Chapter 24

The Lufthansa trans-polar flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt was on time. Kim was awakened in first class with an announcement made loudly over the plane’s PA system: “It is now 0600 hours, local time. We will be landing in about one hour. It is time for morning exercise!”

Kim looked at Brad who just shook his head. “Yes, darling,” she said, “we’re flying Lufthansa. ‘Unt ve know vats best for you!’”

Brad just grinned.

Going through Customs & Immigration in Frankfurt, they hit their first surprise. The immigration officer took one look at Brad, then at his passport. He motioned to a supervisor who immediately came over and checked Brad’s passport and then Kim’s. Their luggage was on two baggage carts with which all European airports seem to be equipped, while few are in the States. Moreover, in Europe the use of the carts is typically free. The supervisor asked the couple to bring their luggage off to the side and politely asked them to wait.

A few moments later he was back with a uniformed officer — a captain — in the German army. The captain, speaking excellent English, introduced himself as Hans Müller. With a broad smile he said, “Welcome to Germany, Captains Kramer!” Two enlisted men had followed the captain. They immediately took charge of the luggage.

Politely, Captain Müller asked if either Kim or Brad had been to Germany before. When they replied in the negative, he explained that they had a choice: They could fly to Hanover and drive the rest of the way or drive about 400 kilometers from Frankfurt. The Kramers decided that the weather was nice so they would prefer to drive.

At that point the captain began giving orders to the enlisted men regarding the luggage. Although it wasn’t voluminous, it was more than would fit comfortably in the trunk of a car.

Kim spoke up in her perfect German. She asked that two particular items go in the car with them, and showed the men which ones they were. The three Germans’ jaws dropped in unison.

“But, Frau Kramer,” Captain Müller protested, “I thought you said you’ve never been here to Germany before? You must have lived here for quite some time.”

“Why is that, Captain?” she asked with a warm smile.

“Wait a moment,” he replied without answering her question. Then to the two enlisted men he asked what they thought of Frau Kramer’s German.

The more senior of the two immediately replied, “What do I think of it? I think she could have a job as a staff announcer on Radio Berlin this afternoon! But she has never lived in Germany?” he asked, expressing amazement similar to the captain’s.

While this exchange was taking place, the other enlisted men was looking over the luggage. One item was a bag that Kim seldom used. For its baggage tag it still had one of her Aerospace Technologies business cards that had been laminated in plastic with an attachment strap added. It still showed her maiden name. When the man saw the juxtaposition of her name with the company, his eyes widened, and he pointed out his discovery to his captain. The three were all in an engineer unit that had been assigned to the film company to handle collateral damage. Because, although they were not going to blow the bridge itself, they were going to blow some tanks, fuel trucks, and particularly a couple of ammunition trucks, the collateral damage could be significant, not that it mattered to the German government.

And in civilian life the man was a mechanical engineer, as was the captain.

Captain Müller’s read the tag and his eyes widened. To Kim he said in a tone of reverence, “You are Fräulein Professor Doctor Kane! You are, aren’t you? The designer of the world’s finest machine tools!”

Kim just shrugged. “It was a way to pass time while my jaw was being rebuilt,” she said.

Then Müller began to laugh. And his laughter just grew in volume. Finally, he controlled himself and said, “This is so incredibly funny! We came to meet a screen actress. Instead we meet one of the world’s foremost mechanical engineers — your book is even now being translated for immediate publication in German — and a woman who speaks our language better than we do!” Then with his eyes sparkling he feigned a frown and asked, “What other surprises do you have in store for us?”

Kim just shrugged again and shook her head.

To Brad, Müller asked, “What about you, Captain Kramer? Do you speak any German?”

“Oh, sure,” Brad replied airily. “Enough to get by over here.”

“And that is... ?” Müller prompted.

“Ein bier, bitte!” Brad replied with a grin.

“But that’s just ordering a single beer,” Müller protested. “You aren’t even specifying a brand.”

“And in Germany, does it really matter? You have something like two-thirds of the world’s operating breweries, and almost all of their beers are good. Besides,” he added, “this way I might well get a beer I’ve never heard of that I would like better than one I might have ordered.”

By this time they were at the curb. There was a Mercedes 600 limousine waiting at the curb for them and a light army truck behind. When Kim realized that the enlisted mechanical engineer would be driving, she asked to ride in the front while the captain could speak with Brad in English.

Off they went toward Langenhagen. By the time they arrived, Kim and the driver, Johann, had become good friends. At the hotel the film company had taken over, he said that it was the most enjoyable day he had ever spent. Furthermore, he couldn’t wait to see the movie, Kelly, when it opened in Germany.

As they entered the hotel, Kim was glad she had taken out their two overnight bags. For obvious reasons, the big Mercedes made far better time than did the truck with the rest of their luggage.

There in the lobby they found Kelly and Mike Callahan in a discussion with a very large man. Seeing them enter, Kelly popped up and came over to them. Bringing them back, the large man rose to greet them.

“Uncle Mischa,” Kelly said, “I would like to introduce Kimberly and Bradley Kramer. They’re playing Mike and me in the film.” To the Kramers she said, “This is Mikhail Solov, President of the Russian Republics. Formerly, he was a field marshal in the Red Army and commanded all Warsaw Pact forces here in the West.” Then with a grin she added, “And he’s also the father of Mike’s aide, Katrina, and the grandfather of their darling little boy, Sergei.”

Solov began greeting them in his excellent English, but Kim interrupted him to greet him in Russian. He listened to her for a few moments, then shifted into excellent German. They conversed in that language for a few minutes and then reverted to Russian. At that point Solov began to roar with laughter.

Turning to Kelly, he said, “They really found someone to play you, didn’t they? But was it essential to find a gorgeous young woman who was also fluent in German ... and Russian!” He shook his head and added, “She may be the only one alive in the world today who is.”

Kelly just frowned and growled. “Uncle Mischa, the truth is, she’s a bitch! No matter what we’re doing, she just has to upstage me.”

“Upstage you, my golden-haired daughter? That has to rate as one of the world’s toughest assignments. After all, beyond your incredible beauty, there are your undeniable military skills.”

“Yeah, right...” Kelly replied disdainfully. “Military skills? You know what this bitch did to me at Quantico? I owned every record down there. Now this ... this thing ... has three of them! And I had to beat my old record on four other events; she broke my old ones on those. Finally, there’s shooting. You know I’m a pretty fair shot—”

Solov interrupted by pointing a finger at his head and simulating a shot. “The ‘Kelly Jackson trademark’,” he said. “I know it well. What about your shooting?”

Pretending to be furious, Kelly said, “What about my shooting? I had to shoot a Possible to tie this dumb bitch! And she’s a showoff, too! You’re familiar with our targets on the terrorist course. There’s the famous one with a woman holding a baby while a terrorist has his arm around her throat. What does Bitch here, do? Could she just put a bullet neatly between his eyes? Hell, no! She fires ‘double-taps’ exclusively. They sound like B-Bam — almost like a single shot. One of her bullets is right between the target’s eyes. The other? A fraction of a millimeter to the right.” Glaring at Kim, she repeated, “Bitch!”

“Gee, Kelly,” Kim declared with her voice dripping with innocence, “I like you...”

Then the two friends broke out laughing and embraced warmly.

In a complete change of attitude, Kelly said, “Uncle Mischa, what I’m saying is she’s good! She’s very, very good.”

The five ordered beers and sat down to chat. Mike and Brad were engaged in conversation while the two women talked with Solov. During that conversation, Kelly mentioned that Kim was an engineer who designed machine tools.

At that, Solov’s jaw dropped. “Kimberly Kane?” he asked in a hushed voice.

Kim just nodded.

Solov just shook his head. Then he said, “This may be a profitable trip for you, Mrs. Kramer. I will be visiting you in about six months to place an order for machine tools. The reasons for the delay are two: First, we need to line up financing, but that’s a minor problem. The big problem is negotiating with your Defense Department for permission to buy at least a few of your highest-precision units.” He paused and then continued, “Your units sell for about $100,000 each, do they not?”

Kim shrugged. “My husband runs sales and marketing, but that sounds about right. Why?”

“Because we’re going to buy 10,000 of them,” Solov replied with a smile. “That’s about a billion-dollar order.” Then with a broad grin he added, “And for an order that size, you two are going to have to buy me my dinner tonight.”

Turning to Brad, Kim said, “Sweetie, do think your expense account could handle the price of a dinner tonight for President Solov? He’s only talking about a billion-dollar order, though.”

“Sure it can,” Brad replied. “Assuming we don’t eat anyplace too good and he doesn’t order dessert, that is.”

Solov howled with laughter. “No wonder you Americans own the world! You’re cheap.”

“Waste not, want not, Mr. President,” Brad responded with a grin.

That set Solov off again.

Turning to Kelly he said, “I really never had a chance to tell you how truly thrilled I am — and my countrymen are — that this film is going to be made of some of your exploits.”

To Kim he said, “It’s impossible to overstate the position this woman holds in Russia today. She is considered a living saint. Even now work is in progress on a nine-foot statue of a tortured Kelly which will be placed on the site of Lenin’s tomb. The square has already been renamed Kelly Jackson Square.”

Then he shook his head and continued, “Your husband holds the Distinguished Service Cross, I understand. Is that correct?”

“Yes it is, Mr. President,” Kim responded formally. Then she told him he won it, along with the Silver Star and Purple Heart while serving in the Rangers. She told him it was Alpha Company, 1^st Ranger Battalion.

“Carlson’s Rangers?” Solov asked in a hushed tone.

“Yes, sir,” Kim replied. “He was the company executive officer under Ken Carlson.”

“My God!” Solov breathed. “That unit is spoken of in hushed and reverent tones wherever fighting men gather, and regardless of for whom they may be fighting. A company the size of a heavy platoon with the power of a battalion.”

He shook his head and continued, “You four are perfect illustrations of why the United States cannot be defeated. There is just no end to your talent or your bravery.” Then he smiled warmly at Kim and said, “You see that Kelly calls me Uncle Mischa. Could you bring yourself to call me Mischa, too? This ‘Mr. President’ stuff gets awfully tiresome, awfully fast.”