ELEVEN

Adler walked into his office in city hall. He stepped over to his desk and looked at the notes his secretary had left for him. Somehow none of them seemed very important at the moment.

"You're late. You were supposed to be with me when I spoke to the Women's League. I had to handle it all by myself."

Adler spun around. Sperrle was standing in the doorway to his office smiling.

"Oh, uh, something came up," said Adler nervously. "I, uh, had to take care of some personal business."

"Personal business?" questioned Sperrle closing the door behind him. "What kind of personal business?"

"Oh, nothing important. Just some personal business."

"You never could lie to me. Why are you so nervous?"

"Nervous?" questioned Adler. "I. . .I'm not nervous."

"You're as nervous as the proverbial long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. What is it? What's going on?"

"There's nothing going on. Nothing at all."

Sperrle flashed his eyes at Adler. "Don't lie to me. I could always tell when you were lying. What could possibly make you so nervous."

Adler just stared at Sperrle. His eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly his eyes opened in recognition.

"You spoke to them, didn't you?"

"Them? Them who?"

"The Charmed Ones," said Sperrle. "They came to me, too. It seems they think they can stop me."

"They're the Charmed Ones, Sperrle. If half of what I've heard about them is true their power is incredible. They said they're going to stop you and then they're going to come after me."

"Simms," Sperrle said anxiously, and then calmed down almost immediately. "The name is Simms. You must really be shaken. It's been a long time since you made a mistake like that."

"Why couldn't we just stay in Argentina? I told you it was a mistake to come here. Americans will extradite Nazi war criminals, you know? Argentina doesn't. I warned you that if we came here someone would recognize us. And witches of all people."

"We've been here more than twenty years," said Sperrle. "And it was probably just coincidence that they recognized us. Plus Belthazor is with them."

"I know. He was with them."

"Well, witches don't concern me. Not even the so-called Charmed Ones. They may be witches but they're still human. And Belthazor was always lower in the hierarchy than I was. I was always more powerful. I can handle him."

"What about the witches?" Adler asked. "What are we going to do about them? If they expose us we could be in real trouble."

"After sixty years? Not very likely. We're much too young to have been in the Third Reich. No one would ever believe them."

"And what if they do? What if someone does listen to them? After the war the Allies collected a great many records from the Reich. It's very possible they have something that can identify us."

"I told you, I took care of all that before we left Berlin. There are no photographs or fingerprints or any other incriminating documents that can identify us with our past lives. All they could possibly have are some records with our names on them. Hardly enough to prove anything."

"What if they decide not to go to the authorities? What if they decide to come after us themselves?"

"I can handle some witches. Remember, only the Source was more powerful than I was. And only because he had the power of the underworld behind him. If not for that I could have vanquished him as well. A couple of witches are not a problem for me."

"What about me?" Adler asked. "I don't have your powers. I don't age because you make that possible. If they come after me I'll have no way to protect myself."

"My power will protect you as well. Don't worry. We have nothing to worry about from them. Or from Belthazor."

"You're not always around. Just like this morning. They showed up at your campaign headquarters while I was there alone. You can't be around all the time. What happens when they show up the next time? What am I supposed to do then?"

"This really has you shaken, doesn't it?" Sperrle asked. "Even after sixty years I still don't understand what motivates humans sometimes. I've all ready assured you that you'll be safe from the witches and still you insist on worry about it."

"That's why you keep me around. You told me when we left Berlin that you needed me to blend in with humanity. Otherwise you would have left me there."

"So it's a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. I get to live as a human, free from fear of the Source's bounty hunters and you get to live forever."

"It's anything but symbiotic."

"You seem to have done pretty well for yourself. I happen to know you have more money than you'll ever know what to do with. Your constant contributions to those charitable organizations notwithstanding. So it seems to me that it is quite the symbiotic relationship."

"And that's all about to come to an end. It's only a matter of time before the witches come after us. You power notwithstanding, you can't protect me if you're protecting yourself. And that leaves me vulnerable."

"I see. Well, it appears you aren't about to let this rest. What would you suggest?"

"Let's get out of here," said Adler. "Let's just chuck everything and go somewhere. Somewhere the witches won't find us."

"And where do you think that could be?" Sperrle asked. "Witches have the ability to scry. Plus they have a White Lighter who can go anywhere in the world without any trouble at all."

"What about this Overworld you've mentioned before? You said demons could go there without fear of reprisals. Kind of like a neutral zone for demons."

"The Overworld is not an option. It may be a safe haven for demons but if one of them learns who I really am they are very likely to tell the Source. Besides, it's a safe haven for demons. I can't speak for how they might treat a human."

"We have to do something," said Adler. "If we don't do anything they're going to come after us. And even with your powers you can't stop all of them."

"Then I suppose we'll just have to do something about them."

"Like what? You've told me about the prophecies on them. What can we possibly do about them?"

"We get them before they get us," said Sperrle smiling. "Remember, they are still human. They can be killed like any other human. And I can make sure the bodies are never found. All we have to do is wait until they're asleep. Individually they aren't much of a threat to me. It's the Power of Three that would be a danger. All I have to do is kill one of them and they won't have the Power of Three any longer. Then it will be a simple matter to finish the others."

"What about the demon? What about him? I doubt he's just going to stand around while you kill the witches. For some reason he seems to be working with them."

"As I said, Belthazor was never a match for me. I can handle Belthazor, too."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You can provide backup. You'll bring the gun you keep in your desk. If anyone tries to play hero while I'm dealing with them you can take care of them. Being human they aren't likely to see you as much of a threat."

"You want me to kill someone? I've never done that before."

"You've never had to," said Sperrle. "But you're the one who's so worried about the witches. If you want to make sure they aren't a threat you'll have to get your hands dirty. Now, get the gun and meet me in my office. We'll go in later tonight after they've gone to sleep. I should be able to finish one or possibly even two of them before they even know what's going on."

Sperrle turned and left Adler's office. Adler just watched him go without any expression on his face.