“Lieutenant Colonel Silvanus Hildebrandt,
He who led the ‘Album Papaver’ Squad.
Finest among men.
In remembrance he shall be held, just like the
White Poppy that symbolized his legion.
***
When Willard heard the details of Hildebrandt’s
unnatural death, he muttered:
“You were exactly the man I always knew you to
be.”
***
I strode briskly down the stairs of our
headquarters and reached the ground floor. Moving swiftly towards the north
wing of the corridor, I rapped sharply on the door of the fourth room from the
right of a grimy painting of the Neuschwanstein Castle. After a moment, the
door was opened by Willard, my subordinate.
“Oh, it’s you, Sir. Do come in.”
I entered the room and slammed the door shut.
Before Willard realized anything, I had pulled out my revolver in a flash; a
Bodeo 1889; and pointed it straight towards Willard’s forehead. His eyes
widened, then he relaxed his stance and sighed, closing his eyes as if a great
weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He seemed ready to embrace his fate.
“Nothing less from you, Silvanus Hildebrandt. My
farce is up, eh?”
“Willard, tell me something, is the Major General
your co-spy?”
The 21-year old looked impassive. I approached
Willard and pressed the muzzle against his forehead.
“I wish you the best in life, Will. You’ve always
been a good and pure-hearted lad.”
I lowered my revolver and let my right-hand fall
limp, stepping away and turning my back towards my ex-subordinate.
***
He who voluntarily permits the enemy spy to escape
into the shadows of a moonless night is labelled a ‘traitor’.
They called me a champion of righteousness, the
kind of man who reaps the lives of any sort of wrong doer, even if it’s one’s
mentor.
Colonel Keith Torbert, who had served as my
lighthouse in the dark, was one such victim of the ‘reaper’ known as Silvanus
Hildebrandt.
***
Colonel Torbert was my inspiration. He was kind and
compassionate with an incredibly strong sense of justice. I could never thank
him enough for everything he had taught me and for deeply influencing me ever since
I had been placed under his tutelage upon my enlistment in the army. Little did
I know that there was trauma and despair behind his eyes; he constantly battled
against deep, dark emotions which gradually decayed his heart.
On that fateful day in 1942, Colonel Torbert shot
three men from our reconnaissance unit who had sustained heavy injuries.
***
“Major General, please allow me to shoot Colonel
Torbert at the court-martial tomorrow. But before that, let me have a word with
my teacher.”
***
“Hildebrandt, I heard about it. Sorry you had to
dirty your hands on my account.”
“It’s alright, Sir. It was my choice. I had failed
to protect the sanity of the one who transformed me into what I am today.”
“Sanity! Do you remember that after the previous
war, I went back to my hometown in the brown countryside? Know why I rejoined?
I couldn’t stand peace. Once you give up on your morality in war, you can never
get it back. An army veteran leaves a part of himself in the battlefield which
gnaws at his heart in the quiet of the night.”
With my act, I had killed a part of myself too.
***
“So, what does the Ritter der Gerechtigkeit have
in store for me?”
The Major General asked me That title annoyed me.
“Both you and I are traitors; when the clock
finishes striking twelve, let’s pull the triggers simultaneously. This will be
our court-martial.”