Part 51, Chapter 688
Chapter Six Hundred Eighty-Eight
22nd October 1948
Cape Town, South Africa
After weeks of sitting around in the airfield the 8th Brigade, which included the 49th and 140th Regiments was finally going somewhere. No one was exactly clear as to where they were going. Information security being what it was, that was expected. While Hans could understand the need for that, one never knew when unfriendly ears might be around, dozens of armored vehicles going down the road was sort of hard to mistake for anything else other than an earthquake like the one that had recently happened in southern Russia earlier that month.
It was a nice spring day. The sun was shining and any Boers waiting in ambush were going to shit themselves when they saw what was coming down the road. Hans stood up in the top hatch and saw the turret of the Spz-4 immediately behind his and several lorries behind it. There were several of the APCs ahead that were not visible due to the turret. Overhead several of the FW-190s that had been pressed into service for close air support thundered past. There was no reason for the airplanes, but Hans figured that it was all a show. If the Brass figured that being as intimidating as possible now would save them some trouble further down the line, then more power to them.
New York City, New York
Doug had found this business trip to New York increasingly surreal. The Agency that bought his photographs had asked him if Countess von Mischner had representation after they had seen photographs of her in Patagonia months earlier. He said that they would need to talk to her themselves, he didn’t want to know what her reaction would be if they bothered her in person. Kat was extremely private and frequently wondered why the world never seemed to want to leave her alone. Then it had been pointed out to him that Kat’s unusual life included many stories that were going to be told. He said that he would talk to her, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath waiting for her to return their calls.
Then there was the entire reason that Doug had agreed to come to New York in the first place. His father had come to the city for undefined business and if Doug was going to be there at the same time. Malcolm wanted to see him. They agreed to meet at a restaurant in the Financial District of Manhattan. Doug, in his natty clothes and shaggy hair might have fit into the artistic bohemian crowd elsewhere in the city but here he stood out like a sore thumb. When Malcolm saw Doug walk in he wasn’t sure if he should be proud of his son’s brass or be cross at his total disregard for his surroundings.
“How have you been?” Doug said with a sly smile, ignoring the look that the Host was giving him.
“I’ve been well” Malcolm replied, “Your mother has been as well too.” He saw a shadow cross Doug’s face when his mother was mentioned.
“I see that Margot has been sending you letters again” Malcolm said.
“She made a few suggestions with the last one that would result in Kat castrating me, then filing for divorce and having me deported from Germany” Doug said, “Kat reacts badly to that sort of coercion.”
“Your mother wants what she wants, and she seldom lets anything get in her way” Malcolm said, “It’s an aspect that she shares with your lovely wife.”
“That’s a terrifying thought.”
“Afraid that Katherine will become your mother?” Malcolm said, half joking.
“No” Doug said, “I figure that her father is right about her becoming more like her Aunt Marcella.”
“She was at the wedding” Malcolm said, “Formidable woman, seen a lot in life. I missed seeing Katherine’s father.”
“If you’d ever seen Otto you would notice the family resemblance. He has not had an easy life and the falling out between him and Kat is the only thing that has hurt him in recent years” Doug replied.
“Putting aside your mother for a minute, where do things stand between the two of you?”
Doug shrugged, “Kat is trying for an assignment in the German Federal Police as a Criminal Profiler” He said, “Things are on hold for now because of that.”
“She doesn’t want to derail her career before it gets started” Malcolm observed.
“Exactly” Doug replied, “So, we have a couple years before we add further complications to an already complicated situation.”
“Wish your mother understood that” Malcolm said.
“In the meantime, I’ll settle for keeping an ocean between us” Doug said.
Berlin
Tilo got a call from his Publisher and it was not welcome news. While his book had sold some copies, the overall numbers were disappointing. He was still going to University and working in the Imperial Military Museum, so that didn’t sting as much as it might have. But he was disappointed by the lack of interest in his physical and philosophical journey across the Pacific. Too cerebral was the term that had been used to describe it. People wanted depictions of war that went boom. The philosophical underpinnings of the conflict and the understanding of enemies, not so much. It was a position that Tilo found ridiculous. If you didn’t understand an enemy how would you effectively fight them and win the peace after the shooting stopped?
22nd October 1948
Cape Town, South Africa
After weeks of sitting around in the airfield the 8th Brigade, which included the 49th and 140th Regiments was finally going somewhere. No one was exactly clear as to where they were going. Information security being what it was, that was expected. While Hans could understand the need for that, one never knew when unfriendly ears might be around, dozens of armored vehicles going down the road was sort of hard to mistake for anything else other than an earthquake like the one that had recently happened in southern Russia earlier that month.
It was a nice spring day. The sun was shining and any Boers waiting in ambush were going to shit themselves when they saw what was coming down the road. Hans stood up in the top hatch and saw the turret of the Spz-4 immediately behind his and several lorries behind it. There were several of the APCs ahead that were not visible due to the turret. Overhead several of the FW-190s that had been pressed into service for close air support thundered past. There was no reason for the airplanes, but Hans figured that it was all a show. If the Brass figured that being as intimidating as possible now would save them some trouble further down the line, then more power to them.
New York City, New York
Doug had found this business trip to New York increasingly surreal. The Agency that bought his photographs had asked him if Countess von Mischner had representation after they had seen photographs of her in Patagonia months earlier. He said that they would need to talk to her themselves, he didn’t want to know what her reaction would be if they bothered her in person. Kat was extremely private and frequently wondered why the world never seemed to want to leave her alone. Then it had been pointed out to him that Kat’s unusual life included many stories that were going to be told. He said that he would talk to her, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath waiting for her to return their calls.
Then there was the entire reason that Doug had agreed to come to New York in the first place. His father had come to the city for undefined business and if Doug was going to be there at the same time. Malcolm wanted to see him. They agreed to meet at a restaurant in the Financial District of Manhattan. Doug, in his natty clothes and shaggy hair might have fit into the artistic bohemian crowd elsewhere in the city but here he stood out like a sore thumb. When Malcolm saw Doug walk in he wasn’t sure if he should be proud of his son’s brass or be cross at his total disregard for his surroundings.
“How have you been?” Doug said with a sly smile, ignoring the look that the Host was giving him.
“I’ve been well” Malcolm replied, “Your mother has been as well too.” He saw a shadow cross Doug’s face when his mother was mentioned.
“I see that Margot has been sending you letters again” Malcolm said.
“She made a few suggestions with the last one that would result in Kat castrating me, then filing for divorce and having me deported from Germany” Doug said, “Kat reacts badly to that sort of coercion.”
“Your mother wants what she wants, and she seldom lets anything get in her way” Malcolm said, “It’s an aspect that she shares with your lovely wife.”
“That’s a terrifying thought.”
“Afraid that Katherine will become your mother?” Malcolm said, half joking.
“No” Doug said, “I figure that her father is right about her becoming more like her Aunt Marcella.”
“She was at the wedding” Malcolm said, “Formidable woman, seen a lot in life. I missed seeing Katherine’s father.”
“If you’d ever seen Otto you would notice the family resemblance. He has not had an easy life and the falling out between him and Kat is the only thing that has hurt him in recent years” Doug replied.
“Putting aside your mother for a minute, where do things stand between the two of you?”
Doug shrugged, “Kat is trying for an assignment in the German Federal Police as a Criminal Profiler” He said, “Things are on hold for now because of that.”
“She doesn’t want to derail her career before it gets started” Malcolm observed.
“Exactly” Doug replied, “So, we have a couple years before we add further complications to an already complicated situation.”
“Wish your mother understood that” Malcolm said.
“In the meantime, I’ll settle for keeping an ocean between us” Doug said.
Berlin
Tilo got a call from his Publisher and it was not welcome news. While his book had sold some copies, the overall numbers were disappointing. He was still going to University and working in the Imperial Military Museum, so that didn’t sting as much as it might have. But he was disappointed by the lack of interest in his physical and philosophical journey across the Pacific. Too cerebral was the term that had been used to describe it. People wanted depictions of war that went boom. The philosophical underpinnings of the conflict and the understanding of enemies, not so much. It was a position that Tilo found ridiculous. If you didn’t understand an enemy how would you effectively fight them and win the peace after the shooting stopped?
