Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Nine



18th February 1966

Potsdam

Even by Kristina’s increasingly broad standards, she had a horrible week according to Doctor Holz when he had called Louis Ferdinand this afternoon. Apparently, there was a great deal to be concerned about. Kristina had spent the week hiding in the corners of lecture halls and labs, trying her hardest to make herself invisible. Then on Friday morning came the last straw.

A student group had approached Kristina.

According to Holz, it was entirely innocent. They saw Kristina’s seeming to reject the trappings of royalty as a form of progressivism on her part and had wanted to know if she would like to get involved. She had not seen it that way. Already in a fraught state, Kristina had seen them through the lens of her experiences with the self-styled Jacobins and it had resulted in an ugly incident. Fortunately, there had been none of the violence that she was certainly capable of but there had been a lot of shouting and Kristina had fled immediately afterwards. Not just the University but Jena as well. Vanishing completely.

Doctor Holz had called Louis to voice his concerns over what had happened and to tell him that his daughter was missing. It had taken hours to trace Kristina’s steps, from Jena to Potsdam by train, from there she had walked to the Summer Residence. The problem was that there simply was not a whole lot out there this time of year. A small staff of caretakers was the extent of it. So, exactly what she was doing out there was an open question. When they figured out which building Kristina had broken into, it had answered a lot of questions and Louis had realized that he was the only one who could speak to her about what had happened.

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It was raining as Louis stood under his umbrella as the doors of the Antique Temple were opened. Originally built to house Friedrich the Great’s extensive collection of rare coins, jewelry and artifacts, this building had not served that purpose for long. The items in question had been moved to a vault in the Old Museum and the Antique Temple had eventually become a mausoleum after plans to convert it into the Court chapel had fallen through because of the start of the First World War.

Handing the umbrella off the one of his men and was handed a flashlight. Louis stepped into the building and he heard his footsteps echo off the walls. He was reminded as he did so of a line in a book he had read once about how there are moments when you realize that the story might not have a happy ending. It was not fatalism, but a call to action. Perhaps it was weakness on his part, but he was at a loss about what to do.

Kristina was sitting on the floor with her back against the marble casket that held her mother’s earthly remains. With the flashlight shown on her face her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, clearly, she had been crying. Louis could also see from how pale she was and dark rings under her eyes, that Kristina was cold and tired.

“There are better hours to visit Kristina” Louis said.

“She can’t stop me though” Kristina said, “Not this time.”

Louis sighed. After his late wife and daughter’s disagreements had escalated into exchanging blows with Kira slapping Kristina and getting decked in return, Kristina had been sent to Japan in what amounted to exile and the two of them had never spoken another word to each other. He had tried to talk sense to Kira in those last hours as her heart had failed her about how her refusal to see their oldest daughter was taking things too far. Now, years later, Kristina had come here when she had been in what was probably her lowest moment.

“I guess she can’t” Louis replied wearily, a touch appalled by the vindictiveness that he heard in Kristina’s voice. Of course, she had every right to be angry, but still. He sat down next to her and hugged her from the side. It was hardly a surprise that she was shivering in the cold.

“Do you know what it is like?” Kristina asked, “To hate what someone did to you, but still need them because they might understand?”

“Yes” Louis replied, “She never stopped being your mother.”

“No, she completely rejected me” Kiki said, “She told me that I needed to stop thinking like a little girl and except reality. That medicine was just a fantasy. I turned around and told her that she was useless, that she had only been good for having babies and she was past even that. That she wanted the same thing for me. That was when she slapped me.”

Louis didn’t bother to correct Kristina about what she had really said to Kira before she had gotten slapped. According to those who had witnessed the exchange what had been said was far more crude, vulgar and biting.

“What if she was right?” Kristina said, “After today, how am I supposed to go back to Jena?”

“Don’t think about that tonight” Louis said, “Come home, I’m sure that Antonia will be delighted to see you and perhaps you will have a better perspective tomorrow.”

“I don’t know” Kristina said, “Things never seem to get better, I just go from failure to failure.”

She started crying again.

It was something that Louis had seen Kristina do since she was a little girl. Sometimes she was just determined to make herself miserable, like self-flagellation or something.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Ten



21st February 1966

Mitte, Berlin

“Something that I don’t think that you have considered Kiki” Peter said offhandedly as he listened to her heart through his stethoscope, “If you had been born to a working-class family you would likely be attending the Medical Academy in Jena. You got there with a staggering amount of hard work and a great of personal sacrifice.”

Having spent forty years as a Physician had taught Peter that the heart and lungs tended to reveal people’s exact thoughts in ways that they might not intend to. Kiki was no exception. Her heartbeat became elevated just after he had made that observation. He could also see her ribs through her skin as he lowered the stethoscope. Nora Berg would throw a fit if she saw Kiki in this state, her clear neglect of her personal health would likely result in an opportunistic infection of some kind if she kept on like this. Peter didn’t notice anything else untoward.

According to Kiki’s stepmother Charlotte, she had slept almost the entire time since she had come from Potsdam with her father. Peter found the entire episode fascinating from a strictly clinical point of view. Kiki running to the gravesite of her mother during a moment of crisis. He was aware of another young woman who had done something similar decades earlier, one who had undoubtedly had a great deal of influence on Kiki. The two situations were extremely different, Peter knew that there were a lot of unresolved issues that had remained after the death of Kiki’s mother. Had Kat ever mentioned this to Kiki or was it something more primal?

“I wish I could believe that” Kiki said as she pulled an old football jersey over her head. “All anyone sees is Princess Kristina when they look at me.”

She said that, but her body had told Peter a different story. He had reached the conclusion that Kiki used the idea that she was underserving of advancement as an excuse for giving up on things and cheapening her accomplishments. The caricature of Princess Kristina was something that Kiki hid behind. It was something that she had done for an extremely long time. The issue was that a prognosis was always easier than finding an effective prescription in Psychology. Peter had heard from a colleague about getting Kiki’s younger sister on the couch, it certainly seemed like every member of this family was grappling with similar issues, the women anyway.

“When what you believe isn’t working for you, then it is time to find something else” Peter replied.

Kiki didn’t act like she had heard that, instead she changed the subject. “Am I as crazy as people must think I am in Jena?” She asked.

“I’m not here to determine that” Peter answered, “This is just a house call for a patient.”

“You came all the way to Berlin for that?” Kiki replied, her voice full of skepticism.

“That and to visit family” Peter replied, “My brother lives a few blocks from here and his daughter just happens to be one of your closest friends.”

Kiki was silent for a long moment, embarrassed that she was so wrapped up in herself that she missed something that obvious. She still tended to be conceited at times. Mostly because of her age, so it was good for her to see that other people had lives.

“You didn’t answer the question” Kiki said.

“You aren’t crazy” Peter replied, “This is just like you having a cold, you need a bit of rest and to eat something. We’ll speak about this some more when you get back to Jena in a couple days.”

“But after what happened on Friday?” Kiki asked, “How is that possible?”

“Don’t be so dramatic Kiki” Peter said, “You yelled at some people who didn’t concern themselves with your boundaries, most of the people I talked to thought that they had it coming.”

Judging from her reaction to hearing that, Peter suspected that Kiki was disappointed that had been the outcome.

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Kat had seldom been to the City Hall of Berlin despite it being so close to the Alexander Marketplace. The facade of massive building that occupied an entire city block was entirely of clinker bricks, a feature that lent the Red Hall its name.

Entering the office of the State Prosecutor, Kat was aware of the silence that spread in her wake as she passed through the building. It reminded Kat of when she had been in school and the Headmistress had passed through, everyone knew that someone was in serious trouble for her to leave her office. Then it occurred to Kat that was exactly what this was.

It had taken a great deal of effort on Kat’s part, but she had learned exactly who it was in the City Government who was the cause of Klaus Voll’s complaint. It was with a bit of guilt that Kat discovered that to limit her influence over portions of Berlin’s Criminal Justice bureaucracy, the City had hired an ambitious outsider by the name of Franz Josef Strauss.

“Fürstin von Mischner” Strauss said in greeting as she entered, “To what do I owe the honor of your visit.”

It was obvious that he was not in the least bit intimidated by her reputation. Kat knew that it had been a long time since she had squashed someone like a bug, it showed in situations like this.

“I have been listening to complaints regarding the enforcement of certain laws regarding people’s private lives” Kat said, “Laws whose enforcement had fallen by the wayside.”

“I don’t get to pick and choose which laws get enforced, nor should I” Strauss replied, “The last Mayoral election hinged upon the rising crime rates in this City. Part of that was turning a blind eye to small crimes, creating an environment where big crimes could happen.”

“I know people who feel that they are getting specifically targeted by the police though” Kat said, “They are getting extorted and abused for no other reason than who they are having sex with.”

“You mean those who have been caught engaging in homosexual activity?” Strauss asked mildly, “Which has been illegal for decades.”

“I wouldn’t be here if friends of mine felt that they had no other recourse but to ask me for help” Kat said.

Strauss stared at her as if Kat was far out of her depth.

“I see and I would suggest finding better friends” Strauss said, “The Law as it has been written exists for a reason. There is compelling evidence that Homosexuals are predatory in nature.”

Kat remembered her father once telling her that it was the activities of otherwise ordinary people that she should be frightened of. It was something that he probably been positioned better than anyone else to know.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Eleven



25th February 1966

Tempelhof, Berlin

It was rare that Voll had come to Kat’s house, much less meeting with Kat in her basement workout space. It was about as far as one could possibly get from the circles that he normally moved in and that steel door on one side of the room suggested that there were mysteries nearby that he did not want to solve. Watching Kat aiming kicks and punches at the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling was a reminder of the women’s sportswear that he had designed for Kat and her “cousin” Gia a decade earlier. A clothing line that had been shockingly lucrative and it was what she was wearing this evening. It was also good to see that Kat wasn’t using finding herself middle aged as an excuse to be out of shape. She had called him here because she had wanted to tell him what had happened in the Red Hall.

“So, I called the Senator in charge of the Justice Ministry, he fobs me off to that asshole Strauss” Kat said, her words punctuated by kicks and punches. “An asshole who he hired specifically because he wasn’t beholden to me.”

The fury and tempo of the beating that Kat was giving the heavy bag increased. Franz Josef Strauss really must have angered her during the brief conversation that they had had. If Voll had to guess, it had become rare for anyone to push back against the Tigress these days. Finally, Kat stopped and was staring at the bag, her face flushed, sweat dripping off her and breathing heavily.

“I am really surprised that you did that” Voll said, “That was far more than I expected. Even if you couldn’t get the result I might have liked, you have my gratitude.”

“My father was fond of saying that justice doesn’t just happen for people like us” Kat replied as she grabbed a towel off the back of a chair and wiping her face off as she walked towards the stairs up to the kitchen. “Someone has to make it happen.”

“These days, justice does happen for people like you” Voll said as he followed Kat, “While it is nice that you remember where you came from, I doubt that a man like your father would have liked that expression used in this context. He would have blackmailed Strauss into ignoring his own operation and let him go after the Gays to his heart’s content.”

“I’m not my father” Kat said as she poured herself a glass of water at the sink. “Before I left the Red Hall, Strauss told me that if I thought that the law was so unjust, I should work to change it. I think that he was on to something.”

Voll was rather surprised that Kat would say that as he watched her gulp the water down. It should not be though. He knew that she had approached several marginalized groups living in Berlin over the years and worked on their behalf. Russians, Poles, Jews, even Koreans, and had garnered a great deal of power within the City that way. There was a reason why she had become the Fürstin of Berlin and no one had objected.

“Thank you, Katherine” Voll said.

“I was wondering if you could help me with something a bit more difficult in the meantime?” Kat asked.

“Yes, anything” Voll replied.

“A good portion of Doug’s wardrobe is older than our children” Kat said, “My hope is that you might pry him out of some of his worst habits. He says that some things never go out of style, but I’m not so sure.”

“There ought to be several things in the men’s line that he might like” Voll said, “One thing that is odd though, your husband has played a role our advertising for that line over the last several years.”

“How?” Kat asked, “He never told me about that.”

“He doesn’t know” Voll said, “We saw the ads he was in for Volkswagen several years ago and used those as the inspiration for our own adverts. A man’s man leading an adventurous life in far flung locations. All while impeccably dressed, of course.”

Kat laughed at that as they walked up the stairs to the parlor floor and it was good to hear. Like everyone else, Voll had seen how increasing responsibilities had made Kat grow increasingly dour. Looking into the parlor, Voll saw Doug sleeping on the couch as Kat’s daughters argued over what to watch on television.

“Tatiana, Marie” Kat said sharply and fixed them with a look that froze them in place. “If you can’t agree on what to watch turn it off and do something else.”

The two girls stopped and looked at Kat until she turned away. If Voll had to guess, they would resume bickering once Kat went away, just more quietly now that their mother was on the same floor of the house. These were Kat’s daughters, so it was expected. It was then that the front the front door opened and Suse Rose entered and fixed Kat with a withering look.

“I hate you!” Suse yelled, before stomping up the stairs. A minute later, Voll heard a door slam.

A young man in a military uniform whose unit patches Voll didn’t recognize beyond being from the 4th Panzer Division sheepishly entered the house. Was that a flying owl superimposed over the Roman numeral VII? He figured that this was the semi-boyfriend that Suse was in an ambiguous relationship with.

“How was the date Manny?” Kat asked, “Suse said that you were going to take her someplace nice for her birthday.”

Manny nodded, but he had a quizzical look on his face.

“It was going really well, then when I gave her a goodnight kiss” Manny said, “She said something about you being in her head and you saw what happened next.”

Voll couldn’t help but noticing that Kat had an extremely satisfied look on her face when Manny said that.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twelve



1st March 1966

Tempelhof, Berlin

It was either today or yesterday which Suse’s birthday would fall on this year because the actual date only came on leap years and would not come again until she turned twenty. Kat had tried to talk her into throwing a party. Nothing big, just her and a few friends. Suse wasn’t interested though. As far as she was concerned, going out to dinner with Manfred was enough. It was fortunate that she had not remained sore with Kat for long after what had happened the previous Friday night. When Manfred had kissed her goodnight after walking her from the train station to Kat’s house, it had been wonderful according to her. Then she had heard Kat’s voice in her ears, talking about her losing control. Considering how convincing a seventeen-year-old, albeit one about to turn eighteen, to think before she acted was incredibly difficult, Kat considered it a good first step. It wasn’t that Kat had a problem with sex per say. It was just that she knew all too well that there were a lot of pitfalls for a young woman who was not armed with the right kind of knowledge.

The next few days Suse had told Kat and Jo everything that had happened over the course of the evening. A light meal at a restaurant in Mitte, followed by ice cream and a couple hours in a coin arcade playing games and just having fun. The memento that Suse had kept from the night was a stack of six-shot photographic strips from a photobooth that was from those that she had divvied up with Manfred on the S-Bahn. Looking at the photographs of the two of them mugging for the camera, it was clear that they had an enjoyable night. Kat picked up one that had Manfred and Suse just playing it straight, it was a good photograph of them.
“You should consider giving this one to your mother when you get a chance, I think she would like it” Kat had said to Suse as they had looked at the photographic strips spread out on the table on Saturday afternoon.

It was a happy thought for Kat and thinking about the girls was far happier than the business that she had been procrastinating over. This afternoon Maria had called to get Kat’s opinion of what Strauss had said the earlier that day at a press conference that he had convened and in light of what had happened the day before it was especially appalling.

Strauss had contacted Kat through Franz Richter, the Lawyer who she kept on retainer, and had implied that the off the books meeting that they had in his office was improper in a lot of respects and she would be putting herself in legal jeopardy if she did anything like that again. Richter had advised Kat that it was obvious that Strauss simply wasn’t afraid of her and she would need to be a lot more cautious in her dealings with him in the future.

That was simple enough to understand. It was what Strauss did next that made Kat furious. He announced that in a brief statement before the press conference that a concerned citizen had informed him of Citizens of Berlin being bullied and extorted under color of Law. He went on to say that he felt it was unacceptable and that he was forming a special task force to examine the issue. He was taking all the credit, after threatening Kat because she had brought that to his attention. She had wanted to see him stuffed into a 42cm Railway Gun and shot into the stratosphere, perhaps something could be arranged in Cam Ranh during the next launch or at least the chance to see him step on a rake in the dark.

It had been suggested that Kat ought to make a big deal about the staggering number of laws that Berlin had that went mostly unenforced, after eight centuries there were a lot of them. Kat knew better, those unenforced laws covered things such as grazing rights in Village Commons where the villages and commons no longer existed that she was somehow was supposed to supply as Fürstin. There were also laws regarding witchcraft and Kat did not even want to think about how that sort of garbage would turn out if the likes of Strauss were upholding them.

In the end, Kat realized that if she did anything like that then she would be playing into Strauss’ hands and there were also the people of Berlin to consider. The most recent elections had hinged on the rising crime rate. Strauss had gotten that much correct, just his means of carrying out that mandate left a lot to be desired.

It would be better to change the laws. Even as Kat thought that to herself, she remembered all the times that Helene had pointed out that not all problems could be solved by blowing things up or shooting them. Real change required consensus and seldom happened quickly.

What sort of statement could Kat give Maria that would move things towards where she wanted them to go? It would be something that she would need to put a lot of thought into. She would also need to stop at a garden supply store to buy a rake. You never knew if an opportunity might present itself.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Thirteen



4th March 1966

Tempelhof, Berlin

“If you really want to understand why Kat feels that way, talk to Petia” Jo said as she opened the window of her bedroom before reaching for a bag of sunflower seeds.

Jo was refilling the birdfeeder that hung on a wire outside the window. Every spring she filled it so that she could watch from her bed as the finches darted in, grabbed a seed and then darted back to the trees that grew down in the gardens between the rows of houses. Jo would continue to keep it filled throughout the summer. As Jo did this, she was talking to Suse who was feeling a bit put out by some of the things that Kat insisted upon while she lived under her roof.

Presently, Suse was laying on the bedroom floor staring up at the ceiling. That the burgundy dress she was wearing was brand new was something that Suse paid no mind to was typical of her. It was part of the clothing ensemble that had had been bought at the direction of Voll as a birthday present for her. The Neo-Renaissance style looked good on her, the cut being perfect for a woman as thin and small-boned as Suse was, Jo knew that there was no way that she could wear something like that. What Jo didn’t mention was that dress seemed to play up what had been described as the elfin aspect of Suse’s appearance, it was something that she had thought that Suse hated.

“What could Petia tell me?” Suse asked.

“Plenty” Jo replied as she poured a measure of sunflower seeds into the feeder, “The Soviets wanted to show how egalitarian their State was by having universal conscription, men and women. The result was anything but equitable and the women involved were abused by all sides. Petia told me stories about how Kat was one of the people tasked with cleaning up the mess as thousands of Russian women were taken prisoner.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Suse asked. It was a reminder that while Jo had lived with Kat and Doug for almost a decade, Suse had only moved in a few months earlier. She was also more sheltered than she was willing to admit.

“What Kat doesn’t want is for the girls living in her care to be coerced or forced into a bad situation where they will have to make hard decisions” Jo replied as she rehung the birdfeeder, “She’s had to deal with that too often in the past.”

“That doesn’t mean that she needs to get into my head like she did” Suse said seconds before she sprang to her feet without using her arms and padded over to the window on bare feet. Her ability to do things like that and make them look effortless was one of the few things about Suse that Jo envied. “Now, where are the birds you were talking about?”

“I’m sure they are around” Jo said, “It usually takes them a while to find it.”

Suse didn’t say anything, but Jo figured that she was only a matter of minutes from losing interest and would want to do something else other than watch for birds.



Jena

It had been Charlotte who had convinced her to go back to Jena. She had pointed out that with weekends and holidays factored in, Kiki was less than ninety days away from completing a major portion of her education. From there she would be assigned to an Internship in a Casualty Department in a hospital somewhere and would be learning on the job for at least another year and a half. Kiki had not realized that she was that close to reaching her goals. Instead she had just seen months of tedious lectures and labs where theory would be discussed ad nauseum. Perhaps it had been the mindset that Kiki had been in, but from her perspective that had seemed very bleak at the time when she had fled Jena. Vicky had been angry her for just leaving like she had, at least Rauchbier had been happy to have her back.

Kiki had only been able to speak to Ben for a few minutes at a time over the previous months. Probably just as well considering some of the things that she had been thinking about doing over the winter. The last time they had talked, Ben had told Kiki that he was still the Third Alternate Science Officer for an upcoming launch and the excitement was clear in his voice. That meant that he was spending every available moment in Peenemünde while he was continuing his education. He said that there was a chance that he would need to go to Cam Ranh if he was going to be a part of the Taxidiotis Project. That meant that once again Kiki would not be seeing him over the Summer Holiday this year. To her surprise, she found herself disappointed by that news.

Whatever Ben was doing today, it had to be better than what Kiki was doing. She was sitting there with EEG probes glued to her scalp as Doctor Lehrer was introducing various stimuli trying to induce a response. Lehrer and his team had been carefully monitoring Kiki’s recovery since she had gotten her skull cracked almost two years earlier. A long and frustrating recovery at that. Lehrer had been particularly interested in her latest emotional breakdown and if it might have had anything to do with her injury. Kiki didn’t have an answer for that. She remembered feeling cornered and scared by the dilettantes who fancied themselves activists right before she had asked them to leave her alone. When they had not listened to her she had started yelling. It was a miracle that she didn’t have everyone in the University treating her like a headcase after that.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Fourteen



18th March 1966

Jena

It hardly mattered that Zella had called at such a late hour, Kiki had been awake studying. She knew that she needed to be preparing for the high stakes written and oral State examination that was coming in June but welcomed the distraction and had answered the phone. Listening to Zella talk about her latest unsuccessful attempt at romance certainly counted as that.

“The movie was typical obnoxious melodrama” Zella said, “Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy get head full of stupid ideas, boy kicks girl to the curb. The only part that was any good was what happened at the ending which I found unrealistic.”

“The part where the boy kicks the girl to the curb?” Kiki asked.

“No” Zella replied, “As he drives away from his now ex-girlfriend’s house reveling in his newfound freedom, he realizes that he just gave the love of his life the boot and messed it up forever.”

“What’s so unrealistic about that?” Kiki asked.

“I don’t know very many men who are that fast on the uptake” Zella said.

“That doesn’t sound like the sort of movie that you would normally go see” Kiki said.

“My date picked it for us” Zella said, “Because as he said, he thought that all women liked that sort of thing. You wouldn’t believe how patronizing he was when he said that.”

“Try to be nice, Zella” Kiki said, “Remember what your mother said about having to kiss a lot of frogs until you find a prince.”

“It seems like they are all turning out to be toads” Zella said, “And I think that if I keep this up, they’ll give me warts. To Hell with a Prince, I know a few of those and they are generally the wartiest of the lot. About now I could almost settle for bathes regularly and chews with his mouth closed.”

“I’m not going to disagree with that” Kiki replied, “But what about that guy who told you that you were auditioning to replace his dearly departed mother? Did he chew with his mouth open?”

“My God” Zella said with a laugh, “Don’t remind me of that one. Don’t walk, but run far, far away from guys like that.”

Hearing from Zella like this took Kiki back to when they had talked like this when they had been in school. Zella and Aurora had been Kiki’s first real friends. It was exactly what she had needed.



Rural Bavaria, Near Landshut

The narrow gaps between the boards let in beams from the headlights that motes of dust danced in. Nan had always found such things fascinating, despite the circumstances it still inspired flights of fancy. She always imagined the world away from the farm where she had spent her entire life, where she would be free of Poppa’s oppressive presence and terrifying expectations. There came the sound of more cars pulling into the yard and doors slamming as men in green uniforms fanned out to search the house and the outbuildings.

Nan was still holding her mother’s hand after it had grown cold. The hole in her chest from where the bullet fired by Gudrun, Nan’s half-sister no longer had blood coming from it. There had been nothing that Nan could do. She had tried to stop the bleeding, but nothing had worked so she had been forced to just watch Momma die.

The arrival of the Police to the farm put the final exclamation point on the end of a day that had been a kaleidoscope of violence and death. Momma had warned Nan that this day was coming, when they finally let down their guard as she put it, and to be prepared. Nan simply hadn’t understood what was coming though, all the talk from Momma about how they were prisoners here and Nan was no one’s failed experiment. She had made Nan practice what she would say when they found her. Perhaps Momma had known that this would be the outcome, she had to be aware that it would be a possibility.

The Police were shining flashlights on the bodies of Poppa and Poppa’s wife laying in the yard. They had yet to find Nan because she was hiding with her mother’s body under the porch. Gudrun had run off after shooting Momma, Nan didn’t see or care about where to. She had just known the Momma had been surprised by Gudrun being home. Though she had never once been off Poppa’s farm, Nan understood the brutal logic of mattock versus gun. Mattock lost.

It had been an offhand comment by Poppa that had prompted Momma’s desperate action. He had mentioned that Nan was disappointing, perhaps it was time to cut his losses and start anew. He had then turned to Momma and said that he was disappointed in her as well. He had thought that she was of better stock, it had turned out that he had been wrong. Momma had endured that in silence, like she always had. However, unknown to Poppa he had crossed an invisible line. One that had prompted a woman whose spirit he thought he had broken, who he had kept cowed and subjugated for years to act. She had grabbed the mattock from the barn and had used it to bash his brains out. Poppa’s wife had tried to stop her and had shared his fate.

It had been then that Gudrun had shot Momma.

For lack of anything better to do, Nan had helped Momma stagger into her favorite hiding spot under the porch. She had died while late afternoon had become night and Nan still waited. She wasn’t sure for what though.

A beam of light hit Nan’s eyes, blinding her.

“We have a child under here!” A voice called out.

The words that her mother had made her memorize, came to Nan’s mind. My name is Annett Pfenning, she was to use her mother’s surname and once free of this farm she was to never, ever use Poppa’s name again. My mother was kidnapped ten years ago by…

Now that she was faced with using those words, she found that she could not get them out of her mouth. She just stared at the face of the man who had just spoken.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifteen



20th March 1966

Landshut, Bavaria

The entire case was particularly disturbing. Kat was involved because the individual at center of this entire mess was connected to the House of Wittelsbach as the Godson of one of the Princes of Bavaria. So, it had to be handled carefully. Both Louis Ferdinand and King Albrecht of Bavaria had ordered her here so that she could oversee the unwinding of this mess and hopefully reduce the amount of blowback for the Royal family of Bavaria.

Investigators were still combing through the house and buildings on the farm as the press was already running with salacious headlines. Kat knew all too well how the public would eat this up as more and more details became known. And there were details in abundance. This was because Heinrich Himmler had kept a large number of notebooks which he had filled with his opinions on nearly everything. Throughout them were his thoughts on Eugenics, he lamented about what he saw as mongrelization and his expressed desire for a cleansing fire to occur. He also included his ideas about how people needed to be bred like any other livestock and had kept extensive notes about his efforts that went back decades. He had believed one day the world would see his efforts as heroic. Just reading the summaries made Kat’s skin crawl, the delusions of grandeur and rationalizations. How had this gone unnoticed for so long? It was a good thing that man had been killed by one of his victims, because she would have had a strong desire to do it herself if he were still alive.

The preliminary autopsy of Alina Pfenning revealed evidence of bones that had been broken and then improperly set, malnutrition and neglect. Most disturbing of all was how the toes on her right foot had been roughly amputated, likely to keep her from being able to run. The adult daughter, Gudrun, a divorcee who had moved back in with her parents several years earlier had claimed that she feared that Alina would come charging after her with the mattock when she shot her. Something that didn’t seem likely.

Gudrun was completely unrepentant as she had been brought in by the uniformed police who had caught her fleeing the area. She was adamant that her father was a great man and that everyone would eventually see that. There was however some fraying around the edges. Things Gudrun was trying to avoid saying, if she wasn’t lying outright. There was also the reason why she had fled. Even if it weren’t for what Annett had told the Policemen who had found her after they had calmed her down and what had been found in her father’s notes, that was a sign of guilt on her part. It seemed that Annett’s mother had made her memorize a statement that she was to give to the Police when she got a chance.

As far as Gudrun knew, she was only here because the gun she had used was acquired illegally and she hadn’t been the one who had bought it. No effort had been made to tell her otherwise She clearly thought that she would be in the clear if she could just get Kat to buy her version of events, that she had just been defending herself. It was a complete load of rubbish though. The problem was getting Gudrun to bury herself. Kat was employing a simple trick that Anton Knoph had taught her years earlier to get even hardened criminals to incriminate themselves. It was called letting them talk. As Kat entered the interview room, she heard the click of the tape recorder that would keep a record of everything that was said.

It turned out that Gudrun's version of events was just as self-serving as Kat expected.

“That poor girl was a guest at my father’s house” Gudrun said, that was one way to put it. “I heard her arguing with my father and then she ran to the barn. I’m certain that you saw what happened next, it was awful.”

“You shot her with the gun that you said your father acquired after break-ins at neighboring farms?” Kat asked.

“She was going to attack me” Gudrun said emphatically.

“And you have no idea what set her off?” Kat asked.

“None” Gudrun said, “She should have been grateful.”

Kat wrote the words none and grateful down in her notepad. The last entries in Himmler’s notebooks had detailed how disappointed he was with the Subject Six of his experimentation, that it had turned out to be so pedestrian and would need to be disposed of. That begged the question of what had happened to the previous five, Kat knew that she wasn’t going to like the answer. It was there in those notebooks, just the entries hadn’t been found yet.

“Did you know who Alina Pfenning was before the events of last Friday” Kat asked.

“No” Gudrun said, a little too fast.

Ten years earlier, Alina Pfenning had supposedly disappeared while walking home from school in Munich. Now, there were serious questions about what exactly had happened because Gudrun had worked as a Secretary at that same school. It would have been impossible for her not to know about this.

“Very well” Kat said, hiding just how much she wanted to throttle Gudrun. “You mentioned that she was a guest of your father. Do you know how long she was there?”

Gudrun visibly relaxed when Kat had moved on to the next question.

“I don’t know” Gudrun said, “She was always just around. My parents were good Christians, devout Catholics. They believed in charity.”

Kat had plenty of her own experiences with those who professed their religion a little too emphatically. Charitable wasn’t the term she would use for what they did. Many of the things that Himmler had written in his notebooks did not square with him being a “good Christian” of any kind.

“What do you know about the little girl?” Kat asked, “She isn’t talking, and she must have family somewhere.”

Gudrun gave Kat a calculating look.

“Six, is simple, mentally deficient” Gudrun said, “A sad case really.”

“Six?” Kat asked, “Is that her name?”

“I don’t know” Gudrun said with an expression on her face that suggested that she wanted to smile because she thought she was putting one over on Kat.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixteen



31st March 1966

Munich, Bavaria

After thoroughly damning herself with her own words during the first interview, Gudrun was a lot less forthcoming in the second. Predictably, she tried to shift the bulk of the culpability onto her conveniently dead father but there was plenty of blame to go around. Cadaver sniffing dogs finding the other bodies on the farm changed everything. The Legal Counsel that Gudrun had belatedly asked for had convinced her that she was running out of cards to play and that she needed to tell the authorities everything. She had been the one who had selected Alina Pfenning for her father’s latest experiment. Alina had certain qualities that they had been looking for. A certain standard of beauty and a docile nature mostly, but most of all she came from a background where it was figured that she would not be missed, not for long anyway. Then eleven-year-old Alina had vanished, and no one would know what had happened to her for a decade. As they would learn Alina was not the first experiment that Heinrich Himmler had conducted.

Despite Kat’s best efforts, things grew more heated. Normally, when things were presented to the Courts and Public neatly giftwrapped that was the end of the story. Not this time though. When the details leaked to the press the result was a firestorm. People were comparing this incident to the Hinterkaifeck murders that had happened decades earlier and there was a lot of speculation. Kat could have told them that the two occurrences had different modus operandi if she thought it would have done any good. The Courts were trying to figure out how to hold a fair trial when the public was screaming for blood.

There was also the reaction from parents across the country. As a mother, Kat understood the fear that someone she entrusted her children with happened to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Most people had a mental image of that sort of maniac along the lines of Oskar Dirlewanger, a case that Kar herself had been involved with. The Himmler family had been respected members of society, above reproach. Suddenly, the wolf at their door could be anyone if it weren’t already in their house. If Kat were being cynical, she would tell them that they were now living in the real world and that there was very thin line between that and the fantasy of safety that they lived in. Kat held her tongue, the fact that her house in Tempelhof was an artfully constructed fortress said everything.

There was also the question of what to do with Annett. Kat had made sure that her name and likeness appeared nowhere in the public record. Her presence was not necessary in the upcoming trial, so “Child Six” would remain a source of speculation and that would be the end of it. Kat was concerned about the girl herself. Despite having had a recent harrowing experience and a childhood that was the very definition of deprivation, she was surprisingly ordinary and resilient. It was the aspect that Himmler had hated about her, how she was pedestrian as he put it and had wanted to get rid of her. Kat had different perspective and knew that cretin had been unable to see the forest for the trees.

The problem that Annett was creating for Kat though was that one of the things that had marked out her mother a decade earlier counted doubly for her. Having a family member just disappear was in many ways more devastating than having them die. The thought that they might still be out there somewhere was corrosive to every aspect of their lives. Kat was finding that this case was no exception. They had been unable to find Alina’s father and her mother had died of liver failure five years earlier. A younger brother had been killed in Korea. There was an Aunt and Uncle who Kat had tracked down, but they had wanted nothing to do with the complications that Annett would inevitably bring. Kat herself was planning on leaving for Canada for several weeks to spend the Easter Holiday with Doug’s family and was running out of time to try to keep Annett from getting put into State Care. After everything that girl had gone through, she didn’t deserve to find herself in an institutional setting, surrounded by strangers who didn’t care about her. Kat had seen what that had done to Ilse.

Help came an unexpected source…

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

The suite in the hotel was massive compared to the room that Nan had shared with her mother for the first six years of her life. Kat had been kind to her but had warned her about speaking to others and to stay away from the windows. It was off-putting how she was in the middle of a big city, yet in many respects her life hadn’t changed. Sure, there were tradeoffs like the taste of ice cream, or television. Things that Kat had introduced her to.

The first days had been difficult for Nan, the bed in her room was too soft, she wasn’t used to sleeping alone and there had been the nightmares. Kat had not objected to having Nan come to her and sleeping in her room. She said that she used to it because she had a son and two daughters of her own as well as others who had been her wards, a Goddaughter who currently lived with her and a number of girls who she had made a part of her expansive family.

A few days later, Nan had been made to put on an itchy black wool dress. She was told that it was expected of her. Kat had put on the strangest clothes that Nan had ever seen. The grey tunic and long black skirt had seemed straight forward enough. The medals and orders that she was wearing with it though were amazing, as was the red velvet cloak that she wore on top of it. Kat had patiently explained what they all meant, that she was wearing the uniform of a Generallieutenant, the cloak marked her as a member of the Order of the Black Eagle. She said that she was wearing it out of respect without elaborating. They had then left the hotel and had ridden in a car, something else that Nan was still getting used to. Arriving at what Nan had been told was a church, she had been told that they were laying her mother to rest. Nan had been bewildered by the entire ritual, unable to understand what was going on. An old man who struck Nan as being very stern, but not mean like Poppa had been, had introduced himself as Albrecht and said that he would help Nan however he could, she only needed to ask.

Later, back in the hotel suite, Nan had been handed a book that Kat said was a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Her youngest daughter, Marie, loved it. Nan didn’t know how to read the words but had been amazed by the colorful illustrations. Kat had gone back to the telephone and had been absent frequently in the days since. Nan had found herself in the company of a succession of men and women who said that they wanted to know about her and just wanted to talk.

Finally, tonight Kat had sat down in one of the easy chairs in the suite and had watched television with Nan until there was a knock on the door. A rough looking man wearing a blue uniform and a woman Kat’s age entered and were greeted by Kat warmly. A girl Nan’s age entered and started asking questions, talking faster than she could process. Apparently, they were going to be such great friends, like sisters.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Seventeen



8th April 1966

Prague, Bohemia

When she had called this morning, Kat had told Gerta that she was flying out this evening to go to Canada. She had made her plans months ago and that meant that Gerta got her daughter back for the Easter Holiday because one of the last things that Kat did before leaving for the airport was put Suse on the Berlin to Prague express. Apparently, Suse had been miffed because Kat had given her entire Household Staff the Holiday off and Kat wasn’t about to leave Suse alone in her house unattended. It wasn’t that Kat didn’t trust Suse, it was that she understood how most eighteen-year-olds responded when presented with temptation and wasn’t taking chances.

As the train pulled into the station, Gerta was standing on the platform with Kurt. Alois was absent, since they had moved to Prague he had become interested in food. It wasn’t just the usual interest that a fourteen-year-old boy would be expected to have for food. He was interested in the preparation and artistry involved. Prague had turned out to be one of the best places to learn about that and was taking Culinary Classes in the evenings. Gerta had encouraged him and Kurt had watched with amusement. It wasn’t Suse’s determination to command a Panzer, but there was a steep learning curve involved.

Seeing Suse get off the train, Gerta hardly recognized her. For years she had told her daughter that she needed to dress in a manner that wasn’t so plain and drab. It seemed that someone had finally gotten through to Suse in that regard. The clothes she was wearing played up the fey aspect of her appearance something that something that Gerta thought would never happen.

It was then that Suse walked past two businessmen and instantly got their attention. They were invisible to Suse, but the whole thing reminded Gerta of similar issues that her mother used to complain about decades earlier. Much to her own aggravation.



Albstadt, Württemberg

Now that it was spring, Jost had decided that they needed practical lessons. Namely how to kill quietly and quickly using weapons that probably would have been familiar to their ancestors for millennia.

“You need to forget whatever bullshit you’ve seen in movies or television” Jost said, “Your Instructors have only mentioned this in passing, but when you really go to war these are just as much the tools of the trade as your rifles.”

The Platoon was looking at a blanket covered in crude weapons, most of which were of an improvised nature. Clubs, trench knives and modified entrenching tools. The only nod to modernity were several boxes of hand grenades.

“Walter Horst came out of the trenches of Verdun” Jost said. It was a name that instantly got their attention. “He taught me this aspect of the trade, one your grandfathers had to learn the hard way. Most of your grandfathers anyway.”

Jost gave Manfred a look as he said that last part with a bit of a smirk. Manfred’s namesake grandfather had not only been a famous pilot but had headed the entire Luftwaffe. That was an endless supply of mirth throughout the Company. Manfred just ignored it. He knew that Jost and his father went way back and that Jost knew perfectly well that Manfred’s other grandfather had been in the brutal meatgrinder that had been the battle of Arras. However, it was rather high on the list of things that Manfred knew better than to bring up if he didn’t want to find himself back on sentry duty.

“Today I am going to show you how to use these” Jost said holding up an entrenching tool and a club. The edges of the spade had been sharpened and the club was of darkened hardwood that had hobnails driven into it, the center and been drilled out and filled with lead. “The one thing that I cannot teach you is to not hesitate in the moment. In war, the man who acts first is usually the victor. This isn’t a movie, there are no fancy moves, just a caved in skull or a knife through the lungs.”

Jost gave them a wicked grin.

“Finally, I am going to show you how we clear trenches” He said, “And how to hold them once you got them.”

This wasn’t a repeat of what had happened a couple months earlier when Jost had them digging foxholes in frozen ground with the threat of Panzers being driven over their positions in the offing. It was close though. The Soviets had taught the Oberstaber how to spring a lot of unpleasant surprises, surprises that he was more than happy to spring on them.



Mitte, Berlin

She was to be an official ward of the von Preussen family. While that fell short of them officially adopting Nan, it meant that they accepted her as a part of their family and promised to care for her until she came of age. While she tried to understand what that meant, she struggled with it. Lotte had told her that it meant that she would always have a place with them where she belonged.

What followed were several frustrating days spent trying and failing to fit in. It had been Nella who had told her that she had overheard Lotte and Louis talking about how she needed to learn to be a part of an actual family as opposed what she’d had before. Nella had asked what her parents meant by that and Nan didn’t know how to answer. It hadn’t occurred to her that her life had been out of the ordinary until she had found herself living with a family that didn’t pretend to be normal, but was very different and Nan was looking at it from the outside.

Then the oldest daughter returned to Berlin with one of her younger sisters. It was harder to figure out what was stranger; Kiki, who was on the verge of becoming a Physician or Rea and Vicky being identical twins. Talking to Kiki about medicine seemed to be a safer topic. Eventually, Nan found herself observing as Kiki had shown her how she assessed a patient by dragooning her father into volunteering. When Kiki had discovered that her father’s blood pressure was elevated, she had quite a lot to say on the subject.

“You are not as young as you used to be Poppa” Kiki said, as she removed the blood pressure cuff off his arm. “After what happened to Momma you should be mindful of your heart.”

“I understand that Kristina” Louis said, “And you’ll be pleased to know that you already sound like one of my other Doctors.”

Nan watched this exchange in amazement. She couldn’t imagine the man who had been her father having that conversation. It was then that it occurred to her that her Momma had been right that along with his name, he needed to be forgotten.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Eighteen



11th April 1966

Mitte, Berlin

The view out the windows of Kiki’s room were breathtaking, she gave the penthouse apartment that much. Located on south-west corner of the eighteenth floor, they looked out to a wide arc across the city. Her father’s office was directly below and had the same view. What it served as was a reminder of the controversy that had surrounded the construction of this building. While great pains had been made to match it to the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood, there was no way to hide that it was at least three times taller than the surrounding buildings and took up half a city block. Many thought that the building was just the vanguard of new high-rise construction that was going to be built throughout central Berlin in the coming years.

The apartment itself was huge, far larger than even the house that Kiki rented in Jena. Occupying substantial portions of the top two floors of the building. The tenant across the hall was a man who had invented a piece of equipment used in nearly every automobile and lorry built over the previous two decades. He had been somewhat chagrined when he had learned who his neighbors would be more than a year earlier.

Laying on her bed and looking out the windows, Kiki considered the possibility of just staying here for the rest of the day as she watched a helicopter fly across the city. She was on Holiday and it was her intention to do as little as possible and if this was hiding, she didn’t care. She didn’t feel up to being sociable, not after how trying the previous days had been. First, she had arrived with Vicky after arranging for a neighbor to take care of Rauchbier and Hera while they were away. Then had come the arriving in Berlin where there had been several develops to take in. The first had been the strange little girl who her parents had decided to take in. Charlotte had told Kiki the whole story. Kept as a prisoner and held to impossible standards by a man who was going to murder her because she fell short, Annett had witnessed terrible things. Charlotte felt that she deserved a better life than that.

Then Kiki’s father had told her that he had leaned on the University in Jena to learn where she was getting assigned to after she passed her upcoming exams. He hadn’t told her where she was going but had given her a new red coat of the sort that Field Medics wore while serving inside Germany. This one had the word NOTARZT across the back in white, high visibility letters, on the front SA Kristina von Preussen was embroidered on the left side above a patch that had the eagle, compass and wreath symbol of the FSR. That meant that wherever Kiki was going, she would be spending a lot of time in the field. Annett, or Nan as she liked to be called had been full of questions about that and Kiki had eventually explained what she was going to be doing and her father had offered to help. It had only taken her minutes to discover he father’s hypertension and had been worried about that ever since.

Finally, the family meal on Easter had been incredibly awkward for Kiki. Ben had been invited and they had not seen each other in weeks, he had hugged and kissed her as soon as he stepped off the elevator to the sound of Nella and Nan giggling at the sight of them. They had immediately run to tell Charlotte and while no one had said anything, it didn’t take much imagination to figure out the sorts of things that they were thinking. Then Ben had suggested that Kiki come visit him in Pomerania when he was up there this summer. It was obvious that he had crossed an invisible line and Kiki had done her best to change the subject.

Kiki heard the door open, rolling over she saw Nan poking her head in. “What do you want Nan?” She asked as the girl silently crossed the room and climbed onto the bed.

“Lotte says you keep people from dying” Nan said earnestly, “Could you have saved Momma? If you were there?”

“What happened?” Kiki asked sitting up.

“Gudrun shot her” Nan said, “Here.”

Nan pointed to the center of her chest just next her sternum.

Kiki didn’t know the details or who Gudrun was, but a bullet through the chest with the heart and lungs was bad news. She understood that stabilizing a patient with a wound like that might not be possible and even with a full surgical team on standby minutes away, having a positive outcome was remote.

“I would have done my absolute best” Kiki replied.

“The blood though…” Nan said as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Charlotte had warned Kiki that Nan was trying to come to terms with things that no one should have to see, much less a child. Why did she have to pick Kiki to unload this on? It wasn’t as if she didn’t already have a boatload of problems of her own and Kiki was growing tired of being expected to be selfless all the time. As much as she wanted to ask Nan to leave, Kiki hugged her instead.

Nan was sobbing for a long time as Kiki went back to looking out the windows. After a little while, Charlotte came and looked in on them, Kiki saw the look of approval on her face and didn’t want to think of what would come of this.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Nineteen



13th April 1966

Montreal, Canada

The flower arrangement had arrived a few days before shortly after Kat had arrived in Canada and Sir Malcolm had insisted for reasons of due diligence, that it be checked for listening devices. They found three. Sir Malcolm had wanted to send them to a lab there in Montreal to find out who put them in the flower arrangement. Kat however knew that if he did that it would just encourage them to try something else, so she had the arrangement put in the sunroom of the Blackwood’s house where Margot had tea with her friends almost every afternoon and said all the things that she didn’t dare say to Kat’s face anymore to her social circle. She hoped that the CIA, MI6, or whoever else wanted to spy on her enjoyed listening to that.

It was not as if Kat were sneaking into the country. She had walked through the airport exhausted from spending all night on an airplane and had discovered that there were dozens of reporters and photographers camped out in the concourse waiting for Princess Katherine von Mischner of Berlin to show up. It had taken a lot of quick thinking, but Kat had gotten Douglas to get the children and her Social Secretary down a service corridor to where the car arranged by Sir Malcolm was waiting while Kat had walked down the concourse with a couple bodyguards and men from the RCMP Special Branch who had been dispatched to help her when someone high up the food chain had realized that a circus was brewing at the airport. Like always, Kat had ignored their questions and let them take their photographs. She had discovered that was all they really wanted from her, to play the role of the European Noblewoman who looked the part and considered them beneath her.

The thing was that it wasn’t an act.

She really did consider most of the sort of reporters who covered the comings and goings of European Royalty to be the lowest sort of slime. If they weren’t smart enough to know that Kat was no Princess, but instead was from a much humbler background and that her useless title was more like that of a Roman Prefect, they weren’t worth talking to. Then there were the obnoxious Intelligence Agencies who had been ruining her Holidays since she had been a teenager.

There were two occupied cars sitting on either end of the block in the early morning hours. Years earlier she might have been tempted to throw a teargas grenade through the windows of the vehicles, but Kat had learned a few things about how the world worked and that there were better ways that were far more entertaining. Watching from the porch of the Blackwood house as the car driven by the delivery man from a nearby bakery pulled up next to one of the cars with the unknown agents inside. An identical delivery was taking place on the other end of the block because Kat figured that after waiting for hours during a cold morning, they might like pastries and coffee.

A minute later came the sound of revving engines and honking horns as the two teams met in the center of the block in their rush to get away now that their cover was blown. As Kat watched the men yell and make rude gestures at each other, she was amused by how predictable they were. It made spending a few dollars on coffee and pastries worth it.



Mitte, Berlin

It had taken Nan some time to get over her initial fear of men. Louis had looked scary to her in the Luftwaffe uniform that he wore sometimes at first. She had gotten past that when she had seen how Nella had gotten on with her father. Lotte had told her that what she understood about personal relationships was badly skewed, whatever that meant. Then there had been an aspect of Berlin she had never comprehended. Not everyone looked like her. First there had been the wife the oldest son of the von Preussen family. They said that Suga was Japanese, Nan guessed that meant that she was a graceful woman with long black hair and an appearance unlike anyone she had ever seen before.

Then there was one of the Cooks who worked for the family. Nan had been advised to be polite to all the staff, that included Herr Shikongo. Still, Nan tended to spy on him as he worked in the kitchen because she wasn’t sure how a man like that was real, Africa had always seemed like any other fairy tale her mother had told her. Herr Shikongo’s skin was very dark, and the texture reminded her of rubber boots. He had close-cropped hair that was salt and pepper, but the thing that stood out in Nan’s mind was that he had long grey beard. Nan was currently peeking around the corner as he worked on today’s midday meal while supervising his assistants.

“My mother would throw a fit if she saw you standing there, girl” Shikongo said, “I would suggest that you find something to do or else I will do it for you.”

“Your mother?” Nan asked.

“Elderly woman, yea tall” Shikongo said holding out his hand indicating that his mother would not be much taller than Nan herself. “Loves whiskey and card games, lives in a retirement home in Schöneberg.”

“Oh” Nan said, she had not considered his reaction if he had caught her spying on him. “What if I was looking for something to do?”

Shikongo gave her a surprised look before giving her a grin. “That is actually the right question” He said, “Just not here during the busiest part of the day.”

With that he shooed her out of the kitchen.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty



15th April 1966

Langley, Virginia

As word filtered throughout the campus about what had happened a few days earlier and what was continuing to happen in Montreal, Frank Church was reminded of the old expression about how any group of people was only as smart as their stupidest member. The audio recording inside the Blackwood house seemed to consist of Margot Blackwood complaining about a lengthy list of people who she didn’t approve of with her daughter-in-law Katherine von Mischner-Blackwood at the very top of the list. That was hardly news and the section of Analysts that Church oversaw got a good laugh over it at the expense of the meatheads in Operations. They figured that it wasn’t an accident that the listening device happened to end up in that room.

Then the incident with the pastries happened. No one was laughing about that one. The Supervising Agent had panicked when he had realized that his team’s cover was blown and had tried to get them out of there as fast as he could, nearly plowing into a car full of their counterparts from the French DRM. Worse of all, the British SIS and RCMP Special Branch had people on hand in seconds. The International Intelligence community was a small one and when someone screws the pooch that badly, everybody knows about. Boxes of pastries had been arriving to the Director’s office and he was pissed, he had ordered a top down review after a note was found attached to a box of Berliner doughnuts saying that was what came from interrupting the Tigress’ Holiday. No one knew where it had come from, but they had their suspicions.

For Church, this was an abrupt end to what had been a long string of successes. They had discovered a leak in the German Federal Interior Intelligence regarding the lives of the Imperial family. While the information was useless to Operations because there was little that was actionable, it was a goldmine for Analytics. Examples of the leaks included how the Kaiser’s published writings were more widespread that anyone had imagined, the Crown Prince read a lot of science fiction novels, and the BII was rather exasperated with the Princess Royal’s erratic behavior and refusal to cooperate with her protection detail. There were questions as always about how real this leak really was, the Germans had a long history of deliberately feeding rival nations misinformation that way. It was something that every Analyst in the CIA had drilled into their heads from the time they started training.



Jena

Seated as her desk, Kiki fidgeted with the swing arm desk lamp and tried to avoid looking at the stack of textbooks that she had been trying to read. Instead she had fallen asleep at her desk, it had been light outside. Now it was dark, and she had no idea what time it was. The silence in the house suggested that it was extremely late or early depending on one’s perspective.

Hera was still angry with Kiki and Vicky for leaving her alone in Jena while they had been in Berlin, as if she liked to travel either. Hera expressed that by sitting with her back to Kiki just out of reach, her posture letting her human know exactly how she felt. Kiki supposed that it was fortunate that this was how Hera expressed that, because she knew that the cat was perfectly capable of other, less pleasant ways of going about that. Rauchbier's reaction was the complete opposite, he had acted as if Kiki had been gone for years and that he had missed her horribly the entire time. Presently, he was back to sleeping in his favorite spot next to the radiator.

For Kiki though, she had problems far worse than an angry feline and an overly affectionate dog to contend with. The State examinations were coming and a good portion of that played into what she understood were her greatest weaknesses. Kiki had no doubt that she could pass the written test easily, there was the rest of it that was troubling her. She had to give an oral presentation, be able to answer questions and show basic competency after having had weeks to overthink the entire thing. That was why she was certain that she was going to blow it. Kiki had been shot at, had found herself trying to help people in the most harrowing of circumstances, yet the thought of finding herself before a panel of Examiners filled her with dread. She remembered an oral presentation that she had been required to give during her secondary education, it was the only time that Kiki had ever froze. Back then it had only been her classmates snickering at her as she had stood there for several agonizing minutes, unable to get the words out of her mouth. What if that happened again?

Vicky told her that she would do great. As the supportive little sister who knew who was paying the rent, Vicky would be expected to say that. Then there was Ben, he said that Kiki always did this, and she came out fine in the end. Doctor Holz had said that he would be there with popcorn, because if Kiki did as bad as she thought she would then it would probably be quite a show. Kiki understood what Doctor Holz was doing by saying that, trying to lighten the mood to get her to stop dwelling on it. Everyone had suggestions, but none of them were of things that Kiki felt would work for her.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-One



16th April 1966

Warsaw, Poland

This day marked the thousandth anniversary of what many considered the founding of Poland. The fortunes of the country had been mixed over the centuries since. From dominating Eastern Europe with an Empire that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea to becoming a vassal state, first of the Russians and finally the Germans over the previous two centuries. To the overtly Nationalist faction within the Polish Government, those were two centuries of insults and subjugation. While the majority within that Government understood that Poland could not exist by itself as it was within a larger economic framework, they had paid lip service to the Nationalists to stay in power.

Then the mining sector had started to decline and the issues in Southern Poland had started. Now the Nationalists were only gaining strength, but recently a small but vocal faction within their movement were pushing the idea of a Greater Poland. This included not only their present territory but substantial portions of the German Empire, Belarus, and Ukraine as well. It was figured that this idea would be met with laughter in Berlin, Minsk, and Kiev. Even in the corridors of the Parliament Hall it was figured that if ever push came to shove the Panzers would be ordered to a halt after five days, so not to invade Belarus by mistake. With the Polish Army being little more than a speedbump.

That was why it was looked at with some dismay when a package of laws aimed at ending the standoff in Southern Poland decisively in their favor passed on this day. No one had thought that they had the votes when they had introduced the measures.



Mitte, Berlin

Watching everyone in the household intently had become a pastime of Nan’s. At first it had been because she had feared that they would become like the only family she had known before. Then it had just become habit, watching the everyday goings on. There were things that might have seemed strange. The day before Freddy had brought his two monstrous dogs. Nan had looked at them with trepidation, the dogs on the farm had been vicious curs. That was how the man she had called Poppa preferred them. Freddy’s dogs were huge and scary just because of that. Then Nella had run in and hugged Aki and Frost, Freddy told her to be mindful that Aki was getting old. Nan had just watched as Nella played with Frost as Aki walked up to her and unexpectedly licked her face. That had been a complete shock to Nan as she looked at Aki’s big bearlike head, Freddy said that Aki liked her.

Then today Nella had mentioned that it was Easter Holiday right now and that she would be going back to school soon. She had made a face when she said that, like if she had just eaten something unpleasant. From what Nan had heard, even from Nella, school sounded wonderful. Nella had looked at her and had said that she didn’t like having to get up early every day and then there were the teachers, they just ruined her fun. Nan had grown used to holding her tongue about her past, what her life had been like before, but she hadn’t held back this time. She had told Nella that she was clueless, the things that she complained about were not hardships at all complete with examples from her experiences. Nella had been left standing there staring at Nan with her jaw hanging open.

It had turned out that Lotte kept a closer eye on them than Nan had realized and before she knew it, she was in Louis’ office. There was a clock on the wall, Nan could hear it ticking away as she waited. In a glass case on the desk was a silver badge with an old-fashioned looking airplane on it and a gold cross with XXV on the front of it on a blue ribbon. She had been told that Louis liked them because they represented actual accomplishments as opposed to honors granted to him by birth.

After what had seemed like an eternity, Louis entered. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and grey slacks. When she had first met him, he had been wearing his Luftwaffe uniform and had been far more imposing. She had learned later that he couldn’t be more different than what Nan had thought in that initial meeting. That didn’t stop Nan from feeling butterflies in her stomach as he entered. Whenever she had misbehaved on the farm to the extent that it came to the attention of Poppa or Gudrun, it always ended painfully for her.

“So, the dam finally broke?” Louis asked as he sat down on the chair next to Nan’s, as opposed to the one behind his desk.

Nan just stared at him. What was that supposed to mean?

“I love my children” Louis said, “But I know better than anyone just how snobbish and conceited they can be at times. Antonia finally got to you.”

“She was complaining about going to school” Nan said, her voice sounding plaintive to her own ears.

“And you lived in the house of a man who wanted you deliberately kept ignorant” Louis said.

“What?” Nan asked in reply.

“You aren’t in any trouble Annett” Louis said, “You just came on a bit strong, which is something to avoid doing in the future. You and Antonia will need to learn to be patient with each other as well.”

He reached out to her to touch her shoulder affectionately, only to have Nan flinch away reflexively. She saw the look of dismay on his face when she did that and worried that she had done something else wrong.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Two



18th April 1966

Montreal, Canada

Looking out the window, Kat watched the younger children playing in the garden with Josefine acting as referee of whatever game they were playing. The people from the various Intelligence Agencies who had bothered her the week before were no longer in evidence, but she knew they were still out there. After how she had embarrassed them, they were unlikely back off completely. Because no one had gotten hurt they didn’t seem too inclined to pay her back in kind. It was all just a stupid game.

Marie had rediscovered how much fun she’d had with her cousins in years past. They were Emma’s children, though the two oldest were in listening to music with Tatiana and Malcolm in the game room. It was nice to see Marie running around with a smile on her face, not a care in the world. The alternative to that was something that Kat had seen entirely too much of. On this trip to Canada, Marie had not been inclined to leave Margot alone. She had done this by elbowing her way into her grandmother’s afternoon tea. On one level, the red hair and attitude must remind her of Kat. At the same time, the shape of Marie’s face clearly revealed that she was Doug’s child. Not to mention Marie had the same name as Margot’s mother. Kat figured that all of that must be deeply confusing for Margot. Marie, being largely innocent didn’t concern herself with that sort of consideration. Then there were the other ladies who Margot had tea with, they were impressed by Marie and told her how proud she must be to have such a smart girl as a granddaughter.

“Deep in thought?” Sir Malcolm asked as he handed Kat a can of pop that he had retrieved from small refrigerator in the sideboard of his office.

“Just glad that Marie is free to be herself” Kat said.

“Something to do with this?” Sir Malcolm asked as he pulled a magazine out from a pile of papers on his desk. There was a photograph of Kat wearing that absurd red velvet cloak with the eagle on it over the light grey and black Paratrooper’s dress uniform.

“I wore that out of respect for Alina Pfenning, also so that all eyes would be on me as opposed to Nan” Kat replied, “It worked because she is there next to me, just out of focus.”

“I presume that she the Child Six mentioned in the article” Malcolm said.

Kat must have a tell that she was unaware of because Malcolm nodded.

“I understand that was a particularly bad one” Malcolm said.

Kat considered just how much of an explanation she owed Sir Malcolm. While none of it rose to the level of it being considered State secrets, it was a matter that had needed to be carefully controlled and at this point the damage had been contained. Kat was also a guest in Malcolm’s house, and he shown discretion in the past over similar matters.

“The man at the center of that whole mess was the son of one of the former Royal Tutors for the House of Wittelsbach and a Godson of the King’s cousin, someone well regarded in the community” Kat said, “Louis Ferdinand sent me to try to keep Albrecht of Bavaria’s name out of the headlines.”

“The evil just down the way I take it?” Malcolm asked, “Where no one seemed to have a clue about what was happening?”

“How did you know?” Kat asked in reply.

“Except for the lack of cannibalism and the twisted ideological aspect, it seems a lot like a case that I oversaw when I was the head of the Special Branch” Malcolm said.

That was something that Kat had not considered. After Sir Malcolm had retired from the Canadian Army, he had headed the Special Branch of the RCMP for a few years before getting promoted to work in the Ministry of Defense. Now he had retired for real and was trying to make the most of it by writing his memoirs. Kat figured that he probably had an interesting perspective of Canadian history of the previous decades.

“How much did the article mention about Nan?” Kat asked.

“It just mentioned her in passing” Malcolm said, “Mostly about Heinrich Himmler’s desire to maintain a master race and having purebreds.”

Kat couldn’t keep her thoughts regarding that line of thinking from her face. It was completely insane to think that anyone was pure or master anything. Even if she didn’t have the example of her father’s fucking around to consider, there was the family histories of everyone she knew. Shake the family tree and God only knows what drops out.

“Nan spent the first six years of her life trying to live up to impossible and frequently contradictory standards” Kat said, “It had been Himmler’s decision to cut his losses with her that set Alina off, he had come to see Nan as a problem to be disposed of.”

“How is she now?” Malcolm asked.

“Last I saw she was having a difficult time” Kat replied, “The professionals who examined her thought that she was remarkably resilient, my feeling was that she is a little girl who doesn’t know how to be a child.”

“I see” Malcolm said, “I was surprised that you didn’t take her in. That seems like the sort of thing that you have done often in the past.”

“I have my Goddaughter living in the house at the moment” Kat replied, “Suse is a bit of a handful at the best of times, lately though she seems determined to take one of those roads most traveled and keeping that from happening has my complete attention.”

Malcolm gave her a quizzical look.

“Every time the subject of her boyfriend comes up, you find yourself reaching for a bucket of ice water” Kat said to answer Sir Malcolm’s unasked question.

“You are concerned that she’ll find herself in the same situation as Emma” Malcolm said. He found that amusing now, but years earlier it had been a different, more serious matter. Doug’s little sister had been almost three months pregnant on her wedding day.

“Yes” Kat replied.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Three



22nd April 1966

Prague, Bohemia

Sitting in the bedroom that she was using in the townhouse that her parents were living in, Suse had just finished reading Kat’s biography. Before she returned to Berlin, she wanted to understand the woman whose house she was living in and that was why she had read it but had gotten more than she had bargained for. She had borrowed the copy that belonged to her mother and it had taken her several days to get through it. The book itself was a tome, more than a thousand pages it ran from what Kat’s childhood right up until just after the birth of her youngest daughter, Marie.

Suse figured that she would slog through it as best she could and would eventually lose interest. Instead, Suse had been enthralled, reading it from front to back. Everything that Kat had done, all the adventures and accomplishments, everything she had accomplished in her life. It was amazing. There were the serious questions she was left with; How? Throughout the book, Kat never seemed to need to compromise. Where were the issues that Kat had with the physical limitations that she surely must have? The same sort that had bedeviled Suse. When she had talked to her mother, the answers had been equally frustrating.

“It was because of the war” Gerta had said, “The Military didn’t have the option of picking and choosing who they took. If someone volunteered and there was a place for them, they went. They kept Kat around afterwards because she was already a legend.”

It was an old story for Suse. Years of relative peace meant that standards didn’t need to be lowered. Then her mother had mentioned something that had given Suse pause when she considered everything that had happened over the previous months. She saw the photograph in the book of Kat sitting on a mountaintop in South America with a spectacular backdrop.

“That was when she went to Patagonia with Doug, their delayed honeymoon is what they called it” Gerta said, “I was envious of how the two of them were able to travel like that.”

“Why couldn’t you?” Suse had asked.

“I had you to consider” Gerta replied, “Babies and travel are a terrible mix. Kat and Doug waited a few years, so they didn’t have to worry about that.”

It was what Kat had been driving at for months. That Suse would lose her head and nine months later be painted into a corner, provided she didn’t choose to end it sooner. The conversation with her mother had revealed that all the older generation that had been watching her and Manfred had all been thinking the same thing. “The two of you have this incredible chemistry” Was how her mother had put it. “And that sort of thing can be combustible.”

Tomorrow, Suse would be going back to Berlin and she realized that after reading the biography she was no closer to understanding Kat. Nor was she any closer to figuring out was to do to better her own situation.



In transit near rural Brandenburg near Cottbus

The assignment was one that ARD figured was ratings gold. Send the City Girl with the University education out to farms in Silesia and Poland so that she could make a hands-on documentary about the Dairy Industry. Hilarity ensues. Zella wasn’t planning on being a walking punchline, but the further she got from Berlin the higher the odds seemed to get against that.

The radio station that Zella had been listening to faded into static and Yuri fiddled with the radio as Zella drove, trying to find another station. Zella would have turned it off if she had been alone… Then again, she thought to herself, if she had been alone and didn’t have a load of video equipment, she wouldn’t have needed the car. She could have taken the train and had a restful afternoon. Instead, she had both Yuri Kozlov, the “Cameraman” who ARD assigned to her, and the video equipment to contend with.

Born during the war to a Russian mother and an unknown father, Yuri had rarely left Berlin. A product of one of the city’s Vocational Schools he had been taught to build electronics only to be told that he would need to go back to school because the electronics he had been taught to build were obsolescent. It had been during that second period of education that he had bullshitted his way into an interview with ARD, convincing someone in Personnel that he knew about the Sony Video cameras that Zella used. The technology was so new that Yuri hadn’t been caught out on that. He had gotten that far when Zella had discovered his deception. He explanation for his actions was simple enough to be believable. That he had no future in the manufacture of electronics and that he had needed to do something or else he would be sharing a tiny apartment in Kreuzberg with his mother, step-father and their children for the rest of his life. It had fallen on Zella to teach him how to record and edit video.

After a few weeks Yuri had learned enough to bluff his way through conversations with the Higherups about what they were doing. Much to Zella’s annoyance, those same Higherups seemed to regard Yuri with a lot more respect than they had for her. Now, they were on their way out of Berlin.

“Put it on one of the State Broadcasters” Zella said, “They use the most powerful transmitters and we ought to be able to listen to them all the way to Silesia.”

“Really?” Yuri asked, “You’ve done this before, been out east?

“All the way to Vladivostok” Zella replied.

“Is that in Russia?” Yuri asked.

“On the Pacific” Zella said.

“I went to the seaside once” Yuri said earnestly.

Zella felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Yuri had once told her that he had very seldom left Berlin. The implications of that were sinking in.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Four



2nd May 1966

Cam Ranh, Vietnam

It was the culmination of several years’ worth of work and subjected to endless delays. The most powerful rocket ever devised was in the final countdown and there was a lot riding on this launch. The entire Taxidiotis Project riding on it because if this rocket exploded on the pad or in flight the result would be an inquiry into the practices of the ESA and heads would roll. There was no doubt that Wernher von Braun’s head would be the first on the block, however there would be dozens of others who would surely follow including Albrecht whose had been ordered to straighten out the troubled program.

Albrecht could think of a lot of places he would rather be than having to fly halfway around the world to oversee this. God only knew what sort of madness his father would get up to in his absence. Ilse was finally getting recognition for the research that she had done into environmental impact of burning coal and the affects of acid rain. The last time that Albrecht had spoken to her, she had mentioned that a colleague of hers had read an article about additional effects of carbon dioxide and not just from burning coal. It was all purely theoretical, but something that Ilse felt should be explored. Nikolaus had made Albrecht promise that he would be present at his birthday this year. That was coming up next month and if Albrecht were being pragmatic, he would say that if something went wrong with this launch then he would have plenty of time for that. It was unbelievable that Niko was turning eight.

Launch Control ran through the checklist. There was no communication with the capsule to consider because Taxidiotis I was unmanned by design. That would change with Taxidiotis II and III which were both slated to launch in the coming months if everything went to plan from Cam Ranh and French Guiana, respectively. The countdown continued as dozens of men and women monitored the systems. For lack of anything else to do, Albrecht looked out the windows at the rocket sitting on the pad several kilometers away, steam rose from around the nozzles as the count reached zero. A low rumble filled the air as the engines ignited and the earth shook. One of the shutters that were designed to close ahead of the shockwave in the event of an explosion on the pad, slapped shut, startling some of the technicians.

Taxidiotis I rose on a column of fire and steam away from the tower through a layer of hazy clouds. The new program truly began in these moments as Mission Control in Peenemünde took over as the rocket accelerated towards orbit. Albrecht figured that he would need to give a public statement, it was nice to have some good news for the press for a change.



3rd May 1966

Mitte, Berlin

The woman smiled when she looked in on Nan in her favorite hiding place behind the curtains that lined the back wall of the otherwise empty room. The room off the hallway was normally unused but as a lot of strangers had flooded into the penthouse apartment, Nan had gone to her hiding place. Only to have the lights come on and people started setting up television equipment in the room.

The woman said something in a language that Nan didn’t understand. Then an older man looked behind the curtain and saw her. The man and woman spoke for a minute before they motioned for someone. Louis’ face appeared and he seemed amused as he responded in the same language. Still when he reached out his hand to help Nan to her feet, she was frightened that something terrible was about to happen. Grownups hated it when they got interrupted, punishment was severe when that happened.

“I told Fraulein Fournier who you are before we began the joint statement” Louis said, “The Nurse is looking for you.”

The woman who was called a Nurse had cared for all the royal children since they were infants. That included Nella and the Nurse had welcomed Nan warmly when she had entered the household. The weeks since then had become increasingly surreal as Nan had the growing realization that it had not been an ordinary family that had taken her in.

Fraulein Fournier and the older man were discussing something intently.

“I’m in trouble?” Nan asked.

“Not really” Louis replied as he walked Nan over to some folding chairs that had been put out. “Ambassador MacMillan is the one in trouble, he should be here by now.”

“Who?” Nan asked.

“English Ambassador” Louis replied, “A real pain in my backside at times. I gave him a watch for Christmas last year, but he didn’t take a hint.”

Nan looked around at the gathering people.

A photograph was getting hung up of a rocket ship launching and another of the conical nose getting fished out of the water somewhere where it was a deep shade of blue.

“Ocean…” Nan muttered to herself as Louis guided her towards the door.

It was something that she had told Louis and Lotte several times. She had never seen the ocean and it had grown in her imagination. Especially after Louis Junior had told her and Nella stories about his adventures on the SMS Windhund and in distant lands like Korea or Antarctica.

“You will get more than your fill of the ocean this summer” Louis said, “The Carolines are famous for that.”

Freddy came rushing in at that moment. Louis had joked about that is what comes from being an apprentice. Whatever was happening was a huge deal and from the look of it, Nan would need to find a new hiding spot.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Five



14th May 1966

In Transit, Rural Bavaria

One of the Platoon’s dedicated Radio Operators had tuned in to BBC’s radio service and a Football match, they were playing for the FA Cup, so this was hardly a friendly. Even if no one in the railcar had a side in this match, they were perfectly happy to listen in on what sounded like a good game with both sides giving it their all.

For probably the first time in his life, Manfred found that Football didn’t interest him due to other considerations. His hunting for boars at Christmastime had not gone unnoticed, so he had been ordered to train with the Battalion’s Sniper Section after word had gotten around about what he could do with his cowboy rifle. The 8.5mm rifle that the Snipers used, what had been dubbed the Thorwald Magnum after it’s developer, had a brutal recoil that that made punishing for the user. That was nothing compared to what the 16-gram bullets did to the target downrange though and the ability to shoot well past a thousand meters was nothing to sneeze at. Still, Manfred had been left with a bad bruise on his right shoulder that was still healing when the 7th Battalion got orders to proceed to Wunsdorf, where they were to integrate with the rest of the 4th Division, the 79th Signals Battalion in particular. Wunsdorf-Zossen was basically Manfred going home. Not only had he lived there for much of his childhood, but as everyone else in the Battalion was talking about, Berlin was nearby so it was one of the better posts if you liked having somewhere to go on R & R.

The problem for Manfred was that he would have to deal with the consequences of his choices because his family lived there much of the time. According to Ina’s letters, things were very frosty between his parents because on some level Ma blamed Pops for what had happened. Then Uncle Stefan and Aunt Kat had somehow gotten involved. Even though Ina was somewhat prone to theatrics, her description of how their parents had come dangerously close to calling it quits this time had rung true to Manfred. The last time he had been in Berlin, it had been a 24-hour liberty to escort Suse on her birthday that Kat had arranged. His mother had been in her constituency in Silesia, his father had been on an inspection tour somewhere and Ina was staying at the house of a friend. Only the household staff had been in his parent’s townhouse while he was there. It was hardly a surprise that he had gotten to the train station early when it had come time to return to Heuberg. Manfred figured that things would be different the next time he was there and was not looking forward to it.

Then there was Suse…

“You’ll get to see your girl more often, won’t you” Christian said, echoing Manfred’s thoughts.

“We’ll see” Manfred replied.

Occasionally, Suse got flustered and her thoughts became scattershot with her unable to focus on one thing for any length of time. The last letter from her had been that written down on paper. It was quite a feat when you thought about it, except Manfred found the contents disquieting. Suse had talked at length about the future, what she wanted, what she had found she couldn’t have, where she thought she was going. The question that Suse had regarded the role that Manfred was going to play in her life if their relationship became more serious. For as long as he could remember, Manfred had always considered the future as something that would take care of itself. While she wasn’t being rude about it, Suse was asking Manfred what his plans were, and he would have to admit that he had none. In the past, Manfred’s dealings with Suse had always been fun because of the spontaneity involved. Now, it seemed that she wanted a bit more than a fun night out now and again. Manfred could practically hear his mother’s amused laughter that Suse had written that.



Washington D.C.

“From the telemetry that the European Space Agency provided, Taxidiotis I completed a dozen orbits before splashing down in the Central Pacific” The Expert that NASA had sent to Washington said, “The mission was unmanned and was only to test the systems before manned missions that are planned in the coming months.”

A couple weeks earlier, the German Kaiser had issued a joint statement with the Queen of England and the President of France to announce the success of the first launch of the Taxidiotis Project. The head of the Project had been mentioned by name, one that was instantly familiar to anyone who had followed aviation and space exploration over the previous decades, von Richthofen. It was hardly a surprise that one of them would be involved. According to the CIA, Captain at Sea Albrecht von Richthofen, who was the Mission Director, and Wernher von Braun, was the Chief Engineer and Project Manager, detested each other. They did however get results.

“Where are we?” Nelson asked.

“The Saturn rocket program is proceeding apace Mr. President” The Expert replied. Nelson understood that meant that the rockets in question were still having issues with uneven fuel mixture and heat causing the engines to melt. The Engineers were saying that they were working on it, but America was about to get lapped again and it was something that he wouldn’t stand for.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Six



22nd May 1966

Mitte, Berlin

An invitation to have tea with the Empress was not something to be taken lightly, not even by Kat. Normally, she avoided entanglements like those because just being seen interacting socially with Charlotte caused a great deal of speculation by observers of the Imperial Court. Their stock in trade was telling the tabloid press of who was in or out of favor and what that portended for the coming season. This time though, Kat had her own reasons to accept the invitation. She wanted to see how Nan was adjusting.

When Kat stepped off the express elevator on the floor that the Imperial family lived on, she had the guards snap to attention seconds before Nella and Nan ran out and hugged her. The contrast was a bit startling. It was good to see Nan looking somewhat happy in her new surroundings, but as Charlotte told her a few minutes later, it was hardly all sweetness and light. It was obvious that Charlotte was taking the perspective of a Social Worker seeing Nan as a particularly troublesome case as well as a mother who found herself with a distressed child. That was fortunate because Nan was in desperate need of both.

“Every time Annett does something that draws the attention of an adult, she expects that it will result in some sort of painful punishment and reacts accordingly” Charlotte said, “I’m sure you’ve heard about what the Dentist said about her jaw, it has been difficult.”

“Yes” Kat replied. Apparently, Nan’s jaw had been broken sometime in the past. It had healed well but that was hardly a comforting thought, considering the sort of monster who would do something like that to a small child.

“She also has several hiding places picked out around this apartment” Charlotte said, “Many of them in places that I would have assumed are too small for her to squeeze into.”

“You might find this hard to believe” Kat said, “But that is actually a talent that the KSK looks for.”

Charlotte gave Kat a look that suggested that she didn’t have a whole lot of appreciation for that observation.

“Regardless” Charlotte said, “When the Nurse notices that she is missing first thing in the morning, I get to join the search.”

“It’s because she is frightened” Kat replied.

“I just wish she would come to me, like Nella would.”

Kat looked at her and realized that Nan’s difficulty trusting Charlotte was something that bothered her.

“What would you say to the guardian of a traumatized child in a situation like this?” Kat asked.

“To be patient” Charlotte replied, “Not exactly easy to do.”

“I’m sure that by now you’ve seen a few encouraging signs.”

“I’ve seen that she bonded with Kristina” Charlotte said, “Louis and Friedrich have tried to show her a good example what men are supposed to be like, as opposed to that wretch of a biological father…”

It was hardly a surprise that Charlotte would reveal a touch of anger at that individual. The fact that Charlotte was pointedly stating that there was only a biological connection spoke volumes. Still, involving Kiki at this time might not be a great idea. Sure, she was close in age to Nan’s mother but from what Kat had seen, Kiki was in a state of near panic as she got closer to completing Medical School. While Kat had no doubt that Kiki would pass with flying colors, she had talked with Louis about having her sit on a beach somewhere. Sending her to the South of France again was perhaps the best call. Someplace where she wouldn’t feel the need to take the weight of the world onto her shoulders for a couple of months. Call it a reward and make Kiki board the train kicking and screaming if they had to.

It seemed like the alternative would be to see Kiki finally succeed in burning herself out.

“You’re looking forward to the Summer Holiday?” Kat asked, changing the subject.

“Louis needs to play the role of High King in the South Pacific” Charlotte replied, “A couple months in the Caroline Islands, it is not all fun and games though. There is a meeting of the Eastern Pacific Pact that he is hosting.”

Kat was already aware of that. The meeting of all the Governments of the region minus China, whose containment had prompted the formation of the Pact in the first place.

“That sounds better than what I get to contend with” Kat replied, “I’ve an eighteen-year-old who is learning that adult relationships are a lot more complicated than she imagined. After months of pounding that into her brain, I finally got her to listen. Unfortunately, she sent a letter to her boyfriend saying that they needed to talk with predictable results.”

“That would be Suse Rosa, your Goddaughter?” Charlotte asked, “And she would be involved with your nephew Manfred?”

“You knew about that?” Kat asked in reply.

“Manfred Johannes is one of several Godsons that Louis has” Charlotte replied, “After recent events, we aren’t taking any chances with having one of them engaging in activities that might become embarrassing. There has been a lot of vetting going on.”

Meaning that they didn’t want their own version of what happened in Bavaria. Better to learn of it now, cut someone loose and make a quiet arrest before it became a spectacle.

“I wasn’t aware that it had already began” Kat replied.

“You are seen as being too close this time Katherine” Charlotte replied, “And you know full well that you are not the only fixer who Louis employs.”

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Seven



2nd June 1966

Jena

Another Thursday spent trying to explain herself and not doing a particularly good job of it. In theory, everyone in the group came from a shared experience but even here Kiki’s background reared its ugly head from time to time. Today was no exception.

It should be obvious by now that not everything was well with her, but Kiki still needed to explain to people who could hardly understand her reasoning. She had been notified that after she completed the State Exams, she was to report back to Laupheim to do recertification training with the FSR. That basically assumed that she would pass, something that was hardly guaranteed. Kiki’s stomach had constantly been in knots and as the date of the Exams approached her face had broken out in a manner that hadn’t happened since she was a teenager. Doctor Holz had said it was the constant stress that was causing her problems and that she needed to take care of herself first, even as she tried to review two years’ worth of material ahead of the Exams.

Then Kiki had gotten a reprieve when her Commanding Officer in Laupheim had notified her that her recall was deferred until the end of August. There was only one person with the sort of clout to make that happen and an interest in doing so. This was confirmed she was given the option to accompany her family on a diplomatic mission to the South Pacific. Her father had told her that she could go elsewhere if she chose, but he wanted her to take a break from the relentless drive forward that had defined her life for the last decade.

“So, you are telling us that you would rather endure a few weeks of physical training in the arsehole of Bavaria followed by immediate assignment as opposed to an all expense paid tropical vacation?” One of the others in her group asked, his voice full of disbelief.

“It is not that simple” Kiki replied, “If I go with my family I will be expected to play just as much of a role. A role that doesn’t mean as much.”

“But you just said that your father told you that you don’t have to go with them” One of the other men said, “Just that you needed to take a break.”

“Ever heard of obligation” Kiki replied. It was a galling little detail about her that she knew her father had exploited in the past. Giving her the option not to do something was often an effective means of getting her to do it. He wanted her at the Pohnpei conference for political reasons. She had served in Korea and had spent a year in Japan, meaning that she would be a welcome presence for both delegations and could act as a go-between in the extremely likely event of them not talking to each other. If she didn’t feel obligated Kiki would cheerfully switch places with Vicky who was planning to stay in Jena and take a pottery class over the Summer Holiday.

“We all understand obligations” Doctor Holz said, “Just how does this fit in with the consensus from a few weeks ago that you need to take care of yourself first occasionally Kristina.”

The actual terms that had been used had been a bit more pointed and vulgar, that she needed to be a selfish bitch at times, but the point was the same though. Kiki needed to tell people no more often, particularly members of her family. If that took the form of going back to Laupheim early so be it. Just when it came time to tell her father that, Kiki had stood silent. Kat had told her about how there were times when she knew she should have spoken up during her dealings with Kiki’s mother, but hadn’t. Kat considered it cowardice, but Kiki wasn’t sure about that. That obsequiousness towards certain people was something that had been taught to them from the day they were born and fighting it felt like it was nearly impossible.

Around Kiki the discussion moved on to the issues that one of the others was having with someone in one of his classes. It was one of the rules of the group was that if you stopped talking no one would force you to continue. Everyone listened to you and you were expected to return to favor.



In Transit, on the Rhône near Valence, France

For lack of anything better to do, Louis Junior was watching the countryside roll by. Deckoffizier Borchardt was piloting the boat as Louis did his best to look the part of the Captain on the bridge with all the armored shutters open. People saw the white brimmed cap and knew who he was.

An old man stepped out onto riverbank and shook his fist at SMS SK-12 “Windhund” as she passed. The crew responded by waving back as they had since the Gunboat had crossed into France on the canal in Alsace and proceed down the Rhône. The local people had seen the German Naval Ensign and the reaction was either mild curiosity or theatrical hostility like the man who was shaking his fist at them. They were making good time on their way to the Mediterranean.

After the Windhund had been refit this spring and the crew had learned that they had been reassigned to the Adriatic Squadron in Trieste. To help their Greek, Italian, Austrian, and Balkan allies combat smuggling was the stated purpose. The 8cm mortar and 40mm automatic grenade launcher that had been added amidships suggested that they were probably going to be doing a fair amount of inshore work as those were designed to really ruin someone’s day on land. Borchardt had suggested that when they reached Avignon, they ought to put together a shore party and see if they could find something better than the usual fare in the wardroom. The question had then become who in the crew could speak French well enough to carry out that objective. All eyes had been on Louis as the answer. Yes, he spoke French. If he knew enough of that language to avoid causing an international incident was another story.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Eight



24th June 1966

Jena

Sitting in the hallway outside the room where she had just been grilled about what she had learned over the prior two years, Kiki was trying not to hyperventilate as she dreaded what the result would be. She was still waiting on the results of the written portion of the Examination and it felt as if the entire process was designed to be an elaborate torture with all the anticipation followed by additional waiting. Kiki hadn’t frozen during the oral portion, but she worried that she had babbled during parts of it as it now seemed like a blur. Everything that she had done in the past, helicopters full of wounded, life or death decisions needing to be made in seconds while getting shot at. Yet here she was, almost undone by getting questioned by three experts in the field she had been pursuing a career in for years.

“I would suggest wearing your uniform for the next exam” Doctor Holz said. Kiki hadn’t heard him approach she had been so wrapped up in herself. “It helps you feel confident and acts like armor. Regardless of what the Examiners say, they are impressed by that sort of thing.”

That was a reminder of how Kiki had tried to dress smartly in business formal, to look professional. That had not worked, and she had been left feeling like a child playing dress up. Also, there would be other Examinations in the future. Just the thought made her want to groan aloud.

“Eighteen months?” Kiki asked, “If I didn’t blow it this time.”

“You passed the written exam” Holz said, “It would have taken considerable effort on your part to have failed the oral portion. Except for how you tend to talk too fast when you are nervous, you knew what you were talking about.”

“Thank you” Kiki said, hoping that Doctor Holz was correct about that.

“Besides that, you have a summer in the Caroline Islands pack for” Holz said.

“I haven’t thought about that” Kiki replied, “Ben still thinks I’m going to visit him in Peenemünde and Rauchbier, what am I going to do with him? Hera?”

“Your boyfriend was moved up to second alternate for the Taxidiotis III Science Officer’s slot” Holz said, “He is departing for Cam Ranh this week but didn’t want to distract you from your exams. So, I think that he will be understanding if he doesn’t see you for a few more months if you are. The dog and cat are a bit easier to sort out.”

Kiki sat there in silence for a few moments before Holz offered her one last bit of advice.

“You should spend your Holiday doing what you want to do, regardless of where you spend it” Holz said, “Ignore the political machinations of your father and just enjoy yourself. Spend time with your sisters and niece or sit on a beach and read a book or two.”

“Again, think you” Kiki said.



Salamis Naval Shipyard, Salamis Island, Greece

The Greek Marine Sentries looked at the SMS Windhund with complete nonchalance. These were among the most elite soldiers in the Greek Military. The Simonov carbines that they carried showed a great deal of wear and the state of their uniforms would have caused any Senior Officer in the KM to go ballistic. It was clear however that these men were all proven killers and their lack of polish was entirely because they were constantly in the field. While the last Greco-Turkish War was more than a decade behind them, the ceasefire remained very tenuous and frequently broke down, just not into open warfare yet. There were frequent skirmishes that occurred along the Turkish border in Anatolia and at sea it could be argued that the war had never really ended.

All the Greek Marines who Louis had talked to had been involved in boarding actions and firefights in the recent past. The smuggling operations that the Windhund had been sent to help combat had been described to him as shoveling shit into a bottomless bin by Anthypaspistis Fotios Papadopoulos, roughly the equivalent of a Oberstabsbootsmann, who the commanded the Marine Sentries on the dock that the Windhund was moored to. As Fotios put it, guns went south, opium, cocaine and hashish went north. There were vast fortunes to be made and that attracted mafiosos who were not picky about who they did business with. Unless they were trying to kill each other over the profits or national interests came into play, that is. Fotios had explained that their job was to see to it that the Turks didn’t get those guns or the cash. What the Greek Mafia happened to be up to was for the Federal Police out of Constantinople to deal with.

The cynical realpolitik of that was irksome. Louis might have told Fotios how making sure that the crooks who controlled your locale were your crooks had worked out in Germany by generating lawlessness, corrupting everyone it touched and making those at the very top of the heap richer than the Junker Class. He figured that Fotios probably already knew that, which had been what prompted the comment about shoveling shit. Louis had then asked Fotios what the actual mission was? To make it expensive for the bastards, was the answer that Fotios had given him.

Louis was going to be spending the next several months in the Eastern Mediterranean doing that?