Tobias craved more. He’d become increasingly obsessed with Dietrich’s work in Antarctica — with the
He coughed into his handkerchief, unsure if he’d catch his breath this time. When the latest fit finally subsided, Tobias gazed down into the elegant square of cloth and saw blood.
Tobias Krause knew the truth, though hardly anyone else did: he was dying.
His failing health had forced him to dive headlong into Dietrich’s most prized work. One of the Underworld’s projects had its sights set on exponentially elongating a human being’s life. But that goal had been lost due to time and available technology. The man in charge of that particular project had left behind a large chunk of his research — research that had been lost to time but that he had every intention of retrieving.
Even with his information being incomplete, Tobias’ scientists in Germany had still been able to develop an injectable serum that slowed the decaying cells associated with growing old.
“It won’t last, Herr Krause,” one of his doctors had argued. “Your body is already building an immunity to the treatment. Soon, the serum will do nothing. Death, it seems, really is inevitable.”
That doctor’s life ended three hours later.
But he’d been correct. The original formula had only remained effective for a few years. Luckily, Tobias was himself, a gifted scientist. Over the decades, he and his team had produced dozens of new permutations to stave off Death’s cold hand.
But now, Tobias’ latest serum was only measuring twenty percent effective. Soon, he’d be forced to try again.
He and his chief scientists were at a dead end.
What he really needed was the knowledge lost in Antarctica.
He had personally received a communique entailing what had happened to the Underworld. The foundation had shifted and caused subterranean cracks beneath the facility. Reports stated that dozens of men had been buried alive and the entire facility infected with deadly gas.
There were no files to raid.
Five years ago, Tobias had sent his own son to infiltrate a Swiss clinic that had been working on a similar project to Tobias’. Ulrich failed when his father needed him most. He had died during a city-wide police chase. Not only had the loss of the Sixth Seal Field Commander demoralized the organization, but it had also driven Zelda, Ulrich’s teenage daughter, to the brink of mental destruction.
After learning of her father’s fate — a man she had idolized — she had never been the same. There was a harshness, a coldness, to her now.
As the months progressed, and as Tobias grew sicker and sicker, he became desperately aware that he needed the secret facility’s forgotten research. And if he were successful, he would also salvage the Underworld’s other covert operations, including
“Grandfather? Your medicine? It’s time.”
Tobias blinked out of the daze. He glanced up at the window to a reflection of the striking young blonde waiting for him to speak. Zelda was always hounding him about taking his medicine. She wasn’t one who let go of things easily, either. Stubbornness apparently ran in the family. She was also one of the most lethal operatives inside Tobias’ inner circle, the top-secret organization founded by two great men: Heinrich Himmler and Dietrich Krause.
Tobias held up his hand. “Leave me.”
“But, Grandfather, you must—”
“Do nothing!” he hissed, cutting her off. The outburst caused Tobias to break out into another fit of coughs. Zelda went against his wishes and rushed to his side. If Ulrich had been her hero, then Tobias was a close second.
When he got himself under control, Zelda stepped back and bowed slightly. “As you wish, Grandfather. I will come back and check on you later.” She turned and headed out.
The sicker Krause became, the more paranoid his thoughts grew. His doctors had warned him of the lasting effects his serum could have on him, both physically and mentally. But Krause didn’t care. Staying alive was all that mattered. He’d worry about the quality of his life when the time came.
He'd even begun to question Zelda’s motives. Why was a woman of her talents still here and not out with the other agents? She was the heir to the Sixth Seal, after all. She, more than most, had a reason to want Tobias dead.
He remembered the unconditional love he once felt for her. Maybe she really was just looking out for him?
He blinked and shook his head, clearing his thoughts. The mental fog subsided some. “Zelda?” He watched her in the reflection. She turned and faced him again. “I’m very proud of you, you know that, yes?”
The driven, unemotional killer broke character and gave him a small smile. Then she bowed again and left.
