The End Times Saga Box Set: A Christian Fiction Series (Books 1 - 7)

Chapter 1

The task was finally finished.

Gregory Evans smiled at the thought of what he had accomplished as his assistants piled the remaining jewels, works of art, and other signs of wealth into the large, unmarked freight trucks. His deal with the Germans was that he was supposed to give them a run-down of the wealth that was taken from the Jews, and then the liquidated wealth would be turned over to the German government.

Gregory had different ideas.

He skimmed off the top, taking about fifteen percent of the wealth confiscated, which was a considerable amount. If anyone from the government was actually monitoring him, which included the Gestapo, they would have seen what he was doing, but because they weren’t, Gregory figured the Germans wouldn’t miss something they didn’t know existed. He told them what he thought they needed to know, but nothing more. The fifteen percent he skimmed was put into Swiss banks; none of whom asked questions. Later, Gregory would use his newly acquired wealth to amass power for himself, but for now, he had to deal with the Germans and their very mercurial leader.

Gregory came to Germany shortly before the United States had been dragged into the now Second World War because of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Gregory’s father thought sending him to Germany would be a good lesson in leadership and business skills. Gregory’s family was part of a global group of families who ran things behind the scenes.

The Evans’ made their fortune back when the Hudson Bay Company (among others) was profiting off of the New World and its colonization by various European countries. The Evans family also profited greatly from the wars in America, for example: when the British fought the French and Indians, or even when the American colonies declared their independence from England, the family’s focus was on their own personal wealth and power. For a brief period, there were worries from the people who profited off Europe that the French Revolution would ruin everything. Fortunately, their hopes for the future increased when Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, but was anticipations were short-lived when they realized no one could control him.

During the American Civil War, the Evans’ and their associates stoked passions on both sides as they profited from slavery and war. The Evans decided not to help the Confederacy when Lincoln suspended rights and had no problem wielding his supposedly limited powers to make the central government even stronger. It was generally understood, among the elite, that the American government would be easier to manipulate, and a whole lot easier to bribe, than the Confederacy. The Evans’ made lots of money off of Reconstruction, followed by the Gilded Age, and made real progress when they found Woodrow Wilson, and promoted him up to President of the United States shortly before the First World War. The Roaring ‘20’s were considered a setback to their goals, but after the forced Stock Market crash in 1929, Franklin Roosevelt was promoted to United States President, specifically to bring about big government.

The goal for the Evans’ and the others was to completely purge the United States of its Judeo-Christian leanings and replace it with something much more secular, preferably dominated by a strong central government with a few worthy persons (in the eyes of these power hungry families) in power. They knew that it may take decades, maybe even a century, but it would be done. The fairly recent Scopes Trial helped their cause immensely as far as pushing the United States towards becoming more secular, but more needed to be done. The Evans’ funded people like Margaret Sanger and Josef Mengele, knowing people like them would eventually coarsen a civilization by purging society of the so-called undesirables. For Sanger, that was black people, and for Mengele, it was anyone he experimented on in the concentration camps. They didn’t shy away from ridding society of the disabled and were looking for more efficient ways of doing so.

When Adolf Hitler came to power, he was ignored at first by the wealthy globalists, but when one of them read Mein Kampf, they decided his goals were worthwhile. The globalists were haters of Judaism and Christianity, but thought that taking down the Christians would be a task that required a long time to complete. For reasons the globalists didn’t understand, since anything of a spiritual nature was alien to them, the Jews were easy for most people on Earth to hate; so convincing Germans to kill all the ones they could find wasn’t that difficult of a task.

Gregory was raised to hate Jews and Christians. His father derided Christians mostly, complaining that if it weren’t for them, he could do whatever he wanted without someone whining about it not being ethical or telling him that if he didn’t repent from his sins, he’d go to Hell. Gregory’s father dismissed Christianity as nothing more than fairy tales and irrational superstition. Gregory never gave a moment’s thought to Christians; he had never interacted with them and never wanted to.

When Gregory came to Germany, the Germans were, of course, consumed with fighting the war. For the most part, all of the Jews and others, that the Germans considered undesirable, were already in the Camps; but no one was tallying up all of the wealth they had, so Gregory convinced the higher-ups in the Nazi government to let him do it.

It took him a better part of three years to gather up all of the confiscated wealth from across Germany, Poland, and the other German occupied lands, but he finally did it. Gregory was proud of his accomplishment and was looking forward to the day when he could use the wealth he skimmed to gain the power he wanted. For now though, he had to report to his so-called superiors to tell them about his accomplishment.

A few days later, after calculating the wealth that had been confiscated, Gregory was back in Berlin to report to his superior. The man he reported to was Heinrich Himmler, the second most powerful man in Germany right after Hitler. Gregory considered Himmler one of the smartest, if not the most dangerous man on Earth, while Hitler was outright crazy. In Gregory’s opinion, if it wasn’t for Himmler, Adolf Hitler would have gotten so far in such a short time. Gregory had to always be careful around both men; they were paranoid and weren’t afraid to kill a person on the spot if the two thought they were being betrayed. That kind of ruthlessness was what Gregory admired and hoped to emulate.

Gregory went into Himmler’s office, where he found Hitler sitting on one of the sofa’s in the spacious, darkly lit, office. The two stopped talking when he entered. Gregory felt an evil presence, giving him unexpected goose bumps. As usual, he dismissed it as paranoia. Himmler looked over at Gregory with his cold eyes, and said, I understand you’ve finished the project. Now that you’ve liquidated everything, how much actual cash do we have?

Germany now has enough cash to last ten more years without raising more taxes on the people. If the war ends in the next year or two, it might even last longer, Gregory replied.

Excellent. Once we crush the Russians, the Brits, and the Americans, we’ll raid their banks and mints, even Fort Knox, and then we’ll have enough money to last for a hundred years. After that, we can get rid of the Japanese. gushed Hitler.

Don’t count on that, Adolf. Have you seen what the Japanese have done to the Chinese and all those others under their thumbs? A war with them would take decades. It would be very expensive. Himmler warned.

Bah! No one is superior to us. No one! If the Allies invade us, they’ll be crushed like ants. The Americans can’t fight like real men and the Brits are too weakened to do anything. All they do is drop bombs on our cities and chase after us in North Africa, they’re no real threat. Victory is ours!

"Yes, yes, Mein Fuhrer. Our troops will fight to the death and bring down many millions of enemy soldiers with them. Now Mr. Evans, would you like to be in charge of captured enemy money once we conquer their lands?" Himmler asked.

Of course I would. I assume I have to wait until the war is over before I can take over this role?

Yes. The war should be over in a year or so. You won’t have to wait long,

"I look forward to it, Herr Himmler. What else would you like me to do?"

For now, we want you to monitor the money transactions here in Berlin to make sure no one skims off any for themselves. No one is to be trusted. Understood?

I understand. You have my complete loyalty, and I will do as you ask. Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Gregory walked out of the office.

Hitler returned his gaze to Himmler and said, Kill him when we win this war. If you don’t, he’ll cause trouble for us in the future,

"I understand, Mein Fuehrer. I will see to it."

Good. Now, I must return to my office. We still have a war to fight. Hitler abruptly rose from the couch and walked out of the office. Himmler dispensed with the usual Heil Hitler routine and went back to work.

******

Chapter 2

Three days later….

The Allies were preparing to land on various beaches in Normandy, France, for the massive invasion the Allies planned against Germany. The weather was awful, mostly foggy, but Eisenhower and his command staff thought now would be the perfect time to stage the invasion.

Charles Atwood found himself in one of the lead landing crafts, in the turbulent sea, and thought about how he found himself here after joining the Army on December 8, 1941.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, it shocked the then twenty-one year old Charles. He, like everyone else, had assumed they would attack only the Philippines, not Hawaii. He came from a family with a long line of service in the military; ever since the French and Indian War when one of Charles’ ancestors fought in the same outfit as George Washington. During the Revolution, other family members fought under Lightfoot Harry Lee. During the War Between the States, the Atwood’s served under General Robert E. Lee - until that day at Appomattox Courthouse. For the Atwood’s, the war was about states’ rights and not letting a central government bully people, since the Atwood’s never owned slaves, they were pretty much poor dirt farmers ever since the first Atwood arrived on Virginia soil back in the 1620’s.

The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, like many other men across the United States, Charles joined the Army, expecting to fight both the Germans and the Japanese. Now he found himself with thousands of others, on the way to bringing down Germany and Hitler.

Charles’ friend, Billy, who he met in basic training and had been in the same unit ever since, was saying something while Charles was in his fog of thought. Billy punched Charles in the arm, bringing him back to the present. What? What did you say?

I was saying that I’m looking forward to plugging some Krauts. How about you?

That’s why we’re here. Charles thought that maybe he should talk to Billy once again about accepting Jesus into his heart and getting saved before it was too late. Billy, have you asked Christ into your heart yet?

Billy’s mood darkened slightly. He sighed and replied, No, but like I said before, I want to get my life straightened out before I do. I got plenty of time,

You don’t know that. You could die at any moment. Jesus says….

Look man, Billy interrupted in a surprising flash of anger, leave me alone about it for now. When we get through this battle, then you should ask me again. Okay?

Fine…. Charles had tried again and failed. He had asked Billy the question every two or three months, but he was immovable. Charles prayed inwardly, Heavenly Father, please protect us from harm. I know that Billy isn’t saved and I’ve tried to lead him to you, but he won’t budge. Please guide the Allies to victory and bring us home safely. In your name, amen.

Okay, men, their sergeant interrupted, get ready. It’s almost time to get off this tub to fight. Remember to keep your heads down and rifles above your heads so they won’t get soaked by the water. then the sergeant received a signal just as the landing craft’s gate was lowering. Out! Out! Out! shouted the sergeant.

Come on, let’s get this party started! shouted Billy as he rushed out.

Charles followed him, hearing the whizzing of bullets, the sounds of guns pounding away on the battleships a few miles behind them, distant explosions, and the general sounds of battle. Within seconds, he heard a THWACK, followed by a grunt, and a splash. He looked over to where Billy had been standing seconds before. He looked down and saw his friend floating in the water, a bullet to the heart, and blood pooling around him. If he were anywhere else besides the biggest battle in world history, Charles would’ve broken down and cried for this lost soul, but he had a job to do, so he dragged Billy’s body to the beach in spite of the chaos around him, and then shouted for a Medic.

As he waited for the Medic, Charles prayed, not for Billy, since that would be pointless, but for his family and for protection in this battle, Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you this day in regret that I wasn’t able to lead Billy to you. If possible, please send someone back home to lead his family to you so that they may know you as their Savior. Please guide me and protect me as I fight in this battle and upcoming battles. Please protect and guide my family back home, and please help my leaders make wise decisions as they guide us through this war. Thank you. Thy will be done, in Jesus name, amen.

The Medic arrived, and asked, Is he dead?

Yeah. Can you make sure his body gets back to his family?

Not a problem. He’ll have to be gathered up with the hundreds of others who have already died, later on when the battle’s over. I suggest you get back into the battle, Corporal.

Right. Charles picked up his rifle and ran towards where the Germans were ensconced in their pillboxes, shooting at the Allied forces, while he began shooting back in spite of explosions around him, bullets whizzing past him, and his fellow soldiers being shot down.

Over a day later, after getting through German defenses on the beaches, the military units that landed at various spots finally linked up, and they went inland to clear the French countryside of German soldiers. Charles was thankful that he hadn’t been harmed, but knew many who had died during the battle, and he had no idea if they had accepted Christ. He hoped they had sometime in the past. Charles had accepted Christ when he was eight years old, one afternoon when he asked his Mom about how to get saved. She led him to the Lord and he got baptized two weeks later at the church their family had been going to since it was built back in the 1700’s.

Charles and his unit were now going from town to town clearing Germans as they made their way to Berlin. Sometimes, the German soldiers surrendered fairly easily, mostly because they were regular Army and had no Gestapo with them. Unfortunately, at other times, when a Gestapo agent was with a group of German soldiers, they fought to the death. Charles thought this was a shame, especially since dying for a lost cause was pointless, and more than likely, most of those men would probably never come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

In one of the many towns, they found resistance, Charles’ unit fought hard as they always did. They were almost through, when they discovered a sniper held up in the local church. Sergeant Jackson ordered Charles, Corporal Atwood, you and Corporals Feretti, Jones, and Snyder go take that guy out so we can move on,

But, he’s in a church…. Charles helpfully tried to point out.

Yeah, so? interrupted Jackson.

Isn’t it a bad idea to kill someone in a church?

This is war, so suck it up and do what I say. If you don’t, I’ll shoot you where you stand. Got it?

Yes, Sergeant. Okay guys, let’s go. Charles and the three headed, slowly, into the church to root out the German.

It took the four men more than thirty minutes to get into the church, because of the sniper raining bullets down on them, but they did manage to do it. Charles was thinking about the fact that he’d never actually been face to face with anyone he had killed in battle and began to wonder what he would do if he had to do it. The bell tower part of the church seemed to be where the German sniper was hiding. Charles’ heart began to race and his hands to sweat as he nervously made his way up the staircase. The German soldier, who was dressed as Waffen-SS, was perched near the window, taking potshots at the American troops. Charles quietly aimed his gun, which was equipped with a bayonet at the end, and ordered in German the only words he knew since coming to Europe, "Aufgeben! Übergabe! (Give up! Surrender!)"

The German turned around with an amused look on his face as he rose from his seat. It looked to Charles like the enemy soldier was the size of a linebacker on an NFL team back in the States, and about a foot taller than Charles, who was skinny and not very athletic. The German replied with some contempt in his voice, "Nein wie über Sie statt kapitulieren? (No, how about you surrender instead?)"

Charles understood the No, but the rest he didn’t grasp. The German kept talking while slowly approaching, giving Charles pause since he really didn’t want to kill the guy. His pounding heart and clammy palms weren’t helping. While he kept his eyes squarely focused on the German, he began to pray inwardly, Dear Heavenly Father, I do not want to kill this man. I need help! Charles ordered the German to surrender one more time, suggesting that he was serious by showing that he was ready to fire his weapon.

The German came within five feet of him when he saw Feretti, Jones, and Snyder appear, making him stop in his tracks. Snyder, whose ancestry was German, and had taken German in high school, told the Waffen-SS soldier to surrender. The two began talking back and forth in German, when Snyder finally said, He’ll surrender. He doesn’t want to die either, being surrounded by four Americans and all. He claims Germany will still win and that the four of us will soon be caught and executed. I told him to shove that idea where the sun don’t shine. The four laughed as they escorted the German outside and into the custody of American military police.

Charles was relieved that he didn’t have to kill a man face-to-face, and prayed, Heavenly Father, thank you for helping me out. I really didn’t want to kill a man that I was facing eye to eye. I pray that someone leads him to you if that’s in your will. Thank you for everything, please guide me on the right path, and please help me lead others to you. In your name I pray, amen.

A few months later, the United States Third Army, which Charles was now assigned to, after being transferred to the 80th Infantry Division, came to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp and began to liberate it. The 80th was sent by Headquarters to take control of the camp a few days later.

As the 80th was about to head out to the camp, Charles overheard soldiers from the 83rd talking about what they had seen. It was awful. The people there were almost like living skeletons with skin on them. The smell of death was overwhelming, there were hundreds of dead bodies stacked in mounds, and the stupid Krauts didn’t even care. I’ll never forget it in my life,

I have a hard time believing that. Who can be that cruel? asked Charles.

The Krauts, that’s who,

But, what about the regular German population, didn’t they try to stop it? asked a still unbelieving Charles.

Nope. They’re a bunch of sheep if you ask me, letting Hitler do whatever he wanted, and killing hundreds, if not thousands, of people without any consequences. Well, Hitler will get his, I can guarantee that. Just you wait and see, you won’t ever forget it when you see it.

Charles didn’t want to believe humans could be so cruel and unfeeling to each other. He thought the soldier he was talking to was exaggerating. Surely it couldn’t be that bad, he thought as he and his Division began to make their way towards Buchenwald.

He smelled the Camp long before he ever saw it with his own eyes. He also saw emaciated people walking past the Division going in the opposite direction, with distant looks in their eyes, in a sort of haunted manner, and practically dead to the goings-on of the world. It gave him a chill up his spine, but Charles still thought that what he heard about Buchenwald was exaggerated.

As they entered the Camp, Charles saw what he’d heard was no exaggeration. It horrified him and made him physically ill. He swallowed the bile and told himself to suck it up, because he had a job to do.

He saw the mounds of dead bodies everywhere and the overwhelming stink of death and decomposing bodies. There was sickly looking, emaciated people in tattered striped blue and gray clothing, some were even naked, aimlessly walking around, having no idea what to do with themselves now that they were free. Some, still having the presence of mind to know that Americans were now in the Camp to be liberators, descended on the soldiers, asking for cigarettes or something to eat that would be easy on their stomachs. The 80th Infantry did their best to give what they could.

Charles also saw what everyone else tends to see wherever there’s human suffering — the American media, descending on the suffering like vultures.

There was Edward R. Murrow, over by one of the stack of bodies, reporting for CBS News about what he saw. Over near the barracks, there were the Life magazine photographers taking pictures of the dead and dying, and even posing them for pictures to make it look more dramatic.

Charles was disgusted and began wondering why this happened to innocent people. Why on Earth would God allow this to happen? Why would a human do this to another human? He had no answers, even though he did read the Bible as often as he could, but if he could find a chaplain in the near future, he’d ask him. The answer had to be more than there was just evil in the world. Charles didn’t think there was much more that would shock him. He hoped there would be nothing worse than this.

Sergeant Jackson brought Charles out of his gloomy thoughts when he started giving orders once they were out of the trucks, Okay, everyone listen up. We’re going to have rotating four-hour shifts, mostly doing guard duty. You’ll also help where you can, like helping the nurses get these people cleaned up, for example. Feel free to tour this wretched place, get it solidly in your mind to see that nothing like this ever happens again. If you get overwhelmed, you can go out into the woods to clear your head or your stomach. We’ll be here until General Patton orders otherwise. Okay, get to work.

The orders given to Charles had him doing his stint on guard duty later in the day, so he and the others decided to take a tour of the concentration camp.

The conditions were awful everywhere, and as they were walking through buildings, a Corporal from another division walked past them, with a tinge of green on his face.

You okay? Charles asked

His Adam’s apple bobbed and he looked Charles in the eyes. You guys oughta see what I just saw. Them Krauts were burning bodies right on up ‘til we showed up and we finally managed to get the durned thing turned off. I hear tell that General Patton, his very own self, is going to tour this place. Once he sees what’s here, he’ll blow his top. It’s plum awful what I just saw…. then he threw up. I need some fresh air. then the Corporal staggered towards the woods.

Charles and the other men walked into the building where the Corporal had told them about the burned bodies. They found six ovens, with at least six very charred bodies still inside the ovens. One of the Sergeants in charge was saying, We haven’t the slightest idea how long they were doing this, but if I had to guess, the Germans were burning more than one hundred bodies a day. It would make more than three thousand bodies burned a month, which would be more than thirty-five thousand bodies burned a year, just for this one camp. I wonder how many of those were burned alive? To be honest, the whole thought is staggering and beyond awful. The German higher-ups are going to pay, that’s for sure. Eisenhower and Patton will make sure of it.

Charles searched for and found the chaplain for their unit assisting the nurses helping get the former prisoners cleaned up and attempting to get food into them. The chaplain in civilian life was the assistant pastor at Charles’ church, so they knew each other in civilian life. Charles felt confident that this man would have the answers for him for why God would allow this cruelty to happen to his Chosen People - or to anyone for that matter.

David, I need to talk to you, if you have a minute,

What do you need to talk about, Charles?

I don’t understand how God could allow such evil to happen, especially to his own Chosen People. How can people be such monsters to each other?

Charles, you’re not alone in your questions, others have asked me the same thing recently, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. Come, let’s sit and talk about this, and then I can show you verses in the Bible that says why such things happen.

The two men went over to a table that had two chairs and sat down. David had a pocket Bible on him, so he began looking through it for the appropriate verses so he could answer Charles’ questions.

David, shocked when he arrived at Buchenwald, knew God always has a plan for everything, even when evil men seemed to be winning, since no one could know God’s thoughts, saw that Charles was ready to begin the lesson.

Okay, first of all, in Isaiah 55:8-9, it says: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ Now I know that doesn’t get to the heart of the matter in regards to your question, Charles, but God has a purpose for everything, and his purposes are higher than anything we can imagine. Do you understand so far?

I think so. Go on,

Because of Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden, we’re cursed with a sin nature. Some people, like Adolf Hitler and his friends, have turned themselves over to a reprobate mind because they don’t want to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. I’m sure someone tried to explain to them that they were sinners, but they rejected it over and over, so in Romans 1:28 it says: ‘And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.’ This means that these people are filled with thoughts of fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, and become haters of God. When they’re like this, they hate all things of and by God, including His people, Christian and Jew alike. Do you understand so far?

Yes,

As a Christian, God has given you the ability to discern good from evil and He helps you find out what His will is when it comes to your walk with Christ. When God turns a man over to a reprobate mind, He has no more hope for them, so He lets their heart go, and they become hardened to anything related to God and Christ. Say I was to put my hand into a fire, what do you think would happen Charles?

Your hand would burn and you’d learn not to do it again. So, you’re saying that some people are allowed to commit horrible acts so others will not do it again, like what the Germans did to the Jews? Have I got it right?

Yes, but that’s probably an easier explanation for the whole idea. Did you get your questions answered?

Yeah, I think so. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all to me, I appreciate it,

You’re welcome. Do you have time to join me in a short prayer?

Yes,

Then let’s begin: Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive us of our sins and please help the Germans to see that what they did was a sin against you and all of mankind. Please help the two of us get through the rest of this war. We ask that you help our leaders in the upcoming weeks, months, and years to make the correct decisions. Thank you and thy will be done. In Jesus name, amen.

A couple days later, after he was assigned to manage the city of Weimar, General Patton toured Buchenwald. He was apparently sickened by the atrocities, and headed back to Weimar. A day or so later, the townsfolk and the Mayor were force-marched into Buchenwald to show them what had been happening there for the past few years. Nothing had been cleaned up, so the townsfolk saw the bodies that were stacked and the partially burned bodies in the crematorium. The next day, it was reported that the Mayor and his wife committed suicide. A couple of weeks later, the Soviets took over administration of Buchenwald and the Third Army went elsewhere.

The end of the war came a month later, when the Germans surrendered. Charles and the 80th Division would have to stay in Germany to help keep the peace.

******

Chapter 3

Gregory Evans saw the writing on the wall as the Allies came closer and closer to Berlin in the waning days of the War. He knew he would have to get out before the Allies found him, but he also wanted as much of the money the Nazi’s had accumulated deposited in his own bank account. He figured that if he could somehow get a hold of Hitler’s signature, he could sign a bank draft with Hitler’s signature on it, and he would be able to transfer Nazi money into his own account. Gregory finally came up with a plan and figured that if he withdrew a certain amount every so often, no one would be the wiser. Now he just had to somehow get Hitler alone and give him something to sign.

Gregory found the opportunity to get Hitler alone when a staff meeting of the higher-ups in the German High Command broke up, leaving Hitler alone. The frown lines on Hitler’s face clearly showed that he was worried about the Allies. Gregory, thinking that Hitler might be distracted, approached Hitler’s desk, and said, "Mein Fuhrer, I need you to sign something for me, if you’re not busy,"

Yes, yes, hand it over and I’ll sign, Hitler said in a somewhat dismissive tone, without looking up at Gregory.

Gregory slipped the four-page memo in front of Hitler. The memo was written in such a way that only a person with a high-degree of education would understand it, and Hitler did not have a very good education. He began to read it, but instead asked, What’s this about?

This is to ensure that if the Allies try to access your bank accounts, they will fail. This authorization will force your bank to accept only your signature. Does this please you?

That’s an excellent idea Evans, and it does please me. I will sign it immediately. Hitler put pen to paper and signed the document. There you go. Do you need anything else?

"No, Mein Fuhrer, what you just did was quite enough. Thank you and good day." Gregory gave Hitler the Nazi salute, with no reaction from Hitler, and then he left Hitler’s office.

Gregory returned to his home, copied Hitler’s signature to a bunch of bank withdrawal slips, packed up his bags, loaded them into his car, and started on his way to Switzerland. So far, no one seemed to have caught on to his scheme, and he guessed that the SS and Gestapo were busy trying to keep the German troops from abandoning their positions as the Allies over-ran them. Expecting to get away scot-free, Gregory slowly drove his way through the German countryside, managing to avoid Allied troops, and the occasional battle, getting into Switzerland itself without any fuss less than a week later.

Gregory drove up to the Swiss bank that had the Nazi accounts. Once inside, Gregory wrote up a bank draft, with Adolf Hitler’s signature on it, which would authorize him to take out three million dollars worth of Nazi money so he could deposit it in his account. Gregory thought a three million dollar withdrawal probably wouldn’t raise the suspicion of the teller or anyone else in the bank. He approached a teller with his bank draft, and said, I’d like to withdraw some money from this account,

The teller looked at the bank draft, cocked her eyebrow when she saw whose name was authorizing the withdrawal, and then she said, This looks to be in order and I can do that for you. Any particular way you’d like your withdrawal to be cashed out?

Yes, I’d like a check so I can deposit it elsewhere. If you can do that,

Oh, yes, we can do that. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be back with your check. Five minutes later, Here you are, sir, is there anything else we can do for you while you’re here?

Gregory took the check, looked it at it closely to make sure he received the amount he wanted, and then replied, No, I don’t need anything else. When I do, I’ll return in a few days to update the account. Thank you. Goodbye.

Gregory then went over to the bank he was a member of, so he could deposit the three million into his account. His account was more secure than the German government’s and he had his bank make sure that he was who he said he was. Before he could deposit anything, the bank required his fingerprints. Once that happened, the teller or the supervisor on duty would go back to the files and compare the fingerprints. When they were satisfied he was Gregory Evans, they took his deposit slip and the check, and then deposited the money into his account.

Gregory would do this again in four days, and he keep repeating this procedure until he was satisfied that he had most of the Nazi money in his bank account. Once he was sure he had enough money, he would return to the United States. For now, he would rent a hotel room so he could complete his task.

Gregory was about to withdraw money for the fourth time from the German account, when the teller gave him some news, I’m sorry to tell you this, but the United States government has seized all government assets held by Germany, including their bank accounts. I can no longer give you what you’re asking for. I apologize for the inconvenience. However, if you need to open up an account, I can help you with that,

When did this occur? Gregory was disappointed by this turn of events, but it didn’t surprise him.

Our bank was contacted two days ago. Agents from the United States Treasury will be arriving sometime in the near future to claim whatever German assets we have here. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience,

This was expected, no need to apologize. Such things happen in war. Gregory said with a shrug. Thank you for the excellent service your bank has provided. Good day.

Now was the time for Gregory to return to the United States. He didn’t worry about his bank account in Switzerland; it was safe, as he was certain the United States government had no idea who he was. With what he already had deposited in his account from a lot of the Jews wealth, the Nazi money secured the future he had planned for himself.

In order to get back to the States, Gregory would have to get into Italy, where he had heard of escaping Nazi’s getting onto ships bound for South America, to Argentina specifically, since the Peron regime was sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Gregory loaded his car with his luggage and drove to the town of Spezia, Italy. From Spezia, the ships would be bound for Argentina. He bought a ticket and settled in for the trip to Argentina. Once he was in Argentina, he would rent a car and drive back to the United States.

Several weeks later, Gregory arrived back in New York City. He went to his apartment first to rest because he would be going to his father’s office the next day to take care of business. Gregory’s apartment was basic and utilitarian; his walls had no paintings, clocks, or other decorations hanging from them, there was nothing to really indicate who lived here. Even though he had the most expensive radio money could buy, he barely ever touched it, mostly because it was there for the status symbol it was. However, he did have a modest library; all of the titles consisted of works about great men of authority and how they gained their power. Gregory had nothing on his bookshelf that would be pointless for him to read, like fiction in general. He preferred the cold, hard facts of real life. Everything Gregory did was for a purpose, he never did anything that anyone else would consider fun. Fun for him was amassing as much money and power as he could in his lifetime, no matter who he had to step on, no matter who he had to hurt.

The next day, Gregory made his way to his father’s office in Manhattan. As he walked into the reception area of the office, his father’s secretary, Catherine, looked up to see Gregory walking in with ever widening eyes. No one had expected Gregory, which was the way he liked it.

My father in?

Uh, yes, but maybe I should warn him you’re here first,

No, there’s no need for that. Gregory walked up to the door to his father’s office and opened it.

Gregory found his father, Nathan, working on paperwork, apparently tuning everything out, since he obviously didn’t even hear the door open. Hello, Father,

To say Nathan was surprised would be an understatement, since the older man practically fell out of his chair, almost pulling whatever he was working on with him. Son! When did you get back from Germany? he asked, as he got up to greet Gregory.

I returned to New York yesterday. When I saw that the Allies were prevailing, I made my exit, along with a few million dollars of Nazi money that I transferred to my bank account before the U.S. Treasury seized the German accounts,

Excellent. Were the Nazi’s ever wise to you?

No, sir, I don’t think so. I’m sure Himmler and Hitler were suspicious, but they never did anything about it. How goes the war on the home front?

There are rumblings of an invasion of Japan similar to what the Allies did at Normandy. As long as this war stays hot, we’ve got a lot of business. The Japanese will die to the last man and the United States Army will get a lot of people killed trying to invade the Japanese homeland, probably all for naught. Of course, there are rumors of war, mostly of the civil variety, in China, Korea, and Indochina, so we’ll have plenty of business. What do you think of the plan to re-build Europe in the image of the United States and a proposed United Nations?

I don’t think Europe is really worth re-building. They’re always going to be a garbage dump of a crapsack continent, especially since half of it looks like it might be controlled by the Soviet Union, and they’ll never really be united even if they try to be a United States of Europe or whatever they want to call it. As for the United Nations, it’ll be useful to have all the nations’ leaders or their representatives available all in one spot; much easier to manipulate them to our side that way, and it’ll be more useful than the League of Nations ever was. Anyway, I think it’s finally time to consolidate all the power and bring everything the associates do under our auspices. What do you think, Father?

I agree. However, does this plan to consolidate power include making me retire?

I’m afraid so. Didn’t you send me to Germany to teach me leadership skills so I could take over the family business? If this was not your intention, then I’d like to know now, so I can decide what to do next,

Gregory’s attitude made his father feel threatened, so he asked, Are you planning to do away with me if you don’t get the answer you want?

Gregory put his arm around the older man’s shoulders and said, Now, now, Father, no need to get defensive. You’re welcome to stay in the position you have now, purely as a figurehead, but I want to run the company from behind the scenes. You’ll be the public face, while I consolidate everything. When it comes time to retire in two or three years, you’ll do it with a smile on your face and you will be happy to have me take over. It’s all very simple, really,

And what if I don’t do what you want?

Well, the consequences would be rather…. severe. I trust that you don’t want to know what those consequences will be, do you? Gregory gave his father a look that sent shivers down Nathan’s spine.

No. What do you need me to do? Nathan replied with resignation.

I have some legal paperwork for you to sign. We can take this legal mumbo-jumbo to the lawyers if that’s what you prefer, but they tend to gossip about such things. We don’t want that. Once we’ve dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s, we’ll get the members together, separately, and I’ll convince them to turn their power over to me. Now, let’s get this started.

Within two hours, Gregory had taken over the family business. His father would be the ceremonial head, while he would wield the power. In the coming weeks and months, he decided that he would visit the conferences about the United Nations and then he would talk to each of his father’s associates about giving over their businesses to him. Some would see his way and others more than likely would not, but he would consolidate all of the resources of this world these men held under his own umbrella, so he could shape the world how he wanted it. It made him smile thinking about how much he could eventually influence the President of the United States or others of similar power. He was anxious to get started, but first things first.

One of the men Gregory went to see was Wayne Thompson, whose work involved influencing rich and power politicians. Wayne was a man who always got his way. It took him two years, but Thompson managed to convince Franklin Roosevelt to manipulate the Japanese into attacking American assets. The President, along with the rich and powerful, wanted to get involved with the war in Europe, but there was too much resistance from the isolationistic American people. So the powerful created a situation that would force Americans to want to go to war, and the perfect situation happened at Pearl Harbor. Thompson was not easily persuaded to others’ point of view, so Gregory knew he had some tough negotiations to go through to get Thompson to hand over his business to him.

On a clear, crisp morning in the fall, Gregory arrived at Thompson’s office. Gregory knew Thompson was waiting for him, because the man’s secretary let him enter the older man’s office without any fuss or making him wait for an interminable amount of time.

As soon as Gregory walked into the inner office, Thompson, who was a big man, greeted the young man with a powerful handshake, and said, Welcome, welcome young Mr. Evans. What brings you here this fine morning?

Thank you for seeing me Mr. Thompson. I’m here to talk some business with you, sir,

Yes, I know. For such a young man, your reputation precedes you. Please have a seat and we’ll talk shop,

Gregory sat down at the chair that was in front of Thompson’s desk, while Thompson sat down in his own chair behind his desk. Then he said, Go ahead, make your pitch, Gregory,

I’m consolidating power and I want what you have, simple as that. What do you want for your business so I can proceed with my plans?

You’re a bold one, I’ll give you that. Tell me, what will you do with all of this power once you have it?

Re-shape the world in my image, no matter how long it takes,

Thompson began laughing, catching Gregory by surprise, which didn’t make him any happier with the older man. What do you find so funny? asked Gregory, who was scowling.

Do you really think you can get the world to bow down to you so easily? Do you know how long such a thing would take?

You don’t think I can get the world to bend to my will?

Oh, I think you could, but it would take you nearly a lifetime, and by the time you’ve accomplished your goal, you’ll be an old man. You would be much too old to even remotely enjoy such power. Do you plan on having children?

I hadn’t considered it. Why? Gregory wasn’t sure he liked where this conversation was heading.

If you have a child, you can pass all of your hopes and desires onto them, and they can finish what you started. That way your legacy will live on in future generations. I have a suggestion, if you’re willing to listen,

You have my attention, since I hadn’t thought that far ahead into the future,

If you marry my daughter, I will give you what you want. That way, I’ll still have a piece of the pie in this game you plan on playing,

Marry your daughter? Is she so ugly that nobody wants her? Or is she as dumb as a box of rocks? Gregory was disgusted with the suggestion, he considered women to be a waste of his time.

Thompson’s mood darkened, he frowned, and said in measured tones, Watch yourself young man. I’m playing along with you now, but that could change rather quickly. If you’d like to know what she looks like, here’s a picture of her with her mother, Thompson handed over a picture to Gregory that was on his desk.

Gregory looked at the picture. The young lady was attractive, he supposed. Her hair color was brown, her hairstyle was done in the typical mid-1940’s look, she had green eyes, she was not too skinny, and her style of dress was what was currently popular. Gregory thought he could work with that. Then he asked, Has she gone to college?

Of course. She’s currently a junior at Harvard. Here’s my proposal: I’ll only hand over my business if you court my daughter until she’s graduated from Harvard, and once I see the two of you are married, I’ll transfer my authority over to you. Do we have a deal? Thompson extended his hand, indicating that he wanted a handshake deal.

For Gregory, this felt like a game, and he hated it, but he had to play it. He could just carry out a hostile takeover, but that would be bad for this particular business deal, since the clients were very sensitive types and didn’t like their boats rocked. With a deep inhale, Gregory took Thompson’s hand, shook it, and the deal was done.

Now, I’ll have to introduce the two of you to each other. Come to my house on Friday night at seven. Don’t be late. Got it?

I hear you loud and clear. If our business is done, I have other things to attend to. Good day, Mr. Thompson.

Back at the office, he found his father, and, with a snarl, said, That moron wants me to marry his daughter before he’ll even give me his business. He’ll pay for this. Maybe not immediately, but he and his family will pay. I guarantee it.

******

Chapter 4

Charles Atwood was looking forward to finally getting home. The last six months his Division spent in Europe after the war, mopping up and keeping the peace, was wearing on him; mentally, physically, and even spiritually. His dreams tended to be nightmares, mostly from what he had seen at Buchenwald, and he wondered if they would ever stop. He hadn’t seen his family or his girlfriend in more than two years, but had written them as often as he could. Returning to the States on the Queen Mary was interesting, since everyone went to the War on board the cruise ship because it had been converted into a troop transport during the War. He heard that the Queen Mary would be converted back into a cruise ship after the Army released it from duty, which might be fun for others, but he would never leave the United States again if he had anything to do with it.

The ship approached the dock in New York, where Charles could hear bands playing and what sounded like a huge crowd waiting for their loved ones to return. The crowd must be cold, Charles thought, this being January and near freezing. But, I’m glad they’re here. He had no idea if his family was waiting for him, and if they weren’t, he hoped he could surprise them at home. His first priority was getting off of this ship as fast as he could; it was kind of claustrophobic with over ten thousand soldiers on board, and he hated being crowded. The noise level increased around him as his fellow soldiers excitedly told each other their plans and what they would do once they returned home.

Charles was concentrating on searching through the crowd below on the dock, looking for his loved ones, when Pastor David tapped him on the shoulder, startling Charles. Hi, Charles,

Uh, oh hi, Pastor. What’s up?

Not much, just ready to get off of this tub. What about you?

Me too. What are you going to do when you get home?

I’m going to sleep for a week!

That sounds like a great idea. Is Laura meeting you here?

Yep. I managed to get a call to her right before we left. To say that she was excited would be an understatement. Unfortunately, our conversation didn’t last long enough, since we only had a couple of minutes, but I told her what I needed her to know. She’s somewhere down there in that swarm of a crowd, but I’m sure I’ll find her with no problem at all. Is your family meeting you?

Charles shrugged his shoulders, Don’t know, but if they are, that would be wonderful. If they’re not, I can surprise them at home. You know what’ll be the first thing I’ll do when I see my girl?

Nope. Tell me,

First, I’ll give her a big kiss, then I’ll get on one knee, and ask her to marry me. The only problem is, I don’t have a ring,

I don’t think you should worry about that, Betty doesn’t seem like a girl who would much care about having a ring right away. David replied.

Yeah, I know. It would be nice to have a ring though.

David patted him on the back and the two waited for the ship to complete the docking procedures so they could get off the Queen Mary with everyone else.

When the ship came to a complete stop, the loudspeakers for the ship blared to life, and the commanding officer began to speak, Men, welcome home. Starting from the second you step off of this ship, all of you have two days to visit with your families. In two days, I want to see this Division at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey so we can deactivate the Division and let all of you return to civilian life. That is all. Have a great visit with your families.

The soldiers filed off the ship in a semi-orderly manner, were swamped by the crowd as they stepped off the gangplank. There were guys grabbing their girlfriends, giving them big, sweep-her-off-her-feet kisses, similar to the famous picture taken of the sailor and the nurse who had done that in Times Square.

David found his wife and told Charles he’d see him later, while Charles continued to look for his family or even his girlfriend. Considering they lived over six hundred miles away, in Jonesville, at the western edge of Virginia, he thought they might not be able to afford the trip. He wasn’t sure what he would do then, since it would be over a day’s drive to Jonesville, and because of that, he couldn’t leave New York because the deactivation ceremony would be two days from now. After about fifteen minutes of searching, Charles decided to call for a cab.

Before he could do that, he heard a familiar feminine voice from behind him call his name, Charles! Charles Atwood!

Charles whirled around to see Betty running towards him, her fiery red hair coming undone from the bun she usually styled it in, and her porcelain colored Scots-Irish skin becoming red from being in the sun, even though it was winter. She was a sight to behold as she ran into his arms, and without thinking, he did what hundreds of other men did when coming home from war and seeing their girlfriend or wife for the first time in a long time: he gave her a sweep-her-off-her-feet kiss. If there had been any photographers around, they might have taken their picture. Under normal circumstances, Betty, his parents, and her parents probably would have felt scandalized, but these were not normal times.

A little over a minute later, Charles heard a throat clearing, and looked over to see who it was. It was his parents, her parents, and both sets of siblings were standing off to the side, looking amused or shocked by the display these two were putting on. Somewhat embarrassed by the fact that he didn’t think about anyone else being there while he was kissing his girl, he put Betty back on her feet. She was blushing, and he said to everyone, I’m home!

Welcome back, son. replied his father, John. Then his family and Betty’s family all gave him hugs.

How much time do you have before you have to report back for deactivation? asked his mom.

They gave us two days, and then we have to report to Camp Kilmer in New Jersey,

Great! We can tour New York City and spend time with you, replied his dad.

"You can afford to stay here? As in New York City?" asked an astonished Charles.

You bet we can, since the Bowen’s and us pooled our resources and saved up a lot of money so we could spend a week here with you, just so you wouldn’t have to drive six hundred miles back this direction from home,

Thanks, Dad. I would like to do something else while everyone’s gathered. Charles went down on one knee in front of Betty, whose green eyes went wide, and he asked, Betty, I know I don’t have a ring yet, but, will you marry me?

Charles’ mother and Betty’s mother put their hands to their mouths, and started tearing up. Betty, still wide-eyed, began to nod her head yes, and then finally spoke, Yes, yes, of course I’ll marry you! Charles got back up to his feet and the two embraced, while everyone congratulated them.

As they were about to get into the two cars, John said, Before we go anywhere else, I think we should have prayer.

Everyone closed their eyes and bowed their heads, and he began, Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for bringing Charles back to us, safe and sound. We want to thank you for bringing an end to this terrible war. Please direct our leaders in the way they should go and help them to lead our country in your name. Thank you for being our Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.

For the next two days, the Atwood’s and Bowen’s toured New York City with Charles. They visited such sites as the Statue of Liberty, saw Times Square, and had a picnic in Central Park. Charles and Betty visited the various jewelry stores, including Tiffany’s, even though it was far outside their price range, but they had fun going in and checking out all of the jewelry and other merchandise. With all the pay that Charles had saved up, since he didn’t spend much of it in Europe, he bought Betty an engagement ring with a diamond in it from a far cheaper jewelry store, which he would’ve considered really expensive before the War. Once Charles placed the ring on Betty’s finger, they decided on a wedding date, four months from that day.

Two days later, both families drove to Camp Kilmer to watch the deactivation ceremony of the 80th Division. Charles was in full dress uniform. At the Camp, thousands of family members of other soldiers were sitting in the bleachers to watch the ceremony. A short time later, the soldiers came onto the field in formation and based on what unit they were assigned to.

Over the loud speakers, someone began talking, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today’s deactivation ceremony. I will be your narrator. We are happy that you could attend and we hope you enjoy it. The ceremony will begin shortly. Thank you.

The Command Staff of the 80th proceeded to the Reviewing Stand, where they stood at parade rest. After the