Berlin, Germany – 12 September 1943
Jan drove through the dark streets of Berlin. It was half past nine in the evening, and few people were still out. Jan and Elisabeth had been staying at one of the abandoned Berlin hideouts. He hadn't met his mother yet, for fear of exposing her to what he was going to do.
They were headed towards the house of a certain Friedrich Olbricht, a lieutenant general in the army with connections to the resistance. This was courtesy of a contact that Lutz knew in the army who was a friend of the Assassins.
They stopped in front of the house which the address pointed at. They waited a few moments, and soon a tall, stern-looking man came out. He had a chiseled jawline and piercing blue eyes. His black hair was cropped neatly, befitting a soldier. He was still in his uniform.
"You must be Heinrich and Anna," he said, smiling.
"Yes," Jan said. Lutz had told them to not use their real names.
"Just go into the backyard through that alley in front and park your car there. I'll wait for you there."
Jan nodded and followed his instructions. He drove into the alley and into the sparse backyard. There was only one tree, slowly losing its leaves. Jan and Elisabeth stepped out of the car and were met by the man.
"Wolfgang Müller," he said, as he shook their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Heinrich, and this is Anna. The pleasure's ours."
"Everyone else is already here, so we can begin," he said as he led them inside the house.
The house was dark, but they could see light coming from a single room after they entered. They followed Wolfgang there and came upon a dining table, around which several uniformed men sat. Upon their arrival, the men all looked at Jan and Elisabeth.
"Sirs, these are Heinrich and Anna. Our friends in the resistance."
Another man, eerily similar to Wolfgang in appearance, stood up and smiled warmly at them.
"Nice to meet you. Lieutenant Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. And these are General Friederich Olbricht and Colonel Henning von Tresckow."
They all exchanged pleasantries, before Jan and Elisabeth were given seats at the table. Olbricht was a bespectacled man who looked more like a clerk than a soldier, with a receding hairline that hinted at his age. Tresckow on the other hand was bald and had a wide face.
"So, Heinrich, you and your friends are interested in aiding us?" began Tresckow.
"Yes. Hitler is bad for Germany, and we want what's best for our country."
"We think so too. Usually, I would not trust you. We don't even know who you exactly are, though you are at least German. But since Wolfgang here vouches for you, we'll accept your help. God knows we need as much help as we can get."
"Thank you. So, what's the plan?"
The commanders looked at each other.
"A bomb," answered Stauffenberg.
"A bomb?"
"A timed one, to be precise," explained Tresckow.
"Why a timed bomb?"
"We went through several ideas. We thought we could shoot him at the army base camp."
"But it's said that Hitler wears a bulletproof vest," explained Olbricht. "So, that one was out of the question."
"We also considered poison," continued Tresckow. "But Hitler's food is specially prepared and tasted. There's no way for us to put poison anywhere in that process. So, a timed bomb was the answer."
Jan nodded.
"And what after that?"
"After that, we put into place Operation Valkyrie."
"Operation Valkyrie?"
"It's a plan of the Replacement Army, the backup army in Germany. It was originally made for emergencies in case the government was compromised. But we've made some changes. After Hitler is killed by the bombing, we will use the Replacement Army to take control of important buildings. Headquarters, radio stations, and the like. And we will take over Germany's government."
"And once you're in power, what will you do then?"
"We'll sue for peace with the Allies. We should get as much as possible for Germany without having to continue this war. If we continue, we are sure to lose."
"I see," Jan said. "We'll help you with this. When are you planning to execute the assassination?"
"We haven't decided yet. We need to see what Hitler is planning to do. We'll plan around that."
"I will be carrying the bomb," said Stauffenberg.
"Then we will be with you as much as possible. We're the backup. If the bomb fails to kill Hitler, we'll kill him in the chaos of the bombing."
"Hitler is always under heavy guard," explained Olbricht. "How do you expect to kill him even in such a situation? And even if you could, how do you expect to get out?"
"Don't worry about that, general. Leave that to us. We have a set of skills well-suited to this issue. And if need be, we'd give our lives for it."
"Well, that's settled then," announced Stauffenberg. "We'll kill Hitler with a timed bomb, and our friends here will help us."
They made their goodbyes, and Wolfgang saw them out back to the car. Jan and Elisabeth went in, saying their goodbyes to Wolfgang before driving away. In the car, the conversation continued with just the two of them.
"What do you think?" Jan asked Elisabeth.
"About?"
"Them."
"I feel like they're only marginally better than the Nazis. At least they're not Templars."
Jan nodded agreeingly.
"I feel the same way. They seek to preserve this empire Hitler has built but without Hitler. And probably with them in positions of power."
"Can we really trust them?"
"We have no choice. Lutz also agreed that we should use this opportunity while it exists. With people in the army like this, we can get close to Hitler. Closer than we ever could without."
"But will Germany really be in better hands after Hitler's gone?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that," Jan said as he turned a corner.
"After all, we'll eliminate them too."