Chapter 12
Alex sat in her locked compartment with the book in her hand. The map and coordinates seem to go hand and hand. Next to the sketch of the Monet painting was a phrase, written in a dead Norse language. Luckily, her father was an advocate of dead languages.
To the north, to the land where the Sun does not sleep, where the valley meets the mountain of the Gods. Follow the fjord, to the land of Valhalla on Earth.
Valhalla, she thought to herself. As in the afterlife for Vikings slain in battle. This was a little to much for even her. She and Zach were raised on bedtime stories very similar to this. Valhalla on Earth. That was impossible, wasn't it? But there it was in her hand. Map and all. If the coordinates were correct, where they were going was to the extreme north of the country. The train would only take them so far.
Putting the book aside yet again, she pulled out the letters she had found. All of the envelopes were dated. The flap of each sealed with wax embossed with EKJ. Her mother's initials. She stared at them for a few minutes, wondering if she should open one. Under normal circumstances, she would not have. They were addressed to her father, pure and simple. But these were not normal circumstances. She wanted answers. Finally, curiosity won over, and she carefully opened her mother's letter dated 10, November, 1942.
Dear Indy,
It has only been two days since you left Berlin, and I am missing you terribly. Danger is everywhere and in everything. I never knew such evil could exist, and yet it does. Last night, I could not sleep. The sirens of the Gestapo doing their night time raids can be heard throughout the entire city. For the first time in a long time, I was frightened and I longed to have you with me and feel your arms around me. I feel so secure with you, and the world is a safer place because of you.
I'm proud of what you are doing, but last night, I wished we stayed in our own ivory tower and did not get involved. But then I think of what we are fighting for. If we don't succeed, we won't have an ivory tower to go home to. I know you were angry with me for leaving our children at home and coming here. But please understand, I had to. I wanted to be a part of this, because I would die before I let anything happen to you.
Axel feels we are still undetected, since we have not intercepted any communications suggesting something is amiss. Nor have our undercover agents heard anything. Nevertheless, the whole thing is so unnerving. Every time I hear that siren, I fear for everyone's wellbeing, and I worry about you. I constantly pray for you and your teams safety.
I then think about Alexandra and Zach, and how much they look like you, and how much they act like you. Strong willed and determined. I pray for this wicked war to be over soon, so we can go home and continue being parents. I miss our children, and you.
All my love,
Elizabeth
Alex closed the letter and placed it back in its envelope. Tears coursed slowly down her cheeks. These were not the words of an unfaithful wife. Alex suddenly felt ashamed for what she had said previously about her mother and the words she said to her father, but she still had unanswered questions. She put the first letter way, and was ready to pull out the second, when her compartment opened. It was James. With him was one of the hired mercenaries.
In a perfect German accent, he told her "This way, Ms. Jones." She passed Luke, and they made brief eye contact. She passed Sam Collins, and made it a point not to look in his direction. Perhaps if she had, she would have seen that the eye contact she made with Luke did not go unnoticed.
She was led to a train car with a table in the middle and a large map covering it. As she entered, she saw her father was already there. She wanted to run to him, but a menacing, strong hand gripped her shoulder and kept her where she was.
Indy was infuriated when he saw his girl wince in pain, "I would appreciate it if you removed your filthy hands from my daughter."
"You are not in a position to be giving orders, Dr. Jones," came a reply from behind him. Williamson made his way to the table, throwing a quick glance at Sam, "Collins, let go of Miss Jones." Sam listened and removed his hand. Four machine guns were trained on them and she decided to stay where she was.
Alex was directly across her father, who was at the head of the table. Sam Collins moved to her left and Williamson took his place on her right. "Does this map look familiar, Dr. Jones?"
Indy considered the map, and recognized it instantly. This was the same map that was in Axel Kilburne's secret basement headquarters. "Where did you get this?" For years he had thought the map had been destroyed to keep it out of Nazi hands.
"Oh, a very loyal British spy smuggled it out of the Kilburne place," Williamson answered. "Its been classified for years. I have just de-classified it."
Alex turned toward him and asked sarcastically, "Does England know you took that liberty?"
Williamson gave her a sharp look and answered her with a scowl, "You are a mouthy one, my dear. But, you will soon learn to appreciate what I'm doing. Or you will if you want your family to get out of this alive. Now what have you got for me?"
"Coordinates." She said, looking at her father, their eyes met, "They fit in here." She opened the book to the numbers and characters recorded by her mother.
"Very good," Williamson said, nodding, "What does it mean?"
"Kjelvik." She answered, "Now known as Nordkapp."
Sam Collins came to look at the map, "what, the name was changed?"
"Yes," Alex said, "in 1944, German forces destroyed Kjelvik. Which to them was just another small fishing village. If the lost continent does exist, they were in walking distance of it and never knew. Anyway, Kjelvik never fully recovered, and in 1950 changed its name to Nordkapp, meaning North Cape."
Indy was both impressed and proud of his daughter, "Kjelvik is first mentioned in 1518. It was also explored by Richard Chancellor in 1553. There were rumors over the centuries about what Richard Chancellor and his men actually found, but since there was only a small mention of it in an old manuscript, it was just dismissed as folklore."
"But you and your wife did not dismiss it as folklore, Doctor." Williamson offered.
"No, we didn't." Indy admitted, "It took us two years to piece together the research. By that time, US and British intelligence had intercepted a communication. Hitler was obsessed with the occult and was not dismissing the minute statement as a myth either. He was desperate for a way to win his war. I was approached by the government and I agreed to go and find the artifact, a talisman of some sorts. One that gives the person who bears it power of their enemies."
Sam Williamson asked, "What did the manuscript say?"
"This," Alex read it first in old Norse. Then she translated, "To the north, to the land where the Sun does not sleep, where the valley meets the mountain of the Gods. Follow the fjord, to the land of Valhalla on Earth."
"Your kidding, right?" Sam laughed, "Valhalla? As in Thor and Odin?"
"Shut up!" Demanded Williamson.
Sam continued to laugh, "Come on, Boss. This is pretty crazy, if you ask me."
"Are you really that dim-witted?" Alex asked, she could not help herself, "Of course your boss believes this. Why else are we here?"
"Dim-witted?" Sam angrily repeated, he took a step towards her.
But his boss gave him a look that stopped him, "Stop it!" He ordered. "Both of you." He gestured to the atlas again, "The train will only take us so far. Once we arrive in Nordkapp, we will be walking. You better rest up, because tomorrow we will say goodbye to small comforts as we leave the train."
Back in her compartment, Alex could not sleep. She was anxious about what was ahead of them. She decided to take out the second letter, dated 14, November 1942.
Dearest Indy,
We are getting disturbing confirmation regarding what is happening to the Jewish citizens of Europe. If these reports are correct, it is worst then we thought initially. While we knew that the Jews were in danger in Europe, nothing was able to prepare me for the intelligence being received. It makes me grateful that I was a part of removing Jewish children from Germany. I'm thankful we were able to get Lukas out. God knows what would have happened to him if he would have stayed.
I pray his mother is safe. Keeping her son safe was the very least I could do for her. Axel Kilburne is revolted by the acts of his countrymen, and the acts of his own son. He is heartbroken over his son and will never forgive him for standing up to be counted with the devil, as he calls it.
Please be safe, Indy. I love you so very much.
All my love,
Elizabeth
It took Alex a second to connect that Lukas, was in reality Luke. She never really thought about what would had happened in Europe had he stayed. He would have been killed for sure. She wordlessly thanked her Mother for rescuing him. As she thought about Luke, she smiled. He was unlike any boy she had ever met. She corrected herself, he did not act like a boy, because he was not a boy. All those years she knew him, she never noticed. But she was taking notice now, and she was enjoying what she was becoming aware of.
She read 9 more letters, one dated for 24, November 1942, confirmed that the Jewish population was indeed being exterminated.
Finally she got to the last letter. Dated 2, December 1942.
Darling,
We know there is a betrayer among us. The Nazis do not know we are aware. We have little time to clear the estate. Axel is determined to stay, we are working on convincing him to leave with us. By now, you have already been given orders to abandon the mission. Our best agents are in place to see you to safety.
Indy, there are false reports circulating about me. Please, do not believe them. I was never unfaithful to you, and I would not be. I'm positive I know who the traitor is, Edward Williamson. He is part of British Intelligence.
No matter what happens, I love you. The night before you left, you asked me a question and I changed the subject, because I did not want to answer you. But, YES, I want to have another child, in fact, I think I'm already pregnant. I did not want to tell you because I wanted to stay on the mission and to ensure your safety. Please don't be angry with me.
Johan, Axel's son, has made preparations for us to go underground. Catholic nuns are already hiding his daughter, along with two Jewish girls. It will take us a week or so to get forged documents. Then we will go into Switzerland.
If I don't make it, tell our children I loved them very much. Make sure they are happy, and let them be their own person. Know that I loved you more then any person could love another. I don't regret what I have done, because you are safe, which was my purpose all along. And don't you forget to be happy too, because you deserve all the happiness in the world.
All my love,
Elizabeth
For a few minutes, Alex sobbed like a child. It seemed like her mother knew she was not going to make it. How was her father going to react when he read this letter? They had not only lost a wife and a mother, but also an unborn child and sibling. Alex knew the pain she was feeling would not be anything compared to her father's pain. Then her grief turned to anger. Williamson, she seethed. If he was the traitor and Elizabeth knew, it would only make sense that Williamson would want her dead. HE was the reason she was gone.