The Maya Codex by Adrian D'Hagé Page A

Hitler’s huge desk at the far end of the room was exquisitely finished with inlaid wood and upholstered with the finest red leather, and was matched with a high-backed red-leather chair. A map table was positioned near the French doors overlooking the courtyard. Some of Hitler’s favourite oils hung from the walls, and indoor plants in large Egyptian-styled vases on the floor added to the ambience. A large golden eagle was suspended over the double doors.
    ‘Our expedition has arrived in Tikal, and they’ve begun their search,’ Himmler advised his leader after they were seated on the comfortable powder-blue lounges in front of a vast marble fireplace at one end of the office.
    ‘Excellent,’ Hitler affirmed with a satisfied look.
    ‘I’ve received a cable from our ambassador in Guatemala City,’ Himmler continued. ‘It appears that during his last visit to Lake Atitlán, Professor Weizman met with a Mayan shaman and discussed the existence of a priceless codex. We’ve not been able to confirm it, but Weizman may have also discovered an ancient figurine that may hold a clue to the whereabouts of the codex.’
    ‘How does the ambassador know that?’
    ‘Our ambassador and the papal nuncio in Guatemala City keep in close contact, mein Führer . Father Ehrlichmann, the Catholic priest to San Pedro and Tikal, is a useful source of intelligence.’
    ‘Von Heißen has been warned?’
    Himmler nodded. ‘Weizman’s belongings have been searched and von Heißen has him under constant surveillance.’
    ‘You can never trust a Jew, Himmler, never! But the search for the origins and secrets of the Aryan race must go on. Keep Weizman alive, but only for as long as he’s useful.’
    ‘ Jawohl, mein Führer . When you take over Vienna, we will turn his apartment upside down.’
    At the mention of the city in which he’d known desperate poverty, Hitler became agitated. He got to his feet and began to pace the length of his huge study.
    ‘There are those amongst us who think invading Austria is a mistake.’ Hitler glared into the courtyard through the French doors, arms akimbo. ‘But I’m meeting with the chiefs of staff and that lily-livered foreign minister, von Neurath, this afternoon to inform them that not only are they to be ready to invade Austria, but Czechoslovakia as well.’
    Himmler nodded approvingly. ‘We must have more land, mein Führer .’

    ‘ Lebensraum! It’s a question of space for the master race, gentlemen.’
    The Führer’s energy crackled through the silence around the vast cabinet table. Just six men were seated in the burgundy chairs, each embroidered with a black eagle atop the swastika: Reichsmarshal von Blomberg, Commander in Chief of the armed forces and Minister for War; Baron Konstantin von Neurath, Foreign Minister; Admiral Doktor Erich Raeder, Commander in Chief of the navy; Generaloberst Baron Freiherr von Fritsch, Commander in Chief of the army; Generaloberst Hermann Göring, Commander in Chief of the air force; and Colonel Friedrich Hossbach, Adjutant to the Führer. The long polished mahogany table was covered with a burgundy tapestry runner embroidered with gold swastikas. Gold tassels overhung the table at either end. Lighting was provided from small candelabra lamps spaced at intervals down the centre. Crimson files embossed with the golden eagle and the swastika and marked Streng Geheim – most secret – lay unopened on the cabinet table. Each man knew the contents well, and each was now contemplating the enormity of the Führer’s plans.
    ‘We’re now rebuilding our armed forces, and as I predicted, Britain and France have done nothing,’ Hitler stormed. ‘Nothing! Already we have thirty-six divisions in the army. Germany has a right!’ Hitler’s eyes blazed with the fires of his own destiny. No one spoke.
    ‘The German people have a right to see the Fatherland restored to its place as a great power – the great power of the world. And we can only do that by