Cologne, Germany           One storm over the Rhineland ended just as another began. It was March 7th, 1936, and it looked like the retreating rain clouds were being chased away by approaching Nazi troops. And approach they did. Thousands of soldiers marched through the streets of Cologne, as the cheers of local residents greeted the thunderous stomp of goose-steps. Above them, the twin spires of the city’s great cathedral pierced the clouds, inviting sunlight to flood the streets below.           The gothic design of the cathedral dated back to the 13th century, and for a short time, it held claim to being the tallest building in the world. Now, in its shadow, the Nazi numbers grew, as row upon row of helmeted soldiers – with their trench coats flapping in the wind and their rifles glinting in the emerging sunlight – brought a new feeling of nationalism to the former German citizens.           The rumors had been true. Hitler’s troops made good on their promise to take back the Rhineland. The German military reclaimed Cologne with only twenty thousand soldiers.           It was even more remarkable that Nazi troops met with little or no resistance. The French did nothing to stop them, even though French troops easily outnumbered the German ones.           The Treaty of Versailles had been broken. *           News of the remilitarization spread quickly. With each passing hour, the number of Hitler’s troops in Cologne increased.           However, what brought excitement to the streets of Cologne, sparked misgivings among the British military personnel stationed in the Rhineland.           William Tyning knew there was little the French or English would do about the remilitarization, so he decided to show a little initiative. *           The Brigadier wasn’t happy with Tyning’s plan to travel alone into the heart of Cologne to witness what was taking place there. Tyning wanted to hear first-hand what was being said on the streets. He wanted to gauge the passion, and possible ferocity, of the Nazis.           “I’m sure the War Office wants to send in their own men and won’t want you mucking things up,” the Brigadier warned.           “I’m only going to listen and learn. How is that mucking things up?”           “I’ll have to disavow any knowledge of you being there. The PM would have my head if he thought I allowed a Navy Commander to take matters into his own hands.”           “You won’t need to disavow anything. I’m going into Cologne on my day off, for a beer. How much more simple could it get?”           “Then, you’re on your own, Commander.” *           On the outskirts of Cologne, Feuermacht sat waiting in an unadorned room. It was inside a large house, surrounded by a group of smaller buildings on the banks of the Rhine River and had been chosen by the Nazis because of the lay of the land around it. There was space inside the building to conduct business and an open field outside to ensure no one could approach, undetected. The Rhine bordered the property on the west and the remaining perimeters were made up of outbuildings and barns. The Germans liked the layout because it shielded much of what the soldiers were doing, from prying eyes. The former residents had been sent packing – for the good of the Reich – and had been promised remuneration.           As Feuermacht waited, he unconsciously tapped his walking stick on the floor. He stopped when he realized the simple action might make him appear nervous or impatient. Hess was Hitler’s good friend and cabinet minister. Feuermacht willed himself to appear calm and confident. *           Hess had unexpected business to attend to, before his meeting. He had been informed that British army officers had just arrived at the compound and he went out to greet them.           As he strode toward them, Hess cut a commanding image in his Nazi uniform. His steely eyes dominated his face and his wide jaw gave him an air of invincibility. Unlike some other Nazi officers, Hess was not yet ready to write off the British. He believed the Reich might need assistance from Britain in its fight against the Bolsheviks.           But as far as he could see, these British officers were not men of power. If the English weren’t going to send upper statesmen, then let someone else handle the visit. He ordered a subordinate to appease the Brits, by word if not by deed, and then get rid of them.           When the British finally returned to their vehicle, they drove away leaving Commander William Tyning behind. *           There it was again, a rattling sound coming from behind a barn. It's probably a rat.           A young Nazi soldier decided to exterminate the rodent, but what he encountered was larger than expected and considerably more dangerous. *           Tyning easily overpowered the Nazi with a right hook and stole his uniform.           He looked for Hess, but proceeded cautiously. Even though the stolen Nazi uniform fit well enough, he had noticed someone in the compound who could identify him.           Seeing Siegfried Feuermacht caught Tyning by surprise. He knew Feuermacht was a friend and frequent guest of the Astors. Now, Feuermacht was meeting with Hess and Tyning wanted to be close enough to hear their conversation. *           Nigel Townsend wasn’t surprised to see the Germans give him and a few other Brits the brush off. He was surprised, however, that the Nazis never noticed one of the British soldiers was missing when they returned to their truck. Townsend slipped into the driver’s seat and drove away. When he thought they were safely out of sight of the German troops, he gave up the wheel and jumped out of the vehicle.           He had also seen Feuermacht entering the German compound and he didn’t want to leave until he found out why the personal guest of a member of the House of Lords, was meeting with a highly placed Nazi. However, a soldier standing outside the window to Hess’s office blocked Townsend’s view into the building. *           Finally, Rudolf Hess and Siegfried Feuermacht stood face to face.           After politely greeting each other and praising the Führer’s bold move to reclaim the Rhineland, Feuermacht mentioned how staving off increasing military intervention could be costly. Hess agreed.           Feuermacht continued, “The Swiss, however, are sitting on a goldmine that could easily be tapped.”           “Their numbered banking accounts?”           “Of course.”           “And how would you propose we take over management of those accounts?”           “That may be easier than previously believed,” Feuermacht smiled.           “There’s nothing easy about the Swiss. And anyone who underestimates them is a fool.”           Feuermacht removed the leather envelope from inside his shirt. He opened it and took out the contents, laying them on the desk for Hess to see. “The fear that feeds the Swiss is fear of invasion. They expect us to march our troops across their border and fight them on their own terrain. They’ve done everything in their control to make sure their borders are protected. And any invasion along those lines would spell doom for the Third Reich. However, I’ve come up with a more effective plan.           “I’m sure you’ve heard about the recent death of a scientist in Leverkusen. He was working on a chemical that has a startling propensity for human annihilation. It’s my understanding that this chemical can be formulated as a liquid. As such, it could be introduced into an enemy’s water supply.”           “And how do you propose we get the chemical into the water.” “By poisoning their reservoirs with it. Every day, residents would tap into that reserve for drinking and washing, never knowing the water’s tainted. According to my calculations, a majority of the Swiss population would die within the first week of contamination and others would soon follow.”           “And then us? If we marched into this toxic wasteland, wouldn’t we also die?”           “The chemical dissipates rather quickly, I’m told. We would just need to bide our time. And, of course, any agents of the Third Reich who seemingly rush to Switzerland under the guise of providing humanitarian aid the dying, would be wise to bring their own drinking water with them, perhaps concealed in trunks labeled to look as though they contain medical supplies.           “The nations of the world would retaliate against us!”           “The nations of the world would never know we were involved. The chemical, in its purest form, is odorless and colorless and no one outside of Germany knows such a poison exists. We would only have to introduce it in a way that would not be detected.”           “And how would we do that?”           “By creating a fear of water contamination and then selling the Swiss people water filters for their reservoirs, to prevent the contamination they fear.”           “You have not told me, Herr Feuermacht, how you would contaminate the water.”           “The filters we sell them to purify their water would actually contain the contaminant. I’ve outlined the plan in this dossier. I call it Operation CAPQuellwasser.”           “You’re sure it could not be detected?”           “Germany will rule the world!”           As Feuermacht finished explaining the details of the invasion plot, Hess stood motionless, his fingers pressed together, his eyes unfocused. Then he smiled. “The Führer will be pleased.”           The tension in Feuermacht’s face dissolved. His mission was accomplished. But he had little time to savor his success. Hess was soon distracted by a scuffle, outside. *           A Nazi Storm Trooper spotted Tyning spying on Hess and Feuermacht through the window.           He confronted Tyning and their fight escalated until one threw the other into a large metal trash container, knocking it over. Hess walked over to the window to see what was happening.           At the sight of Hess, the battling Storm Unit Leader raised his arm in salute. With the German’s face now unprotected, Tyning threw an uppercut, ramming the German in his larynx, rendering him unconscious.           Hess pointed to Tyning. “Bring that man to me,” he ordered, “And lock up the loser of this unfortunate incident.” *           Townsend watched in disbelief as a Nazi soldier grabbed one of the fighters and spun him around. William Tyning, without a hat on, was easy to recognize. Townsend realized he was the Brit who had slipped away from his vehicle, earlier. Now the Germans had Tyning and it wouldn’t take them long to discover his value to them.           Townsend searched the area for something he could use to distract Hess. He was forced to duck behind an outbuilding, when a truck pulled in. German soldiers began unloading the vehicle and although Townsend understood very little German, he quickly realized they were offloading guns and ammunition. One bullet fired into the gas tank of the truck would spark an explosion. And if the guns and ammo were close enough, it would cause an even bigger diversion. He had to find a position that would allow him to shoot with accuracy and still be close enough to Tyning to help him escape.           He wondered if Tyning could speak German well enough to at least delay the inevitable?           Meanwhile, Townsend sought a better tactical location. *           Hess nodded at the Obersturmbannführer, the high-ranking officer who brought Tyning to him. The officer punched Tyning hard enough to knock him to his knees.           “What was the nature of your fight?” the German officer demanded. Tyning remained silent. The officer hit him again. Blood poured from Tyning’s nose. “I’ll ask once more and only once more, why were you fighting?”           Tyning remained silent. The German officer yanked Feuermacht’s walking stick out of his hands and smacked it across the back of Tyning’s head. Tyning fell face-first to the floor as he lost consciousness.           The officer took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the handle. He handed it back to Feuermacht with a nod of appreciation. “A very fine stick.”           “German made,” was Feuermacht’s reply.           Within seconds, a loud explosion rocked the air and the windows in the small room imploded. There were shards of glass and flying debris inside the office, while screaming and gunshots erupted outside. Hess, Feuermacht and the German officer ran outside to assess the situation, leaving Tyning unconscious on the floor.           Chaos ruled the compound. The Nazi soldiers didn’t know where the gunshot had come from and were shooting at everything that moved.           Townsend used the confusion to slip into the building. He took a canteen of water and splashed some in Tyning’s face, but there was no reaction. Tyning had a pulse, but did not look like he would regain consciousness any time soon. His skull didn't appear to be fractured and Tyning would most likely be okay, if Townsend could get him out of there.           Moving toward the window to see what was going on, he stopped suddenly. On the desk in front of him, underneath the glass and debris, was a map of Switzerland. With it were other papers that mimicked the fold lines of the map, as well as a leather envelope. Townsend picked everything up, shoving it all into the leather case and stuffed it inside his jacket. The noise level was diminishing. Instead of gunshots, there now seemed to be a cooperative effort underway to extinguish the flames.           Townsend picked up Tyning, but then heard the crunch of gravel. Hess and Feuermacht were returning to the building. ***