replied, his voice shrill with numb fear. "It was an hallucination. A trick of the eyes."
Right then, they made a solemn pact. Never again would they discuss with anyone that they had seen a man walk on the water.
33
Chapter Five
The Reich Palast
The celebration had lasted all through the night and now into the early morning.
It had begun as a rather stately gathering. The Fourth Reich had carried a passion for such things with them from Europe, and so they never missed an opportunity to create a formal affair. The excuse this time: the air pirates-Itchy, Bone and the crew of twenty from the jumbo jet-were to be feted at a welcoming dinner.
As soon as the initial business overtures were completed at the airport, the air pirates found themselves riding in a string of stretch limousines, roaring through the small quaint streets of Bummer Four. A full military escort of NS
motorcycle troops and scout cars led the way, sirens screaming.
The short parade ended at the Reich Palast-loosely, the "Empire Palace"-which was the ceremonial seat of the Bundeswehr Four government. Huge, ornate, and imposing, the white concrete building was the first structure built by the Fourth Reich after establishing Bummer Four. Modeled after the late 1930s'
Reichstag, the Reich Palast was by far the largest building within the thousands of square miles of the military district.
The ceremony was held inside the building's main dining room. A long white marble table had been set for the fifty participants, half being members of the Cherrybusters, the other half high officers of the Fourth Reich. At the head of
34
the table was the perilously thin, ghostly pale man of sixty who was the supreme commander of the entire Bundeswehr Four, the one they called the Erste Herrscher, or First Governor. His face and mind bearing scars from a half dozen major wars, the First Governor was known far and wide as the most tyrannical of all conquered America's Fourth Reich military rulers. He frequently bragged about having no conscience, no shame, no fear. His life, he said, was of total service to the Fourth Reich. Nothing else mattered.
He read a long, rambling welcoming statement, one which arrogantly recapitulated his fairly substantial contribution in organizing and executing important elements of the Fourth Reich's secret invasion force. Then he lectured the air pirates on the benefits of living the fascist life. Finally he announced that he would soon be leaving for a trip. His destination was Fuhrerstadt, the city to the south that was once known as St. Louis and Football City, but that was now the capital city for all of Fourth Reich America. His purpose for the trip was to attend the wedding ceremony of the Amerikafuhrer, the top Nazi official in the occupied lands.
Once his speech was done, a lavish meal of broiled lamb, boiled cabbage and potatoes steamed in apple jelly was laid on. The wine flowed fast and furiously during the meal, and afterward, tankards of ale were brought on for the hosts and guests.
Crude and unschooled in the art of diplomacy, Bone and Itchy nevertheless knew a return gift was in order. They had a brief discussion and then Bone broke out one of the many two-pound bags of cocaine he'd just traded for. Tapping out two enormous lines of the nose candy, he offered his gold-plated coke spoon to the nearest Fourth Reich officer.
At first, the high-nose fascists were taken aback by the act. For many, the only benefit of cocaine was in its trade value. It was something only the lower forms of human life indulged in.
But then the First Governor, drunk on wine and ale, 35
stepped up to Bone's place at the table, leaned over and took a long noisy sniff of cocaine.
"Fein als wein," he declared, signaling that snorting the drug was politically correct-at least on this night.
The two-pound bag was gone in less than an hour.
It was around midnight when the First Governor called for the young girls.
There were thirty of them in
Right then, they made a solemn pact. Never again would they discuss with anyone that they had seen a man walk on the water.
33
Chapter Five
The Reich Palast
The celebration had lasted all through the night and now into the early morning.
It had begun as a rather stately gathering. The Fourth Reich had carried a passion for such things with them from Europe, and so they never missed an opportunity to create a formal affair. The excuse this time: the air pirates-Itchy, Bone and the crew of twenty from the jumbo jet-were to be feted at a welcoming dinner.
As soon as the initial business overtures were completed at the airport, the air pirates found themselves riding in a string of stretch limousines, roaring through the small quaint streets of Bummer Four. A full military escort of NS
motorcycle troops and scout cars led the way, sirens screaming.
The short parade ended at the Reich Palast-loosely, the "Empire Palace"-which was the ceremonial seat of the Bundeswehr Four government. Huge, ornate, and imposing, the white concrete building was the first structure built by the Fourth Reich after establishing Bummer Four. Modeled after the late 1930s'
Reichstag, the Reich Palast was by far the largest building within the thousands of square miles of the military district.
The ceremony was held inside the building's main dining room. A long white marble table had been set for the fifty participants, half being members of the Cherrybusters, the other half high officers of the Fourth Reich. At the head of
34
the table was the perilously thin, ghostly pale man of sixty who was the supreme commander of the entire Bundeswehr Four, the one they called the Erste Herrscher, or First Governor. His face and mind bearing scars from a half dozen major wars, the First Governor was known far and wide as the most tyrannical of all conquered America's Fourth Reich military rulers. He frequently bragged about having no conscience, no shame, no fear. His life, he said, was of total service to the Fourth Reich. Nothing else mattered.
He read a long, rambling welcoming statement, one which arrogantly recapitulated his fairly substantial contribution in organizing and executing important elements of the Fourth Reich's secret invasion force. Then he lectured the air pirates on the benefits of living the fascist life. Finally he announced that he would soon be leaving for a trip. His destination was Fuhrerstadt, the city to the south that was once known as St. Louis and Football City, but that was now the capital city for all of Fourth Reich America. His purpose for the trip was to attend the wedding ceremony of the Amerikafuhrer, the top Nazi official in the occupied lands.
Once his speech was done, a lavish meal of broiled lamb, boiled cabbage and potatoes steamed in apple jelly was laid on. The wine flowed fast and furiously during the meal, and afterward, tankards of ale were brought on for the hosts and guests.
Crude and unschooled in the art of diplomacy, Bone and Itchy nevertheless knew a return gift was in order. They had a brief discussion and then Bone broke out one of the many two-pound bags of cocaine he'd just traded for. Tapping out two enormous lines of the nose candy, he offered his gold-plated coke spoon to the nearest Fourth Reich officer.
At first, the high-nose fascists were taken aback by the act. For many, the only benefit of cocaine was in its trade value. It was something only the lower forms of human life indulged in.
But then the First Governor, drunk on wine and ale, 35
stepped up to Bone's place at the table, leaned over and took a long noisy sniff of cocaine.
"Fein als wein," he declared, signaling that snorting the drug was politically correct-at least on this night.
The two-pound bag was gone in less than an hour.
It was around midnight when the First Governor called for the young girls.
There were thirty of them in
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