Re: Blood and Iron

Bruno ensured that the full number of rounds was loaded into his Mauser C96 "Red 9" semi- automatic sidearm. The weapon itself was fed via a stripper clip through the chamber and directly into the internal ten round magazine.

However, Bruno had a tendency to always keep a loaded weapon on him at all times. This was in addition to a knife, a watch, and a multi-tool of some kind. Because of this, the rounds were already well within the internal magazine of the weapon, and he pulled the charging handle back just enough to confirm a round was chambered.

After doing this, he stepped out from under the cover of the balcony above him, and into the rain. Despite the torrent downpour from the heavens, the streets of Sarajevo were filled with soldiers and civilians alike.

Why was this the case? Because today was a day where the people would witness justice unfold. Bruno smirked as he thought of the lyrics from a song he had rather enjoyed from his previous life.

"Justice ain't no lady, she's a twisted, battered whore..."

And boy oh boy was this the truth if Bruno had ever heard it. The man pulled out his last cigarette as he stuffed the empty container back in his coat pocket. After doing so, he lit the device and took a long drag, thinking about the matter in depth.

In his past life, during the 21st century of western civilization, people had been living a peaceable life, far enough away from the cruelty and violence of humanity that they had forgotten many realities of this world.

They lived in a state of illusion, one of their own making where they believed that people were generally good, and that evil could be reasoned with, and changed. And in this state of naivety and outright stupidity, they convinced themselves that justice served the purpose of rehabilitating a criminal after he had been convicted of violating the law.

This, of course, was incorrect. Justice was never intended to serve the interests of the criminal, rather, its sole purpose was to ensure that society, and the people within it, were compliant with the rule of law. You could not reason with a man who lived a life outside the law. There were few, if any, circumstances where you could convince him to follow the rules that we have all agreed to adhere to in a civilized society.

And without that compliance, you got the law of the jungle, and that was a very dark, scary, and violent place. See, it was ultimately the law, and nothing but the existence of a law that differentiated humans from animals.

Sure, we had opposable thumbs, and supposedly our species was more intelligent than the others that we ruled over on God's green earth. Albeit, Bruno had some severe doubts if that was the case. Even so, the existence of laws, and the fact that we adhere to them, is what made us civilized, and not animals.