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“Let’s certainly hope so.” The limousine pulled to a stop in front of one of six gray and enormous monolithic structures recently thrown up next to the airstrip down which Halstead’s plane had taxied. “These scientists hold the future of the Fatherland in their hands!” Halstead hopped out of the limousine before one of his guards could open the door for him, then started upon a furious march toward the front entrance of the building. Both personal guards and both squads of basemen had fallen into step behind Halstead by the time he exchanged chestslaps with the two guards standing at attention next to the foot-thick steel doors opened to the late spring sunshine. Halstead entered the building with the confident familiarity of one who had sketched its original design and strode down the long corridor that led to its heart. “Heil Hitler!” The scientists and engineers gathered in the central vault of Block One slapped their chests in unison as they greeted the German leader upon his arrival in the room. Halstead smiled, saluted, and immediately began to shake each and every man’s hand. Each recipient of a handshake returned it warmly and gushed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the Third Reich, and Halstead forced himself to endure the obsequiousness with firm smile and steady eyes. Then Halstead, flanked by his guards, stood in front of the large semicircle of mechanical professionals and asked who would be designing the new tanks. A short, balding fellow stepped forward and saluted again. “That would be myself and Herrs Schmidtt, Jünger, Kappel, and Hoess, mein Führer.” “Good, then show me your laboratory.” “Certainly, mein Führer.” The Chief of Armor Research in Block One led his leader and his team of four into an adjacent “lab,” where a large metal table in the center of the room lay covered with sketches, notepads, and coffee mugs. Once the door to the room had been shut closed by a guard, the chief engineer launched into his meticuously rehearsed speech. “Per your instructions, we decided to start from scratch in our designs—” |