Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Well one word comes to mind, Rasputitsa.
Might make the race interesting if they only thought about the heat in summer and snow and cold in winter.
Part 74, Chapter 1089
Chapter One Thousand Eighty-Nine
28th August 1954
Russia-Ukrainian Frontier
It wasn’t until they reached Volgograd that they realized that they were a part of something special as crowds of people and the press lined the course through the city. When they refueled the Anglia, they learned that they were in fourth place and that two of the Volkswagen teams and the Opel team were only a couple hours ahead of them. Parker saw the look on Jonny’s face change when he heard that. Where Jonny had been content to keep a relatively sedate pace before, he was more willing to push things now. He had driven at the highest speeds that the Anglia could maintain trying to catch up with the German teams. When Parker had pointed out that the Opel team was actually General Motors that did nothing to persuade him to slow down.
Now in the early morning hours, Parker had spelled him out and was driving. Regardless of his comments to the contrary Jonny was exhausted and had fallen asleep within minutes. He had said that Parker had better keep up the pace while he was asleep. At first, he thought he was seeing things and it was a blue glow on the horizon then he saw as he drew closer flood-lights on the border and a vast crowd on either side of the road. As he drew closer, he heard cheering, the flash bulbs going off and saw a surprisingly large number of American flags being waved. This time far from burying them in red tape the border guards were waving them through the check-point, hardly slowing down. Parker floored it as he sped off into the into the predawn gloom of the Ukrainian Steppe.
Jonny had slept through all of that, he was going to be pissed that he missed it when he woke up. Parker had studied the map enough to know that it was a straight shot to Berlin via Kiev and Warsaw. The next fuel stop was in Luhansk. When Parker first heard about the plan, he had thought that their superiors at the CIA had lost their minds. Now that he was out here doing it, there were the dozens of rolls of film in the box behind the passenger seat, he had to admit that it was sort of inspired and he was having a lot fun.
Berlin
Douglas had secured his press pass and marked out his spot near the finish line weeks earlier at the finish line because he knew how these things worked. Word had come that two rival drivers who well known from French Grand Prix were in first and second place. One of the teams from Ford was coming up fast behind the race leaders and the team from Chevrolet was following them closely. Suddenly it was a real race and people were getting excited ever if the cars in the race were still thousands of kilometers away.
In the meantime, Doug was photographing the preparations as the finish line was being painted on the street. It was being done so that people would be able to see the Brandenburg Gate in the background, as if anyone would have any doubt about where this was. Kat’s main concern was that the Emperor, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Bohemia were all going to be present when the race concluded. The Emperor had stated that it was important that he not cower in fear, that he had an important role to play. That was an endless number of headaches for Kat because this was the first big event where she was in charge. Kat being Kat, she was trying to think of everything and be everywhere. Getting her to eat and sleep had become a challenge. The worry for Doug was that he knew that when she was like this it was always followed by the crash and that was ugly when it happened. As it was, he was seeing soldiers from the First Foot already working on securing the area. They were not wearing the blurred splinter pattern camouflage uniforms instead of the blue dress uniforms. Doug figured that it was to let everyone know that they meant business. One of them walked by and nodded to Doug when he did. Of course, they would all know who he was. Doug’s reputation had been from his time spent with the 4th Division over the war and everyone in the First Foot knew who he was.
----------------------------------------------------------------
“That is what I like about Fords” John said, “When you drive one you get to see all the other cars fall behind you.”
Sarah looked at John skeptically. They were talking about the race, just like everyone else it seemed.
“I thought you said that you weren’t the one who sent that letter?” Sarah asked.
“There I times when I wish I had” John said.
It was the pattern that the two of them had fallen into, meeting for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Though, never in the same place twice in row. John had the habits of a lifetime on the lam even though no one was really looking for him these days. It was the only time that Sarah had away from work or her son, she still played piano in the V8 Club but nowhere near as often as before she had Johann.
“More for the legend?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah” John replied, “But the main show will not be for some time.”
As he grew older John had been thinking about his legacy, as an American outlaw and later as a nightclub owner. He had realized that he couldn’t trust anyone else to tell his story. At the same time if he was the one who told it he would die in prison. That morning he had given Sarah the documents that he had drawn up stating that in the event of his death, Sarah von Schmidt would become the executor of his estate. That amounted to the V8 Club and the single manuscript of John’s autobiography. Sarah had realized how unbelievably valuable both those things were.
“You do know that you are now worth more to me dead than alive now?” Sarah asked.
John just shrugged, “I never could resist a pretty girl” He said with a smile.
28th August 1954
Russia-Ukrainian Frontier
It wasn’t until they reached Volgograd that they realized that they were a part of something special as crowds of people and the press lined the course through the city. When they refueled the Anglia, they learned that they were in fourth place and that two of the Volkswagen teams and the Opel team were only a couple hours ahead of them. Parker saw the look on Jonny’s face change when he heard that. Where Jonny had been content to keep a relatively sedate pace before, he was more willing to push things now. He had driven at the highest speeds that the Anglia could maintain trying to catch up with the German teams. When Parker had pointed out that the Opel team was actually General Motors that did nothing to persuade him to slow down.
Now in the early morning hours, Parker had spelled him out and was driving. Regardless of his comments to the contrary Jonny was exhausted and had fallen asleep within minutes. He had said that Parker had better keep up the pace while he was asleep. At first, he thought he was seeing things and it was a blue glow on the horizon then he saw as he drew closer flood-lights on the border and a vast crowd on either side of the road. As he drew closer, he heard cheering, the flash bulbs going off and saw a surprisingly large number of American flags being waved. This time far from burying them in red tape the border guards were waving them through the check-point, hardly slowing down. Parker floored it as he sped off into the into the predawn gloom of the Ukrainian Steppe.
Jonny had slept through all of that, he was going to be pissed that he missed it when he woke up. Parker had studied the map enough to know that it was a straight shot to Berlin via Kiev and Warsaw. The next fuel stop was in Luhansk. When Parker first heard about the plan, he had thought that their superiors at the CIA had lost their minds. Now that he was out here doing it, there were the dozens of rolls of film in the box behind the passenger seat, he had to admit that it was sort of inspired and he was having a lot fun.
Berlin
Douglas had secured his press pass and marked out his spot near the finish line weeks earlier at the finish line because he knew how these things worked. Word had come that two rival drivers who well known from French Grand Prix were in first and second place. One of the teams from Ford was coming up fast behind the race leaders and the team from Chevrolet was following them closely. Suddenly it was a real race and people were getting excited ever if the cars in the race were still thousands of kilometers away.
In the meantime, Doug was photographing the preparations as the finish line was being painted on the street. It was being done so that people would be able to see the Brandenburg Gate in the background, as if anyone would have any doubt about where this was. Kat’s main concern was that the Emperor, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Bohemia were all going to be present when the race concluded. The Emperor had stated that it was important that he not cower in fear, that he had an important role to play. That was an endless number of headaches for Kat because this was the first big event where she was in charge. Kat being Kat, she was trying to think of everything and be everywhere. Getting her to eat and sleep had become a challenge. The worry for Doug was that he knew that when she was like this it was always followed by the crash and that was ugly when it happened. As it was, he was seeing soldiers from the First Foot already working on securing the area. They were not wearing the blurred splinter pattern camouflage uniforms instead of the blue dress uniforms. Doug figured that it was to let everyone know that they meant business. One of them walked by and nodded to Doug when he did. Of course, they would all know who he was. Doug’s reputation had been from his time spent with the 4th Division over the war and everyone in the First Foot knew who he was.
----------------------------------------------------------------
“That is what I like about Fords” John said, “When you drive one you get to see all the other cars fall behind you.”
Sarah looked at John skeptically. They were talking about the race, just like everyone else it seemed.
“I thought you said that you weren’t the one who sent that letter?” Sarah asked.
“There I times when I wish I had” John said.
It was the pattern that the two of them had fallen into, meeting for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Though, never in the same place twice in row. John had the habits of a lifetime on the lam even though no one was really looking for him these days. It was the only time that Sarah had away from work or her son, she still played piano in the V8 Club but nowhere near as often as before she had Johann.
“More for the legend?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah” John replied, “But the main show will not be for some time.”
As he grew older John had been thinking about his legacy, as an American outlaw and later as a nightclub owner. He had realized that he couldn’t trust anyone else to tell his story. At the same time if he was the one who told it he would die in prison. That morning he had given Sarah the documents that he had drawn up stating that in the event of his death, Sarah von Schmidt would become the executor of his estate. That amounted to the V8 Club and the single manuscript of John’s autobiography. Sarah had realized how unbelievably valuable both those things were.
“You do know that you are now worth more to me dead than alive now?” Sarah asked.
John just shrugged, “I never could resist a pretty girl” He said with a smile.
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The Final of the Race its going to be a Magnum Opus of INSANE Racing. Odds are that Johnny its going to be pretty much the founder of Drifting as a Racing Skill, specially if he uses such type of maneuver to pass the other two racers and win the Rally....
And John? Why i think that his Funeral its going to be a wild party/concert to the best Irish Style, as its announced in the main Berlin newspapers that John Dillinger its dead....while the US Government cusses out to hell....
And John? Why i think that his Funeral its going to be a wild party/concert to the best Irish Style, as its announced in the main Berlin newspapers that John Dillinger its dead....while the US Government cusses out to hell....
FBKampfer
Banned
Drifting is actually quite useless as a racing skill. It looks cool, but usually results in slower times. You are, after all, deliberately losing traction.
About the only practical application is through idiot back roads full of switchbacks, or if there's a single insane curve you have to clear, at which point you're effectively just doing a J-turn.
And drifting in close proximity to other vehicles is near suicidal on switchbacks.
Source: used to street race my Trans Am.
About the only practical application is through idiot back roads full of switchbacks, or if there's a single insane curve you have to clear, at which point you're effectively just doing a J-turn.
And drifting in close proximity to other vehicles is near suicidal on switchbacks.
Source: used to street race my Trans Am.
Part 74, Chapter 1090
Chapter One Thousand Ninety
29th August 1954
Berlin
The sun was just coming up as they entered Berlin, still in third place. The pace had increased once they had gotten past Kiev in Ukraine and the highway was paved. The Opel car had broken down outside Warsaw and the entire night before they had seen the headlights of the Chevrolet car in the distance. It wasn’t until they crossed the River Oder on Autobahn Twelve that they had finally caught sight of the two VW Föhn 1200s ahead of them.
One was the German “Silver Arrow” paint scheme that was really no paint at all and the other was entirely blue. That was because while both teams were for VW the colors reflected the nationality of their respective lead drivers, German and French. They were also from the Grand Prix circuit. Parker had wondered why Jonny had painted the car the way he had. It wasn’t until he saw the other American entries that he had understood how Jonny had both echoed and subverted it. Where the other cars were white with two blue stripes running lengthwise, Jonny had reversed it so that their car was blue with two white stripes.
The result was that they were racing towards Berlin only a few car lengths behind the VWs as they went through the interchange between twelve and ten.
“What the Hell!” Jonny yelled, “Can you hear that!”
Parker could hear what Jonny was getting at, but it wasn’t from the engine. He was trying to figure what it was when a helicopter flew past over the car.
“I think we’re going to be on television!” Parker yelled as the turn off for the city center came up.
They were right behind the blue Föhn. The French driver was not about to just allow them to pass and he was making a fight of it as they were running out of highway before the turnoff for the city center. Parker just hoped that Jonny knew what he was doing because to drive ten thousand kilometers only to wreck in the last few would be too much. Both their car and the French Föhn entered the turn but Jonny didn’t brake he just let up on the gas, Parker could hear the tires fighting for grip on the pavement and knew that Jonny was pushing the limits of what the Anglia could do. In that second Parker saw clearly that the other car was only a hairsbreadth away. Jonny, the crazy bastard, was playing chicken with the other driver. Then it stopped, and they saw the straight road of B96 ahead. It was a straight shot on the Federal Highway right into the center of the city but then they would be on surface streets.
The silver car that was now the only other car in this race as far as Jonny was concerned was ahead of them by a car length. The blue Föhn still wasn’t out of the race though and it was right up against their back bumper. Then as Parker was looking in the mirror the Chevrolet car appeared following them closely. As the final kilometers of the race ticked down, they were locked in a battle for first. Then was the left-hand turn and then they were on the city streets in what was turning into a drag race with thousands of spectators watching. As the finish approached Jonny made a play for first place…
----------------------------------------------------------------
Freddy was standing next to his father as they sat in the VIP box of the grandstands that had been erected, where they could observe the finale of the Silk Road Rally. Much to Gräfin Katherine’s annoyance they were within easy reach of the thousands of other spectators. Freddy had watched as his father shook hands and chatted with the people around them. It was to Freddy’s shock how his father was able to talk cars with these people. He had heard about how his father had traveled widely after he had finished University and that had included a stint at the Ford Motor Company, but to actually see it, that was something different.
Then a hush fell over the crowd and they could hear the sound of racing engines in the distance. Four cars came into view racing bumper to bumper, all them had come ten thousand kilometers and were about to finish the race within seconds of each other. Then the blue and white car that had been in second made to pass the silver Föhn for first. Then both cars were side by side going flat out as they approached the finish line and then they were past it. The crowd was cheering but they didn’t have the first clue as to who had just won the race. The blue Föhn crossed for third and the white Chevrolet for fourth.
That was when the talking started. Who had just won the race?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jonny and Parker sat on the hood of the car as they waited to find out the result. They had just either come in first or second place, the difference being a few thousandth of a second. According to the race officials they were waiting for the film to be developed so that they would know for sure. Surrounding the cars in the cordoned off area were men wearing the field uniforms of the German Army and Federal Police. It was clear that someone wasn’t screwing around with this.
Looking over at the VW teams Parker saw that their people were already there and a they were celebrating. The advantage of being the local boys, Parker thought to himself. They had been told that the chase van, which was carrying their luggage, was only a day or so behind them and the head of Ford’s English division had already come around to congratulate them for a great show.
That was when a boy, fourteen or so, if Parker had to guess came around and was chatting excitedly with Jonny.
“What is this about?” Parker asked.
“Freddy here saw the end of the race with his old man” Jonny said, “He wanted to congratulate us.”
Then a woman with red hair under a burgundy colored beret with a gold diving eagle pin on it came walking up and said something sharply to the boy who just grinned. Even if her attitude didn’t scream don’t mess with me, the uniform she was wearing did. The woman was a Colonel in the German Army? And was that a Blue Max on her collar?
“Friedrich isn’t giving you any trouble, is he?” She asked in perfect English.
“No, Ma’am” Jonny said with a sly grin, “By the way, tell your brother that Jonny Casey says hi.”
That earned him a dirty look.
“The Kaiser is about to say howdy to us” Jonny said to Parker, “Freddy just happened to run ahead of him.”
“What do you mean?” Parker asked.
“The kid’s old man is the Kaiser” Jonny said, “The broad happens to be in charge of the Kaiser’s bodyguard, don’t mess with her.”
29th August 1954
Berlin
The sun was just coming up as they entered Berlin, still in third place. The pace had increased once they had gotten past Kiev in Ukraine and the highway was paved. The Opel car had broken down outside Warsaw and the entire night before they had seen the headlights of the Chevrolet car in the distance. It wasn’t until they crossed the River Oder on Autobahn Twelve that they had finally caught sight of the two VW Föhn 1200s ahead of them.
One was the German “Silver Arrow” paint scheme that was really no paint at all and the other was entirely blue. That was because while both teams were for VW the colors reflected the nationality of their respective lead drivers, German and French. They were also from the Grand Prix circuit. Parker had wondered why Jonny had painted the car the way he had. It wasn’t until he saw the other American entries that he had understood how Jonny had both echoed and subverted it. Where the other cars were white with two blue stripes running lengthwise, Jonny had reversed it so that their car was blue with two white stripes.
The result was that they were racing towards Berlin only a few car lengths behind the VWs as they went through the interchange between twelve and ten.
“What the Hell!” Jonny yelled, “Can you hear that!”
Parker could hear what Jonny was getting at, but it wasn’t from the engine. He was trying to figure what it was when a helicopter flew past over the car.
“I think we’re going to be on television!” Parker yelled as the turn off for the city center came up.
They were right behind the blue Föhn. The French driver was not about to just allow them to pass and he was making a fight of it as they were running out of highway before the turnoff for the city center. Parker just hoped that Jonny knew what he was doing because to drive ten thousand kilometers only to wreck in the last few would be too much. Both their car and the French Föhn entered the turn but Jonny didn’t brake he just let up on the gas, Parker could hear the tires fighting for grip on the pavement and knew that Jonny was pushing the limits of what the Anglia could do. In that second Parker saw clearly that the other car was only a hairsbreadth away. Jonny, the crazy bastard, was playing chicken with the other driver. Then it stopped, and they saw the straight road of B96 ahead. It was a straight shot on the Federal Highway right into the center of the city but then they would be on surface streets.
The silver car that was now the only other car in this race as far as Jonny was concerned was ahead of them by a car length. The blue Föhn still wasn’t out of the race though and it was right up against their back bumper. Then as Parker was looking in the mirror the Chevrolet car appeared following them closely. As the final kilometers of the race ticked down, they were locked in a battle for first. Then was the left-hand turn and then they were on the city streets in what was turning into a drag race with thousands of spectators watching. As the finish approached Jonny made a play for first place…
----------------------------------------------------------------
Freddy was standing next to his father as they sat in the VIP box of the grandstands that had been erected, where they could observe the finale of the Silk Road Rally. Much to Gräfin Katherine’s annoyance they were within easy reach of the thousands of other spectators. Freddy had watched as his father shook hands and chatted with the people around them. It was to Freddy’s shock how his father was able to talk cars with these people. He had heard about how his father had traveled widely after he had finished University and that had included a stint at the Ford Motor Company, but to actually see it, that was something different.
Then a hush fell over the crowd and they could hear the sound of racing engines in the distance. Four cars came into view racing bumper to bumper, all them had come ten thousand kilometers and were about to finish the race within seconds of each other. Then the blue and white car that had been in second made to pass the silver Föhn for first. Then both cars were side by side going flat out as they approached the finish line and then they were past it. The crowd was cheering but they didn’t have the first clue as to who had just won the race. The blue Föhn crossed for third and the white Chevrolet for fourth.
That was when the talking started. Who had just won the race?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jonny and Parker sat on the hood of the car as they waited to find out the result. They had just either come in first or second place, the difference being a few thousandth of a second. According to the race officials they were waiting for the film to be developed so that they would know for sure. Surrounding the cars in the cordoned off area were men wearing the field uniforms of the German Army and Federal Police. It was clear that someone wasn’t screwing around with this.
Looking over at the VW teams Parker saw that their people were already there and a they were celebrating. The advantage of being the local boys, Parker thought to himself. They had been told that the chase van, which was carrying their luggage, was only a day or so behind them and the head of Ford’s English division had already come around to congratulate them for a great show.
That was when a boy, fourteen or so, if Parker had to guess came around and was chatting excitedly with Jonny.
“What is this about?” Parker asked.
“Freddy here saw the end of the race with his old man” Jonny said, “He wanted to congratulate us.”
Then a woman with red hair under a burgundy colored beret with a gold diving eagle pin on it came walking up and said something sharply to the boy who just grinned. Even if her attitude didn’t scream don’t mess with me, the uniform she was wearing did. The woman was a Colonel in the German Army? And was that a Blue Max on her collar?
“Friedrich isn’t giving you any trouble, is he?” She asked in perfect English.
“No, Ma’am” Jonny said with a sly grin, “By the way, tell your brother that Jonny Casey says hi.”
That earned him a dirty look.
“The Kaiser is about to say howdy to us” Jonny said to Parker, “Freddy just happened to run ahead of him.”
“What do you mean?” Parker asked.
“The kid’s old man is the Kaiser” Jonny said, “The broad happens to be in charge of the Kaiser’s bodyguard, don’t mess with her.”
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Ford is going to be ecstatic as they would have been happy with a Top Ten finish, the CIA less so as the goal for the CIA was for Jonny and Parker to establish their credibility as Rally Drivers while not drawing too much attention to themselves.
Still it will open doors for them in Europe and as long as they don't take too many spectacular risks they will get information that otherwise the American Intelligence community can't get.
Still it will open doors for them in Europe and as long as they don't take too many spectacular risks they will get information that otherwise the American Intelligence community can't get.
Actually if you think it, do extremely crazy and daring stunts would be part of the coverup of that pair of agents....Secrecy in Audacity....the lesson that a certain German made clear to Truman....who normally would think of a pair of near insane Racing Pilots to be in truth intelligence operatives that have been scouting everything and their dog while the authorities of the US's adversaries have opened the door for them without questioning?
You have a point there, I am assuming that Jonny and Parker are Non-Official Covert agents who's cover stories are that they work for Ford in the Racing Promotions department.
Other automotive companies may approach them for consulting work and a good target for espionage is Saab in Sweden as they are working on the Lansen and Drakken fighter jets.
Other automotive companies may approach them for consulting work and a good target for espionage is Saab in Sweden as they are working on the Lansen and Drakken fighter jets.
I have my doubts that Johnny and Parker will make efficient spies. They are too exposed to the public and have too much to do while racing to gather meaningful amounts of information. And what information they (personaly) gather will be coloured by the exitement of the race and their publicity. Sure outside of racing they may travel but even then, they are civilians with military backgrounds and so most interesting avenues of gathering information will be closed to them.
And seeing an automotive plant is not like a Panzerschmiede...
And lastly they can't even be used to smuggle, as even a cursory check on their car or the chase vehicles would most likely find the stuff they try to bring home.
And lastly they are exposed and so, at least imo, they face the danger of being turned. As Europe may appeal to them...
And seeing an automotive plant is not like a Panzerschmiede...
And lastly they can't even be used to smuggle, as even a cursory check on their car or the chase vehicles would most likely find the stuff they try to bring home.
And lastly they are exposed and so, at least imo, they face the danger of being turned. As Europe may appeal to them...
They're certainly not traditional spies, but their cover is now air tight. Who is ever going to believe that two American rally drivers are intelligence agents, especially Jonny?
"Don't be ridiculous Flemming, how on earth could that inbred half witted yokel hillbilly be a spy? He's only just an NCO for heaven's sake"
"But..."
Of course, this ignores Schultz's rather successful career, even if he was closer to Otto Mischner in terms of style and MO than Sidney Reilly.
"Don't be ridiculous Flemming, how on earth could that inbred half witted yokel hillbilly be a spy? He's only just an NCO for heaven's sake"
"But..."
Of course, this ignores Schultz's rather successful career, even if he was closer to Otto Mischner in terms of style and MO than Sidney Reilly.
FBKampfer
Banned
Sargent, rejoins under coercion to avoid jail, goes racing to be paid to do what he wants to do anyway when given a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Its all correct and genuine, down to Johnny's reluctantly to rejoin and be tied down.... He just happens to be CIA as well.
The best cover is mostly true.
Its all correct and genuine, down to Johnny's reluctantly to rejoin and be tied down.... He just happens to be CIA as well.
The best cover is mostly true.
Nonsense. Now that they are in Germany and the race is over, this is the time where they might buy some souvenirs. As long as you aren't getting too unreasonable with what you're trying to smuggle, stuffing it into some souvenir would be a prime way.
Some microfilm? Waterproof it, and hide it in that case of German beer you're hauling home.
Some industrial samples? Again, assuming nothing too outlandish, stash them in your spare parts. That will certainly pass a cursory examination. Possibly a toolbox as well. Some mechanics go into a shrieking fury if you mess up their stuff.
Besides, NASCAR, the only american racing tradition that I can think, has a fine history of cheating the construction rules. As long as they can explain their hidey holes as trying to get one by the racing officials they have a cover for 'real' spy stuff. It's also an excuse for running a tight shop or having some spy gear, industrial espionage is a thing afterall.