The V2 rocket is a ballistic missile developed by Germany during World War II. It was the first supersonic rocket, a cross-generational product, the precursor to the future moon rocket. It can be said that without Braun von Braun, the Americans' lunar landing program and the birth of intercontinental missiles would have been delayed for more than ten years.

The V2 rocket was developed from 1936 and was first launched to Paris in 1944. Two days after the first launch, the British began to strike, with more than 1,300 launches, and Belgium suffered almost the same heavy blow. Germany built 6,000 V2 rockets, of which more than 4,000 were dropped on British and Dutch soil.

On the eve of Germany's surrender in 1945, Braun and more than 400 rocket experts surrendered to the U.S. military, after which Braun immigrated to the United States and became one of the founders of American rocket technology and space technology. The Soviets also seized a large number of finished products and components for the V2 and captured a number of rocket specialists, using this as a starting point to start their own rocket and space programs.

So the importance of the polite guy sitting in front of Albert in front of him is self-evident.

Braun, who sat opposite Albert, was a little uneasy, he was not a scientist who wanted to realize his dreams, he also had another identity, a Nazi SS major, and when the V2 rocket was developed, in order to speed up the construction of rocket infrastructure, his hands were stained with the blood of a lot of Jews.

So later, after Germany surrendered, he talked to the U.S. government about cooperation, and the request became simple, I conducted my research, and I didn't care what you were going to do with it.

First, he didn't want old accounts to be turned over, and second, he finally understood that he couldn't play politics.

Albert, who looked only thirteen years old in front of him, did not have the innocence of a young man in Braun's eyes, but rather the face of a scheming politician, unrivaled that of the Nazi officers, and his intuition told Braun that he was in a terrible situation, worse than if he were unarmed and met a group of angry Jews.

"I'm sorry to have brought Dr. Braun to this place in such a rude way, Doctor, and please believe that we have no ill intentions." Albert showed a sincere appearance of harmlessness and began to talk nonsense with his eyes open, "I know that the doctor has achievements in rocket research that others cannot match, and in terms of rocket development or missile weapons alone, the doctor is a big cake that the United States and the Soviet Union are vying to grab." But in addition to the United States and the Soviet Union, there are other ambitious countries that also want to take the plunge, so I have the audacity to set up an ambush on the Belgian border and snatch the doctor, please forgive me. ”

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, my full name is Albert Felix Theodor Wimbert Chrétien Jurgen Marie Vidin, the second son of King Leopold III of Belgium, you can call me Albert."

Braun had an expression of disbelief, he didn't expect that the mastermind behind the scenes would have the shadow of the Belgian royal family, don't they know what the consequences will be after annoying the United States?

Of course, the Belgian royal family did not know, because it was all planned by Albert alone.

"If I refuse to cooperate with you, does it mean that my corpse will remain in this room forever in the next second?" Brian looked up at the basement-like room, with only a fluorescent lamp emitting a dismal glow overhead.

"No, no, no, we're not bad guys, and I'm sure you'll be happy to work with us after reading these two documents." Albert shoved the two documents in front of Braun.

Braun took the two file bags from Albert's hands in disbelief, he opened the first one first, and the blandness of life and death changed instantly, and Albert admired this scene, and the game with a scientific madman was to come up with the difficult problem he was most interested in.

"This is the ultimate version of my A9/10 series? You've already made it? After seeing the blueprints, Braun's face turned from pale at the beginning to a flush from being too excited, and his eyes were staring at the blueprints and detailed parameters.

Braun von Braun's proposal to the Nazi government for the A9/10 series was the earliest idea of an ICBM, but it was not realized after the defeat of Germany. After the end of World War II, von Braun and a large number of German scientists who had served the Nazis were captured, and then secretly transferred to the United States to join the United States launched the "Folder Operation" medium-range ballistic missile research and development program, and then in 1959, the United States began to equip the first Cosmos intercontinental ballistic missile.

Albert gave the parameters of the Soviet SS-11 intercontinental ballistic missile, the second-generation long-range missile of the Soviet Union, but Braun von Bryan was already excited. In his opinion, it is a very fortunate thing for his ideas to be put into practice by others, and from various data, it is obvious that others are much farther away than himself in this regard.

"I really didn't expect that Belgium has been conducting secret experiments all along." Braun seemed to have forgotten who he was as a hostage, and asked Albert expectantly, "Can I meet your chief designer?" I have a lot of questions I want to ask him. ”

Albert, of course, would not tell him that this was the brainchild of Korolev, the father of Soviet rocketry, but he simply pushed another document in front of Braun, "I hope that after reading this information, the doctor will decide whether he is willing to cooperate with us." ”

Braun opened the information excitedly with both hands, and at this time his heart was already turned upside down, he stared at Albert's bland face, shaking his head to reject the unrealistic whimsy he had just seen, "Crazy, you guys are really crazy." Want to land in space with a V2 rocket? ”

But Braun didn't know that on January 31, 1958, he opened a new era of American space conquest with a launch vehicle modified from Cupid missiles. And the document Albert has in hand is the details of the Braun launch vehicle.

"So Your Excellency decided to join us?" Albert took back the two documents, looked at the agitated Braun and chuckled, "What the Americans can give to the doctor, I can do the same, or even better." So does the Doctor now think that we Belgium is still a small and weak country that is being bullied? ”

――――

In the White House, President Truman, who was sitting in his office, was listening to the report of General Eisenhower with a gloomy face, General Eisenhower had just assumed the post of chief of staff of the US Army, but he did not expect to encounter such a mess as soon as he took office, not only thirty soldiers were inexplicably shot and killed in Belgium, but also the important scientist Braun they escorted was nowhere to be found.

"A large number of shells from Soviet-made PPSH41 submachine guns were found at the scene, but our soldiers died not from the strafing of this submachine gun, but from our own Thompson submachine guns." General Eisenhower reported the results of the autopsy to the president and gave his own inferences.

"So far, there are two possibilities, one is that our whereabouts have been leaked, and it is likely that the senior officers of the 44th Infantry Division have been mixed in with the Soviets, who are here to ambush our escort party. From the scene, it is likely that the plotters are trying to steer our minds in this direction, Mr. President. ”

"Is there another possibility?" Truman, sitting at his desk, asked.

"That is, someone deliberately set up this situation in order to create a contradiction between us and the Soviet Union. The Soviet-made submachine guns were arms that had been circulated on the black market in Eastern Europe, and the people who bought them were very clever and wiped out all the clues, and it was very difficult to find out who this batch of arms had fallen into for a while. ”

"Create contradictions among the Soviets, hehe." Truman sneered, "Without them to make it, sooner or later the United States and the Soviet Union will tear their faces apart." ”

"But Eisenhower, will this matter have anything to do with the Belgian government?" Truman asked suddenly.

"Unlikely, but there is a certain chance, Leopold III has always pursued a non-aligned neutral attitude, and even when the Second World War was in full swing, they did not allow our allies, the British and French, to attack Germany through Belgium. As for the Belgian parliament, it is nothing more than a puppet manipulated by the king, with little to say. And what can the kidnapping of a scientist bring to Belgium? Belgium's military talent pool is much inferior to ours, and even if it wants to develop its military industry, it will be a long journey that may take decades, not just a scientist. ”

"In other words, it's just them? Blaming the Soviet Union, wanting to provoke disputes, and even turning our eyes to Belgium, no matter how you look at those guys, they are the most suspicious. Truman crossed his hands in deep thought.

"yes, those damned Nazi remnants." Eisenhower said that this is the most reasonable explanation that has been calculated so far, blaming the Soviet Union or Belgium, this hand to sow discord is very beautiful.

"It's so watertight, this guy is really a headache." Truman rubbed his temples, since the end of the war, after the disbandment of the Strategic Intelligence Agency, he found himself unable to cope with intelligence reports from various government departments.

"The remaining hundreds of rocket specialists must protect their personal safety and not miss the slightest mistake. And I intend to reinstate the Strategic Intelligence Unit (SFIU) and to reintegrate it into a Central Intelligence Unit (CIU) to deal exclusively with such incidents against our national security. Truman said to Eisenhower.

Unbeknownst to Truman, two years later he approved the National Security Act of 1947. On September 18 of the same year, the CIA, the world's most open intelligence organization, was born in this delicate political environment.

"An intelligence organization specifically targeting the Soviets?" Eisenhower quickly understood.

"yes, I'm going to call it the CIA."