THE LOST VIKING SAGA

The Hitler doppelganger arrived before dawn. Olaf had risen early, his mind fighting off further sleep by mulling over details of their impending departure. He was walking down the hall toward the stairs leading topside, when Major Penbrooke appeared. Behind the Major, on the final three stairs were two stern looking soldiers, behind them a shorter man whose face was obscured by a loosely wound winter scarf. Next to him, a tall, thin escort in a plain, brown suit occupied the same step, and behind them stood two additional equally flinty-eyed soldiers.

“Ah, Olaf, good morning,” Penbrooke said greeting him, “Our travelling companion from London has arrived. Let me introduce you to Mr. Smith.”

“Hale to you,” said Olaf.

An incomprehensible, muffled reply came from the shorter man.

“If you would like, you can accompany us to Colonel Brundige, Olaf. I am certain he would like to have you present at this first meeting.”

The man in the brown suit interjected, “Are you sure that is wise, Major?”

“Mr. Rὺin, Olaf is the leader of the mission you have so kindly included your man in. He will be present as you introduce Mr. Smith to Colonel Brundige and there will be no further questions as to whether he should be there or not. Am I understood?”

“Very well,” replied Mr. Rὺin sharply.

Olaf fell into step next to Penbrooke as they quickly continued on to the Colonel’s private office. The major didn’t bother knocking, opening the door as he called out, “Colonel, our package had arrived with an escort.”

Brundige appeared in the doorway on the other side of the room, cradling a cup of tea in his hands. He looked the newcomers over as he entered, setting the teacup on a desk as he strode toward them.

“I should expect the small vanguard as normal operating procedure for Secret Intelligence. I am to assume also that you shall present yourself to me with some cleverly contrived alias by which I am to address you,” he said directing the statement toward the man in the brown suit.

Mr. Rὺin gave the Colonel a pinched smile, extending his hand to him stiffly.

“A pleasure to meet you, Colonel Brundige. I am Mr. Rὺin and this,” he said sweeping his hand dramatically toward the shorter man who was unwrapping his scarf, “is Mr. Smith or, as you can see, Herr Adolph Hitler.”

The unwound scarf revealed the face of a man who looked so like the Fuhrer that Colonel Brundige’s hand went instinctively toward his sidearm.

“Incredible. Categorically astounding I must say. How did you find such an improbable likeness?”

“Mr. Smith is an agent of unparalleled dedication, Colonel. He has submitted himself to numerous surgeries to make him an uncontested twin to our contentious friend in Berlin. He has spent two full years studying film and listening to speeches, until his every movement and mannerism, including how he speaks is as natural as the man himself.”

Mr. Smith offered his hand to Brundige and greeted him in heavily accented English, “Good morning, Oberst Brundige. It is my pleasure.”

The Colonel shook his head in awe.

“There may be some merit to this added mission objective after all. If we can replace the real Hitler with one who is going to mislead and misdirect the Nazi agenda, we are presented with the opportunity to end this war for certain. Now we will not have to risk the void of an abducted Hitler being filled with an equally maniacal replacement.”

“Indeed, Oberst,” replied Mr. Smith. “My mission is to make certain that Germany cannot and will not win the war, at whatever cost to my own personal safety.”

“And I am afraid,” broke in Mr. Rὺin, “that is as much information about his personal mission that I can allow Mr. Smith to divulge. Colonel Brundige, it is S. I. Service’s desire that I remain here until the mission is launched. I would require all courtesy, as well as quarters for myself, Mr. Smith, and for my escorts.”

“Understood. Unfortunately, our space is severely limited at this time. I can offer this room we stand in to you and Mr. Smith. As to your escorts, they can either bunk with the Norsemen or some of the other soldiers assigned to this facility. If that is not suitable to you, I can have someone find some additional cots and they can be quartered here with you.”

“That would be my desire. Mr. Smith is a very valuable national asset and I want to oversee every aspect of his protection while he is here. I don’t intend to be offensive, Colonel, I assure you. But I trust my men here implicitly and I would rather keep them within sight of Mr. Smith at all times. I would also request that we take all of our meals in this room and that private use of the bath facilities be allotted to us during our stay so that no one else observes Mr. Smith. I may be edging a tad toward the paranoid, but one can never tell these days where the Nazis may have placed their eyes and ears.”

“That can all be arranged, Mr. Rὺin. I will have Major Penbrooke see to it immediately,” the Colonel assented, nodding at the Major who, without further word, saluted and swiftly exited.

Olaf, silent to this point, now felt it necessary to ask the question that had been gnawing at him since Mr. Smith revealed his face.

“Mr. Rὺin, has any consideration been given as to how we are to transport, Mr. Smith across France and into Paris without his being seen? His presence somewhat hinders our ability to move freely and swiftly from the coast to the city.”

“That is a very good question, sir,” Mr. Rὺin answered primly. “Indeed, we have considered that very thing, and I can say positively that we have devised a method to conceal his identity and guarantee you the same freedom of movement your current papers would have allowed you. In fact, they may allow you even more freedom than your current papers as very important changes have been made to give you virtually unhindered perambulation through France.”

The Intelligence man laid a briefcase on the desk, unlocked it and lifted its lid. He reached in and produced a new set of papers, handing them to Colonel Brundige with a flourish.

“If the Colonel wouldn’t mind taking a look,” he said as Brundige received the offered bundle.

Colonel Brundige scanned the papers carefully. Slowly his facial changed from one of apprehension to one of admiration.

“These are brilliant, Mr. Rὺin. Absolutely brilliant. These solve some logistics that I honestly thought might not be water tight. Olaf, your reason for travelling across France is no longer ambiguous and subject to examination.”

“Too true, Colonel,” added Mr. Rὺin. “You see, Olaf, Mr. Smith will have his faced concealed beneath a black bag. As you transport him across the countryside, he will be bound. The premise, as laid out in your new papers, is that you are delivering a very important political prisoner to the Fuhrer’s company. They explain that his contingent will take custody of the man for his extrication back to Berlin. He is implied in your orders to be a prisoner of such top secret importance that no one should dare to question you. You should be able to traverse the French roads with the utmost expedience.”

“This is a very good strategy,” agreed Olaf. “I see the necessity to now adjust my strategy for acquiring the real Hitler at the opera house, but it should not change it over much. Making the transfer of your Hitler for the real one will require some additional thought. However, overall, this new objective solves many of the concerns I had once we landed on the shore. I am assuming these orders also give us unhindered authority to commandeer any vehicles we require?”

“I would answer you with a resounding affirmative, Olaf,” said Mr. Rὺin proudly. “This papers have been gone over with a finer comb than anything we have done up to this point. In addition I have here another sealed set of papers for you and your men to use on the return trip that gives you authority to move a scientist to an undisclosed location on the coast that should provide adequate cover for you as you escape. We have made a great effort to allow for each and every contingency. You see, Mr. Churchill, the War Cabinet, and the Secret Intelligence Service all believe that this particular gamble is one of our greatest hopes at turning this conflict toward our favor. We cannot afford any weakness at all in how it is executed. When word of your mission came to the attention of those of us in London, it was agreed unanimously that yours was the perfect vehicle to insert our Mr. Smith into the seat of power as it were. England’s future hangs upon Operation Thor’s Hammer. Your appearance on our shores has happened at a most opportune time.”

“Our arrival on your shores has occurred at the divinely appointed time, Mr. Rὺin,” corrected Olaf.

“Yes, well,” replied Mr. Rὺin uncomfortably. “Some would say that I suppose. Whatever the case may be, it is fortunate. Mr. Smith is more than ready to assume his alter-ego’s place and you are embarking on a mission to remove Mr. Hitler from that place. These are coincidences that must be capitalized upon. We are grateful to have you.”

Olaf inclined his head toward Mr. Rὺin. Though impressed with the logic and apparent dedication of the man, there was something about him that made Olaf cringe every time he spoke. More than likely it was the incredible smug and overbearing confidence in his own mental prowess that gave Olaf pause. Mr. Rὺin seemed the sort of man to not trust in much outside his own abilities. Olaf turned to address, Colonel Brundige.

“Colonel, perhaps we might meet later and discuss the plans for the days that remain to us before the mission is launched. The next four days will pass swiftly, of that I am certain.”

“I believe they will, Olaf. I will come and find you after I see that our guests are settled properly. Where do you think you will be?”

“More than likely I will be on the drill field. We intend to spend some time with William honing the skills he has taught us.”

“Very good. I will come and find you there.”

Olaf nodded toward Mr. Rὺin and Mr. Smith wordlessly leaving the Colonel to deal with the newcomers. He found his men already at the drill field, practicing with the fighting knives upon what looked like scarecrows. William waved at him from across the field. Olaf smiled, relieved to be able to be in the presence of an authentic man, with no hidden motives, once again.”

“These are new,” he said indicating the scarecrows.

“They are practice mannequins; this way your men can test their new weapons without the risk of accidently hurting one another.”

“Your ingenuity will never cease to fill me with wonder, William.”

“I can’t take credit for this, my friend. The British army and police forces have been using mannequins such as these for training for several years. I merely requisitioned them for our use today.” William studied Olaf’s face for a moment before resuming. “You look weary, my friend. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. I am afraid I carry this burden on my own. I have much to think through before we leave in four days’ time for our embarkation area on your southern coast. If I look weary it is only that my mind is set upon other details.”

“I can assist you with sorting through those thoughts, Olaf. I am not a novice when it comes to strategy.”

Olaf thought for a moment, considering William’s offer. “I believe you may be of assistance. Having seen my strategy in action, what would you change if you were suddenly made aware that instead of just capturing your target you now had to swap him with an imposter?”

“Is that what all the cloak and dagger activity is about?”

Olaf looked confused. “Cloak and dagger? I am unfamiliar with the phrase.”

“Cloak and dagger refers to secret machinations that involve intrigue or mysterious comings and goings.”

“I see. I believe that would be appropriate in this case. There are is a fair amount of intrigue involved. A man has arrived from your British Secret Intelligence Service, he has brought an additional passenger with him for us to transport.”

“I have always been wary of Secret Intelligence. The very terms don’t appear to agree with one another. The idea I seem to be understanding, and don’t answer if you feel it will compromise you, is that they have a Hitler double that they want you to swap for the real one. Am I correct?”

“You are indeed. The Secret Intelligence man was very adamant about not revealing that to anyone outside our group, but I do not consider you outside, William.”

“I am grateful for your trust. How can I advise you in your strategy, Olaf?”

Pulling William a little farther away, Olaf began to lay out his plan for adjusting his current strategy. The two men stood, huddled together, sharing ideas while the men trained. As promised, Colonel Brundige joined them topside, and added his thoughts to the discussion, unfazed by the revelation that Olaf had included William in the discussion. When the call came to break for midday meal, Olaf felt confident that his new strategy was even stronger than the previous one. After conferring briefly about the agenda for the remaining four days, the three men walked together back to the bunker to connect with the rest of the men for what remained of the lunch break.