Rise Once More (17 page)

“
Not a soul saw what happened next. My boys walked into the village, ashamed, disappointed, and completely let down. What they will remember, is forever etched in their minds, and no matter how much they want to believe otherwise is the complete truth.”

“
I walked into the village, a trophy held tight in my grasp, a bleeding heart, and one that I coveted more than anything else. I laid it at the elder's feet, he almost fainted, but his wife didn't fare so well. That was the first time I killed another man, and to be honest with you, the feeling of my first kill has never been satiated.”

Haus fumbled his fingers nervously, a crest of sweat beaded up on his forehead, he knew what kind of man sat before him and he wanted little to do with this negotiation.
I have to do whatever he wants. I hate being backed into a corner like this, but what other option do I have? Should I just agree? What about Amy? Will he really let us walk out of here untouched? Can I actually trust the words of a murder obsessed Nazi lunatic?

Richter sat in silence, staring at Haus, but he refused to make eye contact with his captor. Richter knew if he remained silent for a few more moments that he had won the battle of wills. Richter was feeling let down a bit, as he had thought Haus would have been a stronger opponent. Haus being of the divine race and all, it seemed a shame to him that he had crumbled so quickly. A simple story and a cold demeanor had been enough to bend Haus's will to align with his own.

“A car, the girl, and some supplies.” Haus said quietly, his voice almost a whisper.

“
Excuse me?” Richter asked, his face almost showing his surprise. Maybe he had underestimated Haus. A small swell of pride sparked in his soul. Even though Richter had the upper hand in the negotiation, he decided to grant Haus whatever he wanted; all he had to do was ask.

“
No less than a week's worth.” Haus said, this time his voice steady and firm.

“
Which girl? We have plenty here to choose from. I suppose you are requesting the one you were found with?” Richter said smugly.

“
Her name is Amy. Yes. Her, a car, and one weeks worth of food and water.” Haus replied.

“
I think that can be arranged Mr Long. You do understand that I cannot let you see her until I know the job is done. Call it an insurance policy, in case you decide to do something stupid.” Richter said with a stern tone of voice.

Chapter Twenty

Pain In The Ass

Haus accelerated quickly down the road, glad to be far away from the crazy Nazi's, and away from that feeling of imminent demise. There was just something about the whole building that seemed to wreak of death, stale air, and harsh chemicals. Chemicals, the same kind that one would expect to smell after a room needed cleansed of the vile actions performed behind those windowless metal doors.

Bleach and other sanitizers mixed together, both to sanitize, and too clean the blood from the walls, floors, and other items inside the room. Haus had not actually seen anything to indicate that such a room existed within the compound, but he didn't need too. He could sense it, feel it, smell it. He just knew that a few more feet down, possibly only a single floor below him was a cavern where those atrocities manifested in a grotesque form of pure evil.

Richter had let him off easy, he knew it, but wasn't quite sure as too why. A twisted man, a very smart, but evil man, had let him go with his own free will, a generous supply of goods, and his trophy...
AMY
His mind snapping back to reality, she hadn't awaken yet, and despite Richters so called doctor assured him she would awake very soon. Haus was still very uneasy, that she still lay in the back seat, motionless and pale.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road, feeling that he had placed enough distance in between the Nazis and them, to grant them a brief rest stop. Haus exited the car, opened the rear door and leaned over to examine Amy. She had a pulse, very slow, but a pulse none the less. Her breathing was shallow, and he could smell strange chemicals escaping from her mouth. He recognized that smell, one he had tasted years ago after he had his tonsils removed as a small child.

Anesthesia.
The memory was traumatizing to him, he was so scared when he woke up, his mind in a dense fog that wouldn't shake. The first lucid images, all blurred together, in a multicolored collage of difficult to interpret images. He only needed a small glimpse, one sliver of reality to cling too.
Mom
. He locked onto her freckled face, and she held him, until the nightmarish chemicals drifted away.

That comfort, that rock, that sliver to cling onto too. Amy would need that as well. Soon she would  wake free from the chemical shackles that held her down, and she would definitely be scared. “I'm here Amy. You're safe now.” Haus said out loud as he curled her back behind her ear. From his bent down position, he could feel a slight pain in his left butt cheek.

He stood up, reaching one hand behind him, and down the back of his pants. He found the spot; a slight dull pain, a burning, itchy spot. He felt a very small scab, scratched it off, and felt a tingle of warm wetness on his finger. He drew his hand back, and a small smear of blood streaked his finger. “Fucking spider bite!” Haus said as he bent back down to Amy's side. Now is not the time to worry about himself, but rather to get Amy to wake up. He had to know she was going to be okay, and that the actions he did for Richter was worth it.

***

“You let them go?” Tobias said, his voice carried an air of disbelief.

“
Yes sir.” Richter said calmly.

“
I don't understand Shietz.” Richter stood calmly, knowing that Tobias had used his nickname for a reason. He was searching for a valid answer, and by using his nickname, only known among the two of them, that he was asking on a deeply personal level. Richter knew this association, and how to handle it.

They had been friends, ever since the first hunting trip, Tobias had been one of the weaklings to witness Richter's first kill turn into a loss, and had his back before the second hunt. He rallied the other kids to follow Richter's guidance. He had lobbied each of them, assuring them of a successful hunt, only to watch it be reclaimed by Joven, and his crew.

Unlike the others, he had seen what happened, and knew Richter dark secret. He had been there, covered in dirt, snow, and sweat. He had saw the trophy, brought down legitimately, by the careful planning of Richter. Only to be robbed by that bastard Joven, and his influential friends.

It gave him a sense a sense of pride, to be the first person to thrust the knife into Jovens chest. Richter had stood there, weak, and willing to let him take the prize, but Tobais would not allow it. Not after all they had gone through, not for how hard he had to work to get the others to join them.

The others, were a few meters behind, mute to the events unfolding, but today would be different. Tobias stood looking at Joven, his muscular body hovering over the wolf, and salivating at the idea of bringing home a “True” trophy to his father.
Oh no! Not today
. That bastard was not going to steal this kill, and Tobias stood dumbfounded at Richter.

Richter stood still, frozen in fear, as Joven carved the heart out of the wolf. He offered no resistance, allowing Joven to do as he pleased while his crew looked on. The anger inside Tobias grew, a fountain of untapped anger, and now one year later he was 25 pounds stronger than the year before. He had witnessed this rape once before, Richter too scared to do anything, just as Tobias's father had done the same, as Joven's father took his families last scraps of meat from the drying rack.

Today. Today will be a different day. This day is the time that Tobias will take his revenge. No longer the trodden upon peon, the role his father had accepted as reality, will not be his own. Tobias readied himself, a hand forged dagger hanging in his belt behind the back, a gift from his father the blacksmith. Its blade sharpened, many times, even a thousand times over; honed to a perfect edge, for just this opportunity, one that will shortly be robbed of him as well.

He had heard his father's words, tales of hunts of the olden years, tales of actual wolves, not a deer heart as the trophy. Joven held the heart in his hands, it was still beating, held up high in victory, but he gravely underestimated the blacksmiths son. The same blacksmith that had been seen the same fate, 30 years before, the only difference was that Tobias had nothing to lose.

There was no social order in his world, no consequence for his blasphemy, to defy the natural order of things. He knew only one thing, he had fought, and damn hard for that heart. That downed wolf, had come by Richter's planning, and a well placed spear by Tobias, and he would hang before Odin to let it go.

The faces of Joven's slaves, as he called them, were enough to validate that there was a drastic change in social order happening. Tobias thrust his thoroughly sharpened knife deep inside Joven's lower chest, just short of the diaphragm. Joven's face of surprise, and the shocked look of his crew, all of them focused on Tobias.

His knife buried, all the way to the hilt, rested in Joven's chest. Joven gasped spastically for air, and he hovered slightly above the ground, impaled by Tobias's blade. Joven let out his last gasp of air, as Tobias held the blade deep inside his abdomen. His grip firm, several generations of anger flowed out into the handle of the blade.

Tobias watched contently as the life drained from Joven's body, the warm blood trickling down the knife and forming red trails on his hands. Joven's eyes darted around, almost in a state of disbelief, how could he be dying at such a young age? Then the movement of his eyes slowed, his pupils dilated until they completely removed the blue color, replacing it with what looked like perfected round balls of coal.

Joven twitched a few times, his eyes finally rolled back into his skull, and with that Joven the mighty chieftains son was no more. Tobias lowered the body to the ground, withdrawing his dagger, and let it flop lifeless at his feet. What had once been thoughts a few moments ago, were now actions, and those actions carried consequences.

There was only one thing left to do. The only way to save his family from the consequences was to ask the only person he knew who could help him. That person was Richter. Richter was smart, disturbingly smart, he knew everything, and if there was a way out of this mess it was with him. Tobias looked over at Richter, attempting to say something, but nothing came out of his lips. It didn't need to be spoken; the look in Richter's eyes was reassurance enough; a confident stare, a calm face, and a plan.

“Remember the wolf?” Richter said calmly, a sly grin beginning to crest his lips.

“
Of course I do.” Tobias said.

“
I took care of business then, even though you thought I was insane, the plan worked did it not?” Richter said.

“
A little too perfectly Shietz.” Tobias said with a small chuckle.

“
I don't say this often enough, but every time you march head long into a fire, I always find a way to extinguish the flames. This time, like the many times before, you have to understand that I have it all under control.” Richter said.

“
You had us searching for him for years, by some fluke we had him in our grasp, and you let him go? Did you at least get him to do the job?” Tobias said, shaking his head back and forth, an increasingly confused look upon his face.

“
Yes. We have full access now. EVERYTHING. All he wanted was the girl and a paltry amount of supplies. Oh, yes, a car as well.  Which is a very small price to pay for what we got in exchange.” Richter said.

“
We should have held him here. If he could do all of that in a matter of hours, just imagine what he could have done...” Tobias was cut off mid sentence by Richter, who cocked his head to the side, like a chicken does when examining the ground for food.

“
I never said I let him go...” Richter said, a million dollar smile stretched across his face. “When he was arrested I thought it was all over, and I told you call the search off. Let him rot in jail, and we could use our brothers on the inside to sway him to our cause. I wasn't exactly truthful with you then, but I will be now.” Tobias arched his broad shoulders, and anger started to well up deep inside his chest.

There were few things Tobias despised, and the number one was lying to him. The thought of his closest friend, or rather his only friend was about to tell him he had lied, was almost too much for him to hear. “Easy old friend. He never made it to jail. We checked. No record, in fact he ceased to exist at all officially, and today confirmed something I have long believed to be truth. I didn't tell you, because we had other things to worry about while I tried to figure it out. My gut instinct rings true, as it always has, and is in no way a reason for you to be upset.” Richter said.

“I trust you, but I have seen this face before; like you are about to pull off a practical joke. No more games, stop dancing around the fire, and tell me what I want to hear.” Tobias said.

“
He must have been recruited somehow. Brought into some agency, one that we know very little about, but he did have the mark on his hand. Once I saw it, I decided to give him whatever he wanted, because as of now, he is a golden ticket to riches beyond even my wildest dreams.” Richter said, his tone of voice changed, no longer one of confidence, but rather one of giddy excitement.

“
Now give me the big bomb Shietz. I know you got it hidden back there. Let me have it.” Tobias said as a contagious grin crept across his face.

“
He is going to head back to that agency soon, and just like an ant marches back to the queen we are going to be watching his every move. I needed access to the GPS satellites for this plan to work, and he gratefully granted me access. Now we have the satellites, and he has a tracker in his ass. Literally.” Richter said as he burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“
A tracker?” Tobias said.

“
Yes. I had our boys install a positioning unit, similar to the ones they place on sharks for studying their migratory patterns. They surgically embedded it deep into his left butt cheek, it was the only muscle that was large enough to allow it to be positioned under the skin deep enough to prevent him from removing it. Even if he knew it was there, it would be very problematic to remove it, even with a fully staffed operating room. Which as you should know is a rare find these days.” Richter said.

Tobias shuffled back in his chair, began chuckling, his laughter carried the tone of easiness to it. He knew that once again, Richter had come through, and put them in a position that was very advantageous.

“You always find a way old friend. Well done sir. Well done.” Tobias said as Richter motioned to a monitor overhead, a blinking red dot slowly moving away from their current location. The dot increased in speed, before slowing, and then coming to a stop several miles away.

“
What do you think he is doing now?” Tobias asked.

“
Checking on the girl of course. He must have some hard on for her, as that seemed to be his main bargaining point. He made it perfectly clear she was part of the severance package. I hope she is something special. I would have given him all the weapons he could carry, or all the tanks in the fleet, because I want him to find his way home.” Richter said.

***

Haus stood at her side, watching her intently, for increased signs of cognitive response. Her pulse, the best he could gather was increasing, and the smell on her lungs was starting to waver. He knew that soon she would wake. She would be very confused, and rightly so. She had been held in that dungeon, or at least the dungeon he imagined, for far too long.