Maas looked up as the Führer’s door opened and three of her minions scurried out of her office, their figurative tails between their legs. He swore to himself that would never happen to him.
“You may go in now,” said the Führer’s secretary in a soft monotone voice. Maas arose and strode commandingly into her office, closing the door behind him.
The Führer was sitting behind her huge desk intently reviewing two documents, her reading glasses perched on her nose. Maas noted the desk was perfectly clear of any other items. The distance from the office door to her desk was nearly twenty meters. The long walk was designed to instill a regal feel to her presence, causing visitors to feel intimidated as they approached the desk; a purposeful belittlement that the Führer relished. It worked. Maas stopped and stood before her and felt overwhelmed.
“And what news do you bring me?” she asked without looking up.
“My Führer, I have uncovered a major security problem, one that could have dire consequences.”
Kaete Grimme reached up and flipped her glasses off and looked directly at Maas. “What do you mean?”
“Remember the security issues we experienced a few days ago regarding the disappearance of the cook, Wilhelm Door, and the technician, Carla von Gerber?”
“Yes. Go on.”
“One of my men, Oberleutnant Grübner, has investigated the situation and has developed a very dangerous hypothesis as to what happened.”
Grimme sat straight, her eyes fixed upon Maas. She said nothing.
“After his investigation, we concluded they did not escape. They were kidnapped. They were taken from the Fortress against their will.”
Grimme’s eyes narrowed; her intensity building. She was clearly agitated at the news.
“Grübner researched Door and von Gerber’s backgrounds and found their records were perfect. Their parents were also reviewed. Again perfect. It seems Door and von Gerber were friends, maybe lovers. Interviews with both their co-workers brought up no issues at all. We concluded Door and von Gerber were not the kind to escape.”
“Continue,” hissed Grimme.
“Minutes before the first hatch alarm we found one of our perimeter patrols attacked and severely beaten. The two men reported two heavily armed Americans dressed in camouflage military gear jumped them and tied them up. Minutes later we received the first hatch alarm. The alarm was checked out accordingly. Within a few minutes Door and von Gerber were missing. Door was sent to get baking supplies and never returned to his job. Von Gerber was on break and never returned. Then we received a second alarm on the same hatch. Door’s cart was found in a dry storage area very close to the hatch in question. We believe von Gerber met Door in the storage room. Grübner believes the Americans neutralized the perimeter guards, came into the Fortress through the hatch, found and abducted Door and von Gerber and escaped through the same hatch. After reviewing Grübner’s report and the records, I concur with his findings.”
“So two of our personnel have been kidnapped,” said Grimme sternly. “They are in the hands of the enemy.”
“Yes, Mein Führer, it seems this is so.”
Grimme stepped out from behind her desk and walked over to a cabinet holding several bottles of fine spirits. As she poured herself a glass, she turned abruptly to Maas.
“Captain Maas, how can that occur?” Grimme asked in a solemn but menacing tone. Her face was becoming red. “It is your job to see that such things do not happen.”
Maas felt his temper rising but he held his indignance in check. “It seems that the two Americans we captured were carrying a global positioning system device that reported their location back to their base. That information was transmitted to their base before we could disable the GPS.” Maas waited for the explosion but Grimme remained calm, at least on the outside, sipping her drink. There was silence in the room.
“I have full and complete confidence in you and your people to adequately address this situation, Captain Maas. I trust you have taken sufficient actions to address this ‘issue’ and take care of any necessary let’s say deletions. Am I correct?” Grimme stared at Maas, her fury showing through her stoic face.
“Absolutely, Mein Führer. We have taken and will take even more steps to ensure our safety and security,” answered Maas tersely.
“I am sure you have and will, Maas,” answered Grimme in an equally terse voice. “Our survival depends on it… yours especially.” Grimme stood beside her desk for a second and then turned toward the bookcase behind her. She began perusing the titles. “Captain Maas, I believe you have a job to do?”
“Yes, Mein Führer,” he responded as he stood, turned and strode out of the Führer’s office. That damned bitch, he thought. I will fix her one day. How was he to know that these Americans were going to cause such trouble? He didn’t have a crystal ball. If it were not for that damned GPS, this whole thing would be over and done with.
But first he had work to do. This was the kind of work he relished. Pain and torture were the most favorite tools at his disposal. He walked quickly back to his office and sat down. He must do this right, he thought. There was no room for error. He should take this slowly and ensure a correct outcome. He picked up the telephone and called Grübner to his office. Between the two of them, they should be able to devise a plan to clear this up. It was time to go to work.
By the time Grübner arrived, Maas was already deep in his planning. “I have briefed the Führer of the situation. She has complete confidence in our actions. I expect that we will have another visit from the people that kidnapped our people.”
“I agree,” said Grübner. “I believe they used the two to gain information on the size and layout of the Fortress. I expect them to return at any time to try to rescue our captives.”
“That is why we will double the guards on the perimeter and set out additional sensors around the area of Hatch 0-122. They found their way in before using that hatch and I believe they will do it again. But this time we will be ready for them. They will disappear from the face of this earth.”
“I have already doubled the perimeter guards, Captain. I will deploy more sensors immediately.” Grübner reached over the desk and picked up the phone to order the sensors.
Maas stood and walked over to a large wall-mounted blueprint of the entire Fortress Alpha complex. He looked for any other areas near Hatch 0-122 that might be threatened. Grübner finished his call and joined Maas at the blueprint.
“The extra sensors are being placed as we speak.”
Maas studied the blueprint. “We were lucky. That hatch is way out on the outer edge of the complex. There are no other entryways in the immediate area. We should be able to grab anyone that shows up there.”
“My men have encircled this area,” Grübner said as he pointed out the area around the hatch. “No one or nothing can get past us. I have also ordered an increase in perimeter patrols doubling our coverage, especially in that area.”