The Gemini Divergence (5 page)

Schwerig turned his head straight then bent
it down as he started gently pacing while talking, “I have been
sent by General Von Sterbenbach of the SS to notify you that enemy
occupation is imminent and this machinenwerk, due to the sensitive
work that you do, is not, in any part, to fall into enemy hands.
All projects of the most sensitive nature are being relocated
today. All other projects that are too important to fall into enemy
hands, but not top priority to move, are to be completely
liquidated.”

“But what does that mean for me, my employees
and my business, Herr Major?” questioned Baumgaertner.

“Well, I will show you,” answered Schwerig as
he unholstered his parabellum and shot Baumgaertner in the head;
his lifeless body then dropped to the floor.

As soon as Schwerig had fired the first shot,
one could hear gunshots ringing out all over the factory.

The soldiers in the room with Schwerig opened
fire on the other meeting attendees as Schwerig himself continued
firing at other administrators.

People were falling or dying in their chairs
as some tried to escape, but to no avail.

Shouting could be heard throughout the
factory as the soldiers on the plant floor rounded up all of the
workers into a huddled mass by an open bay door.

While Schwerig was firing he noticed one of
his soldiers’ fire and kill Herr Baumgaertner’s personal secretary.
She just fell limp in her office chair.

Schwerig put his hand on his forehead and
screamed, “You idiot! How will we get into the safe now?”

Schwerig bolted to the door and yelled
towards the front office as he ran towards it, “Has the
receptionist been killed yet?”

The soldier in the front office yelled back,
“No Sir. Should I?”

The soldier started raising his Mauser at the
receptionist as she put her hands over her mouth in horror.

“No! No!” shouted Schwerig as he arrived at
the front reception room, panting as he arrived.

As he was catching his breath, he motioned
over handed with his pistol in his right hand. Bring her in
here.

Schwerig started walking back.

The soldier motioned to the receptionist with
his rifle to follow Schwerig.

As the receptionist followed the major, she
was aghast to see her co-workers laying dead everywhere as soldiers
were starting to empty files into fifty gallon drums that they had
carried into the office to work as make shift incinerators.

Sgt. Stark was crossing things off a
checklist he had on a clipboard as they found things.

Schwerig returned to the conference room and
used his boot to swing a chair around. He then used his gun to
gesture that she was to sit in it.

As she turned and sat, she noticed Herr
Baumgaertner’s secretary dead in another chair.

She immediately put her hands over her mouth
and started crying again.

Schwerig stood at her side and touched her
cheek with his Luger and said, “Now, my darling, where is Herr
Baumgaertner’s safe located?”

She turned and looked up at him in terror and
said, “Behind the file cabinet by his secretary’s desk.”

Schwerig looked up at the corporal from
before, who was standing in the doorway, and ordered, “Don’t just
stand there. Check it out!”

The corporal turned around and ordered
another soldier outside to, “Follow me.”

Schwerig looked again at the receptionist and
asked, “Well, my darling, was there anyone from the office that was
not present today?”

The receptionist answered “No, everyone was
here today.” Then she paused and spoke again. “But there was a man
that worked here until last week. He was offered another job at
Peenemunde.”

Schwerig rolled his eyes, because he knew
that this was an unacceptable loose end.

He asked, “What would his name be?”

She replied, “Herr Volmer. I believe that his
first name was Otmar. He didn’t talk to me very much. He was a very
reserved man.”

Schwerig sat down and picked up a phone that
was on the table and dialed the operator. Once the operator was
online he said, “Get me General Von Sterbenbach’s office, this is
Major Schwerig.”

As he waited for a reply he could still hear
sporadic gunfire and men shouting.

Then there was a reply. Schwerig spoke into
the phone, “No. I do not have to speak with the General directly. I
need to know which officer is in charge of dispatching the
Peenemunde account.”

He sat waiting briefly.

He was agitated by the smoke from the fire
that his soldiers had started in the barrels to burn documents.

Grimacing about the smell
of the smoke he shook his head at the receptionist, as if to
say
can you believe this horrid
smell
.

Then suddenly he was distracted and said,
“Yes, thank you,” as he wrote on a pad of paper that he had pulled
towards himself, “Could you please have him call me here as soon as
possible? Thank you. Heil Hitler.”

He hung up the phone and folded the paper
that he had written on and stuffed it into his pocket.

The corporal that he had sent to check on
the safe returned. He started to snap to attention, but then
remembered the scolding that Schwerig had given him about kissing
ass a few minutes earlier. So, he just stuck his head into the door
and said, “Major Schwerig sir, the safe is indeed where she said it
was.”

Schwerig looked up with a twinkle in his eye
and said, “Excellent, did you notice whether it was a combination
or a key lock?”

“Yes sir,” reported the corporal. “It is
locked now but it is a key lock.”

Schwerig turned again to the receptionist and
queried, “Do you know where I may find that key my darling?”

She just shook her head no.

Schwerig sat back and put his hand on his
chin in a thinking posture, he tapped his fingers on the table a
couple of times then smiled and rose to his feet.

Everyone in the room watched him as he walked
over to the secretary lying dead in her chair and turned her
towards himself.

He then shocked everyone as he reached down
and ripped the top of her blouse open.

The receptionist gasped.

“Aha,” Schwerig smirked as he reached down
again and snapped the necklace from the dead secretary’s neck.

As he held it up for everyone to see, they
noticed that instead of a pendant the necklace held a key.

Schwerig tossed it to the corporal and
ordered him to check it out. The corporal turned and obediently
left on his assigned errand.

Schwerig sat back down. He was grinning
arrogantly, mentally patting himself on the back for finding that
key, when the phone rang.

He answered, “Major Schwerig… Yes, Major
Toelke, I have a bit of a loose end here. I have an Otmar Volmer
that has left employment ‘here’ to go to work ‘there’ and I was
just making sure that you have accounted for him.”

“Yes, of course, I’ll wait.”

A few seconds passed and then Schwerig
continued, “Oh, you have accounted for him. That is wonderful news,
thank you Major, Heil Hitler.”

The corporal returned again and reported,
“Major Schwerig sir, we were able to open the safe with the key
that you found, and Sgt. Stark is now going through its contents
for you.”

“Well,” beamed Schwerig as he stood up, “This
is turning out to be easier than I had anticipated.”

He started to walk out of the door when he
stopped and said, “Oh, I almost forgot.”

He turned around and smiled again at the
receptionist sitting quietly in her chair.

As she sheepishly reciprocated a smile, he
suddenly pulled his gun and shot her in the chest.

He then casually turned to the corporal and
said, “Now where did you leave Sgt Stark?”

“This way sir,” reported the corporal as he
turned and led the way; casually glancing back in disbelief that
the major had just shot the beautiful young fraulien.

On his way to where Sgt. Stark was working,
Schwerig was able to look out of a window and see some of his other
men loading most of the forced labor factory workers onto the
train.

Other workers were helping them load some of
the objects from the factory onto the train as well. Still others
were starting fires and planting explosives to demolish the
plant.

Schwerig then saw a young leutnant sticking
his upper body out of the train engine window, shouting
instructions to the railroad workers outside of the train.

Seeing the Lt. gave him a
sudden thought,
more loose
ends
.

He threw open the window and stuck his
fingers into his mouth and whistled extremely loud; loud enough for
the young Lt. to hear it and turn to see that a major was trying to
get his attention.

Schwerig gestured for the leutnant to come
at once.

The leutnant returned a gesture indicating
that he understood and was on his way, he then popped out of the
train and started to walk briskly across the snow covered rail yard
towards Schwerig.

Once he entered the building and found his
way upstairs to Schwerig, he stood in front of him and saluted.

Schwerig returned his salute and asked, “Are
you the officer that General Von Sterbenbach has assigned to the
train detail?”

The leutnant reported, “Well sir, yes and no.
Yes, I am tasked with the responsibility of this train. No, it was
not General Von Sterbenbach from whom my orders have come, but from
General Von Kluger, the head of railway operations.

Schwerig very matter of factly stated, “Well
I am about to override General Von Kluger’s orders and add an
additional task for you to carry out.”

The leutnant looked surprised and
respectfully asked, “Not doubting the major’s authority, but, it
would only be responsible to inquire whose authority the major is
working under to be able to override General Von Kluger’s
orders?”

Schwerig said nothing at first. He just
reached into his attaché and pulled out the cover letter from his
orders packet and handed it to the leutnant.

He skimmed through the page until he got to
the bottom and saw Himmler’s signature.

He turned as white as the paper he was
reading as he handed it back to Schwerig and snapped to attention,
“What is it that I can do for you Herr Major?”

Schwerig smiled, he loved it so when soldiers
acted so professionally. He then said, “I am tasked with completely
dispatching any loose ends that may be left behind before the
Allies occupy this industrial park. No one can be left behind to
let the Allies know what we have done here today or what we were
doing here before today. I am afraid that I am going to have to ask
you to do something that you may not like, once your train reaches
its destination.”

The leutnant didn’t yet know whether it was
going to be something trivial or something big, so he asked, “What
would that be Herr Major?”

Schwerig looked out the window and pointed to
the train’s crew and said, “I am going to have to ask you to
exterminate your entire non military crew that you have here today
once you reach your destination, and before they are allowed to
talk to anyone once you get there.”

The leutnant was blown away at such a tall
order, and said, “Herr Major, I am sorry, but for such an act, I
would require a written order to present to any authority that
could possibly question me while carrying out such an action.”

“Yes of course,” said Schwerig as he handed
the cover letter back to the leutnant and opened his attaché as he
began looking through it, “I regret that I do not carry around a
complete set of forms, but this will do.”

He pulled out some personal letter head
paper, and handed it to the leutnant and asked him, “Can you type?
We seem to be fresh out of secretaries today.”

The leutnant answered, “Yes sir, I assume
that I can find a typewriter up here in the office.”

Schwerig answered, “Yes, I believe that you
may be able to find one that is not presently in use, but you may
have to make room for your feet.”

The leutnant looked slightly baffled at his
remark, but started walking towards the office.

Schwerig said to him as he was walking away,
“Just type up what you believe that your superiors will need to
see, referencing my orders, of course. Then bring it back to me for
signature. I am going to be following up with my men to be sure
everything is being taken care of.

The leutnant, walking backwards, said, “Yes
sir, I will work with great haste.”

Schwerig turned back around and walked into
the room where Sgt. Stark was working, and inquired, “Have you
found everything that was on the list Feldwebel?”

Sgt. Stark was standing over a barrel of
burning papers as he looked up from what he was reading and
answered, “Yes sir, I believe so. I have also found some more
information about Herr Volmer if that is of any more interest to
you.”

Schwerig shrugged his shoulders like he
didn’t care and said, “Go ahead… Tell me.”

Sgt. Stark spoke as he opened Volmer’s file,
“It appears that Herr Volmer is.”

“Or was,” interrupted Schwerig.

“Yes sir,” continued Stark. “It appears as
though Herr Volmer ‘was’ a scientist, specializing in radio
telemetry and radar. He was working here on something called the
Schriewer Project, designing remote controls for prototype flights,
when he was called away to Peenemunde to help them with rocket
guidance telemetry and scientific instrument reporting
systems.”

“Wow, that’s a mouthful,” Schwerig sneered
sarcastically.

Sgt Stark returned a facial expression as if
to say, “Wow whatever that means,” as he then, casually dropped the
file into the fire.

*~*

Minutes later Schwerig was outside the
factory overseeing the loading of the train.