Re: Blood and Iron

After celebrating the family reunion with his house, Bruno, Heidi and their children returned to their own estate. Where Bruno was surprised to see several dapper looking men standing outside his villa's gates waiting for his arrival.

Bruno had a likely idea of who these men were based upon the way they were dressed, how they handled themselves, and by the car they were using. Which was favored by undercover law enforcement agents of the German Reich.

But Heidi, not understanding the situation was quick to ask for clarification from the guards who were hired to protect Bruno and his family.

"Who are those two men, and why have they not been forced away from our home yet?"

Bruno was quick to answer the question as he looked back towards today's paper, reading the headline about another series of gruesome murders connected to the shadowy killer who was suspected of murdering them.

He then placed the paper don and answered the question with a stern expression on his face before the guards had the opportunity to do so.

"There is only one reason those men would be permitted to loiter outside the gates of our estate. They are agents of the crown, and I suspect they are here to see me. Do gather the kids, and make sure they get prepared for bed. I will speak to these officers within my study…"

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Heidi naturally glanced at her husband with a look of concern on her face, but his reassuring smile convinced her that all would be well, and because of this she was quick to do as Bruno said after the car pulled into the driveway. After which, Bruno marched up to his study and placed his coat on his rack, waiting for the villa's guards to lead the officers into the room on his behalf.

Despite these men being law enforcement agents working on behalf of the German Reich, Bruno did not pull out the red carpet for them, he did not greet them at his houses' entry as if they were respected guests, nor did he prepare refreshments or even proper seating for them.

Thus, when the two men entered the room, they stood there in front of Bruno who had a glass of distilled spirits in his hand as he asked them to get straight to the point.

"I presume if you were permitted to stand and wait outside my house without being forced away by my bodyguards then you two must be working for the Kingdom of Prussia correct? Or perhaps the Empire altogether? Go on then, get out with it. You must have been waiting all day to speak with me…"

Suspecting that Bruno was going to be difficult from the start, the elder of the two agents pulled out his badge and showed it to Bruno before handing over a file to him.

"Detective Abraham Bernstein, and this is my colleague Detective Karl Vogel… We wanted to speak with you about one of the men who is supposedly actively serving beneath your command. One Oberst Erich von Humboldt…

He is currently a suspect in our investigations of the serial killer which the media has labelled the Shadow of Death. We would like to ask you several questions about his current whereabouts, and when you have last personally been a witness to his presence…,"

Bruno quickly narrowed his eyes at the two men, especially the elder of the two. The dossier he handed Bruno was contained full of information on several of the murders he had conducted within the borders of the German Riech.

And on Bruno's order no less. Because of this, Bruno was quick to snap at the men for overstepping their bounds.

"And which department are you two gentlemen with, exactly? Because the last time I checked, matters regarding alleged crimes committed by soldiers in service of his Majesty are the jurisdiction of the Feldgendarmerie. And you two don't appear to be military police, now do you?

Who is your supervisor? Because I would very much like to speak to him about why he has decided to get himself involved with military affairs while a war is being waged! You come to my home without a warrant, and sit outside my gates for hours just to come in here and speak to me about matters that are not within your jurisdiction, on whose authority?"

These men were clearly not related to the Kaiser's Secret Police as the names of every field agent involved in the agency, as well as their appearances were permanently seared into Bruno's brain thanks to Erich's help in establishing the agency.

No, these two men were likely from a more local, or even federal law enforcement agency, that was under pressure to resolve the case as soon as possible. But if they had come to Bruno, it meant they had enough evidence to name Erich as a suspect, so much so that they didn't mind stepping over the lines of jurisdiction to personally confront Bruno about the matter.

Bruno knew damn well they were fishing for a reaction to prove their suspicions were correct. Even if it meant a formal reprimand. But he had to play the part, to buy Erich time. After all, Erich was close to finishing his list, but there were still several key figures left who needed to die.

And if the feds were this close to him, then there was no telling how long it would take them to catch up. As a result, he immediately feigned offence, despite knowing the game that was being played against him.

After all, whoever was smart enough to connect the dots to Erich knew damn well he was not the man pulling the strings. And if he was that capable, then it was a very short leap of logic to begin looking into Bruno as the puppet master.

Bruno had suspected this was a likely outcome and had placed a gamble on his actions. Which seemed to have had the intended effect. As the men quickly apologized, yet did not divulge which specific department they were attached to, or who had given them permission to act in such an unlawful manner.

Instead, they were quick to scurry away from Bruno's home like the rats they were. No doubt waiting for Bruno to pick up his phone and make contact with Erich… After all wiretapping had been a thing since the 1890s, but gaining access to Bruno's home was difficult.

Without a warrant to implement devices to monitor his communications, they would never gain entry to his home. But the state could potentially leverage one of Bruno's staff to betray him, especially if they had some means of blackmail against them.

As much as Bruno had treated his staff with all the respect and dignity an employer could feasibly manage over the years. He could never trust someone outside his family not to betray him. Such a move could prove fatal to him, and his loved ones, if he tried.

No, the first number he dialed was not Erich, but rather the commissioner of the local police, demanding an explanation on who the two men were who had showed up at his house. Giving over the names they had given them.

Naturally, Bruno's suspicions were correct, and the agency that was tackling these murders which were committed not only across the entirety of the German Reich but also international borders were indeed listening to Bruno's calls.

They were surprised that he had immediately contacted the local police commissioner to find out who the hell had the gall to step on the German Army's authority. With the exact words being:

"If I don't get the actual identity of the fucking prick who green-lit this blatant violation of the German Army's jurisdiction within the next hour, I will personally dispatch the local Feldgendarmerie and have them drag you out of your fucking headquarters in handcuffs under charges of sedition and treason in an act of subversion against the war effort!"@@novelbin@@

Upon hearing the conversation between the police commissioner and Bruno, the agent at the head of the task force to investigate the mass murders of the serial killer being labeled as the "Shadow of Death" by the media was quick to make his thoughts on the matter clear.

"It is highly probable that the killer is, as we suspected Oberst Erich von Humboldt, who is acting under the orders of Generalfeldmarschall Bruno von Zehntner. I'm not sure why exactly the Wolf of Prussia would be inclined to green-lit such a killing spree.

But if this is truly the case, he has over 300,000 men either actively serving in the German Army or veterans of the Russian Civil War who would be willing to die to protect him. He also has friendly ties to the Habsburgs and Romanovs, the latter of which would be more than willing to give him asylum even if we managed to convince the Kaiser to pursue him…

If we want any chance to dissuade these men from taking up arms in his defense, then we will need concrete evidence that he ordered the butchering of those innocent men, women, and children… We need to get to Erich before flip that mad dog against his master, before it is too late… It is a race against time gentlemen…"

The atmosphere was grim, as the agents of the German Imperial Police realized that their worst nightmares were true. A man who was damn near untouchable had likely been the culprit behind the murders of some very powerful people.

Powerful people who, despite having largely been wiped out, had left behind traces of influence and power within the institutions of the German Reich. However, these remnants could not actively move against Bruno or his family outside the scope of the law.

After all, the memory of Belgrade was fresh within their minds, and the fate of those who even attempted to harm the House von Zehntner or those within their sphere of influence was forever stained upon the history of Serbia.

Because of this, the walls were closing in on Erich, and he needed to complete the list of names before it was too late. At the same time, Bruno needed to find a way to contact him without leaving behind any evidence of his involvement.

As the agent in charge of the Imperial Police had said, it was truly a race against time.