* * * * *
The Stockton Lodge of the Knights of Melion had not seen such an assemblage of VIP's since the presidency of founding member Lewis Cross, himself.
At the head of the conference table sat the current Lodge President, Taro Kitahara (the first non-Caucasian lodge president in the history of the Knights). At the opposite end of the table sat Colonel Phillips of G-2. To his left sat Captain Hobart Ross; commanding officer of the U.S.S. Alewife. To the captain's left sat Dr. Peter Thorpe; president emeritus of the Manhattan Lodge. And, directly across from those two sat Elwood Atkins and Bernhardt Heuvelmann of the New Bern Lodge.
The gray-haired veteran submariner spoke first.
"According to the surviving bridge crewmen, the giantess that sank them had gill slits on both sides of her neck! This would certainly explain how she was able to swim from Alaska to California without resurfacing for air more than once. It definitely allowed her to dive deeper than our sonar could track her! Because we lost her one hundred miles west of San Pedro. So the best I could do, in that instance, is have our radioman contact Miramar. Strongly suggesting the rapid airborne deployment of sonar tracking buoys, every ten miles, between L.A. and the Panama Canal Zone."
Phillips nodded in approval at the course of action taken. But, he frowned at the physical description of the giantess' neck. Revealing how that failed to jibe with what he had been told by his double-agent in East Berlin.
"That old Gestapo file mentioned nothing about gills. Just supra-normal enlargement! How do you explain that discrepancy, Dr. Heuvelmann?"
The zoologist-turned-veterinarian shrugged.
"When Frau Hertzmann breathed in all that atomized opium, at Tunguska, she collapsed, flat upon her back, almost immediately. The seismic vibrations that ensued panicked some of the N. m. pseudocerastes specimens that I had captured for further examination. Causing them to emit some very noxious fumes!"
"The rest of us hurried to cover our nostrils, to prevent our inhalation of those fumes. But, of course, Frau Hertzmann was unable to do likewise. So we were naturally taken quite aback by her resumption of normal size!"
"And that's how the Thule Society was able to transport her back to Berlin so inconspicuously?" asked Dr. Thorpe.
Heuvelmann nodded, adding: "Klaus Kraus took my snakes with him. Hypothesizing that some biochemical within the fumes had done this. And he was determined to locate, isolate, and duplicate it. As to the gills? I can only surmise that they are the result of...post-facto experimentation upon her. First, by the Nazis. Then, by the East German Communists."
Phillips then looked at Kitahara.
"Have you had any word, yet, from the Frisco Earth Tigers?"
Kitahara (a Purple-Hearted veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team*) nodded.
"They notified me that the Heikegani-ryu have agreed to meet with our emissary, in Honolulu, forty-eight hours from now. That's where their emissary will turn over the Hsia Jie-ji. Although, I confess I can't see what good it's going to do us if this Comrade Rusalka doesn't resurface shortly afterward!"
"I think I can solve that mystery," replied Dr. Thorpe: "Comrade Rusalka seems to have a specific agenda. The destruction of the DEW Line base, in Alaska, was probably a test run of sorts. But, the sinking of the cabin cruiser? I think that was highly deliberate...due to the nature of the conversation that I'm sure was taking place aboard her!"
"What do you mean, Dr. Thorpe?" asked the colonel.
"I mean, according to the Justice Department, 'Bronco Jack' Barrett was more than likely brokering an illegal arms deal! They got wind of it while investigating Mafia domination of certain labor unions. Like the one to which so many interstate truck drivers belong...including the ones who drive oil tanker trucks for Interchem! A known DOD contractor."
Phillips frowned again.
"How come I didn't hear about any such investigation, and you did?"
Dr. Thorpe could not resist smiling.
"The FBI has a lot of contacts within the NYPD. Some of whom are mutual friends of mine! And if the Bureau caught wind of such an impending arms deal, then so, too, could've the KGB. The only question, now, is...what else of Federal importance, along the West Coast, could have been targeted for destruction by Comrade Rusalka?"
Almost as if on cue, there came a knock at the door. Kitahara stood up and walked over to unlock it. Upon opening it, he was handed a piece of paper by his administrative assistant. Kitahara then closed and re-locked the door before reading the message. The news within must have been very dire, indeed.
For the battle-hardened Nisei went pale...as he looked directly at Captain Ross.
"This is from the naval chaplain at Miramar. Sent via the San Diego branch of the St. Hubert Society. I'm sorry, captain. But, it seems that all contact has been lost with your sub."
tbc
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA
(NOVEMBER 30, 1962)
(NOVEMBER 30, 1962)
Chapter End Notes:
*442nd Regimental Combat Team: one of two U.S. Army units, composed entirely of Japanese-Americans, who served with honor, distinction, and complete loyalty to Uncle Sam in the European Theater of WWII. Despite the shameful internment of their civilian relatives back home on the West Coast!