Der Oberhaupt (The Chief)
By Caleb
Inspiration from Jorges Luis Borges The Garden of the Forking Paths
Inspiration from Jorges Luis Borges The Garden of the Forking Paths
Capitan Keifen sat at his desk cogitating the events of the past week. With his legs crossed on top of his desk, his mind began to drift away from the present, even though his doctor advised him to stay on task so that his condition would not worsen………... His best operative Yu Tsun had finally communicated the location of a new British artillery park, but only did so through methods which are too lengthy and complicated to explain. But, Yu Tsun got himself killed in the process. This slightly saddened Keifen, for he was truly the best operative on the force. Keifen also thought of the horrors that he must deal with from the German Secretary of Foreign Affairs that day, who had placed Capitan Keifen in charge of Der Auslander Geheim Intelligenz Teilung, (abbreviated AGIT) which means The Foreign Secret Intelligence Division. Keifen had been here for almost two years already and was doing quite well under the circumstances. This division was composed of people from all over the world who were willing to do covert operations for Germany. Several of them were from Argentina, Switzerland, Sweden, China, and Tanzania. Although Keifen was honored to be placed in command of an entire covert operations division, the trouble that he encountered with his operatives and with his superiors at the Reichstag (the German parliament), was often more trouble than the command was worth.
Before Yu Tsun was sent to England to begin doing undercover operations, he would help Keifen deal with the overbearing Chinese foreigners. The Chinese operatives, who were undergoing training at Keifen’s headquarters in Berlin, were always getting the Capitan in trouble with his superiors. Once, they went to Arthur Zimmermann’s office (who was the German Foreign Secretary) and protested that Capitan Keifen had burned down the Brandenburg Gate (which was completely untrue). Their purpose in this was to get Keifen fired so that they could run AGIT on their own. The Chinamen seemed to resent having a German run the division, which Keifen respected because of Yu Tsun’s help, but his superiors suggested that a German officer needed to keep eyes on the foreign agents. The newest recruit, who to Keifen’s dismay could not speak German, was employed by Arthur Zimmermann himself. He was Mexican, a fact which would frustrate Keifen more than any other operative in the division. The Capitan used the excuse that he could not speak German, so he should not be employed. But Zimmermann turned this excuse down by saying,
“We need this operative! He is vital to our relations with the Mexican government.”
The Capitan remembered asking, “For what do we need Mexico for? They cannot help against the fight with England and France.”
The Secretary stood from his chair and said with a pestered tone in his voice, “It is not your position to know of the intentions of the Generals of the Kaisers Reich! You are dismissed, and I suggest you train this Mexican operative with same measures you would any other new operative!”
The Capitan was frustrated at this because he normally received all information about his operatives, and what they were being trained for. However, he regained his military-like respect, saluted, and marched out.
Keifen recollected all these things before he was interrupted by the sound of Spanish in the hallway leading to his office. Dacata. He thought to himself. Hearing the Spanish brought back all the pain and hatred that he had felt since the murdering of his family. Stop! Stop! Stop! Keifen seemed to be screaming in his mind, this would happen often. He tried to stop his mind from going to the subject. But he couldn’t, once he envisioned the face of his wife he fell into a winding wormhole of hysteria. He thought of the whole affair, shaking, as the Spanish from down the hall got louder and louder…….
He and his family were on holiday in Mexico before the Great War started. But rebels, that were part of a radical society of politicians and unstable soldiers staged a coup in Mexico City just after his family arrived. Keifen’s family was allowed into Mexico by invitation by a high ranking official in Mexico, which made them unsuspecting targets of this radical group. As the shooting began in the hotel that they were staying at, Keifen prepared his gun, just in case. He had his wife and two daughters hide in the bathroom while he waited to see if the shooting would stop. But, it didn’t.
“Chief?” (A name that was given to Capitan Keifen by Yu Tsun before he was captured).
At this, Keifen awoke from his nightmare. His hands were white and still shaking. He could feel the sweat underneath his uniform. This is why his doctor wanted him to stay engaged. Seeing the color return to his hands and the shivers that resembled that of a high fever subsiding, he responded to the knock on the door, “Come in.”
Then, the Spanish stopped and switched to English. Keifen took his legs down off the table, sat back in his chair, and tried to act normal. He did a very good job at hiding the terror and rage he felt as the Mexican walked in.
“Yes Dacata? Why are you not in the study learning our new transmitter codes?” said Keifen with some anger in his voice, trying not to attack the man out of sheer panic.
Dacata responded with pride in his voice, “Secretary Zimmermann requested that I call him personally…through your private line.”
A look of distress went over Keifen’s face, “Why does he want you to call him?”
Dacata, now desperate to use the phone said, “Sir, Herr Zimmermann ordered that I call him at this time.”
Keifen remained sitting and handed the man the phone, then Dacata spoke once more, “In private.” At this Keifen walked out of the office shutting the door behind him, very proud of himself that Dacata did not see the thin microphone wire that the Capitan carried with him. Now that the effects of the flashback that he had just experienced were past, his military training took over his actions. He was on the other side of the door as Dacata began to dial the call. At the very same time Keifen was snapping together a few pieces of small machinery to the wire. He finally attached the contraption together and had a primitive listening device connected to the telephone wire. This was a little trick he learned when he first joined the military at 18 years of age, which was only nine years ago. At once, he could hear the voices of Dacata and Zimmerman through the wire.
“Pablo, I have received approval from the Kaiser to move you to Mexico City in one week. You must be ready for this operation! Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir, I do,” came Dacata’s monotone reply.
“But there is another issue,” said Zimmermann “your superior, Capitan Keifen, is extremely suspicious of you and of my reasoning for recruiting you. So you must be especially alert, he cannot know of this operation.”
“Understood sir,” Dacata said now with the sound of suspicion in his voice.
“Good, there will be one of my men, at four this evening, who will give you papers for travel to Mexico. He will be on Underschwei Street. Do not miss….”
Keifen unplugged the wire contraption very quickly as he suspected that the conversation was coming to an end. He acted casual with the wire he once had in front of him in his back pocket to his uniform.
“May I return to the study now, sir?” asked Dacata once he opened the door.
“Permission granted.”
“Thank you, sir,”
Dacata walked back down the hallway to the study, while, once out of the sight of the Mexican, Keifen ran back into his office. He threw off his uniform cap and jacket and put on a civilian coat and cap. Then he looked at the flag of Germany on his wall. He knew that if he went too deep into the affairs of Zimmermann and Dacata that he could be tried for treason against his beloved nation of Germany. But his rage was uncontrollable at the thought of his family’s screams, and the gunshots. What he thought of next made him decide to leave. Meine Familie (My Family). He would have to leave now because it was already three in the afternoon and the meeting was at four. The Capitan went out his office window to avoid the guards at the entrance to the AGIT building. He knew that if Zimmermann suspected him of being too interested then he must be extra careful.
Capitan Keifen new that his suspicion of the Mexican would get him in trouble, but he did not like the fact that Secretary Zimmermann was giving orders to his operatives (especially a Mexican operative) without his knowledge. Keifen planned on witnessing the secret meeting between Dacata and the man who was to give him his travel papers, so that way he could fallow the Mexican’s contact. He hoped that the contact would bring him to the persons who were authorizing Dacata's assignment. Keifen knew why he was questioning his superiors. And he knew that whatever their reason was, his superiors were using Dacata for the greater good of Germany. But it must have been the overbearing hatred in his heart that drove him to disobey his leaders. This rage was not diminishing with time, only growing like an infection.
He followed Dacata to the place where he met the contact, and at four o’clock he saw a short, young man of no more than twenty years of age meet him. They exchanged hands and departed in opposite directions. Keifen then fallowed the young man for four blocks until he came to a large federal building which he recognized as the German Imperial Department of Strategical Enforcement. This frightened Keifen a little as he found his way into the building. He knew the reputation of this division was to double cross agents from any nation, even German agents from different departments. He knew that if he was caught sneaking around that he would either be tried for treason or transferred to a combat unit, so in this case he resolved to enter through security.
“Halt! Halt!” two guards yelled from the corner of the room as Keifen began heading towards the offices where the young man had gone.
“Yes corporal?” Keifen asked with dignity.
“I cannot allow anyone past this point, sir.” One of them replied.
“Ich bin Capitan Keifen (I am Capitan Keifen).” The Capitan said, hoping his rank would shut the guards up. The guard who was talking before began to urge him to leave until the other interrupted him,
“Are you the Capitan Keifen known to his China men as ‘Chief’?”
Keifen was now worried, “Yes, I am.”
At once, the men looked at each other and one said as he pulled out his pistol “Sir, come with me please.”
The men lead him down three staircases until Keifen could tell that he was far underground. He suspected that Zimmermann had told the guards of the building to watch for him. The soldiers stopped at a large volt-like door where it looked like the basement of the building. As one guard was putting in a combination to open the door, Keifen noticed that the Kaiser’s Coat of Arms was engraved on the door. He knew what this meant, this was the strategic headquarters for the war effort. Not only that, this was the personal bunker of the Kaiser himself. The guards opened the door and on the other side was a large room full of high ranking officials, including Arthur Zimmermann. There was a large map of Europe in the center of the room with figures representing armies. But this was not what the men in the room were around. They were focused on a smaller map in the corner of the room, which beheld North America. Just as Keifen saw the map Zimmerman noticed him and said,
“Capitan Keifen, I warned you not to meddle in the affairs of the high command when it came to Pablo Dacata. I can see that you thought of my advice as nothing.”
“Why do you say that sir? I don’t even know why I am down here. I came to get some files from….” Keifen was interrupted by Zimmermann by a wave of his hand. Now all the attention in the room was on them.
Then, with a tone in which a parent talks to child that lies, Zimmerman said, “I know that you must have followed my agent from his meeting with the Mexican in search of information, so there is no need to be coy. What surprises me is that you allowed your curiosity to overtake your duty as a German soldier. Which is to follow orders!”
At this Keifen felt his shame, he knew that he should have followed orders. But Zimmermann was not yet finished, “But, I am going to tell you our entire plan, because, even in light of your apparent disobedience, I know that you are loyal to the German Empire. That is why I placed a man of your young age in charge of an entire intelligence division.”
Zimmermann then motioned for Keifen to come see the map, though it was not just a map of North America, but of the whole North Atlantic Region. One of the other Generals made a comment,
“Lad, what you are about to see may not be communicated to anyone, or you will be court marshalled for treason, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Keifen replied, unsure of why he was being told this ‘plan’ in the first place. But to his dismay his eyes met the label on the nation which he now despised, Mexico. His hands began to shake.
Zimmermann began his long explanation, “The Americans have said that they are neutral in this great conflict here in Europe. But we know from your intelligence reports and others that they are supplying England with weapons, funds, materials etc. That is why we suspect that they will join in the conflict very soon on the side of the British and not only that, but the French! So we have found that the only way to stop America from being a threat to the German Reich would be to have Mexico join on the side of ourselves and Austria-Hungary. But we need an operative inside the governmental structure of Mexico to transmit information of what the Mexicans would require of us if they were to attack the United States.”
“That’s why you need Dacata.” Keifen said, beginning to loose color in his skin, his vision going in and out of focus.
“Yes, exactly. But this endeavor is politically risky, that is why you were advised not to get involved in Dacata’s affairs.” Zimmermann replied.
Keifen asked, “Then why are you telling me everything?”
The Generals present all looked at each other until one said, “Because either you know everything and get involved in this operation, or you must be shot for treason for knowing a little.”
“So what do you want me to do?” asked Keifen, with the last words that he controlled by his own will. He clenched his fists.
“We need you to train Dacata with the best of your ability. And when you are finished you will be assigned to the German Ambassador in Mexico to
help Dacata in relaying information back here to Berlin.” said Zimmermann, expecting Keifen to accept the mission. And no one in the room seemed to notice the sweat and the shaking coming from Keifen.
That was it. A piece of his mind lost control. He knew what piece of him that was. The screams of his daughters echoed in his mind. With bitterness in his voice he said to Zimmermann in particular,
“I cannot do this.”
Zimmermann asked why,
“Because those of Dacata’s family are murderers!”
A look of worry went across Zimmermann’s face, “How do you know that?” he asked.
Keifen began to speak agitatedly, “You tried to keep the information of Dacata’s past hidden from me, but I discovered his identity right after he was assigned to me. His real name is not Pablo Dacata, but Marques Dablos! Marques Dablos was the vice president of the Mexican Freedom Party who staged a coup in Mexico City 1910. Reports of American, French, Russian, and German citizens were registered killed in the coup.”
Zimmermann knew a little of Keifen’s experience in Mexico. So that’s why when the necessity of Dacata’s employment came up, he advised the Capitan to stay away. Keifen continued, “When the rebels came into my family’s room I was able to shoot two of them, before they got to me. They shot me in the abdomen. As they began searching the room I was hardly conscious enough to see them shoot my wife, and my daughters, then they kidnapped my three-month old son. When I left the hospital, I was informed that they had killed my son later since they could not get him to stop crying!”
The room was silent, no one dared say word for fear that Keifen would strangle them. He was shaking violently as he spoke. He went on,
“Now Zimmermann, you ask me to train the leader of this group. You mark my words! If that operative is in my sight again…. I will kill him!”
Zimmermann ordered the guards to take Keifen out of the room. The Capitan fought them until they knocked him on the head hard enough that he dosed off. That’s all they could do.
After this, the Generals present took special interest in placing Keifen in a place where he could serve his country and not lose his mind completely. They also deemed that accusing him for treason would do no good, for he could not do any damage to the operation that he knew about in his condition. So once this particular spell of rage was over (this one lasting more than a week), Zimmermann went to Keifen at a rest camp and asked him where he would like to be placed.
“Wolfgang (that was Keifen’s first name), I have a few options for you.” He handed the Capitan a piece of paper. It listed a few different branches of the military that he could transfer to. It included aerial combat, artillery, infantry, and naval operations communicator.
Keifen’s face began to glow with interest, “What is the Imperial German Flying Corps?”
Zimmermann seemed glad that this interested him, for he was glad to see the Capitan interested in anything after his actions the month before. With sort of a prideful gladness in his voice Zimmermann said, “Capitan, I can get you in a brand new Fokker aircraft on the front lines of France in less than a week.”
Before Yu Tsun was sent to England to begin doing undercover operations, he would help Keifen deal with the overbearing Chinese foreigners. The Chinese operatives, who were undergoing training at Keifen’s headquarters in Berlin, were always getting the Capitan in trouble with his superiors. Once, they went to Arthur Zimmermann’s office (who was the German Foreign Secretary) and protested that Capitan Keifen had burned down the Brandenburg Gate (which was completely untrue). Their purpose in this was to get Keifen fired so that they could run AGIT on their own. The Chinamen seemed to resent having a German run the division, which Keifen respected because of Yu Tsun’s help, but his superiors suggested that a German officer needed to keep eyes on the foreign agents. The newest recruit, who to Keifen’s dismay could not speak German, was employed by Arthur Zimmermann himself. He was Mexican, a fact which would frustrate Keifen more than any other operative in the division. The Capitan used the excuse that he could not speak German, so he should not be employed. But Zimmermann turned this excuse down by saying,
“We need this operative! He is vital to our relations with the Mexican government.”
The Capitan remembered asking, “For what do we need Mexico for? They cannot help against the fight with England and France.”
The Secretary stood from his chair and said with a pestered tone in his voice, “It is not your position to know of the intentions of the Generals of the Kaisers Reich! You are dismissed, and I suggest you train this Mexican operative with same measures you would any other new operative!”
The Capitan was frustrated at this because he normally received all information about his operatives, and what they were being trained for. However, he regained his military-like respect, saluted, and marched out.
Keifen recollected all these things before he was interrupted by the sound of Spanish in the hallway leading to his office. Dacata. He thought to himself. Hearing the Spanish brought back all the pain and hatred that he had felt since the murdering of his family. Stop! Stop! Stop! Keifen seemed to be screaming in his mind, this would happen often. He tried to stop his mind from going to the subject. But he couldn’t, once he envisioned the face of his wife he fell into a winding wormhole of hysteria. He thought of the whole affair, shaking, as the Spanish from down the hall got louder and louder…….
He and his family were on holiday in Mexico before the Great War started. But rebels, that were part of a radical society of politicians and unstable soldiers staged a coup in Mexico City just after his family arrived. Keifen’s family was allowed into Mexico by invitation by a high ranking official in Mexico, which made them unsuspecting targets of this radical group. As the shooting began in the hotel that they were staying at, Keifen prepared his gun, just in case. He had his wife and two daughters hide in the bathroom while he waited to see if the shooting would stop. But, it didn’t.
“Chief?” (A name that was given to Capitan Keifen by Yu Tsun before he was captured).
At this, Keifen awoke from his nightmare. His hands were white and still shaking. He could feel the sweat underneath his uniform. This is why his doctor wanted him to stay engaged. Seeing the color return to his hands and the shivers that resembled that of a high fever subsiding, he responded to the knock on the door, “Come in.”
Then, the Spanish stopped and switched to English. Keifen took his legs down off the table, sat back in his chair, and tried to act normal. He did a very good job at hiding the terror and rage he felt as the Mexican walked in.
“Yes Dacata? Why are you not in the study learning our new transmitter codes?” said Keifen with some anger in his voice, trying not to attack the man out of sheer panic.
Dacata responded with pride in his voice, “Secretary Zimmermann requested that I call him personally…through your private line.”
A look of distress went over Keifen’s face, “Why does he want you to call him?”
Dacata, now desperate to use the phone said, “Sir, Herr Zimmermann ordered that I call him at this time.”
Keifen remained sitting and handed the man the phone, then Dacata spoke once more, “In private.” At this Keifen walked out of the office shutting the door behind him, very proud of himself that Dacata did not see the thin microphone wire that the Capitan carried with him. Now that the effects of the flashback that he had just experienced were past, his military training took over his actions. He was on the other side of the door as Dacata began to dial the call. At the very same time Keifen was snapping together a few pieces of small machinery to the wire. He finally attached the contraption together and had a primitive listening device connected to the telephone wire. This was a little trick he learned when he first joined the military at 18 years of age, which was only nine years ago. At once, he could hear the voices of Dacata and Zimmerman through the wire.
“Pablo, I have received approval from the Kaiser to move you to Mexico City in one week. You must be ready for this operation! Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir, I do,” came Dacata’s monotone reply.
“But there is another issue,” said Zimmermann “your superior, Capitan Keifen, is extremely suspicious of you and of my reasoning for recruiting you. So you must be especially alert, he cannot know of this operation.”
“Understood sir,” Dacata said now with the sound of suspicion in his voice.
“Good, there will be one of my men, at four this evening, who will give you papers for travel to Mexico. He will be on Underschwei Street. Do not miss….”
Keifen unplugged the wire contraption very quickly as he suspected that the conversation was coming to an end. He acted casual with the wire he once had in front of him in his back pocket to his uniform.
“May I return to the study now, sir?” asked Dacata once he opened the door.
“Permission granted.”
“Thank you, sir,”
Dacata walked back down the hallway to the study, while, once out of the sight of the Mexican, Keifen ran back into his office. He threw off his uniform cap and jacket and put on a civilian coat and cap. Then he looked at the flag of Germany on his wall. He knew that if he went too deep into the affairs of Zimmermann and Dacata that he could be tried for treason against his beloved nation of Germany. But his rage was uncontrollable at the thought of his family’s screams, and the gunshots. What he thought of next made him decide to leave. Meine Familie (My Family). He would have to leave now because it was already three in the afternoon and the meeting was at four. The Capitan went out his office window to avoid the guards at the entrance to the AGIT building. He knew that if Zimmermann suspected him of being too interested then he must be extra careful.
Capitan Keifen new that his suspicion of the Mexican would get him in trouble, but he did not like the fact that Secretary Zimmermann was giving orders to his operatives (especially a Mexican operative) without his knowledge. Keifen planned on witnessing the secret meeting between Dacata and the man who was to give him his travel papers, so that way he could fallow the Mexican’s contact. He hoped that the contact would bring him to the persons who were authorizing Dacata's assignment. Keifen knew why he was questioning his superiors. And he knew that whatever their reason was, his superiors were using Dacata for the greater good of Germany. But it must have been the overbearing hatred in his heart that drove him to disobey his leaders. This rage was not diminishing with time, only growing like an infection.
He followed Dacata to the place where he met the contact, and at four o’clock he saw a short, young man of no more than twenty years of age meet him. They exchanged hands and departed in opposite directions. Keifen then fallowed the young man for four blocks until he came to a large federal building which he recognized as the German Imperial Department of Strategical Enforcement. This frightened Keifen a little as he found his way into the building. He knew the reputation of this division was to double cross agents from any nation, even German agents from different departments. He knew that if he was caught sneaking around that he would either be tried for treason or transferred to a combat unit, so in this case he resolved to enter through security.
“Halt! Halt!” two guards yelled from the corner of the room as Keifen began heading towards the offices where the young man had gone.
“Yes corporal?” Keifen asked with dignity.
“I cannot allow anyone past this point, sir.” One of them replied.
“Ich bin Capitan Keifen (I am Capitan Keifen).” The Capitan said, hoping his rank would shut the guards up. The guard who was talking before began to urge him to leave until the other interrupted him,
“Are you the Capitan Keifen known to his China men as ‘Chief’?”
Keifen was now worried, “Yes, I am.”
At once, the men looked at each other and one said as he pulled out his pistol “Sir, come with me please.”
The men lead him down three staircases until Keifen could tell that he was far underground. He suspected that Zimmermann had told the guards of the building to watch for him. The soldiers stopped at a large volt-like door where it looked like the basement of the building. As one guard was putting in a combination to open the door, Keifen noticed that the Kaiser’s Coat of Arms was engraved on the door. He knew what this meant, this was the strategic headquarters for the war effort. Not only that, this was the personal bunker of the Kaiser himself. The guards opened the door and on the other side was a large room full of high ranking officials, including Arthur Zimmermann. There was a large map of Europe in the center of the room with figures representing armies. But this was not what the men in the room were around. They were focused on a smaller map in the corner of the room, which beheld North America. Just as Keifen saw the map Zimmerman noticed him and said,
“Capitan Keifen, I warned you not to meddle in the affairs of the high command when it came to Pablo Dacata. I can see that you thought of my advice as nothing.”
“Why do you say that sir? I don’t even know why I am down here. I came to get some files from….” Keifen was interrupted by Zimmermann by a wave of his hand. Now all the attention in the room was on them.
Then, with a tone in which a parent talks to child that lies, Zimmerman said, “I know that you must have followed my agent from his meeting with the Mexican in search of information, so there is no need to be coy. What surprises me is that you allowed your curiosity to overtake your duty as a German soldier. Which is to follow orders!”
At this Keifen felt his shame, he knew that he should have followed orders. But Zimmermann was not yet finished, “But, I am going to tell you our entire plan, because, even in light of your apparent disobedience, I know that you are loyal to the German Empire. That is why I placed a man of your young age in charge of an entire intelligence division.”
Zimmermann then motioned for Keifen to come see the map, though it was not just a map of North America, but of the whole North Atlantic Region. One of the other Generals made a comment,
“Lad, what you are about to see may not be communicated to anyone, or you will be court marshalled for treason, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Keifen replied, unsure of why he was being told this ‘plan’ in the first place. But to his dismay his eyes met the label on the nation which he now despised, Mexico. His hands began to shake.
Zimmermann began his long explanation, “The Americans have said that they are neutral in this great conflict here in Europe. But we know from your intelligence reports and others that they are supplying England with weapons, funds, materials etc. That is why we suspect that they will join in the conflict very soon on the side of the British and not only that, but the French! So we have found that the only way to stop America from being a threat to the German Reich would be to have Mexico join on the side of ourselves and Austria-Hungary. But we need an operative inside the governmental structure of Mexico to transmit information of what the Mexicans would require of us if they were to attack the United States.”
“That’s why you need Dacata.” Keifen said, beginning to loose color in his skin, his vision going in and out of focus.
“Yes, exactly. But this endeavor is politically risky, that is why you were advised not to get involved in Dacata’s affairs.” Zimmermann replied.
Keifen asked, “Then why are you telling me everything?”
The Generals present all looked at each other until one said, “Because either you know everything and get involved in this operation, or you must be shot for treason for knowing a little.”
“So what do you want me to do?” asked Keifen, with the last words that he controlled by his own will. He clenched his fists.
“We need you to train Dacata with the best of your ability. And when you are finished you will be assigned to the German Ambassador in Mexico to
help Dacata in relaying information back here to Berlin.” said Zimmermann, expecting Keifen to accept the mission. And no one in the room seemed to notice the sweat and the shaking coming from Keifen.
That was it. A piece of his mind lost control. He knew what piece of him that was. The screams of his daughters echoed in his mind. With bitterness in his voice he said to Zimmermann in particular,
“I cannot do this.”
Zimmermann asked why,
“Because those of Dacata’s family are murderers!”
A look of worry went across Zimmermann’s face, “How do you know that?” he asked.
Keifen began to speak agitatedly, “You tried to keep the information of Dacata’s past hidden from me, but I discovered his identity right after he was assigned to me. His real name is not Pablo Dacata, but Marques Dablos! Marques Dablos was the vice president of the Mexican Freedom Party who staged a coup in Mexico City 1910. Reports of American, French, Russian, and German citizens were registered killed in the coup.”
Zimmermann knew a little of Keifen’s experience in Mexico. So that’s why when the necessity of Dacata’s employment came up, he advised the Capitan to stay away. Keifen continued, “When the rebels came into my family’s room I was able to shoot two of them, before they got to me. They shot me in the abdomen. As they began searching the room I was hardly conscious enough to see them shoot my wife, and my daughters, then they kidnapped my three-month old son. When I left the hospital, I was informed that they had killed my son later since they could not get him to stop crying!”
The room was silent, no one dared say word for fear that Keifen would strangle them. He was shaking violently as he spoke. He went on,
“Now Zimmermann, you ask me to train the leader of this group. You mark my words! If that operative is in my sight again…. I will kill him!”
Zimmermann ordered the guards to take Keifen out of the room. The Capitan fought them until they knocked him on the head hard enough that he dosed off. That’s all they could do.
After this, the Generals present took special interest in placing Keifen in a place where he could serve his country and not lose his mind completely. They also deemed that accusing him for treason would do no good, for he could not do any damage to the operation that he knew about in his condition. So once this particular spell of rage was over (this one lasting more than a week), Zimmermann went to Keifen at a rest camp and asked him where he would like to be placed.
“Wolfgang (that was Keifen’s first name), I have a few options for you.” He handed the Capitan a piece of paper. It listed a few different branches of the military that he could transfer to. It included aerial combat, artillery, infantry, and naval operations communicator.
Keifen’s face began to glow with interest, “What is the Imperial German Flying Corps?”
Zimmermann seemed glad that this interested him, for he was glad to see the Capitan interested in anything after his actions the month before. With sort of a prideful gladness in his voice Zimmermann said, “Capitan, I can get you in a brand new Fokker aircraft on the front lines of France in less than a week.”
