THE FÜHRER'S DAUGHTER

THE FÜHRER'S DAUGHTER (Episode 3 of 5) Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

THE BITTER ELIXER in his glass did nothing to soothe his nerves. Drexler kept flexing his fingers into a fist and releasing them, as he paced around the office. For as long as he could remember, it had always been Sophie who brought the calming peace into his life. When his world was crumbling, she was always there to talk him down from the ledge. Now she was gone—and that precarious ledge grew increasingly slick by the moment.

With pressure from the Kaiser to squelch not just the most recent, but all potential rebellions, Drexler didn’t know how much more he could take. It was unnerving enough colluding with Schroeder to lie about Grace’s whereabouts. There would be no forgiveness if the Kaiser discovered he’d lied, that Grace was still on the run, and not in fact locked away or put to death.

Nevertheless, Drexler’s own fate paled by comparison to that of the Empire. Even with that petty rabble-rouser Julius Belfour gone, trouble was spreading like a virus—trouble that could throw the entire nation into disarray. 

A knock at his door snapped him out of the downward spiral.

“Enter!” Drexler spun around to find Colonel Otto Werner standing before him with his arm outstretched.

“Heil Drexler.”

“Seig heil.” The Führer returned the salute. “So…You bring good news, I trust?”

Werner frowned and shook his head tersely. “I’m afraid not.”

Drexler licked his lips, forced a smile, and stood tall with his hands clasped behind his back. “Go on, then.”

“We found a file at Belfour’s residence, after the raid.”

“Anything I should be concerned about?”

“All should be concerned. Belfour attempted to expose the Empire’s secrets through a collection of photos.”

“What photos?”

“Years and years of images taken from Belegshaft processing facilities—”

His professional calm, notwithstanding, Drexler blinked. “It’s illegal for anyone on-site to possess a camera. And besides, all digital media is tagged and traceable by the Imperial Security Ministry.”

“They were in an archaic format.”

“There are no other digital formats besides what the government has developed. We’ve used them for decades now.”

“They were photographs—printed on paper.”

Drexler’s opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped, dumbstruck by this revelation. Since the Nazi occupation of the former United States, all media including books, photographs, video and sound recordings had been confiscated, and all non-government recording devices destroyed. The only ones that existed afterward were state developed and sanctioned, and they were tightly controlled.

All, except the ones he’d ordered destroyed.

They’ve come back to haunt me.

If that idiot Goetz were still alive, he’d have him tortured and killed like an Infekt.

Drexler turned his back on Werner, trying not to allow the anxiety to show on his face. “I want a comprehensive investigation into the source of these photos.”

Werner took a deep breath. “We already know where they came from.”

“Where?” He turned around, uncertain if that was anything to be glad about.