Tunnels 04, Closer

stand down," he cut her short.
    Rebecca Two didn't answer him, crossing her arms as she stood square on to the officer. "Not going to happen," she said firmly. "You have no idea what you're up against here. These soldiers are Limiters. They'll do whatever I ask of them. And although you might not be able to see them, there's a sniper detachment positioned on the rooftops. If you or your men so much as think about firing..."
    She didn't bother to finish the sentence, aware of the slight tremor in his arm as he kept the pistol pointed at her chest. "I'm going to bring two men up," she said. "One's a medic for my sister. She's dying from a stomach wound. This is not an act of aggression, so tell your squad to hold their fire."
    He hesitated, throwing a glance at Rebecca One, slumped against the railing where her sister had left her. The German officer looked the picture of health, with blond hair and clear blue eyes, and the skin of his face and forearms below rolled up sleeves was tanned. "Okay," he agreed, then addressed his men, ordering them to hold their fire.
    "Thank you," Rebecca Two said graciously, and with a few words in the Styx language, she raised her hand.
    Two Limiters broke from the line. The first went straight for Rebecca One and lifted her from the steps so he could begin to work on her. The second stopped a few paces beside Rebecca Two, where he waited. He was a general, the oldest and most senior of the Limiters present, with a vivid white S-shaped scar across his cheek and streaks of grey at his temples.
    Rebecca didn't look at him as she spoke to the German officer again. "Tell me -- what do you call this city?"
    "New Germania," he answered, sliding his eyes over the Limiter General.
    "And what year did you come down here?" she asked.
    He frowned before replying. "The last of us settled here in... in... neunzehn... ahm... vierzig ..." he trailed off as he groped for the right words.
    One of the soldiers in his squad helped him out. "1944," he volunteered.
    "Before the end of the war. I guessed as much," Rebecca Two said. "We know all about those Third Reich expeditions to the Poles to investigate the Hollow Earth theory. But we didn't know they'd paid off."
    "We are not the Third Reich," the German officer said categorically, bristling, despite the situation he found himself in.
    Rebecca Two went on regardless. "Well, whoever you are, I assume you've got a radio or some means of communication in your lorry. And if you and your men want to get out of this deadlock with your lives, go talk to your commanding officer. Ask him if he has any knowledge of..."
    Only now did she defer to the Limiter General, who was standing easy with his rifle cradled in his arms. "Supplement sixty-six of Unternehemen Seelowe -- Operation Sea Lion. It was the Nazi blueprint for the invasion of England, drawn up between 1938 and 1940.
    The German officer didn't respond, his gaze lingering on the Limiter General's long rifle with its night scope.
    "Does the name Grand Admiral Erich Raeder mean anything to you?" the Limiter General asked him.
    "Yes," the German officer confirmed.
    "And is there anyone in this city from his staff, or with access to records of his operations from that time?"
    The German officer rubbed the rain from his face, as if to hide the fact that this was all becoming too much to take in.
    "Listen carefully to me -- this is important," the Limiter General snapped, talking to the German officer as if he was addressing one of his own subordinates. "You will consult with your superiors about supplement sixty-six of the invasion plan, in which references to "Mephistopheles" will be prominent."
    "That was us -- Mephistopheles was the codename for my people, the Styx," Rebecca Two put in. "Styx Chapters in England and Germany were working with you -- you see, we were Germany's allies then, and we're your allies now."
    The Limiter General thrust his gloved hand in the direction of the lorry. "Come on, man, look sharp! Locate someone who has knowledge of Operation Sea Lion and the sixty-six supplement."
    "We need to resolve this situation, before you and your men die needlessly," Rebecca Two said. She shot a glance at her sister, who was laid out on a blanket the Limiter medic had spread on the wet pavement. He'd already inserted a plasma drip into the injured girl's arm, but Rebecca Two knew she needed to be in a hospital. "It's vital you make it quick. For my sister's sake."
    The German officer nodded