Designated Targets

But, the führer had intervened—one of the few times he’d done so. Thanking the Reichsführer-SS for his diligence, he had suggested that Speer was too valuable to condemn, at least for the moment, when they had already lost so many and faced the immense challenge of the coming months. He argued that Heydrich had been allowed to live, despite his Jewish blood, so Speer should be given a chance to redeem himself by bringing the special projects to fruition. He was on notice, the führer had said, and he’d seen what happened to the others. If he could not be trusted, he could at least be watched.

Himmler privately thought the führer was still upset over the business with Rommel.

So Speer was alive, although he never seemed to look Himmler in the eye. To the Reichsführer, he very much appeared to be a man with something to hide.

His turn would come.

“And so, I am afraid the jet program will not reach its maturity in time,” said Speer, never once looking up from his notes.

Göring began to grumble, and curse under his breath as Speer carried on.

“So I recommend that while we continue to invest in the development of these jets, there are other, much more pressing programs in need of our resources. The use of radar, to direct antiaircraft fire, has greatly limited the Allies’ ability to strike at our preparations for Sea Dragon. But we still lag in this area, and while the productive capacity exists, the program lacks the funding needed to achieve its goals.

“I can add fifty percent to our coverage immediately, if the Chancellery will just release the funds. That extra capacity will be crucial. The RAF has changed its tactics, and has begun striking at our radar sites with these wooden Mosquitoes, flying low and fast and firing a new rocket specifically designed to home in on radar emissions. They, too, have accelerated their weapons-development programs. And they posses the Trident, which we do not—”

“We would have such a ship, if it weren’t for our yellow friends,” Göring muttered, a little too volubly.

“Enough,” Hitler commanded. “Let Speer continue.”

Himmler glanced over at the Japanese ambassador but his face was a marble mask. For once, the SS chief agreed with Göring. He didn’t think they should have let the Dessaix out of their grasp, either. It would have been invaluable in the coming operation. But the führer had insisted. They would fight this war as a global conflict. The Japanese were closely coordinating their plans with the Reich, and Yamamoto insisted that those plans turned on the Dessaix. Besides, she had been stripped nearly bare before being sent to the Pacific. She might not play a direct role in Sea Dragon, but some of her weapons systems would.

Himmler listened as Speer mumbled a thank-you to Hitler and pressed on. Still refusing to raise his head.

“The Panzerfaust Two-fifty, a great improvement on the model Thirty, will be ready, but in limited numbers,” he said. “On current scheduling, twelve hundred will be available in the one-use format. There are also two hundred prototype reusable Panzerschrecken, available immediately, with a projected supply of eighteen to nineteen hundred warshots.”

Himmler moved his cold gaze away from Speer for a moment to let it rest upon General Ramcke. The paratroop commander had designs on those weapons, along with the body armor and assault rifles under development at Monovitz. Himmler met the man’s gaze and held it, forcing the Fallschirmjäger to lower his eyes. The new SS special units would be receiving those items. They had been in training with the prototypes and mock-ups from the first day of the project.

He went back to staring impassively at Speer. The armaments minister spoke for another quarter hour, outlining the state of all the accelerated programs for which he was responsible. When he was finished, the führer dismissed him, along with all the other minor functionaries.

The room cleared quickly, until only four men remained besides Himmler and Oshima. The führer of course, Reichsmarshall Göring, Herr Doktor Göbbels, and Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, who was one of the few people besides Himmler who had come to enjoy even greater prestige and power since the Emergence. He had negotiated the cease-fire with Stalin, and Hitler considered it to be a master stroke. And more important, like Kaltenbrunner, he had died well in the other history.

Ribbentrop was the first Nazi to hang at Nuremberg, and he had gone out proclaiming his loyalty to the führer. Even Himmler could find no fault in that, although the man remained the most awful preening snob.