“Look at this list,” she told Sam and Purdue. “Note the method and the basic hand on this?”
“Yes, the same as the lighthouse artist. You think Josef left this here?” Purdue asked.
“Great, more clues to follow while Paddy’s sitting on a time bomb,” Sam sighed. “I thought this was where we would get what we came for.”
“Me too, but there is more to his legacy than just the chain. I think he wanted Jari to find the ‘Tomb of Odin,’” Nina argued. “The copper inlays on the cross refers to Odin’s grave, and I think that is what he wanted Jari to find — Agartha.”
“Say what?” Sam frowned.
“Agartha is according to legend, the realm under the earth where the Vril Society’s master race lives. It is a magical Shangri-La of higher power, godhood, super human ability, and all that, remember? I think the chain has something to do with opening the portal, or the cave, to gain entry to ‘Odin’s Tomb,’ to use the metaphor,” Nina lectured them.
“This list, as far as memory serves, is various places where the Nazis sent the POWs to build railroads, but three of these do not fit in,” she reported excitedly.
They read the list:
Włodarz Rzeczka
Uppsala Osówka
Sokolec Jugowice
Kyrka Soboń
Jedlinka Gamla
“Here, ‘Uppsala,’ ‘Kyrka,’ and ‘Gamla’ are anomalies. They were not complexes of Project Riese,” she noted.
“You sure are intelligent, little Olga,” a deep growl emanated from the darkness. Nina screamed and grabbed Purdue’s hand. From just outside the cab, the colossal man stepped into the faint white light, planting his hands on both Sam and Purdue’s arms.
“Thomas?” she shrieked at the sight of the monstrous German she thought had perished with his brothers in the lighthouse.
“Or is it Dr. Nina Gould? I was going to just follow you to lead me to the generator, but now that you three are literally threatening to expose us by opening up Agartha prematurely, I can’t let any of you see the light of day again,” he bellowed.
Sam nudged at Purdue beyond the attention of the giant. With his eyes, he led Purdue’s gaze toward the firebox of the cab, on which the Valknut symbol was scratched. Purdue nodded surreptitiously and felt Sam pulling another flare from Purdue’s rucksack, ever so carefully that Thomas did not notice.
“Hey, Thomas, just before you dispatch us, can I ask one thing?” Sam asked.
“I’m not the generous type,” Thomas replied. “Why? What could you possibly need from me?”
“I need you to carry something out for us,” Sam said.
Nina turned to look at him as if he was insane. Her eyes stretched wide and she shook her head to discourage him from doing something stupid.
“What?” Thomas thundered, livid for Sam’s audacity.
Sam pulled out the flare and cracked it right in Thomas’ face, blinding him instantly. Screaming in fury, the cruel German fell to the ground, holding his eyes with his palms.
“I bet that must be one hell of a migraine, Sam,” Purdue smiled.
“What are you doing? Are you out of your fucking mind?” Nina screeched, but Sam held the flare on the cowering giant.
“Nina, calm down. He is probably completely blind. In hospital you muttered a lot of things about your experience in the tunnels,” Purdue clarified with his hands on her shoulders. “You told us that these boys cannot see in bright light, that they would go blind if they were struck with a sharp beam.”
“He is immobilized,” Sam affirmed. “Probably for good.”
“Now, let us see what the firebox is hiding from us, shall we?” Purdue suggested, and took Nina’s hand to accompany him. Sam stood sentinel over Thomas’ furious staggering.
Purdue opened the firebox. Nina lit the interior with her flashlight.
“No fucking way!” she gasped, unable to process what she saw before her. “Sam! Sam, we found the rest of the chain!”
Sam winked at Purdue. “See? Told you.”
“Yes, you did point it out in the last place I would have thought they hid it. This is why the engine has no wheels. The giant chain takes up the whole section between the floor and the rock floor below,” Purdue described the scene to Sam.
“Brilliant. And now we have a big German lad to carry it for us too,” Sam smiled happily. Thomas roared like a beast and lashed out at him, but Sam held the flare toward the half-blinded man and reminded him of his new handicap. His one eye was completely blinded, while the other managed nothing more potent than haze.
“Now, remember, Thomas. If you give us any shit we will leave you in here to roam around the network of railway lines until you starve to death… or end up living on rats. Typhus is apparently rife down here. Just ask the Polish, Russian, and Italian prisoners of war lugged in here from their respective concentration camps from 1943 to 1945 who died in droves,” Sam spelled it out for Thomas.
But Nina thought to get a word in on her bully too.
“Imagine spending the rest of your super life in here, blind, hungry, a proverbial Minotaur in a maze of pitch-dark channels with only the ghosts of Jews to keep your Nazi ass company, Thomas,” she whispered dreamily in his ear, while his eyes burned.
“That sounds ghastly, Nina. Shame on you. Then again, it is truly the fate you would suffer, big man… unless you carry this golden chain out for us and accompany us to where it belongs. If you play nice, we will help you find your generator,” Purdue offered. His last statement was a bit of a fib, but Thomas would never behave that long anyway.
That much, his judge of character assured him.
Chapter 29
In Ward B, it was dead silent. Patrick Smith felt strong enough to put pressure on his leg, but his doctor thought otherwise. Cassandra was to be released the following day and he could not have that. With her home alone while he was confined to a bed was a recipe for trouble of the worst kind. However, he thought, there was no way he could convince Cassandra not to go home and she would be vulnerable and emotional as soon as she walked into the room where she was attacked.
Even with his system full of mild tranquilizers he was determined to get the deadly secret he was holding at home out of the house before his wife fell into peril again. She would not understand, and those who knew could not do anything to solve the problem. Against his better judgment, he called Detective Inspector Williams from the bathroom in his room.
“Williams, I need you to come and see me urgently,” Paddy whispered.
“Fuckin’ hell, Smith, it is 2am!” came the answer from a drowsy Williams.
“I know, I know. Listen, I will meet you outside and tell you everything, but it has to be now. I’ll explain everything when you get here, but we are running out of time,” his shaky voice conveyed to the astonished officer.
“All right, I’m on my way. Don’t move,” Williams ordered him and hung up the phone.
Paddy stole back into the room where his fellow patients were sleeping soundly, and he slipped on his socks first so that he could tread softly. Agony pressed him to scream as he pulled on the scrubs they gave him to wear until he would be discharged in a week. Even the light cotton felt like sandpaper against his inflamed skin, but he had to mute his urging cries. Quickly he pulled the shirt over his shoulders and, as quietly as he could, he grabbed all of his personal effects the staff had put in his bedside drawer.
Expertly he evaded the nursing staff, after he had spent the last day timing their rounds and watching each nurse’s routes. When he took the stairs one floor down, he passed Cassandra’s room. Just as any husband would, he elected to peek in on her before he fled the hospital without being seen. He sneaked into his wife’s room, but when he looked around the doorway he stopped in his tracks. Holding his breath in panic, Paddy had to think fast now, but in his desperation all his training just seemed to evaporate.