Chapter 67
[London, UK]
(September 11, 2013)
Ulrich waited for the private jet to hit the runway before he stood up to stretch. The six hour flight had his muscles aching following a short nap. He checked with the digital clock aboard the jet to adjust his watch. Then, he walked over to the luggage staring down at it. Ulrich has seen a nuclear explosion earlier knowing full well the devastating force was enough to take out London itself. Inside the luggage, the nuclear bomb and a smaller bomb sat quietly waiting. Ulrich still struggled to understand how such small devices could pack that much raw power. He has been the leader of the group that infiltrated into China where thirteen of these bombs were lightly guarded. Now, he was in London with only one bomb left. The twelve other bombs performed their tasks to perfection. Ulrich took the time to stare out the window at the London Heathrow Airport which boasted to be the third busiest airport in the world. Ulrich found satisfaction knowing that this airport would soon be dead last assuming that any of it survived the blast. Previously, Ulrich's team was ordered to plant all thirteen bombs on American soil to maximize the destruction. However, a last minute change of plans saw the luck thirteen being planted in London, UK. To the descendents of the Third Reich, UK was viewed as the one of the major contributors to the party's defeat in the second world war.
[Sapporo, Japan]
(January 1, 2013)
Ulrich entered the room soon after he received the call from his mentor, Noboru Suto. Suto claimed that he had important matters to discuss with Ulrich which the young German took very seriously. Upon entering the room, Ulrich noticed the room very dark being only lit by a single lamp. Suto sat in a chair by the lamp as he stared out into the distance. Believing that his mentor didn't hear him enter, Ulrich called out to his mentor.
"I'm not deaf, Ulrich." Suto chuckled after he heard himself. "I must be getting old if I'm saying that."
"You have many years left, mentor." Ulrich sat himself down on one of the sofas. His mentor never turned his back and Ulrich didn't really care. "What is this urgent matter you speak of?"
"Longhezhen."
Ulrich waited for his mentor to continue but Suto just stopped talking. A short while later, he heard small sobs from Suto. As he was about to get up to comfort the old man, Suto raised his hand giving a clear command for him to stay where he was.
"You will lead a team there to infiltrate the base and acquire some nuclear bombs." Suto paused as he stared at Ulrich's shocked face in the window reflection. "Don't be surprised. I told you that the Fourth Reich would require drastic measures to rise up in today's world."
Ulrich sat back down to steady himself from, not of fear, but excitement. "So, how many bombs will we acquire?"
"Thirteen."
"Losing thirteen cities will be a deadly blows on the Americans."
"They will only lose twelve."
"Why?" Ulrich stared wide-eyed at his mentor. "Why are you showing mercy to the Americans?"
"There is an enemy that contributed to our defeat as much as the Americans."
"The Russians?" Ulrich began pacing the room. "I understand they halted our advances. Still, the Russians could be a valuable ally once the Fourth Reich is formed."
"You still have much to learn."
Suto struggled to stand up but his legs were shaking. Ulrich came over to give his mentor a hand but Suto refused the help. A few minutes later, the two men stood before a large map hanging on the wall. There were many markings on the map with the one arrow labelled "1" pointing from Japan to China. Suto pointed to Europe as he spoke to Ulrich.
"What enemy of the Third Reich avoided occupation other than the Russians?"
Ulrich looked through the map briefly. "The British."
"Let me ask you this." Suto took a moment to catch his breath. "What would have happened if we captured UK?"
Ulrich paused to formulate his thoughts. Suto told him to speak what was on his mind and don't waste time organizing everything. Ulrich stated that, with UK captured, the Americans would have been less likely to launch an attack on Europe itself. Without UK, the Americans had no foreign bases to transport men to Europe so they could liberate the occupation. As Ulrich spoke, he realized that the British did indeed prevented them from winning the war. By allowing the Americans to set up bases in their territory, the Allies eventually pushed into Europe seeing the Third Reich collapse by fighting on two fronts. Suto was content with his student figuring things out alone and returned to his seat. He then dismissed Ulrich so he could be alone. On the next day, a servant found Suto dead in his chair sitting before the window that faced mainland Asia.