Chapter One Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty-One
7th May 1970
Mitte, Berlin
The two soldiers who had come out to escort her into Louis’ office snapped to attention with clicking heels as Kat stepped out of her car once her driver opened the door. She might be out of uniform, but they recognized who she was. The building was typical of the office towers that had been springing up in city center despite the fact that Berlin had famously been built atop what basically amounted to a swamp. Louis Ferdinand had located his office in this building and had been taking on a staff in preparation for the role he was intending to take as Emperor Emeritus next year. Kat could see that the outer offices were already a hive of activity.
While most men would have been expected to take up golf or fishing, Louis clearly had greater ambitions. Kat suspected that Louis would probably be a thorn in Freddy’s side if everything went to plan, which was perfect because those at the top of the heap needed someone to kick them back to reality every once in a while. Kat figured Louis, Rea, Kiki, and Suga were going to be there to do exactly that.
When Kat finally got up to Louis’ office, she discovered that he was in a buoyant mood. “Is there anything that I can get for you Kurfürstin?” Louis asked as she sat down. He seemed so happy that Kat figured that cussing at him for his latest gambit wouldn’t fit the mood in this room. He had insisted that she take on the role of Elector of Berlin, meaning that the city of her birth truly was her kingdom. If Kat’s father had still been around, he would have found this hilarious, right up until he discovered that Kat’s domain included Spandau Prison. And she would have been more than happy to reopen it for one night only, with one rather special guest who would be in way over his head. That is, until the blade came down and he lost it.
But alas, Otto Mischner was long dead. That meant that justice for all the lives he had wrecked, the people he had ordered killed or had done himself, and the sort of activities he had facilitated throughout the Empire had become a question of Theology. Had her father gone on to final judgement and had been cast into a fiery pit to spend all eternity, or had he simply ceased to exist on the night he had died? Kat had no clue, the same as everyone else, if they were being honest about it.
“You don’t need to get me anything” Kat replied to Louis. Still, he opened the refrigerator that he must have had installed behind his desk and pulled out a bottle of Italian soda, blood orange flavored, something that he knew she liked. “Though I will take some of that if you are offering.”
Louis knew that Kat didn’t drink alcoholic beverages, not since she had suffered a bleeding ulcer twenty years earlier. That was probably why he had the soda on hand, he had asked for it once he knew that she was coming today. Filling the glass with ice, Louis poured the soda into in before handing it to her.
“How are my Godchildren?” Louis asked.
“Malcolm is doing well at University, studying computer science” Kat replied, “Tatiana has been taking classes seriously which is a relief, but there has yet to be a thaw between us I am afraid. Marie is being Marie, so I have little idea just who she is trying to be on any given day.”
Louis chuckled at that last part. He knew what Kat’s daughter was like and how on any given day she might radically change her appearance, much to the annoyance of the adults around her.
“And the others?” Louis asked.
“Jo is looking to broaden her horizons by doing exactly the sort of thing she has been advised against. Sophie just cannot seem to get her mother out of her head. She’s convinced that she is a terrible person, that is just going to get worse as this will inevitably get more complicated in the future.” Kat said, “Finally there is Suse Rosa. Suse likes to think she is levelheaded, but she is more like her mother than she likes to think. There are times when she does things or has attitudes that so closely mirror Gerta from when she was that age that I am tempted to strangle her.”
“Suse is the granddaughter of Field Marshal von Wolvogle” Louis observed as if that held great meaning. “You should know what comes with that.”
Kat wasn’t sure what exactly Louis meant. He had detested the Old Wolf when he had been alive, only tolerating him because it had been necessary.
“You seem to be having a good day” Kat said, hopefully changing the subject to something safer.
Louis smiled. “Friedrich and Suga came back from their latest scan this morning” He said, “Development is proceeding as expected and he seems to be healthy.”
“Are Mirai and Alex excited about how they are going to have a baby brother in another couple months?” Kat asked.
“What do you think?” Louis asked.
“I remember Tat and Kol’s reaction when Marie was born” Kat said, “They were full of all kinds of questions. I hope that Freddy and Suga are prepared.”
“They are” Louis replied, “Mirai though, she is getting to an age where simple answers are no longer sufficient.”
“Inquisitive little girls tend to become Doctors in your family these days” Kat said, “So that is not something I would discourage.”
That much was true with Kiki and now Vicky, who was working towards a Doctorate in Psychology.