Blitzkrieg: Origins of the Prime: A Superhero Spy Thriller (19 page)

“Is that all of them?” Alexi asked her.

She nodded. “Yes. Are you alright?” she asked her brother.

Alexi nodded. He examined his armor, which had absorbed much of the impact of the grenade, but was now clearly damaged. Alena ran over to him and rubbed her hand over the armor. “Be careful,” she said. “I don’t know how much more this armor can take.”

“I will,” he smiled.

Alena returned his smile. “Good. Now let’s go find Axel and Rolf.”

Chapter 19

Axel’s eyes danced from person to person as they stood deep inside the temple. “The gunfire has stopped,” he said, verbalizing what everyone was thinking.

Tom nodded, “Which probably means one of two things.” He raised the radio to his mouth. “Lima 1 Lima this is Blitzkrieg. Over.” His eyes danced around the room nervously as he waited for a response. No response came. “Lima 1 Lima can you read me? Over.” Tom shook his head. “I’ve got nothing,” he said. “These stone walls are probably blocking the signal.”

“Well, we should check it out,” Axel replied. “We need to know what’s going on up there.”

Tom nodded and unslung his rifle, bringing it to his shoulder as he stepped toward the passageway. “I’ll go,” he said.

“I think…” Axel began, but Tom held up a hand silencing him.

“The rest of you stay here,” Tom ordered. “I’ll radio if I need you.” Axel raised his eyebrows as he stared at Tom. “I’ll shout for you,” Tom smiled as he remembered the radios didn’t work inside. They all nodded and Tom turned and jogged back the way they had come.

Tom stepped through the puzzle-piece-like entrance into the original stone chamber of the temple. He glanced back over his shoulder and noticed that Axel stood at the other end watching him. He gave Axel a reassuring thumbs up and then strode away. Tom walked across the large chamber until he came to the passageway through which they had entered the temple. He peeked inside quickly, but saw no one in the passageway. He rounded the corner and slowly and quietly crept along the passageway to the temple’s entrance.

Tom peeked around the wall at the jungle outside of the temple and his heart leapt into his throat. He jerked his head back behind the wall and swallowed hard. In the brief instant he had glanced around the corner, he had seen several of the Marines lying dead and Hammer and Sickle moving quickly toward the temple. Tom pushed himself off the wall and began to run back into the temple.

“It’s the Russians!” Tom shouted when he thought he was close enough that the others would hear.

Inside of the hidden chamber Axel and the others heard Tom call, but could not make out his words. Axel began walking toward him when he heard Tom call again. “It’s the Russians!” he heard plainly this time. So did the others.

“No,” Arnulf cried. “Not them!” The old Nazi turned toward the far wall and sprinted to it. He pressed his palm against one of the tile pieces and a hatch in the wall appeared and opened. Arnulf dashed inside.

“Where are you going?” Axel called after him, but Arnulf did not answer. “You two wait here,” Axel told Dawn and Rolf. Before either could protest, he chased after Arnulf.

Tom waited by the Anubis statue for Hammer and Sickle to show themselves. He intended to shoot them as soon as they stepped inside. Suddenly, the puzzle-piece-looking door behind him began to close. Tom glanced back at it. “Crap!” he shouted and ran toward the entrance. As he ran, he felt a whoosh of air blow by and saw a red blur pass him and dash into the secret entrance. Tom made it through just before the doors closed. He continued to run, but heard a grinding of gears behind him and turned to see Hammer, his massive hands on either side of the closing wall forcing it back open.

Tom spun back around fleeing in panic. The doorway at the other end of the passageway began to close as well. Tom sprinted as quickly as he could, but was not fast enough to reach it before it snapped closed. He swung back around to see Hammer charging at him. Tom held up his hands protectively shielding his face, just before the big man reached him. To Tom’s relief Hammer did not hit him though. Instead he ran past Tom and reached the far end where he began to pound on the now closed door.

“Lena!” Hammer shouted as he pounded. He reached around to his back and removed his large war hammer from a sling there. He swung the hammer at the wall. When it collided with the wall, the lights that illuminated the corridor began to flicker.

“Whoa, big guy,” Tom said causing Hammer to swing around to face him. Hammer grunted at him and looked as though he were about to charge. “Wait, Alexi,” Tom said as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and held his hands up.

“How do you know my name?” Hammer asked.

“Because I am friends with Axel and Rolf,” Tom replied. “You remember Axel and Rolf right?” Hammer nodded. “You’re friends with Axel and Rolf too, right?”

“Not anymore,” Hammer huffed.

“Well, they still want to be your friends,” Tom assured him.

Hammer tilted his head clearly doubting Tom. “But they are fascists,” Hammer said. “They’re helping Colonel Arnulf.”

“No, they aren’t,” Tom said. “Axel and Rolf are tricking Colonel Arnulf.”

“Really?” Hammer asked, his tone completely changed. Tom nodded. Hammer smiled. “What’s your name?” he asked.

Tom smiled at him. “I’m Tom,” he said.

“Can you help me find my sister, Tom?” Hammer asked.

“I’ll try Alexi,” Tom replied. “But first we need to find a way out of here.” Alexi began to raise his war hammer to strike the closed hatch again.

“Wait!” Tom shouted. Alexi glanced over his shoulder at Tom. “I’m not so sure pounding our way through the wall is such a good idea.”

***

Alena zipped past Dawn and Rolf in a blur. The hatch that Arnulf and Axel had disappeared through was closing and Alena barely made it through in time. She continued running, flashing along the corridor behind Axel and Arnulf. She dashed past Axel, knocking him out of the way. She was after Arnulf, the rest were secondary priorities. She saw Arnulf just up ahead. He glanced back at her and smiled.
Arrogant prick!
Alena charged toward him as fast as she could, but suddenly a door or hatch slid down shutting him off from her. Alena slid to a stop, barely avoiding colliding with the hatch. She glanced around trying to find a way to open it when she heard the footsteps behind her halt.

“Stop!” Axel shouted.

Alena did stop and then she turned to face Axel. “Stop what, Axel?” she asked.

Axel thought for a moment not really sure of what to say. “Stop whatever it is you are doing,” he said sounding almost like a whining child.

Alena laughed. “What I am doing is trying to find a way to open this door so we can capture Arnulf.” She smiled at Axel. “Or do you just want to let him get away?”

“Get away?” Axel asked. “We had him. I had him, until you came to kill him.”

“Not yet,” Alena said.

“What?” asked Axel, clearly not understanding.

“I’m not going to kill him yet.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have time for this,” Alena said and spun back around, once again feeling along the wall for something, anything that may open the hatch.

“Back away, Sickle, or I swear I will fry you right here,” Axel said through clenched teeth.

Alena stopped once again. She slowly reached up to her face and removed the small red mask that hid her eyes, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. Then she held both of her hands up in the air and slowly turned around to face Axel. “Do it,” she said.

“Don’t test me,” Axel warned.

Alena took a step toward him. “Axel, if you are going to ‘fry’ me as you called it, then do it. Otherwise, shut the hell up and help me find a way to get to Arnulf.”

“Help you? How many American boys did you just kill out there Alena?”

“Boys?” she laughed. “You mean the elite platoon of battle hardened U.S. Marines? Oh yes, they were certainly defenseless babes.” Then her tone turned serious. “
You
brought those men into enemy territory, Axel, not me. What would those Marines have done had they found a platoon of Soviet soldiers? Just let them go in peace? You came to a war zone Axel, and soldiers die in war. Do you want me to tell you how many Cubans you killed?” Axel looked away. “I didn’t think so. Now, quit being a whiny asshole and help me find Arnulf.”

“Why would I want to help you?”

“Because you’re the one that let him get away,” Alena spat angrily.

“He hasn’t gotten away,” Axel said. “He’s somewhere in this temple. And even if he somehow escaped into the jungle, where’s he going to go?”

“I’m not worried about him escaping into the jungle, Axel!” Alena shouted and then spun around and once again began searching for a way to open the hatch.

“Then what
are
you worried about?” Axel asked. She shook her head and it was clear that she had tired of the conversation. He didn’t want to “fry” her and he knew his threat was really empty. He loved her, how could he hurt her? Especially when her back was to him and she was not threatening him or his team. Did he really care what she did to Arnulf? Unfortunately, he was required to. He wanted to know what she meant, but it was clear she wasn’t going to tell him. Not in her current mood anyway. A mood he was at least partially responsible for creating. So he changed tactics, deciding to lighten her mood a bit.

“So what is up with the swords?” Axel asked with all traces of anger and frustration gone from his voice. “I thought you used sickles. I mean your name is still Sickle, isn’t it?”

Alena smiled as she drew one of her short swords, turned toward Axel and slashed it through the air. “Well, I convinced my superiors that sickles were not as effective as weapons. The struggle was real. They wanted to keep the authenticity, but in the end they relented, deciding that effectiveness was superior to symbolism.” She returned the sword to its sheath and turned back around.

“So do you guys go by Hammer and Sword now?” Axel asked with a chuckle.

“No, Blitz, we still call ourselves Hammer and Sickle,” she said, careful to keep her smile hidden from him. He was as cute and charming as she remembered. She shook the memories from her mind. She couldn’t afford to let Axel distract her. She needed to stop Arnulf, but first she had to open the hatch.

“Open!” she shouted angrily as she slammed her fist into the wall. Alena’s hand must have hit something, because the hatch suddenly opened. “There,” she said proudly, turning to Axel with a smile. It was the same smile he remembered from their childhood. So sweet and innocent. “Let’s go.” With that she stepped through the hatch.

Axel shook his head. “I’ve got to go back for Krieg and Psion,” he said. He knew that Alena already knew Rolf’s real name, but he hoped to keep Dawn’s from her.

Alena glanced back over her shoulder. “The hatch is closed. I barely made it through, myself. Good luck opening it.”

Axel turned and peered down the long corridor. He shook his head in frustration. Of course it would be closed and he had no idea how to open it. He sighed and then turned back to Alena. “Alright,” he said relenting. “Let’s go get Arnulf.”

Alena smiled to herself as Axel began to follow her. Axel hated to leave Rolf and Dawn alone for long, but if he were honest with himself he’d have to admit that they were both powerful enough to take care of themselves. Together, they were a force few would want to mess with.

***

Dawn stood over what she believed to be an alien computer terminal. She kept her eyes closed as she gently ran her fingers over it. Though he had been attempting to conceal it, it was clear to Dawn that Arnulf had been searching for something on the terminal. Like he knew where it should be, but was having trouble locating exactly where it was. Dawn tapped into her subconscious as she searched for the thing Arnulf sought. She was desperately trying to concentrate, but the pounding on the hatch was distracting her.

“Rolf!” Dawn snapped as her eyes popped open. She whipped around to glare at him. He stood in front of the hatch that Axel had chased Arnulf through and was just about to slam a fist into it again when Dawn’s voice stopped him. He looked at her sheepishly and she smiled pleasantly changing her tone quickly. “Please stop pounding for a minute, sweetie. I need to concentrate.”

“But Axel might be in trouble,” Rolf said pleadingly.

“I know, but banging on the door isn’t going to open it. If you let me find what I need to find, I might be able to open it though.”

Rolf smiled a toothy grin. “Okay, Psion,” he said as he turned away from the hatch. Rolf liked using code names. They made him feel like a superhero from a comic book. Now that everyone had the uniform and looked the part, Rolf immersed himself into his secret persona. He felt like he was an
Avenger
or an
X-Man
.

“Thank you, Krieg,” Dawn said with a smile and then closed her eyes again and began to search.

Dawn searched more with her mind than with her fingers, but her fingers did run along the “computer terminal.” She felt compelled to let them touch, almost like her mind needed a physical connection in order to make her psychic abilities work.

She felt something. It was almost like a presence was there, calling to her. In her mind’s eye she saw a bright light at the end of a tunnel of darkness, and she walked toward it. She felt like she was in a trance exploring the astral plane. She had done meditation and had some experiences with that sort of thing, but nothing like this. This was different. It felt completely real. More than a trance. More than a vivid dream. She felt as though it was actually happening to her physically.

Dawn continued to walk toward the light. Eventually she reached it and realized that it was a doorway. She did not even hesitate, before stepping through it. What she saw on the other side was difficult to describe. It looked like data. Lots of data. Almost infinite data. She reached forward to “touch” it and when she did she felt something—it was not unlike an electrical current—rush through her body and into her mind.