Warsaw, Poland – 26 September 1939

Jan sat by the doorway, cleaning his rifle with a piece of cloth he had found in the ruins of the kitchen. In the last three weeks, Jan went from never having shot a rifle in real combat to shooting it every few hours in the streets of Warsaw, helping the Polish soldiers and volunteers defend their capital. For the last few weeks, the Germans had slowly encircled Warsaw. With each day came more bad news as more neighborhoods fell and contact with more forts outside Warsaw were lost. The siege of Warsaw had truly begun, and Jan felt that the end of the war in Poland was near. The Polish army was still holding out, but for how long? So far, they had been able to repulse many assaults.

But things had got worse, much worse. The German army had launched an assault since yesterday, and they had lost many parts of the city. They were in the crumbling ruins of a three-storey townhouse on a street heading west out of Warsaw, towards Germany. They were on the second floor, and the sun shone on a corner of the room from where the floor had collapsed on the third floor, right underneath a hole in the roof. There were holes lining up the walls too, some were the size of bullet shots, but others Jan could climb through like a window. On the sides of those holes and windows stood the Polish soldiers, their faces bruised, bandaged, and blackened, their rifles at the ready in their arms.

Angelina stood at the table, looking down at a map of the borough. With her at the table were Major Tomczyk and Mieszko. Major Tomczyk was the leader of this company of soldiers that the three German Assassins had attached themselves to. At the start of the battle, he had had a hundred men under his command. Now, only fifty-one remained, including nine critically wounded. But Mieszko, he was an Assassin, a member of the Polish Brotherhood.

The two of them couldn't have been more different. Major Tomczyk was a soldier through and through. His scar was the most prominent feature of his face. It went from above his left eye all the way to his jaw. His hair was cropped short, and his eyebrows were constantly furrowed, giving his dark brown eyes a harsh look. Jan avoided talking to him as much as he could. On the other hand, Jan liked Mieszko. He was as old as his father, but his wide smile and bright eyes made him look twenty years younger. His long, wavy, black hair was unkempt, and he rarely shaved, his beard covering the lower half of his face in the same black hair.

"Are you sure they are coming?" Major Tomczyk demanded. His words were sharp and full of doubt.

"They are, Major." Angelina responded with no hint of irritation or annoyance. "I'm sure of it."

"How can I trust you? You're a German. For all I know, you're leading us into a trap." His hand went to his holster.

"Major." Mieszko intervened, leaning his body forwards towards the Major. "I can assure you that Panna Angelina is on our side. She and her comrades have been fighting against the Germans in Warsaw ever since they arrived two weeks ago. I vouch for her. I'd bet my life on her." He smiled.

The Major loosened his arm and sighed.

"Then, where are they?"

"They'll be here soon."

Stanislaw came through the doorway and stood next to Jan. He cleared his throat and all eyes were on him. Stanislaw was as young as Jan was, and they were both Assassins. They were the closest in age and experience, but they couldn't interact much. His German was poor, and Jan spoke next to no Polish.

"They're coming," he announced.

Mieszko smiled and looked at the Major. The Major nodded and shouted to his men.

"Przygotujcie się!"

He knew what that meant at least. Get ready. Jan stood up and loaded a clip into the magazine. It was time to kill some Nazis.

Silence hung over the Assassins and their Polish comrades. The damaged buildings on both sides of the road were occupied by the fifty ambushers, including Jan, Angelina, Kevin, Mieszko, Stanislaw, and another Polish Assassin. The only sounds that hung over the street was the sound of approaching German engines and distant gunfire and artillery.

The column came into view. An armoured car with a tank gun in the lead. Behind it, a car with a machine gun where the backseat was supposed to be, followed by three trucks. At the rear, a motorcycle, a machine gun on the sidecar. He guessed at least forty men.

"Truck in the middle," whispered Angelina behind him. "That's our target."

"Those machine guns are going to be a problem." The Major took a deep breath and loosened his collar.

"I'll take the one on the motorcycle," announced Mieszko as he moved to a window further down the street. "Stanislaw, take the one on the car. Major, if you would be so kind as to handle the armoured car."

The Major quietly barked his orders. A soldier came to the window with a rifle twice as long as Jan's. The soldier deployed the retractable bipod underneath the barrel and set it on the windowsill. Checking the rifle, he moved and aimed directly for the tank's fuel compartment. He nodded towards the Major. Angelina crouched in front of a hole next to Jan's window and aimed.

"Aim for the wheels of that truck."

Jan shifted his position and aimed down the sights of his rifle directly at the front wheel of the middle truck. He whispered his target to Angelina, and Angelina aimed at the back wheel.

The column proceeded slowly until they were caught between the two buildings. Jan's heart beat out of his chest, and he took in a deep breath, steadying his aim. Three… two… one…

"Strzelaj!"shouted the Major.

A loud crack shattered the silence followed by an explosion. Pieces of burning metal flew through the air as gunshots rained on the Nazis from above. Jan and Angelina fired their rifles and blew holes into the truck's tires. Blood spilled onto the road as Mieszko's bullet went through the head of the machine gunner in the sidecar. The machine gunner on the back of the car fell to the ground, gripping his shoulder tightly as blood seeped through it.

Shot after shot rang out all around them. The Nazis in the truck quickly got out of their trucks and took cover behind the debris around them. Many fell dead as they ran to position. Jan could hear their desperate shouts and dying screams as he shot a soldier reloading his rifle. Gunshots hit the walls around him, forcing him to take cover. A Polish soldier fell in the next room, pulled towards the back of the room by his comrades as he cried.

Jan took three quick breaths and came out of cover. A soldier was aiming at him. Jan pulled the trigger, and the shot hit him in the torso. He screamed, but Jan quickly pulled the bolt and let the empty cartridge fall out. He found another in his sights and pulled the trigger. Pulled the bolt, aimed, fired. Pulled the bolt, aimed, fire.

Suddenly the shooting stopped as one of the German soldiers came out of cover with his hands above his head. Jan aimed at his chest and kept his finger on the trigger.

"We surrender!"

Jan glanced at the Major who was looking out the window, his eyebrows furrowed as he assessed the situation, keeping his handgun half-raised. Angelina came to him and together they looked down at the German soldiers who were coming out of cover with their hands above their head. The Major looked to Angelina and asked what she thought. Angelina leaned towards the window.

"Kill them. We have no use of prisoners. We need to leave no witnesses. Kill them all."

The Major nodded and shouted the order to his men. The soldiers started shooting and one by one the German soldiers fell onto the ground, bleeding, screaming, dying. Jan caught a target in his sights. The soldier was running to cover, his hand covering his injured side. He started to pull the trigger but stopped just before he unleashed the bullet. His breathing became ragged as he kept following the soldier in his sights. He started to loosen his finger when Angelina shouted at him to take the shot.

The soldier fell. Jan's bullet hit him in the shoulder. His helmet fell to the ground along with his rifle. But he wasn't dead. He was groaning, crying, and muttering. Blood was flowing out of his mouth. Jan lowered his rifle and looked at him. He trembled, and his heart didn't feel right. It felt heavy, and anxious. Another shot came, and the man's brains spilt onto the road. Jan jumped back. Angelina stood with her rifle aimed at the soldier, its muzzle smoking from the shot she just took. She lowered her rifle as Jan looked on. She didn't look at him back.

"Come." She started towards the door leading to the stairs. "We need to get what's in that truck."

Jan stood there for a moment before following her. His hands felt numb.

An eerie silence hung over the street that had been a battlefield just a few minutes before. The only sound in the air was that of the flames of the burning armoured car. Angelina made her way through the rubble and corpses towards the middle truck. Jan kept his rifle up, aiming left and right just in case one of the corpses started moving and tried to shoot him. Mieszko was behind them, scanning the battlefield like he did. On the other side, Kevin and another Assassin came down and headed towards the same thing.

The truck was riddled with holes. Its tires were deflated, its underside lying empty on the ground, bringing the truck down just a bit. As they turned the corner and came to the opening at the back of the truck, everybody had their weapons aimed at it. But there was no one inside the truck, and there was only a large, metal box. Angelina lowered her weapon and smiled.

A moan came from the truck. At once, everybody raised their weapons again and looked up and down the truck. A German soldier lay on the road. Half his body was under the truck, and he was slowly crawling his way out. A trail of blood followed behind him. Trembling and pale, he looked up at them. His eyes widened in fear. His eyes pleaded with Jan, he seemed to say to him mercy, mercy. It tugged at his heartstrings, and his heart felt even heavier than it did before. He lowered his rifle.

"I-I surrender, please," he said, coughing up blood. "Please. I have a family. My wife, she's waiting for me. I-I have a three-month old daughter."

Before Jan could say anything, Angelina called out to Kevin. Kevin raised his gun and shot him in the head. His brains splattered onto the grey street, and his head fell limp to the side, bending from his neck at an awkward angle. His eyes looked up at Jan, and Jan looked away.

Angelina slung her rifle behind her back and jumped into the truck. She pushed the box to the edge, whereupon Kevin and Mieszko pulled and brought it out. Jan and the other Polish Assassin hurried to them, helping them carry the box. His knees threatened to buckle under him when he first put his shoulder under it. The veins on his arm were visible, and he could've exploded from the pressure inside him. It was heavier than anything he had ever carried in his life before.

"Major." Angelina shouted at Major Tomczyk who had just gone out of the building with some of his men, surveying the carnage and making sure none of their foes were still alive. "We'll leave you to it, then."

He gave a curt nod and barked orders at his men. The Polish soldiers started streaming out from both sides of the street as Jan and the Assassins made their way slowly to the safehouse.

The street was empty, but the sounds of gunfire, artillery, and bombs were much closer there. The Polish army still held the line several streets away, but it was only a matter of time until they break through. Jan heaved from carrying the box, but as the shattered storefront came into view, he gathered up all his remaining strength for the final stretch. Jan, Kevin, Mieszko, and a Polish Assassin named Patryk carried the box. Angelina and Stanislaw covered the front and rear, their rifles at the ready if anybody dared to ambush the group of six Assassins.

As they passed the empty doorframe flanked by shattered windows, three Assassins armed with rifles appeared inside. They were the first line of defence if the safehouse was attacked. Truth be told, it's not much of a defence. What's a couple of rifles going to do against a tank, or an entire platoon of well-trained German soldiers? They were forced to go here. The original Assassin hideout is now in German held territory. It was no longer safe, and most of the Assassins moved to this safehouse. Four remained behind to try and fight behind enemy lines, but they've heard nothing else after their first and last radio contact. Jan wondered what could've happened to them.

They carried the box into the backroom, where a flight of stairs led down into the reinforced basement. There were no lights. The electricity in the area had gone out days ago, and they only had enough power to run the basement. The basement door was opened, and Jan was grateful for the light. Carefully, they brought the box down and laid it in the middle of the room. Jan fell back onto a wall and slid down, heaving as he sat.

Angelina didn't even settle in. She put down her rifle and went to work on the padlock securing the box. After several failed attempts, she took out her handgun and shot it. Jan closed his eyes. His ears rang, and it was painful on the inside. The padlock fell to the ground, broken in half. Angelina holstered her gun and lifted the lid open.

"Documents?" Mieszko wondered aloud as he took out several sheafs of paper. "It's just a list of names and places."

Jan stood up and went over to the box. Inside it were stacks of papers, some still white and fresh, others yellow with crumbling edges. At the bottom of the box were several thick books with featureless leather covers. The documents were mostly written in Polish, not that it required much knowledge of the language to read. Just like Mieszko said, it was names and places.

"Not just names, I think. What does this say?" Angelina asked Mieszko, showing one of the newer papers to him.

"It says 'shopkeeper'. So, it lists down their occupations too?"

"So it seems." Angelina took out half the papers and put them on the table, taking out one that was yellow, cracked, and crumbling. "This one's in Latin. Seems much older."

"But what the hell are they? Names, and what? A census?"

Angelina put aside the papers and reached into the bottom of the box. She picked up one of the books. Blowing on the cover and casting off the dust, she opened it to the first page. There was nothing on the page except for a single symbol, the meaning of which nobody in the room knew. None of them had ever seen it before, but to Jan it seemed like a stylised version of the number four, with the slanted line turned into a curve. Instead of ending at the top, it curved outward. When Jan suggested that it might be the number, Angelina wasn't convinced.

The second page was no more help than the first. It was ancient, written in the style of medieval manuscripts, with a large, colourful, stylised letter on the top left beginning the paragraph. But these were no ordinary letters. They were not written in the Latin script, but rather something that Jan had never seen before. All the other Assassins spoke with each other, questioning what it was, but none knew.

"We need to get these documents out of the city," announced Angelina as she closed the book. "It isn't safe here, and we can't decipher it here. Whatever it is, the Templars wanted it. That's enough reason for us to hold it. We must get this back to Berlin, and maybe Essen."

Essen, the ancient beating heart of the Assassin brotherhood in Germany. It was where the Grand Council was and where the Assassins had the highest presence in all of Germany. Jan had never been there, but every time instructions came for the Berlin Assassins, it came from Essen. His father once told him that unlike Berlin, the Assassins had a great ancient hideout, stretching all the way back to the Middle Ages. Having grown up in the Berlin bureau, Jan could not imagine it.

As the Assassins began packing the papers and books back into the box, an Assassin ran to them from the other room. He spoke quickly, with eyes wide open in confusion and sweat pouring down his forehead. Jan did not understand a word they were saying, but Mieszko didn't seem to believe what was being said.

"What is it?" Angelina asked.

Mieszko turned back towards Angelina, his shoulders sagging as if a great weight had been put upon them.

"The army has started negotiations for surrender with the Germans." Mieszko kept his head down, and with his eyebrows furrowed he continued. "They're going to surrender. Warsaw is to be given up."

Cries of disappointment and dismay filled the room as the Polish Assassins heard the news. They muttered, cursed, and covered their faces.

"Then there is not much else we can do here." Angelina continued putting back the documents. "We must leave for Germany."

Mieszko held her wrist and looked her in the eye with a gaze that could make Jan turn into stone.

"What do you mean there's not much else we can do here? We have to continue the fight, even if the army doesn't."

"I've seen what they are capable of, Mieszko. An all-out war against them? We don't stand a chance. You don't stand a chance." She shook his hand off. "Face reality. Warsaw is lost. If you wish to keep fighting, then leave the city. A lot of the Polish army retreated south, didn't they? I suggest you join them. Or, you can join us, and help fight them from the inside."

Mieszko opened his mouth but said nothing. Under the basement light above the table, he suddenly looked ten years older than he did in the battlefield.

But the Polish Assassins' dilemma came to an abrupt end as explosions and gunshots came from above. The Assassins began shouting amongst themselves, not sure of what was happening. Angelina stopped her packing and froze. The door opened, and an Assassin ran in, bloodied and dirtied. He shouted to his comrades and then half of them took their weapons and went up.

"Verdammt," cursed Angelina. "They've found this place. We won't be able to get this damned box out of here now."

"There is an escape route," Mieszko told them as he came back from the door. "It is small, and you will have to crawl out. You can't bring the box, but you can bring the documents in a bag. We will hold them, and we have to burn some of our own documents."

"I'll join you." Angelina dropped the documents and took her rifle. "Jan, Kevin, move those documents into a bag. We'll hold them off for as long as we can." With that, she ran up the stairs and into the fray.

Jan threw two heavy books into the bag, but the rest of the documents didn't fit.

"What do we do with the rest?" Jan asked Kevin.

Wordlessly, he picked up the sheafs of papers and threw them into the fire burning in the next room where the Polish Assassins were destroying their own records. Though he didn't speak, Jan understood. Better to destroy it than leave it in Templar hands. Jan watched as the fire gradually ate through the paper, turning it black as coal before it would crumble into ashes. He slung the bag over his shoulder and took his rifle. He ran to the door and looked up to go up the stairs. Angelina appeared at the top, aiming her rifle towards the front of the shop as she moved back towards the wall.

"Angelina, it's done," Jan shouted. "We've got the documents, let's go!"

"Go!" she shouted as she fired three shots. "I'll hold them off, go!"

"What? Come on, go down and let's-"

Before Jan could finish his sentence, Angelina fell down with her back to the wall. She screamed, clutching her blood-soaked thigh. Her rifle fell down the stairs and landed at Jan's feet. Jan shouted at her, but then a German soldier appeared in front of Angelina. Angelina stared at him and then to Jan. Her mouth opened but before she could say anything, the soldier had shot her point blank in the head. Her blood covered the wall behind her, red and flowing. Her head fell limp, along with Jan's own hands.

The soldier reloaded and looked down the basement. Jan couldn't move his legs, and all his limbs felt heavy and numb. He looked straight into the barrel rifle, thinking this was where it would all end. He closed his eyes, and a shot rang out. But he didn't fall. When he opened his eyes, the soldier had fallen back, his eyes open but lifeless. Kevin pulled him inside as a Polish Assassin fired several shots above.

Jan's head spun as Kevin sat him down. The shouts and gunfire faded into the background as he lost the focus in his vision. He didn't know what had happened to his arms. He could see them, but he couldn't feel them. He moved them, but he felt nothing. Stanislaw put his hand on his shoulder and shook him.

"Jan, you must go. We will hold them off and give you time to escape. Come with me." Stanislaw left him on the floor, moving towards the bookshelf in the room where they had opened the box.

Kevin came to him and pulled him up by the arm. He looked up at his face. Kevin's eyes were sad, but firm. He nodded at Jan and released his grip. Without looking at Jan again, he walked after Stanislaw. Jan shook his head and ran after them.

Stanislaw and Kevin pulled the bookshelf to the side to reveal a metal door hidden behind it. When Stanislaw opened it, inside was a dark staircase downwards. There was no light, and nothing was visible beyond the first few steps. Kevin went in, and Jan followed. Stanislaw picked up a flashlight and came in after us. He shouted to the remaining Polish Assassins who were shooting up the staircase from the door.

They shouted back at him, and after exchanging a few more words, they shouted at him one last sentence and he shouted back the same at them.

"Nic nie jest prawdą, wszystko jest dozwolone!"

Then they pulled the bookshelf back into place, and Stanislaw closed the door. Jan was in complete darkness. Everything was pitch black until Stanislaw turned on his flashlight.

"Come," he said as he moved to the front. "This tunnel will get us out."

"What was that?"

"Our creed."

They went down the stairs. After several minutes, a loud explosion rocked the entire building. Jan almost lost his footing.

"What was that?" Jan asked.

"The battle is over," Stanislaw answered him. He did not look back. "Our brothers have bought us some time." And then he continued down the stairs.

There were at least a dozen Assassins in that room. And they all gave their lives for whatever knowledge the books contained. Jan gripped the bag tightly and gritted his teeth. The last month had been horrible, but that day was hell. Three Assassins set out from Berlin, but only two are returning.

The stairs ended and they found themselves in a long, cold tunnel. Stanislaw lead the way, with Kevin following behind him and Jan at the back. As they walked down that dark, narrow tunnel, tears flowed down Jan's cheeks. Silently he cried as he walked the long path out of the city.

The sun was setting as they came out of the hole in a forest outside of Warsaw. There was no one around, and there were no signs of civilisation. Behind them, small but visible was the city. Pillars of smoke dotted the skyline as aircraft flew above it like flocks of birds as they dropped bombs on the embattled city.

"Can you get back to Germany from here?" Stanislaw asked them as he finished covering back the wooden trapdoor with leaves and branches.

"Yes. Are you not joining us?"

"No," he brushed the dirt off his hands. "I must continue our fight here. Some of our brothers and sisters followed the retreating army south. That is where I will head." He pointed far off into the south.

"Alright. Thank you, Stanislaw." Jan shook his hand. "I hope you get there safely, and show the Nazis hell."

"I will try my best." He smiled. "Whatever is in that book must be important. I leave it in your hands. I hope the German Brotherhood can decipher it, and end this war sooner than later."

Jan hoped so too.

"Then, until we see each other again, Jan, Kevin." He nodded towards Kevin.

"Until we see each other again, Stanislaw."

Stanislaw parted ways with them. He went south, disappearing amongst the trees and bushes as Jan and Kevin made their way west, towards Germany.

Jan never saw him again.

Notes

Nic nie jest prawdą, wszystko jest dozwolone - Nothing is true, everything is permitted (Polish)

panna - miss (Polish)

Przygotujcie się! - Prepare yourselves! (Polish)

Strzelaj! - Fire! (Polish)

verdammt – damn (German)

Read more about the Siege of Warsaw (1939) - Wikipedia here!

Hi! First of all, thank you to everyone who's been reading the story so far! Every single read and review is very important to me and I appreciate each one. If it weren't for some of those reviews, I wouldn't still be writing this. I know I'm not the best writer but I hope to keep improving so that I will be able to share more stories that people can enjoy, stories that can stick with you for long after you read them.

This chapter was the first time I ever used Polish. I would like to apologise if I made any mistakes! I am not a speaker of Polish and I've never seriously learnt the language. I actually learnt German in high school so I'm somewhat confident in it, but not really in Polish! I've tried to find the best and most accurate translations possible, but honestly I can't be sure if they are really correct. Google Translate and Wiktionary can only tell you so much. If I made any mistakes, please feel free to tell me!

Thank you for reading, and hopefully see you in the next chapter!

- nasaaki