Read Online Return From the Inferno by Mack Maloney - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mack Maloney
Tags: Suspense
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slave laborers in the area, they helped cut down the escape rate, which was fairly small to begin with.
61
They were also charged with looking for any refugees who might be inside the Bundeswehr Four military district illegally. Such a crime usually meant execution. From their vantage point, they were able to watch several roads leading down from the north, roads that the sputniks were likely to travel.
This was the most active part of their mission. They averaged spotting six refugees a week, many of whom were simply tracked down and locked up in the jail next to the truck repair facility to await their turn before a firing squad or years of backbreaking labor in the fields.
Directly to the north of the station, a mile and a quarter up the Wabash, was the small rusting bridge. This too was supposed to be under the watchful eyes of Outpost #6406, but neither man had turned his scope in that direction for days, not since the strange incident in the river with the priest and the two drowning people.
Their lives began to change the moment the Mercedes staff car pulled up in front of the outpost tower. The two soldiers were horrified. They recognized the car right away as belonging to Colonel Lisz, their overall commander. His sudden appearance could only mean a surprise inspection, something Lisz was not known for in the past.
The two soldiers barely had enough time to fasten up their uniforms before Lisz and an entourage of six bodyguards rode the small elevator up to the watchtower and walked in.
There was a barrage of heel clicking and crisp salutes, with Lisz making the two soldiers stand at attention for about ten seconds longer than was needed.
"I am here at the personal request of the First Governor himself," Lisz began, his usually booming, Teutonic voice appreciably subdued and hesitant. "He has asked me-as well as every officer on his staff-to visit every outpost under their command. To talk to soldiers, such as yourselves, about a subject which has become very, very important to him."
The two soldiers looked at each other with twin expressions of puzzlement.
What the hell was Lisz talking about?
"It has come to the First Governor's attention," Lisz began again. "That there may be a man within our territory who: perhaps unknowingly, has displayed certain . . . powers."
62
"What kind of 'powers,' Colonel?" one of the outpost soldiers asked.
Lisz was growing more uncomfortable by the second.
"Let us just say, 'unusual powers,'" he replied, the tone of his voice sounding embarrassed at such a silly notion. "Things that are out of the ordinary . .."
The two border guards now eyed each other with considerable consternation.
"Well? Should I assume you've witnessed nothing of the sort?" Lisz asked them.
"I've reviewed your reports for the past month and saw nothing in them that would indicate ..."
Both soldiers were trembling slightly by this time. Both were eyeing Lisz's particularly fierce looking bodyguards.
Finally one soldier bucked up and cleared his throat.
"Herr Colonel," he said, stuttering. "May we speak to you alone?"
Colonel Franz Hantz was the chief medical officer for Bundeswehr Four.
His typical day would begin by making the rounds at the main infirmary which was located on the edge of the Aerodrome. This large, well-equipped facility was for the care of Fourth Reich personnel exclusively. It boasted a large staff, state-of-the-art medical technology and the latest in procedures and diagnostic care. Hantz would usually spend three hours at the hospital, reviewing the most important cases, even assisting in critical operations. It was, in many ways, the castle of his kingdom.
A second hospital-smaller, poorly staffed and poorly maintained-was located on the far edge of town, near the all but abandoned railroad station. It was used for little more than a storage facility for ailing civilians and the occasional sickly sputnik. The patients there received the bare minimum of care-food, water
61
They were also charged with looking for any refugees who might be inside the Bundeswehr Four military district illegally. Such a crime usually meant execution. From their vantage point, they were able to watch several roads leading down from the north, roads that the sputniks were likely to travel.
This was the most active part of their mission. They averaged spotting six refugees a week, many of whom were simply tracked down and locked up in the jail next to the truck repair facility to await their turn before a firing squad or years of backbreaking labor in the fields.
Directly to the north of the station, a mile and a quarter up the Wabash, was the small rusting bridge. This too was supposed to be under the watchful eyes of Outpost #6406, but neither man had turned his scope in that direction for days, not since the strange incident in the river with the priest and the two drowning people.
Their lives began to change the moment the Mercedes staff car pulled up in front of the outpost tower. The two soldiers were horrified. They recognized the car right away as belonging to Colonel Lisz, their overall commander. His sudden appearance could only mean a surprise inspection, something Lisz was not known for in the past.
The two soldiers barely had enough time to fasten up their uniforms before Lisz and an entourage of six bodyguards rode the small elevator up to the watchtower and walked in.
There was a barrage of heel clicking and crisp salutes, with Lisz making the two soldiers stand at attention for about ten seconds longer than was needed.
"I am here at the personal request of the First Governor himself," Lisz began, his usually booming, Teutonic voice appreciably subdued and hesitant. "He has asked me-as well as every officer on his staff-to visit every outpost under their command. To talk to soldiers, such as yourselves, about a subject which has become very, very important to him."
The two soldiers looked at each other with twin expressions of puzzlement.
What the hell was Lisz talking about?
"It has come to the First Governor's attention," Lisz began again. "That there may be a man within our territory who: perhaps unknowingly, has displayed certain . . . powers."
62
"What kind of 'powers,' Colonel?" one of the outpost soldiers asked.
Lisz was growing more uncomfortable by the second.
"Let us just say, 'unusual powers,'" he replied, the tone of his voice sounding embarrassed at such a silly notion. "Things that are out of the ordinary . .."
The two border guards now eyed each other with considerable consternation.
"Well? Should I assume you've witnessed nothing of the sort?" Lisz asked them.
"I've reviewed your reports for the past month and saw nothing in them that would indicate ..."
Both soldiers were trembling slightly by this time. Both were eyeing Lisz's particularly fierce looking bodyguards.
Finally one soldier bucked up and cleared his throat.
"Herr Colonel," he said, stuttering. "May we speak to you alone?"
Colonel Franz Hantz was the chief medical officer for Bundeswehr Four.
His typical day would begin by making the rounds at the main infirmary which was located on the edge of the Aerodrome. This large, well-equipped facility was for the care of Fourth Reich personnel exclusively. It boasted a large staff, state-of-the-art medical technology and the latest in procedures and diagnostic care. Hantz would usually spend three hours at the hospital, reviewing the most important cases, even assisting in critical operations. It was, in many ways, the castle of his kingdom.
A second hospital-smaller, poorly staffed and poorly maintained-was located on the far edge of town, near the all but abandoned railroad station. It was used for little more than a storage facility for ailing civilians and the occasional sickly sputnik. The patients there received the bare minimum of care-food, water
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