Chapter 323: Eliminating Traitors
The Rothschilds had lost two branches of their family in as many months. The attack on their Austrian Branch was a reprehensible crime, but after extensive investigation they were led to believe it was instead an act of random violence as the perpetrator had not left anything behind that could tie him to a greater conspiracy.
In fact, Erich had concealed his involvement in the murder spree so well, that he had even managed to frame someone to take the fall for him. But after the massacre of the Rothschild Branch in Naples things became clear that the Rothschilds were being targeted.
And there was no mercy being granted to them. Not only were the men being shot in the streets, having their throats slit in their sleep, and having the grand misfortune of being run over by trains. But the women and children were not spared the violence either.
By now, the Rothschilds had estimated there was a grand conspiracy looming in the shadows, men who had become aware of their plots to destabilize the world and establish hegemony over it in the aftermath.
And these conspirators were targeting those in charge. But it wasn’t just the Rothschilds who were dropping like flies. Other prominent bankers, businessmen, industrialists, et cetera were having mysterious deaths which were no doubt being caused by this shadowy cabal.
At first the Rothschilds and their conspirators thought that perhaps the men involved in trying to get Britain out of the war were involved with whoever was hunting them down like strays, but with their assassin being killed in the middle of his attempt to eliminate these prominent British officials it became clear that whoever was targeting them was operating at a level of clandestine warfare well above their own.
Had the family known for financing the rise of the Habsburgs come to realize that it was a single man killing them in the dozens, if not hundreds they might genuinely die of an aneurysm from the sheer overwhelming shock and rage of such a fact.
It was perhaps because Erich was operating as a lone wolf that it had become damn near impossible to find out just who was behind these attacks. The man, after all, had extensive military, law enforcement, and espionage training.
An expert marksman to boot, and having a wide experience working with demolitions, Erich’s skills were almost tailor suited to the task he had been given by Bruno. He never even asked why he was being sent to kill so many people, many of which were women and children, nor was he actually being paid under the table to do so.
No, Erich was a chained hound, and where his master pointed, he attacked. That was all their to it… Loyalty? Fortune? No such things motivated his swift hand as it stabbed the enemies of the Reich within the back from behind.