Chapter 1

Angelika - Like an angel
Truda - Fighting woman
Varick - Protecting Ruler
Harman - Man of the army

The man moved through the shadows as if he were a part of them. Through many years of practice, it was now mere child’s play. Looking around the compound the man’s chiseled features searched for the container that held the doctor. After all these years they finally had a location on the man. Moving to the container the man broke the lock with practiced ease, only to find a note and a recording device inside.

Silently cursing his luck, the man grabbed both and faded back into the shadows as he made his way off the compound. Outside he was met by a woman who bore similar looks as the man, showing her what he’d found she too cursed, “The others aren’t going to be pleased.” She told the man. Nodding the man replied, “I know, imagine my displeasure at not finding him there.

Starting the jeep the woman drove them a little way to their cargo plane, inside they were met by two other tall blonde people with similar features. “What do you mean he wasn’t there?” The second male shouted.

“This was all, I’m afraid that he has duped us again,” The first male said. The note he held simply said play me to the end.

“Might as well listen to him mock us again,” the first female said.

Starting the device they listened to the voice of an older man, “My children, this was the closest you have come yet I applaud you. It has only taken twenty years for you to become as adept as you have. I know you want answers, I will provide the few that I can. You all are well over seventy years of age though you only appear to be in your twenties. This is a bi-product of the genetic manipulation experiment all those years ago.”

“I think that the doctor has finally lost his mind,” the until now silent second female said.

“No my dear Truda, one might say I have finally found it,” the voice replied, causing Truda’s mouth to gape.

“You bastard you have a live hook up to this!” She shouted at the voice.

“Yes and Varick I know you are tracing this though, I could tell you it is of no use, I know you’ll try,” The voice advised the oldest male in the room. “Now then if we may, please all sit.” all but the second male did as asked, his lean muscular body tense, on guard, his eyes darting everywhere. “Ah Harman, I should have known you never sit.”

The shortest of the group the first female a half a foot shorter than Truda her dirty blonde hair lying limp on her shoulder shook her head. “I suggest we hear him out,” she quietly said. “He is going to tell us no matter what, we might as well get it over with.”

“Thank you, Angelika, you at least...” the voice started.

“Do not thank me doctor, we all have better things to do than exchange pleasantries that none of us feel. I wish to be done with this, then get on with life such as it is.” Angelika said in hushed bitter tones. The voice sighed it had been so long since he’d actually seen them, since that last day in the late 50’s when he left them with an old friend.

“Yes, I will dispense with them also, as I said all four of you are the products of genetic manipulation. Though I am sure that one day your bodies will fail it won’t be for a very long time.”

“So what you are telling us is that we are damn near immortal?” Angelika spit out at him.

“Yes, in a sense you just might say that you heal far faster than anyone else, you are immune to almost all diseases, your perceptions are hundreds of times better than all. One might even go as far as to say that you are perfect.” The doctor’s voice proudly said. The four in the room looked at each other with wide eyed expressions.

“Seventy years old?! I do not believe you doctor, you have lied to us before to get us to do things for you. I am sure this is just another in a very long line of lies that you have told.” Varick the leader and eldest of the group spit out at the voice, when his trace led him to a impenetrable wall.

“I did try to warn you Varick but as a great leader you always have to have the facts, that I taught you all those years ago.” The doctor went on trying to explain further. “The fact that you are finally as advanced as you are, has prompted me to reveal all I can about you and your pasts, as well as my own, to a point.”

“Can we get on with this?!” Truda snapped, “What in the hell do you want of us now? I also believe that all of this is a lie so finish up so we can leave this hellish place!”

Sighing the doctor knew they were having a hard time believing him. “Alright, as you should know I was a doctor in Hitler’s army. I...”

“More lies! You would have to be over ninety to ninety-five years of age there is no way that you can convince me that you are that old,” snapped Varick. “I have had enough of this!” Varick and Angelika had started for the door when neither could move. “Release me you son of a bitch!” Varick was shouting.

“If you’ll listen, then I will but if you refuse, then I am afraid that I will have to keep you that way.” The older man’s voice replied.

“Let’s sit brother,” Angelika told him with a sigh, “he’s going to prattle on no matter what.”

“Not prattle my dear Angelika, I just thought after all this time now that you are where I hoped you’d be, and you deserved a reward.” The doctor explained.

“Reward!? A reward for what? Failing to kill your ass again?” Harman shouted raising his fist in the air. “You’ve been a bane to us for as long as I can remember. Now you spout these lies? Bah! I’d rather hear the previous lies than these!”

Sighing again the doctor thought a moment and started again with a new tactic, “Alright you are all students of history especially the second great war. Have any of you by chance ever heard mention of a Dr. Johann Bauer?”

“Of course. Harman started, “he was a biologist that was killed in the early stages of genetic work ... that ... he, NO! I refuse to believe that you are him!” The other three in the room turned to stare at Harman.

“What are you going on about Harman?” His sister Truda asked.

“He claims that he is Johann Bauer! Lies, all lies he was killed when his lab exploded in 1942 killing him and all his assistants, no bodies were ever found. They also said that there were others there that the Doctor had been experimenting on. I ... NO!” Harman screamed as he grasp his head a terrible searing pain lacing its way through his brain. “Nicht mehr Doktor bitte es weh tut! [No more Doctor please it hurts!]

“Harman? What have you done to him Doctor?” A worried Truda asked.

“I only allowed him a memory that has been suppressed for a very long time. He’ll be right in a moment.” The Doctor replied.

Breathing hard Harman slowly got off the floor, “I will kill you for what you did to us you sadistic son of a bitch!”

The others could only stare at him, “I have told you too much already but there is a task that you can do for you not me. I know you all want to have children but seemingly can’t. That I am afraid is also my doing, though I can tell you that one of you specifically you Angelika has had a child.”

Angelika’s eyes opened wide as distant memories suddenly assailed her mind. “Yes that’s why you have a deep lonely longing within you. He is a strong man, one that I cannot even control, one day soon you four will also be that way, I will leave you these memories so that you can start to rebuild who and what you are. Harman you are the key, be well my children ‘til I can see you again if ever.”

In the silence that ensued the four could only stare at the recording device. If what the doctor had said was true, then they were well over seventy-three years old! “I cannot believe what he is saying” Truda broke the silence, “He has told us lies before I don’t know why he expects us to believe even a word of this, right brother?”

“Es ist in Ordnung, Schwester, ich glaube, dass er einmal die Wahrheit sprach.” Harman grabbed his throat not believing what was coming out of his mouth. [It’s okay, sister, I believe that he once spoke the truth.]

“My god I can actually understand that Harman can you stop?” Varick asked a moment later.

“Ich bin mir nicht sicher,” Harman started then cleared his throat, “Verdammt ich kann nicht scheinen to get my speech right.” [I’m not sure, ... Damn I cannot seem... ]

“God, I thought you’d be speaking that all night.” His sister Truda stated.

Sitting, they all looked at Varick, “obviously he has decided to reveal some of our past to us. Though I am wondering why, guilt? Fear? We may never know he said that Harman is the key. What can you remember after he did that to you?”

“I was on a cold examination table, there were several doctors around me poking and prodding me. It all started when the doctor stuck a huge needle in my arm. After that they were doing a huge battery of tests.”

Varick’s eyes flew wide as he too was seeing an almost identical scene being played out in his mind. The pain had been unbearable at times as he and his sister were passed at most of the time. Looking at his sister Varick could see that his sister was seeing the same exact scenes, though he could see that she was also reliving the pain.

Looking at Harman and Truda they too were reliving all the experiments though it seemed to be hitting Truda a lot harder. Varick could see that they needed to get the hell out of there as soon as possible before they started to collapse.

Motioning to the others they went to lay down as he went to start the plane, they didn’t have a lot of time to get clear of here. Finally airborne, Varick set the auto pilot and laid back in the seat, he could hear the others in the throes of the pain and dreams that he knew would be hitting him soon; he just hoped he could resist long enough to get them back.

A sigh went up from his lips he should have seen, the signs were clearer each time he saw more ‘til now it was the first thing he looked for. Adjusting the flight plan he could only wait now for whatever was coming to overtake his senses.

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

Alan Gance looked over the financials for the company, hmmm things were looking good with this acquisition, the company might move into the top 10 in the world money wise. Bob the office manager came by a moment later, “Alan you need to get this notarized NOW! Then we’ll be set for the meeting in twenty minutes you need to hurry!”

Alan nodded and hurried out, this was an important deal and would set Alan for a long-time good thing no one else knew about it. Coming back ten minutes later everything on his desk was gone! Pissed as hell he started to reach for the phone when he had a vision of Bob taking everything and laughing saying that the little piss ant Alan didn’t have the balls to call him out on whose work it was. This would make Bob a partner and he’d be set for life.

Walking into the meeting Alan was seething, as Bob walked by, he stopped beside Alan and thanked him then laughed when Alan told him to enjoy it, because it wouldn’t last. “What do you think you’re going to do? I know exactly what everything on here is, it’s mine and you can’t stop me! You little maggot! I’ll step on you if you open your mouth!”

Alan sat down his anger almost palatable looking at Bob take all the hard work he’d done over the last year. All in the possession of the man Alan had thought a friend. Alan sat at the far end of the table his face blood red the anger building higher and higher.

Bob stepped to the podium and opened his mouth the speak, Alan was thinking don’t do it it’s not yours! Alan heard the man laughing in his mind, <The little shit all he’d have to have said was it was his to the CEO and the man would have taken his word for it, he was on thin ice with the man.> “I wish to present my...”

Alan was screaming NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in his mind directly at Bob, who gagged looked straight at Alan then fell to the carpet, blood flowing from his eyes, ears and mouth pooling in a quickly expanding puddle. Several of the women were screaming as were a few of the men. Alan was just sitting there no emotion nothing as he had felt Bob’s heart explode.

The CEO looked around the room and spotted Alan sitting there his eyes dull and lifeless. Hmmm interesting the man thought I might have to investigate the man more haven’t seen anything like this in a long time he thought. Alan wasn’t exactly sure what had happened.

He hadn’t wanted the man dead he just wanted the man to stop, and not to steal what was his. Alan sat there through all the chaos that ensued as the brightly colored EMT’s came and took the body out, almost as if on auto pilot Alan left the room when they were all told that they could leave now.

Alan looked at the clock it said 3:30 he almost stopped at his desk but kept going to the elevator. Getting in he rode all the way to the bottom floor exiting he was moving across the room when a blonde man with chiseled features moved past him to the elevator.

Alan stopped as if he’d been shocked, he’d felt that once before though he couldn’t seem to remember when. Considering most of his memories weren’t that good, he’d lost the good people raising him at a young age. In and out of foster homes, beat unmercifully in the orphanages no one believing him, the orphanages were good places, the nice people didn’t beat the children.

Finally beat so bad that he was almost catatonic, the last three places he’d been were investigated, and all the staff at all three places were arrested the last he’d heard most of them had been killed in prison the inmates really pissed about them abusing the children in their charge. Finally, Alan was placed in a decent home though they didn’t have that much, but they gave Alan the one thing that he’d dreamed of his short life love and a haven to come home to.

Being extremely brilliant it was soon found that Alan had a way with numbers. Years later he was accepted to a prestigious University but by then the damage had been done. Quiet and withdrawn Alan was often picked on ‘til he learned to almost move without making a sound, he graduated at the very top of his class with marks higher than any other.