Blitzkrieg: Origins of the Prime: A Superhero Spy Thriller (15 page)

“You’re sure you’re alright?” Hayes looked him in the eyes. “I mean if Colonel Arnulf had suddenly reentered my life I’d…” but Axel cut him off.

“It’s not Arnulf that bothers me. I don’t care about him.”

“Oh?”

“Did Tom tell you about Hammer and Sickle?”

“The Russian super humans?” Hayes asked and Axel nodded. “Yes.”

“It was Kristel and Gerd,” Axel said.

“That’s what Thomas told me.”

“But they are going by different names now. Alena and Alexi.”

“Those are Slavic names,” Hayes said.

“I didn’t know what had happened to them. If they were alive or dead…” Axel’s voice trailed off. “I have thought about her every day for the last twenty years. Hoping to find her one day. Wishing I could have saved her back then.”

“I know, Axel.”

“We left them, Professor. We left them with those monsters.” Axel placed his face in his hands. “I left her with Colonel Arnulf.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Axel. You had not even reached your fifth birthday yet. You were not responsible for Kristel and Gerd, or whatever they are calling themselves. That doctor…er…what’s his name…”

“Dr. Holger.”

“Yes, thank you. Dr. Holger was responsible for them—for all of you. He did not have to take you to Berlin. He could have piled all of you into the car and driven west. He’d have run slap into the Allies.”

“He went back out to get them. At least, that’s where he said he was going. But I don’t know what happened to him either.” Axel shook his head. “I don’t care about Dr. Holger, but I do care about Kristel and Gerd. To finally know for sure after all these years that they are alive…” He swallowed hard. “And that we are enemies…” He let the sentence fall away.

“I remember when we were bringing you back to America with us. You kept begging us to go find her. To rescue her. To rescue them both, but your emphasis was clearly on her.” Hayes patted his leg. “We tried, you must believe me. We wanted them as badly as you did, but clearly the Russians had found them first, as I suspected.”

“I suppose we should have always known that’s what happened to them. I mean what else could have?”

Hayes shrugged. “Any number of things, I suppose. They could have been killed in the bombings. They could have escaped the Nazis, been adopted by some German family.” He cleared his throat. “There were rumors, Axel.”

Axel stared at him. “What kind of rumors?”

“That many of the Nazi secrets were saved. That they are protected in hidden Nazi bases.”

“Where are these bases?” Axel asked.

“If we knew that we’d root them out,” Hayes said with a smile. “But there is some evidence that they were at least attempting to build a secret base in Antarctica.”

“Antarctica?” Axel asked skeptically. “Why would anyone want to go to Antarctica.”

“Well, who would look for them there?” Hayes asked. “From these secret bases, they could continue their work. Eventually, they would emerge to conquer the world and finish what they started. If those rumors are true, there is every reason to believe they would have taken as many of their genetically enhanced humans as possible.”

“Do you believe that?” Axel asked.

“I don’t know Axel. It’s certainly possible. But I mean there are all sorts of crazy rumors about the Nazis. Everything from they built a machine that could travel through time to they discovered alien bases.”

“Alien?” Axel asked. “You mean like little green men from Mars?”

“Yeah,” Hayes said. “I mean, I doubt they came from Mars, but…” he stopped and took a breath. “Look, Axel. It’s a really big universe out there. Humans think we’re so important, but we’re just these little specks of life, living on a rock which is hurtling through infinite space. We don’t know a millionth of a billionth of a percent of what is possible. Thirty years ago, if you had told me that I’d one day meet a boy that could shoot lightning bolts from his hands I’d have looked at you like you had three heads. But hey, here you are.”

Axel nodded. “Well, at least we know that Kristel and Gerd aren’t still in the hands of the Nazis at some secret Antarctic base. Not that it matters. After all these years, I have finally found her,” he said, sadness evident in his voice. “But I can’t rescue her.”

Professor Hayes laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “All is not lost yet, Axel. Keep some faith.” Axel nodded. “Besides you have people here that need you now.”

“I know, I’ll always be here for Rolf.”

“Not just Rolf, Axel,” Hays said. “Thomas needs you. This new girl he told me about, this psychic, needs you. Your country needs you. We are all counting on you, Axel.”

Axel nodded. He knew the professor was right, but that didn’t make it any less painful. At least he could take comfort in the fact that Kristel was still alive. He just wished she wasn’t trying to kill him.

Chapter 14

The nurse practically strutted down the hall of the hospital ward. She had curves in all of the right places and no reservations about flaunting them. Her sneakers made little sound along the linoleum floor, but her swinging hips, accentuated by her tight fitting nurse’s uniform, made for quite a show. Her soft hair fell in dark brown curls from beneath her white hat. She soon arrived at the door of the room where Colonel Arnulf was being treated and came face to face with two men in navy suits.

“Time to check the patient’s vitals again,” she smiled through bright red lips and perfectly white teeth. The two men smiled back and then the one on the left leaned over and opened the door for her. “Thank you,” she said with a flirtatious batting of the eyes.

“Certainly, ma’am,” he said and then turned his head to sneak a quick peek at her from behind before closing the door.

Arnulf was sleeping soundly in his bed as the nurse leaned over him and felt his pulse. It was strong. She glanced around the room and saw another pillow laying in a chair. She crossed over to it, picked it up and then stole a quick glimpse over her shoulder at the door before placing the pillow over Arnulf’s face to smother him. Arnulf awoke immediately and grabbed at her arms, but she was much too strong for him to do anything to stop her—ridiculously strong for a woman of her size.

Outside the door, the guards could hear nothing inside the room. Soon, however, they saw a short, round nurse approach. This time there were no swinging hips or bright red lips—only a no-nonsense woman staring up at them.

“I’ve got to check the patient’s vitals,” the nurse said grumpily, clearly annoyed that she needed permission from these men to do her job.

The guards glanced at one another and then back at the nurse as their eyes went wide with realization. They reached inside of their jackets and drew their pistols before turning and rushing into the room. They found the woman in the nurses uniform standing over Arnulf, smothering him with a pillow.

“Hold it!” both men shouted in unison. The woman stopped smothering Arnulf. “Raise your hands,” one of the guards shouted. The woman slowly raised her hands up until they were level with her shoulders.

The guards stepped closer, keeping their pistols aimed at her. One reached out and grabbed her wrist and pulled it down to her back. When he did so, she quickly spun around, snatched his pistol from his hand and smashed it into his nose causing him to stumble back in pain as his hand flew to his blood-splattered face. Almost instantly the woman threw the pistol across the bed at the other guard, preventing him from firing as he raised his arms protectively over his face. She then leapt toward him and brought her foot into the other guard’s groin in a sidekick causing him to double over in pain. She turned back to the one with the broken nose. He had recovered quickly and took a swing at her. She ducked the swing and smashed the heel of her hand into his knee. She felt his kneecap shatter beneath his skin and he collapsed onto the floor. The woman leapt back to her feet as the other guard recovered and raised his pistol. She dashed past, shoving him out of the way and heading for the door. She ran out of the door, past the stunned nurse, and turned right into the hallway.

The elevator doors at the other end of the hall opened and Tom stepped out. He was coming to check on Arnulf’s status and see if the men posted at the door needed anything. He saw a nurse sprinting toward him and then noticed one of the federal agents stumbling out of Arnulf’s room with gun in hand.

“Stop her!” the guard shouted.

Tom’s eyes caught the nurse’s and he reached out to grab her as she ran by, but she yanked him down instead, slamming him hard against the linoleum floor. Tom scrambled to his feet and chased after her, following her into the stairwell as the guard radioed to security downstairs.

The nurse reached the ground floor and burst out of the stairwell sprinting for the front doors. Two security guards shouted for her to halt as they rushed to block her path. The nurse ran up to a small, wooden chair set out in the waiting area and kicked it. It flew across the room slamming into one security guard, knocking him to the ground. She leapt into the air and brought her foot down into the other security guard’s chest. He fell beside his friend and the nurse hurdled over both of them and darted out the door.

Tom noticed her leave the hospital as he pushed open the door from the stairwell in pursuit. He ran in between the two fallen guards as they began to push themselves up and chased after her. Tom burst through the front doors of the hospital and out into the parking lot. He stopped momentarily and glanced about in search of her. He quickly spotted her and gave chase.

Tom saw her run along the streets. She was heading for the overpass. He ran as fast as he could, but knew he could not catch her. She was just too fast. Not Alena fast, but a sprinter for sure. He drew his sidearm and took aim. He was an excellent marksman. No one else was around, the shot was safe. He squeezed the trigger and saw a burst of blood leap from her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. Tom ran after her. He slowed as he approached her while keeping his pistol trained on her.

She was pushing herself up to her feet as he reached her. “Put your hands where I can see them,” he shouted. The nurse placed her hands on the yellow and red striped guard railing of the bridge. She then pulled herself up. “Higher!” Tom shouted. The nurse raised her hands above her head. Tom took another step toward her, but before he could react she leapt from the bridge. Tom ran to the side and caught a glimpse of her, crouched atop a van just before it disappeared under the overpass. Tom dashed to the other side and watched as the van drove away. He aimed his pistol, but did not take the shot. It was too dangerous to fire at a freeway full of vehicles. “Dammit!” he shouted into the night, before sliding his pistol back into the holster beneath his jacket.

***

Tom stepped out of the hospital elevator to find a different scene than the one he had left. Federal agents swarmed all around taking photographs, dusting for prints, interviewing witnesses, and setting up security. He was asked to show his identification immediately. He whipped out his CSOS identification card and was permitted entry. He walked past the two guards who had been assigned to Arnulf. Both were being tended to by medical personnel. They had clearly taken a severe beating and Tom frowned to himself. How did a hundred and twenty pound woman take out a couple of big, highly trained, armed agents? He came to Arnulf’s room and stepped inside. He found Ian was already there and speaking to Arnulf.

Ian glanced up and saw Tom. He quickly moved around the bed, took Tom by the arm, and led him outside of the room. “They told me you went after her,” Ian said. Tom nodded. “So?”

“I shot her,” Tom said.

“Shot her?”

“Just winged her though. She escaped.”

“How?”

Tom shook his head, still having difficulty believing he had seen what he had. “She leapt off the bridge and landed on top of a van.”

“Holy crap,” Ian said as he shook his head. “Well, Arnulf is lucky the guards came in when they did. She almost killed him.”

“Any idea who she is?” Tom asked.

“No, but we’ve got to assume she’s Russian,” Ian replied. “But Arnulf doesn’t think so.” Tom tilted his head to look at Ian quizzically. “He claims she is some assassin that hunted Nazis during the war. They called her the Valkyrie.”

“Valkyrie?” Tom asked no one in particular. “Well maybe, if she was hunting them when she was five,” Tom said. “I’d be shocked if she was thirty years old.”

“That’s basically what everyone else said as well, but Arnulf insists it’s her.”

“Well maybe that’s what the Russians want him to think. Want us to think.”

Ian nodded. “Any chance it was that Sickle girl?”

“No,” Tom said with a confident shake of his head. “This one was fast, but not inhumanly fast. Sickle moves so quick all you see is a blur.” Tom glanced around to see if anyone else was listening. He leaned in close to Ian and lowered his voice. “That doesn’t mean it’s not some other genetically enhanced human. Let’s be honest, we don’t know who or what is out there and this guy has to have a list of enemies as long as my arm.”

Ian nodded. “Well, whoever she is, she’s dangerous. We should probably bring your team in. I don’t want to take the chance that she’s going to start hunting you guys next.”

Tom nodded. “I’ll take care of it.” Tom turned to walk away.

“And Tom,” Ian said causing Tom to spin back around. “Be careful. We’re in new territory here.”

“Roger that, sir,” he said with a light-hearted half salute and a quick smile before turning back around and walking to the elevator.

Chapter 15

Axel sat up on the weight bench and wiped the sweat from his brow with a white towel. He often came to the office gym when he had a lot on his mind. Lifting weights helped him relieve stress. He stood and made his way over to the water-cooler where he removed a paper cup, filled it and took a drink. He was finished with his workout and was just about to take a shower when he noticed Dawn across the room punching a bag. He smiled as he could not help but think how good she looked in her blue tank top and matching workout shorts. He finished the water and tossed the cup into a nearby trashcan before casually strolling toward her.