The Führer's Prophecy (The Reich Trilogy Book 2)

“A rarity … a sequel that’s just as good as the original.” The Scotsman “A wild rollercoaster that’s thrilling from the beginning to the end.” The London Economic “Buckle up … a page turner that is impossible to put down till the very end.” Reader’s Digest “Action packed, fast-paced and filled with amazing twists … great characters too!” Female First “With this explosive sequel, author Brian Klein has cemented his position as Britain’s most exciting thriller writer.” Stories SWNS Also by Brian Klein The Counterfiet Candidate First published by Spirit Entertainment 2023 Copyright © 2023 by Brian Klein All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. Brian Klein asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. Cover photo credit: Shutterstock.com First edition ISBN: 978-1-3999-3637-8 Cover art by www.patrickknowlesdesign.com Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, www.refinecatch.com Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A. To Charmaine and Jessica who remain my inspiration. Prologue Auschwitz November 1943 It was a blisteringly cold morning. The freezing air, fuelled by a savage easterly wind, spun the unrelenting giant snowflakes into menacing patterns that aptly framed the entrance to the world’s most notorious death camp. The Mercedes-Benz 770, only used by the Nazi elite, pulled to a halt outside Auschwitz. Despite the cruel elements, the armed guards either side of the wrought-iron gates looked immaculate in their field grey tunics. They instantly recognised the status of the approaching vehicle, lowered their Karabiner 98k rifles and moved forward to the back passenger door to check the identity of their unexpected, but clearly distinguished, visitor. As the mysterious VIP slowly wound down the window, their eyes fixed on a familiar face, and they weren’t disappointed. The insolent expression glaring back at them belonged to a prominent high-ranking figure in the Nazi regime. He was the man who had conceived and created the extermination camps across Poland and Germany; the infamous architect and driving force behind the Holocaust. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler held the illustrious title of Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel but was more commonly known as the head of the notorious Waffen SS, the combat division of the Nazi party. He was the second most powerful man in the Third Reich, but was, without doubt, the most feared. The two guards reeled back on their heels and immediately performed the familiar Nazi salute while proclaiming a hearty “Heil Hitler”. Himmler ignored their enthusiastic greeting, leaned out of the window and adjusted his celebrated pince-nez to focus his piggy hazel eyes on the giant handmade sign that dominated the entry to the camp. An arrogant smirk crept across his pencil-thin lips as he read the notorious words that greeted every individual, “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” – work sets you free. Himmler failed to spot the slight imperfection in the sign; the letter “B” had been inverted deliberately as a covert mark of rebellion by defiant Jewish inmates tasked with creating the sign a few years earlier. The huge iron gates swung open, and the eight-cylinder engine fired up inside the giant Mercedes, pumping smoke from its exhaust, charring the virgin white snow. The Nazi staff car glided effortlessly into the camp, exuding the same authority and arrogance as its eminent passenger. Although Block 10 had originally been designed for male inmates, everyone at the camp was aware that in recent months it had been transformed into a massive testing laboratory housing hundreds of female human guinea pigs. Inside the notorious two-storey brick barracks, conditions were atrocious and inhumane. Female prisoners were crammed into triple wooden bunk beds layered with straw bedding, which housed rats, lice and other vermin. The women were routinely subjected to appalling medical experiments performed without anaesthetic, and the complete lack of hygiene ensured the death rate was phenomenally high. Only a handful of inmates lasted longer than a month. In one of the darkest corners of the block, a young male doctor was struggling to find a usable vein in the almost-lifeless bony arm of his twenty-year-old patient. He swore under his breath as he focused on his fifth attempt to find a landing zone for the hypodermic needle in his right hand. He was determined to make this attempt count when his concentration was broken by the unmistakable voice of the camp commandant, Rudolf Höss. The frustrated SS Major at once knew something was amiss because this was the first time the commandant had deigned to visit his makeshift laboratory. “Doctor Schumann, you don’t seem to be having much luck today, but that might change. You have an esteemed visitor waiting for you in my office. I suggest you get moving.” Two minutes later Doctor Horst Schumann cautiously entered the commandant’s office where he encountered Heinrich Himmler lounging in a black leather chair. His short stubby legs were stretched out across the massive oak desk Höss had shipped in from Berlin when he’d first taken over the camp three years earlier. Schumann’s gaze was weirdly drawn to the pristine black rubber soles of the Reichführer’s jackboots that mysteriously showed no sign of snow in their deep crevices, Himmler nodded to acknowledge the arrival of the doctor and then his eyes flicked down to the manila folder in his right hand, which he brandished in the air with the panache of a seasoned orchestra conductor. He waited a moment before switching his gaze back towards the doctor and then let rip. “Schumann, I totally condemn your recent behaviour, as does the Führer. Furthermore, it simply won’t