Published at 21st of April 2026 6:32 am

Chapter 936: The Narrative Turns

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In the weeks that followed the attacks in Bern, one thing became abundantly clear. They had utterly rocked the nation.

For the first time since 1942, the Swiss Confederation heard the name Reveil de France not just as a memory that refused to die. But as a ragtag force of guerillas that continued to prove the capacity to cause wanton damage and destruction.

Bern found itself isolated, cut off from the rest of the nation. Riverine travel became the defining means of providing aid to the Swiss Capital, with barges flowing in with relief daily.

Meanwhile, efforts to repair the damage dealt to the bridges, trams, railways were underway as soon as the rubble was cleared.

The rest of the nation had to watch the effort unfold, arguing over just who was truly responsible for this blatant act of terror on Swiss home soil.

The newspapers did little to calm the growing unease. Headlines clashed with one another, each attempting to shape the narrative before it could settle in the public consciousness.

Some decried the attacks as proof that Switzerland’s neutrality had become a hollow illusion, while others argued that the Confederation had invited such chaos through its indecision and financial mismanagement.

In Zurich, small demonstrations began to form. Not violent, not yet; but loud enough to be heard. Citizens gathered in front of municipal buildings, demanding answers, demanding accountability.

More importantly, they demanded protection. The memory of German patrols along the railways, orderly, disciplined, ever-present, was now being recalled with a sense of reluctant nostalgia.

In Bern, what remained of the federal government struggled to project control. Emergency sessions were convened, statements were issued, but each word felt weaker than the last. The people were no longer asking whether something should be done.

They were asking who was capable of doing it. And increasingly, the answer was not their own government.

Reveil de France may have conducted the attack, but how the Swiss Federal Police had utterly failed to detect the plot and prevent it became a major issue of controversy.

Several cantons and city officials had decried the failure of the Swiss National Government to pay back the debts it owed the German Reich as the primary deciding factor in how Reveil de France was capable of launching such a catastrophic attack so successfully.

Not long after there were widespread demands for closer security ties to the German Reich, as in years past the Railways were considered the safest part of Switzerland as a result of German forces providing security for them.

As for Reveil de France, the attack did the exact opposite of what they desired. It didn’t create solidarity among the French-speaking minority in the nation. Nor did it paint the Germans in a bad light.

If anything, it forced many of the French-speaking Swiss citizens to flock in support of the proposed security measures that cities like Zurich had proposed.

Pierre sat at the cafe in the streets of Geneva, where he had always met Annemarie. He was always sure that he avoided being tailed in their meetups. But today he had been extra careful to remain undetected by prying eyes and ears.

Though one couldn’t see it due to the sunglasses he wore to conceal his eyes. His pupils were jumping to the left and right over and over again.

It wasn’t until Annemarie finally approached and sat down in front of him, did the man finally gain some semblance of calm.

"I spoke to the son of de Gaulle... Despite my advice, he has agreed to meet with you and the others. He says that now more than ever we need to be united. And if his seclusion is threatening that unity, then it’s a risk he needs to take."

Pierre sighed heavily in relief, "Mon Dieu! You have no idea how much that means to me... to us all! Thank you, Marianne! Thank you so much! I have been up to my eyeballs in dread since... since you know what."

Annemarie nodded, she didn’t say another word, she simply sipped from the coffee that the waitress had brought to her mid conversation.

"I must warn you, if I get even a whiff of unwanted attention zoning in on this meeting, I will absolutely tell the man to abandon us to our fates. So you better make sure that none of the others are followed."

Pierre nodded his head in agreement, more than once.

"Of course I will make sure they know the deal! You’re so beautiful I could kiss you!"

He reached forward to shake Annemarie’s hand, but she withdrew it before he could.

"Nice try, Pierre... But the answer is still no...."

Pierre could only sigh and shake his head in disappointment. "It was worth a shot....."

Annemarie ignored his words and was quick to add a stipulation to her previous conversation.

"Of course, it will take a while to get things in order. Now more than ever we need to lie low. When the heat cools down, I will make sure that the meeting takes place. But Pierre, the Swiss Federal Police are looking for you and the others now. So make sure that you all stay safe...."

Pierre didn’t respond, he simply smirked and stood up. Paying the bill as he made a daring remark before strutting off.

"Please... If those fools were capable of catching me, they would have done so by now. Don’t worry, Marianne... I will make sure that I convey your words to the others. And that they keep a low profile. Until we meet again, my beloved!"

He wandered off, leaving Annemarie to sigh and shake her head. Muttering beneath her breath her true thoughts.

"What an idiot...."

She stayed at the table just long enough to finish her meal, and then she too left it behind.

Annemarie would keep the lowest profile of them all. In fact, she would disappear entirely from Switzerland.

And re-emerge in Berlin, specifically the Office of the Reich Intelligence Service. Under a different name and a different appearance.

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