Blitzkrieg: Origins of the Prime: A Superhero Spy Thriller (11 page)

“Not exactly,” Ian said and then leaned forward toward them. “Look, we’ve heard from multiple sources that the Russians are using psionics. That they even spy on us by…” Ian searched the air for the term. “By astral projection,” he said.

Ian held up a hand to silence any comments he thought might be coming before they began. “If there is any chance that the Russians have people with psychic abilities that could aid the Communists against us, then we need to be able to counter that.” Ian watched the men across from him and was relieved to see that they were listening intently and neither had begun to laugh, yet. “Sava reconfirmed this Soviet program for us. That helped the CIA to convince the President to strongly consider funding the psionic program.”

“Alright, sir, but what does that have to do with us?” Tom asked.

“Based on our recent success and the fact that we are the Clandestine Scientific Operations Service, the President would very much like us to sign off on this psionic program before he commits a large chunk of money to it. In all honesty, I think he wants to be able to point the finger at us if it’s a huge waste of resources and the press finds out about it.”

“Sign off?” Axel asked clearly confused.

“The CIA has provided us with a psion and if we believe that their claims have merit, then the President will approve the funding.”

“Provided us with a psion?” Tom asked as his eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

“She’ll be a member of your team.”

“She?” Axel asked, sitting up straight now.

Ian turned to Martha. “Could you please ask Agent Williams to come in?”

“Yes, sir,” Martha said before standing and walking to the door. She opened it and stuck her head out into the hallway. “Agent Williams, they are ready for you,” she said pleasantly and then stepped to the side to allow Dawn space to enter the room. Axel and Tom stood as she came in and both of their jaws dropped when they saw her. Rolf kept his seat and smiled at her, looking away shyly when her eyes met his.

“Agent Dawn Williams,” Ian said, “May I present Team Blitzkreig.”

Axel looked at Tom and then Ian and then back to Dawn and then back to Ian. “Are you serious?” Axel asked.

“I’m quite serious, Axel,” Ian said.

Axel shook his head. “This is a joke,” he said as he looked back at Dawn. His eyes then leapt back and forth from Tom to Ian. “We embarrassed the CIA and now they are playing a prank on us.”

“Axel,” Ian began, but Dawn cut him off.

“Agent Smith, isn’t it?” Dawn asked.

“That’s right,” Axel said.

“I assure you this is no joke,” Dawn said and then her voice firmed even more. “
I
am no joke,” she said.

Axel held up his hands defensively. “Look, Miss…” he began.

“Agent,” Dawn corrected him.

“Excuse me. Look Agent, Williams, is it?” he asked and she nodded. “I mean no disrespect to you personally. I am sure that you are an innocent victim of the CIA’s pranksters just like the rest of us, but this is clearly a joke. I mean, we show up the CIA and then next thing you know they want us to have one of their agents, a black woman, join our team. And as the cherry on top, they claim she is psychic.”

Dawn tilted her head and looked at him. “So, you think that because I am a black woman, I cannot be a good agent?”

“No, I don’t think that,” Axel said. “But I guarantee you all of those Ivy League assholes at the CIA do.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Tom said. “I’m an Ivy League asshole.”

“So am I,” Ian said. “And we are not the ones questioning the qualifications of Agent Williams.”

Axel held up his hands defensively. “My point is that, while I am sure you were top in your class at Morehouse, there is no way the CIA takes you seriously as an agent. You’re a joke to them, just like us.
We
are a joke to them. They’ve made that clear on more than one occasion.”

Dawn released a long breath and when she spoke her voice was soft, but firm. “Agent Smith,” she began.

“Call me Axel, please,” Axel said. “I hate Smith. That was just the generic last name the OSS gave us because we didn’t have one.”

“Alright, Axel,” Dawn said. She smiled at him pleasantly. Asking her to call him by his first name was clearly meant as a peace gesture, albeit a small one. “First, Morehouse is an all boys school. But yes, I was one of the top of my class at Howard here in D.C. Second, the reason I was able to go to Howard is because the CIA believed in me so much that they paid for it. They have been interested in me since I was a little girl. I have been well trained, and while you are correct about a male chauvinistic, veiled racism that prevails through the Agency, believe me when I tell you, that the only reason they sent the ‘black woman’ is because I am the best psion they have by a long shot. I’m sure they would have preferred to send a white man, but none were up to snuff, psychically. This is
not
a joke. The CIA really wants this to succeed. I really want this to succeed.”

“So you’re the real deal?” Axel asked.

“Yes, I am.”

Axel nodded. “Well, let’s see it,” he said.

“See what?” she asked.

“Do something psychic.”

“What do you have in mind?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head.

“You tell me,” he smirked. “What’s on my mind?”

“I’m terrified to find out,” she countered.

“Fair enough,” he replied and then a smile spread across his face. “What color is my underwear?” he asked.

Dawn narrowed her eyes at him. “It doesn’t take a psychic to know that an uptight, white Jewish boy like you would only wear white underwear.”

Axel stared at her for a long moment before starting to laugh. He sat back down in his chair. “She’s feisty at least,” he said to Ian.

Everyone sat as the tension abated. Tom looked across the table at Martha. “Martha, if you were taking minutes on that discussion, let the record reflect that Agent Williams failed her first psychic test.” He then turned to look at Dawn. “All of Axel’s underwear are pink. Most of them are frilly.”

The entire table laughed at that. Then Rolf nudged Axel with his elbow. “She’s pretty,” he attempted to whisper much too loudly for it to be effective. “Be nice.”

Dawn smiled broadly at Rolf. “Thank you,” she said. Rolf blushed, having not intended for her to hear him. He quickly looked away, hiding his face behind his massive hand.

“Alright,” Ian smiled back and forth. “Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way…” He cleared his throat as he leaned forward. “Our new friend Sava, has provided us with some information that has already prompted your next mission,” Ian smiled excitedly. He couldn’t be more thrilled that the President was once again entrusting his office with such high priority missions. Axel and Tom raised their eyebrows as they stared at the Director. “Apparently, the Soviets have just captured a Nazi,” Ian continued as Martha opened a manila folder and pulled out a black and white photograph, sliding it to Dawn who glanced at it and then slid it across the table to Tom. “Normally when a high-ranking Nazi wanted for war crimes is arrested, the news is made public and goes international instantly. The Soviets are keeping this one under wraps because this particular Nazi has extremely valuable information that could cause a shift in global power.”

Tom looked at the picture and then slid it over to Rolf. Rolf glanced down at the photograph and his face went white. He leapt to his feet as if the photo were a snake coiled to strike, and his chair went crashing to the floor. Everyone was startled and Axel and Tom immediately leapt up as well, attempting to calm Rolf. Axel noticed tears in his brother’s eyes as Rolf backed away from the table mumbling. He was trembling and refused to turn back around.

“It’s okay, Rolf, it’s just a photograph,” Axel assured him before stealing a glance at the picture. When he did he understood Rolf’s reaction. He slid the photograph back across the table to Martha. “Put that damn thing away,” he commanded.

“Martha, why don’t you leave the file here and take Rolf to the break room and get him a bottle of soda,” Ian suggested. “Would you like that Rolf?”

The large man nodded as he wiped tears from his eyes.

“Of course,” Martha said as she quickly stood and walked around the table, taking Rolf by the arm. He liked Martha. She was very sweet and motherly, having raised three children herself. “Come on sweetie,” she said. “I think there is some left over birthday cake, too.”

Rolf brightened immediately at the mention of cake and allowed Martha to guide him from the room as he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

The others watched them leave and waited for the door to close behind them before speaking. “What the hell just happened?” Ian asked.

Axel adjusted himself in his chair before speaking. “This is Colonel Hans Arnulf,” Axel said. Tom nodded, now also understanding why Rolf was so upset.

“I know who it is, Axel,” Ian said. “But what about it?”

“We’ve met Herr Colonel before,” Axel said. He glanced from Ian to Dawn. “He’s not a nice guy.”

“Very few Nazis are nice guys, Axel,” Ian retorted.

Axel took a deep breath. He looked at Tom who nodded for Axel to explain what happened. Axel turned back to look at Ian and Dawn. “When Rolf and I were not quite five years old, we were sent to demonstrate our abilities to Colonel Arnulf. The Colonel wanted to make sure we were obedient, cold killers. So among other things, he pitted Rolf against another genetically engineered boy in a fight to the death.”

“Jesus,” Ian mumbled. Axel’s eyes darted to Dawn and he saw her place a hand over her mouth to cover a gasp. “Did Rolf kill this boy?” Ian asked softly, as if he was afraid to hear the answer.

Axel shook his head. “No,” he said as he fought back tears. “The other boy won the fight. He and Rolf were friends and Rolf didn’t want to fight him. The other kid beat him down. So this guy,” he said, reaching across the table and tapping Arnulf’s file, “handed the other kid a sledge hammer and told him to kill Rolf.”

“Thank God he didn’t,” Dawn said as she placed a hand on her chest.

“God had nothing to do with it. I fried Arnulf’s ass with a lightning bolt,” Axel said, his face tense as he attempted to suppress an inner rage. Ian and Dawn were wide-eyed in shock. Tom puffed a cigarette. He already knew this story. “I thought he was dead.”

“Well, apparently you should have deep fried him,” Tom said as he blew a stream of smoke from his nostrils, “because he appears to be very much alive.”

“And the Soviets have him now,” Ian said gravely.

“Good,” Axel said. “The KGB may be a bunch of assholes, but they certainly know the proper way to treat a Nazi war criminal.”

Ian leaned forward and spoke softly, almost fatherly. “I understand how you feel Axel, but we cannot let him stay there. If he tells the Soviets what he knows…” he let it trail off.

“Fine,” Axel said. “So we go in and kill him. It’ll be my pleasure, Ian.”

“No, Axel,” Ian said as he looked the young man in the eyes. “We’re going to go in, break him out of prison, and bring him back here.”

Axel looked away for a moment, but then brought his eyes back on Ian. They were full of intensity. “This guy is the devil,” Axel said as he tapped the point of his finger against the table.

“Maybe he is, Axel,” Ian said, “but I feel quite certain that if our government could get its hands on Satan himself, they’d want to interrogate him. Wouldn’t you agree? Think of all the information we could get from him.”

“Alright,” Axel replied not wanting to argue and knowing that he had no hope of winning. Ian wanted Arnulf alive. The President wanted Arnulf alive. No one really gave a crap about what Axel wanted.

“Alright?” Ian asked. He felt Axel may have relented a bit too quickly. “You’re going to be okay with this?”

“Yes,” Axel replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Axel said his hands held up and his voice betraying the exasperation he felt. “Do you want me to swear on a stack of bibles?”

Tom laid a calming hand on Axel’s arm. “Calm down,” he said softly.

Ian removed his glasses and laid them gently on the table. He leaned back in his chair to stare at Axel as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m in a tough position, Axel. This guy is being held in a highly secure prison in Siberia. I don’t have another team capable of busting him out of there. At the same time, I don’t want to tell the President that we’re not up for this. But what I really cannot afford is to have you go rogue and kill this guy.” Ian paused as he stared at Axel. “What he knows…”

“I said alright, and I meant alright,” Axel told the director. “We’ll rescue the son of a bitch.” With that Axel stood and strode out of the room.

Ian looked across the table at Tom who knew exactly the question the director was going to ask. “He’ll be fine,” Tom assured the director, preempting the question. “He won’t kill him.”

“Are you sure?” Ian asked. “And what about Rolf? I mean the way he reacted. Jesus, Tom.”

“I know. I’ll talk to Axel, it’ll be alright,” Tom said as stamped out his cigarette and stood. “As for Rolf…” he held out his hands and smiled. “You should have seen that kid in action. He was spectacular.”

Ian nodded. “Alright Tom, you know these two better than I do. I’ll trust your judgment. But you’re running this mission and if they screw it up, I’m going to hold you responsible.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Tom smiled.

Chapter 10

The smoke hung thick in the air, forming a blue and white haze to be navigated by patrons. The music blended in with the background which allowed customers to easily carry on conversations. The bar was a hot spot for the local Washington young professional scene and one Axel frequented regularly. It served as a good pick-up spot for a young and handsome man like Axel. Tonight he wasn’t mingling, however. He was deep in thought.