Worlds Collide [The Man In The High Castle]

13

The three of us walked into the Chancellery building, knowing we were quite possibly walking toward a guillotine. We were stopped at the door by one of Heusmann's men. "I have a warrant for Obergruppenführer Smith's arrest."

Joe stepped forward. "He has crucial intelligence for the Chancellor, let us go."

"With all due respect, I am following orders," the officer told him, taking another step toward us.

"I am countermanding those orders," Joe said, his voice rising threateningly. "On my authority." The man starred Joe down for a moment, then stepped back and let us into the war room. Joe grabbed my hand as we walked through the door, squeezing it reassuringly.

Inside the room was bustling as everyone prepared for the impending missile strike. The screen on the wall showed the targets, and my heart beat faster just looking at it. If this didn't work, so many people were going to die. "What is this, Josef?" Martin asked, looking up as we came into the room. My arm dropped to the messenger bag I was carrying, the folders I'd brought felt like a brick. I'd brought every thing I had collected on Heusmann, just in case.

"Enemy intelligence," Joe told him. "It will take ten minutes of your time, but it could change everything."

I watched my father step forward with the film. I couldn't deny that I was curious to see it, to decide for myself whether it was one of the films. There was a shuffling as the film was put into the projector. Everyone mumbling amongst themselves, tensions high.

Then the screen lit up, a tropical island somewhere, obviously within Japanese territory. "What you're seeing is the test of a nuclear weapon known as a hydrogen bomb," my father explained from the other side of the room. It only took a few moments for the bomb to be dropped, the smoke, the explosion, and the fallout. It was awful. Worse than any of the old pictures I'd seen from before. Worse than the memory I had of the DC bomb.

"It's hard to say when this test took place," John continued. "Possibly years ago."

"They could have built many more," someone said from the back of the room.

Himmler shook his head. "It would only take one to level Berlin."

"We still have the advantage," Martin snapped. He motioned for Joe to follow him out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, I reached for the folder in my bag. My father crossed toward me, zoning in on it. "You never sleep, do you?" He asked, tone light, despite everything around us.

I shook my head sheepishly. "You know I can't turn her off." He pulled out a folder of his own, and I couldn't help but smile. Despite our differences we really were just the same. One step ahead of the game every time.

He stopped Himmler. "Reichsführer, there's something else you should see." We stepped outside. John presented his file. "You may find this hard to believe, but up until two days ago Obergruppenführer Heydrich was alive and in my custody. Under interrogation he revealed a conspiracy, a far-reaching one."

I held out my own file. "In case Heydrich's word isn't enough, I have damning evidence on Chancellor Heusmann," I explained. "Communications with Japanese officials, prior to the attempt on the Crown Prince's life. Missile specs and military plans." I paused before adding, "And extensive research on poison. The same poison that was found in the Führer's bloodstream."

Himmler's eyes widened in alarm. "How did you come about these documents, Ms. Smith?"

"He hid them well, but he clearly didn't expect someone to be digging around his personal office," I said with a shrug. "But I'm a spy, it's what I do." I glanced at my dad for a moment. "It helps that I know a thing or two about where important men like to hide things."

I watched as Himmler flicked through the file for a moment before nodding. "Come with me, both of you." He walked quickly toward the Chancellor's office.

My father bumped my arm lightly with his. "Remind me to reorganize my office when we get back to New York." I smirked.

I could hear Joe and Martin arguing before the doors were even opened. I hadn't told Joe everything and I wished that I had, this wasn't going to be pretty. "What's this?" Martin asked, looking up. We were flanked by half a dozen officers with guns.

"Acting Chancellor Huessman, you are under arrest for high treason and the murder of our Führer," Himmler addressed him. Joe locked eyes with me across the room as officers secured his arms behind his back. I shot him a pleading look, begging him to understand. I did what I had to do.

Martin looked at me as they dragged him from the room. "I should have known you would be just as much trouble as your father," he spat. "A spy will turn on anyone."

I grabbed Joe's arm as he passed me. He looked conflicted, unsure whether to feel betrayed or not. "Please cooperate," I implored. "You haven't done anything wrong, I'll make sure they know that. You told me you'd trust me." They took him away before I had the chance to see if he really understood.

"Joe will forgive you," my dad said, touching my arm lightly. "He loves you too much not to."

Himmler walked past us, motioning for us to follow. The doors across the hall opened revealing the Volkshalle packed with people. I'd almost forgotten Martin had scheduled a speech to announce the war. I hung back in the hall as my father stepped forward. This was going to be televised and I couldn't risk my face being on every television screen across the world.

As I listened to Himmler's speech announcing Heusmann's treachery, I felt like Athena again, all righteous power and strength. It had been a long time since I'd felt this good about doing work for the Reich. I told myself it was simply because Artemis couldn't save the world if there wasn't any of it left. But part of me liked the power. It was what had drawn me to it in the first place, why I'd gone through the recruitment process, why I'd stomached every terrible test. I was the goddess of war, but sometimes those wars weren't fought on the outside.

OoOoO

My father appeared in the doorway. I glanced up curiously. He nodded for me to follow him. "There's something I think you're going to want to see." He led me to the bottom floor of the Chancellery without saying anything. It felt like this night would never end. There'd been meetings and debriefings and in between I'd been hunting down anyone who could tell me if Joe was okay.

We descended down a set of stairs into a sort of cellar. It was dark, lit only by a few small bulbs. The officers guarding the doors opened them for us. The two of us walked in alone, my eyes widening at the sight. "I know you're interested in the films."

I spun around, taking in all the shelves. Row after row of films. I had heard Hitler collected them, but this was more than I could ever imagine. I turned back to my father; there was a curiosity in his eyes as well, though fainter and less sure. Wherever the film of the hydrogen bomb had come from, it had sparked something in him.

I opened my mouth, suddenly wanting to tell him everything, about Artemis and the Resistance and the films I'd seen. But despite it all, I was still scared. Not of him, but for him. I could never put him in the position to decide between the Reich and me, because I knew it would kill him. He'd already lost one child to them; I wasn't sure what he'd do if he realized he might lose another.

"Will you take Athena back?" I asked instead.

He looked surprised, but pulled me in for a hug. "Of course I will," he said quietly. "But you'll always be my daughter first."