CHAPTER 38 – COLLECTING FRIENDS
22:51 (GMT)
Tuesday, July 1, 1941 ‘B’
24 St James Place, London
England
Mike Crawford closed and locked the door of his apartment behind him, then sat heavily on the sofa of his lounge, feeling dreadful: he had no idea if Nancy had been able to deliver that scientist from the future or if she was now safe. The ring of his telephone, sounding loud in his dark apartment, made him jump nervously. Trying to steady his voice, he grabbed the receiver and answered.
“Yes?”
“Hello, Mike. Would you mind coming to my apartment to help me pack?”
“Nancy? My god! Are you okay?”
“I am. I will explain everything to you in a few minutes. Please come quickly: we have a lot to do and little time to do it.”
“I’m on my way!”
Less than a minute later, he was knocking on the door of apartment eleven. Nancy opened immediately and, grabbing him, pulled him inside before closing the door and kissing him in a passionate embrace. Only when they parted did Mike detail her. Nancy wore a tight-fitting dark gray uniform with numerous large pockets, a pair of black leather boots and a glossy black helmet that covered her cheeks and neck. Her gun belt with her Glock 17 pistol was around her waist and also supported a sort of small box with recessed buttons and dials on its top side. He had tears in his eyes when he looked at her.
“God, I thought that I had lost you again. What happened to you after you went inside the M.I.5 headquarters?”
“It is a long story, Mike, one I will tell you later. Would you accept to follow me to the future and abandon this time, for good?”
Mike did not hesitate one second before answering her.
“Wherever you go, I go, Nancy. Let’s pack up!”
Nancy kissed him again, then showed him a kind of big aluminum crate on small wheels sitting in the middle of her lounge. The top of the crate was open, showing Nancy’s television set and DVD unit inside.
“This is a transit crate: it can jump spacetime between prearranged coordinates or marked locations. We need to put my things in it.”
“Got that!”
It took only fifteen minutes for them to collect Nancy’s personal belongings, pack them and put them in the transit crate. Mike then looked around him for anything they could have forgotten.
“You look about set to go. What do we do next?”
“Pack your own things. Do not forget your razor: there are none where we are going.”
“No razors? Are they civilized or not?”
“They are, Mike. They just happen to have no body hair whatsoever. Go to your apartment. I will join you there with the crate.”
“Why not roll it right now to my apartment?”
Nancy patiently shook her head.
“Someone could see me. I can’t risk that now. I will jump spacetime with the crate from here to your apartment. See you there.”
After saying those words, Nancy disappeared in a flash of white light, making Mike nearly jump out of his skin. The crate was next to disappear.
“Hell! Talk about a spooky trick.”
Leaving the apartment and carefully locking the door behind him, Mike went to his own apartment, only to find Nancy and the crate waiting for him in the middle of his lounge. She gave him a disarming smile.
“You better get used to it, Mike: you will soon be doing the same all the time.”
“Gee, that could make life interesting.”
“Indeed! Let’s pack quickly. After that, we will drive my Mitsubishi Outlander away and pick up my computer equipment at my old office.”
“But… that office must be the most closely guarded one in England. How will you get inside without being seen?”
“The same way I entered your apartment, of course.”
“Of course! Silly me!”
Something then came back to Mike’s mind.
“We are going to break Ingrid out of the Tower of London, I hope?”
“She’s in my program for the night, Mike. I love that girl too much to leave her behind like this. Come on, we have a lot to do.”
00:18 (GMT)
Wednesday, July 2, 1941 ‘B’
Second floor cells, Beauchamp Tower
Tower of London, England
Ingrid Weiss woke up abruptly when a hand covered her mouth. Thinking that a British soldier wanted to rape her, the young German tried to pull the hand away but without success. The dark shape hovering over her in the dark cell then bent down and whispered.
“Calm down, Ingrid. It’s me, Nancy.”
For a moment, Ingrid didn’t move or speak, stunned at hearing a voice she had despaired of ever hearing again. Nancy then hugged her, with Ingrid returning her embrace.
“Thank god, Nancy! I thought that I had lost you for good. How did you get here?”
“It’s a long story. The British don’t know that I am here either. In fact, I am now a traitor to them.”
“A traitor? Are they dumb or crazy? They owe you most of their victories in this war!”
“I know, but politics can be dirty business. In what shape are you?”
“Apart from smelling from not washing for four days, I am in fair shape. How are we getting out of here?”
“By jumping space-time, the same way I was brought here from the future. Ingrid, what I am going to say is very important. I am ready to bring you to the far future with Mike, but you will have to forget this time period, maybe for good. Once in the future, there is no turning back. Also, a friend from the future is hoping to create with me an agency charged with regulating and controlling time travel. I am looking for good people to help me in that job if that idea materializes. Interested?”
“Hell, you bet I am!” Replied Ingrid enthusiastically. Her smile faded when she thought about her comrades. “Er, what about my friends? Susanna, Frida and Johanna are in other cells on this floor, serving two weeks of solitary confinement for helping me resist Hanna’s arrest.”
Her eyes were now accustomed enough to the cell’s darkness to see a smile appear on Nancy’s face.
“I know about them. I plan to ask them if they are interested as well to go to the future.”
“You are? Nancy, you are so sweet.”
“Thanks! Get up and hug me: we will go see them now.”
‘’But, how?’’
“Don’t worry: we are going to jump space-time directly to the other cells. Hold on to me.”
Ingrid obeyed her and tightly hugged Nancy, passing her arms around her. Then, a flash of white light briefly enveloped them. When Ingrid could clearly see again, she found herself standing with Nancy near the bars of Susanna Berghof’s cell. She then realized that they were inside the cell, not outside.
“Wow! This is fantastic.”
“Tell me about it later, Ingrid. Now, I need you to keep an eye and ear out for British guards while I speak to Susanna.”
“You can count on me, Nancy.”
Going to the cell’s door, Ingrid glued herself to the bars, looking and listening. Hearing nothing, she tried to see Frida Winterer, who was in the cell opposite and to the left of Susanna’s cell. Moving to the left front corner of the cell, Ingrid managed to see Frida’s feet, with the rest of her body hidden by the stone partition wall. The young blonde was asleep on her cot, which lay in a far corner of her cell. Hoping to wake her up, Ingrid called to her in a low voice.
“Frida! Hey, Frida!”
Her friend simply turned on her cot, still asleep. Swearing to herself with impatience, Ingrid called again, a bit louder.
“Frida! Frida, wake up!”
Before she could call again, a hand covered firmly her mouth from behind. She was then turned around to face a clearly displeased Nancy.
“Do you really want to attract a guard here? Keep it down!” Whispered Nancy before taking her hand off Ingrid’s mouth. The girl reddened with embarrassment at her foolishness.
“Sorry, Nancy. I only wanted to get Frida ready to leave.”
The sound of footsteps coming from the staircase of the tower then made Nancy swear quietly.
‘’Damn! Someone is coming. Go hide under Susanna’s bunk, quickly!’’
Ingrid did so, while Susanna Berghof pretended to go back to sleep. They nearly shouted in surprise when Nancy disappeared from the cell in a brief flash but managed to stay quiet and lay still as a young British soldier emerged from the staircase, looking sharply around and with his rifle at the ready. The soldier pointed a lit flashlight at Susanna, then around the other cells on the floor, trying to find a possible intruder. A dark shape suddenly creeped silently behind the British, delivering a sharp blow to his neck that sent the soldier sprawling on the floor. Taking out of one of her cargo pockets a roll of duct tape, Nancy quickly tied the hands and feet of the British, finishing by covering his mouth as well. Grabbing the keys hanging from the soldier’s belt, Nancy quickly unlocked the cell’s door, then went to Frida’s and Johanna’s cells, unlocking them as well and waking up the two young German girls. Both, like Susanna and Ingrid, took only a minute before agreeing to join Nancy in the future. That made Nancy smile with satisfaction.
“Excellent! We will now go discreetly to Gaoler’s House to pick up your things and the other girls. Those who won’t be interested to come live in the future will be dropped back in Berlin.”
“But, the British will consider you a traitor for that.” Said Susanna, shocked. Nancy nodded her head slowly.
“I know and I don’t care. The British already tried to kill me, sacrificing hundred of their own men and thousands of German civilians by bombing Colditz Castle to a pile of burning rubble, all that simply to prevent me from disclosing my secrets to the Germans. Then, they took prisoner a scientist from the future who came to return me to my time. I am through with these British.”
She then handed to each of the four Germans a small cylindrical object.
“Hang on tight to these and don’t drop them: these are transit probes that will transport you on short distances through time and space. They are remotely controlled from a ship presently above London and will bring you to Gaoler’s House. Beware: you will reappear a few inches above the floor, so that you don’t run the risk of having your feet meld with it. Be ready to absorb the short fall. Once in Gaoler’s House, keep quiet and go pack your things quickly.”
“Could we have a quick shower and change?” Asked timidly Johanna Fink. “We stink!”
“Go ahead, but make it real quick. I don’t want to have to start a fight with the British here because we were discovered. Get ready and hold your transit probe against your chest.”
Nancy then spoke apparently to herself.
“Mona, four to transport to the ground level hall of Gaoler’s House, now!”
“Who is that Mo…”
Before Ingrid could finish, she disappeared in a flash of white light. Her three friends followed in quick succession. Nancy activated her own time distorter, which was hooked to her belt, and joined them in Gaoler’s House. The four Germans were understandably excited by their short trip and had to be reminded to keep quiet.
“Remember what I told you. Make it quick. If you change, make sure to pack your Luftwaffe uniforms: we may need them in the future so that you could help save a few more Germans. Now, go!”
As the four young women went to their rooms, Nancy started waking up one by one the occupants of Gaoler’s House, quickly explaining to them what was happening and telling them to dress and pack. Only the ones she felt suitable were offered a chance to go to the future. The ones deemed by her to be too sympathetic to the Nazi cause were told only that they would go to Berlin.
Thirty minutes later, she had 22 German women with their bags facing her in the ground level hall.
“Alright, ladies, those I will name will assemble to my right, to be transported to the future. Ingrid Weiss! Susanna Berghof! Frida Winterer! Johanna Fink! Hanna Reitsch! Anna Hauser! Bertha Reinholdt! Martha Pfalz! Helena Groth! Eva Dittmar! Gertrud Schwarz! Anabel Kleinburger and Ruth Brandhauer! The ones I didn’t name will be transported to Berlin.”
Führerin Greta Manheim looked with dismay and growing anger at the thirteen Germans now lined up besides Nancy.
“What do you think you are doing? You are abandoning your fatherland in its time of greatest need, so that you could have some fancy new life in the future?”
“Keep it up and I will leave you here by yourself, Führerin Manheim.” Snapped back Nancy. “Those girls are going to be much more useful to humanity as a whole working for me in the future than fighting a lost war.”
“Who said that Germany has lost the war?” Replied Manheim.
“History said it, twice! In my timeline, Germany lost the war in 1945. In this timeline, it will lose even faster. Even more, the Nazi cause is not only a lost cause: it is the wrong cause.”
Still staring hard at Manheim, Nancy spoke apparently to herself.
“Mona, start sending back the group for Berlin.”
A few seconds later, a small object appeared in front of Greta Manheim and glued itself to her belly. Before she could react to it, she floated off the floor, then disappeared in a flash of white light. The other nine German women slated for Berlin disappeared in a similar fashion within a minute, leaving their comrades to gawk in disbelief.
“Are they really in Berlin now?” Asked Martha Pfalz, getting a nod from Nancy.
“They are actually in the Luftwaffe Headquarters in Berlin. Those objects were transit probes, able to transport a person anywhere in the World and over 400 years to the past or future. This time, the trips were strictly spatial, like the ones you will take to join our ship over London. I will ask you to grab your bags and put it the transit crate that will appear behind you. Another crate will take care of the bags of your comrades in Berlin.”
As she said that, two large metallic crates appeared in the hall. Letting the overwhelmed Germans load their bags in their assigned crate, Nancy quickly loaded the bags left behind by the Germans now in Berlin in the other crate. Once that was done, she called up Mona Zirel again to tell her to send away the crate destined for Berlin and to start ferrying the Germans remaining in Gaoler’s House up to the ship. Nancy waited until she was left alone, then jumped space-time to Berlin, appearing there only long enough to make sure that the crate now sitting inside an empty lounge of the Luftwaffe headquarters had been emptied of its baggage by the auxiliaries present. Seeing that the crate was empty, she sent it back to the time ship, then faced the nine German women who were still under the shock of experiencing their first space-time trip.
‘’This is where we have to say goodbye, ladies. I sincerely hope that you will be able to survive this war and the harsh peace that will follow it. Gruppenführerin Hartmann, tell your superiors once I’m gone that the girls that followed me to the future will be alright and that I am now neutral in this conflict.’’
‘’I will pass your words, Brigadier. Thank you for your kindness and for your compassion. Adopting Ingrid was a marvelous gesture on your part. May you live happily with her in the future.’’
Nancy simply smiled, then activated her time distorter, jumping to the time ship still hovering above London. She smiled at seeing Ingrid hugging happily Mike Crawford. As for the other Germans, they were gawking at the giant Mona Zirel, who was sitting at the control station installed in the small cargo bay of the time ship, which was now quite crowded. Nancy clapped her hands repeatedly to attract everybody’s attention.
“Ladies, I would like now to present to you two good men that I went to save first, since they were in danger of being executed.”
Two young men, one dressed in a battered gray suit and another wearing a hospital pajama, got up from their jump seats. They bowed their heads in turn as Nancy presented them.
“This is Heinrik Braun and Klaus Manheim, ladies. Both are from the Abwehr.”
The thirteen German women and two German men eyed each other in silence for a few seconds, then exchanged handshakes and greetings. Frida Winterer kept close to Heinrik Braun, attracted to the fit, handsome man. Heinrik noticed that and smiled to her after the exchange of greetings.
“Your name is Frida, if I remember well.”
“Correct! You have a good memory… Heinrik. So, what kind of trouble were you in when Nancy picked you up?”
Braun made a wry smile.
“Big trouble! The Gestapo had arrested me on charges of negligence and complicity after a woman from the future detained in Berlin escaped from my custody. I was about to be executed.”
“A woman from the future? In Berlin?”
“Yes. Her name is Doctor Farah Tolkonen. She came to 1941, trying to return Nancy to her proper time, but was captured and briefly held. Doctor Tolkonen then escaped to England thanks to a device of hers and I got the blame for her escape. Nancy thought that I didn’t deserve my faith.”
Frida digested that for a few seconds, then pointed at the other man, who was conversing with Ingrid Weiss and Susanna Berghof.
“What about him?”
“Klaus? Actually, I knew him from before the war: we were in the same Abwehr class for new agents. He was sent in September of last year in London, to assassinate Nancy. He lost a gunfight against her and ended up in hospital, awaiting execution at the hands of the British.”
“Then, why the hell did Nancy save him?”
Manheim heard her and looked down somberly at Frida.
“Because I was secretly in love with her, which was one of the reasons I failed to kill her: I hesitated when time came to shoot her. She saw that and tried to spare me the death penalty. When the British refused to show mercy, she came one night to my hospital room and brought me on this ship.”
“Wow! Nancy will never stop amazing me.”
Something then occurred to Frida.
“Wait! You said that you were in hospital, yet you look perfectly healthy.”
“Now, yes. An hour ago, I sported a big cast, along with a large hole in my right shoulder. Nancy healed me.”
“She healed you? I don’t understand.”
“That is understandable: I myself couldn’t believe my eyes when she healed me in seconds just by touching me with her hands.”
All the German women who heard that, including Ingrid Weiss, then snapped their heads towards Nancy, who shrugged.
“Sorry, but I had no time to tell you about that.”
“Can’t I know what my own mother is now?” Objected Ingrid. Nancy looked gently at her.
“You will soon know everything about me. I will just say that, a few days ago, an envoy sent by a superior being healed the crippling wounds I sustained from the tortures the Gestapo inflicted on me. He also gave me a few powers, like that of touch healing. The same being opened the memories of our past incarnations to you and me, Ingrid.”
“Are you talking about the same concept that the Hindus believe into?” Asked Susanna Berghof.
“The same. I can remember now my lives for the last nine thousand years, both as a man and as a woman. Well, now that we have you, let’s jump to the future. Mona, tell Maran that he can jump now.”
‘’Got it!’’
A short moment later, a flash of white light suddenly bathed briefly the cabin, making them look up in confusion.
“What was that?” Asked nervously Johanna Fink. Susanna Berghof answered her calmly.
“I think that we just traveled through time. There was the same kind of light flash when Nancy sent the others to Berlin and when those baggage crates appeared.”
“Good thinking, Susanna.” Said Eva Dittmar, meaning it. Susanna shrugged it off.
“Hey, I am a blonde but I’m not dumb.”
That exchange made Nancy laugh briefly. She then raised her voice to get the attention of the others in the cargo bay.
‘’Ladies and gentlemen, there are still a few things I need to do in this year, then we will all jump to the year 3384, where you will start brand new lives. If the project me and Doctor Farah Tolkonen are pushing for is approved by the authorities of the Global Council, the World government in the 34th Century, then you will be eligible to volunteer for it and thus work under me. If not, you will still be able to start new lives in a peaceful, highly advanced society. Please, take place in the seats along the walls and make yourselves comfortable while me, Mona and Maran do our things. Thank you!’’
10:03 (Berlin Time)
Abwehr headquarters
Berlin, Germany
Admiral Canaris was still looking at the report about the Luftwaffe helferinen that had appeared early this morning in Berlin when his telephone rang. The old Kriegsmarine officer took his time to answer, grabbing the receiver after the third ring.
“Admiral Canaris.”
“Canaris,” nearly shouted a furious voice at the other end of the line, “this time you will hang for this!”
“Now, now, my dear Heidrich, on which flimsy pretext do you want my head now?”
“Pretext? You broke your damn agent out of my jail!”
“You mean agent Heinrik Braun, your scapegoat for Doctor Tolkonen’s escape from Tempelhof?”
“He was no scapegoat, Canaris. By his incompetence, he let a priceless prisoner escape. He deserved his death sentence. Where have you sent him?”
“You better ask that question to Die Wolfin, Heidrich, not to me.”
“What do you mean?” Said the SS man, his voice toning down somewhat.
“What I mean is that Brigadier Laplante is no longer simply Brigadier Laplante: she is now some kind of supernatural being with incredible powers. Furthermore, she escaped by stealing an aircraft last night and I suspect that she went to England from here.”
“What is this hogwash? How could Laplante escape Colditz and then steal an aircraft?”
“First, she didn’t escape from Colditz: she was transferred to Berlin yesterday afternoon with the approval of the Fuhrer himself, so that her healing powers could be used to treat our own wounded. Weren’t you informed?”
Canaris enjoyed asking that last question, which made Heidrich look like an incompetent and a fool. He should have known about all this, what with all the intelligence and security services at his disposal. The fact was that the handsome SS officer spent too much of his time chasing women instead of doing his work. That actually had been the reason he had been sacked from the Kriegsmarine years ago. Heidrich’s voice lowered even further, contained anger clear in it.
“What does that have to do with your escaped agent?”
“A lot, since she has started traveling through time again. She broke free our Luftwaffe helferinen held in the Tower of London early this morning, then sent part of them to the Luftwaffe headquarters in Berlin, using some kind of time travel technique. The rest of our helferinen followed Laplante to the future. She probably snatched my agent to bring him as well to the future. She obviously can come and go as she wishes now, which should be of special concern to you.”
“How so?” Said Heidrich, sounding less than reassured.
“Because I believe that she hates your guts. With her time travel abilities, what can stop her from appearing in your room one night to slice your throat open, my dear Heidrich?”
The receiver at the other end of the line was then slammed down hard. Canaris laughed hard at the effect of his joke: he sincerely hoped that this SS monster would spend many sleepless nights from now on. His laughter strangled abruptly when a female voice came from behind his chair.
“An excellent idea, Admiral. I will consider it seriously.”
Canaris swiveled his chair around and found himself facing a Nancy Laplante grinning like a demon while leaning casually against the wall. She had weapons at her belt but had not drawn any of them, instead crossing her arms as she smiled down at him.
“Sorry to scare you like this, my dear Admiral. By the way, you have nothing to fear from me: you did save my life and that of my friend Farah after all.”
“Then, why are you here, Brigadier?”
“Call me simply Nancy, Admiral: I do not work for the British anymore. The reason I am here is simply to recuperate my Glock 26 pistol that was left behind in Berlin over five days ago. I gather that you have it.”
“I do, but not in this office. I can call and have it brought in, though.”
“That would be much appreciated, Admiral.”
Cautiously grabbing his telephone again, Canaris dialed the number of the Abwehr’s weapons section.
“Hello, Kurtz? This is Admiral Canaris. I will need you to bring me immediately that small pistol that belonged to Brigadier Laplante… Yes, I am in my office… Thank you, Kurtz.”
Looking back at Nancy as he put down his telephone, Canaris eyed quickly her uniform and helmet.
“It seems that you have found a new employer, Miss Laplante, or do you prefer to use Misses Crawford as a name?”
“Miss Laplante will do. My husband is not sticky about that and women routinely use their maiden names in Quebec in my time. As for my new employer, the Global Council of 3384 is definitely an equal opportunity society. Talking of employers, yours could decide to do away with you if you are not careful, Admiral. Political intrigues will bring you nothing but death, believe me. In my timeline, your counterpart ended up at the end of a rope.”
Canaris then grew somber indeed: he knew perfectly well what Nancy was alluding to. He, along with a number of other high-ranking officers, had been secretly plotting for the downfall of Adolf Hitler and of his Nazis, to stop this crazy war before Germany was totally destroyed.
“In view of your historical hindsight, would you have some advice to give to me, then?”
Nancy looked down at him with what seemed like genuine concern.
“I do! Stop all your political activities and concentrate on doing your present job as honestly as you can while hoping for the best in the future. Tell your friends to do the same, unless they want to end up the same way I was when you found me in that Gestapo center. You and them will be needed to rebuild Germany after this war. Promise me that you will do that, please.”
Shaken by her conviction and concern, Canaris replied softly while bowing his head.
“I promise, miss. Thanks for caring about an old man like me. About that Gestapo center…”
Canaris then rose from his chair and went to a nearby filing cabinet. Opening the lower drawer, he took out with some effort five big rolls of films in their round steel boxes and gave them to Nancy, who looked at them blankly.
“What are those?”
“The films taken by the Gestapo during your interrogations. They are yours to do as you wish with them. By the way, I reviewed them, even though they made me sick to the stomach. You are one very brave woman, Miss Laplante.”
Nancy, her face pale now, could only look at Canaris while tears appeared in her eyes.
“Do you know how hard I have been trying to forget that episode of my life, hoping that some Nazi official was not actually enjoying viewing those damn films?”
“Nobody else saw those, miss. I can swear to that.”
Nancy then stepped forward and kissed the old admiral on the forehead.
“Thank you, Admiral. That means a lot to me. May I ask you something else?”
“Go ahead, miss.”
“Who betrayed my presence in England so quickly in 1940, Admiral?”
Canaris tensed up but kept a straight face. Sean Brady was his most valuable agent in England right now and he was not about to give away his identity, even to an apparent angel.
“You know that I can’t answer that question, miss.”
She smiled down to him and nodded her head.
“I know, but I had to try. That person caused me no end of grief.”
Someone then knocked on the door of the office. Nancy glanced quickly at the door, then back at Canaris.
“That must be your man, bringing my pistol. I will be back shortly.”
She then disappeared with the rolls of films. Canaris was stunned speechless for a moment before calling to his visitor.
“Enter!”
A clerk from the weapons section then entered, a gun belt in his hands. After saluting Canaris, he walked to the Admiral’s desk and put the belt down on it. Canaris looked briefly at the pistol and spare magazines hanging from the belt, then dismissed the clerk with a thank you. Nancy reappeared mere seconds after the door of the office closed, this time in front of the desk. The rolls