Survivalist - 20 - Firestorm (13 page)

At the back of the closet hung one of the black jumpsuits Natalia wore almost like a combat uniform. She had several of them, of course, one or two stored here at the Retreat-at least two, come to think of k-and two more in the remaining two pieces of luggage not yet unpacked.

Did this one, the one hanging in the closet, belong to a different Natalia Anastasia Tiemerovna, she wondered, or did it still belong to her?

She finished hanging up her skirt and walked over to the smaller of the three suitcases, the open one. It was beside the bed and she dropped to her knees, moving aside her black bag, the one which doubled as large purse and small rucksack. Beneath the bag, exposed now, washer gunbelt, the two full-flap holsters bound together with it.

She unbound them, setting holsters and belt on the bed, still kneeling at the bed’s edge. The black leather gleamed dully, recently saddle-soaped and oiled, the holsters and die matching revolvers they held nearly lost when the helicopter had crashed and Annie had kept both she and Otto Hammerschmidt alive in the water until Jason Darkwood’s submarine had come for them.

Annie had cared for her guns and her holsters and her knife and the care showed, everything good as new despite the dousing.

Natalia took up the holsters and belt and, one at a time, opened the

bolsters’ flaps, then withdrew the revolvers carried within.

They were Smith and Wesson Model 686s, four-inch barreled adjustable sighted L-Frame .357 Magnums, customized by a man John had known-Ron Mahovsky-and bearing on the right barrel flats (the barrels ground flat on both sides, lightening them slighdy) American eagles, wings spread in challenge, eyes keen and alert. The guns had been given to her by the first and only president of U.S. II, the transitional government of the United Slates after the death of the president on the Night of the War and before the Great Conflagration, when the ionized atmosphere had caught fire and almost all life on earth was destroyed. His name had been Chambers.

He had told her he wanted to give her a medal, for her role in aiding in the evacuation of peninsula Florida before and during the great earthquake which had caused the peninsula to separate from the panhandle and fall into die sea. But he had told her also that he had no medal to give and, considering she was an officer with the forces of the foreign «vader with which the United States was at war, he could not have given her one if he had.

So, instead, he had given her these pistols and the holsters for them, once a gift to him.

The belt that accompanied them had been horribly large for her woman’s waist, but John had found a belt for her and^ “John,” Natalia whispered.

The revolvers in both her hands, she studied them for a moment. The sings she had done with them, lives taken and lives saved.

Natalia replaced the Smith and Wfessons in their holsters and set die goes and gunbelt back in the small suitcase. The revolvers were empty, but mere was ammunition in die small suitcase as well.

She left diem empty, stood, reached up her hands behind her back and removed her bra…

Annie had made a light snack for them while Natalia dressed, passing Natalia enroute from the kitchen to die bedroom she and Natalia dared. As usual, Natalia looked exquisite. But, of course, Natalia always did. Natalia’s robe, knotted easily at her slender waist, was of pink A, ever so slighdy longer than ankle length so that, as Natalia walked, i looked perfecdy natural for her to raise the hem shghtiy, pinching the ■brie between the tips of her long fingers. There was a hint of white anen visible just above where the robe crossed over at the front.

“Would you like me to make you some tea or coffee or something, Annie?”

“Coffee’d be wonderful. I just have to change, ni be out in a minute.” Annie entered the bedroom. She could see Natalia’s small suitcase, open on the floor beside the bed, die revolvers and gunbelt visible.

Before she changed, there was a more urgent need. She went to the bathroom…

Annie Rourke Rubenstein pulled her nightgown-it was ankle length with a ruffle at the hem, sleeveless and pale blue with a white ribbon which traversed the neckline and tied in a bow at the front-over her head. She put on her robe-it was of blue and pink wool plaid, very sensible looking and warm-then took up her brush and began to work it through her hair. She couldn’t picture women envying her hair, as her mother had said. She’d always liked her hair, but thought it was pretty ordinary.

This whole “pajama party,” as her mother, Sarah Rourke, kept referring to it, scared her. It was emotionally destructive to Maria Leuden. It was dangerous for Natalia, Annie thought, considering Natalia was still recovering from what could loosely be described as a nervous breakdown.

There were pills Natalia could take which would help her to relax. Doctor Rothstein, at Mid-Wake, had insisted Natalia have diem available, these in addition to die subcutaneously planted timed release capsule inserted near Natalia’s neck. Eventually, die capsule would be totally dissolved. It contained a drug Doctor Rothstein, the psychiatrist who had worked to help Natalia at Mid-Wake, had described as a natural tranquilizer produced by the body, rather like the opposite of adrenaline; “ifl release when Natalia’s body requires it, just helping her to relax.”

But even so—

Annie finished with her hair, finding a white ribbon which matched the ribbon at the r^kline of her gown, tying the nlibon into her hair at the nape of the neck. A little touch up with the hair brush again.

She noticed her eyes in the mirror. There was something akin to a wariness in them.

She closed her eyes, just standing there holding the hair brush …

Sarah Rourke tied her robe over her bulging abdomen. She looked at herself in the mirror as she began to brush her hair. She hadn’t tried to make this a “bitch session,” as Natalia had called it, but a help session. Maria Leuden was hopelessly in love with Michael-and hopeless seemed to be the operative word. Both she-Sarah-and Natalia were in love with the same man, Michael’s and Annie’s father, John.

But something else nagged at Sarah Rourke, and she would not even commit words to the thoughts, even in her mind. The thoughts frightened her …

The sixteen men, led by Hugo Goerdler, arrived at precisely eight-fifteen, Freidrich Rausch waiting in silence, camouflaged by the snow itself, the American M-16 rifle chambering the primitive cased ammunition cheeked close as they came.

He had to be certain that Goerdler and his men were, in fact, who they were supposed to be. There was much turmoil in New Germany and it was always possible that somehow the party had been penetrated and traced to the new headquarters in what had been Mexico, then a substitution made.

But as they approached and he momentarily exchanged the rifle for a pair of vision intensification binoculars, he was certain the sixteen were the right men.

Hugo Goerdler, Rausch’s political superior in the SS and one of the few men Rausch felt was more deadly than he when needed-not in the sense of combat, but in the sense of creativity-moved at the head of me ragged column of snow-smocked figures, uniformed as commandoes of New Germany. This struck a note of humor in Freidrich Rausch, that they were disguised as men under the command of the despicable Wolfgang Mann, yet a note of irony as well. It was Hugo Goerdler who personally oversaw the assassination of Wolfgang Mann’s wife in die streets of New Germany.

Rausch put down his snow splotched vision intensification binoculars and re-cheeked the rifle. “Hugo, my friend! I could have had you!”

Goerdler and his men looked up toward Rausch’s position with die simultaneity of a well-rehearsed chorus line.

Goerdler shouted back, “Does that make us even now for die time I stole your pants, Freidrich?”

Freidrich Rausch laughed aloud, the laughter warming him as he signalled his lifelong friend forward …

*

“I was sorry, Freidrich, gravely sorry when I learned-” “I shall avenge Damien. Then I can be sorry,” Rausch said, looking into his hands for a moment, then taking a small sip from his flask. There were a series of tunnels within the construction, to be obliterated when Eden Base was completed. But for now, they housed the fifteen men who had accompanied Hugo Goerdler. This particular tunnel, Rausch’s home of late, was all to themselves. “You have a plan, I take it, for killing this Rourke woman?” “A very simple plan, really. But they are always the best, are they not, the simple ones?” He lit a cigarette, then blew smoke toward the map on the wall of the tunnel. “The Retreat of this Doctor Rourke. His wife, his daughter, the Russian woman who is said to be his mistress, even the mistress of his son-they are all there. And they have two radios, one as primary and one in the event the first fails. I have been assembling a low power transmitter from the Eden Project stores, one only powerful enough for the signal to travel a few miles within such high mountains, not powerful enough for the signal to be intercepted at Eden Base or by Mann-damn him-or any of his so-called commandoes. I have also constructed a second device, with which I can jam outgoing signals within an area of several miles, thus preventing the women from contacting Mann for aid. I will lure them out, since Damien was unable to leave specific details for me concerning the method of entry to this Retreat or I have been unable to discern such details. But I shall lure them out, then murder them. Then I will enter die Hen-Doctor’s Retreat and incinerate it. Rourke will be so obsessed with finding the killer of these four women-especially considering die manner in which they shall die - that he will not rest and, more importandy, he will be neutralized, so preoccupied he will not be able to adequately aid Mann and his forces, or foil our plans concerning New Germany and Eden.”

“What of Commander Dodd?” Goerdler asked, then returning to chewing his rather small, almost childish looking lower lip. The hp distended, made him appear to be pouting. Now it was cracked from die cold.

“Dodd is an opportunist, Hugo. He will be our most loyal colleague until it is no longer in his best interests, then he will betray us. But until then, he can be useful. Once the day comes, I tell you, I will draw lots with you for the pleasure of killing him, eh?”

There was laughter in Goerdlefs dark eyes. Some said that

Goerdlefs physical features reminded them of photographs of Jews, but such persons who spoke such lies were to be counted among Hugo Goerdlefs detractors, the fellow Rubenstein, who was die companion of Doctor Rourke, after all was a Jew, yet there were no distinguishing marks about bis countenance, as much as Rausch had looked for diem. One would be hard-pressed, at any event, to find anyone who more devoudy epitomized the goals of National Socialism than Hugo Goerdler.

Goerdler was fingering his brass identity disk, put it on the rough teble and opened his own flask. “We will aid you, Freidrich, however you wish. You perform a task for all of New Germany, for the future of me race.”

Freidrich Rausch raised his flask. “Heil Hitier,” he whispered, the nnport of the centuries old toast swelling him with purpose, with pride, lb follow one so glorious, so all-knowing and so selfless was a task and a joy, requiring total dedication of self, in spirit and body. To give less was treason and dishonor.

They touched their flasks together in silence, then the instant before they drank, Hugo Goerdler murmured the same words, “Heil Hitier.”

They drank and then there was a long moment of silence …

“Ib happiness and peace,” Annie said, raising her glass.

“Here, here,” Sarah smiled.

Natalia raised her glass as well. 1 echo Annie!”

Maria, silent, raised her glass and the four women drank, Natalia noticing all of them sipped at their drinks as did she. It would be a long night.

Earlier in the day, Annie had baked soda crackers and prettily ar-onged on the soda crackers were various bits of this and that, meat, fowl, even fresh fish brought from Mid-Wake. There was a dip, as well, and although Natalia wasnt quite sure what it contained, it tasted vaguely oniony and quite delicious. But she only sampled it, not really hungry.

“I didn’t want this to be an unpleasant time for us,” Sarah Rourke said. “But, well, I just thought we all needed to try to help each other to solve some of our problems. Maybe it was a bad idea.”

If Michael does not feel he should marry me, well, I will respect his judgment. That should be simple enough,” Maria said, not looking at anyone, her hands in the pockets of her terrycloth robe. She wore

pajamas, the only one of them who did. Natalia wondered if that were conscious-the “pajama party* image-or merely custom?

Thafs your business, but Michael is my son, even if he is only a couple of years younger than I am. So, I guess I have a right to speak my mind. Well, maybe not a right, but a reason. I dont want to hurt you. If s just that I love you both, and I want you both to be happy.” Sarah paused, then, voice low, added, “And Fm sure Madison would have wanted that, too.”

Natalia said, “Madison was a very sweet girl. In that way, Maria, very much like you. You are both very different, however, and I think-and this is only opinion-that Michael was attracted to you because of your differences from Madison and the similarities, attracted to you as the whole person. With the passivity you seem to exhibit to Michael’s will, Fm not sure you’re doing him a service, or a service to yourself.”

“Michael’s too much like his father. I guess what worries me,” Sarah said, relying the belt from her robe into a bow, “is that I made mistakes, John made mistakes. They hurt, mistakes do, and I don’t wish any hurt to either of you.”

Annie was sipping at her drink, looked over die rim of the glass as she spoke. “I like this evening better. Earlier, I didnt know what was happening, but I didn’t like it at all. But I think we should make a ground rule. If someone doesn’t want to discuss-well, talk about things like this, well, they can say that and the subject’s off limits. Okay?”

“A good rule, Annie” Natalia agreed, doubting it would be adhered to despite the best intentions.

Yes,” Sarah said. “Look-Fm feeling very guilty here, but I only wanted to help. I didnt want this to be unpleasant; maybe Fm just a fool.”