<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #80BFBF">Your Current Location<br/></span><br/><a class="postlink" href="http://i57.tinypic.com/2rw9s8g.png">[ img ]</a><br/>Mittenwald, Bavaria<br/>-----------------</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">official time skip</span></div><br/><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic">After the Fall of France, the German army marched down the Champs-Élysées in Triumph on 14 June 1940. Another grandiose parade with an after party all weekend was scheduled on the evening of the 5th of July in Mittenwald - in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria. The Fuhrer was to be present as well.<br/><br/>Mittenwald is a charming small, old and quiet Bavarian town with unusual painted buildings in the northern foothills of the Alps, on the route to Innsbruck, Austria. It has been a popular stop since the 1930s. For challenging walks, many area ski runs become hiking trails in summer. The pink colored Roman Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul is by far the most significant landmark in the village.<br/><br/>This town with a stunning view of the high mountains surrounding it, was also the ground zero for the events which took some of the personages on their first journey to tracking down Darcy and The One. Each one of you received an invitation, directly or indirectly, to attend this grand parade and other civilian colorful open-air festivals  in the town few miles away from the Hotel area, and cruises along the Königssee lake.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">It is the 5th of July. It is early morning, 8:00.</span> You have either being staying the previous night at the Schiffmeister Hotel along with other military personnel, or you have just arrived as a civilian, or a guest. Some of you have already encountered other potential characters who joined forces together to defeat Darcy, but some of you have not yet. It is your time. The weekend is by far going to be the best and warmest since Summer season knocked at the doors, with an average low of 54° F,  and an average high 76° F. The days are longer during the season, but make sure you bring your umbrellas. It might rain on the nights of the 5th and 6th.<br/><br/>The forecast also foresees that something much bigger than the parade, much exciting than the after-parties, something dark and demanding will take place during your stay. The enigma shrouded in mystery may finally reveal itself to you all.<br/><br/>Are you ready?</span></div><br/><br/><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________________________________<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">___________________________Opening Post___________________________</span><br/>_______________________________________________________________</div><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFFBF"><span style="font-weight: bold">Three Weeks Ago,</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">POV</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Auschwitz, Poland</span></span><br/><br/>The year had marked a large escalation and expansion in the concentration camp system. The forced labour of the prisoners were used for economic profit. The Auschwitz concentration camp complex was the largest of its kind established by the Nazi regime. It included three main camps, all of which deployed incarcerated prisoners at forced labor. One of them also functioned for an extended period as a killing center.<br/><br/>Erlind Kohler had received quite the visitation from one man he had yet to meet, only heard of. A man the demon excelled to attack from the inside. A sense of deja-vu touched the blond one's face as he glanced at his guest.<span style="font-style: italic">“Here's to all volunteers of war, and to your deceased brother!”</span>Erlind raised his gin glass to shoulder level and drank it all in one gulp. The man in his company, refused to associate himself with drinking in the presence of his host.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“Cheers!”</span>The brown-haired one nodded his head and sipped his bottle of water instead as the two men advanced to stand on the roof of a newly constructed office building.<span style="font-style: italic">“Forgive my straightforwardness in this matter, but I must ask, what is Auschwitz's real goal? I must assume that this camp is to be a central role in the German plan to kill the Jews of Europe, am I correct, Obsertleutenant Kohler?”</span><br/><br/>Erlind parted his lips slightly and smiled sardonically, a golden brow arching above his right pale blue eye.<span style="font-style: italic">“Captain, your audacity is appreciated. I must congratulate you in being very honest in sharing your opinions,”</span>he  laughed and continued,<span style="font-style: italic">“and if I am correct, you have been discharged three years ago and now you have suddenly decided to volunteer for the war. Your heart must be in it. Ah, my man, we need more men like you in this war. Under our regime training, I guarantee that we will provide the best training system to Italy.”</span>Erlind gave Luciano a friendly tap on his shoulder, completely disregarding the question which still needed an answer. He advanced to pick up a sniper rifle which was positioned against the edge of the roof.<br/><br/>Luciano stepped behind the Obserstleuntenant, refusing any form of intimidation that he certainly believed was fired his way.<span style="font-style: italic">“Sir, you haven't answered my question.”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“Ah, well. You are correct.”</span>Erlind smirked from behind the sniper, looking through the telescope sight of his weapon.<span style="font-style: italic">“In Auschwitz, we seek labor from these prisoners, but it's also a place where men like us enjoy a more relaxed activity.”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“Such as?”</span>Luciano approached the blonde one from behind and stared past his shoulder, grey eyes surveying the workers below.<br/><br/>Enthusiastically, Erlind glanced over at the other and laughed before returning his focus to the telescope sight.<span style="font-style: italic">“You have to sacrifice and work hard for your dreams. We have given these prisoners an opportunity to reach their dreams by offering them a job, but unfortunately, some of them lack to comprehend this marvelous opportunity we have gifted them with. Instead,”</span>The blonde one paused and aimed his cross-hair at one female worker who happened to be standing in the center of the field doing nothing else but staring around her. He took a shot at her. She dropped dead.<span style="font-style: italic">“-they want to be lazy.”</span><br/><br/>White noise echoed in the Italian's brain, a snarling rage threatening to consume him. He shook his head, unable to believe the cruelty of the Oberstlieutenant.<span style="font-style: italic"> “Sacrifice...”</span>Luciano closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he moved to stand beside Kohler. With determination he said,<span style="font-style: italic">“When people sacrifice their lives, Sir, they do it for peace. These people die for nothing. I have just watched you mercilessly kill an innocent.”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“An innocent?''</span>Erlind glanced at the other questionably.<span style="font-style: italic">“You know, your words can get your killed, Captain.”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“I am not afraid to express an opinion. I cannot judge who you are, the type of human beings that you are. I've only known you on training grounds but I am certain that I am not like you. I serve the motherland, Italy. This is the only reason to why I volunteered my life, just like my brother once did to server your Fuhrer.  A very terrible choice. What you have just done was murder.”</span>Luciano glared into the other's eyes but carried his words with calmness.<br/><br/>Erlind stared at the Captain for a long time, admiring the honesty that could get the man sentenced to death at any moment. He straightened a little and passed the sniper rifle over to the man beside him.<span style="font-style: italic">“Try it for yourself, and tell me if you call that murder. How about ...”</span>Erlind scanned the workers below.<span style="font-style: italic">“That one, over there.”</span><br/><br/>Luciano's eyes grew wider as the rifle was being forced against his chest. He captured it with his hands.<span style="font-style: italic">“You do not understand. What you're doing is not in accordance with the will of the Creator.”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“Oh trust me, I understand, Captain.”</span>Erlind answered, rolling his eyes as he looked away.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“How so?”</span>Luciano asked, his nature demanding an answer.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“What will you do when you find yourself in the position of having to kill an innocent. This war is all new to you and unlike anything you have seen in your previous years serving the first war. What I want you to do now is part of the training. How about that? Come on, take a shot at the lazy bastard down there. Constant fear and immediate threat is what they need to focus on the labor at hand. The Reich cannot permit failure.”</span>Erlind's lips twisted into a cold smile. He tilted his head and patiently waited, leaning over the edge of the roof with both elbows. He studied the man's face, his words, so intense they went straight through his skin. He knew, deep down, that the Captain joined the war for reasons of his own. A noble purpose inspired sacrifice. Something filthy mortals will never give a damn about or understand. Erlind knew that he was not in the right position to discuss the other's true motives and darker matters with the Captain. He needed to test just how far the Captain would go to perfect his theatrical act. They both sought each other out, silently. Patiently.<br/><br/>As if reading his mind, Luciano nodded his head and took aim at the prisoner. He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly.<span style="font-style: italic">“God forgive me.”</span>He whispered silently and closed his eyes momentarily to force the tears of guilt away. He proceeded to blink a few times, zoning out everything but the position of his target, holding his breath so that the cross-hair stops from going up and down. Balanced trigger control, pressure applied. 1. 2. 3. Shoot! He delivered an uncanny, accurate shot through the prisoner's head, making sure he will die instantly without any form of suffering.<br/><br/>Erlind began to applaud and lead the Captain back inside his quarters.<span style="font-style: italic">“I shall see you at the parade”</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #BFFFBF"><span style="font-weight: bold">Present,</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">5th July, 1940<br/>Mittenwald, Schiffmeister Hotel</span></span><br/><br/>The night was as hot as hell, the early morning cooler and gentle. The brown-haired man took a seat near the wide open gates of an oval shaped balcony in nothing else but a pair of black pants. Recently aged thirty, this man unable to sleep surveyed the lake view, a cigar in one graceful hand, the other holding a bottle of whiskey. Keeping up appearances the whole week, upon his arrival to Mittenwald, the man thought the night was worthy of a pristine drink of the most refined tastes, he could not find sleep one bit. Eyes focused, they stared off into the distance, lips pursing around the tip of the cigar once more. Inhaling softly, exhaling slowly. The back of his throat tingled with the woody and dry taste of the liquor. Whiskey was like a beautiful woman. It demanded appreciation, but the moment you have gazed long enough to drink  vigorously from her, it is time to discard her, gently aside, like an empty whiskey bottle. They were all the same. An immense distraction in these times of war. A waste of time and space, nothing else but that. Only one, one, had made a difference in his life six months ago on that January cold night. She excelled at removing one or two bricks from the wall he had built in the past, but nothing he could not rebuild. One, two bricks. It will simply not be the same anymore. His wall will look different, damaged. She was ... different, unique. Special. Like ocean waves, she came and went, fading into the nothingness which the horizon craved. No whiskey was bad. Some were just not as good as others. It was the same with women. But again she ... she was different. How could he forget her olive eyes?<br/><br/>He blinked and forced his attention back to the woman in the background, to the present, to the friendly company resting in his bed after a long night. Long and steamy. Steamy and heated. Wouldn't be surprised if the next door guests complained about loud moans and groans escaping through open balcony doors. Who cares? Mutual support was needed, comfort. Anna. Intimate. No strings attached. Exactly what was needed in these dark times. Tension on his bare shoulders, he found himself remembering the reasons which brought him back to Germany, this place he despised and hated with all his guts.<br/><br/>Following the successful German invasion of France and the lowlands, the Italian Prime Minister Mussolini urged King Victor Emmanuel III to throw in his lot with Hitler. The once neutral country entered the war on the 10th of June. Mussolini aimed to take control of the Mediterranean sea in order to  support the Axis forces in North Africa, but mostly to enlarge the New Roman Empire through the fourth largest navy in the world, La Regia Marina of Italy.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, ship-of-the-line Captain Grazzienneli strongly believed that their addition to the war was operating under a number of limitations. This sudden new addition allowed them insufficient time at sea for crew training, however  German and Italian officers were sent to each other's organization to study and observe them in training in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses. While that was a necessity and the reason to why the Captain was present in Germany, the Ultra intercept system of the British Royal Navy was still at a huge advantage. Even after the man volunteered to join the war – for very, very personal reasons – he argued with his seniors about the lack of communication within the high forces of the well-designed Regia Marina. Many important decisions and actions conveyed to the high commanders in the beginning of the war, were delayed in communication and this proved to be problematic, and that only made the ship-of-the-line Captain shudder in frustration.<br/><br/>The man finished half of his cigar and leaned the side of his head back slowly against his chair. He tilted it to the side and made momentarily eye contact with Anna, rising from her sleep.<span style="font-style: italic">"Slept well?"</span>When he received no response, he got up from his seat and walked around the room before stepping into the balcony, one hand rubbing the center of his flat stomach as he surveyed the landscape and the docks. Sunny day. Sunny and bright. A shower was next. Breakfast later.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">8:00</span></span><br/><br/>The man tucked a relaxed-fitting, classic navy-blue polo shirt into featherweight white pants. For that fresh Ralph Lauren look, he put on a light brown leather belt and stepped into a pair of brown moccasins. He advanced towards the exit door but paused to check one more time if his friend was still sleeping. His eyes momentarily shifted to the letter on his desk, one he held onto for months yet never delivered to Gestapo officer Udo Dreshchler. He could have mailed it, but he remembered the sender's words clearly. Must be handed privately. One on one. Face to face. Leaning over the bed, he slowly pulled down the covers allowing them to slid past the woman's face and shoulders.<span style="font-style: italic">"Rise and shine sleepy head. I'm on my way for breakfast, want to come along?"</span>When the female's eyes fluttered open, Luciano lowered his gaze to her and greeted her with half a smirk forming on his lips and a questioning brow.<br/><br/>But do not be deceived by the appearances. The Captain was unfortunately a changed man now. No scattered smiles could reach the deepest corners of his heart. Colder, deprived of possible affection, warmth ... joy? His game had just begun, in the patterns of shadows. If it wasn't a good fuck he needed, then it was a bloody fight.<br/><br/>The sense of destruction, harm and revenge coiled in his stomach, threatened to choke him to death should he decide to abandon what he came to Germany for.