[Quenelle]: 633.Corbin Novelette

Corbin Branston

Historical Novelette


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Jacob ran his tongue nervously over his dry lips. He had been waiting crouched in the ditch for the past few hours waiting for his contact that was now an hour late. This rendezvous was prepared months in advance, and had jeopardized more lives than Jacob cared to consider. His temper had become as foul as the water that had seeped into his boots and sat in a large stagnant pool at his feet. Groaning softly at his general discomfort, Jacob shifted positions, freezing in mid motion as he became aware of a presence behind him.
“For the Fatherland” came a cold, flat, and oddly accented tone. It made Jacobs stomach lurch and praying that his voice didn't fail him; he gave his prescribed reply,
“May the world be Saved by its Greatness”
Before Jacob could turn to see his contact, he felt a hand fall on his shoulder and found himself flat down with his face hovering above the muddied water of the ditch.
“Listen carefully, you need to do exactly as I say, or we'll both be caught. No questions, just do as I say, understood?”
Jacob nodded and felt the pressure holding him down ease, and saw his contact crouched below the lip of the ditch, peering out at the night around them. 
“Look I-” Jacob began
“Quiet!!” the man rasped. Jacob couldn't see his face properly, but he knew he'd made a mistake in interrupting this man's investigation of the area.
“You need to trust me....” He paused, looking expectantly at Jacob
“Jacob”
“Right. Next time Jacob, don't give you're real name.”
Jacob blinked, wondering how this man knew him. Before he could ponder it further the man grabbed Jacob's sleeve and motioned for him to stay quite and follow him. Jacob was forced to run crouched over as the man in front of him scurried around reeds, cautiously peering over the ditch lip for something Jacob wasn't sure existed.
“Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, we aren't far enough yet!” the man whispered
Jacob glared at him. This man was definitely not the contact that had been arranged. Just what was he thinking? What had he done with his contact?
Jacob stopped and turned to the man, standing straight and said “Now see here you-”
Before Jacob could say another word he had a dirty hand clamped over his mouth and was bodily dragged up out of the ditch, and found him being half dragged and half carried as his assailant zig-zaged across the open ground beyond the ditch. He mind was frantically racing for some way to break the man's hold on him, only to find himself diving, yet again face first into the ground, watching the ditch they were just in explode into a cascades of mud and gravel.
“What was that!?” Jacob hollered
“Looks like the found it, give it a second” the man jerked his chin to the northeast, and as if on cue, a huge gray and orange explosion shot up into the sky with a deafening boom.
“I'd say they found it” the man said with a smile “Corbin Branston”
Jacob blinked confused and a little dazed. “Do you always tell people your real name?”
“No” Corbin replied in his flat tone and odd accent
“Then why did you tell me?”
Corbin's expression became thoughtful for a moment, almost like he was following some distant memory. “Same reason you did. You've got nothing to hide”  

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