The Directorate's offices were never permanent. They changed locations constantly to avoid attention.
Officers were summoned individually and arrived at different intervals. It was rare for the entire force to be gathered in one place.
Most of the time, the "office" was little more than a worn-out building that was indistinguishable from the ones around it. And that was intentional.
The Secret State Police were prime targets of the Revolutionary Army, whose own intelligence branch rivaled their own. That was why the Directorate, or rather, the Directorate, existed as counterintelligence to that organization.
Across Europe, informants operated like shadows within shadows. The balance was more or less a constant game of cat and mouse.
Who uncovered whom first?
Was your neighbor a member of the Secret State Police?
Should you report them to the Revolutionary Army?
Or was your neighbor already part of the Revolution's intelligence, waiting for you to make the first mistake?
No one ever truly knew.
This was the current predicament of modern Germany, where information was more lethal than any weapon.
Historians called it the second age of information warfare, a second Cold War.
Germany had once escaped the chains of fascism long ago. But by the twenty-second century, history had found its way back again due to the race of advancement.
"So, how was it?" Sabine asked, clasping her hands behind her back as they walked toward the car.
"The current Director seems like a capable man," Julius replied.
Truthfully, he found the man pretentious. Back in his previous life, by the time Julius had joined the Directorate, someone else was already in charge.
That meant Gerhardt Bärwald had either been reassigned or killed.
"Really? To me, the current Director's a pompous windbag. Hehe~" Sabine said with a teasing smile.
Julius glanced at her, mildly amused. "Should you really be saying that? I could report you."
"My, my. That again with the 'report this, report that.' Were you a tattletale when you were little, Juli?"
"Perhaps."
Sabine laughed. "You really do fit in here already."
Julius didn't respond and just entered the car.
"Jeez, why so stiff?" Sabine teased as she followed him in. "You're never like this with Gabbie."
"...."
He didn't answer. With Sabine, Julius knew better than to let his guard down. She had a habit of disarming people without even realizing it, tossing out remarks that left others red-faced or speechless.
Though it wasn't out of malice. Sabine was simply too carefree for her own good.
If anything, she reminded him of the mother he never had.
That was exactly why he could never win against her. The moment he entertained her antics, she'd take it as a challenge, and she always won. It was far safer to stay quiet, or she would only grow bolder.
"We're here," Klaus announced from the driver's seat.
Julius turned toward the window. His expression didn't change, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
They were parked in front of the Schneider Residence.
No one besides him, Gabriel, Isolde, and Anneliese knew he was currently staying there. Yet somehow, the Secret State Police did.
He didn't say anything, but the message was loud and clear. The Directorate already had eyes everywhere around him.
Sabine, watching him with that same playful smile, seemed to read his thoughts perfectly. Behind that cheerful expression was a clear, silent warning. 'Don't underestimate the reach of the Secret State Police.'
"Thank you. I'll see you again, sister-in-law," Julius said as he stepped out.
"Yes, yes. Hopefully, next time, Jeremy can come with us," Sabine replied with an exaggerated sigh. "Honestly, a beautiful wife like me, and he's too busy with work. Can you believe that?"
"I think I can."
Her smile broke. "...Do you want me to hit you?"
Julius raised a hand in a caswave as he turned away, offering no reply. The car door shut behind him, and the vehicle drove off.
He stepped through the entrance of the Schneider Residence without looking back.
Thinking about it, Sabine had always been a perfectly healthy woman. So her death during childbirth had never quite made sense.
Now that Julius knew she'd been a member of the Secret State Police all along, the circumstances seemed far less coincidental.
"...."
His mind began to turn. If she had truly been part of the Directorate, then her supposed death during labor might have been nothing more than a cover story.
The Directive of Operational Concealment demanded that any operative's record be erased after death. To make that erasure believable, a civilian explanation was always provided.
"And if that's the case…"
Then Sabine Eleanor Schneider hadn't died giving birth.
She had been killed in action.
Or worse, someone had made sure she never came back.
"Looks like I need to keep an eye out for her, too."
There was no sense of justice behind it. It was simply because, despite everything, he had never hated his brother. He might have regarded Jeremy as an obstacle, but he never hated him.
After changing clothes and injecting the regenerative vaccine prescribed by the doctors, Julius picked up his phone and began scrolling through the latest updates. The nanofluid had already begun working, dissolving the burns across his body and repairing the damaged tissue in his skin.
[Abrupt Election in Munich Following Exposure of Mayor Adler's Corruption — Investigations reveal ties to narcotics trafficking and potential collaboration with underground revolutionary groups.]
"They really work fast."
The efficiency of the Directorate and the government's response was almost too convenient. It was as if they had been waiting for an excuse to replace Adler from the start.
That meant there was already someone suspicious about him within his circles from the start.
"His family…"
It wasn't his concern. The blame rested solely on the head of the household who failed to consider what his downfall would mean for those around him.
And because of that report, Julius Schneider had been officially recognized and accepted into the ranks of the Secret State Police.
All it took was the sacrifice of someone's father.
A family that was destined to die at the hands of the Manticore had instead been spared, only for Julius to destroy them in another way. Yet, he knew that sooner or later, the mayor's corruption would have surfaced on its own, dragging his family down with him.
And the Secret State Police had never been merciful toward those against fascism.
"...."
Perhaps it had to be said, Julius Sebastian Schneider had never been a good person.
Click——
[Miss Marianne, are you alright? Do you need any help?]
But Julius was a man who knew how to return favors.