Blitzkrieg: Origins of the Prime: A Superhero Spy Thriller (7 page)

Axel then fired bolts of lightning from his hands taking out the Ivans in the windows and on the roof top. He turned to Tom and Rolf with an arrogant smile. “All clear. Rolf, open the door!” he shouted.

Rolf stood up and hurried around the corner at a trot, a toothy grin spread across his face. Tom peeked around the corner to watch Rolf burst through the door. Rolf lowered his shoulder as he ran, but unfortunately, in his excitement, he turned back to smile at Axel and missed the door. Rolf’s body slammed into the concrete wall instead, plowing a hole right through and into the building.

Axel shot a wide-eyed glance at Tom before they both ran to check on Rolf. He appeared to be fine as he stood up and dusted himself off. “Holy cow, Rolf, you nearly took down the entire building,” Tom said as he suppressed a chuckle.

“Sorry, Tom,” Rolf said sheepishly.

“I think it helped more than anything,” Axel said and motioned back to the crowd of dignitaries. They were applauding ecstatically. Ian was beaming. Axel patted Rolf on the arm. “They think you blew through the wall on purpose, so let’s not tell them you missed the door, okay?”

Rolf smiled down at Axel. “Okay.” He was obviously embarrassed, but happy he did not ruin the demonstration. He knew that it meant a lot to Tom and Ian that it go well. He wanted to make them happy.

The three men stepped back outside, through the giant, Rolf-sized hole in the wall, and dusted the pulverized cement from their clothes. They smiled as Ian led the party of dignitaries toward them. People began to shake each of their hands. They were patted on the back from all sides. Axel heard several boastful remarks such as “Wait ‘til the Russkies see this,” and “Ya’ll may win the Cold War for us.”

The entire event was largely a blur to Axel and Rolf, but one thing was certain, they had done their job and impressed the people Ian and Tom needed them to impress.

“So, what do you call this team?” one Senator asked.

“What do you mean, Senator?” Ian replied.

“Don’t they have some sort of codename? The CIA would have given them some kind of crazy acronym.” the Senator said to laughs.

Ian began to shake his head when Tom blurted out, “Blitzkrieg.”

Axel shot him a sideways glance. He and Tom had discussed code names before, with Tom loving the name Blitzkrieg, but Axel felt a little uncomfortable about it. Unfortunately, he had never offered a better suggestion.

“Blitzkrieg?” the Senator asked.

“As I’m sure the Senator is aware, in German Blitz means ‘lightning’ and Krieg means ‘war.’”

The Senator smiled. “Yes, I fought the Blitzkrieg,” he said.

“And these super humans were the product of German experimentation,” a Colonel added.

The Senator smiled. “So he’s Blitz,” he said as he pointed at Axel, “and the big one is Krieg?”

“Exactly,” Tom smiled. It took every ounce of Axel’s willpower to keep from rolling his eyes.

“I love it!” the Senator exclaimed and all the other dignitaries agreed. In fact, even Axel couldn’t help but smile. The excitement was contagious and with the adrenaline still pumping through his body, Axel decided he needed to celebrate.

***

Axel stood close to the woman beside him. She slipped her arm into his and leaned against him and he wondered if she did so for support. Earlier that evening she had taken him to a beatnik club and had quite a bit to drink. Of course, everyone at the club simply stared at Axel, the square in the suit. No matter, he had attended with the most beautiful girl in the club, and now she was in his elevator coming home with him.

The doors opened and they stepped out. Axel kept an arm around her waist as he led her down the hall. She reached behind him and squeezed his butt. He laughed and then turned and pushed her up against the wall as he kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, aggressively shoving her tongue deep into his mouth. He loved these modern girls. They eliminated any need for a romantic seduction scene.

He pulled back as she held his bottom lip between her teeth for just a moment before releasing it. “Come on,” he whispered in her ear, “my apartment is right over there.” He took her hand and led her toward his room as he pulled the keys from his pocket. He found the correct one and slid it into the lock as his date moved in between him and the door, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his.

“I want you,” she whispered seductively to him.

“Well, I promise not to put up too much of a fight,” he smiled as the door swung open. He pushed her inside and let the door swing closed behind him as they kissed and groped one another. They were too into the mood to notice that they were not alone in the apartment.

“Good evening,” a voice said, causing both of them to jump, the woman releasing a squeal, and the lights in the apartment flickering along with Axel’s nerves.

“Tom!” Axel exclaimed, when he recognized the interloper. He was at once both relieved and annoyed to discover who it was. Tom sat in a comfortable high-backed chair, casually smoking a cigarette and staring at them, looking suave with his slick hair and expensive navy suit.

Tom’s eyes rose to the lights which burned brightly once again, the full rush of electricity burning brightly in their bulbs. “Yes, it’s just me, old boy. Let’s not fry us all,” he said with a smile.

“What are you doing here?” Axel asked as he narrowed his eyes at his friend. “I’m on a date.”

Tom stood as he took a drag from his cigarette and then stamped it out in an ashtray on the side table. “I can see that Axel,” he said with a wry smile, “but I was told to come find you. Why else would I be wasting such a nice evening sitting in your apartment?” Axel ignored the question. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Tom asked as he walked toward Axel and his date.

Axel was frustrated but acquiesced. He looked at his date. “Jessica, this is Thomas Flemming from my office. Tom, this is my date, Jessica.”

“A pleasure,” Tom said as he shook her hand lightly. “I am so very sorry for interrupting your evening, but I am afraid our boss…” he then leaned in as if conveying a secret to Jessica, “…you know—the President—needs Axel and me for a very important mission.”

“Oh,” Jessica said, excitement clear in her voice. “What kind of mission?” she asked.

Tom shook his head from side to side. “I am afraid I cannot say,” he told her.

“Come on Jessica,” Axel smiled. “I’ll hail you a cab.” He took her by the arm and opened the door, but she shook her head.

“It’s alright,” she said. “I am quite capable of hailing my own cab,” she said. She then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips. “Call me later,” she said. “I’m not finished with you, yet.”

Axel nodded. “Absolutely,” he smiled. She left with a flirtatious wink and he closed the door. He spun to face Tom who stood with his hands in his pockets.

“I like her,” Tom said.

“This had better be important,” Axel snapped.

Tom smiled and slapped Axel on the shoulder. “Oh, it is, Axel. I promise.” He was smiling as excitedly as Axel had ever seen him. “Now, where is your brother?”

Axel shrugged. “I assume he’s at the Home.”

“Well, let’s go get him.”

***

Director Ian Johnson sat at his desk at CSOS headquarters, sipping a glass of scotch as he read through a file. He was working yet another evening. He was not a stranger to it and his wife had been accustomed to having an empty house for years. Their children were grown and had left long ago. They were a typical high-powered Washington couple. He worked constantly and she lived a social high life, bouncing from party to party and fund raiser to fundraiser.

There was a knock at his door, before it opened and a gray haired woman poked her head inside. “They are here, Director,” she said.

“Well, send them in Martha,” Ian said with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, sir,” Martha replied and then stepped inside opening the door wide, moving out of the way for Tom to enter followed by Axel.

“Sit down gentlemen, sit down,” Ian said excitedly. He glanced up at his secretary. “That will be all, Martha. Thank you.”

Martha smiled as she closed the door.

Ian took a sip of scotch and then looked at Tom and then at Axel. “Where is your brother?” Ian asked Axel.

Axel jerked his thumb toward the door. “Martha’s keeping him company,” Axel said. “You make him nervous.”

“I make him…” Ian began as his smile turned into a frown. “Axel, we have just received our first actual mission. Did Thomas tell you that?”

“Yes, sir,” Axel said.

“Your brother may have to go up against Soviet agents, or secret police, or some other such,” Ian said. “How is he going to handle that if I make him nervous?”

Axel glanced at Tom who shrugged and then back at Ian. “He’ll just smash their heads in, sir,” Axel said. “He’s never scared of something once he’s smashed its head in.” Ian sat back in his chair slightly alarmed. Axel picked up on that. “Don’t worry, sir, he knows not to smash your head in. That’s why you make him so nervous, because he’s not allowed to smash your head in.”

Ian’s eyes narrowed on Axel before he broke into a giant smile. “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?” Axel only shrugged, but Ian waved the concern away to focus on the more immediate. “Alright let’s quit clowning around and get serious.” Ian leaned forward, placing his elbows onto the desk and interlacing his fingers just below his chin. “As you both know, the CSOS has been around for nearly twenty years, but has yet to have an actual, real world mission. We’ve been forced to rely on the CIA for everything.” Axel and Tom nodded. “Well, we finally have one. It’s a big one too,” Ian smiled. “I guess your little demonstration earlier finally convinced the right people that we are ready. Plus, I think the President has finally tired of the CIA’s continuous bumbling of every mission they’ve ever undertaken and decided to let us screw up our own missions ourselves instead of relying on the CIA to do it,” Ian said with a chuckle.

“What’s the mission, sir?” Tom asked in an attempt to draw the director’s attention back to the matter at hand.

“A Soviet defector,” Ian said. “We are to get him out and safely to the States.”

“What does that have to do with the CSOS?” Axel asked, slightly confused.

“He works for the Russian version of CSOS in Moscow. He should have extensive knowledge of the Soviet’s scientific advancements.”

“Moscow?” Axel asked, a trace of concern evident in his voice.

“What is the plan, sir?” Tom asked.

“Well, we know it will be next to impossible to get him out of the Soviet Union. It wouldn’t be much easier to get him out of one of the Eastern block countries.” Tom and Axel stared at the Director expectantly. “So, our best chance comes in a week.”

“What happens in a week?” Tom asked.

“He travels to Cuba. That’s why I interrupted your evenings. We’ve got a lot to do and little time to do it. We’re starting to work on this one straight away.”

Tom and Axel looked at each other then back at the Director. Ian smiled at them. “Gentlemen, this is our opportunity to show the President and Congress exactly what we can do. I do not intend to waste it because we may not get another.”

Tom and Axel glanced at one another. They understood what this opportunity meant and how important the mission was. They understood that if they succeeded the world would open up for them. However, they also understood that if they failed, they might never get another opportunity. In fact, they could be killed or captured. Both were ready. They smiled, confident and as excited about the mission as Ian.

“Do we have a plan, sir?” Tom asked as he leaned forward, closer to Ian’s desk.

Chapter 6

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Axel stepped through the door of the airplane and into the blazing hot sun of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The heat slammed into him like a brick wall and he felt as though he were going to be knocked back onto the airplane. He took a hot breath and then began his descent to the ground, glad Tom had suggested they not wear suits on the plane as the sweat was already beginning to soak through his red golf shirt. Axel stepped onto the pavement and turned to see Tom descending after him, looking equally uncomfortable in the Caribbean heat.

Axel watched Rolf poke his head out of the door and glance about, clearly pondering how to fit through. “Come out like you got in, Rolf,” Axel shouted to his twin brother. Rolf stared at him quizzically. “Duck down and turn to the side,” Axel shouted. Rolf nodded with a smile and then followed his brother’s instructions.

“Are we sure he’s ready for this?” Tom asked by leaning over and whispering into Axel’s ear.

Axel took a deep breath as he stared at his brother. “Nope,” Axel replied as he watched Rolf lumber down the steps, panting like a dog. The truth was Axel and Tom both had very strong reservations about Rolf accompanying them on the mission. They kept their concerns from Ian because Ian would pull Rolf immediately if he felt Tom and Axel were not one hundred percent on board with him. Neither wanted the decision left up to a nervous director. Before they left, Tom had cornered Axel and told him he did not think Rolf was ready. Axel, however, convinced Tom to allow Rolf to fly down to Guantanamo Bay with them. Rolf was part of the team and to be left behind, alone in Washington would have broken his heart. The more Axel thought about it though, the more he knew Tom was right and did not want Rolf going to Havana. However, he didn’t want to tell his brother that. Instead, he hoped to come up with a plan to make Rolf still feel needed—to feel like he was still an essential element of team Blitzkrieg.

Rolf came to a halt beside them and shook his head. “It’s hot,” he said.

Axel patted him on the arm. “That it is Rolf, that it is.” Then he heard tires on the concrete and turned to see a green jeep pulling up beside them. A man in a tan Navy officer’s uniform stepped out of the driver’s side and walked around the front.