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DSI Publications - Gordon Zuckerman

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169 pages

English

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During the financial devastation of the 1920-'30,a group of German Industrialist assume control of their government by supporting Hitler and his Nazi Party's rise to power. Goals of Nationalism turn in a quest for global Aryan Supremacy, leading a world to war. In 1943, the Sentinels learn of an attempt by the same industrialists to smuggle their "Fortunes of War" out of Germany before the Allied forces invade. Fearing the wealth will be used to finance the organization of a Fourth German Reich, the Six Sentinels gather together in an effort to prevent the Germans from achieving their goal. The story escalates at every turn, and allows the reader to ride 'side-saddle' with the principal characters for more than two years as the battle of opposing conflict is waged over two continents. Intrigue, danger, romance, disappointment, trust and betrayal are never very far away. Published in 2009, under the genre "Historical Thriller, Fiction", Fortunes of War remained atop Amazon and Barnes and Noble's best sellers list for two years. It is the first book in what will be a continuing series that pits the resourceful problem solving efforts of the Sentinels against those who abuse the privileges of free-enterprise in the quest of their self-serving agendas.

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Thriller

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Publié par	DSI Publications
Date de parution	15 juin 2009
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781608320165
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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NOTICE : This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Greenleaf Book Group
Austin, TX
www.greenleafbookgroup.com
Copyright ©2009 Gordon Zuckerman
All rights reserved under all copyright conventions.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without written permission from the publisher.
Distributed by Greenleaf Book Group
For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
Greenleaf Book Group at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709, (512) 891-6100.
Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group
LLC Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group LLC
Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)
Zuckerman, Gordon.
The Sentinels : fortunes of war / Gordon Zuckerman.
p. ; cm.
ISBN: 978-1-929774-64-7
1. Industrialists--Germany--Fiction. 2. Conspiracy--Germany--Fiction. 3. Germany--Politics and government--1933-1945--Fiction. 4. Germany--Economic conditions--1918-1945--Fiction. 5. Transnational crime--Fiction. I. Title.
PS3626.U25 S46 2009
813/.6
2009920764 Part of the Tree Neutral TM program, which offsets the number of trees consumed in the production and printing of this book by taking proactive steps, such as planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees used: www.treeneutral.com
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
09 10 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition

CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1: Two Old Friends
Chapter 2: A Call from Geneva
Chapter 3: Spies and Lovers
Chapter 4: Over The Atlantic
Chapter 5: Natalie of Sussex
Chapter 6: Leaving London
Chapter 7: Roots of Evil
Chapter 8: A Change of Plans
Chapter 9: Thoughts of Tony
Chapter 10: An Abduction
Chapter 11: Ian the Magnificent
Chapter 12: What She Saw
Chapter 13: Getting in Deep
Chapter 14: Claudine and Jacques
Chapter 15: A Test of Wills
Chapter 16: Complications
Chapter 17: Invasion of Privacy
Chapter 18: Passive Resistance
Chapter 19: Cricket and Kevin
Chapter 20: A Warning
Chapter 21: Rescue
Chapter 22: Lunch at Jack’s
Chapter 23: Wine Country
Chapter 24: Claudine’s Escape
Chapter 25: Trouble in London
Chapter 26: A War Within a War
Chapter 27: Queenie and George
Chapter 28: Attack at Napa
Chapter 29: Burning Both Ends
Chapter 30: Reporting for Duty
Chapter 31: Time to Make a Deal
Chapter 32: An Old Friend
Chapter 33: Trouble at la Garoupe
Chapter 34: Changing the Stakes
Chapter 35: Showdown
Chapter 36: Personification of Evil
Chapter 37: Finding Claudine
Chapter 38: Return to Chamonix
Chapter 39: The Six Sentinels
PROLOGUE
BERLIN, 1932
Karl von Schagel paced the drawing room. In the last five minutes, he had probably consulted his pocket watch a dozen times. He walked over to the sliding doors that opened onto the dining room, with its long, mahogany table polished to such a finish that a woman could probably use it to reapply her lipstick. Usually the table glistened all down its length with crystal, silver, fine bone china, and linens folded into place as crisply as a starched dress shirt. Tonight the table glistened, all right— but only for about a third of its length. This evening’s dinner party guest list was limited. Von Schagel gave the dining room a final, critical glance and turned away from the door, tugging his watch from his vest pocket.
Like his father and his father’s father, Karl von Schagel was a trusted financial adviser to Germany’s wealthiest and most influential families. Karl had lost count of how many elegant dinner parties he and his wife had hosted here, parties that had been attended by the cream of German society. But tonight there were only seven guests, the seven most powerful men in Germany.
Erhart Schmidt was first to arrive, as usual. For well over a century, the Schmidt family name had practically been synonymous with steel in Europe. Schmidt steel had been forged into longrange, precise artillery weapons since the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Guns made from Schmidt steel had been used in China, in America’s revolutionary and civil wars, by the Spanish, French, and Dutch armadas, during the Boer Wars in Africa, and by both sides during the Great War. much of the rail and rolling stock that transported the fruits of the Industrial Age in Europe, Asia, and America was produced from Schmidt smelters.
Erhart, the current head of this powerful, proud, and arrogant family, was well over six feet tall; he was also heavily muscled and weighed more than 250 pounds. Like the big guns he produced, he commanded respect. He expected his word to be the last in any discussion, and his powerful presence alone was often enough to intimidate the worthiest adversaries. Tonight, he was the unquestioned leader among the illustrious group of men who would be seated around the von Schagel dining table.
A servant politely took Herr Schmidt’s heavy woolen overcoat, hat, and gloves, and another, appearing from nowhere, caused a tumbler of single-malt Scotch to materialize in the steel mogul’s hand. Karl and Schmidt spoke meaningless pleasantries for a few moments, until the other guests began to arrive.
Heinrich Bimmler, head of Germany’s dominant automobile manufacturer, came in next, followed in a minute or two by Wilhelm Schenk, the chairman—some, out of his hearing, preferred the term “tyrant”—of reichsbank, the nation’s largest financial institution. Boritz, the railroad magnate; klein, the shipbuilder; Fleischer, holder of the nation’s most extensive mining interests; and von Steuben, who had grown rich by supplying the electrical infrastructure demanded by Germany’s burgeoning industrial buildup, completed the party. Karl bowed his guests into the dining room and more servants appeared, bringing in steaming trays that drifted mouthwatering aromas in their wake.
When the last course had been served, the men retired to the privacy of Karl’s library for the customary cigars and vintage Napoleon cognac. The congeniality from dinner carried over until the last Cuban had been lit and the last snifter served. Only then did the atmosphere turn serious.
Schmidt initiated the conversation. “Karl, we want you to listen carefully to what we have to say. Each of us has had the opportunity to discuss privately what we now want to discuss with you as a group. And we are all in agreement that your family’s years of loyal service to each of our families uniquely qualify you for the sensitive assignment that we are hoping you will accept.” Schmidt held Karl’s eyes for a moment, then glanced at Bimmler and nodded.
The tall, thin, carefully dressed auto manufacturer, coal-black hair combed straight back, adjusted his glasses and began to speak in his quiet voice. “Karl, you probably understand better than most of us that any hope of reversing the failing prosperity of Germany will require some drastic changes. Following the war, the inflow of international financing and the corresponding improvement in our economy were, for a time, creating real hope. But now that the depression in America has spread to the rest of the world and the financing that we so desperately need is drying up, new solutions are becoming necessary. many of our factories lie idle, unemployment is rampant, and public disillusionment is approaching historic highs. The Weimar republic is unstable and the Social Democratic Party is losing its appeal. At the same time, membership in many reform political parties is fragmented but rising. In short, we think these circumstances indicate that time has come for us to start making some . . . discreet adjustments in the German government.”
As Bimmler spoke, Karl felt the others watching him. He focused on Bimmler’s words and maintained eye contact with him, however, and nodded at the expected moments.
“We have been following the progress of some of the most active new political parties and there is one that seems to be gathering more public support than the others.” He paused to pull a piece of paper from his pocket, but Karl noticed that Bimmler never looked at it as he continued speaking. “According to my figures, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers Party had an enrollment of 108,000 in 1928. In the recent elections, just four years later, they received 810,000 votes, an increase of almost 800 percent, and they now control twelve seats in the reichstag. Experts agree that current economic difficulties will generate even greater public support for Hitler, whose fresh rhetoric and promise of change are having a mesmerizing effect on our discontented public. Disregarding the fact that many of his viewpoints may conflict with ours, the reality of the situation is that increasing numbers of our countrymen are convinced Hitler has some new answers to some old problems plaguing this country.”
Klein coughed discreetly. Karl shifted his focus to the graybearded, stocky shipbuilder. “We believe that we can orchestrate the expansion of Hitler’s support among the German people, allowing him to become our next chancellor. Once he is in office and has time to consolidate his power, we will already be in a position to use our influence over him and his party to introduce our own agenda.”
After a pause, the railroad industrialist spoke. “Karl, some of us believe that by playing on the public’s fear of invasion by the French from the west and the Bolsheviks from the east, Germans as a whole can be persuaded to support the establishment of an initiative we are calling ‘Arsenals for Peace.’ We think Germany can renounce the Treaty of Versailles and suspend the heavy burden of