To Change Nothing
Bremerhaven - October 8
The door opened, and Angelica walked into the cafe. Clara got up and hugged her.
“Thank goodness you’re okay!” she said.
“You too, Clara,” Angelica said.
“I at least had my brother to be my chaperone,” Clara said.
“Lucky you,” Angelica said, “The men in my family were in no shape for that, and they're all in Alençon, so I had to sneak myself here. Should've visited them before coming here.”
“Anyways,” Anders said, “We’re all here now. We can get down to business.”
While the sounds of another of Eva’s protests echoed outside, Angelica and Clara followed Anders into a back room, where Angela and his sisters sat.
“Agent Hansen,” Angelica stammered, “I…it’s been so long.”
Angela shook Angelica’s hand. “Twenty years, I think. You’ve grown a lot since then. And it’s ex-agent Hansen.”
“Right, ma’am,” Angelica said, “And Herr Humboldt, I’m so sorry about what happened to Director Frank. If only I was…”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Anders said, “She knew where she was going to end up. The only thing we can do is to honor her memory.”
“Now, I’m glad you all made it here,” Angela said, “Angelica, I understand you’ve found something important?”
“Yeah, about Argus,” Angelica said, “I’ve spent the last couple years gathering financial records and video footage of Argus’ activities.”
“How’d you get your hands on that stuff?” Annie said.
“Well, Diana had a lot of evidence already gathered before she died, so I built on that,” Angelica said, “And before they expanded Watchtower, I managed to call a few of Argus’ offices. Some low-level employees who didn’t get the memo gave me what I needed.”
She opened her briefcase, revealing it was full of paper documents.
“I couldn’t run the risk of them tracing my online presence,” Angelica said, “So I got everything down on paper.”
“Learned from the very best, I tell you,” Annie said, “Don’t trust any device made after 1995.”
“What does it say?” Clara said.
“Well, let’s start with the obvious,” Angelica said, “Theodor Tesla is a member of the committee. He is still CEO of Tesla Dynamic, as well as a majority shareholder in Argus.”
“So he’s been using his new political power to benefit his businesses,” Anders said.
“Now, I couldn’t access Theodor’s own correspondence, obviously, but as they say, follow the money,” Angelica said, “And these records show Theodor has been breaking lobbying laws by funneling large sums of money into the coffers of committee members like Elias Anhorn and Brad Folger, as well as his own personal and business accounts, while he also sabotages the operations of his few remaining competitors.”
“Technically he’s not breaking any laws,” Anna said, “Those lobbying laws were repealed in the latest Nullification Act. Along with workplace regulations Theodor wasn’t a fan of.”
“And what about Bloody Tuesday?” Anders said. “Anything?”
“I’m getting there,” Angelica said, “Now, I know what I saw that day. Argus attacked me and killed my squad. But they claim Mexicanists did it and Argus were the heroes.”
“We know that’s a lie,” Anders said, “It was Argus.”
“Yeah, but we need hard proof,” Angelica said, “I think I have it now.”
“Did you get the security footage from the Reichstag?” Angela said.
“No,” Angelica said, “The committee’s buried that footage. Clara and I couldn’t get it. But what
is readily available is this. Pulled a lot of strings to get this from under Moria’s nose.”
She took out her phone and played a video. Anders looked at it, only to immediately recoil when he realized what it was.
“I’m sorry for bringing this up again,” Angelica said, “I know how much she meant to you, but this is our best lead.”
“I don’t want to watch the whole video,” Anders said.
“It’s the only way we can prove Argus was at the massacre,” Angelica said.
“That video wasn’t even taken at the Reichstag,” Angela said, “How does it prove it?”
“They also lied about Di’s death,” Anders realized, “If we expose that lie, they’ll also question the main one.”
“So what exactly are we looking for?” Anna said.
Angelica paused the video. “That.”
For a split second, one of the gunmen had knelt to stab Diana in the chest with her own knife. His face wasn’t fully visible, being only viewed from one side, but Anders recoiled again, this time out of recognition. He clenched his fists.
“Josh,” he spat, “JOSH! IT WAS HIM ALL ALONG!”
“Anders, calm down,” Angela said, “I know it's hard, seeing who was responsible for Di's death, but we have to stay calm, as always. It's the only way we'll get through this."
Anders nodded and calmed down. "Of course, Angie."
Her dead body lay on screen, her empty eyes staring at him, until someone smashed the camera with his foot to stop the recording. At the very end, for another split second, the person’s boot was visible, along with a smudge that strongly resembled the Argus logo.
“There,” Angelica said, “Argus killed Director Frank. Josh himself also shot me during the massacre at the Reichstag. His bullet has been in my leg since the attack, so there's no way it could have been modified or changed in any way.”
“Why didn't they remove it?” Clara asked.
”Standard surgical procedure,” Angela said, ”Unlike what the movies tell you, we don't remove bullets or shrapnel unless we absolutely have to. Causes too many complications.”
“If we get it out, we can compare it with his gun,” Angelica said, “That would prove Argus’ involvement without a doubt. The only problem is they could just give him a new gun and change the paperwork accordingly.”
She took out some more papers. “Concurrently with that, I have here the records of reassignments and contracts in the weeks leading up to Bloody Tuesday. They show a buildup of Argus personnel in Berlin in the last couple months of 2029. Specifically in the areas around the Reichstag, the Athanatoi headquarters, the courts, and certain government ministry offices.”
“But is it conclusive now?” Clara said.
“Argus could claim we saw things wrong,” Angela said.
“Or we’re biased,” Annie said.
“Or we’re women,” Anna said.
“Which is why I would like Anders to do this,” Angelica said, “He has credibility and reputation, and he's a man too. Should be up your alley, right?”
“This would work perfectly with the story me and Vincent have been working on,” Anders said, “We were gathering evidence on how Theodor Tesla was using his clout as a majority shareholder in
Die Zeiten to silence critics. This could expand our coverage.”
“Okay, then I’ll entrust this to you,” Angelica said, pushing the briefcase to Anders.
“I’m driving back to Constantinople tomorrow,” Anders said, “I don’t trust the airports now.”
“I’m going too,” Angela said.
“Why, Angie?” Anders said. “We need you here. It’s too dangerous.”
“My daughter needs me,” Angela said, “Things aren’t going so well in Syria. I want to be there for her and Alex and Thea if things get bad.”
“Is it time to make the call?” Anna said.
“I doubt we’ll get an answer,” Annie said.
“Don’t be so sure of that,” Anders said, “We’ll make the call when we need to.”
“I’ve got some friends waiting in Persia,” Anna said, “If things go south, I’ll ask them to reach out to you.”
“Thanks,” Angela said.
“Wait, we’re all just going along with this now?” Anders said. “I have to go alone. The rest of you stay here for your own safety. Constantinople and Damascus aren't safe for you.”
“Anders, we’ve been working together since 1992,” Angela said, “You know I don’t care if it isn’t safe. I have to be there for my family. And I can’t let you drive the Impala alone. You’d crash before you get to the Alps.”
Anders laughed. “You never let up with the Impala, do you?”
“Hey, do you feel that?” Clara said.
“Feel what?” Angelica said.
“Is it just me, or did someone turn up the thermostat?” Clara said.
“Yeah, I’m feeling that too,” Anna said.
“Why?” Angela said. “This October’s been pretty warm.”
“I’m positively sweating now,” Clara said, “AAAAHHH!”
She clutched her head. “My eyes!”
Angelica felt a painful dizziness between her eyes. Her eyes themselves felt like they were vibrating uncontrollably. She got a sick feeling in her stomach, although she hadn’t eaten in a few hours. She tried closing her eyes, or covering her ears, or crouching, anything to stop the pain and dizziness, but it continued. Looking around, she saw the rest of the group doubled over and clutching their heads as well. Outside, she could hear the screams of the protesters as they no doubt were also affected. Then, as soon as it began, it ended. Angelica cautiously got to her feet and looked around. Annie was unconscious, and Anna and Clara were on the floor. Angela and Anders, pushing through the pain, were already heading outside. Angelica followed them onto the street, where the protesters who were demonstrating outside were all on the ground, either unconscious or barely conscious.
“What…” Anders said. “What…could’ve done something like this?”
“I…I don’t know,” Angela said.
Angelica saw a small Tesla Dynamic drone flying behind a nearby building.
Lublin, West Galicia - October 16
“Come on, Jan,” Jaroslaw said.
“But I don’t want to!” Jaroslaw’s son Jan said.
“We’re going to miss lunch at
babcia's,” Jaroslaw said, “So get in the car.”
“Okay,” Jan said.
He got into the car just as a pickup truck pulled up. A German man in the passenger seat rolled down his window and glared at them.
“GO BACK TO LITHUANIA!” he said, lobbing a rock at them. “DEUS VULT!”
More Germans drove up and threw more rocks at Jaroslaw’s car. His windows began cracking.
“
Tata, what’s happening?” Jan said.
“Put on your seatbelt!” Jaroslaw said.
Jan obliged. Jaroslaw ignited the engine and floored the gas pedal. He sped off, the Germans in close pursuit in their pickup trucks, still throwing rocks.
Constantinople - October 19
“The riots in Bremerhaven have escalated to the point where such unrest and violence has become absolutely impermissible,” Gebhard Remmele's brother Edmund said, “We have let such a temper tantrum carry on for far too long. If the committee authorizes it, I would not hesitate to step in and restore order to the city, on my honor as a general.”
A video of his troops practicing intimidating and aggressive riot control tactics played behind him.
Arnold looked up from the video playing on his phone. “You believe this? Ugh. The nerve.”
“Edmund is nothing like his brother,” Adrian said.
“Yeah, did you hear Gebhard Remmele left for Russia?” Arnold said.
“Something about the chancellor inviting him for a visit, and then he just stayed,” Adrian said.
“Really?” Manfred said. “He should be disciplined for dereliction of duty. A shame for someone as young and as talented as him to act like this.”
“He is just speaking out,” Adrian said.
“If he wants to speak his mind, he can do it at home,” Manfred said, “And seriously, why do we even bother with that guy? He doesn’t even affect our lives.”
“But he’s talking about stuff that does affect us,” Adrian said, “Like Bremerhaven?”
“I thought you called it a town of spoiled and entitled brats?” Manfred said. “Who threw a tantrum when they don’t get their way? They should all grow up.”
“I’m not even going to address that now,” Adrian said.
“Just…why?” Arnold said.
“Look, I follow the law,” Manfred said, “I pay my taxes, put in my time at work, follow the law all the time. Meanwhile those kids in Bremerhaven keep burning cars and destroying shops, and the law isn’t going after them. We need to be fair in how everyone is treated. We must have order.”
“…I don’t think I can convince you otherwise,” Arnold said.
“Why are you trying to convince me otherwise?” Manfred said. “What’s happening there is bordering on sedition. We need to intervene, like a parent disciplining a whining child. Why did you change your mind on them? I thought it was so obvious.”
“I don’t think you’d understand,” Arnold said.
“You probably would when what they do in Bremerhaven begins affecting us in Constantinople,” Adrian said.
“Look, I don’t always agree with those in power,” Manfred said.
“You do?” Adrian said.
“Yeah,” Manfred said, “Sometimes, they do things I don’t like.”
“So you’re not speaking out about it?” Arnold said.
“No, I will,” Manfred said, “I think I can best make a statement by boycotting the examinations and everything related to them. Every single party involved in it is corrupt. Just look at the new CMU scandal! Both sides are the same, so why legitimize the whole system?”
Both Adrian and Arnold facepalmed.
Smyrna - November 30
Retired senator Hermann Makarios poured Heinrich another cup of coffee.
“How long has it been, Heinrich?” Hermann said. “Twenty years?”
“Since David Hussein’s wedding,” Heinrich said.
“Poor David,” Hermann said, “Kid didn’t deserve that fate.”
“We may have caught the murderer, but the real killer is still walking free,” Heinrich said.
“What do you mean?” Hermann said.
“Zhao Yu,” Heinrich said, “The man responsible for the decades-long smear campaign against Aliya Hussein and her family. It was inevitable someone would buy into his lies and decide to take action.”
“I see,” Hermann said, “Anyways, I don’t think you showed up at my house after twenty years to talk about David. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“Well, I was in the area for the strategy conference, and I thought I’d drop in and see my old friend while I was here,” Heinrich said.
“Really?” Hermann said. “Because I don’t think you came to meet me here after twenty years just for old times’ sake.”
“Okay, okay, you got me,” Heinrich said, “I could never bluff you.”
“Yeah, you should’ve spent the last twenty years remembering that,” Hermann said.
“My workday in Berlin’s gotten pretty boring these last few years,” Heinrich said, “With all of the outsourcing to Argus, I myself haven’t been handling much. So I was looking for a way to spend my new free time, and I remembered you and your father were quite the collectors of rare and historical books.”
“I never took you for a reader of such books,” Hermann said.
“Well, old age has you finding new hobbies in the time you have left,” Heinrich said, “Now, these days I’m particularly interested in learning the history of the Hohenzollerns. Preferably from the source.”
“Ah, yes, the imperial family chronicles,” Hermann said, “Can’t you find those in your average bookstore?”
“Well, I would prefer a primary source, not a translation or a modern reprint,” Heinrich said, “Reading medieval Greek really keeps your mind sharp.”
Hermann nervously looked around the room. Heinrich noticed he had struck a nerve. He was right to come here. There was something in this house. He just knew it. Only question was, would Hermann cooperate?
“Well, um, unfortunately…I no longer have the primary source you’re looking for,” Hermann said, “I sold it last year.”
He picked up a notebook and wrote something on it.
Heinrich nodded.
“A shame,” he said, “Guess that’s the end of that, then. I’ll have to find another way to keep my mind sharp.”
“Have you tried discussing world events?” Hermann said.
“Yeah, like how Yavdi is warming up to the Tianxia Alliance?” Heinrich said.
“A shame, but we had it coming,” Hermann said.
IN MY LIBRARY. FIFTH SHELF, THIRD ROW FROM THE BOTTOM, YOU CAN’T MISS IT
“So what will we do about it?” Heinrich said.
“I personally fear the Kaiser may have another of his episodes and pull an India if they make the ties official,” Hermann said, “Which is why Chancellor Amur has made no move against the bases as of yet.”
“Understandable,” Heinrich said, “They don’t want to end up like India. I heard Amit Shah and the Hindutvas have effectively sidelined Ahluwalia and Jayasimha, with the committee's blessing.”
ANHORN CAME TO MY HOUSE LAST MONTH TO GET THE CHRONICLE, HE CANNOT KNOW I STILL HAVE IT
“Poor India, to end up like this,” Hermann said, “I still wonder why we invaded.”
“Me too,” Heinrich said, “If we can do that to India, our most trusted ally, then what can we do to those who aren’t as close to us?”
“Who do we know we can trust?” Hermann said.
“We don’t,” Heinrich said, “In times like these, we can’t trust anybody.”
“Agreed,” Hermann said.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT EITHER OF YOU WANT WITH IT, BUT I TRUST YOU. KEEP THE CHRONICLE IN GOOD HANDS.
“And what will you do about it?” Heinrich said. “I at least hope I can convince the Kaiser not to glass Yavdi tomorrow.”
“Me?” Hermann said. “I’m just a retired senator. All I want is to live in peace.”
“You could always come back to Berlin,” Heinrich said.
“No, my time there is over,” Hermann said, “You still have a lot to do. I’m just a retired old man living on borrowed time. Don’t worry about me.”
“Of course,” Heinrich said, “Of course you’d say that, Hermann.”
Hermann got up. “Oh, your coffee must be getting cold.”
“Not really,” Heinrich said.
Hermann took Heinrich’s cup anyways.
“I insist,” Hermann said, “While you wait, why don’t you take a look around the library? There may be hidden classics you like.”
He walked away. While he brewed another cup of coffee, Heinrich went to the library and checked the shelf Hermann mentioned. Stashed in the back, between Wilhelm Shakespeare’s
Gospel of the Hohenzollerns and
The Origins of Modernity, was what he was looking for:
A Chronicle of House Hohenzollern - Complete Edition, written by Johannes Aventinus. He flipped to the Anatolian branch section and checked the page that was incomplete in the copy Wilhelm Karl had. Unlike that one, this one actually was complete. There were names here. Viceroy Maria’s husband was a Bernhard, born 1136. He was the father of Maria’s son and successor Jacob (with a “c,” unlike Bernhard’s father Jakob). Heinrich was surprised to see Jakob’s lineage was also tracked.
He didn’t have to go far before he found conclusive results. Bernhard’s brother was Viceroy Folkhard of Aegyptus. And even if Folkhard’s lineage was disputed, there was no disputing the fact that Jakob was a son of Prince Wilhelm, the eldest son of Friedrich the Great, and brother of Friedrich the Glorious. The Anatolian line, and thus the Siegfriedist line, was legitimate, starting from Maria’s son, assuming a DNA test checked out. Fortunately, Maria and her family were buried in Ancyra, which wasn’t as heavily watched as the imperial crypt in Potsdam. He would go to the Ancyra tomb, get DNA samples, and get conclusive proof. Then all that would be left was to prove the Maximist line legitimate as well. Which would be more difficult, since all of the possible sources of DNA were from Hohenzollerns buried in the Potsdam crypt. But he knew what he had to do. He and the Kaiser couldn’t break free with only proof of the Siegfriedists’ legitimacy. He needed the Maximists to be proven legitimate too. Only then would the Hohenzollerns avert the impending crisis.
This was the only way out of this mess.