“Actung!”
The officer had a strong voice along with a loud pop as his heels clicked together.
Everyone in the room rose quickly.
All eyes were on the open panel door.
Two other officers came in followed immediately by Kaete Grimme.
She was dressed in a simple, black uniform.
She walked over to the head of the table briskly and stood, eyeing everyone in the group.
She paused for a moment, smiled and walked over to Jackson.
“Herr Jackson, it is so very good to see you again.”
“Thank you,
Mein Führer
,” Jackson answered as they shook hands.
Blocher was stunned.
Grimme looked past Jackson at Blocher.
“I assume this is Dieter Blocher,” she said.
“Yes,
Mein Führer
.
May I present to you Herr Dieter Blocher.”
She stepped over to Blocher and offered her hand.
Blocher took her hand.
She shook his hand twice and then pushed his hand away, a point of behavior she had learned from royalty.
This prevented any long handshakes from those enamored with meeting her.
“I am very happy to meet you, Herr Blocher.
I am certain you will serve us well in your new assignment.”
“Thank you,
Mein Führer
,” Blocher said strongly and succinctly.
Both Kunze and Jackson took note.
Dieter had handled the introduction very well.
Kunze mentally racked another plus down for Blocher.
Grimme turned and returned to the head of the table and sat down.
The rest of the group sat down.
“Gentlemen, we are on the verge of what we have worked toward for more than fifty years.
What our fathers and forefathers worked so hard to create.
We are once again on the verge of world domination,” stated Grimme with little emotion.
Dieter had goose bumps running up and down his arms and neck.
He could not believe what he was hearing.
“Here at Fortress Alpha we are now ramping up to one hundred percent output in production.
Our work was started by our predecessors.
We have worked very hard to build upon their findings and move forward.
Our scientists have now perfected the greatest scientific breakthrough in the history of man.”
She paused to let what she had said sink in.
“We are now making our own gold!”
The group leapt to their feet and began their applause.
Blocher was right with them although hearing this was as astounding to him as Jesus Christ walking in through the door.
Make gold?
My God, how in the hell was that possible?
Surely she meant “mine” our own gold.
If you can make gold, the future is limitless.
Of course, Dieter knew of the gold shipment back to the United States.
Jackson and he handled the financial recordkeeping of the transfers.
But he had no idea where the gold came from other than Brazil.
And that gold was created here at Fortress Alpha?
Blocher’s head was swimming.
Grimme raised her hand and the group was seated.
“As we all know, we embarked upon a plan to conquer the world back in the 1930’s.
Since then many others gave their lives to transfer that plan to Brazil after the fall of the Third Reich.
Our forefathers risked everything to see that we had the ability to further our cause,” she explained.
“Now their work and our work are yielding great rewards.
We have plans to overwhelm the world markets and bring them to their knees.
We will succeed in doing what our beloved Führer Adolph Hitler was unable to do with brute force.
We will conquer the world but through the strangling of its financial system.
The actions have been set into motion.
Within a year we will control the gold market and control the world.”
The men stood again applauding.
Dieter was proud to be here in this room.
This was a great moment for the Fourth Reich and they were all part of its birth.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Finley Base Camp, Cotriguacu, Brazil;
11:00 a.m.
Ben Jamison and Lee Watson waited hoping to hear something from the Finley party.
He, Lee or one of his men staunchly stood by the radio the entire time.
Many times each day and night they attempted to contact the Finleys by radio.
The result was nothing but static.
“Something’s definitely happened to them,” Ben said quietly under his breath.
“I just know it.
It’s not like Randall to not get back to us somehow.”
Tecal, one of Ben’s trusted natives, was sitting at Ben’s side at the table.
Tecal worked with Ben and Lee for ten years and knew Randall, Dana and Manolo well.
He accompanied Randall on one of his solo treks a few years ago while Dana stayed back at Princeton.
Tecal knew the jungle well and also knew that the jungle carried many dangers.
“Mr. Ben, what about the GPS?” Tecal asked.
“Why have we not the GPS?”
Tecal was right.
Even if Randall ditched the radio he still had a GPS unit small enough to be on Randall’s belt.
They should be receiving GPS info all of the time.
But there was no GPS signal at all.
That worried Ben.
He felt that something very bad had happened.
Especially after hearing about the men dressed in black.
Putting all of this together, Ben knew something terrible had happened to the Finleys.
The Finleys were at least three or four days back into the bush when they last contacted Base Camp.
So logically it would take at least three days or so for them to return.
If that were true, Dana and Randall should be back by tomorrow.
Ben anxiously felt he could not wait that long.
Hell, it would be five or six days total to initiate a rescue mission.
That was too long to wait in his opinion.
Lee walked into the hut and sat down at the table.
“Anything new?” she asked tentatively.
She so wanted to hear there had been contact.
Dana and Randall were not only colleagues but friends.
One does not spend days and weeks with folks in the wilds of the Amazon without becoming close.
To Lee, Dana reminded her of her deceased daughter.
If she had survived the car crash, Amy would be the same age as Dana now.
Maybe that was why she felt so close to Dana.
It gave her comfort.
“Not a peep,” said Ben looking up.
“I can’t see a light at the end of this tunnel.”
“They are out there somewhere,” Lee said.
“We’ll find them.
I know it.”
“God, I hope so,” Ben said seriously.
“What worries me is the GPS.
That damned little unit is almost indestructible.
Why aren’t we getting that signal?
It must have been destroyed.
That worries me.”
“I know.
It worries me too,” said Lee softly.
“Well, I don’t know what else to do but send someone out to try to find them.”
Lee looked at Ben.
“You think that’s a good idea?
I mean, what if someone did kidnap them?
We could be sending in more people into a trap… or worse.”
Ben thought for a second.
“That’s true but we can send someone out to meet them.
Maybe they are on their way back.
We would know that much sooner,” answered Ben.
“Then let’s do it,” chirped Lee.
“Let’s send Tecal now.”
Ben looked at Tecal.
“We have to send someone out after the Finleys today,” blurted Ben.
“I can’t sit here another minute without knowing something.”
“Yes, Mr Ben.”
“Get a few men and follow the Finleys’ trail.
Take a radio and GPS and leave as soon as possible.
Within the hour would be great.
If they are out there and on the way back, you should find them within a day.”
“Yes, Mr. Ben,” agreed Tecal.
“I get three men and leave quick.
We can travel fast and make good time in the jungle. “
“Call me immediately on the radio when you find them.
Otherwise radio me every four hours,” explained Jamison.
“Yes, Mr. Ben.
We go now,” said Tecal as he raced from the hut to gather his men for the trip.
Ben sat back and wondered if it was too late.
Possibly he should have done this yesterday.
He might have known something by now.
Dumbass, he thought.
You are a complete dumbass!
He should have acted on this earlier.
God, he thought, I hope we are not too late.
It took Tecal only twenty minutes to corral three of his men, a bit of food and a handheld radio and GPS with a portable antenna.
They were ready to go.
Tecal and his men walked over to the base camp hut.
“We are ready to go, Mr. Ben,” Tecal called inside.
Ben walked out onto the porch of the hut and smiled.
Lee followed.
“Tecal, you guys are as fast as lightning.
Everything’s set?”
“Yes, Mr. Ben.
We leave now.
We can travel very fast in the jungle.
Tyana is one of the best trackers,” Tecal explained, patting the small native standing beside him on the shoulder.
“Great!” smiled Ben.
“You go find the Finleys and be sure to call me every four hours.”
Tecal gave Ben a big grin and the foursome turned and trotted off into the jungle, Tyana leading.
“Good luck,” yelled Lee.
Suddenly, Ben felt there was some hope as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his sweating brow.
He looked at his sister.
Some hope…
Four hours passed.
Right on time Tecal radioed Ben.
No contact.
They were moving fast.
Ben was following the GPS signal.
He was amazed at the speed Tecal and his men were moving through the jungle.
Finally some progress.
Lee was plotting Tecal’s progress when the eight-hour check-in call came in.
Tecal still found no sign of the Finleys.
According to the map, Ben saw that Tecal’s group had gone two days deep into the jungle as the Finleys would have trekked.
He was worried now.
Ben knew the Finleys were not coming back in.
Tecal should have found them by now if they were.
He decided to have Tecal move on for four more hours.
By then it would be dark.
After four more hours it was dark at the base camp.
Lee and Ben waited intently at the radio.
Lee checked the GPS system and plotted Tecal’s position.
They had gone much further than Ben had hoped.
They were within thirty miles of the Finleys’ last reported location.
This did not look good, thought Ben as he held his head in his hands.
The crackling of the radio startled him.
It was Tecal reporting in.
Lee ran over to the table.