fuehrer’s wishes.

  “Let us get a good night’s sleep before we take our rightful places tomorrow,” Thomas pronounced and they all left.

  * * *

  “Members of the party and all citizens of The Greater Reich, please rise and welcome the answer to our dreams. We have before you these six noble men who are all grand-children of our founders. They’ll now take their rightful place as head of The Greater Reich,” William Foster said. All six stood to loud cheers and clapping. “Now, I give you our Fuehrer, Thomas Rutherford!” There was screaming, yelling and dancing throughout the thirty thousand people who filled the football field at Indiana University, which had been renamed Indiana Teutonic University after the Medieval Teutonic knights Thomas rose and walked slowly to the microphone. Foster bowed and stood back out of the way. Thomas held both hands in the air and after a few minutes the crowd quieted.

  “Welcome fellow Nazis and citizens of The Greater Reich. The two are not necessarily the same thing but they should be and will be in time.” There was clapping. “We’re finally where we should be in this world. The Greater Reich has been established over the entire globe. The whole world will be able to see the benefits of National Socialism!” The crowd erupted again with shouts of Hail the Fuehrer. “Behind me are the men who’ll lead The Greater Reich for me and all of you. Donald Wright is the descendant of Heinrich Himmler and he will be the leader of the SS. Randal, Willoughby is a descendant of Joseph Goebbels and will head the Justice and Information Department. George Klay is a descendant of Hermann Goering and will lead the Armed Forces. Simon Windsor is a great grandson of Martin Borman and will serve as party chairman. Finally, Walter West whose grandfather was Adolph Eichman will lead the Department of Ethnic Readjustment. These men and I are the future of The Greater Reich!” There was loud and tumultuous cheering and shouting, foot stomping, clapping and jumping up and down. The Fuehrer made no attempt to silence the crowd and let them carry on for fifteen minutes as he shook hands with everyone in the back and waved at the crowd. Finally, things settled down and the Fuehrer stepped back to the microphone “I take it from your response that you’re happy with our new leadership.” There was loud laughter and clapping. “We have good people in place and they’re ready to carry out the wishes of my grandfather, the first Fuehrer, Adolph Hitler!” Another eruption of shouting and cheering occurred as Thomas turned around and saluted the large picture of Hitler. “We have a big job ahead of us, my friends. Yes, we have achieved The Greater Reich but now we must work to make it better and stronger. We must make sure National Socialism is spread throughout the entire planet.” More cheering and clapping. Now, go my friends and carry out Herr Hitler’s wishes.” A final round of clapping and shouting as Thomas and the other five leaders stood together at the front of the stage with hands in the air while the shouts continued. When the crowd had settled the Fuehrer and his men left the stage and went into an office to meet with security. The men who’d been party leaders, head of security, the armed forces, ethnic cleansing etc., were sitting at the far end of the room while the new leaders occupied a round table.

  “My Fuehrer, Colonel Hendricks is here,” Donald Wright said.

  “Good, send him in along with his men,” The Fuehrer said. At that the door opened and in came twelve armed men who immediately arrested the former leaders.

  “What is this?” William Foster asked as he was cuffed and held at gunpoint.

  “It’s for your own safety. There’ve been threats on your life,” the Fuehrer said. The men were taken away.

  “This can’t be a surprise to you,” Foster, Clarence Whitehall, former director of the party in Indiana said as seven men rode in the back of a box truck.

  “What’ll they do with us?” Jonathan Brewer, former SS leader in Indiana asked as he fidgeted nervously.

  “You should know better by now,” Whitehall said. It’ll be over in a few minutes. A bullet to the head and our troubles are over.” It was just as Whitehall said, though not as simplistic as a gunshot to the head. They were driven to an abandoned quarry where they were handcuffed, weighted down with cinder blocks, shoved off the edge of a cliff and into eighty feet of water. And, with swimming to safety made somewhat difficult…impossible actually, their fate was sealed as Clarence Whitehall had said. Their resting place was at the bottom of the quarry where turtles and other scavengers could feast until there were only bones remaining.

  When somebody takes over as dictator; an absolute dictator with no laws to govern them it’s imperative that said dictator remove any future obstacles to his/her power. Foster and his men had no pretensions about who was in charge and they would’ve gladly served loyally for as long as they were asked to but the Fuehrer could take no chances. Any possibility that in the future there could be a movement that would gather around Foster or any of his men had to be nipped in the bud. New men, fiercely loyal to Thomas were put in place in all of the key positions and slowly the men who’d directed the party apparatus before the ascension of the Fuehrer were given a fond farewell just like Foster and his men. Within a few weeks, the Fuehrer had what he wanted; an efficient and exceedingly loyal group to carry out his policies. The purge was complete.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Okay, Dr. Peabody, we have all the materials and equipment you asked for,” Kleinschmidt said as he stood along with a hundred other people ready to commence work on the particle beam weapon. “Where do they start?” The location was deep in the country, surrounded by tall trees with a perfectly flat and smooth surface from which to work as Warren had said was necessary.

  “Here are the plans. We need concrete footings at these locations, heavily reinforced because of the vibration and the need for stability. We can’t begin the steel frame until the footings have set for several days.”

  “You wouldn’t be stalling would you, Dr. Peabody?” Kleinschmidt asked.

  “Ask the engineers over there if the weight of this thing can be upheld unless the concrete is perfectly cured,” Warren challenged.

  “He’s right, it’ll take a week of curing to support the extreme weight of this structure,” one of the engineers said.

  “They can form and pour the concrete this afternoon,” Warren said.

  “Very well, I’ll be back to watch,” Kleinschmidt said then left.

  “How long will it take to build this thing?” Warren asked the engineers.

  “Once the concrete is hardened, it shouldn’t be very long. A week for the main components. Then of course you take over and program the electronics. We’re just structural engineers…you’re the scientist,” the engineer said and walked away to start his end of things. Warren went off to his office where he could work alone. He could see the weapon out his window once it was built

  “I bet this thing’s bugged so I can’t think out loud if it’s anything derogatory towards the Nazis and the Almighty Fuehrer,” he thought to himself. “I wonder what’ll happen when they’re able to read minds. Wait, no, the question is, how long before Kleinschmidt comes in her and asks me to build a mind reading machine. He laughed out loud for a moment then lost his smile. “I wonder if it’s theoretically possible to build a mind reading machine? The weird thing is, that I wouldn’t rule it out completely. Now that is scary. Okay, snap out of it Warren and stop daydreaming. Back to UFT physics…I have to centralize the beam and narrow it to ten percent before it reaches the end of the barrel. If I can maintain intensity then I can use the Xenon laser to augment the charge and keep the beam constant over the horizon.” He began working feverishly on a series of equations that he needed to make the beam focused and constant. It wasn’t like the time portal, which he already knew how to do. This was brand new and he wasn’t sure if he was right on the mark or a mile away. The numbers looked good but it’d never been tested. He would’ve liked to build a small mock up somewhere between the size of the miniature and th
e real thing but his boss Kleinschmidt and his boss Klay were in too much of a hurry in order to please everyone’s boss…Thomas Rutherford, the Fuehrer.

  Warren was sure he could overcome the strong nuclear force by firing a steady stream of gluons at the nuclei of the beam particles that would occur once the stream was in motion. But to do that, the Xenon laser had to be able to direct the beam to a precise point. That was the tricky part and without a small prototype there was no way to know if the beam could be maintained even for a short distance let alone fifteen thousand miles. He worked for two hours straight without even a breath. That was Warren’s method. He attacked an equation with rapid math and the use of substitutions and derivatives to achieve his goal. Then he would go back and look for trip wires. It was a method that worked very well for him. He sailed through his doctoral work and in fact his committee was lost during most of his presentation and his oral defense evolved from his being questioned to Warren explaining everything about his work to the doctoral committee. Sol was right when he called Warren a genius. He was and of a rare once in a generation type. Einstein from the early Twentieth Century and relativity; Szilard, Teller and Oppenheimer from the Manhattan Project and now Warren Peabody from the…what? What was Warren doing and to what end. He wasn’t sure himself…it’s not like he sought out these goons and asked to build the devices to help them subjugate the world. He was a prisoner just like the rest had been until they escaped. He also knew that if the time ever came that they didn’t need him anymore, he was as good as dead. There was no running for Warren; not because he had a titanium leg but because running involved more than sprinting. It meant slipping away from rather strict surveillance. He was stuck with these guys and all he could do was to try and minimize the damage they could cause to the world.

  * * *

  “Girls, stay behind us and against the building,” Tatiana said to the twins as Dave, Sol and she walked around the lab looking for a way inside. Mallory and Melanie did as they were told. Tatiana would’ve rather the girls were not with them for this kind of clandestine activity but at the same time she liked to be able to keep an eye on them.

  “Can you see anything?” Sol asked. Dave was six five and could see in the tall windows.

  “No guards inside and minimal lighting. There’s a lamp over Warren’s work area.”

  “Any cameras?” Tatiana asked.

  “I can’t see any but there might be some hidden ones,” Dave answered.

  “That worries me,” Sol said.

  “Well, hidden or not we have to get inside and see what can be done. We have to be able to operate his thing,” Tatiana said.

  “You’re right, Love,” Dave said as he jiggled a window and the latch gave way.

  “Why isn’t this place locked down tight with a half dozen men around it?” Sol asked.

  “An oversight maybe. All their attention right now is on the other site and the weapon,” Dave posed.

  “Perhaps or maybe this is a trap waiting for us to be inside so they can nab us too,” Sol said.

  “That thought crossed my mind,” Dave said.

  “Push me up there, Dave and I’ll see what happens,” Tatiana said.

  “Hang on.” He lifted Tatiana up and she climbed through the window. Then she opened the back door and let in everyone else.

  “We’ll stay out here and wait,” Mario said.

  “No alarms yet, Dave said.

  “This is almost the same panel that we saw in the Pennsylvania Wilds,” Sol remarked. Yes, I can work this. The chronometer and the engaging channels. I’ll need to run the voltage up to one million but yeah, this’ll work. If it’s just three of you it should be a snap.”

  “Alright, let’s get back to the woods,” Dave said and they went out the back door, being careful to lock the window before they left. They were moving quickly down the alley when flashlights were shined on them and they stopped.

  “Put your hands up and don’t move,” a voice rang out and they froze. A dozen men surrounded them and put handcuffs on everyone except the twins. Mario and Janet watched from a distance. There was nothing they could do and perhaps they could help get them out or help with something else. In any event an attempt at heroism would only get them and perhaps everyone killed. The twin daughters made it too risky to try anything so they stayed hidden.

  “What’re you doing with us?” Tatiana asked.

  “Taking you into SS custody,” an officer said. They were shoved in a van and driven to the local SS Patrol building where they were put in a cell.

  “Mommy, I’m scared,” Melanie said as she clung to Tatiana. It was always mom unless things were scary then she reverted to mommy.

  “It’s alright, Baby. You and Mallory sit over there on that bench,” Tatiana said and the twins sat down.

  “I guess we were right, they were waiting for us,” Sol said.

  “No surprise but we had to know about the lab and the device so, it was worth it,” Dave said.

  “What’ll they do to us?” Tatiana asked.

  “I’m worried what they might do to Sol,” Dave said. “Sol, your name is now Sol Reynolds.”

  “If you say so but I’m not sure it matters; with this face…well you know what I mean,” Sol said grinning as he sat down.

  “We’ve been looking for you people,” a lieutenant said as he stood looking at them through the jail bars.

  “What do you want?” Tatiana asked.

  “The truth,” Weston said. The name on his shirt was Lieutenant Beryl Weston.

  “I didn’t think the truth was a major thing to Nazis,” Dave said.

  “It is sometimes.”

  “If you let my daughters go, I’ll tell you anything you want,” Tatiana said.

  “As enticing as that is, I have to say no,” Weston replied. Now, I’ll speak with you two alone.” Two armed men came in the cell and took Dave and Tatiana.

  “Mommy!” Melanie cried.

  “Mom, Daddy,” Mallory said just as frightened. They were taken into a room with a table and two chairs.

  “What’re we going to do, Dave?” Tatiana asked.

  “I don’t know, we have the twins to worry about so any heroics on our part is out of the question.”

  “I won’t do anything foolish, Dave.”

  “I know, I’m sorry but I’m scared,” Dave said and hugged his wife. She buried her head in his chest and squeezed tight.

  “We’re in trouble but we’ll find a way out of it,” she whispered.” Then she leaned back and looked right in his eyes. “But Dave you have to be ready to accept anything to get us out of here.” He cocked his head, not quite understanding what she was saying then it hit him.

  “No…” he started but she put her hand to his mouth.

  “Dave, whatever it takes to get the twins out of here is what I’ll do.”

  “But…” he started.

  “Whatever it takes…let’s say no more for now.” He nodded.

  * * *

  “That’s them alright,” Justin said as they watched from behind a hedge two blocks from the patrol station.

  “What do we do?” Belinda asked.

  “Nothing now. We get back to the woods and tell the rest,” Lexi said as she watched over Belinda’s shoulder.

  “I’m worried about Sol,” Justin said.

  “Why?” Belinda asked.

  “He’s Jewish, Lind.”

  “What difference does that make?”

  “To us nothing but to the Nazis it’s the worst thing you can be in their world.”

  “It is?”

  “Remember, they killed almost seven million Jewish people in World War II.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know but I should. I’ll have Little Wolf explain it to me.”

  “Okay, let’s head back to the woods,” Justin said and they made their way cautiously but quickly through residential areas to avoid crowds and the SS.

  “I don’t like the way people are staring at us,” Lexi said.

 
“I see that and people are naturally nosy but I think in this Time Frame there might be an advantage to turning in undesirables,” Justin said.

  “You mean people might turn us in to the police?” Belinda asked.

  “It’s been known to happen,” Justin said. On the outskirts of town there were fewer houses and fewer people. They relaxed and made it to the woods.

  “I guess we’re all that’s here,” Lexi said.

  “Miss Lexi, over here,” Little Wolf said as he stepped from behind a tree.

  “Where are the rest?” Justin asked and Paulita, Julieta and Ariel appeared.

  “Little Wolf taught me how to hide,” Ariel said. “I’m small so I can hide behind most trees.”

  “Hail to Sacagawea,” Justin said.

  “Funny,” Ariel said as the four came up to Justin.

  “What’d you find, Mr. Justin?” Julieta asked.

  “It’s bad, very bad. The SS have taken Dave, Tatiana, Sol and the twins in custody,” Justin said.

  “No!” Paulita said and put her hands to her face. Melanie and Mallory were her world in many ways and the thought of them being in the hands of the SS was horrifying.

  “Are you sure?” Julieta asked.

  “We saw them being taken in the SS Patrol Station. The one on the North side of town,” Lexi said.

  “This is bad, especially for Sol,” Little Wolf said.

  “That’s what Justin said,” Belinda added. “Maybe they won’t find out Sol is Jewish.”

  “Miss Belinda, they’ll find out,” Julieta said.

  “Okay, after dark, I’ll find out what’s up,” Little Wolf said.

  “It’s not safe,” Brave,” Julieta said.

  “Nothing in this world’s safe, Maiden.”

  “What can you do?” Julieta asked.

  “I don’t know until I get there.”

  “I’m going with you,” Paulita said.

  “No, I’ll go alone; they won’t know I’ve been there.”

  “I have to know the twins are alright,” Paulita said.