The
helicopter flew slowly over the harbour of Hamburg. Below it one could see the
huge container facilities of the Seaport. More than a dozen megafreighters were
lying in the harbour at the moment. Even now, in the darkest night, there was
bustling activity everywhere. Huge cranes drove tirelessly back and forth and
hosts of trucks drove back and forth like endless columns between huge
mountains of containers. Every day unimaginable quantities of goods were moved
between them. But all this was of no concern to the passengers of the
helicopter. They were on their way to a ship that had just appeared outside the
city during the day. In the darkness of the night the ship appeared graceful
and the silhouette of the ship could hardly be distinguished from the water of
the Elbe. Only thanks to the position lights and the illuminated windows the
size of the ship could be guessed. When the helicopter flew over the river, the
spotlights glided over the ship. One of the two passengers looked curiously out
of the window and had a good view of the luxury yacht. She was almost 200
meters long and had a futuristic design. It was an American yacht from Palmer
Johnson. However, the passenger had never seen such a huge one before.
"She
is enormous!" the 20 year old young man smiled at his companion. The
30-year-old woman wore a tailor-made suit and had her blond hair tied tightly
to a braid. The woman's pale skin made the sinful lipstick appear all the more
effective. If she was impressed by the ship, she hid it masterfully. A gentle
yet definite look rested on the young man as she said in a smoky voice.
"Relax
Robert. This is no easy walk!"
"What
do you mean? Why did he call us? Because of what happened in Munich"
Robert asked curiously and his brown eyes sparkled amused and proud.
Unfortunately that seemed to displease the woman.
"Stop
embarrassing yourself and above all me Robert" she said now strictly what
had the consequence that Robert flinched. "He would not call us because of
such a trifle to himself.
"What?
I defended the city," Robert said outraged.
"Yes
you did! And you far exceeded my expectations. But you don't have to prove
yourself to me. You are my son! My child! My noble Blood runs in through your
veins. That should be enough for the beginning. You are still young and even if
you have great potential you are still at the very beginning," she said
more gently and Robert relaxed a little.
"My
boy. You protected Munich against one of our oldest enemies. Almost completely
alone, without the help of allies, you discovered the betrayal in the ranks of
our allies and reacted quickly and decisively. It is thanks to your efforts
that the city is still ours, but this is a different league. You're just
too young to understand the game yet."
"I
will follow your instructions. Just like I've always done! I will never
dishonor you" he said with a true fervor and a smile scurried over the
woman's face as a jerk went through the cabin as the helicopter touched down on
the ship's landing deck. After the two pilots had secured the plane, 2 sailors
came to the helicopter and opened the doors. The two passengers left the
helicopter and were led inside the ship. The ship was much more luxurious
inside than outside. Robert noticed that it was not as pompous as he knew it
from some magazines. The inside of the ship had a different class. It was a
timeless beauty. The interior was made of beautiful wood, mostly dark wood.
Some priceless works of art were exhibited in the rooms and Robert could not
resist the feeling that he was here in a place that meant a lot to the owner.
But his
companion seemed to already know the place. She hardly had an eye for these
works of art. However, she stopped shortly before a painting that showed a
medieval town. Robert stayed next to her and looked at the painting rather
casually. He knew neither the place nor the painter of this picture.
"A
beautiful picture or little boy? Drawn in London in 1612. The painter was a man
named Arthur. A rather unknown painter of his time. But I always found this
painting captivating." She smiled absently and then nodded more to herself
than to him. "We shouldn't keep him waiting. Come now! And think of this!
Speak only if you are addressed! And if you have to say something, choose your
words with caution!
"Am I
in danger?" Robert asked uncertainly as he followed.
"We
are both in danger my boy!" she said seriously.
The woman
hurried to a large double door which was opened by two sailors. Behind it one
could see a library and a fireplace in which the fire blazed softly and
quietly. The flames were the only source of light in the room and yet they were
sufficient to illuminate the contours of an armchair on which someone was
sitting. They could only see a part of the man looking at the fire and with a
simple gesture he indicated that they should come in.
"Sir."
The woman said gently and with a slight touch of humility in her voice as she
bowed. Her son seemed a little surprised and hurried to bow as well.
" How
should I call you?"
The voice
of the man let the otherwise so seized woman visibly tremble. The voice was
deep and had that certain reverberation which made the women weak. It cost her
a lot of strength not to lose her composure in front of her firstborn and to
remain strong.
"I
prefer the name Vanessa Sir. If you don't mind, sir." She finally managed
to answer.
"As
you wish Vanessa. The man at her side must be your firstborn? Robert's name
wasn't it?"
Robert's
chest swelled and his posture became a little stiffer. The thought that this
man knew his name was like a drug for the boy. He was still so young and had
already achieved so much. Everyone in the clan talked about him having a bright
future. That one day he would be one of the big ones. His mother was one of the
most powerful and her blood clearly flowed in his veins. It was his destiny to
gain power: One day he would have such a ship and one day he himself would
stand there and command others!
"That's
right, sir. He's still young, but he's done a lot already. He uncovered the
fraud in Munich and made sure that the city is still ours." Vanessa
proudly said and looked at Robert. She prayed that he wouldn't do anything
stupid now.
"I
have heard of it. It is impressive what your boy has already achieved. But it
is not the reason why I called you. I heard that a certain Mrs. Schmidt had an
appointment with the President...' the voice resounded. Still one could not see
more of him than an arm that just put a book attentively on the table.
Robert was
dying to see the man but Vanessa didn't dare to move closer to him either. The
warnings from her were still too fresh in his mind.
" As
always you are well informed sir. It is true that Johanna Schmidt had an
appointment with her. May I ask why this is of interest to you?
"What
did the two talk about?" the shipowner asked without answering her
question. The threatening undertone was impossible to overhear, the deep voice
echoed from the walls again without even increasing the volume. His voice
suddenly seemed stronger and stronger.
"We
don't know that... yet" Vanessa said after some hesitation. The next thing
she felt was the power of a cannonball hitting her chest. She had fought many
fights for the clan, was considered one of the oldest and strongest fighters
and yet she was told that it was her fighting experience that made her so
dangerous. It was said that she had a sixth sense for attacks. But this one she
hadn't seen coming. Not even suspected. He had simply been there out of
nowhere. She was thrown against the heavy entrance door where she slid down
dazed.
Robert's
wish had come true. Even if not quite as he had hoped. Now he could see the man
who had sat there on the chair. He just showed up in front of Vanessa. Out of
nowhere. One moment he had sat on the chair and the next moment he stood in
front of Vanessa who flew through the room and slid along the door with a loud
moan. His instinct said he had to protect her. He gathered all his strength. He
jumped forward and pulled out with his fist. He'd show this motherfucker! No
one was allowed to dare deal with her like that in his presence. But then the
man's head turned to him and Robert bounced back as if hit by a blow.
Staggering several meters backwards he felt his body trembling with fear. A
fear, so unnatural, so omnipresent that it clouded his mind. These eyes. He
just couldn't get those eyes out of his head anymore. Those black eyes!
"How
can it be that one of my experiments meets the woman who thinks she rules my
country and I don't know what they were talking about?" the man asked
calmly and with a threatening serenity in his voice.
Vanessa
looked up at him in a panic. She could see a true Adonis standing in front of
her. The shoulder-length pitch-black hair fell far over his shoulders on his
back. The skin almost as white as snow. The black pupils stuck out from a face
as flawless as the noblest statues in Rome. The man was a second Schwarzenegger
by stature and yet in the black suit he looked as elegant as an ancient ruler.
"We
hadn't expected Miss Schmidt to return to government service. I promise you my
boy and I will find out today what it was about Sir!
A gentle
smile scurried across the man's face as he looked at Robert.
"I'm
afraid I can't tolerate your failure with impunity."
Both felt
it at the same time. The room seemed to have become several dozen degrees
colder in one fell swoop. The fire itself lost all its color when the colors
were wiped from the world. An almost tangible darkness went out from the man
and crawled into the last corner of the room. Then it became dark. No. That was
the wrong word. It became... different. There was no room anymore. There was no
fireplace anymore. There was neither floor nor wall nor ceiling. There were
only the three people. Vanessa already knew this power. But she had never felt
it so concentrated. For Robert, on the other hand, that was too much. He felt a
panic germinate. He could feel something lurking in the darkness. It moved.
Staring at him. Impossible to track down. His otherwise so fine senses were
completely useless. Vanessa could also feel it. This fear that had appeared at
the same time as the darkness. This supernatural panic. Since time began people
had been afraid of darkness. From the shadows... from what was IN the shadows.
Then
suddenly their first-born screamed out. She stared at him and could see like
something... no. Actually nothing.... Grabbed his leg and suddenly it was gone.
Swallowed by the darkness. Then his chest was ripped open and pierced by a
spear from darkness. These wounds should have been fatal but they were not.
With every horrible second more of him disappeared until only his eyes
remained. These panic-stricken begging eyes. They begged that the suffering
would finally end. That she would redeem him.
Then the
fire burned again and the colours were back. Everything was as before only that
there was nothing more to see of her Robert. The owner of the ship sat again in
front of the fireplace and recorded his book.
"I
hope you have more information in our next conversation Vanessa. Maybe I'll
redeem you then. And be so good and deliver Hauptmann Deutschland please a gift
from me. You may go now!
Trembling
with fear Vanessa bowed rather out of reflex and went out. Only when the doors
had closed her mind collapsed. She threw up and puked blood and gall. One of
the sailors held a small box against her and opened it. Inside was an old but
well-kept Mauser pistol.
She took it
and staggered back to the helicopter. She had to do the job! No matter what the
cost! She needed salvation! Because what nobody could see except her were
Robert's eyes. Everywhere in the shade. Thousands of pairs of eyes that they
begged to put an end to these endless torments!
She had to
get rid of those eyes or she would tear out her own... although she knew that
this would not bring any relief. When she finally sat in the helicopter and
flew away, she realized what it would mean to them all.
The true
ruler of Germania was back!