Kingdom of Darkness

29

Nina woke with a start. She had not imagined that she could fall asleep, her body still churning with fearful adrenalin, but in the darkness beneath the barn it had come upon her with surprising swiftness. It had been anything but restful, though, a swirl of nightmarish images. ‘What—’ she gasped, before remembering the need for quiet. ‘What’s happening?’ she whispered. ‘How long was I asleep?’

‘A few hours,’ said Eddie. She was lying against him, his arms around her. ‘Seemed like you needed it.’

‘I guess I did.’ She put her hands over his and turned her head so their cheeks touched. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘For what?’

‘For not telling you how much I loved you when you left Egypt.’

‘Well, we had just had a fight.’

‘I know, but… When Kroll told me you were dead, I thought the last thing we’d ever said to each other was some stupid argument.’

‘Hey, I’m the one who should be apologising,’ he replied. ‘I acted like a complete knob. I’m sorry.’ He shifted position to kiss her. ‘I’m just glad you’re okay.’

‘I’m glad you came to find me.’

‘I always will, love.’

Nothing more needed to be said for each to know how deeply the other felt. Another kiss, then she looked around at a hissing noise. ‘What’s going on outside?’

‘It’s a steam train,’ he told her. ‘They’re going to use it to take everyone out of here.’

‘Yeah, I saw it,’ she said, remembering the rust-covered tank engine from her arrival in the Enklave. ‘It didn’t look like it had been used for years, though.’

‘They’ve been shunting stuff about, so it’s still got a bit of life left in it. Mind you, they’ve only got to get to the bottom of the hill and then they’re done with it. So long as the brakes work, they could just bloody freewheel it down there.’

‘We can’t let them escape. They’ve got Ubayy, and the Andreas relic — they’ll be able to find the spring.’

Zane was looking through a crack between the planks. ‘I agree, but it’s too dangerous to move right now. There are men everywhere. They’re clearing the place out — right now they’re taking things from Kroll’s house.’

‘Probably everything from the vault,’ said Nina. She gently loosened Eddie’s arms and shuffled across the low space to see for herself.

The view through the narrow gap was limited, but enough to show dawn breaking on the eastern horizon. Beyond the main dirt track running through the compound, the locomotive was now at the head of a train. A single passenger carriage was connected behind it, followed by a line of six wooden freight wagons. Men were loading the first and last of the trucks: assorted crates into the latter, boxed treasures and large metal drums into the former. The barrels were empty, but a flash from the top of one of them told her their purpose. The Alexander Romance described Andreas using a silver container, and the pithos in the vault had been lined with the precious metal; Kroll intended to store his new supply the same way.

She spotted the corpulent leader heading for the train. Instead of his SS uniform, he was now wearing an anonymous dark suit and overcoat. Most of his forces had likewise donned pale brown fatigues lacking any kind of military insignia. ‘Looks like they’re going to leave the country incognito.’

‘Well, marching through the airport in full Nazi regalia might be a bit noticeable,’ said Eddie, joining her.

An item of cargo caught Nina’s attention. Unlike the others, this had not been crated up for transport. ‘It’s the pithos,’ she said as two men carried the container across the road. ‘I knew that fat son of a bitch wouldn’t leave it behind.’ Kroll stood beside the first freight wagon, watching as it was lifted inside and secured with ropes.

Eddie was more concerned with what was being put aboard the last truck. ‘Ay up,’ he muttered, nudging Zane. ‘They’re ready for trouble.’ The Israeli whispered a curse as several long dark green wooden cases were loaded.

‘What are they?’ Nina asked.

‘RPG-7s,’ her husband told her. ‘Rocket launchers. As well as machine guns, explosives, a shitload of ammo…’

‘Oh, great. As if they didn’t have enough firepower.’ The soldiers were all armed with MP5s. ‘Wait, there’s Rasche.’

The tall Nazi joined his commander as a man brought a case from the house. Kroll summoned him over; he opened it. Morning sunlight glinted off bronze within. ‘They’ve got the fish,’ she said.

‘And Banna,’ Eddie added. Two soldiers escorted the archaeologist to the train. The Egyptian’s head was low, his attitude of utter defeat clear even at a distance. The Nazis pushed him inside the lead carriage before following their prisoner aboard. ‘They must be about to move out.’

Kroll gestured, and the soldier closed the case and loaded it on to the treasure wagon. Walther rounded a building, a large group of men following him. They assembled beside the train while the hulking German joined Rasche and Kroll. The latter began to shout commands.

‘Ah, Scheiße!’ gasped Roland. The young man scurried over to stare through the gap in the wood. Zane simultaneously reacted with alarm at the Nazi commander’s words.

‘What is it?’ Nina asked.

‘He’s ordering them to burn the place down!’ Zane replied. He listened as Kroll continued. ‘“Leave nothing for the Argentine vultures and the rats of the Mossad…” They’re taking the guns and the gold, and destroying everything else.’

‘They’re not hanging about, either,’ said Eddie. The soldiers were already dispersing. They had been prepared for Kroll’s order, igniting rags in the necks of Molotov cocktails. ‘Shit! I think it’s time to move!’

He had barely finished speaking before a soldier ran to the barn above their hiding place and hurled a blazing bottle inside. It smashed against the rear wall, flames spraying outwards. Light from above suddenly flooded the foundations. Burning fuel dripped through holes in the wooden floor.

More shattering glass and sounds of leaping fire came from outside as the Nazis spread out to obliterate what had been their home. ‘They will see us if we go out there,’ warned Roland.

‘They’ll smell us if we stay in here — we’ll be a fucking barbecue,’ Eddie shot back. He scrambled to the entrance and forced the panel aside. Nobody was in sight. ‘Everyone out!’

The Yorkshireman exited first, then helped Nina through. Roland came next, holding in a yelp as a burning ember dropped on to his neck. Zane was last to leave, bringing up his MP5 as he got to his feet. ‘Where do we go?’

‘Into the garden,’ said Eddie, gesturing at Kroll’s residence. It was already ablaze, flames rising from the ground floor, and the houses of the other Nazi leaders were going the same way. ‘They won’t go back to somewhere they’ve already set alight, and if we stay behind the fence, nobody’ll see us.’ They hurried along the rear of the barn. ‘Plus we can keep an eye on the train from there.’

Roland stared in disbelief as they got a wider view of the Enklave. ‘They are really burning it down,’ he said, dismayed. ‘Everything…’

‘Good riddance,’ said Eddie as he helped Nina into the garden. Zane and Roland climbed after them. ‘I just wish those bastards were still inside.’

Zane moved into the bushes, cautiously peering over the fence at the railway. ‘Eddie, look at this.’

Eddie took in the scene. Against a hellish backdrop of flames and smoke, the Nazi soldiers were returning to the waiting train. Kroll clambered into the first carriage, the elderly vehicle rocking on its twin bogies as his weight unbalanced it. Walther entered after him, leaving Rasche to oversee the troops.

It was the remaining Nazi leader, Schneider, who caught his attention, though. ‘What’s that slimy bastard doing?’ The round-faced SS man was talking to a small group of women — some of whom, Eddie saw, were pregnant. ‘Roland, c’mere. Are they who you told me about?’

The young man joined him. ‘Yes. But I cannot hear what he is saying to them.’

‘Whatever it is, they don’t like it.’ Some of the women reacted with shock and even tears to Schneider’s words, one running to him with her hands clasped together. The oldest of the group, pinch-faced, with her greying hair drawn into a severe bun above her SS uniform, yanked her back, then slapped her across the face. ‘Jesus!’

‘That is Dagmar Metzger — she is the head of the Kindermädchen,’ said Roland.

‘You don’t sound surprised that she’s smacking a pregnant woman around.’

‘She is in charge of discipline in the Kinderhaus. All the children fear her.’ He gave Eddie a somewhat shamefaced look. ‘So do the men who grew up under her.’

The Englishman frowned as Schneider spoke to the now weeping young woman, patting her shoulder… then slipping his fingers through her hair and caressing it. ‘Creepy little shit,’ he muttered.

‘Herr Schneider takes… personal care of all the women in the Enklave,’ said Roland, his dawning dismay suggesting that he had never thought to consider that anything but normal until now.

‘Yeah, I bet he does,’ said the disgusted Nina. Metzger exchanged words with Schneider, then gave him a Nazi salute and snapped orders to the five younger women. All were now crying, the one who had been slapped close to hysteria. The leader of the Kindermädchen ignored their tears, pointing across the Enklave, and they set off with deep reluctance, Metzger practically dragging the weeping woman. ‘Where are they going?’

Roland stared after them. ‘The Kinderhaus is in that direction…’ The sudden horror in his voice drew all eyes to him. ‘No, they would not. They would not!’

‘They wouldn’t what?’ Nina asked.

‘The children — they must still be in the Kinderhaus!’

‘Jesus Christ, they’re going to burn the fucking place down with the kids inside it!’ Eddie realised. ‘That’s why that girl was crying — they’ve just been told to kill their babies!’

Nina stared after the departed women in shock. ‘Oh my God! We’ve got to stop them!’

‘No, Kroll and the others are about to leave,’ protested Zane. The Nazis had now organised themselves into groups of around twenty beside each of the four empty wooden wagons. Schneider joined Rasche as the soldiers began to climb aboard. ‘We have to go after them.’

‘They’re still watching out for us,’ Eddie warned. Several men were guarding the train. ‘We won’t get close — and there must be ninety of them against four of us.’

‘I know, but—’ The Israeli stopped as the loco’s whistle echoed across the compound. All the men bar the guards had now squeezed into the trucks. Rasche and Schneider boarded the carriage. The train edged forward, the wagons clattering against each other. The sentries kept pace, first walking before starting to jog as the huffing old locomotive gradually picked up speed. ‘We can’t let them escape!’

‘They can’t go that fast,’ said Eddie, fighting his own urge to pursue the Nazis. ‘I saw the track on the way up — the hairpins are so tight, they’ll have to slow right down to get around them.’ He turned to Roland. ‘Can we get to this house without being seen?’ The blond man nodded. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ He started down the garden, Roland and Nina following.

Zane didn’t move. ‘Damn it, Eddie!’

‘We can still catch up,’ the Englishman insisted.

‘These are kids we’re talking about, Jared!’ said Nina. ‘We can’t let them burn them alive!’ The Mossad agent clenched his jaw, aggrieved, then hurried after them.

They vaulted the fence, giving the barn a wide berth as its roof collapsed. Eddie checked the dirt road bisecting the compound for stragglers. There were none, and as he glanced along the railway, he saw the last guards being pulled aboard the train. ‘Okay, we’re clear. Roland?’

The young man pointed past the fire-racked barracks. ‘That way.’

They rounded the inferno, the white-painted block of the Kinderhaus coming into view ahead. ‘Shit, we’re too late!’ Nina gasped. Smoke was already rising from within.

The women were outside the main entrance, which was being secured by Metzger, closing a padlock on a length of chain. One of the younger women desperately tried to push her away, but was thrown to the ground. Another rushed at her — only to stumble back as Metzger drew a Luger and shouted at her, daring the others to advance.

A scream from inside, the cry of a frightened child. More rose behind it. ‘God, they’re dying in there!’ said Nina. ‘We’ve got to do something!’

Zane snapped up his MP5 and fired. Metzger fell backwards as a bullet hole burst open in her chest. ‘Done.’

‘Okay, straight to the point,’ said Eddie as he and Roland ran to the building.

The remaining women regarded the pair with shock and fear. Roland spoke urgently to them in German. ‘There are twelve children and three of the Zucht-Fr— the other three women trapped inside,’ he told Eddie as Zane and Nina caught up.

‘Get ’em back,’ the Yorkshireman replied, raising his pistol. A single shot, and the chain snapped. He kicked the doors open. Smoke gushed out — followed by several panicked children, ranging in age from around five to eleven. He did a rapid headcount. ‘Okay, that’s eight! Where are the rest?’

‘They are too young to get out on their own!’ shouted Roland. He ran inside.

Eddie raced after him, holding a hand to his mouth and nose. The smoke was getting thicker, weaving lines of flame on the floor where fuel had been poured. ‘What about the other women?’

‘Down there!’ A side passage led off the main corridor. Roland went to a door opposite. ‘The children are in here!’

‘You get them, I’ll get the women.’ Eddie hopped over a track of fire and went down the passage. There was a door at the end with a small barred window. He looked through to see a dimly lit cross between hospital ward and prison cell. Three beds occupied it. Each held a woman, wrists and ankles buckled to the metal frame. Two were visibly pregnant. The one nearest the door turned her head to regard him blankly, the others not responding to his appearance or the chaos outside. Drugged.

He unbolted the door. ‘Jared! I need some help here!’

The Israeli ran in as he started to unfasten the first woman. ‘The fire’s getting worse,’ Zane warned. ‘If we stay in here much longer, we won’t get out.’

‘Then bloody hurry up and help me!’ The buckles came free. Eddie pulled the woman upright, getting only a vacant stare in response. ‘Shit, she can’t even walk. We’ll have to carry ’em.’

‘There are three of them and only two of us,’ Zane pointed out as he released the second prisoner.

‘Yeah, I can count!’ He lifted the limp woman over his shoulder and headed out as quickly as he could.

Roland emerged from the nursery ahead of him, a crying baby in each arm. A blonde girl of about three followed, only to cower fearfully back from the flames. ‘Get them outside!’ Eddie ordered as the young man hesitated, about to return for her. The Englishman altered course, hopping over the fire to scoop the child up with his free arm. Holding his breath as more smoke swirled around him, he jumped back, now passing through rather than over the growing blaze. ‘You said there were four kids! Where’s the other one?’

Roland coughed violently before replying. ‘Still inside — I could not carry them all!’

Nina ran down the corridor. ‘I’ll get it!’ she cried.

‘No, it’s too dangerous!’ Eddie shouted, but she was already past him. ‘For fuck’s — I mean, flip’s sake,’ he said as the little girl gawped at him. Roland reached the doors; Eddie hurried after him, emerging to find the five Kindermädchen waiting. They took the babies with tears of joy and relief. He deposited the girl on the ground, then put the pregnant woman down.

Roland was still coughing, bent almost double. Whatever he had inhaled, Nina had just run straight into it. Eddie took several deep lungfuls of clean air before charging back inside.

The flames were spreading across the passage. Zane came around the corner, carrying the second captive woman. ‘I freed the last one for you!’ the Israeli said as they passed.

Eddie didn’t reply, pausing to squint through the darkening cloud at the nursery door. He heard a baby screaming, but the smoke blocked his view of everything inside — except the shimmering glow of flames. ‘Nina! Get out of there!’

Nina wanted to do exactly that. The nursery was full of acrid black smoke; something made of plastic had caught light. But the baby’s terrified cries forced her deeper into the miasma. Almost blinded, she held her breath and felt her way towards the source of the noise, bumping against cribs before reaching the last occupied one.

The baby squirmed as she picked it up. It weighed at least twelve pounds, probably close to a year old. ‘Okay, I got you,’ she cooed, trying to calm the child as she turned—

A loud crunch of breaking wood — and she jumped back as a flame-wreathed ceiling beam smashed down in front of her. ‘Jesus!’

One end of it had landed on a piece of furniture. The burning beam lay at an angle, too high to climb over and too low to crawl under.

She was trapped—

A shape appeared through the haze behind the barrier — Eddie, carrying another pregnant woman. ‘Nina, get back!’

She jumped away as he kicked the bed supporting the blazing joist. Already damaged by the falling timber, its legs collapsed under the blow. The beam pounded to the floor, spraying out cinders.

But the way out was now clear, if only for a moment as the flames thrashed and wafted in the displaced air. She summoned up her courage, then made a running jump over the obstacle. The fire lashed back up behind her as if realising it was about to lose its prey, scorching her legs, but too late.

‘Come on!’ Eddie gasped. He waited for Nina to pass, then followed her out.

The fire in the corridor had risen higher. Nina shrieked as she jumped through it, flames licking at her bare arms. The rectangle of daylight ahead was almost totally obscured by smoke. She bent down, trying to hold her breath as she raced for the exit. Floorboards cracked underfoot as the blaze ate through them. She almost stumbled, barely staying upright as she sprinted the last few yards—

She burst into the open, choking smoke suddenly replaced by clear air. Eddie was right with her. A moment later, ash and sparks erupted behind them as the ceiling crashed down.

Zane and Roland were waiting with the women at a safe distance. ‘Eddie!’ shouted the Israeli. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Fine — if I was a charcoal briquette,’ Eddie replied, coughing. ‘Did we get ’em all out?’

‘We did,’ said Roland with relief.

The Englishman looked at his wife, and the baby she was holding. ‘You know, that suits you.’ Nina gave him a soot-smudged smile.

One of the women ran to her. She took the baby and clutched it tightly. ‘Danke,’ she cried, in tears. ‘Thank you!’

‘I’d say “my pleasure”, but, well,’ Nina replied breathlessly, before going to her husband. He put down the last rescuee, the others hurrying to check that she was all right. ‘Eddie! Thank God.’

‘You okay?’ he asked.

‘I’m gonna need a couple of gallons of witch hazel,’ she said, her arms reddened and sore. ‘And now I know what it’s like to be a sixty-a-day smoker. But yeah, it won’t be smoke inhalation that kills me.’ She touched her side, feeling the eitr infection through her grubby clothing.

‘We can’t waste any more time,’ said Zane. ‘We’ve got to stop the Nazis.’

‘How are we gonna catch them?’ Nina asked wearily. ‘Eddie blew up all their trucks.’

‘I’ve got an idea,’ Eddie said. ‘Roland, will this lot be okay?’

‘Yes, I think so,’ the youth replied.

‘Good. You need to go down to the town — there’s a cop called Miranda, tell him what’s happened and get him to bring in the feds, and Interpol. They’ll want to go through this place.’

‘What’s left of it,’ said Nina, taking in the burning buildings.

Roland nodded. ‘What are you going to do?’

Eddie gave him a tired grin. ‘Catch a train. Nina, Jared, come on.’

‘Where are we going?’ Nina asked as they started back through the Enklave.

‘The railway. There was a brake van on one of the sidings — a caboose, I think you call ’em. They’d use it to slow down the train when they took whatever they mined here down the hill. Hopefully it’ll still slow us down if we can get it moving.’

They reached the tracks, passing the line of rusting ore trucks to find the little wagon standing alone on a spur. It was barely more than a wooden box on wheels, short verandas overhanging each end. The glass in the windows had long since broken, leaving it largely open to the elements. Eddie hopped up to find that the interior was as functional as the outside, a bench beside a corroded iron pedestal. A large metal wheel was mounted flat at its top. ‘Okay, I’m guessing this is the brake,’ he said, straining to turn it. There was a shrill of metal, and the van shuddered as long-locked brake shoes were released.

Zane regarded him dubiously. ‘What exactly are you planning, Eddie?’

The Englishman looked down the track. ‘The plain’s on a slope. Once we get this thing rolling, it should free-wheel after the train — all we’ve got to do is slow it down on the curves so it doesn’t fly off the track.’ He saw the Israeli’s increasingly sceptical expression. ‘It’s either that or run after the fucking train. And from the way you were limping, that’s probably not what you want to do.’

Nina was equally uncertain. ‘Are you sure this’ll work?’

‘It’s our only chance of rescuing Banna and getting that fish.’ He jumped back down and went to the van’s rear. ‘We need to push it.’

He leaned against the chassis beside the coupler and braced his feet against a sleeper. A metallic groan came from the wheels. ‘It probably hasn’t been moved in years,’ said Nina as she joined him.

‘Shame we don’t have a bucket of WD-40,’ he replied. ‘Okay, get ready — and push!’

She added her weight to his. Another moan as rusty parts scraped against each other, but this time the van shifted, inching down the narrow track. ‘That’s it!’ Eddie grunted. ‘Jared, give us a hand!’

Zane reluctantly took up position beside them. With all three of them driving it on, the brake van gradually picked up speed. The noise from the axles faded as the surface layer of rust on the wheel bearings was ground away. Eddie glanced around the side of the wagon. ‘Points coming up,’ he warned as it trundled towards an intersection. ‘Once we’re through ’em, it should be clear to go.’

The van rocked alarmingly, wheels screeching as it crossed on to the main line. Nina cringed at the noise, but kept pushing. ‘Whoa, it’s rolling!’ she said as she realised her effort was now more about keeping up with the caboose than forcing it onwards.

‘Get on, quick!’ Eddie hopped aboard, then pulled Nina on to the rear veranda.

Zane swung himself up. ‘Will it go fast enough to catch them?’

‘It’d better,’ Eddie replied as the brake van rumbled down the line. ‘’Cause after everything they’ve done, I’m not letting those bastards get away.’