To Steal a Secret

09.19---17th-November-1014
The dark copper deer who had been carrying the enigma machine was lucky enough to escape the city before lockdown. As he finally arrived at an abandoned mill outside Manty Creek, he began to search for signs of his brothers in arm.

The weather had covered the landscape in a layer of snow. The road from where he had came from was practically frozen, a still manageable hurdle for his pickup should he need a swift escape.

He eyes a nearby cabin from the safety of his car. The dusty dark windows refuses to let him see the inner content of the hut. Then the door opens, showing a lime green doe, a friend of his from times gone by.

Relieved, he exits the vehicle to meet her. They greeted each other for a short time before unloading the pack of potatoes. Together, they moved it to where her own pickup had been parked, behind the wooden lodge.

Vera has the papers to transport food up to Vaverfront, while he does not. It was this exchange where Vera would continue the mission.

They depart not long after, going different way. Little do they realize, they will never see the other again.

The veteran's son was stopped outside the city of Hovenhamn by a road block. They have been ordered to arrest anyone driving, with or without permit. He was the seventh unlucky soul to be caught outside the lockdown. Luckily for him, they did not suspect him of illicit activity, as he had with him official permit from the government.

Vera, however, was not so lucky. Her arrest too, was seen as inconspicuous. Her pickup was parked outside the changeling camp, while she was detained in a nearby cabin serving as an impromptu prison.

Generalleutnant Erich convoy slows down for the checkpoint, when he noticed the pickup carrying food. He told his driver to stop aside, wishing to see the peculiar cargo.

Erich knows that with the onset of winter, food will dwindle scarce. His operation has upset the people enough with a whole lockdown and building-to-building clearing. The last thing he wants to do is stir up a riot caused by a famine. Yet, there shouldn't be any food delivery at this time of the year, at least not by a farmer, and from the type of the vehicle used, he could deduce this is no food corporation making a winter haul.

Guided by a corporal, he requests the driver to be brought to him. The enlisted soldier sends off three of his men, returning not long after with a young doe.

He asks her of her destination, Vaverfront, she replies. He asks if she knew she was breaking curfew, she replies she wasn't aware of the new schedule. He asks where she was, she answered Manty Creek. He asks her of her home, Kuuvaloranta, she replied. At that, something ticks on the general.

"Interessant. It is an unusually long distance to travel, just for a sack of potato, tell me dear, does the job pay off?" He asks. "Joo, people need food all year, ja?" He tried to smile the general off, seemingly failing to do so.

Squinting, the general orders to the guards to empty the bag and search the vehicle.
"Ei! Please! I need them to feed my family! Rukoilen sinua! I beg you!" her cries for help fell upon deaf ears.
"The food will be fine gnädige Frau, it's just a little snow," as he said, the soldiers tossed the white sacks on to the snowy ground. One by one, the bag emptied themselves, meanwhile, two soldiers searched the driver's compartment and the engine.

Then, one of the soldiers shouted, "ich habe etwas gefunden! Sieht aus wie eine Kiste?" he said. Vera knows not what he said, but the general does. He found something, a box. He walks over to the pickup truck, as the soldier revealed a wooden box covered in torn down fabric.

Vera looked out in horror, as the general smiled.