Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety



8th November 1976

Tempelhof

Sophie was rather sick this morning. Even burning up with fevers that alternated with chills, Sophie was still insisting that she would be ready to go to school in a few minutes, something that wasn’t about to happen. If Kat had to guess, this was because Sophie had pushed herself hard for so long. Like a rubber band that was stretched out to its maximum length, something had to give, and it had. In this case, it was Sophie getting knocked flat with influenza.

As much as Kat hated to admit it, this was a welcome change from what had been consuming her professional life beyond the usual headaches that Berlin caused. A month earlier the American FBI had arrested a number of BND Agents from the central network of the North American Division. According to Asia, the official BND installations in Falkensee and Potsdam had been caught flatfooted. While it was likely that the Americans had just gotten lucky, it was widely suspected that the real reason was far closer to home and no one was taking any chances. Compared with that, domestic concerns were a welcome change.

“I am not going to argue with you” Kat said, “Most young women don’t mind taking a few days off.”

“I thought that you said that it was only today” Sophie replied.

“And even if I allowed you to go to school, they would just send you straight back” Kat said, “As I said, this is not up for argument.”

Sophie didn’t like hearing that. Regardless of everything she did, she still feared what might happen if she were ever less than perfect. Over the years Kat had gotten used to Sophie’s foibles, it was far easier to work with her rather than trying to convince her that she didn’t need to be so hard on herself. They had this same argument every time Sophie got sick or needed help with anything.

“I talked to Kiki, and she made a few suggestions” Kat said, “Are you interested in listening.”

What Kiki had actually said was that this sort of viral infection just needed to run its course. Sophie was in good health, so she would be better next week so long as she took care of herself. Getting her to do that was something that would be difficult. Fortunately, Sophie regarded Kiki as being an authority figure she couldn’t just ignore.

“Yeah” Sophie replied in a tone that suggested that she wasn’t in the least bit interested. The fact was that even Kat could hear the muck moving around in Sophie’s lungs and she was half deaf. Which meant that Kat would either need to act or else save time by just driving Sophie to the hospital now.

“Rest, fluids, that is unless you want to get worse” Kat said, “She also said that you are going to feel like you have taken a beating with muscle aches and such.”

Sophie frowned at that. She would know better than anyone what that would feel like, and it was something she went out of her way to avoid. Still, as much as Sophie wanted to be grown up there was still a part of her that looked to Kat to make things better.

“Kiki did suggest a medication that might help with that” Kat said, and Sophie hardly needed any additional prompting. A few minutes later she watched as Sophie downed the green syrup that was both sickly sweet and bitter at the same time after Kat got it for her.

“This is terrible” Sophie said, her disgust evident on her face.

“I need to make sure that Angelica is ready for school” Kat said, “I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.”

With that, Kat left Sophie in her room and went down to the kitchen. Angelica was eating breakfast while reading the horoscope in the today’s paper. She had gotten into that despite Kat telling her that it was a scam, how vaguely worded paragraphs centered around common themes could apply to anyone regardless of their birthday. Angelica had just shrugged and told Kat that she needed to be more romantic in her outlook. It was in that moment that Kat was reminded of exactly who Angelica’s father was. She also figured that Cosimo would have a few pointed words to say about his teenaged daughter thinking about anything regarding romance.

“Less of that and more finishing breakfast” Kat said, “The car is leaving in a few minutes.”

Angelica gave Kat a look, before looking back to the newspaper. While Kat didn’t have time to argue with Angelica, she figured that she should remember this the next time that Angelica needed something from her. Taking care of what she had actually come to do was far easier. Opening the door to the back garden, Sprocket pushed past Kat into the kitchen. Petia usually saw to that he was fed and let out in the morning to take care of his needs. Despite Kat’s longtime Housekeeper’s stern demeanor she had a soft spot for the family pets, Sprocket as well as Cheshire the cat. The other thing was that Sprocket had earned his keep when the family had been in Canada the prior summer when he had chased off two men who had sworn in what Petia had said was American English when Sprocket had gone into a frenzy at the sight of them. Regardless of his other qualities, Sprocket was absolutely fearless for an animal that perhaps weighed six kilograms. He ran ahead of Kat as she walked up the stairs.

Sophie was sitting on the edge of her bed staring off into space with a dazed expression when Kat entered her room. The medication that Kat had given her contained a decongestant and a painkiller for the symptoms of the flu, but it also had a sleep aid in it which Kat had not mentioned to Sophie. Despite everything else, she had still tried to get ready for school.

“Let me help you” Kat said as she got Sophie back into bed. Sprocket jumped onto the bed and took his place at her side. After a minute or two, Sophie’s breathing evened out as she fell completely asleep. Kat used her hand to brush Sophie’s hair out of her face and wished that things were different.

“Keep an eye on her Sprocket” Kat said to Sprocket who wagged his tail at the mention of his name.

 

[ejpsan]

The main cause of the setbacks of the BND-NAA is going to be hubris, as the BND-NAA has been on an extraordinary run of success throughout the previous years, and that has led them to slack off on their security, plus the mole in the Chancellor Office.

The Unintentional Consequences of Kat bringing in young girls to raise is that Kat gives them enough confidence and self-esteem to sass back to her.

 

[matzeskatze]

The main cause of the setbacks of the BND-NAA is going to be hubris, as the BND-NAA has been on an extraordinary run of success throughout the previous years, and that has led them to slack off on their security, plus the mole in the Chancellor Office.

Well there is lax security for the BND-NAA... if that is a case after the Alsheir (SP?) fiasco.
The mole in the Chancelor Office is certainly concerning...

But I still lack the connection between the real names, the operational codes and the mole. Becasue as far as I know, even in the cold war the coup for an Agency was to get someone into their counterpart... not into the political machine.
As while valuable information can be gained by the politicos they employ... the real break is if you get someone with access to the raw data. And no politician should be able to do that. At least not here where the Germans fought a war against the ITL KGB.

There is slopy security and hubris and then there is what could be called the "idiot ball" if you will.
And for that to happen ITL Germany would have to change massively. Becasue the structures and SOP should prevent the needed infos going as far as it seems.

 

[Salamander]

As much as Kat hated to admit it, this was a welcome change from what had been consuming her professional life beyond the usual headaches that Berlin caused. A month earlier the American FBI had arrested a number of BND Agents from the central network of the North American Division. According to Asia, the official BND installations in Falkensee and Potsdam had been caught flatfooted. While it was likely that the Americans had just gotten lucky, it was widely suspected that the real reason was far closer to home and no one was taking any chances. Compared with that, domestic concerns were a welcome change.

This could also be the result of a security check being conducted by someone with a certain personality type that finds it difficult accept that someone else with a similar background could possibly be untrustworthy. This partly how the Cambridge 5 escaped detection for so long IOTL. It also explains why a (now former) cop in my hometown of Raetihi was so incompetent; he literally thought that people who played rugby couldn't do bad things. A good third of our town rugby team were Mongrel Mob members or affiliates.

The fact was that even Kat could hear the muck moving around in Sophie’s lungs and she was half deaf. Which meant that Kat would either need to act or else save time by just driving Sophie to the hospital now.

I feel that pain. I spent all of December recovering from a chest infection, only to be hit by covid immediately afterwards. The last 8 weeks have really sucked as a result.

“Kiki did suggest a medication that might help with that” Kat said, and Sophie hardly needed any additional prompting. A few minutes later she watched as Sophie downed the green syrup that was both sickly sweet and bitter at the same time after Kat got it for her.

This sounds suspiciously like Buckley's (or similar). The type of cough syrup designed to convince your immune system to hurry up & defeat the infection before the body has to have more of THAT medicine.

The other thing was that Sprocket had earned his keep when the family had been in Canada the prior summer when he had chased off two men who had sworn in what Petia had said was American English when Sprocket had gone into a frenzy at the sight of them. Regardless of his other qualities, Sprocket was absolutely fearless for an animal that perhaps weighed six kilograms. He ran ahead of Kat as she walked up the stairs.

There is something special about the way the little ones hurl themselves into the fray. <trigger warning: onion ninja's at work>

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Dan]

The main cause of the setbacks of the BND-NAA is going to be hubris, as the BND-NAA has been on an extraordinary run of success throughout the previous years, and that has led them to slack off on their security, plus the mole in the Chancellor Office.

This is something I can see being an issue, it's going to take someone making themselves very unpopular going through and breaking all the bad habits people have gotten into that allowed them to insert themselves into the American set up.

I wonder how long it is until Malcolm or someone in the weeds of SigInt notices that someone is using one tie pads multiple times because "no one will break our codes" and has exposed a large chunk of operations?

 

[pugnhippo01]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Eighty-Nine

I cackled so hard when i got to the end of this one, i very much look forward to seeing what antics she will get up to.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-One



22nd November 1976

Wilhelmshaven, Germany

As SMS K024 Grindwal cruised into the Jade this time it marked the end of the line in more ways than one. After more than a year in the Eastern Mediterranean the Squadron had been ordered back to Wilhelmshaven. The news of the death of Oberbootsmann David Martin months earlier had been a blow to the crew and the sharp action off Anatolia had been followed by months of relative inactivity in Cyprus as they had waited to see what the Greeks would do next. The brief trip to Romania had been a respite from that, but that trip had caused a new set of headaches for Louis Ferdinand Junior as he had agreed to marry Princess Margareta. Then he had received message from Fleet Headquarters in Kiel that the Grindwal had been ordered in for refit in the Bremen shipyards where she had been launched years earlier. Everyone knew the implications of that when Louis had announced that to the crew. The Grindwal would be reconstructed from the keel up and after years at sea she would basically be a new ship. In the meantime most of her crew would be reassigned wherever else their skills were needed by the Fleet or sent for further training in their specialties. The next time the Grindwal put to sea, she would have an entirely different crew under the command of a new Captain.

For Louis himself, these were going to be the last hours in which he would be the Capitan of a Ship of the German High Seas Fleet looking at himself in the mirror of his small cabin, he was wearing the blue wool dress uniform of the Kaiserliche Marine for the first time in months as opposed to the green shipboard utilities as a practical consideration. As soon as he dismissed the crew to go on Liberty in Wilhelmshaven, his resignation would become official. Tomorrow, the Grindwal would go up the River Weser to the Bremen Shipyards under the command of her current Executive Officer, Oberleutnant zur See Bruno Eglītis. For some reason that felt like a bit of a betrayal to Louis. The Captain of a ship ought to be there until the end. He remembered the Captain of the ML Rose of Inverness years earlier, how the man had refused to leave his stricken ship even after the crew and passengers had been evacuated. Louis had convinced him that no matter how painful it was, he needed to let the Rose go. In his reflection, he saw the George Medal that was second only to the PLM at his throat which he had been awarded by the British Commonwealth for that action. It had recently been joined by a sixth oakleaf on his Merit Cross in Silver for the Grindwal providing direct fire support for a Company of Marines as they had defended a hospital in Finike.

Opening the door, he saw that Greg Borchardt was waiting for him. As soon as he saw him, Borchardt gave Louis a crisp Naval salute.

“I would hate for my last action as Captain of this ship to be having you up on charges for Gross Insubordination” Louis said as he returned the salute to the Warrant Officer.

Borchardt just grinned.

“Don’t worry Sir” Borchardt replied, “You’re losing a ship, but gaining a Fleet.”

That was the other detail that far too many people already knew about. One of the things that Michael of Romania had offered Louis to sweeten the deal was an Officer’s Commission in the Romanian Navy appointed to the rank Contra Admiral. The brand-new Cruiser NMS Vlad Dracula as his flagship. The truth was that Louis didn’t really care about any of that. He remembered that perfect day in Odessa when he had climbed that city’s famous stairs with Margareta, that was what he really wanted.



Montreal, Canada

If Bert Lane and her grandfather cooked this whole thing up to teach Marie Alexandra a lesson, it had worked. Special Training School Number 103, or simply “Camp X” as the people who lived and trained called it had not been what Marie had bargained for though she had a fairly good idea about what it was before she had gone there. Colonel Blair “Paddy” Mayne had told her all about the history of the place, how it had originally been where they had done Signal Intelligence and Covert Training during the Soviet War. It was also part of a wider network of installations scattered around the Canadian Maritime Provinces, established as part of a contingency by the British Empire in case Western Europe had been overrun by the Soviets. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Great Britain would have been a precarious situation in that eventually. The location though on the Northern Shore of Lake Ontario suggested that the key concern had not just been Russia. After the war and the world had seen the rise of groups like the Neo-Jacobins and racial violence that had roiled the United States. A new kind of outfit had been created in a collaboration by the Canadian Army and the RCMP Special Branch, the latter being deemed inadequate to the task. Camp X was where that new unit was based.

Beside all of that, there were those who attended courses at Training School 103 also attended classes at McGill University, mostly in the ROTP as well. Everyone at McGill knew them as the students who paraded around in old-fashioned military uniforms with what Marie’s grandfather had once mentioned were versions of the same Enfield rifle his men had carried in Flanders. There were only a few of them, but they had seen Marie and heard all about what she was capable of, including how she had electrocuted one of their friends when he had gotten too close to her. Catching Marie in disguise had become a game for them, a game she was not in the least bit interested in playing.

Henriette’s found the whole thing hilarious.

 

[jlckansas]

Well Tatiana might be looking for a new position, wonder if her mom could put a good word in with Gran Papa Malcolm? Colonel Mayne might just be looking for a person who was needing an "Adjunct" faculty position so to speak.

 

[ejpsan]

So apparently the succession of the Romanian Crown has been settled in favor of Margareta and now let us hail the new House of Hohenzollern-Romania.
Contra Admiral Prince Louis Ferdinad of Hohenzoller-Romania is going to need someone at his side that he can trust in whipping up the Royal Romanian Navy into shape, so since Deck Officer Borchardt is at loose ends right now, a change in scenery may do him some good.

Marie is now in a process of elimination in figuring out what she doesn't want do with her life, and getting involved with in the Intelligence game is not one of them.

Edit: Wrong Name

 

[1962strat]

So apparently the succession of the Romanian Crown has been settled in favor of Margareta and now let us hail the new House of Hohenzollern-Romania.

Well the royal family of Romania were already a branch of the Hohenzollerns.

 

[Tamarind77]

Well the royal family of Romania were already a branch of the Hohenzollerns.

I thought the Romania ones are different, it's just after the King dies, the line passes to a branch of the Hohenzollerns.

Hence M's trying to get Louis as a husband, since he is part of the main line. Thus, succession would pass to him instead of the branch Hohenzollerns when her father died.

 

[1962strat]

I thought the Romania ones are different, it's just after the King dies, the line passes to a branch of the Hohenzollerns.

Hence M's trying to get Louis as a husband, since he is part of the main line. Thus, succession would pass to him instead of the branch Hohenzollerns when her father died.

The Royal Romanian house has always been Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

As for this case in the story in particular, I can't say I recall the details.

 

[ejpsan]

IOTL King Michael changed the name of the Royal House to House of Romania in order for his daughter, Margareta to inherit the Crown while the House of Hohenzollern-Smigarian still claims the throne because King Michael had no direct male descendents.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

There are several different branches of the House of Hohenzollern, the two main ones being the Franconian Line (Brandenburg, Prussia) and the Swabian Line (Sigmaringen, the extinct Hechingen.) Despite still being distantly related cousins there are substantial cultural and religious divisions, which have historically led to open warfare. This is why Kiki had to go through a great deal of trouble to include her Sigmaringen cousins when she was appointed to preside over the family holdings in the Hohenzollern Province, the same cousins who would have stood to gain substantially if Michael of Romania dies without a proper heir. As a descendant of the Franconian line, Louis Ferdinand Junior's marriage to Margareta effectively creates a new branch of the family while shutting out the Sigmaringens who are still fuming about the sale of the ancestorial castle decades earlier.

 

[ejpsan]

It is very interesting to me to see the difference that the ITTL's Magareta life is going take, compared to the IOTL's Margareta.
IOTL, Margaret a doesn't get married until she 47 years old, and has no children, the ITTL version of her now has the possibility of having children and becoming the Queen.

It is very logical that in a Romania that the 1947 Communist takeover never happens, the eventual successor to King Michael would have been changed in favor of his eldest daughter, leading to a change in the name of the Royal House.
In this timeline, with the Franconian Louis Ferdinand marrying the Swabian Margareta, that yes it does create a new branch of The House of Hohenzollern with Romania being used to designate it from the other branches.

Louis Ferdinand, should be very popular as the new Prince Consort as he probably has the best resume of any other possible Royal or Nobility suitor for the hand of Margareta, me personally, I am looking forward to Kiki taking charge of Louis Ferdinand's instructions in the Orthodox religion.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Two



4th December 1976

Moscow, Russia

“Silence makes you complicit” Gia said, “If you have a problem with me saying that then there is a far higher authority you will need take it up with as well.”

“Just who is that supposed to be?” The man on the other end of the phone line, the present Prime Minister of the Duma, asked.

“I will send a copy of the New Testament of the Bible to your office with the relevant passages highlighted and bookmarked” Gia replied, weary of this entire exchange.

It wasn’t a surprise that Gia’s reply was met with stony silence.

The issue at hand was one that had divided her own household with Fyodor up to his eyeballs in recent events in Greece and now Belarus. She never asked him where he went or what he did. It was the deal they had, and she had never broken it. Still, Gia worried about Fyodor. He was a good man, but increasingly she saw him taking on the same sort of haunted look that Kat had taken on at times. What he was being asked to do for the Czar and Russia was growing increasingly difficult to justify. Finally, Gia had been asked her opinion by a Moscow newspaper and she had given it in a wide-ranging interview.

She had spoken at length about her family. Her adopted daughter Anya having a little boy she had named Ivan after her father, who had died in the last months of the Soviet War. Gia’s son Alexei and his reaction to becoming an Uncle. Also how Alexei was just discovering things like Football, cars, and girls. Spending her summers at her dacha in the Transbaikal how she loved the forest and afternoons spent on the lakeshore. What it was like to return to Moscow, how the city was magical during the winter.

In the end, Gia had not shied away from stating how she personally detested war and what she saw as the pigheaded causes of it, mostly greed and nationalism. War set ordinary people on the course of damnation just in order to survive and it seemed like those who paid the highest price where never those most deserving. There were never any innocents in Hell, there were always multitudes in war. Gia’s words had caused an instant firestorm, with many in the ruling party in the Duma reacting badly because they had thought that her words were aimed directly at them and splitting public opinion as well.

The Orthodox Church had come down firmly on Gia’s side, which had come as a bit of a surprise. Her relationship with the Patriarch had grown strained in recent years, with her perspectives on certain issues being entirely too modern despite the enlightened aspirations of Platon III. Still, Paton had said that Gia had spoken both as a Christian and a Mother, and that she had given voice to millions in the process. Gia suspected that it had far more to do with the new Cathedral of Christ the Savior that was being constructed on the site of the old Cathedral that had been demolished by the Soviets. Platon wanted to appeal to the younger, more progressive, urban congregation that potentially existed in Moscow to fill it. He also wasn’t a fan of the Duma for his own reasons.

To say that this had added more fuel to the fire was an understatement. The worst part was that her cousin had picked this moment to waffle. Gia had never expected much from Mikhail, but it was at moments like these when a firm hand was needed on the tiller that he just had to remind everyone that he wasn’t his father. Symbolic office or not, the Czar had to project authority.

“I am sorry Alexandra” The Prime Minister said, “I overstepped.”

The fact that he even said that suggested that he was anything but apologetic. From her battles against public corruption, Gia understood that the man was simply incapable of shame. God knew who else was listening in on this conversation. It was a safe assumption that the Prime Minister was playing to them, and it was a face-saving way out for him.

“Very well” Gia said, “If we could avoid carrying this public spat further, I would be thankful.”

The rest of the conversation was just pleasantries as Gia tried her best to escape from the conversation she had never wanted to have in the first place. During that entire conversation Gia’s guest Dusya Vinogradova had a slight smile on her face. She was the latest of the wives and daughters of former enemies who Gia had been collecting as friends since she had moved to Russia. Though in the case of Dusya, she was her own woman. A former Stakhanovite in her youth who had become famous for her talent for operating dozens of automatic looms at once. The end of the Soviet War had seen her left unemployed and blacklisted from the industry she had loved. Her second act as an expert on Textiles at the State University of Moscow, which had brought her into contact with Gia, had come later. She was currently the Headmistress of one of the schools run by the Order Saint Catherine. The hundreds of girls who attended that school needed a good example and Dusya had been the perfect choice.

“Out with it” Gia said.

“You really are like oil and water with those who scurried around trying not to be noticed by the Red Czar” Dusya said, “In those days survival was about maintaining silence.”

“Perhaps that was the problem” Gia said, “It was that silence that allowed a monster like Stalin to thrive.”

Dusya just shrugged.

“That was how it was in those days” Dusya said, “Hard to speak up when you are dead.”

“Stalin and Beria did have me killed just for existing” Gia said, “So, hoping that the wolf goes to someone else’s door gets you nowhere.”

Dusya gave Gia the look that everyone gave her when she mentioned that part of her life. She really did wish they would stop.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Rereading the last post, I was reminded of this quote from the television show MASH.

Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, Hell is Hell. And of the two war is a lot worse.
Father Mulcahy: How do you figure Hawkeye?
Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?
Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.
Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them -little kids, cripples, old ladies... In fact, except for some of the Brass, almost everyone involved is an innocent bystander.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Three



18th December 1976

Mitte, Berlin

This time Kiki was in Berlin for a couple different reasons. The first was that her brother had asked her if she wanted to travel to America this summer on a tour after it had been so successful when she had done that years earlier. It would be fun, she could go on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson would probably be happy to have her back on. Then cross the country, go to county fairs, do a few speaking engagements, and show the ordinary people that German Royals didn’t have fangs and claws. At least that was how Freddy saw it, but Kiki remembered what the last tour had been like. Getting sick in New York, then followed around the country by the FBI. Having Jamison Parker and Ritchie Valenzuela along for the ride had been a lot fun though, especially when they spent a few days in the Wisconsin Dells. She had obligations these days, two small children and a dog, a Surgical career that was finally turning into something she was happy with. Freddy had said that she could take Nina and Louis to Yellowstone or Disneyland without too much trouble.

There were moments when Kiki thought that her brother desperately needed to get out of the various residences of the Emperor to come up for air. His saying that last part had been one of those moments.

Of course, she was in Berlin on her annual visit to the Christmas Market at the Alexanderplatz Marketplace. Nella and Nan’s involvement was mostly what would be expected of two teenagers, walking through proceedings with mild disdain only to expect to be fully included in them. Nina was tugging at Kiki’s arm as she wanted to see everything. The various market stalls sold an extraordinary assortment of items that could be found nowhere else. Finally, they came into view of something which Nina could only stare at in awe. Nina had a similar reaction to the tree last year.

The “tree” at the end of the Central Concourse this year was very different. Last year had been an elaborate Industrial theme constructed by Steel Workers from Essen and had been breathtaking in its execution. This year it was an elaborate wood and glass construction that had been built in a collaboration of the Arts Departments of several of Berlin’s Universities and the Berlin State School of Fine Arts was just as spectacular. Only with a different, more organic sensibility.

At the center making up much of the trunk was a representation of Berolina, the goddess who was the personification of the City with bears from the State flag making up part of her crown. From there branches spread out, each one representing a District of the City of Berlin, then further branching out into neighborhoods. Included were symbols of the various places and stylized representations of the landmarks in the form if wooden carvings. Small electric trains, cars, and lorries raced among the branches, between the locations on tracks. The whole thing was lit up by bright lights and it slowly rotated, causing the mirrors and prisms inside the installation to constantly shift the light to every color of the rainbow. High atop the tree, a tiger lay with her head atop her paws as she lazily observed the world.

“It really is wonderful” Kiki said to Nina who was pointing out all the hand-carved wooden animals to her.

“Elephants” Nina said with a smile.

“Yes, from the Zoological Garden” Kiki said, and Nina gave her a wide-eyed look. They spent a considerable amount of time as Kiki told Nina about what they were looking at. Eventually, they had needed to get back to shopping for gifts. The promise by Kiki that Nina would finally get a chance to try the spice cakes that Nella had told her all about finally got her moving. They had visited several more of the booths with Kiki buying Nina a knit scarf made from yarn that was the deepest shade of burgundy and small cream-colored stars. It really was perfect for Nina, though she wasn’t interested in finding a matching hat. Instead, Nina wanted one that was blue and white checkers.

As they found the queue where people were waiting for the promised spice cakes and hot apple cider, people were a bit put out by the presence of Kiki’s bodyguards, until they recognized who she was. Then the reaction shifted to surprise as Ben found them there.

“I thought that you were busy in Munich this week?” Kiki asked, “Whatever Albrecht has you doing?”

“He can pester Wim this weekend for all the good it will do him and coming here was more important” Ben said, “After I checked in on Louis, I figured that I ought to catch up with you two here.”

Kiki had left Louis with Ben’s parents, something that no one involved had any objections to. Ben dropping to touch base with Bernhard and Nadine when he first got to town was a matter of courtesy. There had been enough trouble in the past with Nadine disliking how Kiki had needed to keep a great deal concealed, like her identity.

“You got to see the tree Poppa!” Nina said tugging on Ben’s arm for a change.

“Spice cakes and apple cider first Nina” Kiki said, wondering the entire time how any daughter of hers could be so exuberant towards the world.

 

[dxe131]

High atop the tree, a tiger lay with her head atop her paws as she lazily observed the world

Nice touch. Well Done.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

The statue of Berolina that stood in Alexanderplatz IOTL until it was destroyed in WW2, ITTL in still stands there.