In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove

Author:Harry Turtledove
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2003-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

When Heinrich Gimpel found something he could sink his teeth into, he worked like a man possessed. His surroundings all but disappeared, leaving nothing but the numbers he was manipulating, his right hand dancing on the calculator or the keypad of the computer keyboard, and the figures going up on the screen.

The only reason he looked up from this particular blitz of calculations was to take another sheet full of raw data out of his in-box. When he did, he saw the office full of SS men in camouflage smocks, assault rifles at the ready. All the guns seemed to point straight at him.

He froze, the sheet of paper still between thumb and forefinger.

Willi Dorsch burst out laughing. A couple of the SS men grinned, too. “What’s the matter, Heinrich?” Willi said. “Didn’t you even notice them come in?”

“Uh, no,” Heinrich said sheepishly.

Willi laughed some more. “I didn’t think so. The way you were working there, the world could have ended, and you’d never have known the difference.”

What went through Heinrich’s mind was, Oh, thank God. Maybe they haven’t come for me, then. He took another, less horrified, look at the big, blond, hard-faced men. When he didn’t see them with eyes full of terror, the muzzles of their assault rifles pointed every which way.

“Uh—” He still couldn’t avoid that dismayed stutter. “What are they doing here, then?”

Before Willi could answer, Heinz Buckliger strode into the room.

Along with everybody else at a desk, Heinrich sprang to his feet. He drew himself up as straight as he could. His right arm shot out. “Heil Buckliger!” he bawled at the top of his lungs. He remained in place, frozen like a statue.

Casually, the Führer returned the salute. Even more casually, he waved to the men in the analysis section. “Relax,” he said, sounding much more like a human being than an icon. “This isn’t anything fancy. I’m here to pick somebody’s brain, that’s all.” He peered down at a piece of paper, then up, then down at the paper again. It’s an office plan, Heinrich realized. He’s comparing the plan to the room. And then, to his amazement, Buckliger’s eyes met his. “You’re Gimpel, nicht wahr?” the Führer said.

For a mad moment, Heinrich wanted to deny it. Clearly, that wouldn’t do. He managed to mumble, “Uh, ja, mein Führer.”

Heinz Buckliger seemed used to people mumbling and stammering when they spoke to him. “Good,” he said. “I want to talk with you about the Americans.” He snagged the chair by Heinrich’s desk with his ankle, pulled it closer, and sat down in it. “By how much can we reduce their assessment to let their economy breathe a little easier and still keep ours going?” Noticing Heinrich still stood at attention, he waved him to his chair. He also waved to the rest of the people in the office. “Relax, I told you. Go back to work. Pretend I’m not here.”

With those trigger-happy SS guards eyeing everybody, that wouldn’t be easy. Heinrich dizzily sank into his seat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.