Free Blitzkrieg: Origins of the Prime: A Superhero Spy Thriller by Christopher Vale Page A

It has been done before, but I wouldn’t advise trying. Hell, even the Cuban army doesn’t know where all their mines are. They just laid them out haphazardly, without any kind of diagram or plans.”
    Axel peeked out over the side of the post down into the Gitmo River. He saw something large swimming past. “Hey, what is that?” he asked. The Marines quickly joined him and looked down into the water.
    “It’s a manatee,” said a large lance corporal named Green in his thick Georgia accent. “We see ‘em all the time. Them, sharks, and of course the Gitmo beast…just about everything swims up this river.”
    Tom smiled and slapped the young lance corporal on the back. “And they can, because it’s not mined.” He then turned to the Colonel. “We can take a boat down the river.”
    Colonel Harley laughed as he shook his head at the audacity of these men. “Sure, you can take a boat down the river, and stay free of the mines. Of course, first you gotta find a boat.”
    “That shouldn’t be hard,” Tom said. “I’ve never seen a rural town near a body of water that did not have numerous boats ready and waiting,”
    The Colonel nodded. “Alright, well let’s say you do commandeer a craft,” he said. “The Cubans watch the river as closely as we do and might be a bit suspicious of any boat high-tailing it to the American side.”
    Tom laid a hand on the Marine commander’s shoulder. “Colonel, if we are high-tailing it down the river to the base, we’ve already raised plenty of suspicion and at that point will be simply trying to survive.”
    After reviewing the plan, the Colonel led the way down the long winding set of stairs to the ground below. There they found Rolf exploring a bunker with the young Corporal who drove them out to the fence line. Rolf looked like a kid playing war.
    “Hey Axel, check this out,” he said excitedly. “This is a real bunker, just like in the movies.” Rolf stepped back inside crouching low to fit through the door and then his face reappeared in the small firing port as he pretended to fire a machine gun at assaulting Cubans.
    Tom leaned over and whispered into Axel’s ear, “I’m going to have to put my foot down, Axel. Rolf is not ready for this mission. He would be a severe liability and might get all of us killed or captured.”
    Axel nodded. He knew Tom was right. They were going undercover in Havana, posing as German tourists, and Rolf would already call a lot of attention to them simply based on his size. Despite what he had told the director, Axel had known deep in his heart that Rolf was not ready, but there was the other side of the coin. Rolf wanted to be on the mission. He was part of the team, always had been, and was just as excited as Tom and Axel to get a real world mission, a chance to put all of his training to use. To deny Rolf this opportunity would break his heart.
    Axel watched as Rolf laughed and played in the bunker like a child. He was having so much fun, they were probably going to have to tear him away from here. Then Axel had an idea. “Hey Colonel, are there always Marines stationed at this post?” he asked.
    Colonel Harley nodded. “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. No matter the weather. Marines stand post during hurricanes. Of course in that case, they would be in the bunker instead of the tower.”
    Axel nodded. “How would you feel about Rolf staying out here in the bunker while we’re in Havana?”
    Harley glanced at Rolf and then back to Axel. He lowered his voice to ensure Rolf could not hear him. “No disrespect, but can he handle it? He seems to be a bit…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but instead touched his head with his pointer finger clearly indicating what he meant.
    “He’s well trained, Colonel. He’s jumped out of planes, navigated jungles…” Tom said allowing his words to trail off.
    “Well,” the Colonel said as he rubbed his chin