Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Forty
13th September 1957
Washington D.C.
Stepping off the elevator Parker was annoyed by the itchy wool Class-A Uniform that he was wearing and walked down the hall towards the Countess’ suite. While the hotel staff was used to seeing military uniforms, the one worn by Parker and Jonny was different. They saw the unit patches from the 1st SFG and the green beret and knew that they reacted like they knew they were in the presence of something dangerous. Parker was finding it an annoyance.
The rest of the time, they had been with the Countess and it had been a whirlwind week. Katherine was in high demand throughout Washington. Various groups who existed to promote International relations, Women’s Groups and German Heritage Societies all wanted some of her time. Into this Gloria had stepped in, an outspoken young woman with aspirations to be a journalist who was from here in D.C. It was clear that while Katherine wanted to encourage her, even she found her presence trying at times. Parker found her to be a pain in the ass, but to his surprise Jonny liked the girl. For all the years that Parker had known him he had never really understood Jonny’s taste in women. Then again, everyone knew that Californians were a strange bunch.
Tonight, they were finally doing what the Countess had come here to do. Collecting the rifle that had been belonged to a German hero before it had been taken as a trophy in Russia. It had then been caught up in the convoluted Augusta Conspiracy and was used in the attempt to assassinate President Truman. President Harriman was making a big production of returning the rifle and trying to mend fences after some unfortunate business the prior spring where someone close to the Countess had gotten hurt for stupid reasons. Parker found Katherine in her hotel suite chatting with Gloria.
“You are telling me that medal can only be won by a woman?” Gloria asked, she obvious liked the idea.
“The Grand Cross of the Order of Louise can only be awarded to a Dame of the Order in good standing who has demonstrated repeated acts upholding the values and traditions of the Order” Katherine replied, she was pinning medals to the front of the blue uniform tunic she was wearing, the one in question was a gold and black enameled cross with what looked like diamonds and sapphires mounted on it that hung from a white ribbon. “As Dame Commander of the Order it was expected that I would be awarded it when it was instituted at the end of the war.”
As Gloria scribbled that on her notepad Katherine continued to put get ready. The Blue Max he knew about, the others were a collection of brightly colored ribbons and medals he would need to look up. What did that orange sash mean? The Division patch with the crowned eagle on her tunic and the red beret with the gold diving eagle pin on the table in front of her however put Parker’s teeth on edge. Throughout his training he had been repeatedly warned that for him Guard Divisions and Airborne were to be considered particularly dangerous. Apparently, the Countess had been explaining what the medals she was wearing meant. According to Jonny, who had gotten a couple of medals as member of an allied force in Mexico, the Germans didn’t give them for nothing. Each one represented a staggering amount of insanity and bloodshed, and they were awarded sequentially. The higher the medal, the higher the price. What did that say about the career of the Countess? She might be a woman, but she didn’t strike Parker as being a rear echelon type.
“Where is Sergeant Casey?” Katherine asked as she saw Parker.
“He went to the pull the car around” Parker answered, “We’ll need to get out there in a few minutes, he doesn’t take having to wait very well.”
“Good” Katherine replied, “While I don’t share your friend’s impatience, I want to get this whole thing over with.”
“Did the war teach you that, Ma’am?” Parker asked, half-jokingly.
“No, try having three babies” Katherine said in perfect deadpan, “After nine months you just want them out of you.”
Parker heard Gloria snort as she continued to write in her notebook. He knew that he had probably just walked into that one. He had seen the photograph of the Countess’ family that she kept with her. Katherine, her husband, an older woman that she said was her Aunt, her sister who she said had recently gone to Vietnam and five children. The husband, a Douglas Blackwood, was a rangy looking man with longish brown hair and an easy grin. Parker knew that German women didn’t necessarily take their husband’s name, she had said that he was Canadian with a Scottish-Québécois background. Of the children in the photograph it was obvious that the two oldest were not hers, the one with long curly hair was a teenager and the delicate looking blond was ten or eleven though it was hard to tell. Katherine had said that she had taken them in because they needed a family. With the other three, the family resemblance was extremely clear.
As Katherine got up to leave, she turned to Gloria who was packing up her things. “Are you coming with us Miss Steinem?” She asked.
“You are going to meet the President” Gloria said, “Wouldn’t I would be out of place?”
“Nonsense” Katherine replied, “I met his predecessor a few times through my work, you can do the same. Just keep close and be very quiet, observe.”
Katherine was smiling when she said that last part. It was as if she was inviting the younger woman into a caper of some kind. Parker was starting to see how she had been able to control the units that she was said to have. Oddly, it was because she was able to make life and death situations seem tolerable.