Jennifer quietly went back into the room and found Olbermann. Max and Jonathan followed a few minutes later staying close to the door. She crossed the room noticing his interest in some of the art that was on the wall. The situation was tricky and Jennifer, along with her considerable charm, had to be one hundred percent. She took a deep breath before approaching him.
"Heir Federkewicz." She said
Olbermann turned and smiled cordially, "Yes."
"Mary Bailey." She extended her hand and thought it best to use an alias at this juncture, "I am a fan of your considerable body of work and was wondering if I could interview you for a series of articles I am doing on significant historical events of the twentieth century."
"Well, I'm flattered Ms. Bailey but could we do it another time?" He asked eyeing her with an air of caution
"Well, I really would like to pick your …brain…and I am leaving tomorrow to return to the states." She explained
"Alright then." He agreed
Jennifer smiled, "Good." She said, "This way." And with that they crossed the room as Max and Jonathan quickly exited
They walked across the hall to a small office. Olbermann was puzzled upon seeing Max and Jonathan, "Who are they?" he turned to Jennifer
"Oh, this is my husband, Arthur." She explained, "And this is his uncle, Morris."
"Young lady, what exactly is going on here?"
"Oh, relax heir Federkewicz. They just wanted to sit in on my interview." She sat down in a chair
Olbermann stammered, "Oh, well, alright then, I suppose?" He took a seat
"Good." She said smiling that winning smile that only those closest to her would know what it hid beneath the surface, "Well, I think I'll start with some questions about Word War II."
Olbermann's head snapped and he looked her in the eye, "World War II? What about it?"
"Well, I am particularly interested in your opinion of what should happen to Nazi War criminals who have never been brought to justice." She said almost savoring the words in anticipation of seeing him squirm
"Well….I uh…I really don't know, so many of them would probably be dead now anyway." He stammered
"What about those who aren't?" She replied
"Young lady what is this?" He was clearly getting agitated
"I just want your opinion on a major historical event in world history, that's all."
Jonathan approached him, "We would really like to know. What do you think, Heir Federkewicz, should happen to those who were an integral part of the annihilation of millions of people, simply because of their race?"
"That's…that's difficult to say, so many years have passed, even if one was still alive what good would it do now?"
"What good?" Jonathan asked, "Oh I don't think there's a statute of limitations on genocide, Professor, do you?" He paused, "Incidentally, do you know of any who are still alive?"
"Well…no…not really."
"Oh, I think you do." Jonathan closed in on him, "You've been made, Heir Olbermann."
Olbermann could hardly hide his rage, "What is this?" He got up and crossed the room
Jonathan and Max backed him up against the wall, "We know who you are and there's nowhere to hide." Jonathan sneered
"I am Johan Federkewicz, a scholar on world history." He explained
Jonathan smirked, "No, you're not. Did you really think you could go on forever pretending, Olbermann? We've been after you for decades, you monster."
Olbermann mustered all the strength his seventy odd years could manage and pushed Jonathan away and grabbed a dagger from behind him on the wall just as Max helped Jonathan up. Jonathan and Olbermann began a twisted dance, Olbermann jabbing at him and Jonathan managing to move away at just the right moment until Olbermann backed up and made a running start. Just as Jonathan moved to the side and reached for a syringe to inject him with a tranquilizer Olbermann went straight to Jennifer and before she could move rammed the dagger into her just under her breast bone and ran out of the room, down the hall and out the main door before anyone could stop him.
Jennifer lay on the floor screaming and crying, "Oh God, my baby, my baby."
Jonathan immediately went to her, "It's alright, Darling." He cradled her against his chest, pressing his handkerchief to the wound. Dark red blood oozed through the lighter red material of her dress. He looked up to see Max already on the phone calling an ambulance
"We need an ambulance at the American Embassy right away. We have an injured pregnant woman." He spoke into the phone, "Alright, Thank you." He hung up
"What did they say, Max?"
"They're on their way." He assured him looking at Jennifer with concern and pain in his eyes, "What about Olbermann?"
"Damn it, Max! I don't care about him right now." Jonathan snapped. He held Jennifer tighter, "It's alright, they'll be here soon."
"Sorry, Jonathan." Max apologized, "I'll go wait for the ambulance."
Jonathan nodded as Max walked past them out the door. Jennifer's breathing was rapid and shallow and tears continued stream down her face, "Oh, Jonathan, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about that now. Just hang in there until the ambulance gets here."
As she nodded they heard the ambulance pull up and a commotion out in the hall. They were going to have to somehow explain this. Their plan had been to subdue him and sneak him out but that had gone completely awry. As Jennifer was put on the stretcher and put in the ambulance Jonathan got in with her and left Max to explain, somehow what happened and to call Wainwright. He wasn't going to be happy about this for myriad reasons. Jennifer was injured and aside from a professional respect for her as an agent, having known her and her father for years, he felt protective.
A few hours later Jonathan waited anxiously in the emergency room at the American hospital. He paced then sat down, paced some more and sat down again. Finally the doctor came out and Jonathan was immediately on his feet.
"Doctor how is my wife?" He asked
"Mr. …Hart is it?" He asked and Jonathan nodded, "Your wife is going to be alright. We've treated the wound and she's resting."
"She's pregnant, what about the baby?" Jonathan replied
"Mr. Hart she did lose a lot of blood and it's too soon to tell what effects it will have on the baby, if any. But the good thing is, she didn't miscarry. She needs to stay here a few days so we can monitor both her and the baby's vitals."
"You can do that so early in a pregnancy?"
The doctor smiled, "Yes, we can and we'll do everything to make sure it's alright."
"I know you will." Jonathan assured him, "Can I see her?"
"Well, she's resting but I don't see why not. We'll be moving her soon to a regular room." The doctor explained, "She's down this hall in the second bed on the left."
"Thank you." Jonathan said and headed down the hall
He pulled the curtain back and she was lying there with an IV. She was in a hospital gown and her dress was lying on the back of the chair. She looked so pale and fragile. Jonathan choked back tears as he took a seat in the chair beside and took her hand.
She stirred at his touch and slowly opened her eyes and began to cry, "Oh Jonathan, I am so sorry." Her body began to shake with sobs
"Darling, this isn't your fault." He soothed, kissing her hand, "Just relax and do what they tell you."
"It is my fault." She replied, "I could have stayed home and if I had, our baby would be safe."
He smiled slightly, "Hey, that is one tough kid we've got." He reached out and ran his hand over the covers where her abdomen was, "It's going to take a lot more than that to bring down a Hart."
She smiled weakly, "I love you so much."
"I love you too." He replied, "Now you get some sleep and I'll be here in the morning, I promise."
"Alright."
"That's my girl." He got up and kissed her forehead, "Good night, my darling."
"Good night." She whispered and the pain medication began to kick in and she drifted back to sleep
Jonathan returned to the waiting room to find Max nervously pacing almost where he left off, "Hey Kid, how is she?"
"She's alright. They want to keep her here a few days to monitor the baby. But it's good she didn't' miscarry. I guess that's one tough kid we've got."
Max patted Jonathan's shoulder, "That's one tough wife you got."
Jonathan nodded in agreement, "But my tough as nails wife isn't going to like what I'm about to do."
TBC