Brose at The Center

by Jennifer Sue

Part 6

The four emerged girls wanted to hang on and wait for rescue. The pyro wanted to charge down and attack. The dominator restrained him but also insisted they had to come up with a plan to get out on their own. During the brief mind probe he'd sent out to scout the opposition, he briefly touched four minds. That one was able to block him unsettled him. The only one's he'd ever encountered who had been able to block him were the guys who'd been killed on those missions in the US. Even though their talent hadn’t been any stronger than his, their personalities were cocky and overwhelming and they had taken an almost sadistic joy in 'putting him in his place'. That was one reason he was more considerate of those he had to dominate. Being mind raped was not pleasant and built up bitterness and resentment. Obviously there were emerged amongst those attacking. One had to be stronger than him but she had not attempted to attack him. That only added to his growing apprehension. Then there was the fact they had been able to locate and penetrate the secret base! Whatever they did, caution had to be used.

Thanks to the labels on the cameras, Brose was able to identify the controls on the ventilation diagrams that entered the area. "Giana, see if you can locate the area I've indicated on the diagram in the lab area."

Giana checked her comm pad and enlarged the lab diagram. She easily discovered the area. "Got it," she replied.

"From what I can surmise, the wall is false," Brose said. There is a three foot space behind it. The vents and utilities pass from there into a pipe that leads to the hidden area where the emerged are holed up. See if you can punch through the wall into the space."

Giana had no problems breaking through. Brose joined her with Tricia and Snow as they examined the wiring and ducts. They were shocked to see a large canister that could be flooded with compressed air. The canister was marked with skull and crossbones and marked Zyklon B, the poison gas the Nazis used to exterminate the Jews! The canister's exhaust pipe was hooked through an electrical valve to the fresh air feed duct work. There was a flutter valve to close the exhaust duct wired into the same system. The Nazis obviously planned to gas the emerged if they ever got out of control.

Tricia noticed Brose’s wound. “You’ve been wounded,” she stated in obvious surprise.

“I got careless,” Brose answered as if it was nothing more than a scratch. “I plugged it for now. I’ll deal with it later.”

They all knew better than to argue with Brose.

"Snow, if that valve actuates, immediately freeze the pipe behind it and then the tank," Brose ordered. "I'm going to try to talk to them. Windy, Shadow, see if you can break the outside link that's being used to monitor them."

Brose headed back through the prison to the door. Taking a deep breath she knocked. After five seconds she knocked again and opened the door just a crack. As she did she felt the dominator probe her but again she blocked him.

"I want to talk," she said in German. "We're here to free you and stop the terrorism your superiors are promoting through AZIF. I'm in charge of the operation and half of my assault team are emerged. We're the same as you, but we are not forced to do anything we don't want to do. You're in danger from your own people."

"Don't try to play mind games with us," the dominator called back.

"No mind games," Brose replied. "We've been watching and listening to you for the last ten minutes from the lab. But I'm sure the feed is going to another site. How else would I know your names if I hadn’t been watching and listening on monitors? Think about it Franz, Gretchen, Heidi, Brigitta, Elsa, and Erwin. Did you even know you've been continually monitored by the camera's and audio?"

Watching on a video link to her hand held comm she saw the six gasp and look around at the cameras. Anger and betrayal etched their faces.

“Erwin, if you look down at my hand, you’ll see I have a hand comm that my people are streaming from the cameras. I’m watching everything you do,” Brose declared. "They have Zyklon B in a tank hooked up to your vent system. All they have to do is hit a button and you're dead. Tell me, is there a blast door on this staircase?"

"Yes," Fritz replied as he began to understand. All the emerged knew they were mistrusted by their superiors. They were tools. While they had been treated well they had been kept segregated and isolated.

The others looked frightened as they clustered about Fritz.

"Release the prisoners and come down, we won't harm you as long as you don't fight us," Brose called up. "Your keepers can hear everything so you better act fast before they lock you in and gas you. If they do, we'll get you out, so don't fight us when we come in."

They huddled to talk. Seconds later the blast door slammed shut sealing off the staircase. Snow froze the pipe and tank as the valves turned to release the gas. Tricia let Brose know what happened.

"Snow, keep that canister frozen, Tricia, Giana, Blaze, Sunny, come to me," Brose ordered. "We need to break in to get them out.”

The others reached the entry stair to the hidden area in moments. Brose had the steel entry door open and was looking at the steel blast door sealing off the steps about ten feet up.

"Pounding or burning through that door will take too long," Brose said. "If their leadership is as paranoid as I think, they might have some sort of poison sandwiched inside to kill whoever tries to breach it. Blaze, see if you can burn through the steel stair treads about three feet below the door. Giana, when he does, see if you can pulverize the rock behind it to make a tunnel under the door."

Blase had no problem burning through the steel treads as they were only three sixteenths of an inch thick. The concrete that had been poured beneath it cracked and popped due to the intense heat. Giana then pounded the concrete and rock, easily shattering it. The others scrambled up and began scooping the debris away as Giana reset herself for the next blow.

Brose felt a frightened probe from the other side of the door at the same time Shadow spoke. "The dominator is heading down the steps."

"Leave my team alone, come to me," Brose said as she looked at the door.

"How can you block me?" Franz mentally asked with a bit of fear. "No one has ever done that without blasting back at me."

"I'm not sure how I block mind probes," Brose thought back. "I just sense them and shut it off."

"I know," Franz replied with trepidation. "Even now you're just barely letting me in so we can speak. What are you?"

"I'm either one of the best friends you'll ever have or your worst nightmare," Brose replied. "I hate killing, but I'm damn good at it. I'm the one who took out the two big AZIF teams.”

Franz gasped. “You’re the cat?”

“MMRROWWLLL,” Brose replied aloud.

“You took out most of the New Jersey unit and shot down the jet and helicopter. The at the last fight you took out all but five of that team by yourself! They said you were what they wanted! They’ve been trying to come up with a way to snag you,” Franz said knowing he didn’t want to even think about going up against Brose. The dominator she took out the last time was the best they had.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Brose acknowledged. “Look, Franz, we just want to help you and stop all these crazy schemes and terrorism. I had one of my people freeze the Zyklon B when it was released. We’re hoping we can prevent it from getting into the vents.”

“We caught a whiff of it,” Franz said. “It’s nasty shit. We were wondering why we’re still alive. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Brose smiled. “My people are tunneling under the door. Tell the prisoners you’ve been betrayed by your own people and release them. We want to get everyone safely out of here.”

“I don’t mean any offense,” Franz said. “How do we know we can trust you?”

“You know I stopped killing when the men surrendered,” Brose replied. “It would have been simple for me just to wipe them all out. But like I said, I don’t like killing. Besides, if we wanted you dead, we could have let the Zyklon B do it for us.”

“Okay, but if we feel anything bad, we’ll fight,” Franz declared.

“I’m sure you’ll feel a lot of bad,” Brose replied. "There is a chopper relief unit flying in and they should arrive shortly. I’m also pretty sure they have troops moving up the stream. The bad feelings will be coming from them. Even you should know their primary mission will be to take out all emerged. They’ll want you dead now that you know they’ve already tried to kill you, they'll blame your deaths on us.”

“Okay, we’ll release the prisoners and be ready when you break through,” Franz sighed.

“If you need to communicate, just ping me,” Brose said. “If I even suspect you’re messing with my team, you’re all dead.”

“Understood,” Franz agreed. He liked this girl. She scared the shit out of him but was also quite intriguing.

After breaking contact with Franz, Brose contacted Windy and Shadow. “Are they releasing their prisoners?”

“Roger that,” Windy replied.

“Good,” Brose replied. “Keep an eye on them. Let me know if anything looks fishy. Once they start coming out, join us in the front of the lab.”

“Roger,” Shadow answered.

“Brose, if I cut the wires to the solenoid valve on the Zyklon B,” Snow asked over the comm. “And if I hook the wires back up reversed, shouldn’t that shut the valve?”

“I guess,” Brose answered. “Does anyone think otherwise?”

“It should work,“ Loose said.

“I think so too,” High added. “Just make sure the valve isn’t iced. It could break.”

“Chopper ETA in five minutes,” High called out.

“Everyone get ready,” Brose said. “McNeil, how’s it going with the spray?”

“We’re just finishing off upstream,” McNeil replied. “We’ll head down stream until the fighting starts, then we’ll join the defense.”

“Negative,” Brose replied. “Just keep spraying. I’ve got an idea.”

“I think we’ve done all we can here,” High reported. “I’ve got things cued to upload all remaining data on auto feed. River and I will be out front in three minutes.”

“Hoyle, you head out too,” Brose ordered. “River, head downstream and link up with McNeil. McNeil, stop soaking the foliage a thousand feet downstream. Then head downstream to the last stand pipe and wait. Contact Molina and Emo for an ETA. Once they’re close to being back I want River to stop the stream there. Open the last standpipe and let it flow onto the water. Break the valve so it can't be closed. River, when it gets too much to hold back, have Loose ignite the diesel fuel and let it go once it's on fire. We'll let the diesel fuel continue to flow into the stream and burn. That should create a distraction to the upstream assault unit and hinder the downstream assault units. That should give us enough time to deal with the initial attack before we get caught in a vice. McNeil, when Molina and Emo get back, I want Emo to stay with Loose and River while you and Molina join the fight on the far bank from the base. Emo, I want you to scan the down stream side of La Cruz. I think the initial upstream areal assault will send a unit over the top to try to hit us from behind. Don't engage them, fall back before them but keep us posted. When they're well into the area we've soaked, ignite it.”

Tricia helped Brose properly bandage her wound as Giana hammered and the others cleared. Giana finally made it under the blast door and angled up until she hit the underside of the steel steps. Giana was clearly tired. She'd used a lot of energy. As the rest cleared out the last of the debris, Snow joined them. She’d successfully closed the valve with the reversed wiring, then disconnected the wires leaving the solenoid dead in the closed position.

“Franz,” Brose called out.

“Here,” Franz mentally replied.

“We’re under the steps on your side of the blast door,” Brose said. “You can probably see the steps are dented.”

“Yeah,” Franz acknowledged. “What were you using to dig through so fast?”

“Giana,” Brose chuckled. “She’s a geokinetic. She’s been pulverizing the rock and others have been scooping away the debris. I’ve got a pyro who’s going to melt through the steel steps. Then I’ll have a cryo cool it. Stay back while they work. Get some blankets to cover the edges of the steel as it might be sharp. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come down. If you have any high energy food or snack bars, bring it with you. We need all we can get to replenish Giana and a few of the others.”

“Got it,” Franz replied as they closed the link. He knew how stingy his superiors had been in sending out only one or two emerged at a time on a mission. Counting Brose he now knew of four but there had to be more. She said half her party was emerged. How many were there?

As they watched down the steps they saw the steel start to glow red, than orange, then white before simply melting away sending a shower of sparks in all directions. The intense heat forced them back from the door. Then moments after the heat ceased, they saw ice crystals forming. Loud cracking was heard as the still liquid steel froze and the remaining concrete popped as the rocks and concrete exploded due to the rapid change in temperature. The chill air swept up the steps.

Brose crawled through the tunnel and popped her head through the gapping hole in the steel steps. "I'm glad to meet you, Franz," Brose said as she looked up the steps to Franz. "Let's get everyone out of here." Then she ducked back down.

Franz came through first since the rest were still hesitant. They couldn't understand his willingness to cooperate. Sure they'd been betrayed, but why suddenly trust these people? Their treatment had made them suspicions of everyone.

Franz popped back up the hole to look at his people. “They’re from The Center and the Cat is leading them. Now come on.” He went back down.

The others exchanged looks of surprise. The Center and the Cat. If anyone could get them out safely, it was the Cat

Brose helped each out of the tunnel and greeted them with a hug before directing them to her party. They all saw the Desert Eagle on her chest and understood why Franz was so cooperative This was indeed the Cat.

The four prisoners were introduced, the two girls as Jim and Nathan and the two guys as Janice, and Sheila. They still used their birth names and had been resisting their Germanification. Obviously they were quite wary of what was happening. Each wore a collar with a yellow light blinking.

Just then the staccato firing of an anti-aircraft weapon could be heard.

"The choppers are coming in," Brose calmly said. "We need to get out of here."

*****

Habaz and Lincoln opened up on the rear chopper at 0152 hours. The tracers revealed their accuracy. The chopper sparked as the bullets hit and fire burst from inside. Even though the chopper was two hundred feet up, the soldiers began repelling down the ropes only to have the chopper explode and veer onto it's side as it went down in a fireball. Not waiting, the AA weapon swept on to another target. This unit was trying to drop fast but not fast enough. It too exploded in a fireball and went down in flames. By then the other choppers were down hovering above the tree tops as they disgorged their troops down the rappelling lines. When unloaded, they headed up the valley skimming the tree tops to avoid the AA fire. They continued out of the valley apparently going back for more troops.

Habaz aimed the AA gun upstream prepared to fire the tracers into the diesel fuel soaked landscape.

High and River were jogging back upstream after having sent the released prisoners to their hiding place. The sounds of the firing and explosions told them the fighting had began. McNeil reached the thousand foot limit Brose had established for spraying and stopped. Then they traveled downstream another five hundred feet to the last stand pipe. As High and River approached McNeil, River selected a location on the stream at a place where the banks were twelve feet high and only twenty feet apart. Standing on the bank on the far side, he stopped the water. As the water flow downstream dwindled, Emo and Molina made better time as they scurried through the now dry streambed. By the time they reached McNeil it was 0203 hours. River and Emo stayed with Loose as Molina and McNeil headed back to take up positions.

*****

"We can’t leave yet," Franz said in clear English. "We need to remove their collars. If they leave the labs, their heads will blow off."

"Damn," Brose said. "Do you know how to get them off?"

"No," Franz said. “But if you try to cut them or short them, they blow."

Brose thought for a moment. "Snow, do you think you can super freeze just the little box?"

Snow checked out the box. "There should be a battery in the box. If I freeze it, it should give us enough time to get the collar off and throw it away from us."

"Try it on me," Jim spoke up. "After all I've been through, I'm not afraid to die. At least I'll die free."

Everyone cleared back. A quick search revealed an asbestos pad which they slipped under the box on the collar. They had Jim sit in a chair, then turned the collar so the box was in back. after inserting the asbestos pad, Franz slipped his fingers under the collar at the front. When they were ready, absolutely everyone held their breath. Snow super froze the box. With the tension Franz was creating in the front, the collar snapped. Franz whipped it off and threw it to the back of the lab where it blew apart in the air.

In ten minutes, the others were freed from the collars. As a group, they headed out of the labs. The ten freed emerged saw the bloodied remains of the guards. They knew the Cat had taken them out. Any lingering thoughts of trying to fight her vanished.

*****

The AZIF troops were shocked to have lost two choppers and nearly a third of it's force. Only one man survived out of the first chopper downed, three out of the second. They'd lost twenty one men out of their seventy two before firing a shot. They also lost the unit commander who had been in the rear chopper and the second in command who'd been in the other downed chopper. They were demoralized and it took a good fifteen minutes for them to regroup and receive instructions from their base. The burning helicopters created an eerie back light to the dark night. Without any officers, the lead sergeant took command. He was ordered to follow the original plan. Splitting into four teams, three of twelve men and one of fifteen. A twelve man unit would advance downstream hugging the sides of the stream. Another would cross the stream form up in skirmish line and move downstream in the foliage trying to stay in line with the unit in the stream. Another unit would do the same on the near side of the stream. The fifteen man unit would cross La Cruz and come in from the other side. They set out at 0215 hours.

Fortunately, the wind was coming down the valley so the diesel fuel smell was blowing downstream. At the same time the stench of burning human flesh, plastic, and aviation fuel from the downed choppers was also blowing in the same direction from behind the advancing AZIF units. The nose burning stink pretty much covered up the smell of the sprayed diesel fuel.

McNeil and Molina had linked up with Habaz. All were watching the trees and stream bed. When the advancing AZIF troops came into view at 0224 hours, Habaz opened up on them with the AA gun. The first burst caught five men in the open and shredded them. The incendiary rounds ignited the diesel soaked foliage on both sides of the stream.

The flames spread rapidly up the stream and into the foliage on both sides. Screams could be heard from several locations as the inferno engulfed the advancing AZIF units. Those that were outside the flames fled. A few of those inside the fire area were able to make their way out. For those in the stream bed, the breeze coming down the valley sped up considerably as it neared the canyon, drawing the fire and heat into the stream bed. Those who survived the initial burst of AA fire were forced from their cover. As they stood to flee, each was clearly seen against the fiery backdrop and promptly shot down. Of those on the far side of the stream from the base, only three of the twelve escaped the flames. They couldn't head back into the valley because the flames reached into the steep bluffs. They had to climb the thousand foot bluff to escape. Those on the La Cruz side of the stream were luckier. Five made it out unscathed and two others emerged with nasty burns. The seven fell back into the valley well away from the flames. Out of thirty six men in the three units, ten escaped. As a fighting force they were pretty well beat up and demoralized. It was 0235 hours.

The water River was holding back had risen to ten feet deep. He could feel his strength waning. There was a three inch layer of diesel fuel atop the water. "Light it now, I can't hold it much longer," he yelled to Loose.

Loose fired the flame thrower across the top of the water and the entire pool ignited. River was back far enough not to get burned but the heat was intense. He held it for thirty seconds before letting it go. The suddenly freed water crashed downstream, spreading the burning diesel fuel as it cascaded. The diesel fuel flowing from the stand pipe continually joined the burning torrent. River simply dropped to his butt and buried his head in his knees in exhaustion. Emo hurried out to him, helped him to his feet and with an arm about his back, began moving upstream beyond the flames. When they reached a safe spot. Emo jumped down into the stream bed and caught River as he limply slid down. Emo helped him back to the armored flame thrower and sat him in the passenger seat. Loose turned the vehicle around and headed back to the point where they had stopped spraying. Emo stood in the shadows of the foliage atop the streambed bank and scanned for mental activity. Loose hooked the flamethrower to a stand pipe and refilled the on board fuel tank. Then they held position and waited. The valley below where they had released the water/diesel fuel deluge flickered with the light of the burning fuel. The forested mountain slopes seemed to filled with eerie dancing demons.

When Brose and her group neared the base entrance, the black maw of the base was illuminated by the dancing shadows from the conflagration. They could hear the blood curdling screams of those caught in the flames and occasional gunshots as those of the group in the stream bed were gunned down. By the time they reached the entrance, they looked out onto a scene from Dante's inferno.

"Franz, we've locked the base staff and soldiers in the dormitories," Brose said as she looked at him. Are any of them innocents?"

"No, they're all Nazis," Franz admitted understanding he was sentencing them to death.

Looking out from the entrance the team guarding the entrance could be easily seen from behind. Looking up the far hill, Brose spotted people climbing the slope.

"Patterson, bring my M107 and M26 ASAP," Brose ordered. "I see some targets scrambling up the bluff above you."

Franz and the others strained their eyes to spot the men but saw nothing. They waited for Patterson to arrive.

As soon as he dropped the packs by Brose, she opened the M107 and began assembling the behemoth. In less than a minute, she was attaching the night vision scope and slamming a clip of ammo home. Kneeling, she swept the far bluff until she saw a target.

The others followed her aim and spotted what they thought might be a person climbing the bluff. Those that saw the figure pointed him out to the others.

Scarcely moving, Brose squeezed the trigger. The report of the .50 cal echoed throughout the valley. It was 0240 hours. Over on the bluff, the man who had been scrambling upwards suddenly slammed against the steep hillside, then tumbled down the slope like a rag doll. The man had been a bit about a kilometer away.

Without pausing, Brose zeroed in on the other two and picked them off, each a minute after the last.

"My God," Franz whispered in awe. "No wonder those men on the missions didn't stand a chance against you."

"In New Jersey, she only used the .50 cal Desert Eagle," Sunny said. "She shot down the jet and the helicopter with it. As far as I know, she's never missed a target. One shot and done. She rescued the four of us there."

It was the first time the freed emerged realized the two sets of twins were really quads, the ones their superiors had tried to nab. By this time the fire upstream was dying down.

The ten surviving AZIF from the three frontal assault teams had been communicating over their comms. They knew they'd been decimated. The seven survivors in the valley knew the three on the other side were trying to climb the bluffs to safety. Then they heard the powerful report of the .50 cal.

"My God! They blew a hole in Harry’s chest big enough to put my arm through," a panicked voice choked out. "How the hell can they see us in these fucking tr...,"

The comm went dead in mid speech as the 50. cal roared again. The remaining survivors knew a marksmen was picking them off. The lone survivor on the other side scrambled for cover but another roar abruptly ended his attempt. The seven left were absolutely terrified. Not once had they seen the opposition. This was too much like the two big operations in the US that were annihilated. They were afraid to attempt to join the remaining group heading over the mountain. More importantly, they were afraid to use their comms. They just sat in shock listening as the unit going over La Cruz tried to contact any survivors and their bosses back at the AZIF base raged.

"I doubt too many escaped the inferno," Habaz declared after Brose took out the three. “It looks like we took out a dozen in the stream bed."

"I picked off three climbing the bluffs," Brose added. “With two choppers downed, they landed about forty eight and a few might have survived a bail-out. If they split into four teams, we've eliminated two and probably chopped another in half. That leaves them about a dozen going over the top to get behind us. Do we need a relay box to set of the explosives inside the base if we move out?"

"Yes." Lincoln replied. "I'll come over and set a few up so if they find one we can still blow it."

"Loose, in ten minutes I want you to pull back to the base," Brose said. "Habaz, as soon as they're back, use the AA to light up the trees down there. Lincoln, rig the flame thrower to blow with everything else. I want everyone to pack up. I want everyone ready to move out in fifteen minutes, upstream. A little over two miles upstream is a twist in the streambed. That will put us about a mile and a half away from La Cruz, when we get there we’ll blow the base."

"I assume they have survival gear stashed nearby," Brose turned to Franz. "We've got fifteen minutes get you guys outfitted and we'll replenish our food and water."

They found the emergency supply closet near the entrance. Each of the released emerged took a pack, bedroll and rain poncho as well as rations and water. Brose found several comm sets charging off to one side. Taking two she dialed in the frequency AZIF had used in the last mission Brose took down. Brose's people took rations and water for themselves and the rest of the Butt Kickers. They were at the entrance in fifteen minutes. Except for the smoldering helicopters, the fires upstream had burned out. The down stream side was burning brightly. Brose had everyone gather in the stream bed where they doled out the water and rations.

Franz and the others were stunned to see the size of the unit. Ten emerged and ten soldiers. Yet they'd taken out the entire base only suffering a few minor injuries. Brose gave one of the captured comm links to McNeil. As they listened they could hear the leader of the unit going over La Cruz trying to contact his other squads and the haranguing of the Nazis. Unknown to anyone but themselves, the seven AZIF men in the valley decided to shag out. Angling up the valley, they made to find the stream as it meandered down to the base. They struggled to help the two burned men to go with them.

McNeil sent three scouts ahead, one to stop every hundred feet to scan the foliage with night vision for any sign of the enemy. It was 0255 hours when they set out in single file. The going was slow but steady. It took them forty minutes to cover the two miles of meandering stream. They could see La Cruz, still backlit from the burning diesel fuel continuing to flow from the open stand pipe. The stream bank toward La Cruz at the bend was high enough the Butt Kickers could easily take cover to escape the direct blast zone if the concussion wave came out to them.

From the desperate chatter over the comms between the remaining AZIF unit atop La Cruz and the AZIF base it was clear the commanders were totally pissed off and the remaining team had reached the summit of La Cruz and could clearly see the fire raging down the stream from the still flowing diesel fuel. The unit on top was clearly afraid to descend and insisted upon waiting for reinforcements. The smoldering forest along the stream just down from the base was badly burned so their approach would not be shielded by foliage.

At 0335 hours, Brose spoke into one of the comm units she’d taken. “I really wish you guys wouldn’t try to mess with me. MMRROWWLLL.”

As she closed the link the comm filled with the terrified voices of the men atop La Cruz. The seven fleeing upstream froze in terror. The Nazis went silent. Several voices spoke in surprised terror. “The Cat....”

Brose nodded to Lincoln who pressed the detonation button. Everyone stood looking back at looming La Cruz, eerily backlit by the diesel fuel fire still heading down stream. The entire valley shook and it looked as if La Cruz rose intact a hundred feet into the air. Then the huge mountain simply disintegrated. Debris from what had been the mountain top blew skyward for at least a thousand feet as the sides blew out in every direction. The shaking earth knocked everyone off their feet and trees on the bank toppled into the stream.

There was no way the AZIF unit on the mountain could have escaped. It was a good thing the Butt Kickers were already on the ground as the concussive shock wave hit them. Fist sized rocks began to pepper the area down stream from their position and the deadly rain rapidly moved towards them as the massive tonnage blown skyward and out crashed back to earth far from it’s point of origin. No one had to be told to dive into the stream bed bank. The massive roar echoed back and forth between the mountain peaks for almost five minutes. The tremor was felt and the sound was heard in the capital of La Paz three hundred miles away.

The seven AZIF soldiers had almost made it to the stream bed when the mountain exploded. Being under the trees they couldn’t see the explosion but they too were knocked to the ground by the earth movement. When the blast wave hit them it tore branches from the trees sending them crashing amongst them. Several trees toppled as their roots were torn from the earth by the combined seismic and air blasts. Then the rocks began to pelt them. As best they could they huddled against tree trunks for protection.

The debris fell for almost five minutes. As soon as it let up, the Butt Kickers began to see if anyone had been injured. Other than a few bruises from rebounding rocks, they were unscathed.

The AZIF survivors weren’t as lucky. One of the burned men hadn’t been able to make it to a tree trunk. His skull had been caved in by a rock. The rest took what they could from his body and then scrambled for the stream.

Brose and Emo both felt waves of human terror and fear emanating from the devastated foliage before the sounds reached them.

“People approaching, fast," Brose yelled. "They're scared."

The deep throated reverberating rumble was finally fading when the Butt Kickers heard stumbling through the downed foliage heading in their direction. McNeil and his soldiers unslung their weapons as everyone once more huddled against the bank.

In rapid succession the AZIF men began yelping as they suddenly emerged from the fallen trees and limbs to find the ground had disappeared beneath their feet. All quite literally simply stumbled off the top of the seven feet high stream bank to crash into the stream bed. Before they could recover they were pinned to the ground looking up at the barrels of ten M4A1s. They had no energy to resist.

*****

The Center had been monitoring the entire operation closely. They sucked in the data the Butt Kickers had downloaded and sent their way. On the spy satellite surveillance they had seen the explosions as the bunkers were blown. They followed the heat signature of the freed prisoners as they were led downstream and sent up a side valley. They saw the explosions of the downed helicopters. They clearly saw the massive fire to the north of La Cruz when they lit up the valley. They saw the fire topped flood head downstream, and the conflagration in the trees south of La Cruz. They knew Brose had ordered the base destroyed but they were shocked by the intensity of the explosion. From the air it seemed as if a volcano had erupted. They were quite concerned about the safety of the Butt Kickers in the aftermath.

When the bunkers exploded, the US Embassy sent an urgent message to the office of President Morales requesting an immediate meeting even though it was just after 1:00am. The US Military Attache had been briefed on the secret Nazi base and the covert mission. It was 1:55 when he met President Morales. It was an open secret that the Nazis had para military bases but as long as they did not create any issues, they were allowed to function. What the Bolivian officials didn't know about was the clandestine base inside Amboro at La Cruz. The attache explained the US had been monitoring the area because of the suspected AZIF terrorist bases and ties with the Nazis. He apologized for not informing the president but honestly stated that while the US felt they could trust him, they were afraid others in the government would warn the Nazis before enough evidence could be compiled. President Morales was upset but understood the reasoning. On a laptop, the US Military Attache streamed real time images from the spy satellite. They saw the infrared images of dozens of people fleeing down stream away from La Cruz, noting they turned up a side valley. They witnessed the downing of the two helicopters and the conflagration in the trees upstream from La Cruz as it happened.

President Morales ordered the Bolivian Army put on full alert. Then ordered the Army chief of staff and his officers to come to him for an immediate briefing. When they arrived he had the US Military Attache go over the situation regarding the Nazis and AZIF complete with all the intelligence the US had gathered on the locations and terrain of the bases.

The generals watched the fiery flood cascading down stream and the massive fire on the downstream side of La Cruz. All were stunned when La Cruz exploded. The sound and earth tremor soon reached them.

President Morales reminded the generals that just a few weeks ago the General in charge of drug traffic interdiction and several of his subordinates had been arrested. He bluntly told the generals he wanted all the AZIF bases attacked and shut down by sunset that day. He also told them that if word of the raids leaked out, it would be considered high treason and those responsible would be executed. He was furious the Nazis were so brazenly operating and wanted them destroyed. If they could be caught with their fingers in this mess by quick, secret military action, the government could confiscate their large estates, effectively destroying their financial base as well as helping to squelch terrorism.

The US Military Attache would remain with President Morales to relay incoming US spy satellite data to the generals. President Morales made it quite clear he would accept no excuses for failure.

*****

It only took a few moments for the Butt Kickers to secure their new prisoners. While the quads tended to the injured man's burns others headed into the foliage to look for stout limbs as it was clear he wouldn't be able to go much further under his own power. Jim, one of the emerged prisoners, stepped forward to help. Even though she had not had any formal training her talent was healing. She did what she could to ease the man’s burns and cut his pain. High set up his satellite comm link and contacted The Center.

"Obviously you know the base is gone," Brose reported in. "We suffered a few minor bruises from the debris but nothing serious. We have a few non life-threatening combat injuries but everyone is functional. We have the ten emerged with us. So far they're stunned by what happened but they know they were targeted by their bosses. I think they'll be cooperative. We've also managed to capture six AZIF attackers. They were fleeing the fight, apparently the only survivors of the assault force and they literally ran into us. They surrendered without a fight. One has severe burns and we're rigging a litter. We'll keep moving through dawn, then bed down for a few hours."

A few fallen limbs were lashed together with blankets to make a litter. The man was placed on it and with a prisoner at either end, they resumed their march upstream at 0355 hours. Every five minutes they switched off one carrier so they had each had ten minutes on and fifteen minutes off. At rough spots, assistance was given as needed.

Side streams joined the main stream every few hundred feet. By 0430 hours, the stream had dwindled to the point it was no longer feasible for them to stay in the narrow, rocky bed. At that point they headed south up into the mountains, aiming for a pass three miles from where they’d sheltered from the blast. The sky was growing bright. It was 0715 hours when they reached the point where they crossed the ridge. They quickly crossed and continued to head down the new valley. Brose decided to keep going. They were only three and a half miles from the secluded spot they'd camped their first night and it was all down hill. They made sure to remain under the canopy of the trees. It was 0905 hours when they reached the site they'd stayed just two days before. Everyone was tired. They sat down to eat some rations before sacking out. McNeil set up a guard rotation and tied up the six AZIF troops.

"Franz," Brose said as she came up to the ten weary emerged. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to place a guard to watch you while we rest."

"I understand," Franz nodded. "I appreciate that you trust us enough not to tie us up." Then Franz lightly pinged Brose.

"Go ahead," Brose returned the probe.

"I want to let you know I've been lightly probing your fellow Butt Kickers," Franz admitted. "It's a fitting name. I felt compelled to do it to make sure all you've told me is true. After what we've been through, it seemed more than a bit far fetched. I only read their surface thoughts and didn't try to influence them in any way. They not only respect you, they love you. I've shared my findings with the others. The girls and I want to go with you as do Jim, Nathan, Sheila and Janice."

"I'm not an empath or dominator," Brose replied. "But I can feel others when they are emotional. You already know I can block probes. I thought you might be unobtrusively probing the others for information. I know I would if I could and were in your shoes. I appreciate your honesty."

"Elsa and I could feel you watching us," Franz admitted. "We didn't want to upset you. I was hoping you'd accept a bit of info gathering. I think I'm going to like this Center."

"You'll probably kept in a secure location until Kristyn is convinced you're safe to release into the general population," Brose stated.

"We all expect that and understand the need for caution," Franz answered. "As long as we're not abused, it shouldn't be a problem. This Kristyn you just mentioned. She's your base commander?"

"No, she's the overall commander," Brose chuckled. "She oversees all the bases. And before you ask, yes, she is one of us and our age. All our base commanders are emerged and our age too. I have a commission in the regular US Army as a Warrant Officer One. I'm in command because I hold the highest rank in the Butt Kickers."

Franz was surprised. "How is that possible?"

"We are a section of the Department of Homeland Security," Brose explained. "An Army Colonel organized us and is now our liaison with the rest of the Army. We've been given field commissions and a few others are non comms but are listed on the Army rolls. That doesn’t mean all the emerged are in the army. Since we’re a first strike unit all the Butt Kickers are Army. Most of us are just still going to school."

"Impressive. Thanks for the info. Tell your guards to watch Erwin," Franz said. "He's pissed at our former superiors but he's been thinking about taking off on his own. He's not a bad guy, but we've all been warped to some extent by the Nazis. I don't think he'll try to hurt anyone but he might try to slip away. If you secure him, he'll be bitter and dangerous.

Brose passed the warning to watch Erwin to the others as everyone sacked out.

Brose took first turn at guard duty. They could faintly hear the helicopters flying over what was left of La Cruz. In a straight line they were only five miles away but they were two thousand feet down the other side of the ridge from the site. At 0920 she used the satellite comm link to let The Center know they’d stopped. Then she switched to the spy satellite imagery.

She could see four Bolivian Army helicopters at the devastated site. La Cruz had collapsed into the canyon in front of it, clogging it to a considerable depth. The blocked waters of the stream were already creating a new lake. The intensity of the blast had knocked down every tree for about three thousand feet. The canyon bluff opposite the base had nothing left. Anything remotely moveable had been blown up and over the top of the thousand feet tall bluff for a quarter mile on either side of where the entrance had been. Soldiers and others were beginning to climb over the debris trying to figure out what had happened. The downed helicopters were covered with blown down trees and barely visible. Soon they would be swallowed by the black debris laden waters of the new lake already lapping within feet of the wrecks. Floating shattered trees and shrubs almost covered the water surface.

Later examination of the down loaded base schematics and the explosion revealed some surprising data. The high point where the antennae had been placed atop La Cruz had been one thousand three hundred feet above the bottom of the canyon. The first thousand vertical feet up was also a thousand feet horizontal, a forty five degree angle, from the canyon floor. The last three hundred vertical feet was over two thousand horizontal feet. The base had been tunneled into the mountain about five thousand feet. The entrance had been thirty feet wide which gradually widened to three hundred feet with suitable rock walls left intact to hold the mountain in place. It had five levels, one of fuel, two of munitions, and the rest living and working space. When it exploded, the entire mountain fractured. The solid portion above the entrance simply blew the thousand feet across the canyon to the far side. The rest of the mountain collapsed into the suddenly excavated base and slid into the canyon. The canyon was filled to a depth of six hundred feet. The newly created lake would be a two miles long and two thirds of a mile wide.

Brose was relieved from watch and slept. When she awoke, most people were stirring. Data Brose downloaded revealed the refugees from La Cruz had been rescued by the Bolivian Army. Three AZIF bases had also been attacked. Initial helicopter assaults had been driven off but after severe attacks by the Bolivian Air Force, the helicopters were able to land. The military also locked down all the airports and border crossings. Those known to be Nazis were being arrested supposedly based on the statements of the prisoners the Butt Kickers had released.

Their camp had not been found, especially since no one was looking for them as everyone was busy elsewhere. After a meal, they set out at 0330 hours heading upstream retracing their path of the journey of their first day. They walked six hours covering fifteen miles before they settled down for another night.

After setting up their satellite link, they found out the AZIF bases were still not secured but organized resistance had ceased. Only a few diehards fought on. At the site of the explosion of La Cruz, there was more than enough circumstantial evidence to reveal it had been a major Nazi underground base. The rescued prisoners knew the base had been attacked and they had been freed and that those who attacked had guided them to safety before returning to the base. The only bodies found were a few of the AZIF soldiers and the Nazis in the blown bunkers. The SS uniforms of those in the ruins was quite damning. The information The Center infokinetics had gathered on the Nazis in Bolivia was handed over to President Morales. Many of the expatriate Germans had already been arrested. Several had committed suicide. A few estates were mini-fortresses and under assault. It would take days to sort out the mess.

The six demoralized AZIF soldiers were US citizens. They now knew they had been up against THE CAT, as Brose had been nick-named. With her efficient strike group, they understood they hadn't stood a chance. They also knew they hadn't a hope of escape, and would rather cooperate with the Butt Kickers in the hope of facing at least a modicum of justice back in the States rather than fall into the hands of the Bolivians.

Jim, Nathan, Janice and Sheila were US citizens who had been successfully spirited off by AZIF. They had still not adjusted to their gender change and were still suffering from the brain washing the Nazis had used to try to subvert them into the cause. They were glad to be going back to the US but were sad to learn they could never reunite with their families.

Franz, Gretchen, Heidi, and Brigitta were abducted US Citizens who had been brainwashed by the Nazis. Enough of their original selves survived to accept the freedom Brose offered. They understood they'd have to be de-brainwashed.

Erwin and Elsa were natural born Bolivian Germans. There were five other Bolivian Germans emerged. Brose had killed three. The other two were currently out on missions with AZIF teams. Elsa reported one was a projecting empath and the other a telepath, both third level.

Erwin never fully accepted his gender change and though he had been trusted by the Nazis, they hadn't felt he was stable enough to be sent out on missions. He had been well enough indoctrinated to serve as a fifth column man inside the brainwashed emerged. The Nazi betrayal hit him hard and he was quite leery of going to The Center.

Elsa was the only female emerged Bolivian German. In the macho Nazi hierarchy, they had never considered sending her on missions. Her ability as an empath was used regularly to monitor the kidnaped emerged until they could be broken. She was also six weeks pregnant. She'd been inseminated with the sperm of the strongest emerged, the dominator Brose had last killed.

The Nazis had decided to 'breed' the emerged. All the boys had been 'milked' once a month and the sperm frozen or used to impregnate suitable Aryan females.

Elsa had been aware of the plan and knew at least ten women had been impregnated before her. She most certainly didn't like being used as brood cow and so willingly went to The Center.

The Butt Kickers awoke at dawn well rested. After breakfast, they packed up and headed out at 0630 hours. They only had nine miles to cover to get back to the base camp and Prof Renoir but it was all up hill. It was 1300 hours when they reached the main base.

Canadian identification papers and passports had already arrived from The Center for the prisoners and emerged, hand carried by four soldiers from The Center. They had secured local SUVs to transport everyone back to El Forte where the trucks and survey equipment were to be left. The entire group, the twenty Butt Kickers, the six prisoners, the ten emerged, Prof. Renoir and the two guards plus the four newly arrived men would board a bus for the ride to La Paz where a chartered Canadian jet waited to whisk the Canadian Archaeologist and his students to safety. Since they had arrived overland with official approval, the red tape and lock-down at the airport had been smoothed over to allow the foreigners to flee the turmoil roiling Bolivia. Many nations were evacuating their nationals as a precaution as fighting still raged between the hard pressed Nazis and the Bolivian military.

President Morales was taking full advantage of the fiasco to root out every vestige of Nazism calling it anti-Bolivian. The confiscation of the Nazi estates and assets would pay the costs of the operation and allow the land to be 'given' to the peasants. Morales had already promised that as a way of garnering support from the masses for his Nazi eradication effort. The horrible medical experiments that had been conducted on the disfigured freed human guinea pigs had been made public. The photos and film had sickened the world as it harkened back to the horrific experiments carried out in the Nazi Concentration Camps during WWII.

By 2000 hours, the jet with the evacuating 'Canadians' was rolling down the La Paz runway. The jet had been chartered in Canada, but the crew was US Air Force. A team of doctors and nurses were on bard to treat the injured. The sun was up as they landed at Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio. A smaller jet with a crew from The Center was waiting. Under tight security, the passengers switched planes. Twenty minutes after landing, they were again airborne heading for The Center.

*****