1916-September-26-October-12
I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth.
Here it was, the most difficult mission of my life, something I might not even be capable of, but the rewards… they could change everything. If I pulled it off and got that bastard out of Russia, I could ask the Kaiser for almost anything. Of course, there were limits to what he would accept, but money, titles… those I would take.
But the risk…
I could not simply send a group of men who spoke Russian and wish them luck. I had to go myself to manage everything in detail, which left far less variables out of my control.
It was obvious this had to be done in complete secrecy. If I was captured, I was on my own. I could die before even reaching the objective, in any preliminary encounter. We would have to infiltrate the palace somehow, take the Tsar, and extract him… there were a thousand things that could go wrong.
My instincts were screaming at me to refuse, but damn greed… if it worked, I would never have to worry again. I could sell my factories and retire to an estate, live in peace… maybe tie up a few loose ends and be done with it. I would not have to worry about what came after. A German victory in this war would leave Europe far more stable, without so many extreme regimes, whether fascist or communist.
''How much time do I have to plan this strike at the heart of Russia'' I tried to say, but the head of Abteilung IIIb interrupted me immediately.
''Two weeks… that is our estimate before the government of Alexander Kerensky enters a phase of extreme instability. It could collapse at any moment given everything that has happened, so you must act within three weeks. We have a great deal of intelligence and several Russian collaborators who receive our money in exchange for services, but I do not believe they will be very useful when it comes to extracting the Tsar from the country… they want the money, but we do not know their true intentions'' Walter Nicolai said, showing the briefcase chained to his wrist.
''Among those collaborators… is there anyone of sufficient rank who could provide me with Russian documents'' I asked, interested.
''We have a couple of Russian colonels who accept bribes… we will see if it is feasible for them to provide you with documents and orders to facilitate movement… good idea'' Walter said, nodding.
''I will need Russian uniforms… the most modern ones that have been captured'' I said thoughtfully, lowering my head as I began imagining the plan.
''That… would be a war crime'' the Kaiser said, staring at me.
''Do you expect me to move through the most important city in Russia dressed in branches? The only way to get close enough is to be inside, to enter the palace… and who knows how many guards we will have to eliminate before extracting the Tsar. We have to play dirty… it is not much different from using mustard gas, for example'' I said, looking at the Kaiser seriously.
The Kaiser closed his eyes for a moment.
''Get them for him'' he said at last.
''As you command, Your Majesty… would you require anything else, Major Karl, for the mission'' Walter Nicolai asked.
''Maps of the city… if possible, blueprints of the palace where the Tsar is being held… information on the internal guard… and I will see what I can do. I now have far more resources to improve my men's equipment… I may develop some weapons specifically for the mission… but returning to your original question… my price'' I said, looking at the Kaiser, folding my hands.
''Name it'' the Kaiser said, staring at me.
''A title that guarantees status and legal privileges… a high lifetime pension, the amount is at your discretion… and extensive lands in conquered territories… that is my price. I am accepting the most difficult task of my life… and… I suppose I should consider putting a bullet in my head if this goes wrong… there can be no trace that this operation was ordered… correct'' I said calmly.
''Correct… if you are captured, you are on your own…'' Walter Nicolai said, watching me closely as he unlocked the chains from his briefcase.
''The price is high… worthy of what would be paid to rescue a Tsar… I accept. Do it. We have an agreement. Bring my cousin and his family safely into German territory in secret… and most importantly, no one in Germany must know this ever happened… you must return in complete silence as well'' the Kaiser said, nodding in agreement with my terms.
''As soon as I receive the maps and blueprints, I will begin preparing my men for the mission… I will try to develop some kind of weapon for it. I will need suppressed weapons… truly effective ones… a group of scientists would not hurt…'' I said, looking at the Kaiser.
''For what purpose'' the Kaiser asked, glancing at me.
''As you know, due to limited budgets I have had to finance everything in Ukraine myself by selling goods produced with Ukrainian resources, and I have been working with alternative materials… within the limits of my knowledge. I imagine a German chemist would be more effective than a man who only knows how to build weapons, nothing more complex than that'' I said with a faint smile.
''I will send some chemists who serve the army to see what they can come up with… beyond that, prepare whatever you need… I want my cousin alive and safe, along with his entire family'' the Kaiser said, nodding.
''As you command, Majesty'' I said, bowing before leaving the room.
I immediately went to my factory and began pulling every string I had. This was no longer like before, when at best I could only modify the weapons available to me. Now, with ammunition factories and a vast amount of resources at my disposal, whether through money or ties with the Austro-Hungarians, I had far more freedom.
So it did not take long to secure titanium and aluminum to begin working on a high-level suppressor prototype, not like those used on our sniper rifles, which barely reduced the supersonic crack.
Materials as expensive as gold due to how difficult they were to obtain, but I was not going to spare any expense to keep my own skin intact. So I built some of the best suppressors possible using those materials, along with pistols optimized for them, achieving the greatest possible sound reduction while ensuring the internal mechanism operated smoothly.
At the same time, since I now had ammunition factories, I immediately began producing much smaller caliber rounds for short-range weapons. These would be weapons of last resort, so they did not need to be powerful. I designed something similar to .22 LR, aiming for a weapon that produced almost no noise.
Our infiltration depended on that. With Russian military uniforms and documents justifying our presence inside the city, the plan was already well advanced. What remained was the ability to force entry if necessary, and to do so with as much stealth as possible.
So, gathering all my contacts and using all my money, it was not difficult to manufacture twenty suppressed pistols with multi-part suppressors made of titanium, aluminum, and steel, ensuring the sound was nearly imperceptible. They were not like modern designs. It was clear that more advanced industrial capacity was missing, but I did the best possible with my own machines, diverting an entire production line from the factories in Posen.
The elections in Ukraine had taken place and had been carried out with relative calm, aside from some attempts to steal ballot boxes and burn polling stations in German sectors by communist extremists who had called for a boycott, arguing that the elections were simply a German trick to control the country.
Germany got the result it wanted, with many German deputies, although ideologically the biggest winners were the socialists, who secured around forty-five percent of the seats in the Rada, including German representatives.
The first session of the Rada was held the following day in Kiev, and the first matter under discussion was the ratification of Wilhelm as the legitimate King of Ukraine. With more than ninety percent of the vote, Wilhelm fulfilled his dream of becoming the elected king of Ukraine by its people, and he officially changed his name.
Vasyl was the name he had used when we first met, and now he adopted it as his own, beginning his new government with the intention of serving the Ukrainian people.
The following laws were not as popular as the ratification of the king, but Vasyl did everything in his power to ensure that all previously agreed measures were approved by the Rada.
Now that there was peace, schools reopened, children returned to class, and factories resumed operation. Foreign investments began to arrive in large numbers, although laws were also introduced to prevent the abuse of workers, establishing new regulations aimed at protecting them from the excesses of certain companies, using my own factories as a model.
And for the benefit of those who had trusted and invested in the Ukrainian mark, it began to be accepted by neutral countries as a medium of exchange. Although it was currently worth only ten percent of the German mark, it was a major step forward. For those holding millions of Ukrainian marks in vouchers, this meant real value. If it ever reached fifty percent, I would be extremely wealthy.
But the mission had to be secured.
The scientists the Kaiser had managed to gather had arrived, although I doubted they could invent something like Kevlar even in five years. So I simply put them to work developing new materials, trying to guide them toward what I wanted, while also preparing the construction of a chemical facility in Ukraine to produce those compounds. That, however, would be a long-term investment.
A few days later, we received the city maps and palace blueprints. We began constructing a scale model of the palace rooms, studying the information about the Tsar's guards and patrols within his residence. This intelligence had been provided by our spy inside Russia.
It was all fairly general, as requesting overly specific information would raise suspicion, and we could never be entirely sure that the spy was not a double agent feeding us outdated or incorrect data.
So we prepared accordingly, knowing only ten of us would go. Only ten men for the mission, posing as a Russian squad, bringing Jägerkommandos soldiers who spoke Russian, or at least did so as best as possible.
The group consisted of myself, with basic Russian from recent practice, Ferdinand, who spoke it fluently, Friedrich, my most lethal man, and the rest were trusted soldiers who could speak Russian with some confidence.
We trained exhaustively. Drawing pistols, concealing them, familiarizing ourselves with Russian uniforms, learning how to move, and practicing interactions with Russian prisoners under the excuse of language training. We studied what they would eat, how they would react in different situations, and how they behaved.
The firing tests were successful. The pistols produced very little noise, almost inaudible from a short distance. Most of what could be heard was the mechanism rather than the shot itself. It seemed we had a reliable weapon, although transporting them would still be a challenge.
Studying the city maps and continuing training, we used every remaining day to learn soldier customs and behavior. We focused on how a Russian officer would act in different circumstances. Many of the prisoners we had interrogated were from before the revolution, and they were not lenient when it came to discipline.
We did everything possible. Everything that could be practiced was practiced. We learned, prepared, and refined every detail.
Once ready, we moved toward the northern border through the Baltic region, posing as local farmers while traveling, presenting documents provided by Abteilung IIIb that allowed us to move forward.
When we reached the Russian border, we changed into worn uniforms and began moving as a squad through a lightly guarded sector, impersonating a unit supposedly deployed at the front.
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