Operation Red Herring (Countryhumans Alternate History)

Chapter 33

Japan was awoken by the sound of a scream. Specifically- a German scream. She groaned, burying her head under her pillow. Third Reich must have returned, and it was way too early to be dealing with his insanity.

Maybe she could just ignore it?

"Japan!"

Damn it.

She got out of bed, stumbling a bit. She sighed, praying that things would quiet down sooner rather than later. She supposed it would be her responsibility to see what was wrong with him. She glanced out the window, noticing how the sun was barely in the sky. She rolled her eyes, quickly putting her hair up and getting dressed. She slammed her hat onto her head with little care. "I swear if this is about something insignificant, I am finally going to kill him."

Japan opened her door, only to be immediately met with Third Reich. Yikes, he was even uglier up close. This angle was not doing any favors for him. She didn't even have a chance to tell him to back up before he started yelling. "Where's Italy?!"

She blinked, unfazed. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! Where is the Italian Bastard?!" He spat out, grabbing the front of her jacket in an attempt at being frightening. She glared at him, plucking his hand off of her with almost no effort.

"Keep your hands off of me." She spat back, "And calm down. He is in his room, as always."

He grit his teeth, seeming to forcefully lower his voice. "He. Is. Gone. There is no one in his room."

She shrugged, "And? He could just be in the kitchen again."

"He isn't! I checked!" Reich hissed, "And I know he wouldn't have dared to do that to my office if he was still around!"

Japan raised a brow, "What? What do you mean?"

He groaned, grabbing her by the arm. "Follow me."

She cringed at the contact, yanking her arm away before conceding and following him.

The two of them walked down the hall, early morning light peaking through the windows. A small thump sounded from around the corner, and Japan froze. The two of them stayed in place for a moment, Japan's hand dangerously close to her gun. In retrospect, it was pointless for them to have stopped, as they were in their own base. But, both were soldiers at heart, and the paranoia that was harbored in both of them was one of the few things they had in common. So, they waited.

One... Two... Three...

After a few seconds of silence, Third Reich sighed. "Damn rats."

They kept moving, going around the corner. She spotted it then, the door to Third Reich's office. It was wide open, and she could already see the mound of papers scattered on the floor inside. She crouched down, picking one up and scanning it. It was just a German novel (a poorly written one, from what she could decipher). However, when she glanced over at Reich, who was kneeling next to her and almost cradling the pages in his arms, she could tell he was genuinely upset. Which was very telling about how important this book had been to him, as Third Reich was never genuine. She almost felt bad for him (a heavy emphasis on the almost).

Japan stood up, glancing around the room. Besides that, everything else seemed to be the same. Aside from some soot trailing from the fireplace, everything was as pristine as ever. Which only confirmed Reich's suspicions that it had been Italy. Italy's desire for catharsis was easily obtained, as he was not an angry person by nature. Smashing a vase or tearing a book to shreds would be enough to satiate him. Others... not so much.

Japan peered out of the window, noticing a distinct lack of vehicle. "He stole the automobile as well?"

"Apparently, yes." Third Reich sighed, placing the phone on his desk back onto the receiver. He paused for a moment, staring at it with his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to contemplate something for a moment, before it clicked, his eyes widening slightly. "The U.S. knows."