Chapter One Thousand Fifteen
25th May 1953
Berlin
“I called you because it’s nearly closing time and if I call the cops someone would get killed” John Elis said when Schultz walked in.
Sitting at the bar was Tilo spinning a fifty-pfennig coin on the bar. Schultz had heard about some of the habits that Tilo had picked up in the Far East, an hour earlier Elis had called and said that Tilo had been drinking well whiskey all night. The fact that he could still spin a coin like he was suggested exactly what his ability to soak up alcohol these days was.
“Herr Elis said you got chased off by Gräfin von Mischner this… Well… Now, yesterday afternoon” Schultz said as he sat down next to his son.
“I just wanted to see if Nancy was doing all right” Tilo replied, “You do know that you’ve created a real monster, a tigress to be exact.”
“I didn’t create anything” Schultz said, “When I found her I knew raw talent when I saw it. I tried to focus it with training and I was new to that sort thing in those days, so I made a few major blunders. The girl has hated me ever since.”
“Whatever you did, she is not nice” Tilo said.
“You are my son and Katherine remembers you from when you were a selfish little shit” Schultz said, “You’re just lucky that she hasn’t stomped you for being interested in her friend.”
Tilo just went back to his drink.
“I know you saw the tail end of it” Schultz said, “But the Tigress misjudged the situation when she found out that she was getting spied on again. The BII neglected to tell her what she was dealing with and she came on a bit too heavy.”
Schultz was laughing until he noticed that Tilo was just staring at him.
“You think that was funny?” Tilo asked, “People could have gotten seriously hurt. I saw Nancy on the back steps of her house, she was arguing with Kat after getting a face full of gas and being hit by a rubber bullet.”
“Come on Tilo” Schultz said, “She’s American and she was meeting other Americans. Walk in a storm and get hit by lightning.”
“Nancy was trying to get them to leave” Tilo said, as he got to his feet.
“And you’re just going to take her word for that?” Schultz asked.
“I’ve a lot more reason to trust her than you” Tilo said and then he walked out of the bar.
“So, you don’t trust Americans?” Elis asked having overheard most of the conversation, “Though I suspect that you might be forced to have one in the family in the future.”
“I do not trust most Americans, you’re different” Schultz said, ignoring the last part of what Elis had just said. “I’m aware that you have a lot of good reasons to avoid contact with your Government.”
“It’s because they never give up, though I’ve heard that they are starting to think that I drowned in the San Francisco Bay during my escape” Elis said, “If I had known that being presumed dead with a big question mark would drive them nuts I might have done it a lot sooner.”
Shultz was aware of John Elis’ past and the deal he had cut with Abwehr. Elis had shared every bit of knowledge that he had about operating as an outlaw in the Upper Midwest. Names, contacts, criminal networks and tactics. In return the German Government turned a blind eye to his presence and allowed his nightclub to run with minimal interference. For years, Johann Schultz and Juan Pujol Garcia had been running the covert operations side of Imperial Shipping of Brandenburg out of the back room of the V8 Club as a part of that deal. However, Schultz knew the full truth, Elis had been law abiding for the most part since he had escaped from Alcatraz Island. Having no more mountains to conquer had resulted in his being reformed.
“Now, with that I need to lock up. I’m supposed to meet Sarah for breakfast in a few hours” Elis said, “It will be nice to see my nephew.”
“That kid really your nephew?” Schultz asked.
“Nope” Elis said, “Sarah, Jonny’s mother, has been the piano player in this bar for years and he was in here with Sarah and Carla a few days after he was born, so I don’t mind.”
It was something that Schultz was aware of when he talked to Elis. Living in the core of one of the most socially liberal cities in the world tended to give one a skewed perspective. What would leave many a house wife outside the city aghast, calling Berlin a modern Sodom and Gomorrah, was a Monday morning breakfast with a gay couple and their baby. Perfectly normal. But then again, the Intelligence Officer in Schultz had to wonder if the obsession over other people were having sex and who they were doing it with said more about those same house wives then they were prepared to admit.
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“You need to let someone else save the world for once” Doug said softly though he knew that Kat probably wasn’t listening to him. “Be here with your family and let other people handle these things.”
It was hardly a surprise, Doug had seen Kat do this too many times before and it was heartbreaking to watch. She keyed herself up before a combat operation to the extent that all fear and doubt vanished. Just the mission that she was focused on, nothing else. Then the crash followed. In the past Kat had tried to use pills and sex to avoid falling into a resulting depressive episode. Once Doug was aware of what was going on he realized that he couldn’t play a part in it because he had noticed that it actually made her worse. Today was especially bad because she had messed up and a friend had gotten hurt as a result. She was still weeping on Doug’s shoulder after a sleepless night. He had learned that the only way for her to avoid depression was to let herself feel things, something that was extremely difficult for her.
25th May 1953
Berlin
“I called you because it’s nearly closing time and if I call the cops someone would get killed” John Elis said when Schultz walked in.
Sitting at the bar was Tilo spinning a fifty-pfennig coin on the bar. Schultz had heard about some of the habits that Tilo had picked up in the Far East, an hour earlier Elis had called and said that Tilo had been drinking well whiskey all night. The fact that he could still spin a coin like he was suggested exactly what his ability to soak up alcohol these days was.
“Herr Elis said you got chased off by Gräfin von Mischner this… Well… Now, yesterday afternoon” Schultz said as he sat down next to his son.
“I just wanted to see if Nancy was doing all right” Tilo replied, “You do know that you’ve created a real monster, a tigress to be exact.”
“I didn’t create anything” Schultz said, “When I found her I knew raw talent when I saw it. I tried to focus it with training and I was new to that sort thing in those days, so I made a few major blunders. The girl has hated me ever since.”
“Whatever you did, she is not nice” Tilo said.
“You are my son and Katherine remembers you from when you were a selfish little shit” Schultz said, “You’re just lucky that she hasn’t stomped you for being interested in her friend.”
Tilo just went back to his drink.
“I know you saw the tail end of it” Schultz said, “But the Tigress misjudged the situation when she found out that she was getting spied on again. The BII neglected to tell her what she was dealing with and she came on a bit too heavy.”
Schultz was laughing until he noticed that Tilo was just staring at him.
“You think that was funny?” Tilo asked, “People could have gotten seriously hurt. I saw Nancy on the back steps of her house, she was arguing with Kat after getting a face full of gas and being hit by a rubber bullet.”
“Come on Tilo” Schultz said, “She’s American and she was meeting other Americans. Walk in a storm and get hit by lightning.”
“Nancy was trying to get them to leave” Tilo said, as he got to his feet.
“And you’re just going to take her word for that?” Schultz asked.
“I’ve a lot more reason to trust her than you” Tilo said and then he walked out of the bar.
“So, you don’t trust Americans?” Elis asked having overheard most of the conversation, “Though I suspect that you might be forced to have one in the family in the future.”
“I do not trust most Americans, you’re different” Schultz said, ignoring the last part of what Elis had just said. “I’m aware that you have a lot of good reasons to avoid contact with your Government.”
“It’s because they never give up, though I’ve heard that they are starting to think that I drowned in the San Francisco Bay during my escape” Elis said, “If I had known that being presumed dead with a big question mark would drive them nuts I might have done it a lot sooner.”
Shultz was aware of John Elis’ past and the deal he had cut with Abwehr. Elis had shared every bit of knowledge that he had about operating as an outlaw in the Upper Midwest. Names, contacts, criminal networks and tactics. In return the German Government turned a blind eye to his presence and allowed his nightclub to run with minimal interference. For years, Johann Schultz and Juan Pujol Garcia had been running the covert operations side of Imperial Shipping of Brandenburg out of the back room of the V8 Club as a part of that deal. However, Schultz knew the full truth, Elis had been law abiding for the most part since he had escaped from Alcatraz Island. Having no more mountains to conquer had resulted in his being reformed.
“Now, with that I need to lock up. I’m supposed to meet Sarah for breakfast in a few hours” Elis said, “It will be nice to see my nephew.”
“That kid really your nephew?” Schultz asked.
“Nope” Elis said, “Sarah, Jonny’s mother, has been the piano player in this bar for years and he was in here with Sarah and Carla a few days after he was born, so I don’t mind.”
It was something that Schultz was aware of when he talked to Elis. Living in the core of one of the most socially liberal cities in the world tended to give one a skewed perspective. What would leave many a house wife outside the city aghast, calling Berlin a modern Sodom and Gomorrah, was a Monday morning breakfast with a gay couple and their baby. Perfectly normal. But then again, the Intelligence Officer in Schultz had to wonder if the obsession over other people were having sex and who they were doing it with said more about those same house wives then they were prepared to admit.
----------------------------------------------------------------
“You need to let someone else save the world for once” Doug said softly though he knew that Kat probably wasn’t listening to him. “Be here with your family and let other people handle these things.”
It was hardly a surprise, Doug had seen Kat do this too many times before and it was heartbreaking to watch. She keyed herself up before a combat operation to the extent that all fear and doubt vanished. Just the mission that she was focused on, nothing else. Then the crash followed. In the past Kat had tried to use pills and sex to avoid falling into a resulting depressive episode. Once Doug was aware of what was going on he realized that he couldn’t play a part in it because he had noticed that it actually made her worse. Today was especially bad because she had messed up and a friend had gotten hurt as a result. She was still weeping on Doug’s shoulder after a sleepless night. He had learned that the only way for her to avoid depression was to let herself feel things, something that was extremely difficult for her.
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