Kingdom of Darkness

  Nina entered first, the men following her. Eddie went last, pulling the wood back into position. He crouched beside it, gun at the ready. Before long, he heard voices outside. Pale torchlight flashed through the cracks in the wall. He tensed as someone came closer . . . and passed, calling out in German before moving away.

  ‘They did not see us,’ whispered Roland in relief. ‘I used to hide in here with Volker when we were children. No one ever found us.’

  ‘So now what?’ asked Nina. ‘They’ll still be looking for us, however long we wait.’

  ‘No – they are going to leave. Herr Kroll – Kroll,’ he corrected, pointedly removing the honorific, ‘told us at the rally that the Mossad has found the Enklave. Some wanted to stay to defend it, but he has ordered that we are to fly to the Middle East to find the Spring of Immortality. There will be aeroplanes at the dry lake in the morning.’

  ‘But the spring’s in Iran,’ Nina objected. ‘How are they going to get to it? The Iranians won’t exactly welcome a battalion of Nazis at Tehran airport with open arms.’

  ‘They won’t be going to Tehran,’ said Zane. ‘Leitz – Kroll’s broker – has the connections to get them into the country without anyone asking questions. He just has to pay off the right people – and with almost a hundred million dollars in the bank, Kroll can afford it.’

  ‘That’s if they actually get to the planes,’ said Eddie, as a truck engine started to turn over. Even in the darkness, Nina could tell that he was smiling.

  ‘What do you—’ the Israeli began, only to be cut off by the flat whump of a fire suddenly igniting. Someone yelled in fear – then the cry was drowned out by an explosion that shook the barn’s timbers. A moment later, the blast was followed by several more. Screams and cries echoed around the Enklave above the thunder of a fearsome blaze.

  Nina jumped. ‘What was that?’

  ‘Vehicle maintenance, SAS-style,’ Eddie replied, with distinct glee. ‘Amazing what you can do with some rewiring and a few cans of petrol.’

  ‘It will not stop them, though,’ said Roland. ‘They will get to the lake even if they have to march.’

  ‘They can’t take much with them, though,’ said Nina.

  Eddie had an unwelcome thought. ‘Unless they let the train take the strain . . .’

  ‘Mein Führer,’ said Rasche. The Nazi leader had opened the vault from inside, and two of his men were helping him out. ‘You are still alive. I am relieved.’

  ‘Yes, of course you are,’ Kroll growled, catching his subordinate’s greedy glance over his shoulder at the pithos. He gestured at Banna. ‘Secure the Arab; I want him under constant guard. Have you caught them?’

  ‘Not yet. Walther is leading the search, but there has been no sign of them in the compound. They must be making a run for the outer perimeter.’

  ‘They’ll head for the town. Send men to intercept them.’

  Rasche looked pained. ‘The jeeps have been . . . sabotaged. So have the trucks.’

  ‘Sabotaged? How?’

  ‘They exploded.’

  Kroll responded in much the same way. ‘Exploded?’

  ‘Yes. The man who attacked the rally, Wilde’s husband – he rigged them to detonate when the engines were started. We lost ten men in the fire. We can reach the airstrip on foot, of course, but we won’t be able to take anything large or heavy.’ Another look at the vault’s contents, this time with concern. ‘The jar – even with most of the water gone, it still weighs almost ninety kilos. And then there is the remaining gold—’

  ‘We don’t need it any more. We have millions of dollars.’

  ‘Leitz has millions of dollars. Do you trust him that much?’ The bald man’s lack of an immediate answer spoke volumes. ‘Until the money is secure in our own accounts, we still need the gold. Perhaps we should divide our forces? You lead a contingent to Iran to search for the spring, while I evacuate a small group with the treasure and the water—’

  ‘We stay together, Rasche,’ said Kroll, threat clear in his voice. ‘This is a key moment for the New Reich. If we falter now, we will fail – so we will continue exactly as planned. We will travel to Iran, find the Spring of Immortality – and take it for ourselves!’

  Rasche tried to contain his frustration. ‘But how will we transport everything we need?’

  ‘The train,’ Kroll snapped. ‘We’ll use the train.’

  ‘But it hasn’t run for, what, two years now? It might not be safe.’

  ‘Put the men, and as much equipment as will fit, aboard the train. Fire it up.’ When Rasche did not respond at once, he bellowed: ‘That is an order! Obey it, now!’

  Rasche brought up his arm in an angry salute. ‘Yes, mein Führer.’ He stalked from the room.

  Kroll glared after him, then turned. Banna had been watching the German discussion in fearful incomprehension. ‘Now, Dr Banna,’ the SS leader said in English, ‘you will take us to the Spring of Immortality.’

  29

  Nina woke with a start. She had not imagined that she could fall asleep, her body still churning with fearful adrenalin, but in the darkness beneath the barn it had come upon her with surprising swiftness. It had been anything but restful, though, a swirl of nightmarish images. ‘What—’ she gasped, before remembering the need for quiet. ‘What’s happening?’ she whispered. ‘How long was I asleep?’

  ‘A few hours,’ said Eddie. She was lying against him, his arms around her. ‘Seemed like you needed it.’

  ‘I guess I did.’ She put her hands over his and turned her head so their cheeks touched. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘For not telling you how much I loved you when you left Egypt.’

  ‘Well, we had just had a fight.’

  ‘I know, but . . . When Kroll told me you were dead, I thought the last thing we’d ever said to each other was some stupid argument.’

  ‘Hey, I’m the one who should be apologising,’ he replied. ‘I acted like a complete knob. I’m sorry.’ He shifted position to kiss her. ‘I’m just glad you’re okay.’

  ‘I’m glad you came to find me.’

  ‘I always will, love.’

  Nothing more needed to be said for each to know how deeply the other felt. Another kiss, then she looked around at a hissing noise. ‘What’s going on outside?’

  ‘It’s a steam train,’ he told her. ‘They’re going to use it to take everyone out of here.’

  ‘Yeah, I saw it,’ she said, remembering the rust-covered tank engine from her arrival in the Enklave. ‘It didn’t look like it had been used for years, though.’

  ‘They’ve been shunting stuff about, so it’s still got a bit of life left in it. Mind you, they’ve only got to get to the bottom of the hill and then they’re done with it. So long as the brakes work, they could just bloody freewheel it down there.’

  ‘We can’t let them escape. They’ve got Ubayy, and the Andreas relic – they’ll be able to find the spring.’

  Zane was looking through a crack between the planks. ‘I agree, but it’s too dangerous to move right now. There are men everywhere. They’re clearing the place out – right now they’re taking things from Kroll’s house.’

  ‘Probably everything from the vault,’ said Nina. She gently loosened Eddie’s arms and shuffled across the low space to see for herself.

  The view through the narrow gap was limited, but enough to show dawn breaking on the eastern horizon. Beyond the main dirt track running through the compound, the locomotive was now at the head of a train. A single passenger carriage was connected behind it, followed by a line of six wooden freight wagons. Men were loading the first and last of the trucks: assorted crates into the latter, boxed treasures and large metal drums into the former. The barrels were empty, but a flash from the top of one of them told her their purp
ose. The Alexander Romance described Andreas using a silver container, and the pithos in the vault had been lined with the precious metal; Kroll intended to store his new supply the same way.

  She spotted the corpulent leader heading for the train. Instead of his SS uniform, he was now wearing an anonymous dark suit and overcoat. Most of his forces had likewise donned pale brown fatigues lacking any kind of military insignia. ‘Looks like they’re going to leave the country incognito.’

  ‘Well, marching through the airport in full Nazi regalia might be a bit noticeable,’ said Eddie, joining her.

  An item of cargo caught Nina’s attention. Unlike the others, this had not been crated up for transport. ‘It’s the pithos,’ she said as two men carried the container across the road. ‘I knew that fat son of a bitch wouldn’t leave it behind.’ Kroll stood beside the first freight wagon, watching as it was lifted inside and secured with ropes.

  Eddie was more concerned with what was being put aboard the last truck. ‘Ay up,’ he muttered, nudging Zane. ‘They’re ready for trouble.’ The Israeli whispered a curse as several long dark green wooden cases were loaded.

  ‘What are they?’ Nina asked.

  ‘RPG-7s,’ her husband told her. ‘Rocket launchers. As well as machine guns, explosives, a shitload of ammo . . .’

  ‘Oh, great. As if they didn’t have enough firepower.’ The soldiers were all armed with MP5s. ‘Wait, there’s Rasche.’

  The tall Nazi joined his commander as a man brought a case from the house. Kroll summoned him over; he opened it. Morning sunlight glinted off bronze within. ‘They’ve got the fish,’ she said.

  ‘And Banna,’ Eddie added. Two soldiers escorted the archaeologist to the train. The Egyptian’s head was low, his attitude of utter defeat clear even at a distance. The Nazis pushed him inside the lead carriage before following their prisoner aboard. ‘They must be about to move out.’

  Kroll gestured, and the soldier closed the case and loaded it on to the treasure wagon. Walther rounded a building, a large group of men following him. They assembled beside the train while the hulking German joined Rasche and Kroll. The latter began to shout commands.

  ‘Ah, Scheiße!’ gasped Roland. The young man scurried over to stare through the gap in the wood. Zane simultaneously reacted with alarm at the Nazi commander’s words.

  ‘What is it?’ Nina asked.

  ‘He’s ordering them to burn the place down!’ Zane replied. He listened as Kroll continued. ‘“Leave nothing for the Argentine vultures and the rats of the Mossad . . .” They’re taking the guns and the gold, and destroying everything else.’

  ‘They’re not hanging about, either,’ said Eddie. The soldiers were already dispersing. They had been prepared for Kroll’s order, igniting rags in the necks of Molotov cocktails. ‘Shit! I think it’s time to move!’

  He had barely finished speaking before a soldier ran to the barn above their hiding place and hurled a blazing bottle inside. It smashed against the rear wall, flames spraying outwards. Light from above suddenly flooded the foundations. Burning fuel dripped through holes in the wooden floor.

  More shattering glass and sounds of leaping fire came from outside as the Nazis spread out to obliterate what had been their home. ‘They will see us if we go out there,’ warned Roland.

  ‘They’ll smell us if we stay in here – we’ll be a fucking barbecue,’ Eddie shot back. He scrambled to the entrance and forced the panel aside. Nobody was in sight. ‘Everyone out!’

  The Yorkshireman exited first, then helped Nina through. Roland came next, holding in a yelp as a burning ember dropped on to his neck. Zane was last to leave, bringing up his MP5 as he got to his feet. ‘Where do we go?’

  ‘Into the garden,’ said Eddie, gesturing at Kroll’s residence. It was already ablaze, flames rising from the ground floor, and the houses of the other Nazi leaders were going the same way. ‘They won’t go back to somewhere they’ve already set alight, and if we stay behind the fence, nobody’ll see us.’ They hurried along the rear of the barn. ‘Plus we can keep an eye on the train from there.’

  Roland stared in disbelief as they got a wider view of the Enklave. ‘They are really burning it down,’ he said, dismayed. ‘Everything . . .’

  ‘Good riddance,’ said Eddie as he helped Nina into the garden. Zane and Roland climbed after them. ‘I just wish those bastards were still inside.’

  Zane moved into the bushes, cautiously peering over the fence at the railway. ‘Eddie, look at this.’

  Eddie took in the scene. Against a hellish backdrop of flames and smoke, the Nazi soldiers were returning to the waiting train. Kroll clambered into the first carriage, the elderly vehicle rocking on its twin bogies as his weight unbalanced it. Walther entered after him, leaving Rasche to oversee the troops.

  It was the remaining Nazi leader, Schneider, who caught his attention, though. ‘What’s that slimy bastard doing?’ The round-faced SS man was talking to a small group of women – some of whom, Eddie saw, were pregnant. ‘Roland, c’mere. Are they who you told me about?’

  The young man joined him. ‘Yes. But I cannot hear what he is saying to them.’

  ‘Whatever it is, they don’t like it.’ Some of the women reacted with shock and even tears to Schneider’s words, one running to him with her hands clasped together. The oldest of the group, pinch-faced, with her greying hair drawn into a severe bun above her SS uniform, yanked her back, then slapped her across the face. ‘Jesus!’

  ‘That is Dagmar Metzger – she is the head of the Kindermädchen,’ said Roland.

  ‘You don’t sound surprised that she’s smacking a pregnant woman around.’

  ‘She is in charge of discipline in the Kinderhaus. All the children fear her.’ He gave Eddie a somewhat shamefaced look. ‘So do the men who grew up under her.’

  The Englishman frowned as Schneider spoke to the now weeping young woman, patting her shoulder . . . then slipping his fingers through her hair and caressing it. ‘Creepy little shit,’ he muttered.

  ‘Herr Schneider takes . . . personal care of all the women in the Enklave,’ said Roland, his dawning dismay suggesting that he had never thought to consider that anything but normal until now.

  ‘Yeah, I bet he does,’ said the disgusted Nina. Metzger exchanged words with Schneider, then gave him a Nazi salute and snapped orders to the five younger women. All were now crying, the one who had been slapped close to hysteria. The leader of the Kindermädchen ignored their tears, pointing across the Enklave, and they set off with deep reluctance, Metzger practically dragging the weeping woman. ‘Where are they going?’

  Roland stared after them. ‘The Kinderhaus is in that direction . . .’ The sudden horror in his voice drew all eyes to him. ‘No, they would not. They would not!’

  ‘They wouldn’t what?’ Nina asked.

  ‘The children – they must still be in the Kinderhaus!’

  ‘Jesus Christ, they’re going to burn the fucking place down with the kids inside it!’ Eddie realised. ‘That’s why that girl was crying – they’ve just been told to kill their babies!’

  Nina stared after the departed women in shock. ‘Oh my God! We’ve got to stop them!’

  ‘No, Kroll and the others are about to leave,’ protested Zane. The Nazis had now organised themselves into groups of around twenty beside each of the four empty wooden wagons. Schneider joined Rasche as the soldiers began to climb aboard. ‘We have to go after them.’

  ‘They’re still watching out for us,’ Eddie warned. Several men were guarding the train. ‘We won’t get close – and there must be ninety of them against four of us.’

  ‘I know, but—’ The Israeli stopped as the loco’s whistle echoed across the compound. All the men bar the guards had now squeezed into the trucks. Rasche and Schneider boarded the carriage. The train edged forward, the wagons clatte
ring against each other. The sentries kept pace, first walking before starting to jog as the huffing old locomotive gradually picked up speed. ‘We can’t let them escape!’

  ‘They can’t go that fast,’ said Eddie, fighting his own urge to pursue the Nazis. ‘I saw the track on the way up – the hairpins are so tight, they’ll have to slow right down to get around them.’ He turned to Roland. ‘Can we get to this house without being seen?’ The blond man nodded. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ He started down the garden, Roland and Nina following.

  Zane didn’t move. ‘Damn it, Eddie!’

  ‘We can still catch up,’ the Englishman insisted.

  ‘These are kids we’re talking about, Jared!’ said Nina. ‘We can’t let them burn them alive!’ The Mossad agent clenched his jaw, aggrieved, then hurried after them.

  They vaulted the fence, giving the barn a wide berth as its roof collapsed. Eddie checked the dirt road bisecting the compound for stragglers. There were none, and as he glanced along the railway, he saw the last guards being pulled aboard the train. ‘Okay, we’re clear. Roland?’

  The young man pointed past the fire-racked barracks. ‘That way.’

  They rounded the inferno, the white-painted block of the Kinderhaus coming into view ahead. ‘Shit, we’re too late!’ Nina gasped. Smoke was already rising from within.

  The women were outside the main entrance, which was being secured by Metzger, closing a padlock on a length of chain. One of the younger women desperately tried to push her away, but was thrown to the ground. Another rushed at her – only to stumble back as Metzger drew a Luger and shouted at her, daring the others to advance.

  A scream from inside, the cry of a frightened child. More rose behind it. ‘God, they’re dying in there!’ said Nina. ‘We’ve got to do something!’

  Zane snapped up his MP5 and fired. Metzger fell backwards as a bullet hole burst open in her chest. ‘Done.’

  ‘Okay, straight to the point,’ said Eddie as he and Roland ran to the building.

  The remaining women regarded the pair with shock and fear. Roland spoke urgently to them in German. ‘There are twelve children and three of the Zucht-Fr— the other three women trapped inside,’ he told Eddie as Zane and Nina caught up.