Napier, Bill by The Furies

Author:The Furies [Furies, The]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“I met your father,” Goering said. “He fought with distinction on the northwest sector, repulsing the Bolsheviks around the Neva. He has a good reputation as a soldier.”

“He’s also a very good father, Reichsmarschall.”

“And which is more important, my dear? To be a good father or a good soldier?”

The bastard’s toying with her, I thought. But Daniela was answering smoothly, a lighthearted smile on her face. “A National Socialist father protects both family and country, Reichsmarschall. Since the two are intertwined, your question is meaningless.”

Goering slapped a fat thigh, laughing. “Would you listen to her, Heinrici!”

The drone was now overhead. They had come in huge numbers; their roar dominated everything in the room, reducing it to insignificance. Goering stood up, his face grim with the overhead passage of his Nemesis. “You cannot return to Berlin tonight. You will stay here as my guests. But before you are shown to your rooms, there’s something I would like you to see. Come quickly, and bring your wine.” Goering crooked his arm invitingly at Daniela and forced a smile.

Daniela took it. “You’re too kind, Reichsmarschall.”

“No, I’m too old.” She managed a half laugh. Then Goering led her out of the room, along a corridor, and into a big elevator. The rest of us, not knowing what to expect, followed.

The room was at the top of the lodge, and it was dark, and Goering was now wheezing. Servants opened the shutters. Goering and Daniela shared a window, and I found myself momentarily squeezed up against the Gestapo man. My flesh crept.

Now the distant whump-whump-whump of the bombs began to reach us, almost merging into a steady thunder, over-lain with the crackling of the AA guns. Searchlights were probing the sky, and light cloud was reflecting white parachute flares and crimson flames. Suddenly a number of searchlight beams congregated to a point, predators homing in on a prey. Moments later little parabolae of white light rose lazily from the ground, fireflies converging to the spot defined by the searchlights. The darkness in the room began to be broken by flashes of light as if flashbulbs were going off.

“They’re going for the administrative center,” Heinrici said.

“God, not the Tiergarten.” I had never seen such a demonstration of raw power; it was awesome. What chance did we have against that? I wondered why Goering wanted us to see it.

“I hope they don’t get the Opera House,” Goering said. “I heard Bruckner’s Romantic Symphony there last year. What a wonderful final movement! Do you like music, my dear?”

There was a giggle in the dark. “I used to like American jazz, Reichsmarschall, before they called it degenerate.”

You’re pushing your luck, Daniela! But there was only a harsh laugh, and the distant sound of war.

Orange flickering lights were beginning to play along the horizon. So far as I could make out, central Berlin was turning into a sea of smoky, red and yellow flames. I watched, hypnotized. How long the raid went on I didn’t know; maybe half an hour.

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