Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II

It doesn't seem that any of the Kaiser's children were self-indulgent or profligate with money in any way.
However, they were expected to be. Born into power and privilege like that, such behaviour would be natural to them surely?

Until you take into account the upbringing of the accidental Kaiser, the influences of Kat and Gia, the rather strong willed influence of Kira and that the three older children have all had a grounding based on military service with "normal" people.

But of course, that would be most "un-German" of them to accept guidence from such people...
x'D
 
Part 101, Chapter 1611
Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Eleven



11th January 1964

Mitte, Berlin

“You commandeered an airplane and my daughter’s boyfriend for what could be considered personal reasons?” Louis asked, he had finally gotten around to calling Kat in. It was just one more minor headache atop all the others that had been consuming his life over the previous months.

“Your standing orders state that I can use all assets of the State to further the ongoing mission of keeping Jehane Thomas from harm” Kat said, “I was just checking up on her.”

“That was twenty years ago, and the world has moved on since then” Louis said, annoyed by her cheek. “How is Gia doing? And the baby?”

“Gia is doing well” Kat replied, “So is Alexei.”

“That is what she named her son?”

“Yes, and at my suggestion.”

“Are you mad?” Louis asked, “Do you understand the history of that name.”

“I understand that it is a history that Gia has to reclaim if she wants to have control of her life” Kat said, “This Saint Sasha nonsense that her cousin has foisted upon her is pure poison. Sooner or later people are going to be reminded of just who she is and why they overthrew her grandfather in the first place.”

Louis winced as Kat referenced the Russian Revolution. He was starting to believe that the efforts to head off a recurrence of that event had had unforeseen complications in his own country. The problem he had was that he didn’t even know where to start looking after his daughter had voiced her suspicions to him.

“That is a matter of opinion, and please don’t do that again in the future” Louis said and as soon as he said it, he saw the look on Kat’s face. She thought that she had won or something. “And that is not the only reason why I wanted to talk to you today.”

“I presume that it has something to do with money” Kat replied. There were times when Louis was reminded of how the press had depicted Kat for years, as a tigress laying lazily behind the throne extending her claws as a reminder that she was every bit as fearsome as her reputation suggested. This was one of those times.

“I take it that you have already talked to Kristina and Victoria?” Louis asked.

“Yes” Kat replied, “I don’t think I need to urge you to be cautious though.”

“Anything else?”

“That it might be mere misogyny as opposed to corruption.”

“Best case scenario?”

“What do you think?” Kat asked in reply.

“You understand how the board was set up, how it was designed to keep me from appointing cronies to it?”

“You have the option of appointing an outside auditor” Kat said, “And if there are any irregularities those responsible had better find religion.”

So, Kat had been thinking about this.

“You understand how Kristina has been living because of these people?” Louise asked.

“I don’t think that Kiki minds living on the pay of an FSR Hauptman on student leave as much as knowing that she is bothers you” Kat replied.

The truth about Louis’ rebellious daughters had been jarring over the last few months. Kristina’s life had been radically changed by her experiences in the Medical Service in ways that would have been unimaginable before. They had finally found a way to keep Marie Cecilie out of trouble, ironically by appointing her to a position of responsibility. And finally, there was Victoria. Charlotte had asked what he would do if she found someone who she fell in love with, just that question alone had left him with heartburn for the rest of the day.

“Do you have someone in mind to act as auditor?” Louis asked and Kat gave him that terrifying smile of hers when she was about to get exactly what she wanted.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“You are going to do nothing of the sort” Kiki said to Zella, who had just concluded a rather colorful extended rant about what she would like to do to “Mithras” the terrorist leader who had been stalking Kiki for months. Unlike before, he now had a name and a face; Lothar de Maizière. He was known to them because all of them had attended classes with him. When Kiki had considered trying out for the University Orchestra in Berlin, he had been one of her potential rivals. One of the Russian Sisters worked in his mother’s household, she had seen his taste in artwork as well as his growing obsession with Kiki over the last year and had been understandably alarmed.

Zella gave Kiki a sour look. For all her bluster Kiki knew that Zella simply wasn’t capable of carrying out most of her threats. She didn’t have it in her to actually harm another person like that and even if she did the potential consequences would make such an action pointless.

“We know who he is” Kiki said, “We just can’t prove it.”

“You have a gun” Zella replied, “Use it.”

“This isn’t a movie Zella” Aurora said, “He isn’t going to blab about what he has been doing because we threaten him.”

Thank you, Kiki thought to herself.

“We need a plan” Kiki said, “One we can stick to that ends with him in a jail cell, and no more wild talk of cutting off his favorite bits. That’s just gross.”

Kiki was looking at Zella when she said that last part. She just smirked in response.
 
Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Eleven
Zella simply wasn’t capable of carrying out most of her threats. She didn’t have it in her to actually harm another person like that

I was going to make a smart arsed comment about Ben's foot, but you just had to go include the "like that" qualifier.
 
“We need a plan” Kiki said, “One we can stick to that ends with him in a jail cell, and no more wild talk of cutting off his favorite bits. That’s just gross.”

Damn straight. Leave that interrogation method to your Tante Kat.

Somehow I get the impression that those cartoonists will be depicting that Tigress as chewing on some bones next to the throne, while Louis relaxes on it. The caption reading "The Tigress was hungry"
 
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It is time to let loose the Kats of Intrigue.

Another caption could be a tigress next to the Kaiser's throne, gnawing on some bones. The caption: "There were a few rats in the walls of Palace Sans Soucis."
 
Calling it now: Vikki and Zella. Not openly, but very close companions.

I can see Vikki, maybe at a stretch developing a crush on Zella, but I think much like democracy's appeal, the easiest way to kill that is a five minute conversation with her.
 
“Do you have someone in mind to act as auditor?” Louis asked and Kat gave him that terrifying smile of hers when she was about to get exactly what she wanted.

Hmmm, who could that be? Perhaps a certain someone from Ireland?
 
If Von Papen wanted to be an utter bastard and provide himself blackmail protection, he’d have funneled small amounts of money to numerous foreign agitators in France, UK, Russia, US, former colonies, South America, and etc... all with subtle letters of support that look like the Kaiser’s blessing, maybe even the predecessor.

Then if he gets discovered and doesn’t give the appropriate dead hand signal, all liquid assets of the Royal family go to Swiss accounts associated with these terrorist/rebel groups in the Kaiser’s name, with some links to the BND.
 
Well that crtain American lawyer is certainly well versed in the black art of money laundering and there is no better game keeper than a former poacher!
 
“Do you have someone in mind to act as auditor?” Louis asked and Kat gave him that terrifying smile of hers when she was about to get exactly what she wanted.

Hmmm, who could that be? Perhaps a certain someone from Ireland?
Either him or one of her dad's ole cronies.(set the rat to catch the rat ehh Kat?)
 
We can not overestimate how complex the problem is with the possible embezzlement of the Hohenzollern Trust and the audit that needs to be done.
If Jack Kennedy is in charge of the audit he is going to need a lot of help from both the legitimate world and those who operates from the shadows, and every one of them is going to have to come from outside of Germany because otherwise that will tip off von Papen.
First off we need a cool codeword name for this operation, Jack needs to get a team of forensic accountants to go over the books and since there are a second set of books those needs to be found.
We need to keep von Papen on ice and unable to get to a phone to warn anybody and it should be done on a Friday after the banks close in order to delay any transactions over the weekend from happening, I would suggest that Jack call in some favors from members of his old army unit from the war who belong to a nice peaceful social organization and has a buddy in Berlin that has a noisy tavern with an unused basement or storage closet to keep von Papen as a guest.
Jack also needs to have some people who specialize in finding things that others want to keep hidden like the previous mentioned second set of books.
Every amount of money that is needed to pull off this operation has to come from someone else's pockets as this can not in anyways be traced back to the Kaiser.
Jack needs to hit hard and the best weapons he has are stealth and speed.
 
Do you have someone in mind to act as auditor?” Louis asked and Kat gave him that terrifying smile of hers when she was about to get exactly what she wanted.

Guessing it's Jack kennedy.

You know, could be interesting if you have an actual german banker involved. Irony being if it's another Nazi like Hjalmar Schacht.
 
Part 101, Chapter 1612
Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Twelve



29th January 1964

Innsbruck, Austria

The opening of the Winter Games had come at just the right time for Michael. He had been ducking the family drama that had consumed his family for the last several months. If Kiki wanted to live like a starving student, Rea was a pain in the ass, as she always had been, and Vicky didn’t like men, then more power to them. Michael had found that he had more pressing concerns in Bohemia anyway. For all members of the Landtag in Prague insisting that he not play a role in the governance of Bohemia, they certainly didn’t hesitate to demand that he play referee in their endless squabbles. No matter what he decided, someone always came away miffed. Michael’s father had told him that it came with the job and that he could look forward to dealing with it until he reached retirement age, in forty years.

Luckily the Olympics provided the perfect escape for Michael. Having medaled in Rome two years earlier, he was expected to be here and because Bohemia always did well in winter sports there was going to be a lot of celebrating to do. The torch lighting went as planned and as always people made jokes about whether or not a cowboy was going to be a part of the ceremony. This year someone had taken the time to interview Martzel Ibarra at his home in Argentina, the story of the role that he had played in the 1936 Olympic Summer Games had grown legendary with retelling. It had included film clips of him jumping out his car and running up the track waving a box of kitchen matches in his hand after driving all over Berlin that morning trying to find a store that was open on a Sunday. This had aired on International Television and there even talk of giving Martzel a medal for representing the spirit of the Games.

As the opening ceremony concluded Michael joined the Bohemian team. It was going to be a fun week.



Wilhelm Station, Flatvaer Islands, New Swabia Antarctica

Clutching the rifle in his gloved hands, Louis realized that as cold as it was here, this was the summertime. The rifle was an old Mauser G98 left over from the First world War, the select fire G44 that he had trained with didn’t work at the temperatures often encountered here. When he had left Kiel, the sealskin coat and felt lined boots that Louis had been issued had seemed excessive, now he was starting to wonder if they would be warm enough for a place like this.

The Captain had told them to be keeping an eye out for unauthorized persons attempting to board the ship while they were unloading the supplies and equipment. Afterwards, the ship would be searched from top to bottom. Louis wouldn’t need to take part in that last part because he would be ashore. They had also been told that anyone who might hesitate in taking the shot had no business in standing sentry. Louis had been put in charge of one of the Platoons.

Looking from the deck of the Albatros II, Louis looked at the collection of prefab buildings huddled against the hillside where it was said that a few hundred people lived year-round and served as the main depot for research stations inland. Not for the first time he had misgivings about what he was doing. He had volunteered to come here unlike the dozens of personnel who had come aboard in Argentina. They had been ordered to come here after somehow angering officialdom back home, word was that Antarctica always had a need for warm bodies because they tended to become cold bodies in short order. While the Government of Germany had ended Capital Punishment in the Criminal Courts, the Military was a different matter. It reserved the right to execution by firing squad until told otherwise. It was something that no one back home wanted to put to the text by carrying out such an execution, so malefactors were frequently sent to Wilhelm Station instead. While slower, it seemed that the eventual outcome was no less certain.

Because Louis was a Lieutenant and part of the Scientific Expedition, he was regarded as being part of the upper crust of Antarctica’s society. Baring misadventure, he would be leaving in two years on the ship that brought supplies from the World. Looking at Wilhelm Station, Louis realized that it was a prison that had no walls because there was nowhere to go.

The Albatros had been closely following the SMS Sirius since they had left Rio Gallegos where the Icebreaker was based. The sound of the breaking ice that had been audible since they had reached the ice ceased. As Louis watched, the ramps were dropped onto the ice and a crowd of men had stood there waiting as the work to unload the ships started.

The men who were laboring, didn’t bother to look up what they were doing as Louis walked down the ramp. A number of VW Iltis cars that had been modified for the cold had pulled sledges out from the station that were being loaded with crates. Other tracked vehicles were being loaded directly.

“You won’t be nearly as pretty once you’ve spent a winter or two here” A man said to Louis before giving him a gap-toothed grin. Louis couldn’t help but notice that both the man’s ears were missing, and his nose was a blackened stub.
 
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Did you really think that all the jokes about the likes of Jacob von Schmidt using Antarctica as a dumping ground for undesirables over several decades wouldn't have consequences?
 
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