It was first light.
“Hey you,” I said quietly.
“Hey.”
“I believe I owe you something.”
Will scrunched his brow, then his eyes popped wide, and he laughed—a real laugh this time, tired but genuine. “Rain check. You can barely stand, and I don’t want a half-baked payment on what you owe me.”
“Half-baked? I’m so going to make you eat those words.”
“I’d rather eat something else.”
This time, it was the CIA woman—who’d been listening from the kitchen—who hooted so loud I worried Stalin might’ve heard her from the Kremlin.
Somewhere in Bern, printing presses were running.
A story was about to break.
And the fate of Europe—of the world—would shift forever.
34
Will
Will snatched the paper from Bisch’s hands before he could unfold it. There was no need to turn a page. The story consumed the entire front and spilled onto others throughout. He cleared his throat and read aloud.
SOVIET-BACKED CONSPIRACY TO OVERTHROW SWISS GOVERNMENT
By Werner Vogel
BERN — A conspiracy of unprecedented scope, financed by Soviet intelligence and executed by a secretive organization with roots in Switzerland’s aristocratic class, has been working for nearly two years to overthrow the lawful government of the Swiss Confederation.
This newspaper has obtained documentary evidence—including bank records, internal correspondence, and photographs taken during last night’s coordinated infrastructure attacks—thatreveals the full extent of the plot and names those responsible.
Among those implicated are two sitting members of the Federal Council.
An emergency session of the Council scheduled for ten o’clock this morning was intended to be the final act, with conspirators calling for the invocation of extraordinary powers that would have placed Switzerland’s democracy under the direct control of the Kremlin.
THE ORDER OF SAINT LONGINUS
At the center of the conspiracy is an organization calling itself the Order of Saint Longinus.
Founded in the aftermath of the First World War, the Order presents itself as a fraternal society dedicated to the preservation of traditional European values and the defense of Christian civilization against the threat of Bolshevism. Its membership has historically been drawn from aristocratic families, retired military officers, and prominent figures throughout Europe.
This newspaper has learned that the Order’s stated mission is a façade.
According to documents obtained from the Bern offices of Sternberg AG, a private holding company with ties to the Order’s leadership, the organization has, for at least eighteen months, received substantial financial support from accounts linked to multiple Soviet intelligence services and agencies. Thesepayments—totaling in excess of three million Swiss francs—have been used to fund a systematic campaign of bribery, infiltration, and subversion aimed at bringing Switzerland under Soviet influence.
The irony is clear: An organization that claims to oppose communism has become its willing instrument.
“They believe they are saving Europe from godlessness,” one source said. “They do not understand—nor do they care—that Moscow is using them. Stalin lets them believe they are fighting communism while they deliver Switzerland into his hands.”
THE COMPROMISED MINISTERS
Documentary evidence identifies two sitting Federal Councilors as recipients of payments from Order-controlled accounts.
Federal Councilor Rudolf Lüthi allegedly received regular transfers totaling approximately 340,000 Swiss francs over the past eighteen months. Bank records show these payments originating from a Sternberg AG subsidiary account and routed through three intermediary institutions before reaching Councilor Lüthi’s personal holdings.
