Berlin, Nazi Germany – 24 July 1944

Uncle Rudolf entered the room. His steps were slow and deliberate. He took his time walking behind the soldiers, going around them to stand in front of them, and in front of Jan, mother, and Elisabeth. Elisabeth had by then recovered, and was sitting near mother, clutching her wounded arm. Uncle Rudolf eyed them one by one.

"Rudolf?" Jan's mother asked in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" Jan demanded of him.

Uncle Rudolf sighed.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"What wasn't?"

Uncle Rudolf walked towards the window. He bent down and picked up a piece of broken glass from the floor. He lifted it to his eyes and examined it.

"Was this really necessary?"

Jan was confused, but then it wasn't him who answered.

"Sorry, sir," explained the commander. "There was no other way."

"Your incompetence is baffling," Uncle Rudolf said as he turned around. He put the sharp piece of broken glass to the commander's neck and stopped it just right before it hit the skin. "Under other circumstances, I would execute you for your incompetence right here and now."

The commander kept his eyes straight forward, not moving an inch. Cold sweat poured down his face, but Uncle Rudolf eventually threw away the broken glass.

"Like I said, under other circumstances," he said as he approached Jan and Elisabeth. "Hello, Jan."

Jan said nothing in reply. He shot daggers at him with his eyes. Jan wasn't sure what to think, or what was happening.

"What are you doing, Uncle Rudolf?" Jan asked again, his voice sharp.

"What I've always done, Jan. I'm doing my part for humankind. That has never changed. Not when I first met you, not when your father was killed, not when you launched your coup in the Brotherhood."

Jan's jaw dropped. "So… you've been with them this whole time?"

"Them?" Uncle Rudolf asked back, feigning ignorance.

"Templars," spat Jan.

Uncle Rudolf sighed. "Ernst, your brother, you."

It had been so long since Jan heard his father's name.

"It always pained me – no, it still does – seeing you all follow the false ways of the Assassins. Can't you see that your so-called freedom will bring only anarchy and chaos? And what follows them? Nothing but death and destruction."

"So, you betrayed us?"

"No," he said, looking straight into Jan's eyes. "I've always been a Templar."

Jan clutched his fists.

"So, father… You killed him…?" Jan almost lost his voice as he asked that question.

Uncle Rudolf shook his head. "It wasn't supposed to be like that."

"So you did." Jan could barely control himself. He felt he could jump at Uncle Rudolf right at that moment and unleash all the rage he had kept for years.

But Uncle Rudolf shook his head once again. "You're not listening. It wasn't supposed to happen like that at all. He wasn't supposed to die. You have to believe me, Jan. For all my disagreements with you Assassins, I did love your father like a brother."

Jan spat at his feet.

"Tell that to his grave."

Uncle Rudolf just looked at Jan with what Jan could only describe as a mix of sadness and pain.

"Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"The key."

"What key?"

"Don't play dumb, Jan," said Uncle Rudolf with a stern voice, like the voice his father used to use on him when he was naughty. "The key to end this war, and to control this world."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. If it's the key that we took from Heydrich, I don't have it. And you won't find it."

"You've opened it, doubtless. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about the key to the door. I'm talking about the key to what's inside."

Jan's eyes opened wide. The contraption at the end of the hall in the Vault.

"So, you know what I mean."

Jan tried to feign ignorance, but Uncle Rudolf knew him too well. Uncle Rudolf turned to the soldiers.

"Commander, call in more men. I will need two men to come with me."

The commander acknowledged his order with a salute and went outside. Not long afterwards, he came back with two more soldiers.

"Come on, Jan. Get up. You're coming with me," Uncle Rudolf announced as he approached Jan. He dragged Jan up by the arm. "And remember, the safety of your mother and Elisabeth rests with you."

At gunpoint, Uncle Rudolf and Jan made their way back into the main corridor of the house. One soldier in front, and another at the back with his gun held towards Jan. They didn't tell Jan where they were going, but he was hoping it wasn't where he thought it was.

Jan's heart dropped when they stopped in front of his father's old study. The door was ajar, and they went in. The study was a complete mess. Piles of paper were strewn all across the floor, while the desk in front of the window where they had been piled before was now nearly empty except for a few sheafs of paper. The bookshelves on either side of the windows had been emptied, their books a chaotic heap on the floor in front of them. The drawers on the bottom half of the shelves were pulled out, their contents similarly thrown around the room. Even the small rubbish bin next to one of the bookshelves had been kicked over.

"We've searched the entire room, but we haven't found it. Where is it, Jan?" Uncle Rudolf demanded as he nonchalantly picked up a sheet of paper.

"Where's what?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about," he said, turning around and looking Jan straight in the eyes.

Jan avoided his gaze.

"The documents. Before he died-"

"Before you killed him, you mean?" Jan said pointedly, his face flushed with anger.

Uncle Rudolf, with a slight tinge of shame on his face, ignored his remark.

"Before he died, your father had come into possession of some documents. Documents that he kept secure. So secure in fact, that he kept it even from me."

Uncle Rudolf walked closer to Jan, and he stopped right in front of Jan's face.

"You know it. And you know where it is, don't you, Jan?"

Jan said nothing. He tried to make it seem like he was confused, but he didn't know how good of an actor he was.

"You're in with Lutz, so I know your loyalty to the Brotherhood in unshakeable. Fanatics, you lot are. But this isn't about you, Jan. This is about your mother, and about Elisabeth."

Jan snapped.

"You killed Father, and now you're going to kill Mother too?"

"I did not kill your father, Jan!" he shouted back, taking Jan aback. "It was an accident. An accident. I never meant to get him killed. And I certainly don't want to hurt your mother. You are like family to me. But there are bigger things than us at stake here, and I have to do what I must."

Jan remained silent, though the meaning of his words did not escape him.

"So, what'll it be, Jan?" Uncle Rudolf asked him, still a mere few inches away from his face.

"Fine," Jan said, almost spitting at him.

Uncle Rudolf stepped aside and let Jan walk into the room, though the two soldiers at the door were still aiming their rifles at him. Jan went straight to the desk and knelt in front of it.

"We've checked there," declared one of the soldiers. "We know there's nothing there. You can't fool us."

But Uncle Rudolf snapped at him, the irritation clear in his voice. "Quiet," he shouted at him.

Jan did not know the origins of the desk. He only knew that it was specially built, either for his father or one of his ancestors. It was made of sturdy oak and on the side of the desk from which one sat, there were a stack of drawers on each side, which had all been pulled out and emptied of their contents by the soldiers before Jan had come in. On its front – the side that Jan was facing – near the top of the desk was a small symbol. It was so small that most people would miss it. It was the symbol of the Assassins, carved into the wood by its maker.

Jan brought his hand to this small symbol and put his ring finger in the centre of the symbol. He pushed it, and the inside of the symbol sank into the desk. At the same time, there was a click from within the desk. They all turned their attention to the drawer that had just poked out of the bottom left leg of the desk. It had been made so perfectly aligned with its surroundings that its creases had not been seen, making it invisible. Jan pulled the drawer open, revealing its contents: a single envelope. His father never told him about it, but he had seen him open it.

"That's enough, Jan," Uncle Rudolf said as he held Jan's shoulder. "Go back to where you were standing."

Jan did as he was bid and walked back to the two soldiers. Uncle Rudolf knelt and picked up the envelope. He inspected it, checking every side. Then he opened it. It had been opened long ago, so there was no resistance. He took out the sheaf of papers within it and threw the empty envelope onto the desk. He opened the papers and read through them one by one. As he read, the room was silent. Then, without looking up from the papers, Uncle Rudolf addressed Jan.

"Have you ever read this, Jan?"

Jan didn't answer for a few moments. "No," he finally said.

"Why not? You knew where it was."

"It just didn't occur to me."

"I've been searching for this information for a long time. A long, long time. To think that it was in his desk all this time…"

Uncle Rudolf became silent. He held the sheaf of papers in one hand, while he touched the desk with the other. He looked down, deep in thought.

"Ernst, it took me this long to find that secret you kept from me. Even in death, you trouble me."

With that, Uncle Rudolf folded the sheaf of papers neatly and put them back into the envelope. He turned around and walked towards the door.

"Let's go back down."

They left the room, Uncle Rudolf leading them while the two soldiers stayed behind Jan with their guns ready. As they walked down the hallway towards the stairs, gunshots and screams rang out from below.

"Jan!" shouted Elisabeth as another gunshot rang out, followed by a man screaming.

Jan took his chance. He ducked and swung his feet towards the feet of the soldiers, sending them crashing down before they could even pull their triggers. Then he turned around to face Uncle Rudolf, who had turned around and taken out his gun. He fired two shots at Jan, who deftly dodged them. Jan sent his fist towards Uncle Rudolf's face, hitting him square on the side. As Uncle Rudolf recoiled from the blow, Jan grabbed his wrist and twisted it, forcing Uncle Rudolf to drop the gun.

Uncle Rudolf kicked him away. The two men now stood across each other, ready to fight. They both engaged their hidden blades and went at each other. Uncle Rudolf struck first, trying to stab him in the head, but Jan avoided it. Next, Jan went below, trying to stick his blade into Uncle Rudolf's stomach. But Uncle Rudolf was in no way slower, and he too avoided the blow. For a few moments, the two traded blows, each not hitting the other, at best grazing their opponent's skin. As they fought, the sound of gunshots coming from outside, followed by a reply from the inside, came from below.

They moved away from each other, both heaving from the physical exertion. They looked into each other's eyes. Jan's was full of hatred, but there was something else in Uncle Rudolf's eyes. Regret. Sadness. For what? Jan didn't know. And Jan didn't care.

"I'll be ending this now, Jan. I'm sorry."

"Fuck you!"

Uncle Rudolf rushed at him and swiped at him. Jan jumped back, avoiding his blow. Uncle Rudolf moved forward again, trying to stab Jan in the head with his right blade. Jan narrowly avoided the blow by tilting his head, but at that moment he brought his own arm up and put it over Uncle Rudolf's extended arm. Then, he twisted it as hard as he could. Uncle Rudolf yelped in pain, and Jan buried his blade deep in Uncle Rudolf's stomach.

Uncle Rudolf's eyes widened in shock. His mouth was agape, but no sound came out. Jan pulled out his blade and let Uncle Rudolf fall to the floor. He was grasping at his wound and looked at the crimson blood covering his hand.

Jan was about to deliver the final blow, when he heard a gun cocking behind him. He rolled away just as one of the soldiers, having recovered, shot at where he was. The other soldier too had recovered and was shooting his rifle at Jan. At such a close range, it was easy for Jan to avoid the rifle shots.

Jan rushed the two soldiers, leaping left and right to avoid the shots. He was quicker than they could reload, and soon Jan had reached the soldier on the left. He kicked away the soldier's gun and stabbed him in the neck, killing him instantly. He was too busy with the first soldier to notice the second soldier shooting at him. He only managed to tilt his body slightly, allowing the bullet to graze him and draw blood.

He kicked away the first soldier's lifeless corpse and went after the second soldier. Putting all his strength into his arms, he wrenched the rifle away from the soldier's grasp and threw it back down the hallway. The soldier's hand went to his knife, but Jan stabbed his arm. He screamed in pain. Jan prepared to deliver the final blow, but the soldier took out a grenade with his other hand and brought it up. It was a standard German grenade, with the screw cap already removed. With his teeth, he pulled the cord quickly. The soldier smiled devilishly.

"I'm taking you with me!"

Jan struggled with the man, trying to take the grenade away from him. They fell onto the floor, scrambling. Jan was on top of him one second, and he was on top of Jan the next. Although it was only a few seconds, they were a precious few seconds. Precious enough that it felt much, much longer. At the end, he was on top of Jan, trying to hold him down so they would die together. But Jan, struggling for dear life, put all his strength into his arms and threw the man over his head, sending him rolling towards the railing overlooking the kitchen, his grenade still in his hand. The soldier barely brought himself up and, panicking, threw the grenade into the kitchen.

"No!" Jan shouted.

But it was too late, and a great explosion happened right before his eyes. It sent the soldier in front of him flying, and he too fell backwards. Jan opened his eyes. There were sparks flying all around him. A great fire was burning in the kitchen, its light illuminating the entire hallway. Jan felt no pain. He forced himself to get back up and rushed towards the stairs. All the while, he was shouting.

"Mother!"