“Whenever you are ready, Grandfather.”
He leaned closer to her and stared into her eyes. “They have entered the submersible. Will have more information soon. Prepare.”
Chapter 21
Zahra
“Think his gun still fires?”
Zahra and Hammet stopped their search of the captain’s desk and looked back at her with a pair of ‘don’t even think about it’ looks.
The Russian shrank back. “It was just a thought. But come on, you two, you must agree that being out here unarmed doesn’t feel right, yes?”
Hammet’s eyes flicked to Zahra. He turned back to a mess of papers. “I don’t disagree.”
Zahra sighed. “Me either.”
“Does that mean—”
“Help us first,” Zahra interrupted, “then we’ll talk about your concern.”
“Fine,” Yana muttered, stepping over. “What do we have so far?”
Hammet held a paper up. “Mostly requisition forms. Nothing important.”
“And a two-page request list,” Zahra added, holding up her own paper.
“Requests for what?” Yana asked.
Zahra scanned the document. It was written in German, as expected. Not only was she fluent in several languages, but she could also read them, though not as quickly as she could speak them.
“Gear, food, entertainment…”
“For the sailors here?” Yana asked.
Zahra shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I get the feeling this is for a group of soldiers that were not on board.” She eyed Hammet. “You did say these things were retrofitted for cargo, right?”
He nodded. “Ja,” he pointed at the list, “but where would those men be stationed?”
Yana looked back and forth between them. “Here, obviously, in Hitler’s secret Antarctic station.”
Hammet stood and faced her. “Nothing in history suggests that there ever was a station. There are plenty of stories about one, but no hard evidence.”
“Pft.” Yana wasn’t buying it. “Evidence, schmevidence. We have a U-boat-turned-long-distance cargo vessel stuck in the ice in Antarctica and a two-page shopping list, and you’re telling me that there’s no chance there’s a secret Nazi installation somewhere out there?” For good measure, Yana jabbed a finger to the south.
Zahra folded her arms across her chest. “She has a point…”
The only reply Hammet gave her was a low “Hmmm.”
Zahra turned back toward the desk and spotted something, a symbol that she had only just seen for the first time. “Look at this.” She slid a sealed envelope out of the pile. “It’s the same globe emblem from the sailor’s uniforms.”
“Let me see,” Hammet said, holding out his hand. Zahra handed it over. Hammet carefully opened it, slipping out a single piece of paper. He quickly let out another grunt, disappointed. “What language is this?”
“Give it here.”
Hammet handed it over to Zahra. She looked it over. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She recognized pieces of it but couldn’t read it.
Yet.
“Is it a code?” Yana asked, peeking between Zahra and Hammet.
Zahra stepped aside so the third member of their team could join them.
“Yes, but not the type you need a keyword or phrase to decipher.”
Suddenly, it hit her. She laid it flat and explained. “See, look at it.” She picked up a few of the words. “These sentences consist of English, German, and Russian letters and words. It looks like our friends came up with their own language to use within their communiques.”
“Can you read it?” Hammet asked.
“Given some time to learn it, yeah, probably.”
Yana placed a hand on Zahra’s shoulder. “We don’t have that kind of time, Zahra.”
“Let her try,” Hammet urged.
Zahra nodded and let out a long breath. “Okay, here we go.”
She zeroed in on the bold typeface at the top. Zahra figured they’d be the easiest to translate. But a sequence of numbers in the top right corner of the page caught her attention first.
“Hang on, that can’t be right.”
“What can’t be right?” Hammet asked.
Zahra pointed at the numbers. “This is the send date for the transmission.” She looked at her partners. “It says, 1960.”
“1960?” Yana and Hammet asked in unison.
“Yeah, 1960.” She looked up at the ceiling, trying to play it out in her mind. “These guys were still in operation fifteen years after the war ended?”
Yana stepped away. “That means there has to be a base of operations somewhere out here.”
No one argued. It made sense to Zahra. Why else would a cargo vessel be here?
“1960…” Hammet mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Zahra asked.
Hammet looked at them. “The year cannot be a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?”
Yana’s eyes opened wide. “The Berlin Wall.”
Hammet nodded. “Construction started in 1961. What do you bet that tensions between Germany and the Soviets played a role in this organization’s collapse?”
“Who says they collapsed?” Yana asked.
Hammet gestured to the bodies. “This feels like an evacuation to me.”
“Is there anything else pertinent, Zahra?” Yana asked.
Zahra calmed down and returned her attention to the communique. “Let’s see…” She pointed out the words that came to her first. “This says, Ahnenerbe.”
“Himmler’s scholars and scientists,” Hammet explained. “They were the true zealots. They’re the ones that came up with the Aryan race lunacy.”
“What else?” Yana asked, looking as uncomfortable as Zahra felt. “I would like to leave soon.”
“Same,” Hammet said.
“Okay, here.” Zahra nudged Yana. “This says, Underworld.”
Yana’s eyes opened. “That’s what the German in Chile said.”
“The assassin?” Hammet asked.
Zahra unconsciously stroked her bruised throat. “Yeah, him. He said that we’d never find it. You think that’s what they called their installation?”
Yana smiled. “Welcome aboard the crazy train. It’s more fun here.”
Hammet shook his head. “Keep going, Zahra.”
Zahra nodded and did just that. She stopped at a string of words. She mumbled them to herself several times before she was comfortable with what they said.
“Project Black Sunset.” She looked up from the paper and met the eyes of two equally confused investigators. “What the hell is Black Sunset?”
No one had an answer.
She cleared her throat, feeling her legs quickly turning to jelly as she continued reading. “Poison. From a, um, cave in.” She looked up from the paper. “Does that mean the entire place is a no-go or just part of it?
“You tell us,” Hammet replied.
“I can’t. There’s nothing else about it.” She kept reading. “Okay. Here we go…” Zahra pointed at the last line. “Sorry, Hammet, but you were wrong. This reaffirms that no one was supposed to return. The Underworld is a complete loss.”
Yana patted Hammet’s shoulder. “Told you it was an evacuation.”
Zahra slapped the paper. “Got it. They called themselves the Sixth Seal! It’s right here.”
“The Sixth Seal?” Hammet asked. “That’s awfully ominous. Who wrote this letter?”
Zahra read the name. “Someone named Dietrich Krause?”
Hammet stepped away and took in the first body with new light.