Re: Blood and Iron - Chapter 827: Fudds
Chapter 827: Fudds
Bruno alone on a beach outside Havana. His greatcoat flapped in the wind as a mild breeze swept over his figure.
His hands were placed firmly behind his back as he gazed across the sea, perhaps attempting to violate the curvature of the Earth and witness the land of his enemy.
Heinrich approached from behind, his boots leaving firm prints in the sand with each step taken.
And then he stood silently, waiting for the Reichsmarschall to stir from his torpor. In the end, Bruno did not shift his person, but his voice was carried softly through the surrounding air.
“What news do you bring?”
Heinrich cleared his throat, looking down at the intelligence report in his hands.
“Weapons and munitions flow from the shores of California to the Florida Keys, the self-declared States, and the sovereign war bands are preparing for the next stage of conflict. Until now, most factions have been consolidating their gains from their declarations of independence. But soon the fire will rise across the entire landmass.”
Bruno simply nodded his head, almost indifferently to the notion that the war that America had plunged itself into had not yet truly begun.
Heinrich began to list off the next bit of intelligence that the report concluded.
“Shipments have arrived at Guantanamo Bay. As the soldiers are becoming acquainted with the new model of Sturmgewehr, opinions seem to be generally favorable. With only the old guard really lamenting the caliber change….”
Bruno scoffed when he heard this, shaking his head before chuckling lightly. A wry and bitter smile clung to the sides of his lips as he continued to face the sea with an otherwise stalwart expression.
“Some things never change… We implement a significant overall improvement to combat effectiveness, and the oldest soldiers bitch about the most minor of details. It was the same when we switched from the Gewehr 98 to the Gewehr 05. And from the Gewehr 05 to the oldest Sturmgewehr models. We used to call them fudds….”
Heinrich raised his brow at Bruno’s last remarks. Fudds… a term he had never heard Bruno ever utter before. And the two of them had known each other since they first stepped foot into the world of adulthood, since they had first entered their military careers together.
There had always been something about the man, something more than he let on. He knew too much about too many topics. Things that even the science of the era got wrong, he knew before their findings were revised.
He could practically see the future, but even then that was not an apt descriptor; it was like the man had lived through it already.
Throughout his entire life, Heinrich had been content to treat Bruno as if he were some kind of prophet, or indiscernible genius. Perhaps even the last of his kind.
But as Bruno continued to grow older, his care in maintaining strict control over his origins continued to lapse.
To the point where he now more often let certain phrases slip that simply were alien to this time and place. And the more frequently this occurred, Heinrich found himself becoming increasingly curious.
Bruno seemed to have noticed what was muddling within Heinrich’s mind. Turning around to face the man, he stared into the man’s eyes.
“We have known each other for close to fifty years… And not once have you ever asked me about how I know what I know. Are you really content to enter the grave, my friend, without ever inquiring about the source of my knowledge?”
Heinrich chuckled before pulling out his flask and taking a drink from it. And then another… it was only after he had taken a full three swigs, did Heinrich finally acquire the courage to speak of such a taboo topic.
“Bruno… I consider you my closest friend. Hell, you are the godfather to my daughter, and her father-in-law. And I learned decades ago that prying into your secrets is something better left undone.”
There was a long pause between the two men before Bruno finally broke out into laughter, nodding his head more than once as he accepted the response.
“Good man… Besides, I promise you, the answer to such a question is far less thrilling than whatever mythical narrative you’re conjuring in that head of yours.”
Bruno then tapped his forehead with two of his fingers.
“I just have an exceptional intellect, and more pattern recognition than is healthy. With such things, any man can accurately predict the future based on trends and data.”
Heinrich scoffed upon hearing his friend’s shameless remarks, handing over the rest of the intelligence dossier while criticizing his lies.
“If I were to believe such falsehoods, I would be in the same position as every enemy you have ever buried. Luckily for you, I don’t care about how you know what you know, only that you use it for the good of the Reich. And you have never given me reason to believe that you are capable of anything but.”
The two men began to walk back to the city together, Bruno clutching the intelligence dossier in his hands. Giving it a brief glance over, before casting his gaze one last time over his shoulder to witness the sunset over the new world and its crystal lagoons.
In that moment, a lifetime of memories crept over him, compelling him to mutter beneath his breath the thoughts that lingered beneath the surface.
“I have given this life in service to the Reich… and yet my duty remains unfulfilled….”
Heinrich pretended not to hear those words, because he knew the promise Bruno had made to his wife.
And he also knew that Bruno was not a man to break his promises. But asking a knight to lay down his sword after a lifetime of service; that was a task so daunting that Heinrich dared not be the one to force the conversation to be had.
Instead, the two of them would arrive at a cantina in the city, now run by the Coalition forces, where they would enjoy a share of the local spoils in the form of rum and some local delicacies.
The war was coming to an end, but the men who waged it were still very much defiant.
