The Regression Strategy part 1

Prologue:


From the moment of waking, the man in the chair knew he was facing death. His eyes opened slowly through a momentary glaze until vision came back into focus. The back of his head throbbed painfully, a reminder of the blow that had incapacitated him. His mouth was dry so he tried to swallow, but almost gagged on the lump in his throat.
After a few moments spent experiencing these symptoms he tried to take in his surroundings.
He was in a dimly lit, cold room. The only illumination emitted from a bare light bulb, hanging from the ceiling. By turning a stiff neck he could see objects around the walls, draped in shadows. Those objects he recognized sent a chill down his spine. They were devices used specifically for their capacity to inflict pain, instruments that would be at home in any torture chamber. Their presence here boded badly for him self.
His eyes noticed a small table several yards opposite his own position, behind which sat an empty chair, and upon which stood a small electric lamp.
The man attempted to move his torso, but found himself secured to a wooden chair, arms tied behind him and to the seat. He flexed his muscles in the hope of breaking free, but the cords around his wrists were strong and tight. Glancing down he found that his ankles were also bound to the chair legs.
The chill of the room was enhanced by the knowledge that he was destined to end his life here in this chamber, in agony no doubt, murdered by his captors, who would be free to continue with their insane plans.
Not for the first time since this had all begun he found himself wishing that he was a different man, the kind of person who could walk away from a problem, instead of confronting it.
He remained in the chair for over an hour until hearing a noise from outside the room. Footsteps initially, then voices followed by the metallic chink of a key, turning in the lock. With a loud creak the door swung inwards, followed by the slow entrance of two shapes. They entered, pushing the portal closed in their wake. One of them approached the table and switched on the lamp. Its sudden glare of light momentarily blinded the prisoner and made it difficult to see the person who stood behind the table.
The second arrival strolled around the chamber, staying close to the walls, circling until standing behind the unwilling guest.
“So, “a voice began, the speaker being the person at the table. “ Welcome to my home. It has been a long time since we first met. I wondered if we would ever meet again, often hoped we would. “The voice was cold, harsh, devoid of real feeling. “ And so here we are at last, the time has come to settle old scores. “
“ W..wh.. Who are you? “ asked the prisoner, straining his vocal chords to get the words out.
“Who am I? “The speaker laughed humorlessly. “I have a name you are very familiar with, but today you will know me as pain and death. “
The prisoner groaned and wondered where in his life he could have done something different that would have avoided this confrontation ever taking place.


PART ONE: NINETEEN FORTY FOUR: The Castle:

During a dark night in December the lone aircraft flew high in the sky, with subdued lighting. Down below were mountains, their peaks tipped with snow as the vehicle traveled over Austria.
In the aircraft’s fuselage sat seven men, clad in the uniforms of the Austrian 27th Alpen Division, trying to ignore the loud roar of the engine’s, which was almost deafening in their confined space. Above them stood a seventh man, who glanced between a red light on the fuselage roof, his watch and the six passengers, wondering who they were and what they were up to.
On the left sat a thick set blond man with bushy eyebrows, staring down at the floor. In his right hand he held a long dagger, a cloth in the left, which he used to carefully clean the blade, almost caressing the steel with affection.
Beside him was a dark haired individual, with heavy stubble, clearly in need of a shave. He puffed at a cigarette, inhaling deeply before slowly blowing smoke rings into the air.
The next man glanced towards him in distaste, wrinkling his nose, trying to ignore the nicotine’s heavy scent. He was a thin, wiry man, with a Schmeisser machine gun resting across his legs.
Opposite sat a gum chewing red head, with his back up against the fuselage, tossing a hand grenade in the air with his left hand, catching it with his right, then tossing it back again, repeatedly.
Beside him sat the fifth man, a six foot tall, grey moustached man mountain. Muscles bulged from under his tight fitting uniform, and any watcher could not help but notice the sheer power of the man.
The sixth man sat slightly apart from the others, using a small torch to study a map, then glancing at his watch He was almost six foot tall, black haired, clean shaven, but sporting a small scar on his chin. He glanced up at the standing watcher.
“How long? “
“Five minutes, “replied the seventh individual. “ Better get ready. “
Instantly all six men began to gather backpacks and weapons. They were all supplied by an equipment pack, Schmeisser, holstered pistol, knife, and a belt of ammunition, with hand grenades.
“Everybody ready? “ inquired the scarred man. They all nodded assent. “Get into position”
The red light turned amber, so the watcher reached over and opened a door. Instantly a burst of cold wind blew into the fuselage causing him to wince with the force and cold. He waved the men forward. One by one they lined up behind each other, with the scarred man at the back.
The watcher glanced out and down, biting back the urge to throw up at the sight of an immense drop below them, into darkness and mountainous terrain.
Suddenly the light changed color again, this time to a bright green.
“Go; go go, “he barked.
Rapidly the men stepped forward and one by one jumped out of the aircraft at thirty second intervals.
“Good luck, “the watcher cried as the last man jumped.
As soon as they were gone he slammed the door tightly closed again and made his way back to the cabin, where the pilot glanced up at his entrance.
“Everything okay Toby? “He asked.
“The package has been delivered Sir, “replied the watcher. “ Let’s go home. “

Tony Blake, the man with the scarred chin, felt a rush of cold air in his face as he left the aircraft, plummeting towards the ground. Below him he could barely see the shapes of the men who had gone before, distant blobs in the night sky.
Suddenly a parachute emerged from the pack of one jumper and Tony breathed a faint sigh of relief. Moments later he spotted another parachute, and then another until he could see five of them, which could only mean it was his time next. He reached towards the rip cord and gave it a tug.
As the parachute emerged from it’s place of containment he felt a sharp surge as his body was yanked back upwards for several seconds before continuing to descend, although much slower now.
He focused his attention on the landscape below. To his right were snow capped hills, to the left he knew there was a river, and almost immediately below a thick forest. He maneuvered the guidance ropes of his parachute in an attempt to guide himself. Landing close to the forest would be great, but landing on it could be lethal.
A minute later he saw the ground rushing up fast to meet him, braced for impact hit the grass and rolled. The canvas billowed down over him but he rapidly released the belt and scrambled free of the cloth.
As he emerged from its confines he was holding his Schmeisser at the ready, just in case there happened to be somebody waiting. His eyes scanned the immediate area and saw nothing of concern. The forest was about one hundred yards away.
He gathered up the parachute and carried it into the trees, traveled maybe twenty yards inside, and withdrew a small trowel from his equipment pack. It was the work of ten minutes to dig a hole large enough to place the cloth into and then cover it over again, so it wouldn’t be visible at a glance to any passerby. He glanced up into the sky and silently thanked God for the light snowfall that was currently taking place. It should erase any obvious traces of the burial.
With that exercise completed he threw the trowel away and reached into one of his jacket pockets for a compass and small pencil like torch. Satisfied he was on target he set off towards the East. Behind him, he left footprints in the snowy ground.
Ten minutes later he dropped to his knees, paused and listened for any sounds. With a glance at his watch he decided that this was approximately the right time and place. He raised the torch and flashed it on and off, three times, then waited.
After several seconds he saw a light close by, flashing on and off, four times. He flashed once more, and then set off towards the light.
“Halt, “a voice barked out of the night. Blake froze. From the corner of his vision he saw two shapes appear from behind a tree, men carrying Schmeisser like himself and wearing the same uniform.
“Hands up and identify yourself, “one of them commanded in German.
“Colonel Heinrich Rous, “Blake snapped back angrily in fluent German. “Twenty seventh division. What is the meaning of this you fool’s? Why have you disobeyed your orders? “
“What orders? “The German asked, somewhat confused.
“These orders, “Blake replied, standing up and turning, extending his right arm. From beneath his jacket a small knife was ejected, from the concealed spring activated holster up his sleeve.
The knife hurtled across the air and embedded itself in the chest of the speaker, who collapsed backwards, caught totally off guard. His companion made the mistake of watching him fall before reacting to the threat. By the time he returned his attention to the intruder, Blake had sprinted across the distance between them and jumped on top of him. Both men hit the ground, but with Blake on top, knocking the soldiers weapon to one side, and then smashing a fist downwards. He punched his opponent’s throat then struck again at the man’s neck with the side of his right hand. He had been trained well to use this as a killing blow. It didn’t fail.
As soon as he was sure of the man’s death he stared all around, listening intently for any sight or sound of others, hearing and seeing nothing. He climbed off of the body and strolled over to the second man, checked his pulse to be sure that the knife had done its work and heaved a sigh of relief.
“That was close, “Paul Thomas the thick set blond man commented, emerging from the trees. “ I was just getting close when they saw you. “He held his own knife, gripped for action. “ You were fast. “
“Yeah, but who are they? “Snorted Tony. “And are they alone? “
Thomas knelt beside one of the corpses, picking up a bundle the man had dropped on the point of dying, a brace of dead rabbits.
“Poaching “he deduced.
Blake took a knife from the first man, removed his own blade from the corpse of the second and replaced it with the stolen weapon. Then he took the second man’s gun, held it to the body of the first and fired it several times. It’s proximity to the body muffled the retort. He then dragged the two dead bodies very close together and draped the brace of rabbits on the ground beside them.
“What’s that all about? Asked Thomas.
“When they’re found, I want it to look like they killed each other, “explained Tony. “ If they realize someone else killed them, the countryside will be alive with searchers. We’re supposed to be here on a secret mission. If we’re lucky the snow will cover our tracks before they are found. “
He surveyed his handiwork, satisfied that it would fool any cursory inspection, then indicated that Paul follow him as he set off towards the light he had originally been approaching.
As he did so he recalled the briefing they had been given in London less than twenty four hours ago.

Tony had led his five men into Major Lawrence’s Operations room, where the Major stood waiting, with another plain clothed bald man of maybe forty years old, who held a half smoked cigarette in his right hand.
“Ah gentlemen, come in, “Lawrence boomed. “ Take some seats and we’ll get started. “
Quickly the six new arrivals dropped into chairs, facing the Major and his companion.
“Okay, “Lawrence continued. “ You have all been selected to take part in a top secret mission into Austria tomorrow night. My associate,…. Mister Croker from S.I.S will give you the details. Over to you Charlie. “The plain clothed man took the cigarette from his mouth and pointed to a large map on the wall behind him.
“We’re going to fly you over the channel and across Europe in a captured German bomber. Hopefully that way you’ll be able to avoid being shot down by German defenses. You will fly over Austria and parachute out, around here. “He pointed out a large scale map of Austria. “ You will aim to land in the vicinity of this forest, about twenty miles from Salzburg. Use that as the rendezvous point.
From there you will travel due east for ten miles until you reach this village, Edelschloss..” His finger came to rest on another part of the map. “Here you will rendezvous with your local contact, code name Wolfsbane. He will then provide you with additional assistance to carry out your mission. “
“And just what is our mission Sir? “Asked Tony.
“It’s a two fold objective, “Croker continued. “ Firstly we have received Intelligence that indicates the presence of a secret Nazi base in Austria, a Castle, where a Scientist is carrying out some research into a new kind of weapon for Hitler, some kind of obscene new weapon, utilizing human beings for experimentation. We don’t know what it is, even our sources don’t have access to that kind of detail but it’s got Hitler’s personal backing and gets all the equipment, money and human material it needs.
We don’t know what it is but we can’t take the chance of it being completed. It’s a weapon being developed at a terrible human cost. That’s two good reasons to shut it down completely, and permanently. “
“Are there limits sir? “Inquired the dark haired, unshaven David Ross.
“No limits, “was the answer. “ These people have already gone beyond the point of being shown mercy. “Suddenly he became aware that his cigarette had almost disappeared and absent mindedly tossed it into a nearly ashtray.
The thin, wiry shape of Barry Mckay stood up and approached the map, studying it for a moment.
“Aye, that’ll be the first objective, what’ll be the second? “
“Let me bring you up to date on a couple of things, “said Croker. “ You won’t know this, but very recently there was an attempt by German High Command to assassinate Winston Churchill. Luckily it failed, but we’re not too happy about it. We’ve been asked to send a message back to Germany. “Croker fumbled in his pockets, and then found what he was looking for, producing a packet of cigarettes.
“What kind of message? “This question from the red headed Jason Cartwright.
“We’ve received intelligence that Adolf Hitler is personally going to visit this facility, “revealed their briefing officer. “ So we know he’ll be there in a couple of days, so we want to kill two birds with one stone. Shut this facility down and kill Hitler while you’re about it. “He paused for a moment, put a new cigarette to his lips and casually lit it.
“Kill Hitler, you must be joking, “snorted the sixth member of the group, Billy Jackson. “ He’s the most well protected man in the world. He’ll be guarded by hundreds of troops. What chance will we have of getting anywhere near him? “
“Watch your tongue soldier, “Major Lawrence shouted. “ Don’t forget your place. “
“That’s okay Major, “Croker said. “ I realize that this mission sounds like a bit of a tall order, a certain amount of cynicism is expected. “He turned to face Jackson. “ I agree with you son, he is very well protected, but let me put it like this, he’s on a visit, well within German territory, guarded by hundreds of soldiers, constantly on the alert for such things. He’ll be feeling fairly confidant that he’s safe.
But you however, the six of you are the best infiltration Team we’ve got. Your mission list is already very impressive; you’ve all achieved success against seemingly impossible targets before. I agree this is going to be tough, but think about it for one minute. You’re going to infiltrate this facility anyway, so the fact that Hitler is there is just an extra complication for you. And let’s face it, if the German Fuhrer is there with all of his guards then in all likelihood no one is going to expect us to send a Team in now. It may work in our favor. “
“In other words because the job is impossible, it may just be possible? “Shrugged Blake sarcastically.
“That’s one way of looking at it, “Croker smiled thinly. “ But it really must be attempted for both the reasons I already gave you. “
“Why don’t we just send in a squadron of bombers? “Suggested Paul Thomas. “Blow the whole facility to Kingdom come. That’ll do it. “
“We considered that option, “nodded Croker, “but to get a squadron that far would mean they’d be spotted. Every German anti aircraft gun will be trained on them, every fighter in Europe would be sent after them and with the huge probability that by the time they reached the target Hitler would have cleared off. No, we don’t think it would work. “
“Okay Sir “Blake sighed. “ What’s the plan? And why will six of us succeed? “
“Because there are only six of you, it will be possible to travel across the countryside without being spotted, without raising alarms. Our agent will provide you with help to get closer; you’ll be wearing the uniforms of the local 27th Division. As long as you don’t blow your cover you’ll have the opportunity to infiltrate the base to carry out your mission. “
The group was silent for a moment as they digested the implications. Nobody had any more objections to rise.
“Okay men, “Lawrence joined in again. “ Let’s work out a strategy shall we? “

Croker unrolled a large map and laid it on a nearby table top, beckoning for the group to move closer.
“We intend to drop you about here, “his finger pointed to a place on the map. “ There are some low peaks, surrounded by woodland. We intend to use that as the cover. You’ll land and rendezvous in the woodland. It’s not an overly populated area, but five miles to the East is a Military barracks, so there may be some activity. Be careful.
Once you are down, you will travel due South towards the village of Edelschloss, twenty miles away. You’ll be traveling by night, to minimize the risk of being spotted, but equally, the very fact you are moving at night will mean that if you are discovered, it’ll be trouble. “He laid a smaller drawing on top of the map, a layout of the village.
“Aim to reach Edelschloss before dawn. Enter the village at this point and skirt the edges, making your way here. This is a rarely used workshop. Enter it and wait there. At some point during the day you will be contacted by our man. His code name is Wolfsbane. We’ll go through identification signals at the end, okay?
Wolfsbane is well placed within the target location, so he will be providing you with the on the ground layout. “
“Don’t we have it here then Sir? “Asked Tony. “I would prefer to go through it here if possible. “
“So would I, Blake, “shrugged Croker. “ Unfortunately we couldn’t obtain detailed layouts, only high level, which I’ll show you in a moment.
Edelschloss is about ten miles, southeast from your target destination, Castle Gripaldi. It’s owned by an Austrian Count, Pietro Gripaldi. Using Wolfsbane’s intelligence you will travel to the Castle.
There is normally a small Military presence there, but with the arrival of Hitler imminent, you can be sure there will be a much heavier concentration of troops there. You will infiltrate the Castle perimeter and get into the grounds. Here is the layout I do have, taken from an aerial reconnaissance plane. “He laid a third sheet of paper down. “ There is woodland adjacent to the Castle and a small peak that offers a good view of the Castle.
There is a large exterior perimeter wall, with strong gates and machine gun turrets at each corner. Once you get past the gates there are several smaller buildings besides the Castle, which we believe are a barracks and equipment points.
The Castle is a large, square shape with cylindrical towers on each corner. We know there are four levels. Ground floor, first floor, battlements, and an underground level. On the towers are anti aircraft guns.
Somewhere within the Castle lives Count Gripaldi, the Scientist carrying out the experiments, target one. Also there will probably be a laboratory, where the work is carried out, probably where the plans or working notes of what they are up to is kept.
When Hitler arrives he will probably be put in an upstairs room, but we don’t know for sure yet, so you’ll need to locate him also. “
Do you have a plan for us then? “Inquired Paul Thomas.
“How you infiltrate the grounds will be up to you and Wolfsbane to work out, “ Croker revealed. “ But you’ll be wearing the uniforms of the 27th Alpen Division, the local troops and be carrying reasonable forgeries, identifying you as men of that Division. Use them to get as far as you can.
Once inside the grounds you need to get inside the Castle itself, then split up. Locate Hitler and eliminate. Locate Gripaldi and eliminate. Locate the laboratory and destroy it. I suggest plastic explosives for that part of the Operation, then get out. “
“ What’s our exit strategy ? “ this question came from Barry Mckay. “ I suspect getting out, once we’ve killed Hitler will be nay to easy. “
“ You’ll still have your uniforms. I suggest you use the cover of the explosives going off to affect an exit, “ said Croker. “ There’s going to be a lot of confusion, use it, get out of the Castle and head for the pick up point.
When you leave the Castle you’ll head West for ten miles. “ He returned to the original map and traced a route with his finger. “ If you’re able to commandeer transport, you can use this road,.. if not, then go across Country,.. to here. There’s a lot of Hills and an almost flat piece of land. I’ve made arrangements with some local people to fix it up as a landing strip for a small aircraft. We’ll have a plane standing by at a secret, nearby location. As soon as you call us to say you’re on your way, I’ll get it in the air. You rendezvous at this landing strip and fly out of there. “
He glanced around the room at his audience, almost challenging them to produce more questions. Then after a moment reached into a buff folder and produced a list and several photographs
“ These may be of some assistance. Here is the clearest picture we have of Adolf Hitler. Hopefully you won’t mistake him, but take a good look,.. and watch out for imposters. I’ve received unconfirmed intelligence that he sometimes uses a double. We don’t think it’s likely on this trip, because he’s always taken such an active interest in Gripaldi’s work.
The second picture is not so good, but it’s the only picture we have of Gripaldi. Unfortunately it’s taken from a distance, you can just make out the face. When you get there, maybe Wolfsbane can provide something more detailed, but remember, it’s Gripaldi’s Castle and he’s the Head Scientist, so my belief is he’ll be someone who goes around, looking like he owns the place, so that may direct you, if in doubt.
Other people you may encounter of her of while you’re there, are likely to be Chief of Staff, Otto Smutt,… Major Hans Kramer, and Colonel Karl Stein.”
Croker and the group discussed minor details for several minutes more before the Intelligence officer concluded his briefing.
“ What about weaponry ? “ Tony Blake asked. “ What equipment can we take ? “
“ What do you need ? “ shrugged Croker. “ Tell Major Laurence what you want and he’ll have it requisitioned from the Armoury right now. “
“ Six Schmeissers, six pistols and silencers, one thousand rounds of ammunition each, six garrotes, twenty four hand grenades, five packs of plastic explosive with timers and detonators, a Radio, six hunting knives, food for three days, medical supplies, binoculars and a portable mortar with twenty live shells, six torches, to go with the uniforms and papers, “ Tony listed. Major Laurence wrote it all down and disappeared from the room.
“ A comprehensive list, “ Croker added. “ Can you do the job with all that equipment ? “
“ We can but try, “ shrugged Tony. “ What about passwords, call signs and transmission schedules ? “
“ Right here, “ grinned Croker, holding up a small pocket book. “ Read it and memorise it. This will be your bible. “

An hour later Blake led his men into a large equipment room, in which lay the mission inventory.
“ Barry, you check out the radio, “ Tony instructed, as he and the rest of the group began to check out their kit. “ Jason can you inspect the mortar and shells, everybody else check your papers first then get into the uniforms. Visual inspection in fifteen minutes. “
While the group carried out their assignment, Tony stripped off his own clothes and began to don the uniform of a Colonel in the 27th Alpen Division. Just before putting on the uniform jacket, he took a wrapped bundle from his own uniform and carefully opened it up. Inside lay a small belt , harness, knife and scabbard, with a number of wires and springs attached. Tony began to attach it to his forearm. As he did so, Croker approached him.
“ What’s that Blake.? It doesn’t look like service issue. “
“ It’s my ace in the hole, “ Tony replied. “ My Dad used to work in a circus, he was a famous knife thrower. He designed this for his act. As a kid I learnt how to use it, and saw it’s potential as a weapon when I joined the Army. It attaches to the arm, under your sleeve. If you twist your arm in a specific manner, a spring is activated that ejects the knife. You have to be very careful how you use it, but luckily I know what I’m doing. This has saved my life more than once. “
Minutes later everybody stood, adorned in the German uniforms. Tony inspected the forged papers they had been provided, grunting in satisfaction. They would pass a cursory inspection at least.
“ Okay Sir, “ he told Croker. “ All the kit checks out. I guess we’re ready to go. What’s next ? “
“ Truck outside, waiting to take you to the airfield. You can then get a few hours sleep, and refine your plans. Later this evening you’ll board your aircraft and we’ll fly you to Austria,.. drop you off. Once you are down, you’re on your own,.. until you call for pick up. Good luck. “

( to be continued)