“Let’s go, quickly!” said Dresner.
The men were herded out of Hitler’s tomb with their hands on their heads and back up the corridor. As they passed the heavy blast door, Dresner pulled it shut and spun the locking handle till it would go no further. He had given it one last turn when he heard a deep rumble from the direction of the main chamber.
Kammler and Ingles were sweating heavily when they finally reached the top of the silo. There was a retractable bridge to the cockpit. Kammler was pushing it down into position when he saw Ingles approaching with a reinforced hose.
“You are going to need lots of oxygen where you are going,” Ingles said.
Kammler smiled at the man as he attached the hose and then opened the valve to fill the onboard oxygen tank. Kammler grasped the cockpit canopy latch and gave a tug. It opened immediately and he crawled inside. The parachute was still in the seat and he strapped himself in. He could hear the oxygen tank gurgling as it filled. Once strapped in, Kammler began turning on the various systems. Within a minute, the oxygen tank was filled and the Doctor removed the hose and sealed it. All the gages indicated the rocket was ready.
“It is time Herr Doctor,” Kammler said as he offered his hand.
The doctor took it. “For a new world order,” the doctor said firmly.
Kammler grabbed the canopy latch and pulled it shut. He then sealed it and began pressurizing the cockpit.
The doctor retracted the bridge and stood against the wall. This would be the last step for him. He would not be captured. In a final gesture, he raised his right arm in a Nazi salute.
Kammler glanced at the instruments one last time and pressed the ignition switch. Deep below him the peroxide pumps engaged and the nitric acid and RP1 were pumped under pressure to the main combustion chamber where the igniters were activated. At first the flames were haphazard, but as the temperature rose the reaction increased. Suddenly there was a huge gout of rocket exhaust and the escaping flames focused and intensified. The gasses shot downward and were directed into two exhaust ducts which channeled the flames and smoke up through openings on either side of the silo. Once the required thrust was achieved, the locking latches disengaged and the missile began to lift into the air.
Wagner had taken aim but was not so sure he would hit his target. The boat made precision almost impossible. He took another breath when there was a rush of smoke and noise from the other side of the huge silo cover. Wagner steadied himself and pulled the trigger one last time.
The round didn’t go anywhere near where he was aiming. The boat rocked suddenly and sent it in a different direction. It was still a lucky shot. The Panzerschreck round flew to one side of the giant door, striking the hydraulic piston keeping it in place blasting it to shreds. The remaining piston on the opposite side could not maintain the weight of the door and it immediately began closing.
The explosion near the door stunned Kammler and he watched in horror as the huge concrete door began closing on top of him. The missile rose out of the silo only four feet before the concrete door hit it and began pressing it against the far wall. The rough concrete began tearing at the thin metal on its side and ultimately began bending the rocket against the concrete. It only took a second for the acid and RP1 tanks of the A-9 second stage to rupture. Both emptied quickly into the rocket exhaust.
The explosion blew the cockpit and the front of the rocket out of the silo and straight into the rocks in the side of the mountain. Then the fuel and oxidizer in the A-10 first stage erupted. The concrete silo blasted apart inside the facility. The steel doors flew across the cavernous interior slamming against the control room. The concrete walls crumbled and opened up two more silos, already filled with water. The result was catastrophic. Almost immediately the flames were replaced by tons of cascading water both from the lake and the already filled silos. The water washed into the open corridors and tunnels and did not stop until they slammed against the already closed blast doors. The tunnels were immediately filled.
The water ran through the corridors leading toward the house like it was a garden hose. The ventilation systems in the underground facility allowed the air to escape and the corridors were completely filled up to the second set of blast doors on the second level. Within ten minutes the water in the facility had reached the level of the lake outside.
Dresner and his men were quickly making their way along the corridor when the lights flickered out. Looking ahead, there was still light coming from the wine cellar of the house. Urging his men forward, they entered the cellar and Dresner closed the door. He motioned for the men to proceed into the house.
The smells from the kitchen suddenly made the men ravenously hungry. Moving into the living area, they could smell sausages being prepared along with potatoes and other delicacies. Having his prisoners secured in the living room, Dresner made his way to the kitchen where it appeared Helga was preparing a feast. Even more surprising was what he saw on the floor. Laying there, trussed up like a rodeo steer, was Hans Kemper. He was obviously out cold and a heavy cast iron frying pan sat on a table nearby.
“What happened here?” Dresner asked as a smile spread over his face.
Helga grunted and waived a wooden spoon at Dresner. “No one tells me what to do in my kitchen,” she said with a grin. “I hope your men are hungry.”
Fredrich was laid on a bed in one of the wings of the house. A doctor was summoned and dressed his wounds. Luckily no bones were broken and the bullet had passed cleanly through his shoulder. A few sutures and Fredrich was good as new. Otto had stationed himself beside the bed and giving all the assistance anyone needed. Twenty minutes after he arrived, Fredrich woke up to see his friend.
“What happened?” Fredrich murmured.
Rolf Dresner moved into view. “You got in the way of a bullet,” he said smiling. “But we were able get you back here and in one piece,” he said.
“Did we stop them?”
Dresner nodded. “We were able to stop them.”
Fredrich seemed to relax into his sheets. “I was afraid,” he said.
“So was I. But between you and Otto, I think I can say you saved our world,” Dresner said.
The two boys smiled at each other, displaying the youthful exuberance Dresner remembered from many of the young men who had done a good job the first time out.
“Where are we?” Fredrich asked.
“In the big house. Herr Anderson said you could stay here until you are well enough to go home,” Dresner said.
“You missed the feast,” Otto said excitedly. “Frau Hufham made all of us the most wonderful dinner. Everyone ate, except our prisoners,” he stated proudly. “All they got was some soup.”
“What will happen to them?” asked Fredrich. You could tell by the look on his face he was concerned for his father.
Dresner sat on the side of the bed and Otto got silent. “Let’s not worry too much about them. But you do need to know something,” he said very seriously. He placed his hand on Fredrich’s arm. “Neither of your fathers made it out of the facility.”
Otto stared down at the side of the bed and didn’t say a word. Fredrich looked a little more stricken at the news, but didn’t cry. It was Otto who spoke first.
“Herr Dresner, told me about an hour ago. I’m sorry Fredrich,” he said. “We talked a while about it. I know our fathers were never really our fathers. They were dedicated to this cause all our lives. For the most part you and I grew up in a lie, never really knowing them closely. We’ve both known for a long time they were wrong. They did things to us a father should never do. We shall miss them but in my case I know I will never mourn.”