Operation Red Herring (Countryhumans Alternate History)

Chapter 21

Britain had been f*cked many times in his life, and not in the good way, mind you. It was something that came from being around for centuries... he was bound to screw up a few times. Yet, as he prepared for the tanks that had undoubtedly surrounded the city of London, he decided that this was possibly the most f*cked he had ever been. It was definitely in the top five, at the very least.

He had been informed of their movement towards London a few hours ago. He wished he could have been informed of when they arrived on shore, but none of his officials knew. The Axis had already taken almost half of England (and a third of Scotland), so they must have entered through the areas they occupied. His officials had told him not to come, to stay back in the base where it was safe. But the base was already close to London (not terribly safe at all, really), and he would be damned if he just sat by and let his capital be destroyed. Bombs were one thing- he couldn't control what fell from above. But a land invasion, with actual men on the ground and actually in his reach was something that could be stopped, and he owed it to his people to try what he could to prevent the capture of the city.

So here he was, at dusk, standing in his uniform a bit apart from the other men. He watched the sky over what remained of the city's buildings, noting the orange hue that still lingered at the edges. He hated the color orange. It never went with anything he wore, and reminded him too much of the fires he had both been victim to and the cause of during the many wars he had been a part of. Thankfully, it was almost gone, instead being replaced by the inky blue hues of night, spotted with beautiful stars and the mystic cosmos. It was a clear night tonight, not a cloud in the sky. That was a rare occurrence in England, and most likely wouldn't last. He bet that by the end of the night, smoke would take on the clouds' usual role, once again blocking out the sky.

He had a feeling who would be coming, as it was only a matter of time before they met. And even though it would make much more sense for Third Reich to come himself, or to send no country at all, he knew that the bastard would have her do this. It was merely to spite him, to rub it in his face that she was on their side. So he thought he knew what he was in for. He stood on the very edge of the city, watching and waiting for the tanks to approach, gun in hand even though he knew all too well that it would not do anything against tanks. He squinted, the full darkness of the night making it difficult to see. He finally spotted a singular jeep (that had a sizable dent in the front of it) driving towards him. That was odd... the reports had spoken of a large offensive force... there should've been more. It stopped about nine meters away, and a lone figure exited the vehicle.

America.

She shut the door, turning slightly to face him, and even though he expected to see her, he had no clue what to say. Months after he betrayed her, they finally were face to face, and Britain couldn't seem to find the words. She walked a few meters toward him, bright red and blue standing out against the gray of England. He noted that her hair had gotten longer (it would probably go a bit past her shoulders if it was down), and she looked... different.

He had seen America angry before, of course. He had seen her scream and cry and curse the universe for putting her on this miserable planet. It was a violent and obvious anger, loud and destructive. It took a great deal to get her there, but once she was in that state, whoever caused it was very likely to die, or wish they were never born. And perhaps that had been what Britain had been expecting: for her to run out of the jeep, screaming and ready to snap his neck in two. Explosive in her own right. Instead, she stopped walking, staring at him with perhaps the most unreadable expression he had ever seen her with. America stared at him, eyes slightly wide and hands fidgeting. He noticed the fidgeting. It tipped him off that she was nervous, unsure. Good. Maybe she wasn't completely gone. Maybe he could save the city from her wrath.