“Good. I am holding you completely responsible for the security of the perimeter. You do what you see fit to defend it. Is that clear?” asked Maas.
“Yes, sir,” replied Grübner. “I assure you we will stop anyone that comes near.”
Maas turned toward the door. “I have some personal business to attend to. If there are any incidents, I expect to be informed immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Grübner. “I will also get you periodic updates as well, sir.”
“Carry on, Oberleutnant.” Without looking back Maas turned and walked out the door and down the hall. Grübner was finally able to breathe.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
The sun was creeping from its night slumber, barely lighting the sky behind the trees. Dane ambled out on the front porch of the hut and lifted his coffee cup to his mouth. Mornings in the jungle were beautiful but hot. The sun’s rays began to pierce the jungle canopy through the individual openings through the trees. It looked like thousands of laser beams hitting the ground. As Dane relished the taste of the coffee, Hugo and Tim joined him. In the early air the animals of the jungle were quiet. Even the insects were not singing their incessant songs yet.
Late the previous evening Dane and Hugo interrogated the two captives brought back from the Fortress. After instilling the fear of death or worse to both of them, the two decided to talk. They helped Hugo draw a rough map of the complex, pointing out the major entrances and strongholds. They located the different components of the complex, the power station, motor pool, jail and other key areas. Although Hugo and Dane wanted more information, they were pleased with what they learned. One thing Dane and Hugo asked about was the gold production.
Carla von Gerber filled the two in on some of the process.
“Theoretically the transmutation of lead to gold is simple. One must only change the number of protons,” explained Carla. “The problem is not only that the process requires enormous amounts of energy but also in the catalysts added to the process to make the changes. This is where our scientists had a breakthrough back in early 1945. Our process remains a secret to this day. Only senior level personnel know the operation and even then only those who must know.”
“Wow,” said Hugo, rubbing his head suggesting he felt overwhelmed. Dane smiled. He was very interested in the technician’s story.
“So the Germans brought this gold secret over to Brazil?” asked Dane, still not fully believing the whole story but still eager to hear what Carla had to say.
“Yes. A core group of German scientists were moved secretly out of Germany in the last few weeks of the war, bringing their developments with them. They also brought over a huge cache of gold bullion to keep it out of the hands of the Allies. With those resources, we were able to create a foolproof gold operation.”
Dane pressed on. “So how did this gold and the scientists get here?”
“That was simple,” Carla went on to say. “They had access to the German submarine fleet. The SS commandeered more than forty U-boats to ferry the gold and secrets to Brazil.”
“Sweet,” said Hugo. “All they had to do was load ‘em up and send them over. Perfect.”
Carla continued, “But there was a cost. A decision was made that only those directly involved in the new situation here in Brazil were to know what was happening. As a result, all of the U-boats were destroyed after they made their deliveries. Many U-boat crews died. Even the soldiers that loaded the U-boats back in Germany were executed to keep the secret. That part worked very well, as you can attest. The world still does not know of this complex and its secrets.”
Dane looked at Hugo and let out a soft whistle. “This is much bigger than we thought. No wonder folks in the area have been disappearing over the years. It may even be a miracle if Dana and Randall are still alive. If all of this is true, which I am inclined to believe, this is a huge threat to not only the U.S. but the world.”
“Yeah, an alpha threat to the hilt,” cracked Hugo. “What does the other guy we got say about all of this?”
“Actually, not much. His primary job was a cook. He had some secondary technician duties but he didn’t mention any of this. She knows much more than him.”
Dane thought about what he learned from Wayne’s friend Nathan back in Miami. All of this fit nicely into the theory of the gold and gold trading back home. In fact, it was becoming crystal clear as he listened to Carla.
Dane looked back at von Gerber. “You said you worked in the power center of the complex?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“So where does the power for this complex come from?”
“A very large volcanic system deep beneath the complex,” answered Carla.
Hugo suddenly sat up straight. “A volcano?”
“It is much more complex than that but the power is enormous. Using our technology we match the power of a nuclear process without the radiation or residual waste; pure, almost unlimited power.” She looked smugly at the two men as she talked of their superior technology.
“Holy crap,” said Hugo, glancing at Dane. “That’s a lot of power, my friend.”
Hugo and Dane stood together on the front porch looking at the jungle across the dirt road, coffee in hand.
“It’s the calm before the storm,” said Hugo, gazing across the road at the calm waters of the river.
“You know, if we weren’t here because of the situation, this would be one beautiful place,” added Tim. “I do love this jungle.”
“We’ll see a lot of it over the next few days,” said Dane. By now Ben and Dr. Nance had joined the crew on the porch.
“Morning, guys,” said Dr. Nance, taking a slug of hot coffee. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.
Ben leaned against the porch rail. “I guess we are ready?”
“As ready as we will ever be,” said Dane, staring into the morning sky. “I hope and pray we are in time and none of us get hurt.”
“Here, here,” answered Hugo, waving his cup slightly.
“You’ve done this type of thing before, I imagine?” queried Dr. Nance, still a bit skeptical of not informing the government. Dane turned to Dr. Nance. In a low, stoic voice Dane tried to explain.
”Dr. Nance, several of us have seen the horrors of war. I can tell you most definitively that war is exactly what the Civil War Union General Tecumseh Sherman said it was… Hell. You are scared, the men around you on both sides are scared, but somehow you go on. You must be crazy to put yourself into a situation where someone wants to kill you but sometimes you do just that. I’m not doing this to be a hero; I do this to save my sister and her husband. I must do it to be able to live with myself. The others,” Dane waved his hand around the group, “I can’t speak for but I suspect they want to come because they believe it is the right thing to do.”
Hugo took a sip of coffee. “For me it is simple. Where Dane goes, I go. We’ve been through a lot together. We have probably saved each other’s life ten times over. Bosnia, the Middle East, Iraq, you name it. To me, Dane is my brother as well as my brother in arms.”
“Okay, let’s don’t start waxing poetically here. We have a job to do,” interjected Dane. “Is everyone ready? Let’s get this done.” The men took their last sips of coffee.
Tecal appeared from one side of the porch with several of his men. They all carried small homemade rucksacks looking ready for a long trek in the jungle.