Thank you! I really appreciate it.
Though I must admit that the last two updates were of rather poor quality, but I hope to make that up with the update that will be up today.
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Thank you! I really appreciate it.
Though I must admit that the last two updates were of rather poor quality, but I hope to make that up with the update that will be up today.
Hi, JustThatGuy.
Being a lurker in your AAR from the very beginning, and after re-reading it today in one go, I would like you to know that I chose you as the next Character Writer of the week.
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?250368-Best-Character-Writer-of-the-Week-Ilaruum&p=15754624&viewfull=1#post15754624
Congratulations!
Being a lurker in your AAR from the very beginning, and after re-reading it today in one go, I would like you to know that I chose you as the next Character Writer of the week.
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?250368-Best-Character-Writer-of-the-Week-Ilaruum&p=15754624&viewfull=1#post15754624
Congratulations!
December 10
Leningrad
The war with the Finns has been raging since the first of December. Officially, the cause of war was the alleged Finnish shelling of a Red Army border post which killed seven soldiers on the 29th of November, but in reality everyone knew that the shelling was staged by the NKVD in order to give the Soviet leadership a suitable pretext for the invasion of Finland.
The 10th Army had been pulled away from its occupation duties in Lithuania, sent north, and attached to the Finnish Front to take part in the invasion. The invasion plan called for four armies; the 7th, 10th, 11th, and 13th and four independent Marine Divisions; the First, Second, Third, and Fourth. The 13th Army would operate on the extreme north and center of the front with the Petsamo nickel mines and Raate road as its objectives with the goal of cutting the country in half. The 11th Army would operate on the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga with the aim of penetrating the Finnish defences in Karelia. The 7th Army would operate on the western shore of Lake Ladoga with the aim of breaching the Mannerheim Line, swinging northeast, and linking up with the 11th Army. The 10th Army was the most numerous of the four, with the aim of breaking through the Mannerheim Line near the Baltic shore, advancing north, linking up with the four Marine Divisions which would land near Viipuri and then advance west with the divisions on to Helsinki, which was largely destroyed by naval gunfire from the Red Banner Fleet and aerial bombardment from the VVS. The plan seemed simple and easy to execute on paper, but plans were made to fail. Nine days of heavy fighting saw only breakthroughs in the 13th Army's sector, while the remaining three armies were bogged down by determined Finnish resistance, and four Marine Divisions were surrounded at Viipuri with their perimeter collapsing with each passing second.
The 10th Army brought up its operational reserve, the 46th Rifle Corps with the exception of Danila's 351. Rifle Regiment, which was temporarily detached from the 169. Rifle Division to provide security for Comrade Molotov, who would be parading through the Avenue of the 25th of October and then give a speech at the Alexander Column to denounce the Finnish leadership for "waging a war of aggression" against the Soviet people in order to improve the morale of front-line Soviet troops.
The 351. Rifle Regiment was stationed along the entire length of the Avenue of the 25th of October and near the Alexander Column itself. Danila would be standing with his comrades at the T-intersection of 25th October and Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street which was located a mere 300 meters from the Alexander Column.
"Hey Danila. Quit looking at the sky."
The young man was snapped by Sukhoi's words back into reality. He had been daydreaming while looking at the grey and snowy sky for the past two or so minutes. Once he got a clear picture of the real world, he recognized where he stood. He was standing on the southern side of the broad avenue, looking north towards Bolshaya Konyushennaya. Danila and his comrades have been providing security in the same place for the past two hours waiting for Comrade Molotov to appear in his black, open-top car.
"Sorry. I was daydreaming."
"Molotov should be here soon."
Nevskiy Prospekt during the Tsarist era.
Danila looked at the avenue in awe. The wide road was flanked on both sides by beautiful, colorful buildings dating from the Tsarist era. The inhabitants of Leningrad despise the current name and refer to the avenue as "Nevskiy Prospekt" which also dates back to the Tsarist era. Suddenly, he was distracted by a black car driving slowly through the white, snowy street. The car was a fancy, open-topped one, much like those owned by German generals and driven by enlisted men and was followed by three military transports, presumably full of Internal Troops from the NKVD. Molotov took the role of the German general in this particular moment and the car seemed to be driven by a political commissar. As the distance between the car and Danila gradually decreased, he tightened his grip on his semi-automatic SVT-38 rifle and felt that something wasn't right. To his luck, the car wasn't progressing fast, so he took a leap of faith and left his post at the T-intersection, slowly jogging towards the car the foreign minister was in. The nearby bystanders were shocked by the sight of a man in a brown-green coat and armed with a rifle running towards the foreign minister. Danila's comrades tried to get him back to his post, but the young man wouldn't budge as he suspiciously crept towards the slowly moving transport of Molotov.
"Comrade Minister, you're not safe here."
"Duly noted, Corporal. Get back to your post."
"Comrade Minister, you don't understand!"
"No, you don't understand! Now get back to your post!"
"But-"
"Get back to your post, Corporal!"
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, the current (former) foreign minister of the USSR.
Danila gave up the chase when he saw Molotov's bodyguard who was sitting to the right of him reach for his sidearm. Danila's pace decelerated and he came to a complete stop after a few seconds. He took two steps to his left in order to let the remaining vehicles of the convoy to pass without difficulty. Danila gave the driver of the first transport a gaze and felt as if he was plunged into a state of slow motion. The young man stared into the brown eyes of the presumably NKVD officer when a well placed bullet pierced the officer's skull just above the left eye and exited through the back of his head. Molotov's black car drove on for another 15 meters when it was hit by four anti-tank rifle rounds. Two of the rounds pierced the engine while the other two penetrated the door adjacent to the foreign minister. The engine shortly caught fire and the rest of the convoy was greeted by a hail of machine gun fire. Frightened and screaming bystanders were quickly evacuating the broad avenue and were surging into the numerous sidestreets and alleys. Danila quickly took cover behind the first truck which had stopped a mere three meters from him. His first instinct was to run towards the foreign minister's car which was engulfed by flames, but that was impossible due to the amount of fire the convoy was receiving. The second ZIS truck in the convoy was disabled by a well placed anti-tank rifle shot to its engine while the third was littered by machine gun and rifle fire. The Internal Troops had no idea how to react and were subsequently massacred by the assailants.
One man, much to Danila's surprise, had survived the initial ambush albeit with a wound to his left shoulder. What even surprised him more was the fact that the wounded man was calm enough to present himself and shake his hand.
"Political Commisar, Alexei Andropov."
"Danila Morozov, Corporal. Now's not the time for introductions, Comrade Commisar."
Danila tried to get a glimpse of where the fire was coming from while bullets whizzed through the air around them. In the process, he saw his squad hugging the wall and slowly moving towards the source of fire which was on the top floor of a purple four-story building. Captain Voronin and Ulman began to signal him to move towards them while they would suppress the assailants. Danila looked to his left and saw Molotov's car still burning. It was now obvious that the foreign minister was dead and nothing could save him. The stench of burning flesh began to irritate his sense of smell. He then looked to his right and began to speak with the wounded Commisar.
"Can you run, Comrade Commisar?"
The wounded man gave him an honest smile.
"Of course I can run."
Danila then signaled his comrades to start firing on the count of three. He was once again plunged into a state of slow motion as he slowly raised his fingers on his left hand. He first raised his index finger, followed by the middle finger, and then the ring finger. The two men threw themselves from behind the disabled ZIS truck and began to run while Danila's comrades suppressed the windows with rifle and machine gun fire. However short the distance was, it felt like an eternity for him. Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours. Bullets whizzed past them as they only just made it to the safety of the wall where the angle made it impossible for the assailants to fire on them. The squad then entered the building through the front door and began to systematically make their way up to the top floor. Once they reached it they saw that only one door was present in the wide corridor and began to stack up on it. When they did, they heard voices speaking in a Germanic language.
"Danila, kick down the door."
As the door went down from the pressure exerted by Danila's right foot, Ulman and Semyon threw two grenades into the apartment. One man dressed in civilian attire tried to escape the blasts through the exposed doorway but was shot by Danila in the back of the head. The bullet pierced the temporal bone and exited through the forehead. He looked on in horror as the body collapsed to the floor. Two quick blasts followed and screams from inside the apartment were heard. Danila was patted on the back by Captain Voronin, knocking him from the state of horror he had just experienced and was told to enter first while the rest would follow. The young man entered the apartment and immediately look a left turn into the lounge room. There were six men in it, but he didn't know whether they were all dead or alive. Three men were hanging over an anti-tank rifle and they were most certainly dead. One of them was barely holding a pistol in his left hand. Danila was taken over by a fiery rage and shot the gun-wielding man twice in the head. One was too wounded to move and the other was reaching for a pistol which was only just eluding his reach. After a second of hesitation, he shot the one reaching for a pistol four times in the back. Ulman then stormed into the room and stopped almost immediately while the rest checked the apartment. He first looked at the scene of death and horror and then looked at Danila.
"You killed... all of them?"
"No... just these two. Those three were already dead and that one is too wounded to move."
Ulman began to walk towards the wounded man. He took out his pistol and prepared to shoot him in the head.
"No, no, no, no. Don't do that."
"Why?"
"He might be needed and look."
Danila walked towards the shattered window and began to pull the three bodies away from the anti-tank rifle.
"That's a British rifle."
Here we have it. Our mysterious VMM. Sorry for the delay. I had a power surge in my home yesterday (my three phase electrical installation failed) and a lot of electronic devices were ruined. I'm lucky that my computer wasn't.
This also marks the first time Danila has killed someone.
Thank you! I really appreciate it and hope to keep the AAR at this level.
Leningrad
The war with the Finns has been raging since the first of December. Officially, the cause of war was the alleged Finnish shelling of a Red Army border post which killed seven soldiers on the 29th of November, but in reality everyone knew that the shelling was staged by the NKVD in order to give the Soviet leadership a suitable pretext for the invasion of Finland.
The 10th Army had been pulled away from its occupation duties in Lithuania, sent north, and attached to the Finnish Front to take part in the invasion. The invasion plan called for four armies; the 7th, 10th, 11th, and 13th and four independent Marine Divisions; the First, Second, Third, and Fourth. The 13th Army would operate on the extreme north and center of the front with the Petsamo nickel mines and Raate road as its objectives with the goal of cutting the country in half. The 11th Army would operate on the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga with the aim of penetrating the Finnish defences in Karelia. The 7th Army would operate on the western shore of Lake Ladoga with the aim of breaching the Mannerheim Line, swinging northeast, and linking up with the 11th Army. The 10th Army was the most numerous of the four, with the aim of breaking through the Mannerheim Line near the Baltic shore, advancing north, linking up with the four Marine Divisions which would land near Viipuri and then advance west with the divisions on to Helsinki, which was largely destroyed by naval gunfire from the Red Banner Fleet and aerial bombardment from the VVS. The plan seemed simple and easy to execute on paper, but plans were made to fail. Nine days of heavy fighting saw only breakthroughs in the 13th Army's sector, while the remaining three armies were bogged down by determined Finnish resistance, and four Marine Divisions were surrounded at Viipuri with their perimeter collapsing with each passing second.
The 10th Army brought up its operational reserve, the 46th Rifle Corps with the exception of Danila's 351. Rifle Regiment, which was temporarily detached from the 169. Rifle Division to provide security for Comrade Molotov, who would be parading through the Avenue of the 25th of October and then give a speech at the Alexander Column to denounce the Finnish leadership for "waging a war of aggression" against the Soviet people in order to improve the morale of front-line Soviet troops.
The 351. Rifle Regiment was stationed along the entire length of the Avenue of the 25th of October and near the Alexander Column itself. Danila would be standing with his comrades at the T-intersection of 25th October and Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street which was located a mere 300 meters from the Alexander Column.
"Hey Danila. Quit looking at the sky."
The young man was snapped by Sukhoi's words back into reality. He had been daydreaming while looking at the grey and snowy sky for the past two or so minutes. Once he got a clear picture of the real world, he recognized where he stood. He was standing on the southern side of the broad avenue, looking north towards Bolshaya Konyushennaya. Danila and his comrades have been providing security in the same place for the past two hours waiting for Comrade Molotov to appear in his black, open-top car.
"Sorry. I was daydreaming."
"Molotov should be here soon."
Nevskiy Prospekt during the Tsarist era.
Danila looked at the avenue in awe. The wide road was flanked on both sides by beautiful, colorful buildings dating from the Tsarist era. The inhabitants of Leningrad despise the current name and refer to the avenue as "Nevskiy Prospekt" which also dates back to the Tsarist era. Suddenly, he was distracted by a black car driving slowly through the white, snowy street. The car was a fancy, open-topped one, much like those owned by German generals and driven by enlisted men and was followed by three military transports, presumably full of Internal Troops from the NKVD. Molotov took the role of the German general in this particular moment and the car seemed to be driven by a political commissar. As the distance between the car and Danila gradually decreased, he tightened his grip on his semi-automatic SVT-38 rifle and felt that something wasn't right. To his luck, the car wasn't progressing fast, so he took a leap of faith and left his post at the T-intersection, slowly jogging towards the car the foreign minister was in. The nearby bystanders were shocked by the sight of a man in a brown-green coat and armed with a rifle running towards the foreign minister. Danila's comrades tried to get him back to his post, but the young man wouldn't budge as he suspiciously crept towards the slowly moving transport of Molotov.
"Comrade Minister, you're not safe here."
"Duly noted, Corporal. Get back to your post."
"Comrade Minister, you don't understand!"
"No, you don't understand! Now get back to your post!"
"But-"
"Get back to your post, Corporal!"
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, the current (former) foreign minister of the USSR.
Danila gave up the chase when he saw Molotov's bodyguard who was sitting to the right of him reach for his sidearm. Danila's pace decelerated and he came to a complete stop after a few seconds. He took two steps to his left in order to let the remaining vehicles of the convoy to pass without difficulty. Danila gave the driver of the first transport a gaze and felt as if he was plunged into a state of slow motion. The young man stared into the brown eyes of the presumably NKVD officer when a well placed bullet pierced the officer's skull just above the left eye and exited through the back of his head. Molotov's black car drove on for another 15 meters when it was hit by four anti-tank rifle rounds. Two of the rounds pierced the engine while the other two penetrated the door adjacent to the foreign minister. The engine shortly caught fire and the rest of the convoy was greeted by a hail of machine gun fire. Frightened and screaming bystanders were quickly evacuating the broad avenue and were surging into the numerous sidestreets and alleys. Danila quickly took cover behind the first truck which had stopped a mere three meters from him. His first instinct was to run towards the foreign minister's car which was engulfed by flames, but that was impossible due to the amount of fire the convoy was receiving. The second ZIS truck in the convoy was disabled by a well placed anti-tank rifle shot to its engine while the third was littered by machine gun and rifle fire. The Internal Troops had no idea how to react and were subsequently massacred by the assailants.
One man, much to Danila's surprise, had survived the initial ambush albeit with a wound to his left shoulder. What even surprised him more was the fact that the wounded man was calm enough to present himself and shake his hand.
"Political Commisar, Alexei Andropov."
"Danila Morozov, Corporal. Now's not the time for introductions, Comrade Commisar."
Danila tried to get a glimpse of where the fire was coming from while bullets whizzed through the air around them. In the process, he saw his squad hugging the wall and slowly moving towards the source of fire which was on the top floor of a purple four-story building. Captain Voronin and Ulman began to signal him to move towards them while they would suppress the assailants. Danila looked to his left and saw Molotov's car still burning. It was now obvious that the foreign minister was dead and nothing could save him. The stench of burning flesh began to irritate his sense of smell. He then looked to his right and began to speak with the wounded Commisar.
"Can you run, Comrade Commisar?"
The wounded man gave him an honest smile.
"Of course I can run."
Danila then signaled his comrades to start firing on the count of three. He was once again plunged into a state of slow motion as he slowly raised his fingers on his left hand. He first raised his index finger, followed by the middle finger, and then the ring finger. The two men threw themselves from behind the disabled ZIS truck and began to run while Danila's comrades suppressed the windows with rifle and machine gun fire. However short the distance was, it felt like an eternity for him. Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours. Bullets whizzed past them as they only just made it to the safety of the wall where the angle made it impossible for the assailants to fire on them. The squad then entered the building through the front door and began to systematically make their way up to the top floor. Once they reached it they saw that only one door was present in the wide corridor and began to stack up on it. When they did, they heard voices speaking in a Germanic language.
"Danila, kick down the door."
As the door went down from the pressure exerted by Danila's right foot, Ulman and Semyon threw two grenades into the apartment. One man dressed in civilian attire tried to escape the blasts through the exposed doorway but was shot by Danila in the back of the head. The bullet pierced the temporal bone and exited through the forehead. He looked on in horror as the body collapsed to the floor. Two quick blasts followed and screams from inside the apartment were heard. Danila was patted on the back by Captain Voronin, knocking him from the state of horror he had just experienced and was told to enter first while the rest would follow. The young man entered the apartment and immediately look a left turn into the lounge room. There were six men in it, but he didn't know whether they were all dead or alive. Three men were hanging over an anti-tank rifle and they were most certainly dead. One of them was barely holding a pistol in his left hand. Danila was taken over by a fiery rage and shot the gun-wielding man twice in the head. One was too wounded to move and the other was reaching for a pistol which was only just eluding his reach. After a second of hesitation, he shot the one reaching for a pistol four times in the back. Ulman then stormed into the room and stopped almost immediately while the rest checked the apartment. He first looked at the scene of death and horror and then looked at Danila.
"You killed... all of them?"
"No... just these two. Those three were already dead and that one is too wounded to move."
Ulman began to walk towards the wounded man. He took out his pistol and prepared to shoot him in the head.
"No, no, no, no. Don't do that."
"Why?"
"He might be needed and look."
Danila walked towards the shattered window and began to pull the three bodies away from the anti-tank rifle.
"That's a British rifle."
Here we have it. Our mysterious VMM. Sorry for the delay. I had a power surge in my home yesterday (my three phase electrical installation failed) and a lot of electronic devices were ruined. I'm lucky that my computer wasn't.
This also marks the first time Danila has killed someone.
Thank you! I really appreciate it and hope to keep the AAR at this level.
Last edited:
Congrats on your award!
Thank you!
(This means I have to write an update. Right? :unsure
Congratulations on the award, you definitly deserve it.
Good thing you didn't dissappoint by letting vmm be the only person with those initials in the character list
The description of the action is very convincing.
One thought: Maybe find a way to use 'Danila' a bit less in the narrative?
edit: to clarify I mean the actual word, example: 'Captain Voronin and Ulman began to signal Danila to move towards them while they would suppress the assailants.', could leave it out here
Good thing you didn't dissappoint by letting vmm be the only person with those initials in the character list
The description of the action is very convincing.
One thought: Maybe find a way to use 'Danila' a bit less in the narrative?
edit: to clarify I mean the actual word, example: 'Captain Voronin and Ulman began to signal Danila to move towards them while they would suppress the assailants.', could leave it out here
Last edited:
Congratulations on the award, you definitly deserve it.
Good thing you didn't dissappoint by letting vmm be the only person with those initials in the character list
The description of the action is very convincing.
One thought: Maybe find a way to use 'Danila' a bit less in the narrative?
edit: to clarify I mean the actual word, example: 'Captain Voronin and Ulman began to signal Danila to move towards them while they would suppress the assailants.', could leave it out here
Yeah, I had a feeling I was using his name a tad too much and thank you!
Last edited:
December 12
10th Army Headquarters, Leningrad
"Citizens of the great Soviet Union. I inform you with great regret that our foreign minister, Comrade Molotov, was assassinated yesterday in Leningrad in a deliberate attack by assailants of unknown origin. I promise that the assassins will be hunted down and mercilessly brought to swift justice. Due to the NKVD's poor performance, Lavrenty Beria has been removed from his position as Minister of Security and replaced by the more competent Sergej Uritsky and Andrey Vyshinsky has been appointed as the new foreign minister, both on a permanent basis. All citizens are encouraged to join in a moment of silence which will begin today at 23:00."
- Joseph Stalin's radio address to the citizens of the Soviet Union, December 11.
The aftermath of Molotov's assassination has seen some serious consequences for the Soviet state. The Communist Party was severely weakened and disorganized and required a major reshuffling, but also benefited from a positive jump in popularity among the populace. The NKVD was thrown into disarray and Beria was replaced by the more tolerant Sergej Uritsky. Uritsky's appointment was warmly welcomed by the GRU, the Soviet Union's military intelligence agency, which is now experiencing a freer hand in its intelligence and counterintelligence activities. Uritsky's appointment, though, will most likely spawn a fierce competition between the GRU and the disorganized NKVD as they will both try to gain credibility in the eyes of the Politburo and Stalin himself.
The appointment of Andrey Vyshinsky to the post of foreign minister stunned much of the Soviet populace. Many were appalled at Stalin's decision to appoint a man of Polish Catholic descent to such a prestigious position. Some felt that Stalin wished to win the hearts of the Polish population in the recently annexed areas while some felt that he had no other choice and that Vyshinsky was the only logical choice.
Danila wasn't interested in what was going on in the political scene of the country. The last two days have seen him engulfed in a state of shock and disbelief. He always expected to find himself in a stressful combat situation, but he never expected to kill someone (three people in his case) in such unusual circumstances. The past two days were accompanied by vomiting and sporadic panic attacks. The young man's comrades tried everything in their power to get him calmed down by telling him that he did a good job and that it was "either them or you". But he felt that it wasn't that way; he shot a man trying to escape death in the back of the skull and then killed two wounded in cold blood. But he didn't know what made him spare the last one. Why did he leave him be? Why did he stop Ulman from executing him in cold blood?
The wounded man was quickly claimed as a Red Army prisoner (in order to keep the NKVD's hands off of him) and taken to the headquaters of the 10th Army which was located in the northern end of Leningrad on Prospekt Prosveshcheniya.
"Wake this piece of **** up."
The sleeping prisoner was immediately woken up by a splash of cold water. He quickly found himself tied to a chair and in a small and damp room.
"Var är jag?"
"Shut up!"
The prisoner began to speak in a language that was reminiscent of German. Semyon had enough of the "filthy pig latin" and struck the man with his left fist, promptly stopping the man's chatter. None of the three interrogators knew what he was saying and proceeded to get Danila, who knew German to a certain extent, in an attempt to extract as much information as possible from the prisoner. When Ulman returned with Danila, the prisoner was frightened by the scene of another man entering the room.
"You have about an hour before the the GRU gets here and takes this **** to a mine shaft in Siberia. Get this ****er to talk."
Danila, having no experience in torture and interrogation, proceeded to talk with the frightened prisoner.
"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"
The prisoner was stunned by Danila's approach and affirmatively nodded.
"Are you German?"
The man kept silent for a moment when Danila nodded to Semyon, who then struck the prisoner's face four times in successive fashion no doubt loosening a tooth or two. The man wailed and screamed in pain before crying out "no" in his native language and correcting himself by saying "nein".
"So you aren't German."
"No."
"Where are you from then?"
Another brief moment of silence followed. Semyon, believing that the interrogation was going nowhere, prepared to inflict more pain. It was only Danila's intervention that spared the prisoner.
"Wait."
Danila walked towards the man, took a knee, and talked in a sinister and very convincing voice.
"The GRU will be here very soon and they'll do everything in their power to keep you alive and hanging by a thread while at the same time inflicting unbearable and unimagineable pain on you. They'll do everything from pulling your fingernails to frying your balls in pig fat. So I suggest you talk or enjoy the wonderful company of the GRU."
The man hesitated for a moment and opened up.
"My name is David Albrechtsson and I'm from Stockholm, Sweden."
Danila looked on and listened with curiosity while at the same time translating what was being said. This David spilled everything, from his serial number to the name of his son. But there was one major detail lacking; who was he working for?
"Who do you work for?"
"What?"
"I believe you heard me. Who do you work for?"
David kept silent while sweat was slowly covering the entire surface area of his face. Danila once again nodded to Semyon, who proceeded the dislocate the index finger on the right hand. A deafening and painful scream exited David's mouth.
"We had two contacts! One is based in Britain and the other in Mexico!"
If you can figure out who the contacts are you'll win a cookie.
Also: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. A certain thing called real life came knocking on my door. ;-;
10th Army Headquarters, Leningrad
"Citizens of the great Soviet Union. I inform you with great regret that our foreign minister, Comrade Molotov, was assassinated yesterday in Leningrad in a deliberate attack by assailants of unknown origin. I promise that the assassins will be hunted down and mercilessly brought to swift justice. Due to the NKVD's poor performance, Lavrenty Beria has been removed from his position as Minister of Security and replaced by the more competent Sergej Uritsky and Andrey Vyshinsky has been appointed as the new foreign minister, both on a permanent basis. All citizens are encouraged to join in a moment of silence which will begin today at 23:00."
- Joseph Stalin's radio address to the citizens of the Soviet Union, December 11.
The aftermath of Molotov's assassination has seen some serious consequences for the Soviet state. The Communist Party was severely weakened and disorganized and required a major reshuffling, but also benefited from a positive jump in popularity among the populace. The NKVD was thrown into disarray and Beria was replaced by the more tolerant Sergej Uritsky. Uritsky's appointment was warmly welcomed by the GRU, the Soviet Union's military intelligence agency, which is now experiencing a freer hand in its intelligence and counterintelligence activities. Uritsky's appointment, though, will most likely spawn a fierce competition between the GRU and the disorganized NKVD as they will both try to gain credibility in the eyes of the Politburo and Stalin himself.
The appointment of Andrey Vyshinsky to the post of foreign minister stunned much of the Soviet populace. Many were appalled at Stalin's decision to appoint a man of Polish Catholic descent to such a prestigious position. Some felt that Stalin wished to win the hearts of the Polish population in the recently annexed areas while some felt that he had no other choice and that Vyshinsky was the only logical choice.
Danila wasn't interested in what was going on in the political scene of the country. The last two days have seen him engulfed in a state of shock and disbelief. He always expected to find himself in a stressful combat situation, but he never expected to kill someone (three people in his case) in such unusual circumstances. The past two days were accompanied by vomiting and sporadic panic attacks. The young man's comrades tried everything in their power to get him calmed down by telling him that he did a good job and that it was "either them or you". But he felt that it wasn't that way; he shot a man trying to escape death in the back of the skull and then killed two wounded in cold blood. But he didn't know what made him spare the last one. Why did he leave him be? Why did he stop Ulman from executing him in cold blood?
The wounded man was quickly claimed as a Red Army prisoner (in order to keep the NKVD's hands off of him) and taken to the headquaters of the 10th Army which was located in the northern end of Leningrad on Prospekt Prosveshcheniya.
"Wake this piece of **** up."
The sleeping prisoner was immediately woken up by a splash of cold water. He quickly found himself tied to a chair and in a small and damp room.
"Var är jag?"
"Shut up!"
The prisoner began to speak in a language that was reminiscent of German. Semyon had enough of the "filthy pig latin" and struck the man with his left fist, promptly stopping the man's chatter. None of the three interrogators knew what he was saying and proceeded to get Danila, who knew German to a certain extent, in an attempt to extract as much information as possible from the prisoner. When Ulman returned with Danila, the prisoner was frightened by the scene of another man entering the room.
"You have about an hour before the the GRU gets here and takes this **** to a mine shaft in Siberia. Get this ****er to talk."
Danila, having no experience in torture and interrogation, proceeded to talk with the frightened prisoner.
"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"
The prisoner was stunned by Danila's approach and affirmatively nodded.
"Are you German?"
The man kept silent for a moment when Danila nodded to Semyon, who then struck the prisoner's face four times in successive fashion no doubt loosening a tooth or two. The man wailed and screamed in pain before crying out "no" in his native language and correcting himself by saying "nein".
"So you aren't German."
"No."
"Where are you from then?"
Another brief moment of silence followed. Semyon, believing that the interrogation was going nowhere, prepared to inflict more pain. It was only Danila's intervention that spared the prisoner.
"Wait."
Danila walked towards the man, took a knee, and talked in a sinister and very convincing voice.
"The GRU will be here very soon and they'll do everything in their power to keep you alive and hanging by a thread while at the same time inflicting unbearable and unimagineable pain on you. They'll do everything from pulling your fingernails to frying your balls in pig fat. So I suggest you talk or enjoy the wonderful company of the GRU."
The man hesitated for a moment and opened up.
"My name is David Albrechtsson and I'm from Stockholm, Sweden."
Danila looked on and listened with curiosity while at the same time translating what was being said. This David spilled everything, from his serial number to the name of his son. But there was one major detail lacking; who was he working for?
"Who do you work for?"
"What?"
"I believe you heard me. Who do you work for?"
David kept silent while sweat was slowly covering the entire surface area of his face. Danila once again nodded to Semyon, who proceeded the dislocate the index finger on the right hand. A deafening and painful scream exited David's mouth.
"We had two contacts! One is based in Britain and the other in Mexico!"
If you can figure out who the contacts are you'll win a cookie.
Also: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. A certain thing called real life came knocking on my door. ;-;
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The Mexico one was pretty obvious. You win half a cookie.
I ll just take the chocolate bit, thanks
"JustFatGuy"
I wouldn't mind that. :happy:
I need to gain a few kilos, but all of my attempts failed.
Was going to say Trotsky but you guys beat me to it.
The British one is also easy
The British one is also easy
A British person
That's where you're wrong.
The contact is based in Britain, but he is in no way a British person.
I'll be a bad person and make up my own version of history to spice the story up a bit. Here's a spoiler in order for you guys to find out who the second contact is:
sgwgk
Sir Gangstar Will Go to Kongo ;pThat's where you're wrong.
The contact is based in Britain, but he is in no way a British person.
I'll be a bad person and make up my own version of history to spice the story up a bit. Here's a spoiler in order for you guys to find out who the second contact is:
sgwgk