Ancients

combed straight back with the part slightly left of center.

'If it will ease your mind, Lieutenant, your father will never learn of your failure here tonight. He is dead. Your younger brother would have joined him for his journey, but he was off at school. His death will wait.'

He heard the words said in their German accent, but they failed to hit home for a moment. He looked up at the approaching man and narrowed his eyes to mere slits, forcing away his tears of frustration and physical pain.

'What?'

The small man stopped and looked down at him, his features very serious. 'I said he is dead. Tortured until he admitted sending to you the item we have sought for sixty years.'

'What ... what are you talking about--what item?' the boy hissed.

'Oh, that's right, you were a wayward boy and not privy to certain aspects of your father's more ... secretive activities. However, that is unimportant. What he has sent to you will be in our hands momentarily, and his death will be but a footnote in the history books.'

The man walked over, poured a glass of water, then turned to his captive. The boy looked at the clear glass and tried to swallow. He was thirsty, had been since he had been snatched off the street hours before. The small well-dressed man nodded to the two thugs, and then he felt his hands being untied; but instead of relief at his sudden freedom another bolt of pain shot through his hand as blood rushed to the open wound. He pulled his arm forward and clutched his hand.

'Mr. Krueger, assist the lieutenant.'

His right hand was roughly pulled away from his body and a white cloth was wrapped around the stub where his ring finger had been.

'There you go. Now drink this.' The water glass was held out before him and he took it and swallowed the cool liquid in three large gulps.

'Now, one more question and Mr. Wagoner and Mr. Krueger will show you to the door, Lieutenant. Where is the package that contains the bronze plate map? It has hieroglyphs you most assuredly could not understand.'

Keeler knew he was a dead man. However, he did know something that was going to give him one last defiant punch. His father had trusted him far more than people knew.

'It's in a safe aboard my ship.' The boy smiled, this time wide and knowing. Then he grew serious and looked at the small man. 'I don't know about fashion in Hitler-land, pal, but no one wears spats anymore--kraut!'

'One more time, you grinning fool: where is the plate map?'

'Somewhere you'll never get to it,' the boy said, his smile growing.

The small man nodded and the lieutenant was pulled to his feet.

'You'll take us to the harbor and point out which vessel it is, and then we'll see if the map is out of our reach.'

'Fuck off, Nazi. I'm not telling you a damn thing.'

'Young man, this may surprise you, but I am not in the employ of the Nazi regime. I am German, as you know. However, nationality has nothing to do with us. Our goals, while similar to Herr Hitler's, are far grander.'

'To me, you're just one step removed from my father; you both share the arrogance of class.'

The man smiled and then looked as if he had decided something.

'My organization has many members, the likes of which may even be high up in your own government. Even your father's people share some of our ancient ideologies. To compare Hitler to us or even to your father's people? My dear boy, don't make me laugh.' He leaned closer to the American. 'Without us, that fool in Berlin would never have made it to power.' He straightened. 'I am through being gentle. What ship?'

This time the large man enthusiastically went to work on Keeler.

An hour later, a large car pulled into a secluded area across from Ford Island inside Pearl Harbor Naval Base.

There were two ships anchored at the end of the very long line of warships at battleship row. A smaller vessel was silhouetted in the starlight next to a second, much larger ship, whose graceful lines and majestic towers silhouetted against the setting moon made her glimmer in the darkness.

Krueger examined several photos of American warships. 'Is that it?' he asked.

'No, that's the repair ship, Vestal. The vessel we seek is the larger one to her starboard beam,' said the man known as Weiss.

'That foolish American attorney was far wiser than we anticipated, sending the plate map here to his wayward son, and then that smart bastard placing it in his captain's custody, very resourceful indeed.'

The German closed his eyes for a second and then opened them and looked into the harbor. He was looking at one of the most famous ships in the world, many times serving as the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. He continued to watch as more laughing and joking American sailors rounded her stern in a whaleboat to board after a night of drinking. His jaw muscles clenched as the last words of the American naval officer echoed in his head:

'It was sent to me, but I was directed to give it to my captain, so good luck getting to it, asshole,' the tough American lieutenant had said through his toothless and bloody mouth, and the words had mocked the German to no end, 'because it's in the captain's safe.'

The small man angrily looked at his watch. It was close to four thirty in the morning; the date was now December 7, 1941. As he looked up at the large ship with her graceful lines, he knew he had a difficult job ahead of him in order to recover the plate map, which described the hiding place of the control Key to the weapon.

He had to find a way to board that ship and get what was in the captain's safe. He watched the drunken sailors laughing and talking loudly that Sunday morning, their voices bouncing lazily along the quiet harbor over the one-mile distance.

As he watched the sailors, he hit on a plan to board the USS Arizona. The sun had been up for two hours, and it took the three men every bit of those frustrating hours to secure a uniform with the correct rank. The German-born ex-commando Krueger was wearing the uniform of a lieutenant and had successfully boarded a whaleboat that was making its rounds of battleship row. Krueger disembarked with the Arizona crew.

'Hey, Lieutenant!'

The German froze just three steps onto the teak deck of the Arizona.

'Forget something?'

The German felt the weight of the Luger tucked into his pants and under his tunic, and with a deep breath he turned to the man who had spoken.

The officer of the deck was eyeing him, hands on his hips. The German knew that he had somehow erred as he was looking at a lieutenant junior grade, a full rank below his own stolen status. He looked around as other sailors clambered up the gangway. He watched as they saluted toward the back of the great ship and then turned and saluted the officer of the deck. Krueger quickly deduced where he had gone wrong.

He swallowed and with a determined stagger, feigning drunkenness, turned to the stern of Arizona and sloppily saluted the flag, then turned to the officer of the deck and saluted him.

The salute was returned.

'Now I advise you to get below, sir, before someone that outranks us both sees your condition.' The officer looked at his watch. 'Ten minutes until reveille, Lieutenant. I'd move it if I were you.'

Krueger looked at his watch as if he cared and saw that it was ten minutes until eight. Then he nodded and ducked into the nearest hatchway.

The officer of the deck didn't think it strange that he hadn't recognized the drunken lieutenant; after all, he had been onboard for only a week before he'd drawn OD duty. Still, he turned and looked after the figure as he disappeared.

Krueger had asked two passing sailors the way to officer's country. After looking at him strangely, they sent him in the right direction. When he found the right deck and the right cabin, he was not shocked to see a U.S. Marine guard standing at parade rest to the right of the door. He swallowed and made his way forward just as the bugle sounded for reveille up on deck. He walked toward the marine, who chanced a look down at his watch and didn't see the German reach for his Luger.

'Silence will see you through this morning, Corporal. Now, hands away from your weapon, please.'