Criminal logo

The Ledgers of War

Little Black Book

By Jimmy InkswellPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
Like
The Ledgers of War
Photo by Stijn Swinnen on Unsplash

The Ledgers of War -

“Then it is settled. Everything has been recorded and will be presented to the Fuhrer tomorrow. To a 1000 year Reich!”

A high ranking official then stands as he concludes a meeting with several other notable officials. After dismissing the ranks, two captains remain to go over the delivery route for the sensitive and pertinent information.

“Thank you for the task Herr Captain. We have charted our course through the outskirts but with as much a direct route as possible. We will need 10 men for security detail. In 3 days, the Fuhrer will have our research and the war will be able to proceed as planned.”

“Excellent. It will be done. It must be understood, this is of the utmost importance and discretion. If this fails, we will surely be shot at the square. I will make preparations. Good luck Captains.”

As the men disperse, a solitary guard salutes as they exit, making special note of the little black notebook carried by the messenger Captains. With the room clear and his guard duties over, he follows the Captains' path from a distance. He ultimately breaks his pursuit once he learns of their final destination.

Upon arriving before the Captains, he positions himself in a hidden section of their bunker and waits. What seemed like hours pass, as the Captains finally return for the night to prepare their delivery. After a few repetitions, they stored the little black book in a locked briefcase and set off to prepare to end the night. When they left for the shower, the awaiting guard made his move.

He crept out the shadows quietly acquiring the briefcase and subsequently evading any potential threats. As he was almost clear of the bunker he was stopped by a single MP who was rotating off duty. Deeming Deckland unfamiliar, he asks for his identification. As Deckland lowers the briefcase to remove his ID, he surveys the surroundings noticing no additional witnesses. As soon as he presented the card to the MP, a subsequent blade impaled the side of the MP's head.

Taking a few cards back and dragging the body to a side area, Deckland continues his escape. He hijacks a small transport vehicle and attempts to leave the base before being stopped by gate security. As he once again is questioned for ID, he provides the ID of the deceased MP. He attempts to portray himself as an off duty MP whose been granted leave. Beginning to believe Deckland, the gate begins to rise, until sirens blare halfway up.

With the gate guards distracted by the sirens, Deckland calmly drives around the gate. When he is almost clear, the MP realize he is the cause of the sirens and attempt to stop him. Deckland, now clear of the gate floors the accelerator and speeds away as the guards begin firing at him. With glass shattering and pings of metal bullets bouncing, Deckland bobs and weaves his way through the trail hoping to out run any pursuers.

He takes several different turns to try to lose any followers, until he finally comes to a small village where he hides the transport and heads toward the airfield. As he hurries to the runway, he yells to his pilot to wake up and start the process. He also asks him to set up communications with the home base so he can update his commanders of his success.

“Come in Home on the Range, Red Rover reporting. Over.”

“Copy. Home on the Range receiving. Over. “

“Mission accomplished. Briefcase acquired. Contents are … A small black book. Details and specifics unknown at this time. Enemy incoming. Evacuation imminent. Over”

“Copy Rover. Outstanding. We will send extra forces to the rendezvous point to make the exchange. Range out. Over”

“Deckland, we're ready to leave when you are. Plus I'm hearing some chatter coming our way, we better split!”

As the men board the plane they encounter German soldiers chasing and shooting towards their direction. Panicking, the pilot fumbles as the plane gets riddled with bullets. Deckland becomes irate as he yells to get the plane off the ground! The pilot, under extreme stress manages to get the process together before being shot through the canopy. He manages to get the plane airborne, but noticeably looks affected by the gunshot.

With the pilot bleeding profusely, he struggles to maintain the plane's desired trajectory. Deckland tries to help with controls, but is inexperienced in the proper manipulation. The pilot directs Deckland through the steps, although through very painful breaths. As Deckland picks up the needed control instructions, the pilot begins to speak jovially.

“It's not looking good for me Deck... Fuck! All this for a briefcase? What the hell is in it?! You haven't looked yet? What?! Well what was all of this for? Aw man, how much were we supposed to be getting for this suicide mission anyway? What?! You got $20,000?! Son of a bitch, I should have asked for more huh. Ha ha ha... Hey man... Make... Make sure they give my share to Mary... She was preg...”

As the words drop short, Deckland looks over to see the pilot slumping over. Trying to check his pulse, he receives no vitals. With 100 miles to rendezvous, no ability to land the plane and an ensuing enraged army after him, Deckland tries to radio his HQ but to no avail. He begins to search the plane for a parachute hoping to ride whats left of the fuel to safety. Upon finding one, he realizes the distance he hoped for was shorter in reality.

He sets the final heading and as the plane stalls, he hesitates before finally jumping. He pulls his parachute cords and lands among some trees 20 miles away from the rendezvous. As he is trapped in his parachute among the tree branches, he struggles to get free. After a few minutes the branches give way and he falls the remaining 20 feet, tweaking his leg in the process.

While he lays in pain on the jungle floor, he curses before gathering his bearings and plotting his course. With his 20 mile trek set against dwindling sunlight, a truncated evacuation timeline and an enraged enemy; Deckland grabs his firearm and trudges into the jungle with the confidential briefcase securely in tow.

fiction
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.