The War Room smelled of ink, steel, and cigarette smoke.
Bruno sat at the head of the oval table, sunlight bleeding through the tall windows behind him.
Before him lay the dossier stamped Special Directive: Operation Sandgeist.
Across the table stood his circle: senior officers of the Imperial Army High Command, the heads of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, and the Secretary of Public Order, the man responsible for shaping the Reich's press and public morale.
No one spoke.
The photograph of General Patton's corpse rested in plain view.
Bruno closed the file with deliberate calm.
"The Americans have lost their lion," he said at last. "But they've gained a ghost."
The director of intelligence, Admiral Reimann, cleared his throat.
"Field reports confirm chaos within their ranks. Entire convoys refuse to leave the coastal cities without armor support. They've begun referring to our commandos as the Ghosts of Algiers."
