SCENARIO TWO

THE MAJOR, THE RUSSIAN, AND THE NEO NAZI

THE MAJOR

Klaus was vaguely aware of being dragged into an office and thrust into a chair. He had put up one hell of a fight, but had been seriously outnumbered and was finally subdued by a sharp blow to the back of the head. Manacles were being attached to his hands and feet and he realized that he was being put in body chains. Obviously, his captors weren't taking any further chances. He was surprised and annoyed when a gag was thrust in his mouth and he was blindfolded before finally being lashed into the chair. No, they definitely weren't taking any more chances.

"That should hold him," a voice said with a laugh.

Klaus recognized this voice as belonging to one of the men he had been fighting with, although he had no idea what his name was.

"Good. See if the gentlemen are here yet," another voice replied.

This voice Klaus did know. It belonged to a man named Hans, although he knew this to be a fake. A Neo Nazi he had been trying to track down. Somehow, the bastard had been able to cut him off from his men and capture him. He wasn't sure how long he'd been held, having been locked in what he assumed must have been the basement level of the building he was in. He had waited until his captors tried to move him before attempting an escape. Unfortunately, this had ended with his probably receiving a minor concussion.

"They're here," the first man said calmly.

"Excellent. Show them in," Hans replied

Klaus heard the door open on what must have been the far side of the room. More unfamiliar voices filtered in. The door was closed and a new voice spoke.

"I thought you said Major Eberbach was unharmed," the newcomer said calmly—in Russian. Up until this point, everyone had been speaking German.

Klaus stiffened visibly. KGB? Since when did they do business with Neo Nazis?

"Don't worry, Ivan, he didn't suffer any permanent damage," Hans replied. "He tried to put up a fight."

Klaus could hear the smugness in his voice. Fucking Nazi bugger. I'll bet you enjoyed that, too.

"I don't believe I know your associate," Hans went on, a distinct edge coming to his voice.

The Russian switched to German as he said, "This is Mr. Johnson. He's not one of my associates, he's one of yours."

Klaus could not hear the exact reply, but it was obvious Hans was dubious of this fact.

"You don't think he's Aryan enough?" Ivan went on.

"He looks like a fag."

Ivan laughed at this. "He's supposed to. He's infiltrating the Gay Pride Parade next week."

"You're the mole?" Hans said in surprise.

There was no reply, and Klaus assumed the man must have nodded when Hans went on to say, "I never would've known you were one of us. You have my sympathies, having to pretend to be one of those degenerates. I hope you blow them all to Kingdom come."

Klaus felt his heart miss a beat. This was the information he had been seeking when he was captured. There had been bits and pieces from scattered sources, but nothing concrete. Now he knew exactly what was being planned and had no way of letting anyone know.

"Do you have the money?" Hans asked suddenly.

"As agreed," Ivan replied.

Klaus stiffened. I'm being sold? The KGB must really want to get their hands on me to negotiate with these bastards. He heard a solid thump that must've been a briefcase of some sort being placed on a desk. There was the snap of a lock, a creak of hinges, followed by Hans giving a satisfied grunt. I hope you got a good price for me, Nazi bastard.

"If you would untie him from the chair," Ivan said mildly. "And the key to the cuffs would be nice, too."

"You're not thinking of letting him go," an unknown voice replied.

"What kind of a fool do you take me for?" the Russian snapped impatiently.

Klaus remained unmoving as the ropes securing him to the chair were removed. If the KGB was going to take him, he was not going to make it easy for them. They were going to have to drag him from the room.

Suddenly the door burst open and a panicked voice called, "Hans! The building's being surrounded by NATO!"

About bloody time, Klaus thought in relief. What the hell took them so long?

"What?" Hans gasped.

There was a great deal of commotion in the room as the occupants clamored to the windows.

"You morons!" Ivan snarled. "I thought you were supposed to be professionals!"

Klaus wasn't sure what happened next. There was movement across the room that must have been where the windows were located. He heard a sound like air escaping from a tire. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of bodies hitting the floor.

"Get the safe open," Ivan ordered suddenly.

"Consider it done."

Klaus didn't think he could be surprised further, and concluded that he had been wrong when he heard the familiar English accent. Eroica! Dammit, when did you start cooperating with the KGB? Then another thought struck him. Was it really the KGB or someone pretending to be? He heard papers on the desk being rifled through, undoubtedly by Ivan looking for something specific.

"What am I looking for?" Eroica asked.

"No time," Ivan replied. "Take everything."

Whoever this Ivan is, he's definitely a pro, Klaus thought. That's exactly what I would do. Then he realized what the sound had been earlier. Eroica had used his signature knockout gas on the Neo Nazis.

"Done. Let's get the hell out of here," Eroica said, his voice moving closer as he spoke. He had his hand on the gag when Ivan snapped, "Don't!"

"What?" Eroica gasped, echoing Klaus's thoughts.

"You take that out of his mouth, he'll be shouting his head off."

Klaus bit down on the gag in his mouth. You wish. You just want to humiliate me, fucking commie.

There was a long pause as Eroica apparently thought this over. "Fine, have it your way," he said tersely. "I'm taking these things off his ankles, though."

"Don't complain to me if he kicks you in the teeth."

Eroica gave a disgusted snort. Then Klaus heard him catch his breath. At some point during the fight, he had injured his ankle. It had been swelling painfully, and Klaus was grateful to have the manacle removed.

"What's the matter now?" Ivan snapped impatiently.

"His ankle's swollen." Eroica got to his feet. He ignored the Russian's protests, removing the gag from Klaus's mouth. "Major, can you stand?"

"Standing isn't a problem," Klaus replied quietly, hoping this would piss off the Russian. "It's walking I don't know about."

"I'll help you."

Before Klaus could voice his thoughts on this, he heard Ivan give a disgusted snort. "No wonder the West is in decay," the Russian said. "You're all soft."

So, you are KGB. Klaus gritted his teeth, a groan escaping him as Eroica helped him to his feet. "What's your code name?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Ivan the Terrible."

Klaus stiffened visibly and wished his hands were free so he could strangle Eroica. "You bloody idiot thief!" he snapped angrily. "You sold me out to the KGB!"

"Not exactly," Eroica replied mildly. "I agreed to help steal some information in exchange for you."

"And you trust this KGB bastard will keep his promises?"

"Probably as much as you trust me, Major," Eroica said as he pulled Klaus forward.

Trust you! Where the hell did you get the idea that I trust you? Then Klaus realized that was exactly the point. Eroica was trying to tell him that he did not trust the KGB. So why was he cooperating with them?

Klaus fell silent, allowing Eroica to help him from the room and out into a corridor. He could barely put any weight on his ankle and wondered if it were broken. He heard more voices and was glad that they did not stop. He lost track of where Ivan was, which concerned him. The last thing he wanted was a KGB agent at his back.

It wasn't until Klaus heard the lift doors opening that Eroica spoke again. "You're not going to keep your side of the bargain, are you, Comrade?"

Klaus heard Ivan give a snicker in reply. Stupid limey. You should've realized that. The next thing he knew, Eroica was giving him a shove. His injured ankle gave way underneath him and he gave an involuntary cry of pain before ending up on the floor inside the lift. Then he heard the same hiss as inside the office.

"Thing is, Comrade, I wasn't going to keep my side either," Eroica said calmly.

Klaus heard the Russian give an angry gurgle before there was a solid thump. Then Eroica was jumping through the doors as they started to close.

Klaus rolled onto his back, but with his hands chained against his body was unable to sit up. "Get me off this bloody floor," his growled.

"Not yet."

Klaus was about to protest when he heard Eroica say, "Mission accomplished."

To Klaus's added surprise, Agent A replied. "Is the Major with you, Lord Gloria?"

"Yes. We're in position."

"Shall be begin the operation?"

Klaus gave an impatient growl. "Get this damn thing off my face," he snapped.

Eroica pulled off the blindfold and then held out the radio unit.

"A! Whatever you lot have planned, do it! Or I'll have you all shipped off to Alaska!" Klaus thundered.

"Yes, sir!"

Klaus had never heard A sound so delighted to be threatened with Alaska. Perhaps he should think of somewhere else. The Arctic Circle was promising.

"We're ready, sir," A announced. "Hang on."

Klaus didn't have a chance to ask what he meant before the lift seemed to drop out from under him, plummeting he did not know how many floors before jolting to a halt. He was glad he was already on the floor, otherwise he would have ended up in a crumpled heap. Eroica went to the door and locked it open.

"Sit tight, Major," Eroica said calmly, vanishing through the doors.

Klaus heard the other lifts opening, followed by a click. He nodded approvingly. Eroica was locking all the lifts on this level, leaving only the stairwells as a means of escape.

"Mr. A," Eroica said into the radio unit, "lockdown complete."

"Tell him to concentrate on the stairwells," Klaus ordered.

"I heard," A replied.

"The Major will need medical attention," Eroica informed. "He has an injured ankle that might be broken."

There as a short pause during which Klaus could imagine his alphabets panicking. "We'll be down to collect you both once the building is secure," A replied.

Eroica knelt down, making short work of the cuffs on Klaus's wrists, going on to remove the chain from around his waist. Then he sat down and leaning back against the wall. "Mission accomplished, Major," he said mildly, holding out the officer's gun.

"Where did you find that?" Klaus asked as he sat up and took the weapon, quickly checking it over.

"In the safe with all this lovely information," Eroica replied with a grin, holding out several thick envelopes.

Klaus nodded approvingly. Then he looked at the thief properly for the first time. For Eroica, he was dressed remarkably conservative, and his hair was quite short. "How did you get all your hair under that?" he asked.

A pause. "I didn't."

Klaus blinked, looking at the thief in shock. "You cut your hair?"

"Oh, Major," Eroica sighed.

"You cut your hair, cooperated with the KGB, masqueraded as a Neo Nazi, and walked into the Lion's den… Why?"

"If you have to ask, it's not worth repeating."

"You're gonna say it's because you love me, aren't you?" Klaus said in a disbelieving tone, receiving a nod.

"Major, I'd walk on hot coals to save you," came the forceful reply.

Klaus stared into Eroica's enormous blue eyes. He looked completely sincere. He had to be. He cut his hair to save me! The Goddamn, shallow, self-centered, son-of-a-bitch actually did something selfless for…

"Oh, hell."

So saying, Klaus took the stunned Eroica's face in his hands and kissed him.