The Knight´s Legacy

The Nazi Treasure

The young woman had carried out successfully her task so they abandoned the shopping area, to the relief of both, since the traffic was unbearable, particularly with parked cars in double and even triple row.

With his  usual persistence Matías called the next day to the phone number the Korean girl  had given him; Alicia answered directly, who recognized his voice.

“Dieter Knopf is no longer alive but I found his son and talked with him. He expects you tomorrow at his home before noon.” She then gave him  an address in the Bajo Flores quarter. Matías thanked, while wondering if ultimately Debbie was right and his caution was excessive, bordering on paranoia.

The following morning Matías drove alone to the indicated address, which turned out to be in the middle of the Korean district of Buenos Aires. He was surprised by the business cartels, some bilingual and others only written in Korean. When he  knocked on the door he did not have to wait long, and to his surprise, Alicia opened it, although it took him a moment to recognize her since she was now dressed in a floaty pink dress with a pronounced neckline and wide skirt. Impacted by the oriental beauty, he could barely mumble. The girl told him.

“Pass, Juan is waiting for you. What is your name?

Triggered by a sixth sense, caution re-emerged since a detail bothered Matías: the girl had claimed not to know Juan Knopf, and now seemed to be familiar. He decided to lie about his name and although he immediately regretted his excessive prudence, time would prove his sudden intuition adequate.

“Esteban Rosales.”

“You said you´re from Cordoba, right?”

“No, Rosario.” Matías again felt that the Alicia was trying to catch him at a lie, which increased his misgivings about her.

The woman let him in and led him to a large room, where a man was sitting in a wicker chair.

Juan Knopf was a man of fifty years, as tall as Matías but with a strong contexture. He had graying hair with a ponytail and a general appearance of aged hippy. His complexion was dark, surprising for a man of his surname. Instinct predisposed Matías favorably.

“Mr. Juan Knopf?” Asked unnecessarily Matías.

“Johann Vijay Knopf or Juan Knopf, as you prefer.

“Vijay?”

“My mother was Hindu “ said by passing, his tone of voice was friendly. “ How can I help you? Alicia tells me we have relatives that were friends in the past.”

Reasoning that if he did not speak clearly and sincerely his visit would be in vain, Matías decided to tell the truth about its purpose. He spoke of his grandfather, whom he had not known, the letter that had left him and the recommendation of trusting Dieter Knopf. Even so, Matías did not reveal his real name at the moment, thinking that there would always be time to do it.

“Yes, my father told me a lot about his friend Horstmann, his mission to Antarctica, and persecution to which he was exposed, not only by the Nazis. Dad was  never one of them, and they only used his scientific capacity. He was strongly skeptical and thought that the entire expedition to Tibet to find the origins of the Aryan race would be a fiasco but to his surprise, the mission had ambiguous results which were never revealed, among other things due to the defeat of the Nazis. Moreover, my father was never threatened and could always live in the open and using his name. For what you tell me very different to the case of his grandfather.

Confirmed his initial intuition about the reliability of Juan, Matías became more relaxed and prone to reveal some details, but nothing about the hidden books referred to in his grandfather letter. He finally asked:

“Do you any have idea of what would be the use of the site in which Germany spent so many efforts and money before and during the war?” Then repeated the hypothesis advanced by his grandfather in the letter.

“Not! No esoteric explanations!” Answered Juan” Theories of beings in the interior of the Earth was shared only by sick minds although before the war they had access to huge resources. The expedition to Tibet, as I just  said did not give concrete result nor they found tunnels that crossing through the Earth, only some strange and difficult to interpret signs. Hitler actually died in the Berlin bunker, and the Russians recovered his body, they moved this place several times until in the end they burned it. The other important Nazi leaders were captured and sentenced at Nuremberg. Finally those who were left free could not have justified the expenditure of resources. The raw materials that may be in Antarctica have not been nor will be exploited in the near future due to the regulations of the Antarctic Treaty.

“So what would be a possible explanation?” Asked Matías.

“The existence of a possible treasure but something material and very specific. About this I have no information, it is only my speculation. “Matías sensed that the statement was sincere

The conversation continued on related topics, which allowed Matías to form an idea about his companion as a man with his feet on the ground despite his somewhat extravagant appearance. Then Juan Knopf said:

“Who was on the track of this, according to my father, was a man called Knudsen, one of the men of Scandinavian Nazi hierarch Quisling, to whom the Norwegians were always considered a traitor.”

“My grandfather also referred to him, Knudsen was a highly dangerous fanatic.”

“Yes, but somewhere along the road was turned around and they –whoever they are- began to pursue him until he disappeared. It seems that, despite being one of the toughest defenders of that entire peroration about the history of the Aryan people he suffered a disappointment as he realized that everything was reduced ultimately to crudely material wealth matters. As far as I know Knudsen  lived and perhaps is still living in Rio de Janeiro. He should know what the purpose of all the pre-war effort is. Find him and you will get keys that will help you in your search.”

The conversation was running out, Matías noticed it and thanking Knopf for his time rose. Immediately appeared Alicia from nowhere and accompanied him to the door. The young man felt reborn his doubts about the Korean girl once again; he mused however that she could not have heard anything substantial from his talk with Knopf, reflection that somehow reassured him. Matías walked towards the point where he had left his moped and set to meet Debbie.

Alicia, after dismissing the visitor returned with Juan shaking her hips with feline grace. Several buttons from her neckline had sloughed off and she looked irresistible. The woman sat in Juan's knees facing him, crossed her arms behind Juan´s head and dragged her butt on his legs telling him.

“ Tell me, Juancito. Are you happy with Alicia´s visit?

Matías was torn between telling Debora above all the issue, starting with his grandfather´s letter, his visit to Juan Knopf and his fears of going on beyond that point. He finally decided that if he went ahead with his plans the young woman would perhaps be at risk because of his decision so it was fair to warn her in advance.

“... so I have come to a dead end. It is impossible to track down Knudsen in Rio, which has always hosted refugees of all kinds.”

“Let me see if Chiche can do something about it; a Scandinavian eighty-five years old and over 1.90 meter high in Rio de Janeiro cannot go unnoticed.

“But why do you have to mix Chiche in this?” Matías muttered with a hint of jealousy. “It is about my family! Giving him participation in this matter would involve Chiche in my grandfather´s businesses, even telling him that he was a German officer.”

The girl calmed him down, explaining that his uncle was an open-minded man and with many connections, and that in particular he had many friends in the Jewish community in Brazil. In the long run, as always, Debbie managed to make her point of view prevail.

Fifteen days later, the young woman visited Matías at home, with news.

“Chiche has given me a couple of air tickets to Rio, so we both can go to. Have you ever been to Rio?

“Debbie, outside Esquel and its area of influence, the only place I know is San Clemente del  Tuyú!”

“In addition he gave me the address of an acquaintance he trusts who will probably be able to guide us to find Knudsen.”

“Then is not on vacation!” Exclaimed furious Matías. So Chiche is personally interested in this issue and he wants to send as to the battlefront. I told you not to  involve him!”

Debbie knew the foolproof way to handle Matías, and resorted to it without mercy.