Chapter 107
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After Akado spoke, he fell into deep thought. No one else dared to speak, and the silence in the room was so thick it felt like it could kill. Finally, Akado broke the terrifying atmosphere. He waved his hand and said softly, “All of you, leave. I’m tired.”
Everyone had no choice but to turn and walk out. Just as they reached the door, Akado seemed to remember something and commanded, “Gascoigne, you stay. I have something for you to do. The rest of you may go.”
Gascoigne walked back to Akado’s desk. Anna tactfully stepped out and closed the office door behind her, leaving only Gascoigne and Akado in the room. Gascoigne stood at attention and asked, “Mr. Chancellor, why did you ask me to stay?”
Akado was silent for a moment, as if contemplating something or perhaps making a monumental decision. Then, he finally spoke. “Regarding that top-secret plan, I asked you to find a suitable person. Have you found him?”
“I have,” Gascoigne said, raising an eyebrow. This matter was of the utmost importance, so he couldn’t help but be cautious. He carefully chose his words and asked, “Mr. Chancellor, isn’t it a bit… premature to implement this plan at a time like this?”
“We have no choice. We have to launch this plan ahead of schedule,” Akado said with a wave of his hand. “Right now, the enemies who can shake us are doing everything they can to ensure we die without a burial place. We must make a daring move to overcome this crisis.”
“But, Mr. Chancellor, the original plan was to be implemented only if some accident befell President Hindenburg,” Gascoigne asked cautiously.
Akado took an enlarged photo of a medical report from his drawer. “This came from the President’s office this morning. I received it personally from the hands of the President’s office guard. Hindenburg is very ill. Gravely ill.”
Gascoigne took the photo, examined it carefully for a moment, and then nodded. “The man is a Communist. I found him through several undercover agents. He is fanatically devoted to the communist cause and is eager to do something earth-shattering.”
“Are you certain he has the nerve?” Akado asked for confirmation.
Gascoigne nodded again. “Yes, I’m very certain. If necessary, he can make his move tonight. Should we notify the guards and the police station in that district? After all, we can’t afford the loss.”
“We can afford it!” Akado stood up. “We will only suffer a minor loss in exchange for a total resurgence. Do it tonight. Prepare two sniper teams for me. Leave no one alive!”
“Yes, sir!” Gascoigne snapped to attention, then turned and left Akado’s office.
Late at night, when the world was sound asleep, two patrol guards made their rounds through an empty corridor, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. The sound of their leather boots echoed in the distance.
“Rubi, the mashed potatoes at dinner were too watery,” one guard said with a yawn, swinging his flashlight. “I know we’re still better off than in other countries, but life really is getting worse and worse.”
The guard named Rubi also yawned and said quietly as he walked, “Shut up! You should be grateful. If it weren’t for the Greater German Party and Chancellor Akado, people like us would be starving. At least you get mashed potatoes with gravy. I hear that in France, you’re considered rich if you can even afford potatoes.”
“So you’re saying I’d be a rich man in France?” the first guard said, puffing out his chest proudly. “What do you think? Do I look like a nobleman?”
“Who? Who’s over there?” Rubi didn’t answer his partner. Instead, he pointed his flashlight ahead, where the decorative leaves on a large potted plant were swaying back and forth.
“Don’t scare me! Are you seeing things? There’s nothing there but flowers!” The first guard also shone his flashlight in that direction, frowning as he looked closely. “Maybe it was the wind?”
“We’re indoors! How could there be wind? Quick, let’s go check!” Rubi raised his flashlight and started running toward the suspicious area.
His partner reluctantly followed. “Wait for me! Hey! Rubi! Should we sound the alarm?”
“Tweet!” Rubi blew the whistle hanging on his chest and sprinted toward the end of the corridor. When he got there, he found a window open, its curtain billowing eerily in the breeze.
“Hah… hah… I’m exhausted…” The other guard caught up, panting, his hands on his knees. After catching his breath, he sniffed the air lightly. “Sniff, sniff. What’s that smell? Roast meat?”
Just then, two more guards ran over. They all stared at the open window, searching for the source of the strange smell.
Finally, they arrived at the wooden door of an office. The smell was coming from here, and they could see a faint, flickering light seeping from under the door.
“Oh no! It’s a fire!” Rubi shouted. “Quick! Sound the alarm! Call the fire department! Quickly!”
“Wooo… wooo…” The shrill alarm was pulled. The guards kicked open the door of the suspicious office and found the inside completely engulfed in flames. The fire had already reached the ceiling. As soon as the door opened, the blaze could no longer be contained. Flames shot out and instantly set the corridor ceiling alight.
“Put out the fire!” All the guards tried desperately to stop the flames from spreading. Many used buckets of water or wet clothes to fight the fire, but because the blaze was too intense, the guards were covered in soot and ash, yet still unable to control the disaster.
“This is the Reichstag Building! We are under an arson attack! We need support! Manpower, firefighting equipment, everything!” The captain of the night watch shouted into a telephone receiver. His uniform had two small holes burned through it, revealing the white shirt underneath.
He hung up the call to the police station and immediately dialed the military. “Wehrmacht High Command? This is the Reichstag Building! We are under attack! Please send reinforcements immediately! Seal off the streets! Arrest any suspicious individuals!”
When he tried to make a third call, the line went dead.
In the darkness, a man in a grey trench coat and a flat cap ducked into an alley next to the Reichstag Building. He kept looking over his shoulder, his steps hurried, as if he were rushing to get somewhere.
From the depths of the alley, two officers in SS uniforms slowly emerged, one of them holding a submachine gun. “Mr. Flokhovsky, where are you off to in such a hurry?”
The man in the grey trench coat didn’t say a word, simply turning to go back the way he came. But after just a few steps, he saw several SS soldiers with submachine guns appear at the other end of the alley, blocking his path.
“You’re not going anywhere, Mr. Flokhovsky,” the lead SS officer said with a cold sneer. “Take him back. Don’t let him die.” Hearing his command, the SS officer and soldiers behind him charged forward menacingly.
“Mr. Chancellor, President Hindenburg boarded a plane tonight. He insisted on going to East Prussia. The doctor accompanying him believes his condition is very poor and isn’t sure if he’ll even make it to his destination alive,” Gascoigne reported in Akado’s office, relaying the latest intelligence while waiting for news of the night’s operation.
He glanced at Akado, who was sitting at his desk with his eyes closed in rest, and continued, “Before he left, he said a few things to Groener, apparently related to those old fools in the monarchist party. It seems that as the President nears the end of his life, he’s starting to place his hopes in the royal family exiled in the Netherlands.”
“The President’s actions can no longer affect us in any way,” Akado said suddenly, just as Gascoigne thought he had fallen asleep. “If our operation tonight succeeds, the President’s decisions will be irrelevant. If our operation fails, it won’t be the President who deals with us anyway.”
He paused, then continued with a complex mix of emotions, “Everything… depends on tonight.”
“Report!” Reinhard Heydrich knocked before entering. “Sir, the man has been captured. Everything went smoothly.”
In that instant, Akado felt all his strength return to his body. He took a deep breath and stood up. “Notify Fanny to arrange a press conference. Once we have the confession and other evidence, put him on public trial immediately.”
“Also,” Akado commanded his secretary, Anna, who was standing behind him, “Notify General Brauchitsch! Order the 15th Division to place Berlin under martial law! Control every street and alley in Berlin! No suspicious personnel are allowed in or out.”
He then turned to Reinhard Heydrich. “Select your most capable men and arrest every Communist on our records! Confiscate all their assets! Throw them all in prison under close guard. When the time is right, dispose of all of them.”
Akado brandished a document in his hand. “Tomorrow morning, I will submit a bill to the Reichstag demanding the cancellation of all party electoral eligibility! All legislative work will be handled by the executive branch! And the executive branch will amend the constitution! Freedoms of speech, assembly, association, and the press will be temporarily suspended. Privacy regulations protecting the freedom of telephone and mail communications are hereby repealed. The government will have the right to interfere in any matter in order to restore the new order. Furthermore, the government will have the right to legislate on its own. And the Chancellor will act with the authority of the President.”
Gascoigne’s and Heydrich’s eyes lit up. With this, they would truly control the apparatus of power in Germany. A future of limitless possibilities awaited them, and they couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Together, they snapped to attention, saluted, and shouted from their hearts: “Long live Akado!”
