Dieselpunk-Deutschland

[Stan']

Chapter 1.1
Holzknecht Mining Kompanie.

The drop of a screw would cause the sudden shiver of fear to race up the spine's of the workers backs.  Today was the day that the miners of Holzknecht-1 hated -- inspection day.  It was the day that the boss upstairs came down and tiptoed about, checking to see that each one of them was performing to a minimum standard, and that the deadwood were literally thrown out to sea.  Ironically, there seemed to be a higher accident rate on the very day that they were supposed to be at their best.

The island of Schaufenstadt was located in the Baltic Sea, and had once been considered a Scandanavian territory until German expansion caused it to change hands.  The woman put in charge of the island was Adalinda Knapp, a Bavarian princess who never had a chance of becoming her nation's Queen.  The Bavarian Council couldn't wait to get rid of her, so they shipped her off to the tiny island and gave her the keys.  Never in their wildest dreams did they think she was capable of turning it in to an industrial powerhouse.

It was something the old men of the Bavarian Council hated -- that this woman had transformed this otherwise useless piece of land in to a source of unlimited profit, and it soon became a colony which the rest of Germany grew jealous of.  It was all because of the oil.  The "green oil", as Captain Dietrich Schneider called it.  A group of scientists had given it a fancy name but he couldn't remember it.  They mined it from a location bang in the middle of the island, four levels beneath the surface of the icey rock.  The men who worked there barely saw the light of day -- their living quarters were located two floors up, yet still feeling like a million miles from fresh air.  40 German men were employed, usually working for around four weeks before returning to the fatherland for another four.  The wage was great, to the point where they could live like kings.

All the men reported to Dietrich Schneider, who made sure everything ran smoothly.  He liked to think of himself as the only person that Adalinda Knapp could trust to oversee things -- although various other commitments meant he was only on the island for about four months of the entire year.  Today, however, even he was on edge.  The Bavarians were on their way to have a meeting with Adalinda, and if the rumours were anything to go by -- things sounded like they were going to get very serious.

The fact of the matter was they hated having Adalinda in charge of the island.  They were old-fashioned and had a dislike of Frau Knapp -- and to them, a successful woman was a problem.  It was eleven o'clock according to his watch, and they were due to land in little less than an hour.  Laura Fassbinder would be sent to welcome them.

"Right this way, my dear."  Dietrich motioned, placing a gloved hand on to Adalinda's lower back as they stepped out of the elevator.  Due to quarantine mesasures and the possible dangers that this green oil was capable of if spilled or exposed to human skin, all personal were required to wear special suits to prevent any unneeded hospital visits.  The masks meant that it was almost impossible to tell exactly who was who, and it was very common to think you were talking to Bob when in fact you were talking to Jim.  Picking out Adalinda from the crowd was easy, as her choice of footwear was definitely different than the others.

"Output is down to... 93% compared to last year."  Dietrich said, with a little bit of caution in his distorted (because of the suit) voice.  Anything below 110% of the previous year was considered a failure, and usually that meant there had to be someone who got blamed.  Unfortunately for Dietrich, he was the one who was hired to make sure that they mined 110%.  He slowly looked up towards the mirrored face, gulping quietly beneath the mask.  Even though he could not see her expression, he knew her too well... "No... Adalinda, it wasn't my fault!   The mining machine broke down... we had to wait two weeks for the engineer to arrive...!!!"

[Peebs']

“I am sorry Dietrich, but that answer just is not feasible enough. You know what tight of a schedule we’re on, and I can’t have any space left for minor glitches that shouldn’t take two weeks to be fixed. And then how long did it take for the engineer to fix the machine? I’d say with a percentage of 93% another week or so which left you all to do what—sit around looking pretty while the engineer dealt with your mess?” Adalinda shook her head slowly in disappointment; Dietrich was one of the only people on the island that she trusted to help her keep what she had going, going. It was an absolute shame that he was the one to bring her down on today; the day of all days. Dietrich had done the best that he could, Adalinda knew that but it hadn’t been good enough for her standards.  The man was paid to look for all possible mistakes that could arise, having an engineer on hand at all times would have been the solution; but he obviously had not thought of that.
 
 Normally Adalinda was not one to experience worry, but with the men from the homeland coming today for a little chat she could not help but feel a slight case of it. The woman was in no way under stress or pressure of whatever it was they were coming to speak to her about, but she knew that this little meeting was not going to be a rather good one. It was for that reason the red-headed German found herself torn between what to do with Dietrich’s failure. She knew that the old men couldn’t touch her; nobody could continue on with what she was doing and pull it off without much chaos going about. She held the island in an iron fist and everyone knew that to cross Adalinda was to welcome death in the most painful way.
 
 Appreciating the German man’s efforts Adalinda decided that in order to keep her foot in line she was going to wait until after the meeting with the council before she dished out Dietrich’s punishment (which was more-so in her favour than his). But someone needed to pay for the low rate that had appeared with the technicality.
 
 Placing her gloved hand on the side of Dietrich’s mask she smiled, although she knew he could not see it. “I’m giving you until after the council leaves to redeem yourself my darling. But I expect someone to pay for this in the meantime. Such a low percentage cannot be ignored. I want you to bring me the engineer. He is still here, is he not? For your benefit—I’d hope so.”

[Stan']

He was breathing heavily, the respirator inside of the mask working overtime and the effects were noticeable from the unusual, laboured sound that the nearby workers could hear.  Dietrich didn't know what to do, the engineer was a thousand miles away back home in Germany, and she wanted Dietrich to bring him here -- right now?  The request was already a failure, and with that his fate was sealed.  Dietrich Schneider's services were no longer required, and this madwoman would have no problems in getting rid of her most trusted worker.

"OK... OK..."  He breathed, clearing his throat and looking back at the chart in his hand.  He knew she wished to see out the remainder of the inspection, and the man put a brave face on for the rest of it.  "He's... I'll see what I can do."  The German dodged the question regarding the engineer, leading the Governor around the remainder of the basement floor.  He rambled on about unimportant figures, and boring facts about the current state of the machinery and how they would have to begin replacing some of the older equipment within the next 2 to 5 years.  He wasn't sure if she was even listening, but it took his mind off his impending retirement from the mining company.

So far, the workers had remained on their best behaviour and no one was making any kind of mistake.  A few hands were shaking uncontrollably, and one of the men had had to rush off to the bathroom when the woman came within a few yards of him.  Otherwise, the inspection went off without a hitch.  Although, none of the men were convinced that they had put on a good display of effort for their boss.  If she was more than willing to fire Dietrich Schneider, then even working twice as hard wasn't going to guarantee them an A+ on their report cards.

It took about half an hour to finish the inspection -- Adalinda was handed paperwork for her to read and sign, Dietrich was doing the best he could to suck up to her and prove that while the end output was lacking this year -- everything else was running exactly the way she wanted it to.  By the end of it, Dietrich was sweating uncontrollably inside of the radiation suit.  It was always warm (the mine was ridiculously hot, and the suit was far too thick) and unfortunately there was no way to wipe the dampness because of the large visor.  "The council should be arriving very soon."

[Peebs']

Most people would have been put off by the reaction that Adalinda received from her workers, but it was a reaction that she expected and glorified in. She always believed that it was easier to rule by fear than anything else. She was not sure how many actually respected her, but that wasn’t what mattered to her. Fear worked for her, it kept everyone in line and made sure nobody dared to step out of their place—and if someone did… well, they didn’t last long to regret their choice. Adalinda Knapp did not care if they respected her, or feared her so long as the job got done and at the end of the day nobody tried to overthrow her or question her status.
The rest of the inspection didn’t interest the woman in the slightest, the only thing she cared about was the outcome and unfortunately this year it was lacking because of a small hiccup that Dietrich should have been prepared for. She felt pity for the man, but more-so for herself because it meant she was now going to lose the only worker she trusted to help her keep things afloat. Forcing Dietrich into retirement meant she would have to play more of a part in things. It was going to become a lot worse for everyone else because of Dietrich’s mistake.
 
 His heavy breathing was starting to become too much of a nuisance to Adalinda, so when they’d reached the end of her inspection she was quick to sign away her name on the papers without bothering to glance over them for a final time. She found the suits just as warm as everyone else did and wanted to be out and quick to freshen up before the council arrived. It was this thought in mind that she had when suddenly the basement floor went completely silent and the lights flickered off. Someone began to shout about a body and Adalinda sighed, knowing if her helmet was off she’d be greeted by the crisp smell of a burnt body.
 
 “Shall I expect you to take two weeks for an electrician to get here too, Dietrich? Or can I count on you to get this problem fixed before the council shows up?” The woman wasn’t happy with the sudden issue to arise and each second that passed was a nail in Dietrich Schneider’s coffin.

[Stan']

"I can take care of this."  Dietrich said, knowing that any other kind of answer would be unacceptable to the woman.  He knew what he had to do.  He had to get out of here, he couldn't stick around for Adalinda's decision -- she had already made it, and it was just a matter of time before she dumped him in the water (tied to a couple of oil barrels filled with cement) or tried out those little gas grenades that they had developed recently.  He couldn't believe that after everything they had done -- Dietrich had played a big part in transforming this colony in to something spectacular -- she was just going to get rid of him!

The real reason for the machine breaking down was no accident -- it was sabotage.  But there was no way he could tell Adalinda that, if she knew that they let a couple of spies in to the facility and break one of their machines then they'd probably all be wiped out -- probably locked in to the room without any of their radiation suits.  It had happened to one of the workers before; the door sealed shut and he was unable to retrieve his suit before the gas got to him.  It was such a nasty sight to look at as well.  But the death of a man did not seem to bother Adalinda in the slightest, she merely told Dietrich to find another engineer to take over the shift.

He would run away when the meeting commenced, he didn't need to pack a suitcase and he would be travelling light.  There were a few villages located around the island, he could hide in one of them while the boat arrived to take him back home.  He used to think that Bavaria was such a long way away but this time he didn't mind that thought -- the further away he could get from Adalinda Knapp, the better!  Quickly, he rushed away to find out what had happened, and what muppet had caused an accident on the very day that they couldn't afford to have one.  It was very unlikely that the old men would wish to seek a tour of the underground facility; they had no interest in anything but Adalinda.

"Governor Knapp."  Said a muffled voice from behind her, as a tall yellow-suited worker approached her.  "Your visitors have arrived early.  Fraulein Fassbinder is taking them to the business room as we speak."

[Peebs']

Adalinda let out another slow sigh, checking her temper before turning to face the suited worker coming towards her. Of course the council would arrive early, unexpectedly and more than likely expecting to catch her up to no good as they expected her to be. There was little chance of that though, seeing as Adalinda never allowed a minute of her day go by without being busy with something or other that would help her continue to look like the Princess she was controlling her bit of land that nobody had expected to become such a beautiful resource. It was just a shame that the one man who had helped her achieve what she’d done was no longer going to be a part of it as soon as she got through with her meeting. The one friend she had on the island other than Laura Fassbinder (if you could call the girl that) and she had to get rid of him for failure was not acceptable, and what kind of message would she send if she let him get away with what had happened? He wouldn’t understand though; he wanted to live like everyone else.
 
 The back-up generator clicked on bringing the basement into proper lighting instead of just with the emergency lights putting everything back into a better light. The slow whirring of engines and machines began to fill the air again as the floor came back to life from the back up and Adalinda was pleased that that, at least continued to work. It was one less problem she had to deal with today and it was a good thing too, Adalinda hated problems and preferred to have things run as smoothly as they could. Problems caused Adalinda to become angry and then everyone suffered.
 
 The Council was to be dealt with before she addressed anything else, and keeping them waiting was not an option. The German woman wanted them off her island as quickly as she could make it possible before they tried to plant any sort of problem to frame her. It had been attempted before and she wasn’t going to allow it this time. Having Laura with her made her feel a bit better about their early arrival for the girl was so loyal to Adalinda that if she told the young woman to cut off her hand, she would do it willingly without question. It was just a shame Laura wasn’t good at anything else or she’d have her take over Dietrich’s job once he was dealt with permanently.
 
 Without bothering to thank the worker for letting her know about the arrival of the Council Adalinda walked past him, her mind already in the business room and what was going to play out once she had arrived to greet the old men herself. She did not trust this meeting they had called for and she could only hope that it finished quickly.
 
 
 After changing out of her suit Adalinda made her way to the business room, no sign of having been in a warm room anywhere on her appearance. She was quick to appear with a smile on her lips that never reached her eyes and looked completely out of place.
 
 “Gentlemen, what a pleasantly early surprise, I trust you travelled safe?”

[Stan']

The Bavarian Council was made up of five elderly men, although only three of them had travelled to the island.  One of the men -- Walther Klos -- was a retired politician who had a history with Adalinda Knapp.  They had a brief 'friendship' which ended when she no longer saw their partnership to be profitable for her, and he was pushed away to be used by some other poor man.  It was one of the many grudges that the Bavarians held against the woman.

They cut out the entire portion of small talk, not wishing to beat around the bush.  They were here to remove Adalinda Knapp from her position.  If she wasn't willing to co-operate, then they had backup with them which would help if force was required.  The three men sat there in their dark suits, grey hair and aged skin.  And even though two of them required the use of walking sticks to move around, they otherwise appeared to be in good health.  The Bavarians were a mysterious lot, and it wasn't uncommon for them to defy the age-limit of the human body.  The men who were chosen to sit on the Council would regularly exceed the hundred-year-mark -- with an average life span of 119.  They had all saw plenty of things.  Walther Klos was the youngest of the three, being only sixty-nine himself.  His anger towards Adalinda Knapp spanned at least twenty years, if not more.

"As you know, our beloved Bavaria is having many problems at the minute.  Our colonies are failing.  They're bleeding money.  We can't fund them any longer."  Walther Klos began, he spoke slowly and seemed to continually lick his drying lips.  "Except for yours.  Yours... my dear Princess... has surprised everyone.  The Council never expected you to exceed our expectations by such a huge amount."  He hated to say it; any kind of compliment towards Adalinda was one which pained the person who said it.  "But we come with bad news.  As you know -- it is up to us who we wish to have as the Governor of our colonies.  It's wish great regret that we must ask you to step down from your position with immediate effect, to return to the Fatherland."  There was no regret.  They despised that she had so much power, and had been so successful with it.  They were just painting the truth with fancy fake words.

[Peebs']

It didn’t surprise her at all when Walther told her they expected her to step down from what she’d done. It didn’t surprise her that they expected that they could make her step down from what she had created and it made her laugh. After having taken her seat across from them, Adalinda had crossed her legs at the ankles; listening to what it was they were telling her. The entire time that smile continued to sit on her lips.
 
 “My dear Council,” Adalinda addressed the three men, not bothering to get up from her seat quite yet “you surely cannot think of me to step down and expect that I will be okay with this. I have made this island everything that it has become to this day and I will not allow you to ruin it simply because the other colonies have failed you where I haven’t. You would think that right there would be a good enough reason for you to keep me as leader of this land since I’m obviously doing something right where nobody else is.” It almost bugged her that they were asking her, no—telling her that she was to step down from her throne she put so much time and effort into building up for herself. It was almost unbelievable.
 
 Yet the woman could easily see it. They were jealous of what she’d done. They had not expected her to do anything but fail, and then fail again as she tried to fix what she had done. But she hadn’t; instead Adalinda Knapp had taken little and turned it into something recognisable and the very thing that was practically keeping Bavaria afloat and the five men could not handle it. These men wanted to take It for their own, stick someone in charge that they would have a better hold on than they did with Adalinda but she refused to give it to them.
 
 “I will have to decline your request gentlemen, I understand you were expecting more to agree to this but I won’t, and if you try to make me things will get very ugly… rather quickly, mark my words on that. So if we are done here—“ standing, Adalinda made her way back towards the door to the business room after straightening out the skirt on her white dress, “Laura, please see that these men are shown back to their ship. They don’t need to stay longer than they have.”

[Stan']

The three men refused to budge, they began to whisper amongst themselves in reaction to the red-headed woman's polite decline.  Of course, it had been expected that she would refuse to walk away from the island that she had put so much love and hard work in to creating.  Walther Klos finally nodded to the other two, and they came to an agreement about what would be happening next.  The three of them got to their feet slowly, two of them grabbing their walking sticks and heading to the door.  Walther was the last to leave, and he stopped as he passed by Adalinda.  "I'm disappointed in your decision, my Princess."  Was all he said, following his two comrades out.

What Adalinda did not know was that they had come with a group of six heavily armed men, who were more than prepared for this kind of situation.  Adalinda wasn't your usual mission, it was special circumstances and they had to be trained to expect surprises.  Walther looked towards the six soldiers and gave them the signal that they were free to storm the room.  Any of Adalinda's guards who had denied them access to the inland were silently dispatched.  Thankfully, there were very few who were actually loyal to the woman -- she had kept them in check with fear, and the promise of getting rid of her and being replaced with someone a little less... 'stuck-up' was a temptation that few could turn down.

The group of men were lead by Karlheinz Stanger -- a face known throughout Germany as being the poster boy of the numerous propaganda films which were made within the last five years.  He wasn't just a pretty face, however -- he was a decorated soldier and at thirty years old -- had a big future ahead of him.  As it turned out, that big future included being in charge of this little island colony that Adalinda was holding on to for dear life.

"Hello there, Frau Knapp."  Karlheinz smirked as he walked in with his men, all of them were holding machine guns which were ready to fill her with nearly a ton of lead.  "I'm your replacement."

[Peebs']

 
Adalinda hardly could believe what she was seeing. The appearance of Karlheinz nearly caused Adalinda to suffer from a stroke as he strode into the business room as if he owned the damn place, flanked by the tough looking men. It caused her to nearly lose it, but the woman was a master at keeping her emotions in check which was why Adalinda merely smiled at his words. He could think and believe that he was her replacement all he wanted but matter of the fact was; he wasn’t and never would be. No man could possibly expect to do what Adalinda Knapp had done with her little island, and no man could expect to keep what she’d done going.
 
 Laura had made a move at the sight of Karlheinz Stanger coming into the vicinity of Adalinda and herself, but the red-headed woman put her hand up to stop her from making any stupid mistakes that could possibly be going through her head at the moment. She knew what these men were capable of; the very same thing she was and Adalinda knew that her situation was going to get worse if she did not deal with this in the best way possible.
 
 “Karlheinz, do you really think your pathetic attempts will keep this place afloat? I put years into creating this into an empire and I refuse to allow your womanly hands to soil everything I put my heart and a million hands into. You don’t even know the first thing about what goes on here—how it’s run or what to do, do you? No, I didn’t think so.” Adalinda rocked back from the door the men stood in front of and made her way back to the empty table centered in the room. Reaching where she had been sitting she placed her hand under it and felt the bumpy surface of the gas grenade they had recently perfected. The only problem was; she wasn’t protected and currently Adalinda did not want to off her only loyal companion on the island and she knew Laura wasn’t about to leave her in a room full of dangerous men.
 
 “I really must insist that you leave, I would absolutely hate to see things get ugly for you when all you’re doing is following the orders of your superiors who are just setting you up for failure. If not—I will be forced to use deadly force on you and we all know how that will turn out.”

[Stan']

Even with all the training he had had, all those hours preparing himself for his encounter with Adalinda Knapp, Karlheinz was almost worried that her mind-games would work.  It was almost as if she picked each word perfectly prior to speaking, that her word-choices were not just random but chosen for their particular effect on the mind.  Trying to worm her voice in to his mind and plant the seed of doubt, hoping that he would just holster his weapon and go ‘well actually, you’re right’.  But not Karlheinz.  He was a method actor.  He knew all about this stuff, getting in to the role and thinking differently.  Her word games weren’t going to work on him.  He just hoped the others were as strong as him.

“Adalinda... you don’t have to worry if I know how to run this place or not.”  He said, raising his handgun and taking a step towards her.  She had retreated to behind her desk, although Karlheinz had no idea that there was a grenade underneath it.  They had their gas masks with them, although the time it took them to grab them and pull them on might not even be quick enough before the gas began to effect them.  But it would have been almost suicide for Adalinda to do something like that.  With only the two of them in the room, there was no question about it – if they went for a gun or tried something funny, then both of them were going to be killed.  The five machine guns were equipped by highly-trained German soldiers who were lightning quick in regards to pulling the trigger.  Adalinda had no chance.

“Step away from the table.”  Karlheinz said, taking another step towards her but beginning to side-step around the table.  His first instincts were to just shoot her right now, but the Bavarians were at a difficult crossroads here.  She may have been trouble, and the quicker she was out the picture the better.  But she was still a princess, and the death of a princess – regardless of who they were – would be big news back home.  A sanctioned-killing by the Council wouldn’t go down to well, and it might even provoke a revolt against them.  “Turn around... put your hands on the wall and spread your legs.”

[Peebs']

Adalinda’s attention went towards Laura who was still standing where she’d stopped, her eyes watching Adalinda intently for any indication that she was to make a move. The slowest of a smile touched both of their lips as the German red-head raised her hands and stepped away from the table. She wasn’t going to fight; obviously they had her outnumbered with no possible way to survive if she put up a fuss, which was why she was willing to do things quietly—for her, anyways.

“My dear Karlheinz,” Running her hands down the front of her dress in a show that she wasn’t carrying anything, Adalinda turned her back on the group of men, her heels clacking on the floor. “I don’t understand why you’re getting so bent out of shape over this. You can’t do this, can you? Think about it for a minute. You’re here in my territory—on my island with forces to take me away.  What’s going to happen once I’m gone? You’ll be miserable. Unable to pursue anything you’ve wanted to do. This isn’t the life for you.”

Adalinda’s hands touched her face as if she was covering a yawn, but when she turned around there was a miniature gas mask covering her mouth and nose; the same was being worn by Laura. Both women dropped to the ground just as thick green smoke began to pour into the room from the air ventilation at the top of the room, triggered by the button placed behind the grenade. Pressing the button caused the gas to be released into the room from where it had been being held. The deadly gas began to fill the room quickly once arriving, giving enough cover for Adalinda and Laura to crawl out past the men who were unprotected for the time being.

[Stan']

The sudden gas attack was something they had been unprepared for; they had perhaps got a little careless when they didn't see her with a gas mask to protect herself, so didn't think that she would do something like this.  The men all began to cough and choke, their hands searched for their masks gingerly but not all of them reached them in time.  Two of them collapsed, having breathed in too much of the gas.  Their bodies burned inside, and the damage had already been done.  The other four had secured the gas masks around their faces in time (having been the best at holding their breath) but had suddenly lost track of the woman they were here to retire.  The cloud was thick, and did not allow much light to creep through.  They had to rely on feeling around for them, yet in the carnage and chaos -- Adalinda and the young woman had managed to keep quiet.  Or perhaps the German men were just making too much noise.

"What the..."  Karlheinz muttered to himself as he felt something brush against his leg; something that was moving.  He knew right away what it had to be; he collapsed to his knees and grabbed hold of it -- it turned out to be a woman's leg, but just what woman's leg was it?

Unfortunately for Adalinda and Laura, even if they managed to escape the room then there was little chance of them getting out much further.  The exits had been secured, the old men were waiting for them, standing alongside Dietrich, who was now out of his radiation suit and back in his usual military uniform.  They spoke away as if they were good friends, a stark contrast to the way they talked to Adalinda.  They had much respect for the well-decorated man, while he never had a bad word to say about them.  A "proper Bavarian" they always called him.  He had expected to be the one who took charge after Adalinda was removed, but they told him they had bigger things for him.  He would return to Bavaria a hero -- it would be him who took all the credit for Adalinda's work.  And for once... Dietrich was happy to do it.

[Peebs']

It was obvious that Adalinda Knapp hadn’t completely thought her entire plan through. It wasn’t like she just had the men in the room to deal with, but possibly an entire building of locked doors and soldiers, her soldiers that switched sides upon the new arrival of Karlheinz, his old men, and their own back up. It wasn’t like Adalinda was not aware that as soon as everyone on the island was given the opportunity to get rid of her they would go for it, she ruled the island by fear and fear alone. If they believed someone else could do better than her, and make them feel better as people then she could absolutely see everyone except Laura turning their backs on her.
 
 Which was why when Adalinda got out of the sticky mess she currently found herself positioned in, everyone that had turned their backs on her, and she meant everyone there was going to be hell to pay for their disobedience and she would make sure of it. Adalinda couldn’t die. Not at the hands of these men and she knew it. As much as they all wanted to put a few bullets in her head to get rid of her for good they had no power to do so. Not without it slapping them back in their old and ugly faces and ruining their big plans.
 
 Laura didn’t have the free-life card that she had though, and that was what Adalinda needed to help her out when she came back after going away and leaving everyone with the false impression she was gone for good. The woman was Adalinda’s only ticket for seeking out the revenge that was going to fall on the island so quickly upon her return and the death of Karlheinz and his men. It was that thought that was sitting inside the red-headed woman’s head as she drove her heel into wrist of Karl’s hand gripping her leg. With enough force, she managed to puncture his skin and they crawled out of the room to find Dietrich standing with the council, dressed in his old uniform and seeming to have no problems at all with what was going on.
 
 Getting to her feet, Laura closed and locked the door to the business room from the outside before turning and helping Ada straighten herself up. Both women had eyes on the council and Dietrich, ignoring the locked door behind them that prevented the group inside from getting out easily.
 
 “Dietrich,” Adalinda sighed around the air-purifier still nestled over her face. “I should have known you were behind this in some way. That’s rather quite unfortunate, yet unexpected from a man such as you with no options left.” Raising her shoulders, she let them drop down with a heavy sigh that showed her disappointment. “I suppose I’m out of options then. You’ve won gentlemen, I raise my cap to you, I willingly abide to your expectations from here on. But I don’t expect you to take this out on Miss Fassbinder, she’s simply followed orders like everyone else has and should be kept on doing as she did before.”

[Stan']

Karlheinz's hand flicked back as the heel of her weird-looking, and unpractical shoe stabbed him hard -- the heel was almost as sharp as a dagger, and it gave her just enough time to get out of the room.  When the door closed, they had enough time to get their senses back and get to grips with the situation.  Adalinda had evaded them, but she wouldn't get far.  Dietrich Schneider and the old men were outside waiting for her, and there was no running away from them either.  Karlheinz sighed with defeat, something which he had rarely tasted before.  He bandaged up his hand tightly and looked at the two men who had died.  Parts of their skin had discoloured from underneath.  What a horrible way to go.

Dietrich didn't react to what she said, he kept his hands behind his back and stood with a perfect posture as if standing to attention.  He was surprised that Adalinda had given up so easily (although her little stunt in the business room was a typical Knapp move) but even she had to realise that there was nothing else for her to do.  She was a smart woman, and no doubt she already had other plans ticking away inside that enigmatic mind of hers.  She would know that the old men couldn't kill her without causing a big mess back home, but it was just the question as to what they were going to actually do.  They'd shipped her away once and look what had happened, she'd brought them success but with it also came jealousy.  If they did it again, who knew what she'd do.

"Fraulein Fassbinder's fate will be decided by Herr Stanger.  He's running this facility now."  Walther Klos said, nodding to Dietrich.  "I trust you will see that she is disposed of."  He said coldly, shuffling away with the other two men.  The more time he spent in the same room as Adalinda Knapp, the more sick he got.  It didn't take long for a couple of Adalinda's ex-employees to flood the room, making themselves open to giving a helping hand if Adalinda decided to struggle a little.  Dietrich, however, waved them away.  He told them he had this covered, that he could restrain her by himself.  They nodded, but a few of them remained in the room just in case.

Dietrich grabbed her and pushed her against the wall of the room; he made it look a lot rougher than it actually was.  Just like professional wrestling, her face never actually made any kind of impact yet from the angle the guards were at -- it appeared as if he had just battered her little face off the brickwork.  He then grabbed her arms and held them behind her back, clipping on a pair of handcuffs around her wrists.  "The bag."  He commanded, reaching one hand out and catching a black piece of material.  The Bavarian pulled it down over her head, blinding the woman for now.

"Where's my truck?"  He asked.

[Peebs']

She had never been one for accepting others to manhandle her, which caused Adalinda to almost fight back against Dietrich until it registered in her mind that he wasn’t being as rough with her as it appeared. To the others, it would seem as if he was being rather violent with putting her against the wall and cuffing her hands behind her back; she could tell by the gasp that emitted from Laura when he pushed her up against the wall. Adalinda had to take in a deep breath to deal with the situation, she had no other option than to do what Dietrich expected from her even as it killed her (figuratively speaking) slowly on the inside. Because of Dietrich’s actions as soon as he’d got a hold of her, Adalinda decided it was time to put a little more trust into the man whom had helped her for so long with creating the empire that was the island.
 
 In no way did it mean that Adalinda Knapp was okay with the situation, it was obvious to everyone that it was the only choice she now had, and Adalinda wasn’t that insane to ignore it. A soft sound of disgust slipped through her lips as the cloth bag was slipped over her head, dropping her into darkness and no ability to see where she was going and before she knew it, the two of them were sitting inside Dietrich’s truck heading off to God-knows-where. She hadn’t bothered to speak through the entire ordeal, knowing that the only thing she could do was ask questions about what was going to happen and she’d never enjoyed not knowing the answer to something that involved her well-being.
 
 “Does this bag continue to be necessary?” she finally asked, growing tired of sitting in the passenger seat of Dietrich’s vehicle without the ability to see anything, without being able to know where they were heading. Adalinda owned the entire island, knew the place front to back. She did not see a point in keeping her blind.

[Stan']

Driving the truck was difficult, mainly due to the fact that the island was now covered in a thin sheet of ice.  There was a single road which gave access to the mining facility, and it circled the island before returning to the Germany camp.  Other than that, there was no other infrastructure in place.  And when the weather was like this, he did his best to stop the tyres from skidding everywhere.

Dietrich stayed silent for the entire trip, not responding to her requests to remove the black bag.  He was still angry with her, and still annoyed with the attitude she had given him earlier on today.  Dietrich had did everything he could for this place, he had worked overtime on countless nights (albeit he wasn't always at the island) but when he was, he pumped his heart and soul in to making sure it ran right.  And yet Adalinda was more than prepared to ship him off because of one little hiccup that wasn't quite his fault (OK, he should have organised his security better) but they had recovered from the breakdown well enough.  And the bitch hadn't even said thank you yet.  She just sat there, blinded, as if it was Dietrich's duty to have did this for her.

The truck finally stopped after travelling half way round the island.  He turned the engine off, pulled out the key and slammed the door shut behind him as he walked outside, feeling the cold of the snow begin to nip his skin.  He wore gloves, yet his jacket was not thick enough to warm him in this weather.  "Nice to see you again."  He could be heard saying outside, although to whom he was speaking to was as much a mystery to Adalinda as where they actually were.  "She's in there."

Dietrich walked back over to the passenger's side and opened up the door for Adalinda.  "Get out."  He said, not bothering to help her or remove the hood just yet.  The truck had a foot drop which would have been difficult to judge when you were wearing high heels like hers and were blind to the world.  He wasn't going to help her if she made it or not.

[Peebs']

It was easy to know what the road conditions were currently like; Adalinda had been in the truck with Dietrich many times before and knew his habits for conditions that were uncontrollable. But that did not make it possible for her to know what was going on outside of her black visual cave, or give any hint as to where they were going. Dietrich didn’t respond to her, she knew he wouldn’t after how things had gone down that morning before her ordeal with Karlheinz taking up residence in her office and sitting in her chair, touching her things. It was enough to cause the woman to shudder in her seat, and ask herself if there was anything she could have possibly done differently to avoid where she was now.
 
 The woman didn’t think there was anything, the council hadn’t expected Adalinda to achieve what she’d done and they did not want her to continue on building up something great when they had no control over it as long as she was in the seat. That’s why Karlheinz was there, because they could control him and give him orders where as Adalinda always went to her own tune ever since learning how to walk. She didn’t think she’d ever understand their hate for her and what she had brought to Germany when everyone thought she would die a failure. Perhaps that was all it stemmed down to, Adalinda decided as the truck came to a stop and Dietrich made his noisy exit from the vehicle. It wasn’t a secret that the old men hadn’t wanted Adalinda to succeed, and it was just a shame that they had grown desperate to get rid of her once again. Probably didn’t want her to be whisked somewhere else barren in fear she might make it even greater than her little island. The island that Karlheinz would never, ever be able to call his own.
 
 It was awkward for Adalinda to get out of the vehicle once Dietrich threw open her door and demanded for her to get out. With her hands still cuffed behind her back they were as much help as her lack of visibility which was why the woman wasn’t surprised when she landed on the icy ground, the cold already stinging the bare skin on her knee. Despite her awfully awkward heels, Adalinda had an easier time getting up off the ground than she had getting down from the high truck and she stood there, unsure of who was present with her and Dietrich. She decided to wait before saying anything.

[Stan']

"She's all yours."  Dietrich could be heard saying to the other person in their company, patting her on the shoulder once before climbing in to the passenger's side, closing the door, and shuffling over to the driver's seat once more.  The engine kicked back in to life, and Dietrich reversed the truck, turning it back in to the opposite direction and driving off.  There was no goodbyes, no indication about what was going to happen to her.  He had other things to think about, like his return to the fatherland and what his next role might be.  The Council were waiting for him, and quite frankly he was happy to get away from this island and never return.

The unknown man placed his hand on her upper arm, finally revealing his identity to her.  "It is alright Adalinda... you are in safe hands."  The voice belonged to Frederick Danmark, although he would regularly go under the alias Flammenwerfer Frederick in his younger days.  Now he was in his 50s, and although he was no longer agile and as fit as his younger self, he kept his flamethrower handy in case a situation arose that might require it.  Having fire was essential when it was cold and icey outside.  Frederick's gloved hand slowly trailed up her arm -- almost sensually -- as his fingers approached the bottom of the black bag.  With a slight tug, two of his fingers pinched the bottom of the bag and he slowly raised it above her head -- revealing her face to her new surroundings.

The years had not been kind to Frederick.  His hairline had dramatically receded to the back of his head, and many lines were now beginning to show.  His moustache had turned grey many years before his hair had.  He was a familiar face to Adalinda that had been not-so-familiar in the last few years, he had retired to a tiny shack at the northern-most part of the island; away from any source of civilization.

He walked her in to the house, holding on to her in case she slipped on a small patch of ice.  He had forgotten that she had almost perfect balance in those heels of hers.  When they got inside, the heat slapped him in the face, and the cold wind had quickly become a memory.  The shack was small, with a single bedroom and bathroom that branched off from the otherwise tiny living area.  The place was a mess, with various papers and items lying everywhere.  Frederick never got visitors, so he saw no need to keep the place looking smart.  He had yet to remove her handcuffs.

"Take a seat, my Princess."  He said, sounding as loyal as he used to be.  "I will get those handcuffs off you in a minute."  Frederick walked over to the kitchen, crouching down and looking through the cupboards for something to break her handcuffs with.  He soon found what he wanted, and began to cut away at the metal bracelets with a hacksaw.

[Peebs']

Adalinda really hadn’t known what to expect once Dietrich had left her at their unknown location in the hands of she-didn’t-know-who. It was always the not-knowing part that could put Adalinda’s stress through the roof in any situation, and right now not knowing who was with her was doing just that; friend or foe, she hoped it was friend. Given the German woman’s current situation it was understandable that she was a bit worried as to what was about to happen next, whoever it could be could easily shoot her dead, try and beat her, try and turn her into some sort of slave for all the ‘cruel’ things she had ever done during her time of power. The woman didn’t have long to wait though, as soon as their hand was laid upon her arm she tensed up only to be utterly relieved at the sound of Frederick’s voice erasing all question from her mind.

If it had been physically possible for her, Adalinda would have shed a tear of relief at the familiar sight of the aging man. She could hardly believe her luck, even after the threat she had placed on Dietrich and was forced from her ‘throne’ he had brought her to one of the few on the island she could continue to trust even after things began to go downhill for her. If she ever saw Dietrich again, Adalinda made a mental note to thank the man for helping her in the end even when he didn’t have to. There had been a reason why she always thought of him as her most trusted companion, and he continued to prove it still. It wasn’t like it was a secret Frederick had been another loyal follower of hers.

A subtle sigh escaped past the woman’s lips as the bag slipped off over her head, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light around them now that the sun had set and darkness was beginning to take over. The fact that nobody was secretly going to kill her was good enough for her to appreciate the next few minutes while she stood out in the cold with her fellow German knowing she had a slim chance to take back what was rightfully hers after a long period of planning. “It’s good to see you again Frederick,” she said turning her attention to the man who was almost hardly recognisable to her after all these years.  When he lead her into his house, Adalinda almost jerked out of the man’s grip but knew that if she made too much of a motion she’d end up flat on her ass without her hands to protect herself from the fall. He was only trying to help her anyways, and what Adalinda Knapp needed at that moment was simply that, help.

Her eyes roamed over the mess his place was in, almost cringing at its un-orderly untidiness he kept it in. It wasn’t much of a surprise; men didn’t normally keep up with appearance if they didn’t need to and Frederick Danmark was one of those men who didn’t need to. “I see retirement is being kind, I’d almost forgotten you were still living on the island. You’ve done well with keeping to yourself. Bit lonely, isn’t it?” Adalinda tried her hand at making conversation about anything but herself, which is what she normally did. The woman was slightly interested in what it was Frederick had done with his time since going into retirement and as he worked his way through the chain on her cuffs, she waiting patiently for whatever response he would give all the while enjoying the mention of her Princess title coming from his mouth.

[Stan']

"I get by."  Frederick said, focusing much of his attention on removing the handcuffs.  Rather than just sawing through the chain which linked the bangles, he carefully cut at the handcuffs themselves, making sure not to hurt any of her skin.  Even though she was relieved that he was helping her, he also knew that if he accidentally scratched her then he would be in for it.  The woman had a short temper, and although she didn't show it -- if you made one mistake, then you may as well start saying your final goodbyes.
Frederick began to sweat as the first handcuff slipped off her wrists, he had yet to touch the blade of the saw against the skin and he also hoped that that would continue.  "I guess... I have always been used to this way of life.  Before I worked for you, I lived in a house just like this.  You could say I missed the loneliness."

She was finally free of her bondage, and Frederick returned to the kitchen where he made them both a cup of tea.  Most of the mugs were stained with old coffee but he managed to find a pair which were clean; he couldn't possibly serve tea to the German woman in a cup that was dirty -- she'd probably throw it over him.  "Dietrich tells me he is returning to the mainland."  His attempts at conversation were merely to break the awkward silence that would eventually appear, it had been years since they had last spoken and even then -- Frederick and Adalinda weren't exactly 'pals' with one another.  He worked for her, and that was about it.  She was more interested in Dietrich Schneider than she was about Frederick Danmark, although he liked to think that she had been disappointed when he announced his retirement.

He handed her the white mug and sat down a little distance away from her, keeping on edge.  "I think it's best if you stay here for a little while.  I know what you are thinking, Adalinda... but revenge can wait.  It would be unwise to try anything just now."

[Peebs']

At first, Adalinda was a little unsettled with the fact the man had such a sharp implement so close to her, especially once she realised he was actually cutting his way through the cuff instead of just separating the chain that kept the cuffs together. But even though Frederick had been just a face she’d recognised in the crowd, a loyal face that had retired when there was still so much potential in store for him, she was in a position where anyone could still just easily turn their back on her and that would be the end of Adalinda Knapp. Thankfully for the German princess, that didn’t seem to be what Frederick had in mind with her there. Still loyal, it seemed; and it pleased Adalinda to no end realising this. Much as Karlheinz and the others expected her to be alone, she still had one loyal left. Maybe two, depending on whether or not Dietrich was aware of Frederick’s role.

Once free from the handcuffs Adalinda rubbed her hands over her wrists to dull the soft ache the tight metal had left behind. A faint red ring showed where the metal had once sat snug against her pale skin and she was thankful to be free of them. “Mm yes,” she responded her thoughts finally catching to what he had said, “Dietrich is to return home and be labeled a hero of some sort, while Karlheinz takes over the entire plantation because that’s what the Councilmen have deemed appropriate… that man’s no better than a rat, wiggling his way into my business and stealing it from under my very nose as if everything I’ve done for Germany no longer mattered!” Taking the tea offered to her, she took a sip before grimacing at the taste; no sugar, but she wasn’t about to complain for once. “If only the people of Germany fully understood what it is I have done for them, helped to fix all of our problems. But do those old geezers see it that way? Of course not, they’re heads are so far up their old arses they don’t understand that I’m fully capable of doing a job better than them. And I proved that!”

Running a pale finger over the rim of the cup, Adalinda thought about what Frederick said. He was right; unfortunately, she would need to stay with him for a little while. Running back to shove her heel down Kerlheinz’s throat so soon was suicidal and the woman did not feel that her time to die was now. It would just mean making her time of revenge that much sweeter and  much more enjoyable when it came time for everyone who had turned their backs on her to wish they never had… “Thank you for the tea,” she said placing it down in her lap. A saucer would have been nice, but given the amount of shuffling she’d heard in the kitchen while Frederick had found the white mugs she did not think there was a saucer to be found. Easily, anyways. “Your kindness will be repaid to you, Frederick.”

[Stan']

Chapter 1.2
New Man in Charge

It had been a month since Karlheinz Stanger had taken control of the mining facility on the island, and although he was still unsure of how most of it worked, he quickly grew to realise that the workers were much happier to have seen the back of Adalinda Knapp.  Well, everyone except for Laura Fassbinder, who seemed to growl at him and probably make stupid faces at him behind his back.  Frau Knapp had run a tight ship here, there was no room for error and when an error did happen -- the cause of it would quickly be replaced.  The miners here were some of the best in Europe, so it was no surprise to see that productivity was at an excellent level.

The new change in management came with a new change in rules.  The floor was no longer made of egg-shells, and when someone's name was mentioned -- they didn't freeze in fear like they used to.  The workers here loved Karlheinz, or at least they loved that Adalinda was no longer in charge.  Things were more relaxed, and when an accident occured, it was dealt with in a more civil manner than before.

Karlheinz had discovered the presence of the Russians when one of them showed up at the back door one day dressed in a peculiar looking outfit and a pair of ice skates on her feet.  She said her name was Dunya, and Karlheinz instantly fell in love with the woman.  She was beautiful.  The outfit made her body looked wonderful.  And when she spoke: he had never heard such a sound in his life before.
She told him that they were here to pick up the fuel, which confused him a little.  Przemyslaw Szymanski filled him in on the details: the Russians had an agreement with the Germans, and they were entitled to some of the resource that was once considered theirs.

"Why don't they just get put it on a truck?"  He had asked Szymanski -- a young Polish engineer who manned the back door and was the one responsible for making sure the German-Russian trade went by without a hitch.

"Because Adalinda kicked them out and blocked off the road between here and their camp.  The only way to get the barrels there is by either walking with them round the island -- or by skating through the shortcut.  You know what those crazy Russians are like."

That morning, Karlheinz stood on the balcony of (Adalinda's) hill-side house, looking out at the sight of two figures in the distance.  He brought his binoculars to his eyes and smiled.  They moved fast, showing signs that they had did this route a million times before.  The furthest away was a man, probably one of the Kirechenko brothers while the one a little distance in front was Dunya.  He could tell from the way she skid across the ice in a way that no one else did.  Lowering the telescopes, he began to descend the stairs towards the warehouse where they would soon be approaching.

[Peebs']

To say that she was surprised when Karlheinz had agreed to continue letting them take the fuel would be an understatement. Adalinda had always complained about the fact they were allowed a certain amount of fuel, even when it was hardly anything compared to what she put out on a monthly average and that had been exactly what she’d expected from the man to take over from the much-hated German woman.  Of course, given the fact that had Karlheinz told her to get lost, the rest of the Russians wouldn’t have been very happy with it and a giant rift would have formed between the Russian workers and the Germans—again.

Karlheinz Stanger seemed nice enough, everyone else that had heard about the man agreed; she just found it a little odd he hadn’t come out to meet the lonely camp of Russians that worked so hard with the rest of his men. His surprise at finding a Russian on the other side of the back door was enough proof for her that nobody even bothered to mention to him that they were there. It always made the Russian woman feel warm and fuzzy inside when her group wasn’t given the credit they deserved for everything they did, even after Adalinda took away the road that they could easily drive vehicles over. Maybe, just maybe with Karlheinz in command now, the man would make it easier for them. Maybe. Dunya didn’t trust the Germans any farther than she could throw them. Which wasn’t that far (not that she’d tried or anything).

Returning back with Mikhail, she couldn’t wait to get back to the base. Keeping her eye on the facility as it grew closer she did her best to take her mind off the chill that was seeping into her thin suit. It was chilly that morning, more so than it had been over the last while but she had opted out for leaving behind a jacket so she could skate faster. Mikhail on the other hand… was just slow. Looking back over her shoulder as she glided across the frozen ground she let out a soft sigh. He was going to complain about the cold, he already had before they’d started off and the slower he was the more he’d feel it compared to her. That man just did not like to go quickly if he wasn’t in any sort of danger. Dunya assumed he just liked to do things the hard way so he could complain; she honestly wouldn’t put it past him.

Finally reaching the compound, Dunya was greeted by one of the German workers outside who had been waiting for her. Bringing herself to a stop, the Russian woman fastened the blade protectors to the bottom of her skates before walking towards him, having no problem as if she were in a normal pair of shoes. “Morning Lukas,” she greeted the man who nodded his head in response before opening the large metal door and admitting her inside.

“Bit chilly,” the German man responded as two others came forward with the barrel that would be strapped to her back for the return trip.

“Mikhail’s favourite kind of weather, if you ask me.” She laughed in response, knowing it was far from the truth and he’d only came out with her because she’d asked him so kindly. She didn’t mind the travel with Alexey, but the man talked more than his younger brother and early in the morning she preferred the silence that came with the younger Kirechenko.

“You gonna wait for him to get loaded up before heading back out again?” Lukas asked handing her the papers that Szymanski had issued out the night before for her to sign stating she’d come and picked up the fuel and everything was a-ok.

“Suppose I’ve got to, or the man will have something extra to complain about once we get back to the base. Can’t be too generous with him, now can we?” handing back the clipboard the papers were attached to, the Russian woman continued to stay perfectly still while the barrel was strapped to her back. Nobody wanted anything to go wrong, especially while she had it strapped to her back with no way to escape the worst of it.

[Stan']

Mikhail was always slightly uneasy at the fact that the men who came out with the fuel cans -- even though they had claimed that they were 99% safe -- still wore their thick yellow suits as if there was a chance that the thing could burst open when they were strapping it on to the pair.  It was a slow process, an understandable one of course.  The fuel can was heavy, and it took two people to hold it in place and buckle all the straps that hugged Dunya.  One over each shoulder and one across her stomach to keep it stable.  When they were happy that it was safely attached to her, they took their hands away and watched as she was suddenly left to carry all of the weight by herself.  She had done it plenty of times before though, so she was probably used to it by now.

They did the same thing to Mikhail, approaching him with his own fuel can.  He didn't like the outfits they wore, he didn't like the fact that it was impossible to see the face of whoever was beneath it.  It could have been someone he had spoken to a million times before but for all he knew it was a total stranger.  Even their voice sounded different through the mask.  "Shouldn't we start wearing these things when we're carrying the tanks?"  He asked Dunya, raising his arms and letting them do what they had to do.

"Dunya... Mikhail... on time as always..."  Karlheinz began, almost skipping in to the room with his hands behind his back.  His attention quickly focused on Dunya and no one else, and even if Mikhail had bothered to answer, his reply would have been lost in a one-sided attraction.  "Why do they have a pretty girl like you doing all the hard work?  Running around in the cold in nothing but spandex... risking her life carrying that big heavy fuel tank on her back..."  He walked behind her, tapping his finger against the old-fashioned dial on the rear of the fuel tank.  The arrow pointed at somewhere about 66% full, which was the agreed amount.  "...I think it's time that you were allowed to put your feet up... let your hair down... go out for a nice mea-"

He was rudely interrupted by Przemyslaw Szymanski, who came out with another clipboard of numbers.  "Good morning Dunya, Mikhail... where's Alexey today?"

"He gets a lie in.  Dunya thought it would be much more fun if she pestered me in to going with her instead of him."

"Lucky him.  Now if you'll just let me have a final check..."  He muttered quietly, walking behind Dunya and scribbling down something, then doing the same to Mikhail and scratching a number against the paper with his pen.  "Everything seems to be in order.  And if I can just get a little signature from you as well..."  He passed the clipboard to Karlheinz, who didn't even bother to look at the boring stuff and signed his name on the dotted line.  It was quickly shoved back in to Szymanski's hand.  "That's everything then.  I'll see you both in a few days."  The Polak said, walking back inside.

"Yeah, get lost you little traitor."  Mikhail frowned.  Karlheinz looked at him with a confused look.  "What?"  Asked Mikhail.  "He was on our side in the last story!"