The Serbian King’s face twitched ever so slightly, so little in fact that one might not have seen it if they were not closely examining his face. But Bruno saw it and continued to smirk as he drank his tea. For obvious reasons, the man would not accept this demand.
Though on the surface it seemed like a minor concession, as for all intents and purposes, Austro-Hungary currently already had administrative control over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The reality of the situation was, with the Black Hand’s ambitions towards the Balkans which were against the interests of both the Habsburgs and the Romanovs, they would never allow this to take place without some form of conflict taking place.
This was actually one of the reasons why Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Bruno’s past life, as the Habsburgs proceeded with annexation of Bosnia in 08, leading to the plot against their presumed heir by the Black Hand.
Hence why Bruno was aware that the Serbians would never accept this compromise, even if Franz Ferdinand was rather joyful at the prospect. Frankly speaking, the existence of the Black Hand, and their involvement in the May Coup, wasn’t exactly known to outsiders at the time.
Hell, they would not fully come into their full form until 1911, even if its earliest members were indeed responsible for murdering the Serbian Royal Couple in 1903. As a result, the Serbian King eyed Bruno with suspicion.
Had he learned about his family’s ties to the Black Hand, and the substantial role they played in the Serbian Government? Or was he simply espousing one of the goals which the Habsburgs had made clear decades ago with the ignorance of this shadowy organization?
Either way, the answer was the same, as the Serbian King immediately stood up and concluded the negotiations without any resolution of the issues at hand.
“These negotiations are over. Frankly speaking, you are asking far too much of Serbia in exchange for far too little gain. I have no choice but to think you are simply wasting my time for the sole sake of provoking me. But what else would I expect from a man born into a family who only gained its noble status a few decades ago?”
Bruno was not exactly the one who was quick to provocation. But he couldn’t help but chuckle at the man’s comments. The House of Karađorđević alone was founded in 1804, which was only a decade prior to foundation of Bruno’s. His own family having earned their noble status during the Napoleonic Wars.
To act like he was some ancient noble on par with the Habsburgs was truly laughable, but either way, Bruno didn’t mention it. Nevertheless, his laughter served as an insult, causing the Serbian King to frown as he walked out the door.
However, before he could fully do so, Bruno made one last statement to confirm that he did indeed know about the Black Hand and their crimes, which revealed could cause the ruin of Serbia altogether.
“When you get back to Belgrade, say hello to Captain Apis for me, will you? Why I haven’t seen the man since, oh I’d say May of 03? Yes, that sounds correct, doesn’t it, your highness?”
The King of Serbia swiftly turned around and stared at Bruno in the eyes with a murderous gaze. All the while, Bruno himself was smiling smugly. Franz Joseph might not know what exactly Bruno was referring to, but King Peter I most certainly did.
All he said was the word “You…” before storming off entirely. Causing Bruno to simply chuckle and shake his head. Franz Joseph looked with confusion at just what had just happened before voicing his concern entirely.
“What just happened?”
Bruno sighed heavily and shook his head as he immediately began to turn his plans into full motion.
“Your Majesty, I am afraid that I will not be accompanying you back to Vienna. I will send a telegram to my wife alerting her to return to the German Reich. After what just happened, I fear I will only further complicate things between you and the Serbians going forward.”
After saying this, Bruno did not wait for an answer. Instead, he walked off, making the preparations that were necessary to lure the Black Hand to him.
—
By the time King Peter I returned to Serbia, Bruno’s attempts to manipulate geo-politics in his favor were well underway. Bruno had immediately recalled his family from Vienna, seeing as he did not trust the House of Habsburg to protect them.
Meanwhile, he had begun to prepare what was necessary to defend against the Black Hand’s inevitable attempt on his life. Closely using his contacts in both the German Stasi and the Russian Okhrana to monitor the suspects involved with the shadowy syndicate.
Ultimately, as expected, the King of Serbia was indeed closely tied to these criminals. And alerted them to the fact that that Bruno knew about them, and their involvement in the assassination of the previous Serbian King.
Were this to be revealed to the world, the Serbian King would not be able to protect them, hell he might not even be able to protect his own head, or the rule of his dynasty as fault could theoretically be linked to them.
Because of this, Captain Dragutin “Apis” Dimitrijević and his fellow conspirators had gathered in Belgrade to speak about the issue of silencing Bruno once and for all. After all, if word got out about what they had done, and all that they planned to do, none of them would be safe from the wrath of the Great Powers of Europe. Hence the severity in the man’s tone as he whispered among his fellow assassins about their wicked plot.
“Our intelligence confirms that the target has been invited out to Russia by the Tsar, and with the approval of the Kaiser, to aid in Russia’s attempts to modernize and re-organize their armed forces. Considering that this fucking bastard somehow has learned about us, and presumably our plans.
It would be prudent to assume that his goals are to unite the League of the Three Emperors once more. Such a thing can never come to pass. We have to strike, swiftly and silently. He can never be allowed to enter Saint Petersburg….”
The other conspirators of the Black Hand were quick to nod their heads in agreement. Ultimately resulting in one of them speaking up about the details in further detail.
“Here, the train will pass through Konigsberg, and shortly after it passes through Russia’s westernmost territory, we will force it to come to a halt. Where we will board the train and execute the man as he sits in his cabin. Nobody needs to know who was responsible, as far as they will know it was a robbery gone wrong… We are all in agreement, yes? Bruno von Zehntner must die!”
The men quickly looked at one another and nodded their heads in approval of the assassination plot. None of them would personally take part in it, rather they would gather together some lower-ranking members of their organization to “prove their worth” by conducting the attack.
—
Nearly three months had passed since Bruno had visited the Hofburg for the second time in his life, and had deliberately provoked the Black Hand into attacking him. Considering the immense power and influence he currently had, it was only a matter of whispering in the right ear to ensure that the conspirators targeting him were tracked by the secret police of two of the world’s greatest empires.
These men couldn’t make a move without Bruno being aware of it. And because of this, he sat confidently within a luxurious train car that he had privately purchased for his journey. Sitting next to him on the seat of his booth was, oddly enough, a violin case.
Curious about the time, Bruno looked at his watch, eyeing it carefully with a rather sadistic smile. With each tick of the watch, it slowly but surely began to count down to the proper time. And then, finally, when the hand struck midnight, he felt a major jolt, as the train began too rather abruptly slow down.
Knowing what was about to happen, Bruno simply smirked as he finished the rest of his coffee. Once the train came to a full stop, and the screams of the passengers could be overheard from the other cars. Bruno stood up and began to open his violin case, and in doing so, made a comment on the current state of affairs that he had found himself in.
“It’s show time!”
Having said this, Bruno pulled out an MP-34 Submachine Gun, or as in this life it was known as the MP-05 submachine gun. Where he inserted a full 32 round magazine with the most vicious, and sadistic smirk on his face.
All the while he racked the charging handle, ensuring that a round was seated, and aimed the sights down at the door to his cabin. Waiting for the exact moment the idiotic assassins sent to kill him fell into the trap he had been organizing long before he ever provoked the Serbian King.
