Ziff under fire

Part 40 - Souvenirs

Video of Storch light aircraft.

Beryl checked on the two men she had cocooned in the rubbery Immobilfoam. One of them was stuck to a fence post. The foam had hardened and was no longer sticky. They looked like large purple pretzels. Triple Oh sprayed Dry-up to uncover their faces and they jabbered in German until Beryl snarled at them, 'halte den Mund' (shut up).

Two others were covered in yellow paint splotches and snoring loudly. 'I got those with Kozak's paralyzing rounds,' Beryl told me.

She found a wheelbarrow which we used to move Murga. We dumped him in the back of his truck on top of the steel drums. Triple Oh stayed in the back with Dad while Mom, Beryl and I squashed into the cab. Dunc insisted on riding with us, so he had to sit on my lap. 'Ah'm pooped with all this excitement,' he said. 'Ah need a rest.'

We stopped near the main road to move the broken wagon out of our way and check the cocooned Gestapo. It was only about five kilometres to the next side road and the farm with Triple Oh's nexus location. There was no traffic which was good because it was quite dark and the truck headlights had been masked so that they emitted only pencil beams of light.

One of Triple Oh's agents, Erika, was waiting for us at the door with a wheelchair as our truck rumbled into the farmyard. Kozak and Triple Oh quickly loaded Murga into the wheel chair and pushed him into the kitchen where we found Kozak and Theo, Triple Oh's assistant, drinking beer.

Triple Oh slapped Theo on the shoulder. 'That was good flying, Theo. You dropped me exactly on target. I hope you didn't frighten Kozak too much.'

'Spog begoz!' Kozak exclaimed. 'I was terrified. Zhey made me get into zhis primitive flying machine and zhen told me T'eo didn't know how to fly one of zhese ancient rattle-traps. And zhen Triple Oh jumped out of the door and left me alone wiz zhis maniac.'

Triple Oh guffawed. 'Theo stole Murga's aircraft,' he told me. 'As I said, flying is easier than steering a horse.'

'Where is the Storch now?' he asked Theo. 'I don't want the Germans suspecting Erika had anything to do with us.'

'I landed on the road two kilometres from here,' Theo said in his squeaky voice. 'We pushed it into the hedge and set it on fire,'

'Well met,' Erika said with a big grin as we were introduced. 'There is a small delay while we establish a double nexus. So we have prepared a meal and we have a keg of good German ale.'

By the smell of her breath, Erika had already sampled the ale.

'Duncan MacPhun, my good friend,' Triple Oh said, 'wouldst thou imitate the action of the eagle and warn us of the approach of Murga's misbegotten minions?'

'By the great greek goose Grog! . . . Ah suppose there's no enough time for a wee drop of ale.'

'Thou mayst indulge thy thirst when we are ready to depart. Go now and swiftly fly.'

Dunc waddled through the door grumbling about working his wings off while everyone one else was enjoying themselves.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until Erika took us to the kitchen where we found plates of ham and eggs, bread, cake and fresh white butter.

About an hour later, Dunc called in on my radio earpiece. 'Ah canna see a thing moving on the roads. Is it okay if Ah come in for a bite o' food and some ale?'

I relayed the message to Triple Oh who agreed and within minutes Dunc waddled through the doorway. He quickly swallowed some toasted bread washed down with beer which Theo poured into a dish.

Triple Oh was speaking to Kozak. 'I do not wish to leave all that uranium oxide unattended in the truck. Wouldst thou be so kind and return it to Murga's place? I suspect Murga's henchmen will take care of it from there.'

'But what about your promise?' Kozak complained. 'You said I could go 'ome if I 'elped you arrest Murga.'

'Erika will help thee return to thine own time and place. Now be on thy way, afore some of these Gestapo poltroons start looking for Murga.'

Kozak gave me the keys to his apartment on Ottawa, so I could collect my own clothes, and we shook hands. I gave him a hug. 'I am enchanted to 'av' met you,' he said shyly. 'Maybe we may meet again.'

I felt an unexpected surge of emotion. This could be the last time we saw each other.

'Likewise,' I choked. I looked at Triple Oh and suddenly realized, that with Murga's arrest and my parents rescued, our adventures were coming to an end.   I might not see either of them again.

We waved goodbye to Kozak as he drove the truck away with the drums of uranium oxide. When we returned to the kitchen it was already lit up with a nexus connected to some time in the future. Theo wheeled the still unconscious Murga into the light and they vanished. I was about to follow him but Triple Oh stopped me. 'Thou hast another destination,' he said. 'Silverwood School is not available so we have directed the nexus to Kozak's lodging.'

The nexus shut down and, for a minute, it was ominously quiet. I began to worry that it would not reconnect and we would be stuck in Germany but just then it started up again with the usual scintillating blue-green light. Triple Oh checked his hand held instrument before nodding. 'We may go forth.'

We walked into the light and came out into Kozak's six floor apartment. The place was deserted but oddly comforting. I hugged Mom and Dad in delight. After months of anxiety my family was finally home. Triple Oh followed, beaming with pleasure, and even uncle Dunc showed his satisfaction with a soft oik, guloik-oik.

Beryl came clomping through burdened by her steel helmet, field gray greatcoat, two Schmeissers and three packs slung across her shoulders.

'What do you have in those bags?' I asked in surprise.

She laughed. 'Souvenirs, three Luger pistols and about a hundred rounds of 9 millimetre ammo.'

'Do you really need all that military hardware?'

'Sure do,' she grinned. 'It's worth a small fortune on Ebay.'

She cupped a hand around her mouth and looked around conspiratorially.

'Don't tell Triple Oh . . . I still have Kozak's knock-out ammo.'