United States, Connecticut, Austria.

Gunter was heading toward the front desk when Ella rounded the corner. Gunter saw the distrustful look on her face and thought it was directed at himself, but then another man came around the corner with Ella. He was wearing a stiff, black trenchcoat that seemed to hang on his tall, bulky figure with a sense of foreboding. He had a black leather case to match, and he was talking to Ella in a thick German accent.

"We don't provide telegram services, sir, but the office is right down the street." She replied with grudging politeness. "You'll have to deliver it there yourself."

Gunter was annoyed at Ella. For a start, she was ignoring him completely - he was their telegram-boy. Second, she was treating this man impolitely simply because he was German. Gunter almost forgot himself and offered to deliver a telegram for the man, but his paranoia vitally slipped back into his demeanor. This man was German. That meant that he was either a refugee to Austria like Gunter, or he was a Nazi. Deciding to play it safe, Gunter ducked his head down and passed by the man.

He walked into the front room and saw Albert standing, looking at the doorway. Walking over to him, Gunter whispered, "Who is the new guest? The tall German man?"

At first he thought it would be a funny idea, but then he felt a little guilty for frightening Abigail, placing his hands upon her shoulders. "I'm sorry Abby I shouldn't have done that." Abigail turned to discover Walter standing behind her.

"Don't worry Abbs I'm sure Niclas isn't even in the United States. The last I heard he was in west Germany, hiding with a bunch of rebels in an underground bunker somewhere."

Walter then took a single step forward and embraced his friend, turning his head he whispered into her ear. "I had to make sure that no one was following you."

Releasing Abigail and stepping back Walter continued. "Don't look behind you." The lightness of Walter's conversation now changed as he noticed something. "It seems Ive failed in that respect."

Reaching into the pocket of his black trench coat Walter took a hold of his pistol. "I have had to do some unpleasant things this past year. Things I'm still not comfortable with."


________________________________________



Adalwolf paid no attention to the inferior female creature before him, it was much too soon to reveal anything about himself or his intentions.

"That will be fine Miss."

The heavy set man slowed his pace as he witnessed the young boy and his failed attempt to avert his gaze. This was perhaps not the best move on the young mans part, as it only served to peak Adalwolf's curriosity. Gottberg was finally escorted into his room, but as the young woman was about to turn and leave Adalwolf stopped her.

"Fraulein!" He said while reaching into the front pocket of his coat, pulling out some money. "Here." Was all Gottberg said as he handed the girl a Shilling. "Leave the bags by the bed on your way out."

Gottberg then walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Her face, hard as she turned, softened when she saw Walter. Surprise lit her eyes. "Yer a right arse but I'm happy ta see ye." Abegail hugged him back, tears threatening to drop from her eyes. She had so many fears about what had happened to him over the last year. To see him now in front of her, alive and in one piece was a welcome relief.

"Do ye have any idea how much..." Abegail stopped chastising him as Walter stepped away and his face hardened. She stood straight as Walter reached for his pistol. She had a great deal to ask him, about the last year, about the letters and about what he was doing now but she let those slip away. There would be time for that later or at least she hoped there would be.

Abegail gave Walter a slight nod of understanding, held her briefcase in her hand, reached to pick up her suitcase in the other hand and waited for his cue to move. She was still in the phone booth with little room to go far and Walter blocked her only exit. She'd have to rely on him to lead her.

She watched him, glancing in her perpheral for some idea of who it was that she should be concerned about. She couldn't see anyone in particular and she wasn't willing to look behind her, he had asked her not to and she wouldn't jeopardize things but going against his wishes.

Abegail let the words stream through a slightly smiling mouth, keeping up the appearance of friends happy to see each other. "Who is there? Are we running?" She was hit by a bit of deja vu. Years ago, she and Walter running through a train station with Niclas on their heels. That time she had been trapped in a bathroom not a phone booth but the situations had the same feel, sparked the same urge to fight her way out.

Slipping the gun from his pocket Walter held the pistol at his side as he peered over Abigail's shoulder at the strangers behind the phone booth. Walter's memory also flashed back to the similar experience that he had shared with Abagail several years before.

Luckily, Walter had made arrangements for a chauffeured vehicle to be parked at airport's main door, just in case the two of them were forced to exit the building in haste. The main doors were relatively close to where Walter and Abigail were standing and so Walter decided that they should make a break for it.

The unknown assailants standing behind the booth had sensed that the two scholars might choose to run, and so with each step that she and Walter made the strangers stepped also. Walter was slowly walking backward with Abigail facing him as she also traveled toward the doors.

Abegail watched Walter carefully. He stepped backwards and Abegail stepped forward, moving with him. She moved closer to him. She put both of her bags in one hand and reached for his. She held his hand, giving the pretense of a reunited couple but doing so meant they could not be seperated. Abegail stayed on the opposite side of Walter from the gun, giving him full movement with it. Her hand gripped his.

She had no idea who it was that they were avoiding but it didn't matter. If Walter felt there was a threat and she was here to help him then she would simply stick close.

Abegail was grateful yet again that she prefered sensible flats to the heeled shoes of many of her gender. If they were going to have to run at least she wouldn't have to worry about slowing them down or twisting something.

"Do we have a plan?" Her voice was calm as she kept her sweet smile, not wishing to bring attention to them. Her eyes turned towards the door calculating how much further they had to go and how many people were in their way should they have to make a run for it. The airport was considerably less crowded than the train station had been the last time the pair ran away from a pursuing entity, however they had more distance to cover.

"Walter, there is not much in the way of crowd but there is a good deal of time for us to be caught before we get to the door." Abegail spotted a garbage can. "I will knock the garbage into the way when we get past it and worse case I will toss my suitcase at them."

Albert left Herr Gottberg to Ella and focused on trying to figure out where on Earth Gunter had gone. He was about to head out and look for him when, as Gunter was sometimes wont to do, he appeared at Albert's elbow. He seemed agitated, and then whispered a frightened question to him.

Albert responded quietly, trying to calm down the frightened boy. "He may be some kind of Nazi official. But don't worry. The war will be over soon, and he will leave. Don't avoid him and skulk in the shadows. That only makes you more conspicuous. Just be your normal self, and be sure not to tell him anything incriminating. You're my cousin. You have lived with me ever since your parents died in a strategic bombing run by the Brits. You were a Hitler Youth for a time, but then you moved here, because your parents were dead. Do you understand?"
Albert put his hand on Gunter's shoulder as he told him this. He resolved to do everything in his power to keep the boy safe. Gunter had been through more trauma than many adult soldiers, and he was only a child. Albert decided that, if he had to, he would be willing to fight again. He had wanted to leave violence and soldiery behind him, having had more than enough to last a lifetime. But to keep Gunter safe, he would do almost anything.
"Are you going to be alright, Gunter?" he asked. He wanted to make sure that at least most of what he was saying was getting into Gunter's head.

"He has a gun!!" came an arrant scream from a female attendant, who had seen the glimmer of Walter's weapon from her position behind the counter, unaware that it was Abigail and Walter who were in danger, the two frightening looking mugs in front of them going unnoticed.

Walter's head snapped toward the direction of the sound, turning his head to find three more goons quickly approaching them -with guns at the ready.

"I've decided that I hate plane and train stations." Walter said dryly.

His offhanded remark caused Abigail to turn her head and look. Walter stopped dead.

The black clad Nazi between the two larger gentleman had lowered the weapon which slightly obscured his face. "Herr Miller....." He paused slightly before continuing in far more taunting tone. "....Oh and Fraulein McHugh. So pleased to see you once again."

Walter and Abigail were utterly shocked and dumbfounded. "I guess the rumors of your violent and no doubt deserving death were greatly exaggerated." Walter retorted.

He simply could not believe his eyes -Niclas Elberich.

Abegail rolled her eyes as the woman yelled about Walter's gun. Typical, react before looking at the whole situation. Abegail looked over at the woman but in the process spotted the people that Walter was trying to avoid. It wasn't hard to pick them out.

Three more appeared. Abegail looked at Walter, "I canna agree with ye more." She made a small promise to avoid major transporation hubs from this point on, they only seemed to bring trouble.

Abegail's blood ran cold as a voice called out to Walter and then to her. "Tell me that was ye Walter..." He wouldn't get the chance to respond and she knew in her heart it wasn't. There, standing in the middle of recent arrivals was Niclas. "No bunker and not dead." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the officer. Instinctually, Abegail stepped closer to Walter, as if being next to him more would somehow protect them. Her hand removed itself from his, grabbing hold of his coat instead. Abegail didn't know if her hands were shaking in fear or anger.

"What do you want?" Her voice was very calm and cold as she addressed the man. There was hate burning in her eyes and it took a great deal of effort not to throw her suitcase at him. Abegail didn't know what they would do now, they were pinned down in the middle. One side had two advancing men and the other Niclas and his two soldiers. Guns were drawn and around there were innocent bystanders. This would not go well for anyone.

There were shouts around them, more yells about the guns as it dawned on people that more than just Walter were armed. She wondered if the authorities were being called and what Niclas would do if they arrived. Abegail was beginning to regret coming to Kansas. At least she had found Walter and he was alive, the bad side she found Niclas and he was also still alive.

"Is this how it will end? Being shot in an airport? There has to be something we can do."

This couldn't be it, not after so many years of running from Niclas, stopping him and his missions. No, Abegail wouldn't just lay down and let him beat them. She looked up at Walter, praying to the saints that he didn't feel defeated.

Niclas gestured to the two soldiers, at which time they stopped and stood still as Niclas took the last few steps that would bring him face to face with his 'old friends' Walter and Abagail. Niclas glared at Abigail "Quiet female, it is not you that I want. Doctor Miller knows why I have come to this decadent country of yours."

Now switching his attention to Walter. "Where is the flag?" Walter refused to answer the inquiry. "Fraulein, the letters, give them to me." Niclas demanded. Just as Abigail was about to hand over the documents the sound of police sirens suddenly revealed themselves. Three patrol cars screeched to a stop in front of the small single-story airport, then from out of the passenger side of the cars three police officers appeared.

The drivers of the patrol cars had opened their doors and were now using them as shields, each of them were brandishing a revolver. The three officers who exited the cars had maneuvered their way to the front of the building. Two officers were positioned on each side of the main doors, while the third police officer knelt in the center.

Once they had secured their positions, the officer on his knee in the center of the glass doors called out his demands. "I want everyone to remain calm, there is no way out of this building, we have each of you locked in our sights. Make no sudden moves, we don't want no Cagney types."

Walter and Niclas looked at each other and then back to the officer issuing the warning. Now for the second time in their lives Walter and Abigail were involved in a major international incident, though this time in an airport rather then a train station.

It was not the first time when faced with Niclas that Abegail had wanted to punch the man. It also would not be the first time she had ever acted on that urge and had the situation been different, if there wasn't guns pointed at her, she would have punched him in his smug face.

She inhaled deeply and glared at him as he faced Walter. She had no idea what flag the men were discussing. Walter stay tight lipped and Niclas turned back to look at her. He demanded her letters. Abegail frowned. Her letters? What in the world did he want those for? She bit back a comment and simply sneered at the man. If he thought she was just going to hand them over he was sadly mistaken. Abegail had kept him from a great many things, a stone, a sword being just a couple of them there was no way she was handing over a few pieces of paper now.

Abegail looked over his shoulder. There were far too many people, far too many guns. She placed her suitcase down and began to open her briefcase. Taking her time and trying to come up with another solution to this when the sirens drew everyone's attention to the doors.

Abegail, while everyone else's attention was on the police decided to act. A smirk appeared, Abegail really enjoyed getting to do this part. Her briefcase, always weighted with books swung out and smacked Niclas across the face. She watched the man spin slightly, turning away from her. She grabbed her suitcase and Walter and pulled him with her. She pulled him into crowd of people closest to the door.

"Blend in, we are just professors trying to get to Austria. Let them get caught with the guns." She could see the police out front. The doors opened and the random patrons of the airport poured out towards the police. Shouts and screams filled the air. Abegail pulled Walter with her as she followed the crowd out.

A glance behind her and she could see Niclas and his men at the back of the crowd.

The police officers were screaming for the airport patrons to make room and to calm down so that they might do their jobs in nabbing the armed intruders. The crowd far too concerned for their safety wanted out of the airport immediately, scared and panicked they rushed the front door. The police officer who had called out the command to disarm tried to scan the frantic mob for Walter and Abigail.

Both of whom passed by him within only a few inches as they made their way out of the airport and escaped into the automobile that Walter had arranged. Once safely outside Walter and Abigail could move freely, while Niclas and his henchmen escaped out the employee only exit in the back of the airport.

By the time Niclas and his soldiers could make their way around to the front of the building Walter and Abigail had already driven off in the car which had been parked a block away.

"Abby, those letters, do you still have them?" Walter inquired.

Abigail had nodded that she still possessed the letters and then she pulled them out and showed them to Walter. "Great, look at the one which references Austria. That is what Niclas was curious about."

Abigail scanned the letter, reading the name of the city mentioned in the opening remarks. "That is where we need to go."

As they drove the car to a small private airport 10 miles away Walter told Abigail about the Blood Flag.

"I know that this is perhaps a bit far fetched, but if there is the slightest chance that the legend could be true....."

Gunter closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He nodded, taking in every piece of information that Albert gave him. Then as he opened his eyes, he saw a hint of something in Albert's eyes - was it fear? No, determination. Gunter's gaze wavered. How could Albert feel determination when all Gunter could feel was fear? "I hope so." Gunter responded to his cousin's question with as firm a tone as he could. He had to be stronger than this. If the supposed Nazi saw him acting like this, Gunter would become instantly conspicuous, just like Albert said. But then again, the man might not be a Nazi at all. He might just be a normal person from Germany. But there was a cold air about him that Gunter didn't like, regardless.

Gunter smiled an insincere smile up at Albert, then walked back toward the kitchen to get back to work. But half-way there, Gunter saw something that made him stop. The man's room was open, with Ella making sure it was ready. But the man himself was absent. Gunter was struck with a terrifically bad idea. But he was going to do it anyway. Briskly, almost without thinking, he walked into the room. Then he walked over to Ella. "That man - who is he?"

'I don't know.' she replied irritably. 'Go away.'

Gunter sighed, casting about the room for a way to identify this man. Then his eyes centered in on the suitcases. They would be the key. He quickly knelt down, trying to unbuckle the strap on the leather briefcase as fast as he could. Ella turned around.

'What are you doing???' she whispered. 'Trying to ruin our inn's reputation?'

"No!" He whispered back. "I have to see who this man is!" He almost had the briefcase open - in just a few more seconds...

'Ugh! You and your paranoid delusions!' Ella tried to pull him away from the guest's briefcase, but Gunter held on to it - causing it to fly open.

One piece of the contents of the bag flew from it unnoticed, landing in the corner and leaving an empty space in the bag.

Ella started to fret at him, but then she stopped as they both stared at the case. There were tools and instruments laid out neatly, strapped to the sides. There were pills in pockets and some tools that Gunter had never seen before - and some that he knew all too well. 'Close it!' Ella whispered fearfully, rushing to the open briefcase and looking back at the door. "He'll be back any moment - help me!" she whispered. She frantically began setting up the other bags as if nothing had happened. Gunter set to resettling the contents of the bag and rebuckling the case. He hurried with shaking fingers. Ella was right - he could be back any moment.

Abegail was holding her breath as she and Walter moved through the crowd. She was glad they were so pushy and aggressive, it allowed the pair to get to the vehicle Walter had waiting. Abegail was also very grateful that Walter had a car waiting for them. She climbed in beside him and breathed a sigh of relief.

She frowned as Walter asked about the letters. Abegail nodded and pulled them out of her briefcase. She had planned to go to Austria after the brief stop in Kansas. Now it seemed she would be going and thankfully not alone.

Abegail listened intently as Walter ran down the information about the blood flag. She nodded and wished she was at the library. Books were her go to resource and she felt a little unprepared now. At least she was packed to travel, the rest would come.

They arrived at the private plane and once they had taken off, Abegail turned to Walter.

"Where were you? I have been trying to find you, keeping track of people who saw you or Niclas." She choked back a sob. Abegail was more than a little relieved to see him. All formality fell away, "Walter, I am so happy to see ye. Ye canna imagine what I did tryin' ta find ye after ye lef us." She reached out and hugged him tightly.

Pulling back, blushing a little Abegail looked down at her hands. "I am glad yer alright. Truly I worried about ye Walter."

Abegail sat silent for a time, regaining her composure and going over the things she had learned about the flag in her head. "I have seen an awful lot over the years, I do not doubt for a second that it could possibly be true. When we land we will do some reading, some tracking down of information. It is what needs to get done. It is becoming our normal, you and I." She smiled at him.

Abegail spent the rest of the flight calming her fears about what had become of Walter, calming her nerves about the encounter with Niclas in the airport and thinking over the issue of the blood flag. Eventually she dozed off. She lulled to one side, eventually her head rested on Walter's shoulder. It had been a while since Abegail's dreams were not marred by worries. She slept deeply and soundly for the first time in over a year.

Once safely inside the plane Abigail turned to Walter as she listed her concerns, she told him how she worried about his well being and safety in the last year. Walter was truly touched by her concerns and when she leaned into him and took his hand he felt closer to her then ever before. The mutual admiration which the two scholars shared with one another would serve them well in the uncertain days which lay before them.

"I am really sorry that I worried you, but I had little choice. The war forced me to go into hiding, I was right in the middle of the action and spent most of my time either huddlled in fear or tracking him down. All I could think about was finding that bloody bastard Niclas. If you'll pardon my vulgarity. Its just that after Andrea and then Bridget.....I."

Walter couldn't bring himself to talk about the specifics of their deaths, stopping in mid-sentence he switched back to the facts concerning his whereabouts. "Through my contact with the Russian scholar and mystic Dr. Dmitri Danechka, I was able to tag along on the final Russian invasion into Berlin."

Abigail lifted her head from Walter's shoulder, as Walter continued.

"I was there Abby. In the bunker. Unfortunately I did not see Hitler's remains, which would have been a fond memory that I would have cherished for the rest of my days. But by that time Niclas was well hidden, having lost all of my contacts to the war, I found myself without the means of tracking him any further. After many misadventures I was finally able to make it back to England and then finally to America. I spent several months watching over the campus, I had to make sure you were safe."

Walter had finished his description of his actions over the last year, placing his head upon Abigail's shoulder (with her head resting on his) the two of them got some much needed rest. Before dozing off Walter whispered to his partner.

"Yes, research." And then finally.

"Another adventure, you and me......"

Abegail's sleep was deep. Finally finding Walter, expressing her concern and him filling her in on what he had been doing caused the worries to fade and finally let her mind rest. She barely heard his whisper, thinking it part of a dream.

Abegail woke slowly, her neck hurting slightly as she sat up. There was a weight on her and she quickly realized it was Walter. Like her he must have been extremely tired. She smiled. Looking outside the window she realized they were coming in to land soon.

“Walter, we are landing in Austria.” She stretched her back a little. His story of what he had done, where he had been played again through her head. He had followed Niclas to the ends of the earth and back, he was there when Berlin was invaded and he was in the bunker. Abegail shook her head, so much had gone on in the time they had been apart and he could have been killed many, many times.

“Yer an arse for puttin' yerself in such situations.” She whispered to the still sleeping man.

The plane descended more. “Walter, we are about to land.” A hand went into her hair, trying to make it presentable. She figured given the letter that there were arrangements made for their transportation and accomedations. “I hope we don't have to take a train at all.” The thought was not a comforting one as Abegail was aware that train travel was far more common overseas than in the states.

The plane touched down, the landing slightly bumpy, bouncing its passengers. It came to a halt and the doors opened. Abegail slid off the seat and made her way out of the plane. Her legs were stiff and slow from the long flight and she shivered as the air hit her.

Standing on the tarmac, briefcase and suitcase in hand, she waited for Walter.

When they had finally finished resettling the room, Gottberg had not shown. Still fearful, they both hurried out of the room and down the empty hallway to Albert. Out of breath, Ella panted hatefully to her employer, "That guest of yours is a Nazi! A Nazi doctor!"

"No!" Gunter shot back fiercely. "He's just a doctor." He couldn't believe that the Nazis had already arrived. He couldn't believe that one was in the inn at this very moment.

Walter had awoken from many hours of sleep to discover that the plane was about to touch down upon the runway. The jolt of the impact shook the sleep from his weary eyes, now fully awake he prepared to exit the small craft.

Abigail had already climbed out of the plane and after grabbing the letters from the backseat he also disembarked. Having joined Abigail upon the tarmac she and Walter made their way to the shack which served as the terminal of this small private airport.

A half hour later a taxi cab pulled up to the terminal to whisk Walter and Abgial away to the hotel which Walter had mentioned within the 'Linz letter'. Walter escorted Abigail out of the terminal and into the waiting taxi, Walter opened the backdoor for Abigail who upon entering the vehicle scooted over to let him inside.

"Driver! Please take us to The Grand Royale in Linz."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adalwolf was very aware of the intrusion into his appointed room, sneaking up to the door Adalwolf pressed his ear to the door and listened. From within the room he could hear the commotion and knew that the invaders were searching through his 'special case.' Being on the opposite side of the door Adalwolf did not see the arrant object fly from the case and tumble its way under the bed.

The object had also gone unnoticed by the two people inside the room, this object would not be found by Gunter and his associate. After a few moments the two of them exit the room, realizing this Adalwolf went back to his hiding place. The room was now empty and Adalwolf was allowed to reenter the room to see what the strangers had stolen, but after checking the room thoroughly he couldn't find anything amiss, though the case exhibited clear signs of being tampered with.

When Adalwolf bent down to set the case right he noticed the object which lay beneath the queen-sized bed. Adalwolf was quite relieved that they had not found this particular item. The telegram still needed to be sent and so after hiding the item Adalwolf left to accomplish this task.

Adalwolf was confidant that the small object was now in a safe place away from prying inquisitive eyes.

Abegail waited as patiently as she could for the taxi to arrive. She kept feeling like somehow Niclas had followed them, that he was here and lurking around a corner. This made her a little afraid but also very angry. She hated feeling like she was helpless, like a victim.

The taxi pulled up and Walter told the driver where they were going. Abegail sat quietly as they drove. After a few minutes into the ride, when she was sure no car was following them and that the driver was more concerned with the road than his passengers, Abegail slid closer to Walter.

She turned her head so that should he look in the mirror the driver would only see her profile. Abegail leaned in close to Walter. Her voice was hushed. "Can we trust that Niclas has no idea where we are staying? He found us in Kansas when you thought he wasn't even in the states."

Abegail pulled away from him, smiling coyly so the driver would assume she was whispering suggestive things to the man and not discussing a SS officer and murderer. For emphasis she slid her gloved hand over Walter's. Abegail kept her eyes on his face. She was concerned that Niclas would catch up to them before they had a chance to do any research, follow any leads and this time, he might succeed in killing them.

Part of her felt bad, she knew Walter had made arrangements already but somehow he had followed Walter, or followed her. Abegail felt ill at the fact that someone working for Niclas might have been watching her all this time, maybe even for the past year. There was no telling who Niclas had working for him or in what shadows they lurked in.

Abegail squeezed Walter's hand. The gesture was meant to be reassuring, she would go along with whatever he wished to do but she wanted them to be cautious. They would need a plan and perhaps more protection.

The taxi was quickly approaching the hotel when Walter noticed a grand building labeled Library. Walter called for the driver to pull over and let them out. Stepping onto the street the scholars made their way into the fabulously structured multi-storied library.

Passing a plaque which stood beyond the threshold Walter glimpsed at it and learned that during the early days of the war the building had served as the Nazi high command in that region. Walter made comment to this as they entered the second set of doors.

Once inside they quickly made their wavy to a private reading room, there they would decided what books and research materials they would need. The room was a large space with exquisite decor, right down to the large table of medieval design which stood in the center of the room.

Albert looked at Gunter and Ella in shock. "What are you talking about? How do you know that?"
He couldn't believe that his employee and his cousin would rifle through the personal belongings of one of their customers.
"It doesn't matter who he is, it doesn't give you any right to go through his things. Did you disturb anything? Tell me you didn't steal anything..."

Ella jabbed an accusing finger at Gunter. 'This boy started going through his briefcase like a maniac!' Her voice was low, but the intensity of her demeanor was high. 'I told him to stop, but he just kept on prying at the case! I was upset about his incessant paranoia, but it turns out he was right this time!'

Gunter tried to ignore Ella, looking at Albert. "I'm sorry, Albert, I really am. I was crazy, I didn't know what I was doing, I just had to see who he is..." Gunter stammered, trying to think of something to say. He had acted crazily and now hell was sure to break loose any moment. Then he sighed and said, "We didn't steal anything, but we might have disturbed his briefcase. We set it all back together, though..." Gunter shuddered, thinking of the contents of the leather container. He recognized them from the war. Ella was sure that she knew he was a Nazi doctor, and Gunter had said that he was a doctor, but Gunter recognized some of the tools. Some appeared to be custom, not factory made, but some others... they were German engineering, and usable for torture. Gunter had seen some of them in action once when he had been sneaking around with the Edelweiss Piraten. The memory had never left him.

"Albert, I think this might be trouble." he spoke up again. "What do we do?"

Adalwolf stood at the top of the flight of stairs which led up to the guest rooms listening to the conversation between the two young hotel employees and its owner. Adalwolf would not allow them them to intervene with his duties. What the three had not realized was that Adalwolf was not there for them, he was there under the pretense of seeking out deserters, the fact is Gottberg needed a place to hide out.

Although he had not come to prosecute anyone he felt as though he now needed to keep up appearances. He would have to deal with the hotel staff so that they would not blow his cover, and he had the perfect thing for such a task, it lay within his briefcase. Adalwolf looked down the hall at the door to his room, he thought about the item which he had hidden within the room, turning forward once more he made his way down stairs.

He needed to check on the telegram that he had sent earlier that day, walking right passed the gathering of hotel workers Gottberg walked right out the front door without uttering a single word.

"You do nothing," Albert said. "If he notices and is upset, I will handle the situation. If not, then we act like nothing happened. And whatever you do, don't go rifling through his things again."
Gottberg walked by at this point, and Albert smiled at him, waited for him to pass, then continued.
"Gunter, I understand that you're nervous, that you're scared, and that you know things about this kind of man. I do too. I was in the war, albeit in a different area. I know what people like him are capable of. But going through his things is just giving him a reason, an excuse to hurt you. If you just stay away from him, he has no reason to harm you. But if you bother him, if you invade his privacy, then you make yourself a target. Please, just try to stay out of the man's way. Do you understand?"

Abegail watched out the window as the taxi pulled up to the building. It was impressive but most libraries made Abegail feel that way. Something about so much knowledge collected in one building that appealed to her.

She stepped out and followed Walter in side. The familiar scent, old books and dust, wafted in the air. Abegail sighed. It was like being surrounded by old friends. In all violence was contained on the pages of the books and those bullets and weapons couldn't kill you the way they could in real life.

Abegail frowned and shook her head sadly when Walter told her that the nazi's had used the building during the war. It was a shame and she had the sinking feeling that they rid the building of books that they found unsuitable.

Once in the private reading room, Abegail dropped her suitcase and briefcase. She closed the door behind Walter. “Now is when I would pull out the history books but this is too recent, too new.”

She undid her coat, dropping the garment over the back of her chair as she sat. “Walter, I will admit I am currently out of my element.” She wished she had a glass and a bottle of scotch. After the excitement of the airport the quiet of the library was a welcome change but a drink would have helped immensely.

“Walter, what if we were followed? What if Niclas has had us tailed?” Abegail gave voice to her concerns. She rested her arms on the table and looked at her companion. She hung her head a little. "Walter I have no clue how to start this search. The occult is your department. So tell me what I should be looking for and I will help you find it."

"As you pointed out Abby, this is a recent event, so there are no documents from which we might gleam some useful information." Walter said. Looking around the private room in which he and Abigail sat, he continued. "The reason we are here is because I was told that there is a secret passageway in one of the private rooms within this library, this room."

Placing his hands on the edge of the desk to push himself into a standing position Walter started the search. "Its here somewhere, help me find it." Walter proceeded with the search, first checking the obvious. "Maybe, if we're lucky there will be a hidden lever disguised as a book on one of these shelves."

Walter joked as he pulled back on each and every book. "Unfortunately I have no idea what kind of clue is hidden within the secret passageway, perhaps a document. Any number of things." Walter's voice became strained as he stretched to reach the top shelf, pulling on the last book -finding nothing, clearly this was not the way.

Walter let out a sigh of frustration. "We're not going to find it, we'd have to run our fingers over every inch of this room."

Walter took a step toward the medieval style table, he had only applied the tiniest bit of pressure upon the right corner when he noticed a slight imballance. Looking down at the floor where the right leg was positioned he noticed that the tile beneath the foot of the table on the right side was set lower within the concrete.

"Found it." Walter said with great joy. Crouching down Walter pressed down on the single tile with his fingers, the tile forced even lower by the pressure of his touch -it was a release mechanism. Directly beneath the table a solid slab of tiled floor slid back, revealing the secret passageway that Walter had mentioned only minutes before.

Walter now on all fours shimmied his way beneath the medieval table to look down into the darkness below. It was pitch black inside, all Walter could see were the first few rungs of a wooden ladder which were illuminated by the ambient light within the private room.


___________________________________



Several hours later as the three Inn keepers stood within the reception area Gottberg Von Adalwolf returned, but this time he had brought along some support in the form of five heavily armed American soldiers. Using the telegram he had sent as an excuse to travel to the regional headquarters of the occupying forces -in the case of Austria at this point in time, it was the Americans.

The soldiers were fully aware that Gottberg was a war criminal -a Nazi, but they were under orders, and they were obligated to do whatever Adalwolf might demand of them. The fat sweaty man was still wearing his thick leather coat when he entered the Inn.

"Achtung!"