The Third Reich:Shadows of the Golden Eagle-Chapter 138: Droplets of the Future

"UP!"

"DOWN!"

Heavy rain poured from the dark sky, the clouds above Germany swollen and heavy. Endless masses of water rolled across the land and hammered against roof after roof in a relentless rhythm.

Rain drummed on metal.

Droplets struck the roof of a remote factory building hidden deep inside a dense forest. From the outside it appeared silent and abandoned, yet inside light kept burning.

Engineers moved quickly.

Sparks burst from welding torches, briefly illuminating the skeleton of something enormous standing in the center of the hall.

A metal tank.

Its silhouette was unfamiliar. Unlike anything the current world had seen before.

For now.

The rain continued its endless journey.

The clouds moved on.

Soon the water began to crash down upon a vast concrete field stretching across the landscape.

An airfield.

Despite the storm, engines roared across the runway. But the sound was different from the familiar rattling of propellers.

It was sharper.

Deeper.

Something new.

Near the tall control tower a shadow suddenly shot across the sky, cutting through the rain faster than the falling droplets themselves before vanishing once more into the thick clouds.

"UP!"

"DOWN!"

Far to the north, in Norway, the war raged on.

Soldiers shouted through the storm. Gunfire cracked across wet hillsides while artillery thundered in the distance. Tanks crawled forward through mud and rain, their engines roaring as explosions flashed across the gray battlefield.

The German advance did not slow.

Even the storm could not stop it.

Step by step they pushed forward, tightening the rope around the Allies’ neck.

Light tank divisions and motorized units closed in on Oslo while the rain continued to fall upon the cold waves of the North Sea.

Above the surface the sea was chaos.

Waves crashed violently against each other beneath the storm.

But far below the surface, silence finally returned.

Hidden in the dark depths moved a single shape.

A submarine.

An U boat traveled quietly through the black water, far away from the chaos raging above. Inside its steel hull, the Norwegian king and his royal family were being transported out of the country.

Their destination was Britain.

The rain did not fall over Germany alone.

Far to the south, in the harbors of Italy, water struck wooden decks and concrete docks. Soldiers moved through the downpour, loading crates of ammunition and fuel onto waiting transport ships.

Beyond the waters of the Mediterranean lay their destination.

Africa.

Soon the storm of war would reach the desert as well.

"UP!"

"DOWN!"

The command cut through the heavy rain.

Reinhard Heydrich stood motionless on a vast concrete training ground somewhere in Germany, its location of course classified.

The rain crashed against the ground around him.

Heydrich did not mind.

Water flowed down his black leather coat and dripped from the strands of his soaked hair. His hands remained calmly inside his pockets as he watched the group before him.

Dozens of young men moved in perfect rhythm across the wet concrete.

Push up after push up.

"UP!"

"DOWN!"

Their breathing grew heavier with every repetition.

At first glance they looked like young men.

But Heydrich knew the truth.

They were not men.

They were boys.

Teenagers.

Recruited for one purpose and one purpose alone.

To become weapons.

They wore nothing but trousers and leather boots, their bare upper bodies completely drenched by the cold rain. Water ran across their skin while their arms trembled from exhaustion.

Yet none of them stopped.

Heydrich’s cold voice rose above the storm.

"The enemy will never freeze."

The boys pushed themselves upward again.

"The enemy will never stop."

Their bodies dropped back down onto the concrete.

"The enemy will never show mercy."

They continued.

Rain hammered against the concrete as their bodies rose and fell in relentless rhythm.

Heydrich’s pale eyes moved slowly across the group, observing every trembling arm, every strained breath.

Then footsteps echoed behind him.

"Chief!"

A man stopped a few meters behind Heydrich and raised his hand in a sharp salute.

Heydrich did not turn.

The messenger hesitated for a moment, rain running down his cap and dripping from the edge of his uniform.

"There came an urgent order from the Directorate," he finally said.

The Directorate.

The highest authority of the German Empire.

Three Reichsmarschals and one man who stood above them all.

Paul.

For a brief moment the rain was the only sound.

Then Heydrich slowly turned his head.

His cold gaze moved past the messenger and toward one of the Gestapo officers standing nearby.

A small nod was enough.

The officer immediately stepped forward, his voice cutting through the storm.

"UP!"

"DOWN!"

The boys resumed their brutal rhythm as Heydrich turned back to the messenger.

To his left and right stood tall men clad in dark uniforms, their posture rigid and unmoving despite the pouring rain. On their shoulders rested the skull insignia of the Ghosts.

The man pulled a sealed letter from his breast pocket, while his fingers trembled slightly as he handed it over.

Heydrich accepted the paper without a word.

"Mhm."

He unfolded the document slowly.

Rain fell onto the page immediately, the ink growing darker as droplets spread across the surface.

At the very top stood a single line.

7 November 1940

Below it, printed in precise black letters:

The Directorate of the German Empire

Chief of Internal Security Reinhard Heydrich,

By order of the Directorate of the German Empire you are hereby entrusted with a matter of the highest national importance.

The defection and betrayal of Friedrich Lehmann has been confirmed, formerly Chief of the SS and member of the highest security apparatus of the Reich. His actions have been judged as an act of treason against the German state, the armed forces and the leadership of the nation.

Due to his former position, Lehmann possesses extensive knowledge of classified military operations, internal security structures and strategic plans of the Reich. Should such knowledge fall into hostile hands, the consequences for Germany and its ongoing war effort would be severe.

For this reason the Directorate has reached a unanimous decision.

Effective immediately you are ordered to locate and hunt down the traitor Friedrich Lehmann.

All resources of the Gestapo, the Abwehr and any cooperating military units are placed under your authority for the duration of this operation.

You are authorized to use any means necessary to complete your task.

The Directorate does not consider it necessary for Friedrich Lehmann to be brought back alive.

Serve the Empire.

Signed in the name of the Directorate:

Erich von Mannstein

Albert Kesserling

Erich Raeder

Heinrich Jaeger

Berlin, Reich Chancellery

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The dices have fallen...

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