Hi went after him as swiftly as he dared, moving blindly through the swirling cloud. At the same time, McKay, Diego, Ringawa, and their commandos charged from the east wall of jungle, fanning out cautiously over the dust-shrouded compound, and stopping to drive stakes into any Nazis still breathing.

Hitler entered the Water Control Room. Leaving the door open and discarding his gas mask, he leaned for a moment on a console, to muster what strength had not yet been sapped by the spear still stuck through his heart. He felt he was dying, but he planned at least to take with him the traitorous Hickenlooper, who at that moment was surely coming after him.

Dropping his submachine gun, Hitler staggered to the Large Important Lever and pulled it down, grimacing with pain at the effort. He heard the grinding sound of the underwater tunnel opening, which would release piranhas into the conversion pool. He then went to the door leading to the pool platform, opened it, turned, and leaned against the door jamb, conserving the last of his strength. He was waiting for Hi to arrive.

Meanwhile McKay and Ringawa, still wearing gas masks, their submachine guns at ready, burst into Hitler's quarters. Wagner still played on the hi-fi. They made a quick search, stepping in and around the blood and grisly pieces of Kegel's remains.

Ringawa looked revulsed. "My God," he said, "what kind of music is that?"

"Wagner," McKay said, turning. "Let's go."

McKay headed out, but there was something Ringawa had to do. Aiming his submachine gun, he riddled the hi-fi with bullets.

Searching for Hitler in Gebäude Vier, masked Hi, with dagger in hand, cautiously approached the open door to the Water Control Room. Hi had never been anywhere in Vier except Müller's blood ministry. Looking in the door, Hi saw Hitler across the room, standing in a doorway, looking back at him. Beyond the doorway Hi saw only darkness, from which came, he thought, the faint sound of a generator. Hitler's submachine gun lay on the control room floor. Hitler turned and went out the doorway, closing the door behind him.

Entering the control room, Hi glanced curiously around at its gadgets. Removing his gask mask, Hi threw it aside and hurried across to the door where Hitler had exited. Holding his dagger at ready, Hi opened the door. He looked into the darkness, then cautiously moved through the door. On the pool platform he looked left and right, then moved forward to the platform's edge. He looked down at the piranhas in the lighted pool.

Behind Hi, Hitler quietly descended, transforming back from a large black bat. With the spear still in him, Hitler moved toward Hi. As Hi turned, Hitler shoved him, and Hi lost his balance. Tumbling off the platform, Hi managed to grab hold of its edge, his dagger falling into the pool. He hung there by his hands over the piranha-filled water.

Hi looked up at Hitler, who stepped to the platform's edge and looked gloatingly down at Hi.

"Mein Führer," Hi said, desperately holding on to the edge, Hitler's jackboots but inches from Hi's fingers, "you expect to destroy me with piranhas?"

"You bet," Hitler smiled, as he positioned a foot over one of Hi's hands. "Ever seen those things bite?"

Eva, wearing a new gas mask, was hurrying toward Gebäude Vier when the crop dusters made their third pass. She had guessed that was where Hitler headed after leaving Munitions. Gebäude Ein with its telltale balcony and swastika would be swarmed by commandos, and in Gebäude Zwei there would be mostly dead Schützes. In Vier was the last of the blood supply, at least a bottle of which Hitler might try to take with him before trying to flee the compound--if he had not already done so or been caught by commandos.

Hurrying toward Gebäude Vier, Eva spotted some commandos checking SS bodies, and called to them. But the gas mask muffled her voice, and as the third cloud of garlic powder descended, she lost sight of the commandos and of Gebäude Vier too. She continued hurrying in Vier's general direction. She ran into the side of the building, almost knocking herself out. What did I do, she thought, to deserve such a beating?

On the pool platform, weak Hitler was trying to step on Hi's hands, Hi moving them this way and that as he hung from the platform's edge.

"Mein Führer," Hi said, "there is one thing I haven't learned yet. Can you teach me?"

"What's that, Schütze?"

"How to turn myself into a bat."

Hitler chuckled weakly. "You cannot do it in the daytime."

"Didn't you just do it?"

"Yes. But you don't know how hard it was."

Going into GebäudeVier, the first door Eva came to was that of the Water Control Room. Still dazed, she cautiously entered it.

Barely a moment later, Diego and two commandos, with gas masks and submachine guns, entered the building from the opposite side. They burst into the Weinberg. While the two commandos searched there, Diego proceeded to the Weinkellar door. He kicked it in and entered. He was immediately grabbed around the neck from behind by Müller, who was bleeding and bloating. The D.P.E. had finally kicked in, so to speak.

Vainly struggling, Diego was about to lose consciousness, overpowered by the vampire's chokehold. With his free hand Müller raised his SS dagger. But before he could plunge the dagger into Diego's neck, the dragon's blood really kicked in. Müller emitted a horrific scream, and exploded, Diego dropping to the floor from the grasp of suddenly nothing.

Hitler, continuing to lose strength, was stepping on and kicking at Hi's hands, Hi desperately moving his hands this way and that as he clung to the platform's edge.

"Adolf!" they suddenly heard Eva say. Turning unsteadily, Hitler looked at Eva, who had stepped out of the water control room.

Taking off her gas mask, Eva didn't know where she was, and had no idea that Hi, in the darkness behind Hitler, was hanging from the platform. She knew only that she was going to cozy up to Hitler, hold him there till Hi or some commandos arrived.

Feigning relief at the sight of Hitler, Eva said, "Adolf, what has happened? Everyone's dying."

"You are all right?" Hitler asked. He was amazed that she was, then remembered she had skipped last night's meal. As Hitler spoke, behind him Eva saw Hi lift himself up enough to peek over the platform's edge.

Eva was visibly surprised, but then masked it by feigning horror at the sight of Hitler's spear wound. "Adolf, what an ouch!" she said. Dropping the gas mask, she stepped toward Hitler, as Hi got an elbow onto the platform. "You will die with that thing in your chest. Won't it come out?" She gently took hold of the shaft sticking out of his chest. "Let me help."

Grabbing one of Hitler's ankles, Hi hollered, "Now!"

Eva shoved on the spear, Hi shoved the opposite way on the ankle, and Hitler, falling backwards right over Hi, went headlong into the water.

Hi looked up at Eva. Off-balance from shoving Hitler, she was teetering on the edge of the platform, waving her arms, trying to keep from falling into the water, where the piranhas had started a feeding frenzy on Hitler.

Hi, clinging to the edge, couldn't reach her, he was helpless, as Eva swayed, her arms flailing the air.

"Eva," Hi said softly, "don't--"

Eva fell screaming into the water.

"Eva!" Hi cried, and let go of the edge, falling in right behind her.