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historical impact of these reports was significant. Hitler was shocked that “the gangster” Churchill might soon have the Bomb, and he dedicated all of Germany’s resources to the successful invasion of England the following year.
    To this end the Abwehr provided sterling assistance. The agency’s leader, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, personally convinced Spain’s President Franco to grant German troops the use of Spanish facilities for their attack on the British naval base at Gibraltar. This was the first step of the Axis’s eventual hard-won dominance of the Mediterranean theater.
    Today, the Abwehr continues to provide top-tier data and analysis to the German government.
    SZ
    Today’s SZ is a direct descendant of the sociopathic SS. After Hitler’s death in 1942, the SS were given a choice: manage Greater Germany’s new institutionalized slavery system or be disbanded for “reckless depreciation of the principles of the fatherland.” The SS generals accepted their assignment and rebranded their army as the Staatszeiger, or “State’s Hand.” This new name did little to curb their behavior, and their human rights record is nearly as stained as the original SS.
    Purity League
    Antidiscrimination activists have been alarmed by the recent resurgence of the Purity League. Members of this civilian group spout racist propaganda and dress in brown shirts as an homage to Nazism’s early days. Violence seems to follow wherever they go, and they are notorious for bringing their children to most of their demonstrations.
    Gestapo
    The most feared organization in Europe is the Geheime Staatspolizei, which has survived the passing decades almost unchanged. The Gestapo maintains an iron grip on its place in German society through a combination of disinformation and terror. Even Reich officials are afraid of them and the secrets they hoard. It is said every shadow in Germany hides a Gestapo man.

09
    Same morning, 9:15 A.M. GMT
    Circle of Zion camp, Yorkshire, Province of Great Britain, GG
    I’ll give the Bürgermeister one thing—he doesn’t faze easily. Despite being snatched from his office, drugged, hog-tied, tossed in a truck, and delivered to a hostile camp full of rebel slaves, he wakes up with an admirable amount of poise and dignity. The first thing he said when Brando’s knockout drug wore off was, “
Gute Morgen
, could I trouble you for some water, please?”
    His girlfriend is another story. Even though she got the same dose of sleepy time as our primary target, Tarty took longer to come around because she weighs a lot less than he does. This worked out fine since the mayor was there to calm her down when she woke up and totally freaked. Her eyes bulged out of her head, and she leaped behind her boyfriend to hide from all of us. I don’t know what this dumb chiquita thought we were going to do to her, but since Tarty woke up all she’s done is shout curses at everyone and sob into the mayor’s well-fed shoulder.
    â€œDarwin,” I comm. “They’re awake.”
    â€œBe right there,” he comms back.
    While we waited for our guests to wake up, Brando took their IDs and sent a report to ExOps in Washington. This took him a few minutes. He has to prerecord his reports, encrypt them, and then compress the living shit out of them so his transmissions are as brief as possible. This minimizes the Germans’ chances of finding his long-range comm signal with their radio trackers.
    Fraulein Tart is still shrieking and carrying on when Brando and Miriam walk into the tent. My partner brings his X-bag and a folding chair. He unfolds the chair in front of our two captives, and Miriam takes a seat. After a moment she says, “Isabel, enough! Stop crying or I’ll have my friend give you another shot. Stay calm, like Karl here.” Being addressed by her name helps Tartface—I mean—Isabel, calm down a bit. She