Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

If Andreas does get git by a sports car, or any car, in Britain, and if its driven by a Royal, it will be Phillip who is driving. Or his uncle, Lord Mountbatten. If it isn't driven by a Royal, the driver MIGHT be named Powers; it is the 1960s after all :)
 
Andreas Baader is for sure is getting no love from our faithful commentators, first we want him to be eaten by wild animals and when that is shot down our next option is for him to get run over by a British Royal.:)
The fact that IOTL version of him wasn't a good guy in the first place may be a factor...
 
Andreas Baader is going to be arrested for driving on the RIGHT (wrong) side of the road, instead of the LEFT isn't he? Hence the irony considering his politics.
And then they discover that his drivers license etc. are fake, cue phone call to Germany...
 
Nah, the most weird way for him to get it, is he's on a nice double decker bus in London and a British anti-monarchist blows up the bus ....
 
I just looked up Andreas Baader and boy was he ever a sociopathic nihilistic jerk who main interests were causing pain and driving expensive sport cars that he stole.
The irony is that he becomes a world class auto thief who specializes in rare and expensive cars.
The Pontiac Bandit!

Marc A
 
Part 110, Chapter 1806
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Six



15th July 1967

Silesia

Sitting in his father’s study, Albrecht was trying to limit his intake of alcohol so he could keep his wits about him. Manfred von Richthofen was entertaining a number of prominent men, all heads of important Silesian families and industry. They made up the base of his power in the State and they were the ones who had elevated him to be the Prince-Elector of Silesia. All of them were as powerful as they were corrupt. That corruption was the very thing that had led to the situation where Manfred had them by the balls and there wasn’t a chance in Hell that he was ever going to let go. Mostly, it was in the form of debt, Manfred took their political support in lieu of money, but not entirely and as a few of them had learned the hard way, he wasn’t above calling in their debts if it suited him. It was hardly a surprise that no matter what they did, they ended up further in the hole while the Richthofen family kept handing them shovels.

For Albrecht, he disliked getting roped into his father’s Machiavellian schemes but his sense of loyalty to his father and his wider family kept him from speaking up. Whatever disagreements Albrecht had with Manfred, the importance of presenting a united front to the world and not bringing their arguments out into the light for all to see had been something that had been drilled into his head from before he had even learned to walk. He supposed that just being in this room at his father’s side was an improvement over what had been the status quo over the previous two decades. Helene had told him that their father treating them like equals as opposed to rivals or worse, as disappointments, was probably the best that they could hope for.

Eventually, the others left, leaving only Albrecht and Manfred in the study. It was a warm Summer night and all the windows were open allowing fresh air in. Manfred was seated in his favorite chair facing the bookcases and the glass fronted case containing his favorite firearms. There were a large number of trophies mounted on the walls, everything from prizes taken on hunting trips around the globe to bits of aircraft that he had shot down over France and Poland. Years earlier, Albrecht had realized that this room was a physical manifestation of his father’s mind. Rust was sleeping in his accustomed spot next to Manfred’s chair. Albrecht took the chair opposite of his father and waited.

“You don’t approve of me?” Manfred asked before sipping his drink.

“You have those men over a barrel, and I think that will have unforeseen consequences” Albrecht replied.

“That bunch of jackals” Manfred said with a snort, “They were playing the same game I was, except they lost. They didn’t have the balls to see it through and now they will be taking orders from us, forever if I have my way.”

“Where is the dividing line?” Albrecht asked, “Between your personal ambition and what you see as advancing our family’s interests.”

“You don’t think those are one in the same?” Manfred asked in reply, “You will eventually learn it when you are sitting in this chair.”

“You assume that I want to take your place” Albrecht said.

“No” Manfred replied, “Lothar would have tried to take my place, and completely fucked it up like he did with everything else. I assume that you will play this role in your own way and those men who you worry about me mistreating will welcome you with open arms because you aren’t me. You are smart enough to know just how untrustworthy they are and act accordingly.”

Albrecht really didn’t like it when his father talked about Lothar this way. His older brother had spent his entire life, trying to meet their father’s expectations, and failed at every step along the way. At some point, Albrecht had realized that it was Lothar’s obsequious nature that had become his undoing. Manfred von Richthofen just couldn’t respect him because of that. It had been again and again Albrecht had stood up to his father that had changed their relationship. First while going to University where, as a Doctoral Student, he had done necessary though secret work on the guidance computers used in rockets. Him getting a series of student deferments at the time had not gone over well, then he had joined the Navy after the war… It had not been until he had joined what would become the ESA Space Program and had gone into orbit a couple times that Manfred had started to come around. It hadn’t been until a few years later Albrecht had gone back to the ESA and commanded the Taxidiotis Program, often going toe to toe with Werner von Braun that he had finally started treating him as something other than the black sheep of the family.

“Keep in mind that everything I do, it is for you and Nikolaus” Manfred said, “You and the boy are my legacy, the ones who carry on this family after I am gone.”

“Tell me more about after you are gone” Albrecht replied.

Manfred laughed at that as he got up from his chair. Walking over he clapped Albrecht on the shoulder with Rust falling into step behind him.

“I’m not going anywhere for a long time” Manfred said, “So don’t go measuring the drapes.”

With that, Manfred left the room and Albrecht was reminded of something else that Helene had said. That their father was exactly the sort who would live for another twenty years, if for no other reason than to spite them.
 
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I first thought that Fursten von Richthofen was going to slip away quietly away after the death of his wife, but now that he "Got the Bastards" where he wants them he is going to live basically forever.
Albrecht is being set up to take over for his father and the Fursten is teaching him to use his own strength and methods to continue on.
Another thing that is keeping von Richthofen going is playing Opa to his biological and otherwise acquired grandchildren.
He is still acting as mentor to his Daughter-in-Law Ilse and I have noticed that Jo is interested in birds, maybe that will lead to Jo studying ornithology and a visit to the Richthofen Estate may lead to him in to getting another protégé .
 
I had an idea pop in my head and it's not going away. A German TV show like the old Mutual of Omaha nature show Wild Kingdon from the 60s through the 80s. I can just picture Fursten von Richthofen and Ilse planning it all out to drive conservation with Richthofen as the stately old narrator perhaps with Zella being roped into helping plan out the production side of things with her background in other documentaries. It would help drive Zella's career, get Richthofen even more into the public mindset of the stately old nobleman trying to continue to improve things while helping Ilse grow awareness of conservation.
 
Part 110, Chapter 1807
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Seven



28th July 1967

Flossenbürg

As it had turned out, Lothar de Maizière was willing to cooperate regarding the apprehension of the perpetrator of the recent mass shooting incident in Berlin. However, what he had requested in return seemed completely inappropriate, to speak with Kristina von Preussen.

Kiki had other ideas.

If he wanted to have a woman who he had tried to kill talking with him about how he was rotting in prison and she was still very much alive. She was also doing as well personally as any would expect. There was also the happy coincidence that her visit would happen on the 28th of July, the 173rd anniversary of the death of Maximilien Robespierre, the man who had led the Reign of Terror eventually getting his head lopped off by his fellow revolutionaries because they knew that he was coming after them next. Lothar had modeled himself on Robespierre and oddly his family had fled the French Revolution otherwise they would have been among the victims of that madman. Kiki had been looking forward to rubbing his face in those little details when she made her way to the prison where he was being kept. What she hadn’t factored in was what she would find when she got to Flossenbürg.

The prison was in a narrow valley, a handful of barracks and administrative buildings surrounded by rows of electrified concertina wire. It was one of the locations that was referred to with the Z notations when convicts where sentenced, denoting the hard labor and harsh conditions of their punishment. Supposedly, it was where they sent the worst sort of criminals. Those who would have been executed a few years earlier. Riding in the backseat of the car that had picked her up from the train station, Kiki could feel the misery that seemed to radiate from every inch of this place as the car drove through the gates.

Getting out of the car, Kiki didn’t feel any warmth from the July sun. The Warden and a handful of his guards were there to greet Kiki. The bodyguards who had accompanied her bristled when they saw the other men and Kiki was reminded of what she had heard once that the only real difference between guards and prisoners was that they wore different colored uniforms.

“It is an honor Princess” The Warden said as Kiki approached, “We don’t get many who are willing to have a confrontation like the one that you are here to do.”

“That is not why I am here” Kiki replied, “If talking to him results in one life being saved then it is worth it to me.”

The Warden gave her a look that suggested that he couldn’t have cared less about saving life. It was a reminder that this was a place where people were warehoused. There was talk that there was a prison reform effort underway, that the State should be in the business of rehabilitation rather than punishment. The truth was that Kiki was torn on the subject. While she agreed with that in principle, a part of her wanted Lothar to be locked away forever for what he had done to her.

Walking into one of the buildings walking into one of the buildings, Kiki was led down a hallway to an interview room there she saw that Lothar was waiting with his hands shackled to the table and he didn’t look good. He looked malnourished and sick. The sheen of sweat on his forehead was reflected in the caged light overhead. She didn’t want to know what was going on with him beyond the obvious, that just being in this place was bad for you.

“You got me here” Kiki said, “What do you have to say?”

Lothar stared at her dully. “I… Ki…” He managed to say then slumped over in his chair. It didn’t look like he was faking this.

At that moment, Kiki had an ethical dilemma. What did she owe a man who had come dangerously close to ending her ambitions? How did this square with her beliefs?

“Guards!” Kiki yelled, “Some help in here?”

Minutes later, Kiki watched as Lothar was being carried out on a stretcher.

“How did no one notice this?” Kiki asked as she walked with the Warden.

“We get a lot of malingering” The Warden said lamely. He was clearly not used to being questioned. Because Kiki was here as Princess Kristina, she had more authority than him so long as she didn’t try to push it too far.

“How long until he gets proper care?” Kiki asked.

“The Orderlies will take a look, but the Doctor is out for the afternoon” The Warden said, “He’ll be back in the morning.”

“Can you call the Doctor?” Kiki asked, “Get him back here, this man has valuable information.”

“That wouldn’t be a good idea” The Warden said, “Doctor Schwarz tends to like a drink or two in the afternoon.”

Meaning that the Prison’s Doctor was probably totally plastered, and everyone knew it.

Kiki hid her annoyance as she looked at Lothar as they walked into the infirmary. Just by looking at him, she could see that he had a high fever, she also noticed a spreading stain on the leg of his uniform’s pant leg.

“Can one of you grab me a pair of scissors?” Kiki asked one of the Orderlies who was gaping at her. He handed a pair to her and she cut along the seam. What she found was disturbing, livid red streaks and an untreated gash that was turning black around the edges. She had only seen photographs in textbooks of this.

“I need my bag from the car” Kiki said to one of her bodyguards.

“Is this something contagious?” The Warden asked.

Kiki was half tempted to tell that it was.

Lothar’s nonsense had probably saved his life. Just Kiki knew that he certainly wouldn’t be in any condition to talk in the near term and he would not be thanking her after what she was about to do him.
 
The Angel in Gray puts duty before her feelings and saves the life of that murderous terrorist in order to gain potentially valuable information.
That is going to be the story the media is going to report when they find out and Kiki gets the "St. Sasha" treatment.
 
The Angel in Gray puts duty before her feelings and saves the life of that murderous terrorist in order to gain potentially valuable information.
That is going to be the story the media is going to report when they find out and Kiki gets the "St. Sasha" treatment.
Yup. Kiki is going to need to talk to Gia, ASAP.

Still, if Lothar lives, he'll have one hell of a mindfuck knowing his target saved his life. Here's hoping Kiki rubs his face in it, and spills her guts to him, in that, she wanted to be more than a member of the Lucky Sperm Club and that she wants to serve to the utmost of her abilities.
 
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