Fox On The Rhine by Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson Page B
Authors: Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson
Tags: alternate history
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intensity and a drive that had stood him well in his years of reporting. He could cover a fire and interview a politician. He was even something of a ladies’ man and knew his way around a martini. He’d spent three years in Europe reporting on the German military buildup in the late 1930s, but most of those stories had been spiked.
He was afraid that some of the younger men were starting to think he was over the hill. They didn’t listen to his advice, his experience, and his perspective the way he thought they should. He’d long since forgotten how he himself regarded editors in his own salad days. Well, he’d show them. He had his application in for the Paris bureau chief’s job, just as soon as Paris was liberated. He wasn’t washed up yet. He could even get a smile out of Trish, the secretary.
Earlier that night he’d spent an hour holding forth on the end of the war. One of the new reporters suggested that there might be some surprises to come. “Not a chance,” Porter said. “It’s a straight grind from here on out. They’ll retreat, we’ll advance, and between us and the Soviets, Germany’s going to end up about a mile wide from border to border.”
“No way,” an argumentative reporter said. “They’ll surrender first.”
“You’re wrong,” Porter said flatly. “Hitler’s going to lead the German people over the cliff like a herd of lemmings.” He liked the analogy and made a mental note to use it again soon. “They’ll fight until the last one is alive. Hitler’s like a god to them. People get fanatical when they’re following their god.” But no one was interested in more of his wisdom right now. He was tired of doodling. When in doubt, check the Teletype , he thought. A good way to waste some time on a slow news day. He scanned the cavernous newsroom in the Rockefeller Center headquarters--a fluorescent-lit football field stuffed with desks, mostly deserted on the night shift, a few lazy people sipping coffee, chatting, one or two actually typing on their big Underwoods. The clatter of the bank of gray Teletype machines was a constant backdrop.
Then the four-bell “Flash” signal on the Teletype rang. News--real news--was rare on the night shift. Editing filler material and follow-up pieces, that was most of the work. A “Flash”--that signaled breaking news. Get it in, get it edited, get it out to the client papers over the wire.
Porter, already moving, was the first over to the Teletype. The chattering keys printed out the story. His eyes widened as he read, silently willing the slow printer to move faster. A crowd gathered. The only sound was the steady clacking of the machine.
FLASH/BULLETIN
LONDON, 21 JUNE, 0600 GMT
COPY 01 HITLER REPORTED DEAD
DISTRIBUTION: ALL STATIONS
LONDON, 21 JUNE (AP) BY EDWARD REED
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS LEARNED THAT ALLIED RADIO MONITORS HAVE PICKED UP GERMAN BROADCASTS ANNOUNCING THE DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER.
THIS REPORT, SO FAR UNCONFIRMED BY SUPREME ALLIED COMMAND HEADQUARTERS, IS STILL UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME.
GERMAN RADIO BROADCAST AT 0600 HOURS GMT THAT ADOLF HITLER HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED BY “JEWISH TERRORISTS.” HERMANN GORING, LUFTWAFFE HEAD AND HITLER'S DESIGNATED SUCCESSOR, ASKED FOR CALM BUT DEMANDED REVENGE AGAINST JEWS AND ROOSEVELT, WHOM GORING CALLED “THE JEWS' GREATEST ALLY AND A SUSPECTED JEW HIMSELF.”
GORING IS OFFICIALLY THE NEW FUHRER. “THE VALIANT GERMAN PEOPLE MUST REDEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THE ARMED STRUGGLE,” GORING SAID, “TO REVENGE THE DEATH OF THE FÜHRER AND ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES FOR WHICH HE GAVE HIS LIFE.”
NO COMMENT FROM ALLIED LEADERS IN ENGLAND. A HIGHLY PLACED SOURCE SAYS THE BRITISH CABINET IS CURRENTLY MEETING.
A MILITARY SOURCE CAUTIONED NOT TO TAKE THIS REPORT AT FACE VALUE. “THE WHOLE THING IS UP IN THE AIR,” HE SAID. “NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON EXCEPT THE GERMANS. AND I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE ABOUT THEM.”
MORE
AP LON 333548 JF/072044
With the final routing code
He was afraid that some of the younger men were starting to think he was over the hill. They didn’t listen to his advice, his experience, and his perspective the way he thought they should. He’d long since forgotten how he himself regarded editors in his own salad days. Well, he’d show them. He had his application in for the Paris bureau chief’s job, just as soon as Paris was liberated. He wasn’t washed up yet. He could even get a smile out of Trish, the secretary.
Earlier that night he’d spent an hour holding forth on the end of the war. One of the new reporters suggested that there might be some surprises to come. “Not a chance,” Porter said. “It’s a straight grind from here on out. They’ll retreat, we’ll advance, and between us and the Soviets, Germany’s going to end up about a mile wide from border to border.”
“No way,” an argumentative reporter said. “They’ll surrender first.”
“You’re wrong,” Porter said flatly. “Hitler’s going to lead the German people over the cliff like a herd of lemmings.” He liked the analogy and made a mental note to use it again soon. “They’ll fight until the last one is alive. Hitler’s like a god to them. People get fanatical when they’re following their god.” But no one was interested in more of his wisdom right now. He was tired of doodling. When in doubt, check the Teletype , he thought. A good way to waste some time on a slow news day. He scanned the cavernous newsroom in the Rockefeller Center headquarters--a fluorescent-lit football field stuffed with desks, mostly deserted on the night shift, a few lazy people sipping coffee, chatting, one or two actually typing on their big Underwoods. The clatter of the bank of gray Teletype machines was a constant backdrop.
Then the four-bell “Flash” signal on the Teletype rang. News--real news--was rare on the night shift. Editing filler material and follow-up pieces, that was most of the work. A “Flash”--that signaled breaking news. Get it in, get it edited, get it out to the client papers over the wire.
Porter, already moving, was the first over to the Teletype. The chattering keys printed out the story. His eyes widened as he read, silently willing the slow printer to move faster. A crowd gathered. The only sound was the steady clacking of the machine.
FLASH/BULLETIN
LONDON, 21 JUNE, 0600 GMT
COPY 01 HITLER REPORTED DEAD
DISTRIBUTION: ALL STATIONS
LONDON, 21 JUNE (AP) BY EDWARD REED
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS LEARNED THAT ALLIED RADIO MONITORS HAVE PICKED UP GERMAN BROADCASTS ANNOUNCING THE DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER.
THIS REPORT, SO FAR UNCONFIRMED BY SUPREME ALLIED COMMAND HEADQUARTERS, IS STILL UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME.
GERMAN RADIO BROADCAST AT 0600 HOURS GMT THAT ADOLF HITLER HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED BY “JEWISH TERRORISTS.” HERMANN GORING, LUFTWAFFE HEAD AND HITLER'S DESIGNATED SUCCESSOR, ASKED FOR CALM BUT DEMANDED REVENGE AGAINST JEWS AND ROOSEVELT, WHOM GORING CALLED “THE JEWS' GREATEST ALLY AND A SUSPECTED JEW HIMSELF.”
GORING IS OFFICIALLY THE NEW FUHRER. “THE VALIANT GERMAN PEOPLE MUST REDEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THE ARMED STRUGGLE,” GORING SAID, “TO REVENGE THE DEATH OF THE FÜHRER AND ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES FOR WHICH HE GAVE HIS LIFE.”
NO COMMENT FROM ALLIED LEADERS IN ENGLAND. A HIGHLY PLACED SOURCE SAYS THE BRITISH CABINET IS CURRENTLY MEETING.
A MILITARY SOURCE CAUTIONED NOT TO TAKE THIS REPORT AT FACE VALUE. “THE WHOLE THING IS UP IN THE AIR,” HE SAID. “NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON EXCEPT THE GERMANS. AND I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE ABOUT THEM.”
MORE
AP LON 333548 JF/072044
With the final routing code
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