Baldwin stared at the torn edge of the register, the silence of the room pressing down on him like a secret begging to be uncovered. The only people allowed in the file room were military officials above the rank of captain. The torn page made no sense.
Then it dawned on Baldwin. The archives had been broken into a few weeks after Mission Firebird. All the files and registers had been accounted for, making it seem like a failed information heist. The person who was assigned to check the contents of the archives was Prince Issac.
At the time, Baldwin believed that the prince was assigned to this task, solely as a political move to increase his power. But now, Baldwin had a glimpse of doubt.
Claus had clearly said the word Viremont. Referring to the Viremont Royal family. There was something fishy going on.
Baldwin decided right then, he shall investigate Claus's betrayal. He will find out what the missing page in the register denoted.
Baldwin closed the register and went outside. He then walked towards the Records' room.
Records' room was a place where past files were kept. The records in the room were preserved, it included all the files from Commencement of the Kingdom till last year.
Baldwin reached the Records' room. There was a clerk standing behind the counter. No one was allowed inside the room except the clerk. If someone entered it knowingly, the punishment usually was always led to the Capital punishment; The guillotine.
"Name, badge number and what record do you wish to access?" The clerk asked as Baldwin stood in front of the clerk.
"General Baldwin ID- 34243, I need all the files of missions that took place on 4th day of fifth week--- 213 year of Viremont era."
"Please wait here while I bring the data required." The clerk rose and disappeared into the towering stacks of the Archives. About seven minutes later, the clerk arrived carrying a trolley. There were seventeen files on there.
"Here you go General." Clerk said as he unloaded all the files. Baldwin flipped through the file covers with growing unease. All of them contained the name 'Mission Firebird' and the mission number '42394'.
"Pardon me sir." Baldwin called out to the clerk who was writing the details of Baldwin's visit in the logs. The clerk looked up as Baldwin continued, "These files all pertain to one mission. To my knowledge, another mission did take place that same day."
"My apologies General, But I have checked it twice there are no other missions on that day. Strangely, the mission registered after 42394 is 42396 — 42395 is missing. There is a missing file." He clerk said apologetically.
The General looked at the clerk doubtfully. But he couldn't do anything about it. The General then carried the files back to his office.
As General Baldwin reached his office, he kept the files of his table and started to go through each of them. Every file contained different perspective of every soldier that helped in the mission. As Baldwin read through Claus's report there it was 'The general and I fought the phoenix. The boulders across the field were melted. It felt as if everything was in an open furnace.'
General froze, he was on the right track. The General then sorted all the files. Then picked up all the files and walked towards the Records' room again His eyes ached from hours of reading under the dim light. As he reached the clerk in the record room The clerk hurriedly closed the log's he was reading.
"Oh, it's you, General." A trickle of visible sweat dripped down from his face.
"It is really strange General. There was definitely another mission that day. When I tried to find anything related.; my supervisors stopped me. They then started to ask all kinds of questions of what my inquiries led to. I have made sure to not mention your name anywhere. So, please be careful about asking around about this mission." The clerk warned Baldwin. He was truly shaken by the missing discovery.
Normally, the missions were only highlighted according to the security required. But here, the mission had vanished completely.
A few hours later, Baldwin went home. He was tired today; not from the work he did at his job, but from the mental stress caused by his discoveries today.
Baldwin longed for sleep, but rest would have to wait — not when the trail had just begun. He walked toward the board and started to note down all the incidents related to Claus. He noted down name of every person who was linked to the missing file. The clerk, the prince, even Claus as did not know who was involved with that mission.
Then, he took out the drapes from his closet and covered the board.
That night Baldwin slept peacefully in a long time. This was the first time the nightmare did not haunt him.
The next morning, Baldwin woke up early after a good nights sleep. He washed his face at the fountain and looked in the mirror. He could see his face with a peaceful complexion. The dark circles below his eyes no more. Baldwin put on his uniform, tied Urumi and opened the door.
'AGAIN!!' Baldwin thought as his gaze landed on an object on his porch. There it was: a letter.
Baldwin grabbed the letter and closed the door. It was sent from the same group denoted by the Logo. He opened the letter. It contained a letter.
Baldwin opened the one-page letter. It read as follows:
'We are glad to see you have decided to show a hint of trust. You did not report the last letter to the military.
The following letter shall lead you further towards the truth.
You shall find an object in the first drawer on the left in your office.
If you decide to investigate further, do not ask anything to anyone in the military.
Maintain the secrecy or you would be condemning those you confided in to death.
Please destroy this letter after reading it.'
Baldwin decided to cut a few words from the letter and burn the rest.
Then, he locked his house and left for his work. When, Baldwin reached his office, the first thing he did was to open the first drawer. It contained a pouch. A paper was attached to the pouch using glue; with message engraved on it. Baldwin took out the ripped page from his pocket and compared the handwriting on it. It was a match. The handwriting matched the letter perfectly.
Then he read the engraving.
' No. 42,
Rooks' Alley,
Ashgrit Ward,
Outer Ring'
Reading the address shocked Baldwin. He had been to that address thousands of times. It was Claus's house. He and his wife had lived for years in that address. Claus had always bragged about it. "I got a mansion for a bean." He joked on multiple occasions.
Baldwin then opened the pouch. It contained a key. The key also had an engraving.
'When a phoenix burns, the only safe place is six feet under.' The engraving read.
Knock knock***
Someone knocked at the door. Baldwin hurriedly tugged the key in the pocket on his uniform.
"Come in," he said.
A soldier entered and said, "Order from the Commander HoldumVancour." The soldier said.
Baldwin jolted up from his chair and gave a salute and said, "speak."
"The Commander asked all the commissioned officers and non-commissioned officer to the execution grounds." The soldier completed the order and left the office.
Baldwin then; dashed out of his office and locked it. Then he walked towards the execution grounds.
The execution grounds carried a sombre weight — a silence steeped in death. Two gated paths led into the courtyard; one for officers, the other winding behind the platforms, where the condemned entered unseen. At the centre stood the guillotine, its blade still streaked with fresh blood. Below it sat a wide wooden bucket, filled with the remains of the last execution — blood still wet, heads bobbing in its depths. Behind the platform, headless bodies dangled upside down from iron hooks, their lifeless limbs swaying gently. The ground beneath them was permanently stained crimson, soaked from years of bloodletting.
There were hundreds of officers that soon filled the room. The lowest rank among them belonged to lieutenant.
Soon a person appeared on the platform.
"Attention!!" A loud voice called out.
Every officer in the place saluted. Then the individual continued, "From the order of His Majesty the king, I, Gerand am to execute fourteen criminals for breach and destruction the military archives."
Soon, fourteen masked men in chains with masks on their heads walked out from the second gate. They were escorted by twenty soldiers.
'Are they being punished for destroying the mission file I was looking for?' Baldwin thought.
The men were brought on the platform. All were bloodied, beaten, their chains rattling like condemned ghosts.
Then the guards started to remove the masks one by one.
Each of them was gagged with cloth so that they cannot speak. A soldier finally reached the mask of the ninth convict and removed it.
Baldwin froze. His breath caught as the weight of recognition slammed into him.
It was the clerk he met with yesterday.