Re: Blood and Iron

In the years since living as an entitled noble scion, who engaged in petty corruption and racketeering. Maximilian had redeemed himself through service to the German Reich, acting as an agent of Military Intelligence.

During the Great War he had received great honors for being the man to inspire and lead the Arab Rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, while Bruno had brokered the agreement that stabilized the region after the war was over, Maximilian was in the deserts fighting as one of them, and earning the respect of the Sharif of Mecca.

Now however, Maximilian was continuing with his efforts, though thoroughly redeemed in the eyes of his family, peers, and superiors. Maximilian felt he had not yet given enough and undertook the dangerous task of infiltrating de Gaulle’s inner circle.

Until now, de Gaulle was simply happy to have someone competent among his ranks, as most of his hardened veterans died while trying to defend Paris from Pétain’s capture of the city.

But this suspected identity could no longer be ignored. And because of this, Axel was quick to come up with a fabrication on the spot that was believable enough to satisfy his interrogator.

“Alright… Fine, you got me… I was in Guiana, keeping the peace as a glorified sentry while the rest of you were bleeding in the likes of Ypres. I didn’t want to say this, because I’m ashamed I couldn’t do more for my country until now…”

de Gaulle was not thoroughly convinced and was quick to interrogate Maximilian using words that would only be found in the Guianese dialect of French. Which shockingly, Maximilian responded to perfectly in retort.

Leaving the man’s suspicions thoroughly dispelled, as he asked but one more question to fully confirm this was the truth of “Axel’s” mysterious origins.

“Alright… But tell me this, why did it take you four whole years to arrive here in France?”

In response to this, Maximilians simply scoffed and rolled his eyes, coming up with the most convenient excuse he could think of.

“Are you kidding me, sir? Have you ever been to Guiana? It’s not exactly a beacon of modern civilization like France is… Or was… We struggle for basic power over there. When we lost communication with the homeland, we just continued like business was usual, assuming.

It took years just for us to find out that the Republic was gone, and that you were all fighting each other for the vacancy they left behind. In case you didn’t realize, chartering a ship across the Atlantic for a Warzone is not an easy task.

I got here when I could, and that’s all that matters, no?”

de Gaulle nodded his head at Maximilian’s words, seemingly convinced by the man’s statements, as he dismissed him entirely.

“I suppose that explains a lot about your behavior… And you’re right. It is wise not to tell these men how privileged you were until very recently. They might come to resent you for it. Foolish as it may be, they may not continue to place their faith in you if they come to know you did not endure the same hardships as them.

You’re free to leave. Continue with your good work and wait for my order. As soon as we have some verified intelligence, Maxime Weygand will die, and we will need every hand we can get on board with the operation.”

Maximilian nodded at de Gaulle before departing. His heart was pounding rapidly, though his face did not reveal this fact. He needed a breather, and more importantly, time to confirm nobody was stalking him.

Once he was certain that he was all alone, he went back into the barn where his radio was hid, and called for immediate extraction. The lie he had told de Gaulle would only keep him alive for so much longer.

While it wasn’t easy to verify his background, if de Gaulle was already suspecting him, then his next step would be to initiate the process to confirm his thoughts. And when that time came, he was as good as dead.

Hence, without anybody being any the wiser. Maximilian fled the compound in the middle of the night and headed towards an agreed upon extraction point. Where he met with fellow contacts from German Imperial Intelligence who ensured his safe transfer back beyond the boundaries of the Rhine, and to the fatherland once more.

He had done all he could, and Maximilian could only hope that his efforts had contributed somehow to national security, and whatever plans his younger brother was cooking up for France.

—

Bruno saw the message almost immediately after it was sent. Maximilian was in trouble, his cover was on the verge of being blown, and he was requesting emergency extraction under pre-discussed parameters.

Naturally, Bruno approved this operation immediately, and agents were dispatched to ensure his older brother’s safe return to the Reich. After this, Bruno no longer had a worry in the world regarding Maximilian’s safety.

Because the German Reich’s intelligence structure was too robust, too modern, for anyone to properly predict. And naturally contingences were in place for extracting burned assets in the field.

Methods de Gaulle would never even think of. Rather, Bruno now had to prepare himself for a far more daunting task. He now had no other choice. A conversation would have to be had with his older brother to retire from field operations once and for all.

And that was far more terrifying to a man like Bruno than something like charging a machine gun nest in the Ardennes. War was easy, but people? Well, there was an old saying from Bruno’s past life that he kept within his personal lexicon for scenarios like this.

As he leaned back in his leather backed office chair, he couldn’t help but repeat it aloud with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

“Hell… Hell is other people…”

With that, Bruno finished his drink and climbed out of his chair. Turning off the lights in his office, before calling it a night. Tomorrow he had an important conversation to endure, and he did not want an excuse to ignore it.

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