Chapter 352: The Visitor, Part 20
Tegel Airport, Berlin - 10 June
The plane taxied down the runway and came to a stop in front of a waiting car surrounded by Athanatoi. The door on the side opened, and out stepped a man in full military uniform, wearing horn-rimmed glasses and gripping a cane in his right arm. A series of bandages were wrapped tightly around his right knee. The look on Obergruppenfuhrer Dietrich Schmidt's face was one of annoyance. Not even the presence of Markos Angelos himself right in front of him could get him to change his expression.
"Obergruppenfuhrer," said Angelos, shaking Schmidt's hand, "Welcome to Berlin. I apologize for anything that may have happened during your journey."
"Couldn't you have sent somebody else to Casablanca?" Schmidt said. "I was hardly in the area!"
"You were the only qualified person to deal with the situation," said Angelos, "We needed somebody who had experience dealing with the Resistance there."
"And look what good that did," said Schmidt, "They got away, and I took a bullet to the knee! From my own chief of police!"
"Don't worry," said Angelos, "They will be dealt with soon enough. After all, good always triumphs over evil. But you didn't come here to complain, did you?"
He gestured to the car as an Athanatos opened the door. "Please. The funeral will be starting in an hour."
Schmidt sighed and got into the car, followed by Angelos and the Athanatoi. An Athanatos got behind the wheel and drove off.
"Tell me, Volksfuhrer," said Schmidt, "Of all of the Obergruppenfuhrers in the Imperium, why choose me? I'm just the man in charge of the occupation of Vienna."
Angelos laughed. "Call me Markos. And as for your question, you have quite an impressive service record. I've studied your file. You served in Neurhomania during the previous war. Fought at Manaus and other big battles up and down the Amazon before being assigned to Hindenburg's legion and participating in the capture of Cusco. Survived a Tawantinsuyuans gas attack that claimed the rest of your unit, subsequently killed at least fifty enemy combatants while holding your position until reinforcements arrived. Won the Iron Cross, Second Class and promoted to general in 1918, but never got a chance to command troops in the field. I feel your pain, Dietrich. You were promoted too late. I was promoted to a desk job too early."
"But why choose me? Surely there's another Obergruppenfuhrer out there more qualified than me."
"Dietrich, I am good at seeing the potential in every individual. And I see in you a lot of potential, even at your age. You have two qualities that many other great men lack together: loyalty and ambition. Usually a man only has one of them or neither. You have a tendency for ruthless efficiency at all costs, which is perfect for restoring order to the Imperium. These are qualities which make a man who only comes around once in many generations, a man who will bring greatness and order to the world."
"Um, I still don't get it."
Angelos sighed. "To be honest, I was impressed by your record of suppressing the Resistance in Vienna. I've had all reports of the Casablanca incident classified at the highest levels as well. It won't reflect on your record. Consider it a reward for your service to the senate and people of Rome."
They arrived at the Reichstag just as the funeral procession passed by, coming from Brandenburg Palace down Unter den Linden and under the Brandenburg Gate. Angelos and Schmidt got out of the car and took their places next to other prominent Angeloi on the side of the street as soldiers marched past in lockstep with men playing "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. As the hearse Franz Ferdinand's coffin rolled past them on its way to the Hohenzollern family tombs in Potsdam (the actual funeral itself would be a private ceremony for the various Maximists, with some Angeloi supervision to make sure they didn't try to do anything stupid), Angelos thrust out his right arm in a salute.
"The Angeloi protect!" he shouted with strength.
Schmidt quickly did the same. "The Angeloi protect!"
Everybody else soon followed.
Angelos turned to Schmidt. "You know, Franz Ferdinand was a good man. He believed in a strong and powerful Reich. He believed in the people. He believed in modernity and progress for all Romans. Shame he had to die in the middle of the war."
"Yes, it was," said Schmidt, "I hope his son has what it takes to keep the Imperium safe."
"Not only that, but times are about to change," said Angelos, "All of us, even the new Kaiser, have to change as well to stay strong and united. Look at the rebels in Constantinople. Hey refused to change and thus have been condemned to the dustbin of history. They're on the wrong side of history. Right?"
"Yes, Markos. We're the good guys, right?"
"Of course! We're doing this for the good of the people and the state. Otherwise why would we be fighting this war? We can't let our values and traditions be corrupted by oppressive bureaucracies and obsolete laws and customs. We must reject the past and shape the future. Remember, the future--"
"--belongs to those who shape it," finished Schmidt, "I've read
Mara Sangharsa in the original Bengali."
"Good for you," said Angelos, "Now, you must be a bit tired after your trip and coming straight from the airport."
"I've arranged accommodations with a local hotel," said Schmidt.
"Excellent," said Angelos, "Tell them to cancel your dinner reservations. My family's cooked a good meal to welcome you to Berlin."
"With all due respect, Markos--" began Schmidt.
"Please," said Angelos, "It's just a humble offer from one man to another. You can always turn it down and eat in that hotel of yours until the coronation..."
"Sure, why not?" said Schmidt. "Might as well."
"Splendid!" exclaimed Angelos. "A car is parked over near the steps. You can get in whenever you feel like it. Dinner starts at exactly six. It would be nice if you could make it on time. My wife doesn't like it if somebody's late to dinner."
Schmidt nodded and shook Angelos's hand. "Thank you, Markos."
"No need to thank me," said Angelos, "The pleasure's all mine."
He got into his car and drove off.
A couple hours later
Schmidt's car pulled into a rather spacious cobblestone driveway and up in front of a respectably large house built in the late Imperial Century style, which was popular during the pager years of Franz Joseph's reign. It wasn't large enough to be a mansion, but it also wasn't too small to be pathetic. As Schmidt got out, he heard classical music, probably that composed by Wagner, from inside. An Angeloi flag flew from the top of a flagpost nearby. One could almost forget that this was Markos Angelos's private residence if not for the large barbed wire fence surrounding the house and the dozens of Athanatoi constantly sweeping the grounds.
He walked up to the door and prepared to knock, only for the door to open and a middle-aged woman with red hair and a respectable dress to appear.
"Oh, you must be our guest," said the woman, throwing open the door, "Please, come in."
He stepped inside and took off his shoes as Angelos, now wearing casual clothes, appeared from behind a corner. "Ah, Dietrich, you're right on time! I see you've met my wife, Irene. Irene, this is Obergruppenfuhrer Dietrich Schmidt of Vienna, one of my colleagues."
"Nice to meet you, Frau Angelos," said Schmidt, kissing Irene's hand.
"Nice to meet you too, Obergruppenfuhrer," said Irene, "You can just call me Irene. If you'll just follow me, the dinner table's just down the hall. We'll start eating in a few minutes. Ludwig here will take your belongings. You can get them back when we're done."
A teenage boy appeared next to him, picked up his suitcase, and went upstairs.
"That's my son, Ludwig," said Angelos, "Very promising young man. Top of his class, outstanding athletics performance, part of the Kaiserjugend...he'll be a great man contributing much to society someday."
Schmidt, however, noticed something in Angelos's voice as he said that. There was a hint of sadness as he spoke, as if he was hiding something. It only lasted for a second before Angelos asked, "So, how was downtown?"
"It was nice," said Schmidt, "You sure got the whole city in order. I have never seen the streets so clean and with so few beggars!"
"You can thank the motivation of the people to work together for the common good," said Angelos, "The state and I are just there to give a guiding hand. And the people are willing to make as many sacrifices as needed to eliminate all burdens to society."
They walked to the dining room and sat down at the table as Irene started serving food. Ludwig and two other children, girls probably aged twelve and six, sat down next to them.
"Lyra," said Angelos, "How was your day?"
"Great, dad," said the twelve-year-old, "We were let out of school early today for the funeral procession!"
"And we learned the pledge of loyalty today!" added the six year old, reciting in a mixture of Latin and German: "'I pledge allegiance, to the Volksfuhrer, our great leader, our benevolent Kaiser, Wilhelm IV, and to the Imperium Romanum, the imperium sine fine. I vow to serve my Volksfuhrer, my Imperator, and my Imperium with utter and unquestionable loyalty. One God, one people, one Imperium. The Angeloi protect!'"
"Very good," said Irene, "You're learning fast, Erica. Soon you'll be on Ludwig's level."
Erica grinned mischievously at Ludwig, who just picked at his food.
"Children, we have a visitor today," said Angelos, "One of my friends from work, Dietrich Schmidt."
"I believe we've met, Ludwig," said Schmidt, shaking Ludwig's hand. "How do you do, Lyra and Erica?"
The two girls got up and curtsied to the best of their ability.
"You're one of Markos's friends?" said Irene. "What do you do?"
"Nothing exciting," said Schmidt, "It's mostly a desk job. I make sure Vienna remains calm and safe, along with its citizens. There's the occasional Resistance terrorist attack, but nothing too big."
"But where'd you get that wound on your knee?" Ludwig asked, pointing to Schmidt's cane.
"An accident at work, nothing major," said Schmidt.
"Sounds like a cool job," said Lyra.
"You have no idea how boring it is, to be honest," said Schmidt, "I spend most of my day just signing forms and reading reports. But all of us must make sacrifices for the greater good. And I would gladly do my job if it helps defeat the rebel scum, which it does."
Angelos nodded. "A wise man, allowing himself to suffer in the name of the greater good. Much like Christ did thousands of years ago to save us all. All of us are doing a great thing here. We put aside our personal wants and our disagreements to work together for the good of all of us. Contrast that with the rebel scum, who throw away innocent lives like trash and only work for the rebel Kaiser's good. But we aren't the rebel scum. We're the good guys and they're not. We have history on our side."
Angelos sighed. "Has nobody eaten yet? Go ahead, dig in!"
"Dad," said Erica, "You forgot the prayers."
"Oh, right, what a virtuous little girl you are!" Angelos said.
They all muttered their prayers quickly and then started eating.
"Irene, this is really good food," said Schmidt, eating as fast as he could without looking impolite, "I haven't eaten food this good in years!"
"Let me guess, since before 1929?" said Angelos.
"Actually, yes," said Schmidt.
"Otto's coronation broke the Reich's economy," said Angelos, "Without the policies I put in place after Hindenburg's death, we never would be eating as well as we do now."
He laughed. "But that's enough politics for today. Let's talk about other things. Ludwig, can you tell me what you did today?"
"Sure," said Ludwig, "Today we learned about the ideals of the Reich before they were corrupted by the Augustinian Code and bureaucracy, how the earliest Hohenzollerns wanted to conquer the world and spread the word of Christ to the heathens and pagans, and how we are now going back to those ideals of imperium sine fine..."
"Thank you, Ludwig," said Angelos, "How about sports?"
"I won first place in running and shooting," said Ludwig, "The local leader of the Kaiserjugend is quite impressed and promises to refer me to a higher ranking leader!"
"That's great," said Irene, "How about friends?"
"Eh..." said Ludwig, "Not really. Michael and his friends are still bullying me."
"Don't pay them any attention," said Angelos, "One day you'll be a productive member of society, while he won't. He'll be a burden, depending on the state to survive instead of giving back to it. A lowlife, a useless eater and breather, taking up resources that can be better used for other more productive citizens..."
"Markos, I thought you said that was enough politics for tonight," said Irene.
"I was wrong," said Angelos, "Politics, education, and society have become intricately intertwined. You can't discuss one without discussing the other. So we might as well make the best of it."
They continued talking, but Schmidt didn't listen, and none of them bothered to ask him any questions. He finished his meal and got up from the table.
"Irene, Markos, thank you for the meal," said Schmidt, "I really enjoyed it."
"I'm glad you did, Dietrich," said Angelos.
"I really should get going now," said Schmidt, getting his coat.
"By all means, go ahead," said Angelos, gesturing to the door, "If you need anything, feel free to drop by around here or the Reichstag."
Schmidt walked over to the door, and Angelos opened it for him. "If not, we'll still see each other at the coronation," said the Volksfuhrer.
"Yes, Markos, we will," said Schmidt, stepping outside, "The Angeloi protect."
Angelos grinned and did a casual salute. "You know, I always found that a bit annoying, but we got to keep up appearances, do we?"
Schmidt laughed. "Of course, Markos. See you in a couple days."
He got in his car and drove away.
--
Tenochtitlan - 14 June 1941
Four days of mental agony passed by, and Senator Otto dreaded the moment that Trotsky would contact him to tell him what he thought about the file. He frequently tried to reassure himself that Octavia's contacts were the best forgers they could find and that Trotsky would not see anything suspicious. He tried a variety of methods ot keep himself calm. After settling down in his room, he tried to take an evening walk, but Mercader told him that the government had a curfew in place and would not tolerate anybody walking around at night. And they wouldn't care if he was the Kaiser. So he stayed put in his room until the next morning.
On the 11th, he finally went out for a walk without telling Engelbert, who kept to himself. He trudged through the otherwise nondescript neighborhood, passing large and luxurious houses more worthy of a dynatos than the leader of the equalist revolution. He thought about how ironic it was that men advocating for a "dictatorship of the proletariat" and total equality for all lived like Kaisers while most of Mexico was stuck in poverty that was barely civilized enough to not be downright barbarian. He arrived in a small park and sat down on a bench to think. It was really easy to, as the park was completely empty.
On the 12th, Trotsky was out the whole day to attend a politburo meeting in downtown. Engelbert took the time to look through Trotsky's personal office, trying to find any files that could be useful to the Resistance. While all he found were a couple books and manifestos, he was a bit surprised that the bodyguards didn't do anything to stop him. Otto just went out for another walk in the park.
On the 13th, Otto walked to the park again, while Engelbert stayed behind to chat with Mercader. It appeared that the gardener really liked ōllamaliztli, the traditional Mexican sport. Although it had been officially banned by the government for being too reactionary, nobody really enforced the ban, and it was well known that government officials frequently played the game. Trotsky called up Molotov, and his words were encouraging: Engelbert informed Otto that Trotsky so far had seen nothing suspicious in the files. Trotsky told Molotov that the file appeared to be legitimate and that he should put the Red Army on high alert, though this mobilization should be kept a secret. He said he would call back on the 15th with more details.
Why was he even here to begin with? Back at home was just a regular senator. His family had served the Reich loyally for centuries, never once questioning the Annionas' rule. If it wasn't for a random film reel that his world's Markos Angelos had found, he wouldn't be here. But why him? Why did that angel choose him to go over? He remembered deciding to cross over to save his duplicate from an unknown but presumably horrible fate. He realized he was an idiot. In accepting the angel's offer he had gone down a path he couldn't back away from. His friends were probably rotting away in a prison cell somewhere, if not being tortured or dead. And for what? His counterpart was in no danger now. He didn't even do anything to help out. The alternate Otto did everything on his own. As for himself, he had thrown away his career and life on a crazy mission that had now failed and probably jeopardized the existence of both universes. And was it worth it? Was it worth affecting the balance of power in this world? Giving the Resistance some difficulties? Causing Engelbert and Octavia and Hans and Conrad and Uriel and Raphael a lot of stress? He was just one man up against a hostile world, one very similar to his own world but ultimately different. People had died because of him. Families had lost a loved one because of him. And now he had to deceive one of the most powerful men in the world, for what? Saving the Reich? He knew that getting the Soviets to intervene would only doom millions of Reich citizens to oppression by the equalists. Was that a reasonable tradeoff? Was he willing to sacrifice several million citizens to the Soviets to save everybody else from the Angeloi? Was he willing to lie to one man to do that? And what would happen when he did return home? He wasn't a hero over there. Nobody would know what he did. Nobody had to know what he did. Octavia would just throw him in a cell to rot, like his friends did, if not have her guards shoot him in the head immediately. Here, he was a nameless person with no identity and life; if the Angeloi or the Soviets didn't kill him, he was a liability and a target because he looked like the Kaiser. There, he was a traitor. Either way he was for all intents and purposes dead in both worlds.
On the 14th, things took a surprising turn when Mercader knocked on the door to his room in the evening.
"Trotsky would like to see you," said Mercader.
Otto shot up from his chair immediately and ran down the stairs to Trotsky's office, his heart beating. He would finally get his answer. He wouldn't have to stay in this third-rate country for much longer. While he still had some doubts about the file, he was confident that if Trotsky hadn't found something in the last three days, he wouldn't find anything now.
He burst into Trotsky's office, trying to look as composed as possible. Noticing that he was here, Trotsky got up from his chair and approached Otto, the file in his hand.
"Well?" said Otto, a bit nervously as Engelbert arrived behind him.
Trotsky shook the file next to his head, a cross look on his face. "IT'S A FAKE!" he hissed.
