Protocol M10:34: Chapter 3 – 19 8 1 4 15 23 0 1 14 7 5 12

Chapter 3 – 19 8 1 4 15 23 0 1 14 7 5 12

Another year of Protocol M10:34 has passed, and progress is monotonous, with highs and lows, yet steady. Because President Campione can’t officially support us, he’s sent United Chimaera States forces against the groups we secretly support. Several people with the M on the palms of their hands have been either killed or jailed, some of whom were actual extremists or agents of the protocol. President Campione hasn’t been sending many agents to give us a heads-up about raids on our allies and hideouts, so we have to be ready for them to give the appearance that we’re apart from our own country. As for us, Bezalel and Garnet have had more emotional outbursts, so to keep the mental training holding on in their minds, I’ve had protocol agents come to help them, under the guise of therapy and medical care.

This year, we’re helping a revolution brew in Frankreich. It’s been occupied for a long time and was one of the first countries in Proavus to fall to Adler and the Imperium. Now, we have to make sure the Imperium’s forces are weakened here, especially since it’s one of the planned invasion sites for the coming renewal of the Second Great War. Given the importance of this task, we have multiple agents working in the area and are supposed to get more help today because of a secret weapon we found. A series of knocks on our hideout door gets my attention. After going to it and quietly asking for the code phrase, I’m given the correct response, and I open the door to see that it’s one of the heads of the SIB, Donnie Parlarono.

After letting him in, Garnet, Bezalel, and I greet him. I say, “It’s a surprise to see you out here, sir.”

Donnie is the spitting image of a normal person with brown hair, brown eyes, and the dull colored fedora and suit of a common worker, and this is the appearance he usually has to hide how powerful a man he actually is.

Taking off his fedora, Donnie smiles at us and says, “Ah, that’s the point. Aha, I’m just glad to be out of the States. To be honest, it’s better being out here than there because I have to work with agents of the Imperium to fight my own people. It’s emasculating.”

“Tell me about it. It felt emasculating helping Ruthenia get back on its feet to fight back against Adler,” Bezalel says.

“Good work on that, by the way. Ruthenia was absolutely key in restarting the Second Great War, and with them now able to fight back against their occupiers on their own in Eastern Proavus, we can focus more on Western Proavus. So, tell me about this secret weapon here in Frankreich.”

Sitting down with Donnie and giving him a cup of coffee, I show him pictures of the labs we’ve infiltrated and documents we’ve copied.

“This weapon we’ve discovered is a variation on the gas-based weapons used in the First Great War, except this one is supposed to make others hallucinate,” I say.

“Who in the Imperium made them?” Donnie asks.

“No one did. This is an independent Frankreich resistance movement, comprised of extremist citizens and the remnants of their army, who want to take their country back at all costs,” Garnet explains.

“What of the resistance movement you’re leading? Do they have anything to do with them?”

“No, they’re a separate movement, who are in conflict with the actual extremists.”

“I think this opposition is a government plant,” Bezalel suggests. “How else could they be so well armed and get the materials they needed for the kind of weapon they have?”

The thought of one government-backed revolutionary movement fighting another is so funny to me that I can’t help but laugh a little.

“Whatever the case is, these actual extremists can’t be allowed to use their weapon. Do you know where it’s being kept?” Donnie asks.

“Yes. We have our people watching the area and sending us updates,” I say.

“Tell them we’re going to move in today to end this threat.”

We do as Donnie says and get ready. Donnie has brought a few more Protocol M10:34 agents with him as backup for this attack on the extremists’ hideout, along with a case full of agent tools, including lock-picking devices, electronics jammers, gas masks, and tools that make people easier to interrogate. Heading out to the town, all the agents and allies we have in the area surround the target building, then go inside. From the outside and inside, it looks like a normal home converted into a bakery, but in the basement, behind a hidden door, it's a research facility. Our small infiltration group spreads out throughout the facility to cover more ground, plant explosives to blow this place up, and secure the secret weapon. While sneaking around, we use our knives to silently kill and get them out of our way before hiding their body in dark corners of the facility, lockers, and boxes that shouldn’t be discovered until we leave.

As I set the explosives, I peek into one of the rooms to see how the weapon is being made and the gas being tested on Adler soldiers. The soldiers go insane, yelling, screaming, and crying, with some even killing one another or themselves with their bare hands, and as this is happening, the observers are laughing and joking about it. Additionally, people in black robes in the room are performing some sort of occult ritual. Before I can move on, I hear gunshots and the alarm ringing. All the doors in the rooms lock, the lights go out, and the gas used on the test subjects starts leaking throughout the facility.

I put my mask on, and yet I can still smell the gas and start feeling affected by it. My head feels light, and my body feels weightless, as if I’m moving in a dream. Everything around me blurs together like a swirl, and I start hearing more sounds of screaming, fighting, crying, and gunshots. I try to find a way out of the facility, but every hallway looks the same, and the facility looks like it goes on forever.

“You threw yourself into danger for the sake of others, but now, you throw the innocent into danger for the sake of your country,” I hear a dark voice say.

A door in the hallway opens. Going through it, I find myself back in the City of Angels in a burning ship. The criminal scum in it start shooting at me, and the sounds of screaming and crying children and innocent adults push me to recklessly shoot and run through the criminals to get to them. While running through the ship, I see the innocent killing themselves by hanging or shooting themselves in the head because of what they’ve been through and done against their will. Reaching the source of the crying and screaming, I see them burning alive in a cage that I’m unable to unlock.

“No! It didn’t happen this way! I did save some of them from this ship!” I say out loud.

A door in the cage opens to a hallway in a rundown apartment. I go through it as a dark voice says, “No, but you still didn’t save all of them like you wanted to, just like how you didn’t save other innocents during your time as an officer.”

Knowing what’s through the door, I refuse to go through it, instead going through the door back where I came, and somehow, I find myself in the apartment.

“I tried my best. I was still a beginner! I learned from my mistake!” I say.

I do my best to run out of the apartment, but I keep ending up on the same floor and closer and closer to the door I dread going through.

“You failed. You still hold onto it, despite not wanting to. The memory is permanently seared into the back of your mind, like a constant motive and reminder never to fail again,” the dark voice says.

I exit at the bottom of the staircase and find myself in a room with a young girl holding a gun to her head. No matter how much I struggle, I feel helpless, unable to do anything but watch her cry and take her own life. The floor beneath me cracks and then falls apart. Now I’m back in the Middle East, backed by Adler soldiers and facing the Cult of the Pale Green Horse. We ruthlessly execute the people we once helped as we make our way through a palace decorated with the bodies of other soldiers and civilians.

My mind remembers that it’s in the present, so I thankfully switch to non-lethal rounds to knock out the child brides of the Middle Eastern leaders and kid soldiers they force into service. Still, the Adler soldiers shoot and kill them. I lift my gun to shoot them back, but I can’t.

“Complete your assignment, agent. Don’t be compromised. Think of the greater good,” a dark voice says.

My arms lower my gun, and I go back to clearing the palace until the Adler soldiers and I leave it and enter the streets of Ruthengrad when it was under the control of the Slav Federation. Garnet actively argues with the Adler officers to spare civilians and injured soldiers, while Bezalel helps the soldiers and then stays on the sidelines with me when the Adler soldiers start dividing the people into those who will be spared and those who will be killed or shipped off to death camps.

“You stood by and helped your enemies do evil. Do you think you’re justified in doing so because you were facing another evil enemy?” the dark voice asks.

“I pray every day to know and do better,” I say.

“You don’t do enough. You say you pray, but you don’t do enough. You’ve always been under a puppet master's influence. You’ve never needed their brainwashing to do their bidding.”

Visions of what I’ve been doing during Protocol M10:34 blur together and push me through the events all at once, as if the whole world and time are converging together around me. I kill my own countrymen, torture people for information, stab and shoot a countless number of foreigners, blow up various city and town buildings, and walk away from helping extremists who shoot anyone they want to. Taking the advice of the dark voice, I pray harder until the visions stop one after the other, and I find myself back in the facility I was in. I slap myself a few times to make sure I’m truly awake and in reality, and thinking that I am, I use my radio to call my fellow agents.

“Donnie, Garnet, Bezalel?” I say into the radio.

Around the facility, I see signs of a gunfight, dozens of dead bodies, and blown-open doors and cages. I hit my head a few times to make sure the gas isn’t affecting me, then I start hearing someone moving around.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I say with my pistol up.

Thanks be to God, Bezalel and Garnet appear from around the corner. They’re bruised, bloodied, and their clothes and armor are in tatters, but they’re fine. I run over to hug them, and they hug me back.

“What did you think, we died?” Bezalel asks.

“Did you have those strange, realistic nightmares too, Draco?” Garnet asks.

I let go of them and say, “Yes, I did, and it was horrible. I still feel the effect of it in my head.”

“You too? I’m remembering things that I thought were bad dreams.”

“What exactly are you remembering?” I ask.

“Shooting civilians, killing our own police officers and soldiers, and torturing people who didn’t deserve it,” Garnet says.

“Don’t believe it, Garnet. You’ve seen the occult stuff that they were doing here. I have to see a priest on our next day of rest,” Bezalel says.

“He’s right. We all need a day off and a blessing from a priest after this,” Donnie says as he appears from behind us with his accompanying agents, who are holding heavy bags.

“Sir! I’m relieved to see you’re okay,” I say.

“I can say the same about you. Let’s all get out of here before the authorities arrive.”

Garnet, Bezalel, and I agree; however, before we go, Donnie puts his hand on my shoulder.

He whispers in my ear, “That gas might’ve compromised Garnet and Bezalel’s mental training. Keep a closer eye on them.”

Looking in Donnie’s eyes, I see the dead serious eyes of a man who’s ready to kill, so I nod in agreement and hope that it doesn’t come to that, and yet, those hopes start to fade immediately when Garnet and Bezalel voice their concerns to Donnie about him and his agents retrieving research and materials that were used to make the gas. Donnie explains that he’s taking it back home so that our scientists can study it to find a way to counter it, an explanation Garnet and Bezalel find unsatisfactory.

Again, Donnie looks at me, so I agree with him, saying, “If our scientists research a way to counter the gas, then fewer people can be hurt by it in the future.”

“Well, there’s no arguing with official orders on an unofficial operation. I hope both of you are right in what you’re doing,” Bezalel says.

I hope so, too.

Protocol M10:34: Chapter 2 – Sowing Seeds of Destruction

Chapter 2 – Sowing Seeds of Destruction

It’s been a year and a few months since Protocol M10:34 began, and it’s been going mostly to plan, as far as I know. There have been uprisings by citizens of the United Chimaera State, and even military, police, and SIB agents have participated in protests and been caught helping The Sacrifice, and other groups inspired by them popping up in other countries. I don’t know whether the president and his brother enlisted more people into the protocol or whether they were always part of it. All I know now comes through rumors, and the odd agent who delivers my orders tells me a bit of what’s going on, says the rest doesn’t matter to me, and leaves. Right now, Garnet, Bezalel, and I are in Ruthenia, the part of Eastern Europe that was once the Slav Federation. Last year, we helped the Middle East and Adler defeat the Slav Federation, so helping them fight back against Adler and the Imperium is a little awkward, to say the least, which is why we’re mostly helping those who appreciate us freeing the region from the radical Slav ideology.

We’ve been giving them parts to make tanks, helicopters, and boats, and stealing guns, explosives, and ammo from them. After supplying the Ruthenians with so much, we all think it’s about time we take back some ground from the occupying Adler forces. Before the battle even starts, the people of Ruthenia drink and celebrate. This isn't just tradition; it’ll also throw off the occupiers, who are on constant alert for any signs of rebellion, especially with current events. Garnet and I aren’t taking part in the drinking game, though Bezalel is. I can count on one hand the times I’ve seen him with his mask fully off, and this time, he’s wearing bandages to cover his scarred and burned face. His eyes are a different color than I usually remember, or maybe they change color like mine, and his hair is a charred black, kind of like mine, but with less visible grey.

So far, Bezalel has been out-drinking every Ruthenian for every pre-battle and casual drinking challenge presented to them. These people have a major drinking problem. It’s no wonder why they were conquered so easily by the Slav ideology and Adler army. As Garnet and I watch Bezalel drink and dance like an idiot with the rest of the drunken revolutionary soldiers, I hear her laugh.

I laugh too, and say, “This is the first time in a while, Garnet. Are you drinking too much?”

“No. I just find this all funny to watch, and there’s a weird sense of peace to it, like we’re not waging a shadow war on the Imperium.”

“They call it a war on terror, but I like the sound of shadow war better. You are right, though. I’m a bit saddened that we can’t enjoy times like these more often.”

“It’s the life of an SIB agent. It’s what we signed up for.”

“Yeah…it is.”

“Hmm? Is something wrong?”

“No. What surprises me is that these people are seemingly celebrating the day before they attack one of their cities with their own people in it.”

“They think that some of their own countrymen are traitors for not fighting back against Adler. I assume they’d think twice if they were hurting and killing their fellow countrymen if those people had nothing to do with the current occupation.”

Garnet is speaking as if she didn’t do exactly that not too long ago, and I guess she shouldn’t be able to remember or think twice about it.

“God bless them if they can live with their choices. It’s a hard thing to do, especially in our line of work.”

“They don’t think they’ll live for long. It’s the Ruthenian way to throw troops into a human meatgrinder for the sake of their causes. If they do end up thinking more about what they’ve done and get bothered by it, then there’s drinking it away, as they do with most other things.”

“Ha! You’re right.”

After the Ruthenians and Bezalel have their party, they sleep off their hangovers for a couple of days before we get moving. From what I hear, the Adler troops aren’t expecting any attack, figuring any rumors they heard were just drunken Ruthenian ramblings. They expect the attack to come from foreigners and not natives of this land that they’ve conquered and renamed, so once this coming attack is over, the Ruthenians will have to cut out the drinking and take this more seriously. Before the battle, a leader in the revolution carries a bottle of vodka with him to the front of the gathered troops.

He throws it to the ground, breaking it, and says, “No more will we suffer the ever-oppressive eye of Adler. No longer will we let our people get taken away to re-education and death camps. We will no longer bear the poisonous influence of their propaganda and our own countrymen who have betrayed us by siding with them. Today, we light the fires of freedom and earnestly begin our glorious revolution, and take back our motherland!”

“Oorah!” the rest of the revolutionaries say as they raise their hands in the air and throw down their alcohol.

They exit the building we’re in and flood the streets of the city they mean to take: Ruthengrad, once called Slavengrad. Secretly placed explosives go off, blowing up Adler checkpoints, artillery and anti-air guns, tank positions, and government buildings. Garnet stays behind to coordinate all allied forces from the basement, while Bezalel and I join the fight on the ground. Helicopters take off from the rooftops, and tanks leave their garages and turn on their own. The Ruthenians charge, scattering groups of Adler soldiers to their own and their enemies’ detriment, as soldiers from both sides die in droves.

Bezalel and I aren’t as suicidal as the Ruthenians, and fight in our own way with some of the other revolutionary soldiers, who choose to take cover in buildings and move from one to another as we advance to each holdout of Adler soldiers and officials. As the battle rages on, I watch as Ruthenians focus much of their fire on their own police force, just as much as the Adler soldiers, given their tendency to hate those they view as traitors more than foreigners. They also set fire to businesses with Adler flags on them and places that support them and recruit for their army and occupying government. Not even police stations are spared, and any citizens the Ruthenians come across are forced to take up a gun and join the fight.

“Emergency forces from Adler have been called in. Expect reinforcements to arrive in five minutes,” Garnet says over our radio.

“Let’s not keep them waiting then!” a Ruthenian leader says.

All Ruthenian troops and armor move to where Garnet says the reinforcements are coming from. Even the civilians and the injured are forced to keep moving without a moment's rest. When the Ruthenians meet the reinforcements, they kill them more easily than they did the city’s defenders, as if the battle has made them all proper soldiers. Garnet informs us of another three waves of reinforcements, each one of which is defeated by the Ruthenians, who get progressively better at killing and more zealous and excited with each victory over the Adler military. Their cries of excitement get even louder when Garnet says that the remaining Adler forces are retreating, meaning the battle is won. The Ruthenians cry out even louder, and I swear I can hear other Ruthenians miles away cheering.

Back in the city, Garnet rejoins Bezalel and me, and we watch the Ruthenians fire their guns in the air, break apart the Adler statues, burn their propaganda, cheer, and talk about the greatness of their victory and the many more to come. All remaining Adler soldiers, officials, citizens, and their known supporters are brought out by the Ruthenian soldiers and civilians, and beaten, shot, mocked, spit on, and hanged in the streets. Looking at Garnet and Bezalel, I don’t see the slightest change in their facial expression as they watch the Ruthenians do the same things that Adler has done to them. The only thing we say to the leaders of the Ruthenians is that we are glad for their victory and look forward to continuing to support them. They thank us and invite us to take part in their sadistic celebration, but we refuse as politely as possible and go back to the underground hideout to rest.

Bezalel walks ahead of me in the hideout and slams his hands on the table as he says, “Fuck!”

I’m shocked and unable to say anything at Bezalel’s sudden display of emotion. He hasn’t shown this much emotion since the time we brought a human trafficking ring in the City of Angels, and I’m wondering if the mental training is wearing off.

Garnet walks up to Bezalel, puts a hand on his shoulder, and says, “It’s going to be okay, Bezalel. It’s not like they’re punishing people who don’t deserve it.”

“I know, it’s just…I don’t know what it is,” he says.

“Is it that they’re killing people in front of children?” I ask.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. I prefer their drinking parties rather than their murder ones,” Bezalel says.

“Me too, buddy. Let’s get some rest. Didn’t you want to beat me at Durak?”

“Oh, that’s right. Let’s do that. I need to get my mind off what I just saw.”

While we’re playing cards and just starting to joke around, Garnet screams and cries.

“Animals! They’re all scum! They killed the children too!” she says.

Bezalel and I run over to comfort Garnet as she continues to scream and cry. What’s going on? The mental training is supposed to prevent things like this. Are the real Bezalel and Garnet starting to break through? After calming her down, Garnet tries to fall asleep. I mainly recommend it because falling asleep should reset her mental restraints and help her forget what happened today. Bezalel looks at the time and gets some rest as well. While I’m reading my Bible, what Garnet said hits me.

“Did she say they killed children too?” I accidentally say out loud.

Now that I’m remembering it, the Ruthenians were killing children and teenagers as well, just as the Adler troops and anti-revolutionary officers did. It’s a terrifying thought that the horror of what happened is only now sinking in. I hope and pray that this mental training doesn’t have any long-lasting effects. I’m also hoping that we’re doing the right thing by helping the Ruthenians. Some of them might be nice, good-natured people, but the same can be said about those from Adler and the countries in the Imperium. Both have their evil characters and are essentially two sides of the same coin. I may not feel it in my head, but in my heart and soul, I’m getting tired of working with horrible people for the greater good.

Protocol M10:34: Chapter 1 – Deniable Ops

Chapter 1 – Deniable Ops

In the United Chimaera States’ capital, my fellow Secret Intelligence Bureau, or SIB, agents and I walk through the rainy, dark streets in black agent trench coats with hoods pulled up to cover our faces. We head into a Mediterranean restaurant and go to the kitchen. At the freezer, a chef stops us and asks for our employee ID. My fellow agents and I take off our gloves and show him the subtle M on the palms of our hands. He lets us into the freezer, where we move aside another door and head down a set of stairs. Two featureless, black-masked guards near the cellar door check the M on the palms of our hands again before letting us through the door behind them. Inside the dimly lit room, a group of well-dressed, featureless, black-masked men armed with rifles guard the president and his brother, the vice president, who are seated at a table with wine and a charcuterie board in the center.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take a seat,” President Vincenzo Campione says.

We all take our seats around the table. The Campione brothers are as well-dressed as usual. Vincenzo Campione wears an expensive-looking red and black fedora and dress suit, while his brother, Cesare Campione, wears much the same, except his fedora and dress suit are grey and blue. They both wear snake masks and don’t say a word.

Cesare leans forward and says, “You have all been specifically chosen by us because of your beliefs and dedication to see those beliefs change the world. Protocol M10:34 has been activated, and the United Chimaera States will reignite the Second Great War so that the oppressive Zeitloses Imperium will fall. They think that because they control Western and Eastern Proavus on the other side of the world, nothing can ever challenge them, and the Adler supreme leader will have his Eternal Reich, but he’s mistaken. He, Il Luce from Lupa, and the Emperor of Tatsu will die by our hand, and what you do will weaken their forces and give our allies what they need to join us in the coming war.”

Cesare sits back, and Vincenzo puts his elbows on the table, clasps his hands together, and says, “No one else besides Heaven and us will know what you’ve done. Your reward will be payment under the table and a world at war. You will shoot allies and sabotage them to sabotage our enemy, and you are to dedicate yourselves to this task, even if it means dying to complete your objectives. If you are somehow caught alive in this operation, we will not acknowledge knowing you. Do you understand?”

After a second passes, we all say we do.

“Good. From now until the completion of Protocol M10:34, you are considered dead men and women,” Cesare says.

They place pictures of ourselves in our hands and set them on fire to burn to ash. Afterward, the M on our palms are further burned into our skin by the tip of a hot rod of iron.

“Before you go, let us say one last prayer. Our prayer,” Vincenzo says as he takes the hands of those near him.

Holding each other’s hands, we all say, “Mother Mary, take the world as given to you by your Son. Let what is done in the dark affect what is done in the light. See how we mark our palms to show that we are yours. Use us, your Son’s tools, to enact His will. Our Lady of Sorrows, Terror of Demons, rain justice upon the world, so that the guilty may be punished, and the repentant may be relieved. Amen.”

“Go make war to bring peace to the world,” Vincenzo says.

“Yes, sir,” we all say.

All agents of the SIB leave the Mediterranean restaurant and go their separate ways. Garnet, Bezalel, and I don’t say anything to one another as we head to our first target. When we were first chosen by the president and his brother to be part of this protocol, we knew what we were getting into, and that there’d be no going back. There’s nothing to be said about it or questions about our orders. There’s only completing them and creating a better world, free from the Imperium and their radical Vorfahren ideology. There’s only doing God’s will and sacrificing our lives to it.

Garnet, Bezalel, and I drive to a nearby warehouse, change, and arm ourselves. Bezalel doesn’t need to change much either, other than his clothes, since he usually wears a gas mask because of his First Great War injuries. As for Garnet, she takes off her agent glasses, ties up her brown hair, and puts on the same black bodysuit, black mask with a pelican on it, and body armor on her chest that I do. The group that we’re helping, called The Sacrifice, is an extremist group funded, armed, and managed by the SIB. We’re going to be attacking a parade featuring soldiers and officers from Adler, Lupa, and Tatsu who are here as a show of the United Chimaera States unity with the Zeitloses Imperium.

With the parade’s plans and structure provided by the Chimaera States’ army, Garnet reviews the plans we’ve made with The Sacrifice. We’re focusing on blowing up and shooting the Imperium soldiers and officers, and only wounding our own. For this operation, we can’t use knockout rounds or gas that puts people to sleep. We have to make this look like a real terrorist attack, like the rest of this group’s attacks, so we have to be extra careful not to shoot our actual allies. As with most of our missions, Garnet will be on comms, updating everyone on what’s going on and what we’re supposed to do, while using her drones, given to us by the SIB, to see what’s happening.

Once Garnet’s briefing is done, a leader of The Sacrifice steps up and says, “With this operation, we will finally begin to make real progress in pushing out the foreign invaders from our country. Do not waver in doing what you already know to be right and dedicating yourselves to it. Remember, we sacrifice our time, talent, and lives to this cause for the sake of others and a better tomorrow. Well? Are you ready?!”

A cheer rings out in the warehouse as The Sacrifice mobilizes, gets in their cars, and drives out to their designated locations. Bezalel and I set ourselves up in a building that’s under construction. Two rifles and the detonators for the explosives are already where we need to be, so we take our places and wait for the parade to come to us. While waiting, I see Bezalel’s leg shake.

“Come on. Come on. Let’s get this over with,” Bezalel whispers to himself.

I grab Bezalel’s hand; he looks at me, I nod, and he nods back, understanding that I know how he feels. It’s then that I recall a suppressed memory. I remember being alone in a windowless, dark room with President Campione and his brother.

Vincenzo sits on the table near me and says, “Draco, your reckless dedication to throwing yourself at danger when innocents are in danger and your willingness to go above the law when it fails to enforce justice is why you’re here while Garnet and Bezalel are not. Self-sacrifice is a sign of a true Catholic, of a true man of honor. This is why we’re telling you more about Protocol M10:34 than what we told most other agents. The mental training you and your fellow agents will go through will not only strengthen you against interrogation and prepare your minds for the task ahead, but it will make you do as we say to the letter.”

“Sir, can I ask something?” I ask.

“That’s why you’re here. We’re revealing everything to you.”

“Are you going to brainwash us? Put us under some kind of mind control?”

“You could say that,” Cesare says as he sits on the other side of the table. “When we say Protocol M10:34, your minds will automatically become comfortable and compliant with our orders without question. Once the operation is done, we will say Thy Will is Done, and the so-called mind control will release you from its hold, and you’ll slowly forget what you’ve done.”

“What is the purpose of doing this?” I ask.

“To ensure the operation’s secrecy, and that it is never traced back to us.”

“What if I refuse to take part in it now?”

“Don’t you trust us?” Vincenzo asks.

“I do. I’m just asking.”

“We know you won’t refuse. Given everything you’ve done for us and our country, we know you’ll do your best to complete Protocol M10:34, so that we can free the world from the Vorfahren’s influence and make the world a more peaceful and better place. Are we wrong?”

“No…no, you’re not.”

“Good. The mental training you will go through will be different than the one that most other agents are going through, so that you’ll remember this conversation even after the operation starts. We need some people per group of agents to think outside the box, and we trust you to take measures into your own hands where needed,” Cesare says.

“I won’t let you down.”

My mind leaves the memory as I remember the secret that most other agents don’t know about this protocol. I feel bad for them, especially Garnet and Bezalel, who I’m friends with. If Garnet knew that we would be getting our own countrymen in danger, then she’d refuse to take part in it to begin with. As for Bezalel, he’d have his reservations, but would probably go through with the orders, given that he’s still a loyal soldier of our country. I walk over to see the approaching parade of soldiers from different countries and the crowds of civilians gathered around it. Sounds of laughter, celebration, joy, and music are coming from below, and through the scope of my rifle, I see mostly happy faces, though there are some who seem displeased at seeing the foreign soldiers.

“These foreigners want to be celebrated, so let’s give them some fireworks. Engage them after they go off,” Garnet says.

Seconds pass, and the street blows up where the foreign soldiers are standing. Some of our soldiers and civilians are caught in the blast, but we don’t have time to check to see if they’re alive or not as Bezalel and I fire our rifles at the surviving foreign officers and soldiers. The extremists of The Sacrifice engage the foreigners on the streets with the guns we’ve provided to them, while also trying to wound our own police and soldiers, so as not to kill them, as we agreed. Of course, some are killed, but that is something to be mourned and worried about later. The mental “training” I’ve gone through shuts out the worry I have for civilians and my own armed countrymen who are dying in this attack, and gives me tunnel vision on my objective.

It isn’t until Garnet gives us the go-ahead to retreat and Bezalel and I are on the streets below to see the carnage that we’ve caused first hand does the impact of what we’ve done truly hit me. The feeling is numb, and somehow, I don’t regret anything. I knew what I was getting into, but I feel surprised by it all as if I didn’t. This is something I’ll definitely have to pray on later, and pray right now that God gives me clarity and mercy.

“Watch out!” Bezalel says as he points his gun behind me.

I turn around and shoot at police officers and soldiers from our country, killing two by accident. We then run to our car and speed away, only slowing down when we get clear of the scene and blend in with the rest of the traffic. Garnet, Bezalel, and I meet at a listening post hidden in the city and turn on the TV to see that The Sacrifice is livestreaming their admission to being the perpetrators behind the attack. They show the M on their palms, so that if any of the Protocol M10:34 SIB agents are caught, the authorities will assume that they’re just members of The Sacrifice.

The masked leader of The Sacrifice says, “We are sons and daughters of Matriarch Madonna, and defenders of our faith and country. As such, all foreign invaders are considered hostiles. Today’s attack is just the beginning of our war against all those who betray us and seek to corrupt our country. I humbly ask that all citizens of the United Chimaera States and other occupied countries join us or get out of our way because we will not stop until we achieve our goal or are killed in the process.”

Garnet and Bezalel talk as if they just finished another assignment and talk about getting dinner and then getting some rest. It’s eerie to me how indifferent they are about what’s going on. I truly hope that they never find out about what they’ve done and that we are doing the right thing, and not justifying evil deeds with the goal of a good end.

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The Slav Federation is aggressively expanding into the Middle East. In response, the United Chimaera States secretly supply weapons and troops to aid the natives in countering this expansion. Meanwhile, the SIB deploys agents Draco, Garnet, and Bezalel to monitor the situation and pursue their own agenda, which includes a tentative alliance with another opposing nation to dismantle the Slav Federation and its corrupt ideology.

Shadows in Service of Light: Chapter 4 – For the Sake of Something Greater

Chapter 4 – For the Sake of Something Greater

Adler and Chimaera State soldiers prepare for the assault on Slavengrad, the capital of the Slav Federation. Taking it all but guarantees that the Zeitloses Imperium and all the countries under it will have both Western and Eastern Proavus, making it a power greater than all historic empires, though only somewhat on par with the United Chimaera States. This isn’t to say there aren’t pockets of resistance still fighting the Imperium; however, they won’t be able to free themselves from its rule without help. That’s another problem to deal with at a different time. Now, we have to focus on taking Slavengrad and ending the Slav Federation.

Garnet has been talking to Eren and making plans with him and the Adler leadership rather than talking to Bezalel or me. It’s not that she likes them more than us. It’s just that she knows that talking to us won’t change anything about how Adler will handle their battles and treatment of civilians. Ever since Zubr, Garnet hasn’t said much to us, and Bezalel and I haven’t tried to console her, other than our prayers and asking if she needs anything. If anything, the only thing we can think of doing to actually help is get this battle over with so Garnet can rest from what’s happening here. Speaking of which, the battle is about to start, and Garnet and I are teamed up with Eren again, while Bezalel is helping soldiers from our country.

All allied forces gather together in front of the Adler general as he gives his speech. He says, “Men of Adler! Today is the day that you prove once again the strength of our blood and bonds! For too long, the Slav Federation has poisoned the world with its revolutions that have only sown chaos and division between all peoples. Now, they face the consequences of their hubris. Men of Adler! Fulfill your destiny and be their divine executioner! Leave no guilty soul unpunished!”

The soldiers of Adler yell out before their leaders tell them to charge, just as our air support and tanks finish softening up the city’s defenses. Armored motorcycles, trucks, and trucks mounted with turrets drive through the flattened, burned, and bombed ground on their way to Slavengrad and enter the city to bring more chaos to it. With our feet on the ground, we advance toward the Orthodox Church, where a contingent of the Slav army is held up. It’s not too much for us to deal with, but what’s below the historic center of the Orthodox heresy is what we’re really looking for.

Garnet says, “You’d think the heads of an atheistic society would hide in a bunker or one of their government buildings, but the best place is actually the least likely: a church.”

Using her electronic device, a hidden door opens near the altar of the church, and a cellar door in the room it hides.

“And you two are fine shooting holy men associated with the church?” Eren asks.

“The Orthodox are heretics and apart from the true Catholic Church. Besides, do you really think an atheistic society would leave a church like this standing if they didn’t have a deal with them?” Garnet asks.

“I assumed these people would sell out to their masters in government, but I didn’t know if you would think that of them. It’s good that you know and aren’t naïve.”

Going into the basement, we are met with gunfire from priests and men in holy garb, but with the amount of people we have, they’re no trouble to push through. There’s what looks like a vault door in the basement that Garnet hacks through and reveals a room full of gold, artwork, and guns. Through this room is a door at the back that we go through and find a series of hallways that look like the hallways of a hospital, given how white and sterile they look. Garnet tries to hack through the doors, all of which are electronically locked, but she isn’t able to. Eren offers to use his multitool to open them. When he opens the first door, we are met with a bunch of humanoid robots that are made of steel, all have the same blank face, and have machine guns for hands.

In a second, their eyes turn red, they raise their gun hands, and start firing at us. We fire back and retreat to take cover. Our guns aren’t very effective at taking down the robots, with each robot needing ten or more bullets to put down. Garnet works on hacking the machines, but keeps getting errors, so she instead hacks each robot one at a time to have them turn on one another.

“Ah, screw it! I’m going to release an EMP. We’ll have to book it past the robot and then find where they’re being controlled from,” Garnet says.

Eren and I agree with her plan, and Garnet uses her device to make the power go out, and the robots turn off. We all push past the robots, but by the time we do, the power turns back on. Expecting a fight, we immediately raise our guns and open fire; however, the robots are barely able to fire their guns, and most short-circuit and fall over.

“Turning things off and on is usually the answer to all mechanical problems,” Eren jokes.

“We can’t rest easy yet. Unless you haven’t noticed there are only three of us left, and we only started searching this bunker,” I say.

“Right, and I can’t radio for reinforcements from down here, and all our forces are probably still busy taking the rest of the city.”

“There shouldn’t be much of the bunker left to explore from what I’ve downloaded from the systems I’m still trying to hack into. We’ll retreat if we have to,” Garnet says.

“Sounds good to me,” Eren says.

Thankfully, Garnet is right, and not much of anything else is left in the rooms except food, water, gold, pornographic material, prostitutes, and the leaders of the Slav Federation, whom we take in alive after shooting them in the legs when they try to resist us. We drag them away, and then radio for transportation.

Eren adds, “Bring the broadcasting equipment over. It’s time to make an example.”

About thirty or so Adler soldiers arrive at the Orthodox church in trucks and set up the scene to hang the leaders of the Slav Federation, even as the battle in the city continues. The leaders say that the people will continue fighting against us, even if they see them die live on TV and on internet sites, but after the execution scene is set up, they start begging for their lives, and when no one responds to them and just insults them, they start yelling insults at us and go back to saying how we’ll regret this. The Adler soldiers put nooses around the necks of the leaders as the broadcast begins.

In front of the camera, Eren says, “This is Officer Eren Rommel of the Zeitloses Imperium. Behind me, you can see the burning city of Slavengrad, and its leaders about to be hanged for their crimes against virtue and humanity. Let this be a lesson to all who force their corrupting beliefs on others, especially the people of Adler.”

Eren waves his hand, and the leaders of the Slav Federation die a slow death, hanged in a live broadcast to the public. The sounds of fighting soon die down in Slavengrad, and the city is taken by Adler, by the Zeitloses Imperium, marking the presumed end of the Slav Federation and victory of their political enemies, the Vorfahren. Now, sounds of celebration ring out throughout the city, most of which are coming from the Adler soldiers and those from the Chimaera States, who are happy that they can finally go home. To the surprise of Garnet, Bezalel, and me, the Adler troops let the city’s native population celebrate with us, most of whom seem thankful for the Adler troops and talk trash about their would-be leaders.

At our table, Garnet asks Eren, “What’s with the sudden show of mercy to the people of Slavengrad?”

“Why wouldn’t we be? They’re willing to serve us, they’re nice people, and some of them even fought against or defected from their own army,” Eren says.

Garnet looks as if she’s trying to say something to argue against him, but she chooses to stop and tries to enjoy the party.

“With this victory, we’ve solidified our friendship, have we not? You won’t stab us in the back as you did with those child molesting Middle Easterners?” Eren asks.

“Of course we won’t. Your supreme leader should be getting a call from President Campione soon. Actually, here is a show of our trust,” I say as I put packets down on the table for Eren and the other Adler officers at our table.

Eren picks it up and says, “What’s this? Some kind of party drug you people in the States use?”

“You could say that. They’re antidotes.”

“Antidotes to what? We’re not sick.”

“As far as you know. Bezalel and I poisoned your meals before the battle, and if the three of us left before giving you the antidotes, you would’ve died tomorrow as we leave.”

Garnet looks at us in surprise, and the officers look at one another and laugh.

“I really like you people from the States now! You really know how this whole charade should be done!” Eren throws us packets on the table and says, “Here. We did the same to you, and you would’ve died on your flight out of here tomorrow.”

Bezalel and I can’t help but laugh too, along with Eren and the Adler officers, and we all consume the packets as if we were sharing celebratory shots.

Eren continues, “We were convenient friends before, but now we are brothers.”

We continue to talk with Eren and the Adler officers as if we were actual friends for the rest of the party. Garnet, Bezalel, and I go to the hotel room given to us by the Adler army to stay in for the night.

“You two poisoned them?” Garnet asks.

“It was part of the plan. Did you forget?” I say.

“I…I did. I was so focused on trying to make them treat prisoners and civilians of war that I forgot.”

“Don’t worry, Garnet. You kept them distracted while we did what we had to,” Bezalel says.

“I should worry. I think I was harsher on you than I should have been. I’m sorry.”

“This whole thing with Adler, the Zeitloses Imperium, and people who subscribe to the Vorfahren ideology isn’t over. You’ll have plenty of time to get back at them and change things for the better,” I say as I activate our secret radio frequency to call the president. “How did the talks with the supreme leader of Adler go?"

President Campione says, “It went well. He’s an interesting and fun fellow to talk to. He actually loves his people, buys into his ideology, and is good at complimenting us and our beliefs. I’ll soon meet him and his friend from Lupa to solidify our country’s friendship with them. Good work in the Middle East and the Slav Federation, but it isn’t over yet. It’s time to initiate Protocol M10:34. The Vorfahren may think they’ve taken the world, but they have another thing coming. God will soon give them what they deserve through us.”

“Yes, sir,” the three of us say.

We take off our gloves and look at the palms of our hands, where a subtle M is drawn in the center, marking us as secret members of Protocol M10:34. Now the real war begins.

 

The End

Shadows in Service of Light: Chapter 3 – Trading One Backstabber for Another

Chapter 3 – Trading One Backstabber for Another

Ever since we teamed up with the Adler army, we’ve been steamrolling the Slav Federation’s forces. With the Chimaera States’ supply of advanced weaponry from the West and Adler’s advanced mechanized tanks and helicopters and battle-hardened soldiers, the hastily retreating Slavs don’t stand much of a chance, especially now that our reinforcements from back home have arrived. We’re currently blitzing through Zubr, taking town after town and city after city on our way to the proper homeland of the Slavs. In the command center, Garnet is going over our plans with Eren and discussing our next course of action.

“If we send in a squad here to this base where they control their automated artillery and anti-air guns and hack into their systems, we can make quick work of the rest of their forces and take the city,” Garnet says.

“Their forces are still tired from the previous fight they were in, and the city is still recovering from the battle that the Slavs recently fought to take it. Why bother sneaking around when we can send in a bombardment and then finish off the rest?” Eren argues.

“I’m not saying it won’t work, but I am saying it’ll save our tanks, aircraft, and men from unneeded casualties. We need as many resources as possible if we want to take Slavengrad and permanently take it over.”

Eren talks over the plan with his advisors in his language and then looks at Garnet.

He sighs and says, “You should count yourself blessed that my advisors agree with you. They think we’ll get to Slavengrad in our supreme leader’s time frame if we do as you say.”

“Good. I’ll be going in there with my two fellow agents to take care of this, and radio over to you when the base is captured.”

“I think I’d like to go with you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Consider it a trust-building exercise. I know we’ve been fighting on the same battlefield together, but I’d like to do something more personal. I’d also like your gas mask friend to stay behind and only join us when the battle properly begins.”

Looking over to Bezalel, he says, “I’ll leave that up to you, Garnet. Draco and you are more subtle than I am.”

“If it’ll make you trust us more, then I don’t see why not,” Garnet says to Eren.

“Wonderful! Let’s get our gear and head out. We’re losing valuable time as is.”

From the armory, Garnet, Eren, and I pick out our gear. We wear light body armor and black bodysuits that cover our entire bodies, and the weapons we pick are specialty silenced pistols and tools that Vorfahren has been using to break into hard-to-get-into buildings during their takeover of Adler and expunging their political and spiritual enemies from the country. I must say that the tools are slightly more advanced than my own from the SIB and impressive in how useful they are, despite their small size. With our gear, the three of us head to the city’s borders and enter a series of tunnels Garnet found through her research.

Eren asks, “How exactly did you find these?”

“I researched the country’s and city’s history of conflict. This part of Eastern Proavus has been under constant conflict since the Middle Ages, so tunnels under towns and cities exist everywhere. As for the exact map, well, that’s an SIB secret,” Garnet says as we make our way through the dark tunnels.

These tunnels are old, yet they have seemingly new beams of steel and stone so they don’t collapse. There are also cultural, religious, and personal markings left all over them by those who used them.

“Your SIB is similar to our own secretive agency in Adler. Perhaps I can arrange for your agencies to exchange trade secrets.”

“Why? So you can root out more Israelis from your country?” I ask.

“It’s more than that,” Eren says. “We’re expunging all sorts of enemies from different ideologies that have ruined our country. Israelis are just one of the more guilty ideologies.”

“We’ll think about the offer,” Garnet says.

“We’ll see what the president says,” I correct.

“Consideration of my offer is all I ask.”

Now further in the tunnel, Garnet brings us to an unlit torch. Pulling it down, the torch acts like a lever, and a part of the stone wall moves aside, revealing a steel door with a padlock, eye scanner, and card scanner, all of which look like they need to be used to access what’s behind it.

“Such complicated nonsense to protect something so simple. Here, let me open it,” Eren says.

Garnet moves aside and takes out his multitool that Adler has invented. He activates its knife function that he stabs into the card scanner, taps some buttons on the multitool, and the door opens. Eren opens the door for us with a bow, and we go through. We’re now in the basement of the base we wanted to be in, but for the first couple of floors, it doesn’t look like one. Instead, the bottom floor is a refrigerated food storage room, and the second is filled with the injured and civilian families.

Figuring out what to do in the corner of the food storage room, I say, “We’re not killing them.”

“Of course not. We’ll deal with them later. For now, we’ll lock the door on our way out so they don’t bother us during the battle,” Eren says.

Not bothering to ask what Eren means by dealing with them later, Garnet and I agree, then sneak through the dimly lit rooms with failing electricity, lock the door behind us with Eren's multitool, and burn it shut. The noise draws soldiers guarding the base, who come to investigate what we did, only to be ambushed by us from the dark corners of the room. We move through the rest of the building, using our guns and knives to dispatch the soldiers a few at a time, and use Eren’s multitool to reach the emergency stairs to hasten our ascent to the base’s command center. Once at the top, we eliminate the Slav guards and commanders in the command center, and Garnet gets to work orienting the anti-air and artillery systems to targets that suit us. As she’s doing it, Eren tells his forces, and I tell mine, to start the assault on the city.

The base’s defensive systems start blowing apart the fortified locations in the city, the helicopters, and the positions where tanks are set up. Because of what’s happening, the base’s soldiers have finally caught on that we’re here, and they start coming at us. We add components to our pistol to make it a submachine gun and start going back the way we came to get around them. Continuing through the building, we move as fast as possible so we can head out the door and meet with our forces. We’re able to easily take the city, thanks to Garnet’s plans, and drive the Slavs out. Now, going back to Eren’s concern about dealing with the sick and civilians, the Adler soldiers bring them out and yell at them in their language, ordering some to go one way and others to go inside a series of trucks.

Asking him about this, Garnet says, “What are you doing? Are you directing your people, directing them to your camps and forced labor in the city?”

“So what if we are? These people aren’t going to willingly let us take their land, even if we’re taking it from their conquerors,” Eren says.

“You know you would’ve gotten more support from us if you didn’t force people into death camps, reeducation camps, and forced labor like the Slavs do.”

“That’s one area where we agree with the methods of our enemy. Countries outside of Adler and Eastern Proavus criticize us for persecuting the Israelis, but the Slav Federation has done the same in their territory for much the same reason. What differentiates us is that we’ve made our people proud of their heritage and bloodline, and we didn’t remove the corrupt from power only to be corrupt in power ourselves. Instead, we use power to oppress those who deserve it.”

Before I can say anything, sounds of gunfire and explosions erupt. Across our radio, we hear Adler soldiers talking about a resistance force of civilians rebelling against the Adler soldiers and shooting at them as they retreat from the city.

“See what I mean? Do you want us to let them go, or is it a war crime to kill those who shoot at you?” Eren asks.

“Do you think they’ll continue to be a threat to us if you let them go? Is this civilian population of oppressed people deserving of more oppression from new masters?” I ask.

“First, do you think they’ll just hide in the shadows and keep to themselves while they have the means and reasons for fighting back at us? Second, allowing violent rebellion is no way for this country to know peace and coexistence with us. That is why all pockets of rebellion, no matter how small, new, or seemingly insignificant, must be snuffed out for the sake of both peoples. Failure to help us eliminate them will nullify our alliance. Do you understand?”

Looking at Eren dead in the eyes, I say, “I understand.”

“Good. We’ll handle them personally, so that I know that you do.”

Driving out on armored-plated Adler motorcycles, Garnet, Eren, and I join a small group of other Adler soldiers driving the same motorcycles after the fleeing civilians. We catch up to them and use the motorcycle’s mounted machine guns to make the fleeing vehicles crash. Getting off our motorcycles, we investigate the crash to find dead and injured civilians. The Adler soldiers point their guns at them, and Eren tells them to kill them when Garnet and I fire.

“Draco,” Garnet says as she looks at me.

Looking at the civilians who are begging for their lives, I close my eyes for a second, pray to God for an answer, and open my eyes just in time to see a civilian reach for a gun, so I fire at the civilians, followed by Garnet and the rest of the Adler soldiers.

“So, you foreigners do care for your lives. See? These people are willing to make the hard decision for the sake of peace,” Eren says before commanding his troops to go back to the city.

Garnet looks at me judgmentally, and I don’t have the strength to meet her eyes. In fact, my eyes are downcast and stuck with the image of the civilians, unable to be rubbed, blinked, or prayed away. Back in the city, the Adler soldiers have their customary small celebration with beer and sausages served to everyone. Garnet and Bezalel sit with me at our table, and Garnet still stares daggers at me.

“You still didn’t explain to me what happened,” Bezalel says.

“We shot Zubr civilians, after they fled capture from the Adler soldiers,” Garnet bluntly says.

“I saw one of them reaching for a gun,” I say as if to justify it.

“No, you didn’t. You imagined it,” Garnet says.

“I swear I saw it!”

Eren comes over with his beer and plate of Adler sausages, and sits with us. He says, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You should be celebrating our victory and leaving the past in the past.”

“You people may have made yourselves numb to civilian execution and excused yourselves by saying it was for peace or they were resisting arrest, but we don’t do that, or at least, I don’t,” Garnet says.

“If they actually were reaching for a gun or not doesn’t matter. I feel for you and understand how you do. I really do.”

“Really?” Garnet says with a bit of sass.

“Yes, I do. It’s why I didn’t execute the young Middle Easterners you knocked out and shipped off to your country. When the Vorfahren movement was first starting in Adler, we let civilians leave our country or wherever they wanted to go, but then they started attacking our soldiers, our people, and corrupted others to do the same. It’s like with the Middle Easterners who thought they had the upper hand over you when they told us about your deal with them, which we already knew. They were just a band of men, civilians who had loosened themselves from the bonds of order, and caused chaos across the country for the sake of themselves and false faith. Bezalel, I know you must feel the same way I do and knew that they were going to betray you.”

“I did,” Bezalel admits. “We later found their plans written on paper about flying planes into important buildings in our country and did have a hand in the human trafficking ring we recently fought against. I have no problem shooting anyone of any status or background if they deserve it. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“See? Your friend agrees with me. Draco, you’ve also stopped having those nightmares about those children, didn’t you?”

“You’re right. I’ve stopped having those nightmares,” I admit.

“In our culture, it’s a sign that you did what God wanted you to.”

“I’ve had enough of this. You men are ridiculous,” Garnet says as she slams her hands on the table, gets up, and walks away.

I can’t blame her for walking away. I’ll talk to her later when she’s cooled down, and I feel a little dirty for continuing to sit down and make conversation with Eren. It’s like talking to the Devil who relates to my suffering, knows what I want to hear, and is trying to justify my actions and thoughts and pushes me to continue in them. God, I hope and pray we’re doing the right thing.