The 34th Degree

18

C hris Andros stood fifty yards away from Adolf Hitler when he turned to face the Fuhrer, lowered his right arm, and fired three bullets from his Colt. 45 automatic into the madman’s face. The cigarette dangling from Hitler’s mouth exploded in a small cloud, the smoke lifting to reveal two holes for eyes. An awed silence was broken by cheers and pats on the back from the fellow cadets who surrounded Andros at the outdoor firing range of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“What did I tell y’all, the best in the West,” proclaimed First Class Cadet Billy Hayfield. He lit a cigarette for Andros and turned to the fourth-class cadets. “Now pay up, plebes.”

There were groans as the young men began to part with their money, much to the delight of the big, grinning Texan.

Andros, meanwhile, popped his Colt back into its open holster and stared at the makeshift target as he smoked his cigarette. This was as close to a real Nazi as he had gotten in the war, a war that seemed so far away from these green meadows and rolling hills on the banks of the Hudson. To Andros, the river symbolized the uncrossable gulf that separated him from Nazi-occupied Europe and the woman he loved.

“Three hundred dollars!” Hayfield exclaimed, as he finished counting the money. “There’s gonna be a good time in the city this weekend!”

No sooner were the words out of Hayfield’s mouth than Andros heard the rumble of an approaching vehicle. The small crowd of cadets dispersed rapidly. Hayfield was still stuffing his pockets with cash when the jeep braked to a halt, engine still running.

“Superintendent wants to see Cadet Andros,” said the driver, an MP whom Andros vaguely recalled from a particular card game. “Pronto.”

“General Wilby?” Andros asked, snuffing out his cigarette.

The MP was stone-faced under his white helmet.

Andros exchanged a long glance with Hayfield before climbing into the jeep.

“Hey, I’m part of this, too,” Hayfield confessed as the MP shifted gears. “I didn’t mean to take O’Brian’s last cent, but he insisted on playing…”

But the jeep carrying Andros was gone.