Transition Plan Chapter 87: Searching for Jeanne Part 5

Author's Note: While we take a rest from the physical duress Jeanne has been experiencing as a captive, in this chapter everyone is in severe mental turmoil as the outcome of the ransom demands become clear. A 'tip of the hat' this time goes to guest reviewer Megan Lyle for consistent cheerful encouragement of my writing. Thank you! :)

...

…Mid December 1914…

Karl-Heinz sat at the radiotelegraph operator's desk at the German Garua base about 2 am, cracked his knuckles, took a deep breath, and sipped some fresh coffee, one of the few good things from the officers' mess. It was grown and harvested locally. He flipped a couple of switches and dialed back the power on the Garua Station's transmitter signal, disconnected the omnidirectional tower antenna, and cranked a handle to point the directional dish antenna toward the British-controlled commercial Wireless station at Douala on the Kamerun coast. He was assuring that any enemy listening posts would think the station in that coastal city was transmitting his next message. That would really confound Jacot and the rest of the French Army, he smiled evilly. The pencil beam signal from Garua would only be picked up by the Douala radiotelegraph that would be used as a purloined transmitter to the rest of the world. Karl-Heinz knew from daily habits of the radio operators there that the night shift operator at Douala was taking an outside cigarette break and that he and Gunter had 30 minutes to get this to work.

He tapped a couple of tests through the special set up with Douala. On the receiving unit next to him, the key clacked with only a slight delay later. The voltmeter in Garua showed a strong connection with the telegraph in Douala. He had complete control of their transmitter. It was clear this was going to work. No one would know the message came from Garua.

He took the note from Gunter that was deliberately written in doubletalk to protect the parties except those who knew, and tapped quickly in French on the keypad:

Monsieur Armand,

Greetings. Your long wait is over for the item you desire the most. It's now time to purchase its safe return.

Here is our party's request for reimbursement through the war reparations treaty for the costs of the large item you destroyed in Kamina and the return of your property we now possess: 14 million Deutschmarks. A mere drop in the bucket for your management to accept. Remember: anything less than the total request and we will keep the merchandise.

Regrettably, the transaction will be more expensive than originally planned because of the devaluation of our currency due to war and the pain your unruly item has caused us along the way.

Payment must be in cash or gold. Delivery will be in Rio Muni on February 14, 1915. Be there. Alone and unarmed. Or the item you desire will suffer irreparable damage right in front of you.

Looking forward to doing business with you monsieur.

Upon confirmation of payment we will give you more details.

Two Guys from Kamina

…

Colonel Jacot ripped the paper tape off the spindle and sat down absolutely stunned at his desk at his arrival at dawn, reading the transcribed message from the night before. He desperately searched for a decimal point between the one and the four. For months he read reams of messages, many which had military value, but nothing on the subject that mattered the most to him. And now he wished he had not seen the message. The amount of the demand was staggering, almost 50% more than the original ransom. Ten million Deutschmarks was a hard enough challenge to get the French government to agree to pay German kidnappers. Fourteen million was another matter altogether.

"Merde," the Colonel thought. Quatorze million… Ce n'est pas possible…"

He shook his head in dismay at the upped ransom demand for Jeanne. He could not conceive of a reason for them to keep her, unless… he didn't want to even think of that. The only encouraging thing in the whole message is that she was resisting them and aggravating Karl-Heinz.

He thought with a half-smile, "That's my tough girl…"

But he kept his strong confidence in his superior officers. Months ago they'd promised to help in every way they could. They promised to get her back.

Rio Muni was Spanish colony and officially neutral. There was no way to get a fighting force in there and it would be an international incident with Spain if he did and got caught, and would probably persuade Spain to join Germany. France could ill afford to have wars on its eastern and western borders. The deadline was barely time to get there by ship from Dahomey to Rio Muni. The demand would drain nearly all of the reserves of the French Army in Africa. It was clear the kidnappers had every possibility covered. These were very intelligent foes. He had to get this message to the General right away, and he carefully worded his request to fulfill the ransom demands carefully as to not appear too desperate with the terms. The General would be back in his office later today and he made an appointment with his Aide-de-Camp.

Telling his wife was another matter. Josephine and Armand had spent many worrisome hours discussing the wording of possible reply messages he could send once the ransom note was received, and how he needed to conduct himself requesting the ransom from the General. The 14 million Deutschmark price tag for Jeanne's safe return was truly staggering and it changed everything.

He couldn't escape the thought that he'd never see Jeanne again and that brand new baby Michelle might have to be a replacement for Jeanne, but he quickly shook that terrible, desperate thought from his mind. No parent should ever think such a thing about any child, he berated himself.

With the ransom demand raised so high, suddenly he didn't have a clue what or how to tell Josephine this additionally troubling news.

…

When Jack wasn't isolated in his treehouse bedroom, he was at the family's Wireless set, reading every message from all the countries at war in Africa. Sometimes he was alone, but most of the time he was with Grandpa Porter, who spent a lot of time there with him to keep his eye on his increasingly withdrawn and quiet grandson for Tarzan and Jane at their request. Tarzan joined them when he was not busy helping Jane with the twins and with Lily.

The wait for the formal ransom note was agonizing. The Battle in Kamerun and across Europe raged and chaos reigned with hundreds of messages to decipher every day, and he was grateful for Archimedes' help, which kept his confidence up. But in regard to Jeanne's kidnapping and ransom, it had been silent ever since the original handwritten kidnapping message. Jack realized he was not alone in his anguish over lost children. Many families were torn apart everywhere in Europe and Africa and the Middle East, and there were hundreds of pleas for help or assistance in finding separated children and parents. It seemed heartless, but only one lost child mattered to him. He just wanted to see the kidnappers' ultimatum, but he was very worried. In the greater scheme of things, Jeanne was just one more missing girl, even if she was a certifiable war hero daughter of a war hero father. She wasn't so special, considering the more serious matters of the French and English Armies winning the war against Germany and Austria.

It looked hopeless for Jeanne's recovery. But he kept waiting and searching.

One day he saw what he was waiting for, was utterly shocked at what he read, and instantly fell more into despair than ever before, because the terms of the ransom were even worse than he ever imagined.

"Oh no!" Jack and Archimedes said to each other simultaneously, reading the same demand at their home station within minutes what the Colonel had received.

Jack fought back the urge to fall apart, and said very sadly, "Grandpa, the French will never pay 14 million Deutschmarks, will they? Even for Jeanne."

Archimedes knew the kidnappers had made the ransom beyond the realm of possibility for the French Army. The French probably wouldn't pay that even for their Prime Minister. No little girl was worth that much to the French government, no matter that she was the only child of the man who turned the tide of battle in the French and British African campaign. It seemed to the Professor the men wanted to keep her, not give her back. Why?

But Archimedes couldn't tell Jack that and cause him more heartbreak, "I don't know. Colonel Jacot is a national hero to them, Jack. Let's hope they will. For all of our sakes."

Jack only nodded and hoped. He trusted his grandfather.

…

Armand's discussion with Josephine later that day had the effect he feared most. A fountain of tears erupted from his shattered wife's eyes, clutching their tiny new baby.

"Do you think the General will agree to this?" she asked nervously after composing herself.

Armand tried to be confident for them both so she would continue to have hope, "I know the General will support me. He owes me for Kamina. The German communications are in chaos in Africa because of me and my men. After taking Togoland, things are turning our way now, even with the first setback to the Brits at Garua. The allies are planning a counteroffensive at Garua next spring. There are rumors that the Belgium is going to join the fight and if they do we'll have a new front from the Belgian Congo in the east and then Kamerun will be ours. Without my sabotage of the Kamina station, our forces would be in far worse shape."

Josephine asked more confidently, "Did he say 'yes' to the ransom?"

Armand answered, "We talked today when I gave him the message and my analysis of the request, and he said he'd make a decision after he talks to Headquarters in Paris. That will take awhile. None of our Wireless stations are as powerful as Kamina was. The demands have to be relayed from here to Timbuktu, to Algeria, across the Mediterranean to Cyprus, and then to Marseilles."

Josephine breathed a little easier for once, "Thank you Armand. I hope this is the beginning of the end of this nightmare. I am so glad it's just you and me dealing with this and are rid of those English jungle people. I wish we'd never gotten mixed up with them."

Armand tried to explain, "Well… we needed the Count's skills. It's ironic that Jack was actually was the hero."

She gave him a bitter expression, "Don't ever say that Armand. The Viscount is no hero in my mind."

"Yes dear," Armand acceded. He didn't need another fight over this ever-sensitive subject, so he dropped the topic.

"We need to be patient now. And pray," she admitted, cuddling her new child gently, with a slightly worried smile for the newborn.

Michelle was born prematurely in the base hospital and had a lot of colds and illnesses, although none were life-threatening. Josephine's milk had not come in completely and although she could nurse she was forced to supplement with some kind of liquefied vegetable substitute the natives used, which was in short supply in the Dahomey port city despite its size and civilized nature. The little girl was often colicky as a result. Armand knew everything that had happened to the new mother and daughter was because of Josephine's debilitating stress over Jeanne. Josephine was more prone to illnesses herself. It worried her a lot more than she confided to Armand.

…

A few days later, the General called the expectant Colonel his office, and said very seriously while they sat across from each other at the General's large wooden desk, "Colonel Jacot. I've talked to everyone in the chain of command all the way to Paris. You are the best soldier we have in Africa. Your gallantry and bravery has been noted at every level of the organization, and the destruction of Kamina has dealt an irreversible loss to the German Army's campaign in East Africa. We all sympathize with you as a parent in the abduction of your daughter Jeanne, and sincerely want to help recover her. The country owes you much for all your sacrifices."

From his tone Armand knew what was coming. He dreaded the next sentence.

"But not by paying a ransom of fourteen million Deutschmarks to the enemy, Colonel."

"Why not?" Armand asked tersely and bitterly disappointed.

The General stood up, and sat in the chair next to Armand. He reached out to Armand as the friends they were, not as soldiers, "I'm sorry Armand, but that is simply too much money, there are so many more important national matters now. Things are not going well in Europe. This new tactic called trench warfare is draining us of money and people. There's a stalemate on both sides. We could be bogged down in this never-ending battle for years. The equivalent of fourteen million Deutschmarks in French francs would fund an entire Army Division for a year, Colonel. I know Jeanne is the most important little girl in the world to you, but do you know how many missing people there are because of the fighting? Thousands. What if we paid the Germans a ransom like that for everyone one of those French citizens?"

The answer needn't be said.

Armand asked seriously and he reverted to formality, "So what are you going to do, General?"

The General ignored the disappointed father's tone, "Because you are a special case, and have been so valuable to our African campaign, and we can really consider your daughter a prisoner of war, I am authorized to pay Jeanne's captors 1 million Deutschmarks. That is bad precedent in itself, and against the Field Marshal's better judgment, but I was very persuasive for you, Armand. You're my friend as well as my best warrior. I hope the press doesn't get hold of this – paying Germany any money while we are in all-out war with them and our boys are dying by the hundreds every day."

"But sir…"

The General was quite apologetic but had to remain firm, "I am very sorry Colonel Jacot. Your mission with the Count has completely disrupted German operations across the continent. This response does not seem fair to you, I know. You are a true hero. And so were Jeanne and Count Clayton's boy – even if it was highly irregular for them to join the fight. If it was my money, you'd have it all right now. Maybe you should ask the Count for help with the rest – he's a very wealthy man. I understand your daughter and his son are close friends."

Armand knew that suggestion would go absolutely nowhere with Josephine. Even though he knew that was the right answer and that the generous Count would figure out some way to pay it. In some of the more civil moments on the trail back from Kamina, Armand knew that sum was beyond the wealthy nobleman's immediate ability to pay from cash reserves but he could eventually get the money for her.

The General continued, "I know your daughter's well-being is on the line here, Armand. But there are so many missing children out there. We can't do this for everyone. It's a war, Armand. You have to understand Headquarters' point of view. I am counting on the Germans being desperate for any funding, and that 1 million will appease them. The Deutschmark is getting more worthless by the day. Any money at all should be attractive to them."

The Colonel knew the General was rationalizing Headquarters' unfeeling position on this matter. Armand grumbled in barely repressed ridicule, "If she was the Field Marshal's daughter, it all would be paid..."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, Colonel," the General snapped, "As I said, 1 million Deutschmarks. That's it. The rest is up to you to get. I'm sorry Armand. I did the best I could. And like before, give no mention of your military background in your response."

Embittered, but grateful that the General had in fact gotten some money instead of nothing, Armand simply said tersely, "Yes sir. Thank you sir. I am grateful to you sir. But I know the answer to our 1 million counter offer already. I do this with great reservation, General, but will follow this order as I have always done. But after the war, sir, you shall have my immediate resignation. Assuming I live through whatever the war has yet to bring us."

The General was extremely upset at this abrupt, highly emotional declaration, so unlike the disciplined Colonel, but Armand was a highly principled man and dedicated to his family. The General conceded he probably would have done the same. He knew he could not increase the offer, and knew his best Colonel would never give in, so he had to answer the ultimatum in only one way, "As you wish, Colonel. But I would not want to raise two little girls and a wife on a post-war French Army pension, even at a Colonel's grade."

"I will make do, General. You know I always do," Armand said through thin lips.

There was dead silence between the two men. Their friendship was strained to the breaking point, and neither wanted to say anything else to cross that line.

"May I be dismissed, General?" Armand asked impatiently.

"Since there seems to be nothing left to discuss, Colonel, yes. Dismissed," answered the General.

Jacot saluted his superior officer tersely, whirled, and left.

The General sat back in his chair and sighed, steepling his fingers before him pensively. He knew he had lost more than his best Special Operations commander. He had lost a friend.

…

Josephine was completely crushed to hear the news at home.

"Oh Armand, our poor little girl. Only one million Deutschmarks? They will turn it down immediately," she barely choked out the words.

"It's better than nothing. The General tried his best. We can't afford this ourselves, Jo," Armand warned his bride, "If what kidnappers say is true and keep her as a slave if we don't pay, we will have to do something else."

He touched their new daughter Michelle suckling quietly at her mother's breast. Josephine had managed to get her milk volume up with a lot of work over the past few days. The little girl was getting stronger and healthier. Josephine's state of mind was only improving a little, and the latest turn of events wasn't going to help.

Josephine misinterpreted what her husband implied and snapped, "We are not going to replace Jeanne with this baby, Armand. Or another baby."

"I never said that, cherie. Perhaps the Count will help since our own people will not. He did offer."

Josephine shouted angrily, startling Michelle into crying, "NO! Never! We will never be beholden to them for anything. I would rather have Jeanne captive and find some other way to get her back than ask them for help. Especially more help from his animal boy brat."

Josephine was so blindly irrational that she was giving up their only chance at getting Jeanne back by simply asking one of the richest men in the world to supply the balance of the terms of the ransom.

Armand tried to talk some sense to her, "Jo. Please listen to me. Their boy saved her in the jungle when she was lost and he brought her back to us from her depression with his kindness. We need to ask them. We have to ask them. Can we let our little girl suffer any more?"

Josephine was resolved to a fault, "And then he promptly lost her again… maybe forever. No. I can't forgive. I refuse to ask them."

She wept hard and would not let Armand console her or convince her. Armand knew her state of mind was very fragile. Things that would have made sense to a person not so emotionally disturbed did not make sense to her in this state. He could not insist, and he would not go behind her back to get help from the Count. That would send her over the edge completely.

It was the same argument they had been quarreling about for months. Her health, her new baby's health, and their precious love together were suffering terribly. She knew. And she increasingly knew her stubbornness was really not right. But she held on.

She said softly, "Honey. I… I'm sorry. I know I have fought with you for weeks. No… months. Please. We can't let this tear us apart. You have to understand, I just can't accept their help even if it hurts her too. What Jack did was… was unforgiveable."

Armand acquiesced to her again, "All right, Jo. Let's just send the reply and see what happens."

They hugged and tried to pick up the pieces. There was yet another way, that under these circumstances was becoming increasingly more likely, but he dared not discuss it with Josephine because she would just as vehemently forbid it as asking for and accepting money from the Clayton's.