Temple

Schroeder said. 'They advocate the forcible incarceration and execution of all Negroes and Jews, the destruction of democratic government worldwide and, most importantly, the restoration of a Nazi government to the unified Germany and the establishment of the Herrenvolk—the “master race”— as the ruling elite on earth.'

“The restoration of a Nazi government in Germany? The establishment of the master race as the ruling elite on earth?'

Copeland said in disbelief.

“Wait a second,' Race said. 'You're talking about Nazis. In the nineties.”

'Yes,' Schroeder said. 'Nazis. Modern-day Nazis.'

Frank Nash said, 'Colonia Alemania has long been believed to be a safe haven for former Nazi officers. Eisler stayed there for a short time in the sixties. Eichmann, too.'

Schroeder nodded. 'Colonia Alemania consists of pastures and lakes and Bavarian-style houses, all of which are surrounded by barbed wire fences and guard towers that are patrolled by armed guards and Doberman Pinschers twenty-four hours a day.

'It was said that during the Pinochet regime, in exchange for protection from the government, Ehrhardt allowed Colonia Alemania to be used by the dictatorship as an unofficial torture centre. It was a place where people were sent to “disappear”. And with the protection of the military regime, Ehrhardt and his Nazi colony remained immune from search by foreign agencies like the BKA.'

'All right, then,' Nash said, 'so how do they come into this equation?'

'You see, Herr Nash, that is the problem,' Schroeder said.

'It is the Stormtroopers who have a Supernova.'

'The Stormtroopers have a Supernova?' Nash said flatly.

'Yes.'

'Jesus…“

'Herr Nash, please. You must understand. In twenty years of counter-terrorist work, I have never encountered a group like the Stormtroopers. It is well financed, well organised, strictly hierarchical, and totally and utterly ruthless.

'It is made up of two types of person—soldiers and scientists. The Stormtroopers recruit mainly experienced soldiers, often men who have been dishonourably discharged from the former East German Army or the Bundeswehr for their predilections for using excessive force. Men like Heinrich Anistaze, men trained in the arts of terror, torture and assassination.'

'Anistaze is a Stormtrooper?” Nash said. 'I was under the impression he was working for German intellig—'

'Not anymore,' Schroeder said bitterly. 'After the Eastern Bloc collapsed, Anistaze was hired by the German government on a contract basis only—to take care of certain “problems”. But it appears our leash wasn't short enough.

'Anistaze is a mercenary, a killer for hire. It wasn't long before someone offered him more than we were paying him, and he betrayed two of his case officers and turned them over to the enemy.

'It came as no surprise to us when, not long after that incident, his rather distinctive methods of persuasion started showing up in Stormtrooper-related incidents.

Apparently, Anistaze's rise through the Stormtrooper ranks has been swift. We believe he is now an Obergruppenfiihrer in their ranking system. A lieutenant-general. Second only to Ehrhardt himself.'

'Son of a bitch…'

'As for scientists,' Schroeder shrugged, 'the same principles apply. The Stormtroopers lure many highly educated men and women who are working on projects that are not seen as in keeping with modem Germany's collective guilt.

'For example, when the Wall came down, certain East German scientists developing NA grenades—grenades filled with nitric acid, designed to inflict horrific injuries but not to kill their victims—soon found themselves out of a job.

The Stormtroopers, on the other hand, are always on the lookout for those kinds of people, and they are willing to pay handsomely for their services.'

'How?' Copeland asked. 'How can they afford all this?'

“Doctor Copeland. The modem Nazi movement has never been short of cash. In 1994, an illegal BKA trace of a suspected Nazi account in a Swiss bank estimated the Stormtroopers' total cash reserves at more than half a billion dollars—the proceeds of the sale of priceless artefacts stolen during World War II.'

'Half a billion dollars,' Race breathed.

'Gentlemen,' Schroeder said, 'the Stormtroopers, they do not hijack aeroplanes. They do not murder federal officials or blow up federal buildings. They look for greater victories-victories that will overthrow the entire world order.'

'And now you think they have a Supernova?' Nash said.

'Up until about three days ago, all we had were unproveable suspicions,' Schroeder said. 'But now we are certain of it. Six months ago, BKA surveillance agents in Chile photographed a man strolling around the grounds of Colonia Alemania with Odilo Ehrhardt himself. He was later identified as Doctor Fritz Weber. Herr Nash, I imagine that you would know who Doctor Weber is.'