Operation Wolfe Cub: A Chilling Historical Thriller (THE TIME TO TELL Book 1) (2 page)

BOOK: Operation Wolfe Cub: A Chilling Historical Thriller (THE TIME TO TELL Book 1)
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Wolfe settled down, then pointed ahead. “And them?”

“Who? Our two special officers? They are never to speak their names again. Their names are US-1 and US-2 from now on…I’ll complete their training aboard the vessel. They know their mission. That’s all. Nothing more.”

Wolfe warily nodded then flagged Dr. Wycliffe to move on.

Just ahead, the two officers stopped briefly to let Dr. Wycliffe and Wolfe catch up. US-1, smiled cockily, with hardly a loss of breath. He held his lantern up high, signaling where they were. Just then, the lantern’s light swung across the chests of their jet black uniforms revealing their symbol more vividly. It was most unique, glistening in a darker shade of gold, but of a design unlike any other. It was simple, looking like nothing more than perhaps a rolling star encased in an outline of a circle or like an authoritative badge might look. Interestingly, the golden symbol proudly embossed itself to the left of their chests—right square in front of their hearts. No doubt, it was a symbol dear to them, for they both glanced down at it whenever they got the chance.

As Dr. Wycliffe closed the gap between him and the officers, he labored to talk further over his shoulder: “All—
Christ, it’s hard to breathe
—all of the equipment and rations are on board the vessel. All was checked—verified by separate technicians—without knowing any details of the mission.”

Wolfe caught up with him. “And the medallion?”

Dr. Wycliffe paused to think and then continued jogging: “
Ah
, yes. We used the chain to secure the baby’s medallion. It’s permanently locked on the baby’s ankle.” He continued, “All—
whew
, forgive me. I’m not used to this running. I have to stop momentarily.”

As he caught his breath, he raised his head up to Wolfe. “Forgive me. All the other scientists were troubled. How do you expect the baby to know with certainty how to get there? More importantly—when to get there.”

Wolfe didn’t answer, so Dr. Wycliffe began to panic. “Christ O’Mighty—how did you choose him? He’s just a baby.”

Wolfe lashed out beneath the shadow of his rain-drenched fedora, “He will succeed!”

From the tone of Wolfe’s voice, Dr. Wycliffe knew he had overstepped his bounds. Just then, the men became mildly distracted by the sounds of sirens fading off in the distance and the bombs, which had stopped dropping. Coincidentally, the wind and rain had also died down, as if the squall itself wished to hear what was being discussed. The oddity of tempest turning to silence was so overwhelming that all four of them scattered in a loose line, stopping briefly to wonder what happened to their surroundings.

US-2, next to US-1, held his hand out, feeling the air. “It’s warmer than it was before.”

US-1 stuck his lantern out to shine into the darkness, but saw nothing from any direction.

Farther back behind them, Dr. Wycliffe wasn’t shaking off the odd feeling too well either. He grabbed his weak chin,
for the secure sense of thinking. He then glanced back to Wolfe with a look of fear. He tried to chuckle, “Odd weather, I guess.”

Wolfe himself seemed just as puzzled as he stepped up closer. He stared directly at the ground with a little sense of lost hope. Slowly he brought himself to the realization it was just the weather.

Dr. Wycliffe asked again, “Well? All of us back at the lab—back at the facility of Thule!
2
Christ O’Mighty—the whole world depends on the works of this operation. Who’s the boy?”

Wolfe blindly looked around as he became angry. “Quiet…we’ve said too much.”

Even though he couldn’t be seen, he caught his simmering temper with a long, exhausted exhale. As if he were tired of it all, he dropped his face all the way down, revealing more of his regret and sadness. Slowly he lifted his shadowy head, as if clinging to perhaps what little bit of pride he could muster. His pride was in short supply, for he looked to the ground for composure again with a quivering, clenched fist. Desperately, he sought comfort in the midst of his conflicting thoughts. With great difficulty he searched through his mind for answers in the midst of the sadness which was troubling him.

Dr. Wycliffe caught on. “Hey! It’s just the war! The war’s to blame—we haven’t died yet!”

His supportive words seemed to work, but something else worked too. Through a single flash of lightning, Wolfe caught a tiny glimpse of the baby’s bright, blue eyes shining,
seeming to send a message that whatever he was dealing with was okay.

Surprisingly, the child hadn’t been disturbed through this trying time. In fact, the child even returned a smile.

Wolfe let out a sharp breath as Dr. Wycliffe suddenly looked relieved too. He took the time to pause, wipe the rain from his glasses, and think about Wolfe’s hidden problems. Then he hunched closer to the baby. “He’s not your baby, is he?”

“No!”

Cra-crack-crack!

The shrilling shock of thunder and lightning struck from behind, just beyond the bluff. US-1 and US-2 immediately shook their curiosities aside to sprint ahead again while the weather still allowed.

As the rain and wind emerged again, Dr. Wycliffe and Wolfe paused briefly beside one another. In that very moment, their troubles seemed to fade. Even though they were standing in an increasing torrent of rain, both of their harsh realities seemed subdued by the tiny, magical prospects of the baby and his mission.

Wolfe looked sharply ahead and then began to march forward as Dr. Wycliffe tried to catch up. “Okay, I don’t care who he is—Christ O’Mighty—how can we be sure this operation will work?”

Wolfe kept marching, then raised his fist. “It is desire! He will have the strongest desire in the
world!

Another hurling crash of thunder and lightning raided their conversation.

Dr. Wycliffe hunkered down as he instinctively raised his clipboard and satchel to shield his head against the ambush of electrical charge.

In just seconds, continuous bolts of blinding light blasted down across the barren landscape crossing their path to destiny. Just then, all of them caught their first glimpse of what
was chained and anchored against the brunt of the elements. Their vessel was waiting lifelessly, rocking at the edge of the violent sea. She looked like she desperately wanted to save herself, but without a crew to pull her anchors from the sand and rocks, she had nowhere else to hide.

She was stark and flat black, looking more like a menacing machine than a floating vessel. Such a seagoing vessel would have elicited the curiosity of almost anyone setting eyes on her. Her wraithlike image appeared and then disappeared through the lightning, leaving her first onlookers, US-1 and US-2, begging out loud for more lightning just so they could see her again. Finally, their hardest sprint slowed to a walk.

“We’re going to climb aboard that thing…US Wehrwolf.”

“It’s not a thing! It’s a
she
…and she’s a beautiful Wolf.”

Another flicker of bright white lit up the sky, helping to show her entire hull up close, causing US-2 to feel the hair tickling on the nape of his neck. “Su-so…so far, so good—you think?”

US-1’s shivering grin widened with the same sort of superficial tickle. He nodded uneasily before turning back to signal with his lantern. “Over here! We’re here!”

US-2 paced back and forth, looking on with amazement. He then gazed off into the darkness of the cold, black sea in anticipation of what was positively in store for them. A trip through the great, wide-open unknown, with the sea ship of all sea ships, dazzled his mind. “I can’t believe this…I mean, look at those shark fins. They’re all over, front to back.”

US-1 stood still in a daze. “She’s really something. I can’t get used to it…she looks so…so—”

“I know what you’re thinking. They called her the
Wehrwolf
because that’s what she is!”

US-1 smiled as he turned back around. “What’s taking them so long?”

Though Dr. Wycliffe was still far off, he could see the vessel too. He was equally impressed as he gazed upon only a portion of the sleek, angles of the bow where US-1 swung his lantern. He whispered to himself, “What a she-devil. I’ll never get over her design…my design.”

He seemed to be the one taking the most pleasure in admiring the look of such a special ship. He swallowed tenderly and licked the rain from his lips. With a swift turn, he looked back to the man who continuously conspired to be his inspirational source. The man he gazed back at, carrying the baby, was a trusted friend of his, he beamed with delight, smiling his biggest smile for the first time that evening.

Dr. Wycliffe couldn’t make up his mind which way to look after that. First, it was at the vessel, but then he looked back at Wolfe. Finally, he made up his mind by paying another glance back at the fearless black figure floating there no more than eighty meters away.

He turned back to Wolfe, cupping his mouth to yell, “My whole life has been one wild ride with you!...this is it—my ultimate journey! Hope to see you again, my friend—someday or somewhere!”

Wolfe stepped up, quietly shaking Dr. Wycliffe’s shoulder with a little dose of confidence and inspiration. His charisma soon grew contagious.

Dr. Wycliffe lifted his head as if that was all it took for him to smile again. His emotions ran high, and he shed a tear. “I’d better move ahead before the coward in me shows up again.” He then shook his fist in the air without an ounce of despair. “This
will
work. I can
feel
it! It
will
! I’m telling you!”

Juiced with confidence once again, Dr. Wycliffe turned and sped in a symbolic victory sprint, just like a youth defying all odds, before slowing back down to realize his age. He turned back to Wolfe, grinning ear to ear. “The baby must be very special! My friends…all of them working the Island! They will be coming home—for good now!”

He went on, “We are talking about an impossible journey. Impossible, I said.
Ha haaa
. Oh, and by the way, cutting off all lines of communication is a good idea! Our ship here—the US
Wehrwolf
—she’ll be the most fabulous ship on the sea that nobody ever knows of! Nobody will ever know about her.”

He carried on, “This is the beginning. The heavens gave us science to bring us peace. Peace for the world.”

Just then, a powerful bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, startling him. “Oh my God—Christ O’Mighty. If I didn’t know better, I’d say we’re fighting against the storm too. That was close.”

Wolfe slowed down to a stroll as he watched Dr. Wycliffe walk the rest of the way down the beach to meet up with the others. It seemed as though he already knew what his crew was on—an artificial high that wouldn’t last for long. Nevertheless, he stayed focused while saving a little sense of amazement just for himself. Reality came down to pinch him on the side. Indeed, he was finally there on scene with his tiny team, in front of a wondrous-looking warship.

He took in the final moments he had been waiting for with strong, deep breaths, but the man deflated down to the lonesome sadness he’d tried to shake off earlier. He gathered his last moments of thought, for reasons known only to him as he touched the nose of his tiny baby. He whispered, “Your mother wished to say good-bye.”

All too quickly, he clenched his jaw. Whatever anxiety he had to overcome made his knees buckle. He gasped with the feeling of petrifying pain, but no physical encounter was the cause. Surely, it must have been his own contemplations that railroaded his mind. A clash of emotions, hammered him from out of the blackness while he held on to the innocence in his arms. Wildly, he started seesawing, as if he himself didn’t know what he was going to do next. Desperately, he
twitched as if one part of him wished to call the mission off, while his countering side wished for him to continue.

Within a few more battling breaths, he calmed down and looked straight ahead once again. Not much farther down the last stretch of lonely beach, he saw his comrades’ silhouettes dancing around the single lantern. They looked so excited, hooting in the night and expressing their fathoms of fun as if they were a wild tribe getting ready for the adventure of their lives. That seemed like enough to cut his pinned-up divide and it did. Quickly, he broke free with one thing on his mind: to follow through with the mission. Operation Wolfe Cub wasn’t dead. It was very much alive and well.

Without a second more, he double-checked the baby’s medallion beneath his tightly-bundled quilt. Just like Dr. Wycliffe said, it was locked onto his ankle. He opened the medallion, revealing a hidden locket then reached inside his suit pocket and pulled out a neatly-folded piece of paper. Once more, he felt for the locket, stuffed the note into it, and shut it back tightly and as quickly as possible. With his thumb, he felt around the perfectly-mated surface, making sure it was sealed without a clue to its contents. Decisively, he marched forward, basically forgetting all about what he had just done. Nothing appeared to stop him after that.

In the interim, all three of his comrades continued standing in awe next to their ship, even though their only lantern might have been ready to go out at any moment from the wind and rain. No doubt they were excited, so excited that US-1 didn’t care about the flickering lantern. To amuse himself, picked it up and flung it out into the sea.

His impulsive stunt was shocking to the others at first. All three of them paused with absolutely nothing to say, except to mutter their irritated grievances into the dark.

Just then, a little piece of the moon emerged from the clouds, casting slight visibility onto the vessel once again.

Dr. Wycliffe pointed straight up. “Christ O’Mighty…look at that. An omen…this is it. A moon in the storm! I can feel it now.”

US-1 and 2 looked at each other and then busted up with laughter while Dr. Wycliffe looked puzzled. “Wha-wha… what’s wrong? Don’t the two of you believe in Christ, the Mighty?”

The two officers slapped their knees, staggering: “
Ha ha
…yeah sure.”

“The moon’s full too. Can’t you tell? Just look beyond the clouds…and we’re boarding the US
Wehrwolf
,
ha ha!

BOOK: Operation Wolfe Cub: A Chilling Historical Thriller (THE TIME TO TELL Book 1)
11.95Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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