Berlin, Germany – October 1941

Jan and Kevin lay flat on the roof overlooking the Education Ministry building. In their dark coats and enveloped by the darkness of the night, they were almost invisible to the eye. They had no binoculars, but as Assassins their eyes adjusted well to the dark. They kept their eyes glued to the neoclassical façade with its rows of unlit windows, waiting for their opportunity to strike.

"Go to the Education Ministry and find out more about Projekt Wodan," Lutz said. It was their first mission since Lutz made his declaration. He felt anxious, but at the same time thrilled. But most of all, he felt cold. They were in the middle of autumn now, and the wind did not pull its punches this high up. He closed his fists in an attempt to keep some warmth on his palms, but it did little.

Kevin shook his shoulder. There he was, the lone guard patrolling the perimeter. Normally, you'd have regular guards or police guard buildings like this. But the Education Ministry had SS soldiers guarding it. One might think that education was of vital importance to the Nazis. But he knew there was another, more serious reason for the SS' deployment.

Jan brought himself up to his knees, tapped Kevin's shoulder, and started the climb down. Like a black cat, he moved swiftly and silently down using the windowsills and pipes until he landed right on the unilluminated pavement. He waited until the guard across the street passed in front of him before rushing across. His footfalls made no sound. They felt lighter than air, and Jan was one with the shadows.

He followed the soldier closely, crouching only several paces behind him. If things went south, Kevin was still on the roof with his rifle. He had two options: sneak up and swipe the keys off his belt or slit his throat and do the same. He'd like to kill as many of them as possible but doing so would force him to hide the body. And eventually, they'd get suspicious over their missing comrade. Resigning himself to playing the thief, at the darkest point between two lampposts he snuck up and swiped the keys before the guard could even say was.

He walked in the opposite direction and reached the side door that was their target. Unlocking it, he went in and made sure to close it behind him before proceeding into the building. That was the simple part. Now, he had to find the documents. The Assassins, battered as they were, did not have the full intel on the building. There were no maps or blueprints. All they had was the vague knowledge that the documents were stored in an office on the third floor. Seeing how big the building is from the inside, there must be at least two dozen rooms on each floor. This might take a while.

The corridors were mostly empty and dark. But as Jan made his way through them, he came to the lobby. The lights were still on here, and there were several guards still loitering. Jan hid behind a vase as two sets of footsteps walked down the stairs.

"How is this damned project of yours more important than our work on education and science, Major Hessel?"

Hessel. The name felt familiar. Jan dug through his memory, trying to connect the name to a place or an event. Hessel, Hessel, Hessel. Then it came to him. Poland. The major in command of the Death's Head unit that massacred the village, all for the sake of the artefact Jan and the others then stole from them. Could it really be the same person? But when his voice came, all his doubts were cleared.

"This is science, Herr Rust. The recovery and decipherment of these artefacts could be the key to winning this war." It was the same proud, gruff, cruel voice, but with a hint of deference. The other man must be Bernhard Rust, the minister himself. Stern face, aquiline nose, close-cropped moustache, and his hair combed with a split right in the middle. To Jan, he looked like a more comedic version of Hitler.

"So you say, but have you ever considered the possibility that they are nothing but fantasies? You lot and all your fantasies."

"Mein Herr, with all due respect the Führer himself gave his blessing to these projects. We are well aware that your other work is just as important, all we are asking is that you divert some resources to–"

"I'm well aware of the Führer's wishes, Herr Hessel. Rest assured, I am not going against his orders. I may have my own reservations, but surely the Führer knows better than I. I've already made arrangements for a few offices of the ministry to focus on your project. You may see them yourself on the third floor if you do not believe me."

"May I personally oversee it, Mein Herr?"

"Do whatever you wish as long as you stop your yapping and let me go home in peace. Rooms 305 through 308."

"Danke, Mein Herr. Heil Hitler!" replied Major Hessel, raising his arm in salute. Rust replied in kind and left the building.

Without waiting any further, Jan turned back and went up the nearest stairs. He kept repeating the numbers in his head. 305 through 308. Parts of the corridors were still lit, while others had had their lights turned off. Luckily, there were few patrols, and the ones he did pass were people finishing their work and not soldiers.

He reached the rows of rooms starting with 301. Making his way quickly, he found Room 305 and pushed the door. But it wouldn't budge. Of course. It was locked. As he looked left and right for any other potential point of entry and even considered breaking down the door, footsteps came from around the corner. Two. No, three. Frantically, he ran for the other end of the corridor and turned the corner just as the new arrivals came.

"Room 305, Mein Herr."

"A few small offices? For all that talk, I expected Rust to at least give a quarter of the floor. That damned idiot. This will have to do. Open it at once. I wish to inspect it for myself," barked Major Hessel.

A stroke of luck, he thought to himself. He could just sneak in, wait until they leave, grab what he could, and leave himself. There was only Hessel and two guards.

But wait. Hessel, guarded by only two soldiers. An opportunity like this doesn't come often. He could assassinate Hessel here and now and rid the world of his terror. Maybe he knew something about the ambush that killed father. Could he take the two soldiers first? But that's not his objective here. He's supposed to just get documents. He clenched his fist and extended his blade, its cold and sharp metal giving him his courage. Before he even made his decision, his feet had started moving.

One guard stood in the doorway, his back facing out. He jammed his blade as deep as he could into the guard's neck until its tip came out of the front. The guard was desperately trying to scream, but there was no sound he could make. Each time he tried, only a groan and blood came out. Jan pulled out his blade and kicked the guard, sending him crashing into desks. This caught the attention of the other two.

"Assassin," hissed Hessel.

They took out their guns, but they weren't nearly fast enough. The other guard fell back as the bullet embedded itself in his forehead. Jan shot the next one at Hessel, but he was already hiding behind cover. While shooting, Jan did the same.

Verdammt, he thought. He didn't want to shoot. Somebody's bound to hear them, and then he won't be facing just Hessel but rather a squad or two of SS soldiers. He needed to end this quick.

"Come to kill me, Assassin?" Hessel spat. "Typical of you vermin, always lurking in the shadows and trying to steal and kill like rats in a sewer. How about we just make this easy? In a few minutes, squads of soldiers will come bearing down on this room. If you surrender now, I promise I'll go easy on your torture as long as you cooperate. That sounds good, ja?"

Jan picked up a nearby stationery box and threw it into the air. Reflexively, Hessel shot at it while Jan bounded around the side of the desks and reached him. He kicked Hessel's legs, sending him to the ground with a loud thud. Not giving him any chance to recover, he jumped up and stepped as hard as he could on Hessel's wrist, forcing him to let go of the gun. And then, he put his blade on Hessel's neck.

"Not bad for a sewer rat, ja?" Jan couldn't help but smirk. Hessel's own smirking face had faded and in its place was one of disgust and fury. "Now, answer my questions and I'll let you live."

Hessel laughed. "Am I supposed to believe that you, an Assassin, will let me live if I answer your questions?"

"You're not really in a position to believe me or not."

"What makes you think I fear death?"

"Maybe you don't, but pain is a different matter." He pressed the edge of the blade into Hessel's neck, drawing blood.

Hessel chuckled but winced with the pain of the blade. "Very well, Assassin."

What should he ask first? Projekt Wodan? Kristallnacht? Chances like this didn't come often. He needed to make a decision and quick.

"Mein Herr?" came a voice from the hallway as Jan was occupied with his own thoughts. Not five seconds later, two soldiers brandishing rifles appeared in the doorway. "Who are you?!"

Jan jumped up and leapt behind a desk as the soldiers began shooting. They made their way inside and took cover behind desks. His eyes darted to where Hessel was, but there was only the floor.

"Kill him. Kill him now!" Hessel barked at them as he ran from the office, clutching his bloodied neck.

Jan cursed himself. He shouted curses again and again as the bullets rained around him, hitting windows, desks, and walls. He just let that chance go because he couldn't make up his mind. What a pathetic excuse for an Assassin. Heaving, not from moving but from rage, he took out his gun and prepared to shoot back. But first, he needed to calm himself. He closed his eyes and let the bullets fade into the background.

And then he leapt out, gun blazing. The guards were taken by surprise, and before long one was sprawling on the ground nursing a bullet wound on his shoulder. The other one hid behind cover, but with no supporting fire there was nothing keeping Jan from moving forward and plunging his blade in the man's neck. The other guard could only look in horror as the life seeped out of his comrade. Jan turned his attention to him next.

"W-w-wait!" Jan had no time to listen to his pleas. It was their fault that Hessel escaped before he could ask any questions. Standing above him, Jan shot him in the forehead.

He couldn't waste any more time. Hessel was a lost cause. More guards were going to come from the hallway. He looked around the room, trying to sort out what from the thousands of documents scattered on the desks, floors, and cabinets could be useful. He needed more time. Closing the door, he pulled several of the nearest desks in front of it to block their entry. That should give him time to search.

He shifted through papers at random, not starting from any particular place. He didn't have time to examine the contents of each, so he just skimmed. One report caught his eye: "Artefact Translation Progress – Bohemia". As he began reading, at least a dozen boots started stomping in the hallway followed by shouts. Then, the door and desks began shaking as the soldiers tried to open it.

Jan gathered all the documents he could into a neat pile and then folded it into a roll, placing it in one of the pockets on the inside of his coat. The trembling was worse now, and some of the desks and chairs had fallen. Jan opened the nearest window and went on the windowsill. He jumped right as the door broke down, the shouts of the soldiers fading behind him.

He fell onto the pavement below and rolled down the street. Not the best of his landings. His neck, arms, and back all hurt, but nothing seemed to be broken. When he looked back up, a soldier was aiming at him, but his shot went wide as he himself fell down screaming. Blood was seeping through his shirt. Jan's eyes went to the roof and found Kevin reloading, beckoning him to come.

Jan bounded across the street as quickly as he could. Soldiers started to pour out of the side door. The first one to come out didn't make it ten metres out before Kevin's bullet entered his chest. Jan entered an alleyway and started climbing up the wall. There were no soldiers behind him, and the gunshots were still coming. Pulling himself up onto the roof, he shouted at Kevin who was reloading.

"Let's go!"

They leapt across the roofs, like two spirits running across the moonlit sky. There was shouting behind them as the soldiers scrambled to go after them. But within a minute, the shouting had disappeared. They had gone too far for the soldiers, who couldn't track them on the roofs.

They jumped inside Jan's room through the open window and shut it tight behind them, keeping the cold autumn wind out. Both of them were heaving, their coats drenched in sweat. They practically ran the whole way back for fear of getting caught. Kevin rested against the wall, beads of sweat falling down his face and the rifle at his feet. Without changing his clothes, Jan slid down onto the floor and fell into an exhausted sleep.

It was the knocking on his door that woke him up. Light shone through his windows, while Kevin was still fast asleep. At some point during the night, he had fallen and was now sleeping on the floor. The voice coming from behind the door was his mother's.

"Jan? Jan?"

He brought himself up and opened the door. "Morning, Mama."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my, you haven't changed? What were you doing?" She looked at him from his head to his toes.

"Just had some things to do."

"Oh, and you smell. Make sure you get cleaned up, take a bath before you do anything else. I've prepared some breakfast for you boys. Don't get yourself into trouble, okay?"

"Okay, Mama." He smiled as warmly as he could, but even his face muscles ached. Afterwards, he did as he was told. Bathed, ate a simple breakfast of bread and cheese, and went straight to work. Kevin woke up several hours later, and Jan told him to do the same as he started first. Getting the documents was the first part. Some might even call it the easier part. Now, they had to sift through them and find useful information. If only he'd had more time, he could've grabbed less but more important documents.

The two Assassins spent the entire day going through the documents, barely doing anything outside reading long passages of text filled with translation and transcription attempts, guesses and conjectures, and descriptions of artefacts. It took a while, but slowly a pattern started to form. Various seemingly unrelated artefacts all led to a single place illustrated on a piece of paper in one of the codices. The map was out of proportion like most old manuscripts before the golden age of cartography, but the general shape and the natural features painted onto it were clear: Bohemia.

"It all leads there," he said aloud.

Kevin nodded and signed. We need to focus more on that point.

And so, they did, rechecking some of the documents they had already read to make sure they didn't miss anything. After going through that, they both agreed that whatever it was, it was in Bohemia. All the documents point there, but to his dismay Jan did not grab the documents that talked about what it was. It was already dark outside. Jan checked the time. A few minutes past midnight.

"I'm calling in," he told Kevin as he walked out of his room as silently as possible. Mother must've already come home. He'd rather not wake her.

Making his way into father's study, he closed the door behind him and went for the telephone hidden inside a cabinet. A special landline connected directly to the headquarters in Essen. He dialed in the code that activated the phone and then the code for Lutz. Before one beep even finished, he had picked up the phone. But there was silence as Lutz waited for the code.

"Schuppen."

"Good job," came Lutz's voice over the phone. "Got something?"

"There was a bit of a problem. I got caught inside, but I managed to get some intel. Not everything, but some."

"So, what've you got?"

"The Templars or the Nazis are digging up something in Bohemia." At this point, he couldn't really tell who was a Nazi and who was also a Templar. "Something important that could be the key to unlocking these artefacts. The dig site is near Prague, and they've sent someone important to handle it."

"Someone important, huh. Might that have something to do with a recently appointed deputy governor?"

Exactly, Jan told him.

"Reinhard Heydrich. The man with the iron heart."

"Yes."

"Then, you know what to do, Jan. I'm sending Elisabeth with you."

"Understood." With that, he ended the call and made his way to the bedroom. They both went to sleep. It was going to be their last night in Berlin. His mother was so happy that he was home, but now he had to leave again. He looked forward to the day when the war would end, and he could just stay home.

But for now, he had a duty. And that duty was in Prague.

Notes

Herr – sir, mister

Ja – yes

Kristallnacht – "The Night of Broken Glass", pogrom against German Jews carried out by the Nazi's paramilitary forces on 9 – 10 November 1938 (see prologue chapter)

Projekt Wodan – literally "Project Odin"

SS – short for Schutzstaffel or "Protection Squadron", paramilitary units of the Nazi Party

was – German for "what"