“No one is to go out after dark!”
“I won’t go out, Mama.” Not until you sleep.
Bicycle wheels squeak squeak squeaking, Jan rattles over the cobblestones.
His back aches from constant jostling, his eyes burn from glaring into the moonless night.
The gun on his shoulder seems to weigh twice as much as it did when he started five miles before.
Still, he goes on. It’s his last chance. “I can’t be late.”
The Troja Bridge. A motor car. The right motor car.
Jan drops the bicycle, steadies his gun.
Reinhard Heydrich’s face comes into focus.
Then disappears.
Thanks to Rochelle and Jellico’s Stationhouse, we once again have the perfect photo prompt for a Wednesday/Friday. The bike reminded me of WW II – why? It’s not what you look at but what you see. I looked up Reinhard Heydrich, and he seemed like the perfect recipient for a sniper’s bullet. This isn’t exactly what happened, but . . .
Up From the Ashes 
Oh I like it. Very much. The disappearing face, as if it had exploded with the gunshot. But of course it didn’t. It just sped past
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Actually, the gun misfired, but Jan’s partner managed to throw a bomb that wounded Heydrich. He died about a week later. Thanks for reading and commenting. I always appreciate your input. Cheers!
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This is a fascinating interpretation of the story, Alicia. I was reading an article about the assassination a few weeks ago. Heydrich died from infections caused by the horse hair from the car seats apparently – a fitting end for the man who engineered the Final Solution. Sadly, the reprisals meted out by the Nazis in retaliation for his death were horrific – Czech villages wiped from the earth because of their vague links to the men involved.
Very well written as always, Alicia
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Thanks for the lovely comment. I also read about the retaliation. So much horror during that war – well, all wars, really. Interesting about the horse hair infection! This fascinated me, too. The Night-and-Fog decree. Why do people make such interesting, almost poetic, names for the nasty things they do?
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The stories from those towns obliterated after Heydrich’s death – just unimaginable. All that for ridding the world of a horrific man. You’re right about the names of things in the UK we had the Wars of the Roses of course and the Pilgrimage of Grace (not a war but an uprising where people died). And there was the War of Jenkin’s Ear, an 18th century war between us and Spain. Very odd, humorous, but still a war
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Loved the story, though difficult to read the small font. Excellent scene of assassination, too.
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Thanks, Jelli. Interesting comment about the font. It’s what I always use – what WordPress offers. Glad you stopped by.
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If only the world knew how to deal with evil befor it gets out of hand.
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From your lips to God’s ears, as my mother used to say. Thanks for reading!
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Dear Lish,
It’s definitely about what you see. 😉 Well done piece of historical fiction. You’ll never hear me complain about that. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You are a very kind Fairy Blog Mother. Thanks. The bicycle shadow just looked “old” to me. Lish
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The vagueness of the last image makes the tale strong and lingering. We don’t know exactly what happens, so our minds can make up all sorts scenarios… each more terrible than the other.
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Thanks for your kind words, Magaly. Knowing he didn’t die that day, made the story a bit hard to write. Sometimes fiction and fact are hard to blend.
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It is so interesting how we can go in so many directions from one photo. I like what you did with this piece.
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Oh, thanks! The bike looked like one the character Samantha Stewart road in “Foyle’s War.” That idea took me to WW II. (We must share a margarita sometime!)
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Absolutely. I’m not sure when I’ll be back in the US but definite before hurricane season. Where are you?
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Bellingham, WA.
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Darkness all around. Great job. I thought he had made the shot. Interesting that you didn’t intend it that way.
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Actually, I had no intention but to leave the end beat up to the reader. I’m so glad you stopped by. Thank you.
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Ohhh, I was holding my breath through all this story.
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I’m glad! (Take three deep breaths now. 🙂 )
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Love it Alicia. I’d never heard of him but you have made him real to me.
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Thank you, Dawn. I hadn’t heard of him either although I do read perhaps more than I should about WW II. Like Michael said, too bad more evil people aren’t “taken care of” before they cause harm.
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A really interesting story, and I enjoyed reading the informative comments too. Horse hair, hey? Never heard of that before. Good one.
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I appreciate your comments, Sandra. I’d never heard of the horse hair thing either. A fitting death for an evil man?
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Loved the effort you put into this Alicia. It’s a great interpretation.
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Thanks! It was fun learning one more tidbit of history for myself.
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I could just see him pedaling in the pitch black and absorbing the bumps of the cobblestones. You put me right there. Well done.
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I hope I didn’t make your back hurt. We get enough of that sort of thing as we “mature.” 🙂
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I’ll be a little sore for a day or two, but should feel better by the weekend.
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Nice piece, you set the scene for a “resistance hit” well.
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Thanks so much. I wish I would have mentioned the cold. Somehow I feel like resistance hits should happen when it’s very, very cold.
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That was a great piece of descriptive narration. I was almost there.
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What a lovely compliment. Thank you.
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enjoyed this great bit of history.
anyway, you can manually change the font by putting <font size=”3″> in the beginning of your story and ending it with </font>. if you want to make it bigger still, you change the number “3” to “4” or “5”.
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Thanks! I’m glad you liked the wee spot of history. Also, thanks for info on font size. It’s never been an issue before, but I’ll see what I can do.
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I love the ambiguity of the ending. My first thought was that his face was blown away. Great job.
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Thanks, Clare.
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I love how you wrap the night around him, for his attempted covert operation. That ending … I like it, as it portrays how confusing things can be after dark, so you can never be sure what you’ve seen.
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Thanks, Sarah. I’m glad the confusion came through!
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A horrible piece of history comes alive through your writing. The determination and bravery of the resistance should be remembered.
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Thanks for your kind words. And, yes, resistance definitely has its place. Have a lovely weekend.
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I always enjoy learning new things. This story was unknown to me. I looked it up.
Thank you for writing about it in FF. You managed to captivate me. Great write ….
Isadora 😎
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Thanks, Isadora! It’s always fun to learn something new, isn’t it? Have a wonderful weekend!
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Great build of tension and use of emphasis – the right car. Hope he identified it.
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Perhaps by Nazi flags….. Thanks for reading and wondering.
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Well told, Alicia. I read it as his face disappeared with the gunshot but I, as I read comments above, it wasn’t that simple. But, at least he was soon dead. I liked your interpretation here.
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Thanks, Amy
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Great stuff and funny how the bike reminded us both of WW2
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I know! It must be in the style of the bike. Interesting, that.
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Great story. Great use of the bike… (i love Foyles war too) beware the dark…
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Thanks, Laurie.
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