Dr. Heinrich Weber's hands shook as he arranged the production reports across his desk for the seventh time. Something in the patterns kept nagging at his efficiency-trained mind, like a song heard in nightmares. Each page documented another of his "brilliant innovations" - his countless failures transformed into apparent successes.

"This methodology improvement," he muttered, touching a report from three months ago. "When I knocked over those acid containers trying to... trying to..." His voice cracked. "I didn't design this. I was trying to die."

The memory surfaced with knife-sharp clarity: himself, stumbling through the processing center's chemical storage, hoping to finally embrace oblivion. Containers crashed down, their contents mixing on the floor. He'd waited for death, but instead...

Instead, Tanya had appeared, that terrible efficient smile on her face. "Magnificent work, Doctor. Your willingness to personally test new chemical combinations has revolutionized our handling protocols."

He'd tried to explain he was attempting suicide. She'd credited him with improving facility safety by 47%.

Now, staring at months of similar reports, a different truth emerged. Every "accidental" discovery meticulously documented. Every failure transformed into supposed success. But the efficiency gains hadn't come from his clumsy attempts at death - they'd come from her, using his pathetic suicide attempts as cover for implementing something far more terrible.

"Sir!" An aide burst into his office. "Field Marshal von Kleist requires your immediate presence in the war room. The Allied command intercepts... there's something you need to see."

Weber gathered his reports with trembling hands. The war room hummed with controlled chaos as commanders analyzed the aftermath of the CK gas attack. Von Kleist stood at the center, his face carved from stone as he studied fresh intelligence.

"Doctor." The Field Marshal's voice cut through background noise. "Explain these discrepancies."

Weber spread his evidence across the tactical table, hands moving with desperate precision born of mounting horror. "These optimization protocols... they're not mine. I never designed them. I was trying to die, and she... she was using my attempts as cover. Building something else behind them."

"The Allied command intercepts," von Kleist pushed a transcript forward. "They're still in chaos. Fighting about authorization, arguing over who approved the CK gas deployment. But there's something else. Their chemical weapons experts are saying the gas behaved... unexpectedly."

"Because she modified our defensive preparations." The new voice came from Rothstein, entering with fresh intelligence. "Not because she foresaw this specific attack, but because she's been preparing for any possibility. Using Weber's... episodes... as cover."

Weber's hands trembled as he arranged more reports. Factory modifications credited to his "innovative testing." Processing changes attributed to his "hands-on approach." Each one carefully documented, perfectly justified. And behind them all, Tanya's true work.

"Here," he pointed with shaking finger. "Three months ago. I tried to poison myself with methyl isocyanate. Instead of dying, I... I supposedly discovered a new storage method. But look at the molecular diagrams. The new containers weren't designed for standard chemicals. They were built to handle something else. Something that could be rapidly converted to..."

His voice failed as the implications hit. Every "improvement" he'd accidentally created had dual purpose. Every system capable of normal production or...

"She's still in that farmhouse cellar," General Jürgen insisted. "Coordinating our response to their attack. These patterns you're seeing..."

"She's in the cellar because that's where she planned to be!" Weber's laugh held hysteria's edge. "Everything's prepared. Has been for months. Every time I tried to end it all, she used the chaos to implement another piece. She thinks I'm an idiot, a useful fool whose repeated failures could hide systematic preparation!"

Von Kleist's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

Weber's hands danced through more reports, showing the pattern. "Here - I knocked over a storage tank, hoping the fumes would kill me. She documented it as 'innovative stress testing.' Used it to justify rebuilding the entire storage system. Not just for efficiency, but for instant conversion to weapon production."

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"But the CK gas," Jürgen protested. "She couldn't have known..."

"She didn't need to know!" Weber's voice cracked. "Don't you see? She wasn't preparing for this specific attack. She was preparing for anything. Everything. Using my pathetic attempts at death to hide modifications that served dual purpose!"

"Sir!" Another aide rushed in, face pale. "Production figures from all sectors... they're shifting. Every facility we credited to Doctor Weber's improvements is showing new patterns. The molecular structures they're capable of producing..."

"Are exactly what she designed them to be." Weber's hands shook as he analyzed the data. "Not just chemical weapons or tactical responses. Something new. Something that uses the entire industrial base as a weapon itself."

The room temperature seemed to drop as implications sank in. Every optimization they'd credited to Weber's clumsy brilliance had been Tanya, methodically building capability that served two purposes. Normal production in peacetime. Something far worse if needed.

"Look at these storage protocols," Weber continued, horror lending strength to his voice. "The ones I supposedly designed during my 'innovative testing.' They're not just for chemical containment. They're for rapid conversion. Every tank, every container, every process - all capable of switching from normal manufacturing to... to..."

"Sir." A signals officer appeared, clutching a decoded message. "Transmission from the farmhouse cellar. Colonel Tanya requests..." he swallowed hard. "Requests activation of 'The Weber Protocol' across all industrial sectors."

The room fell silent as the name hit like a physical blow. Weber felt his legs give way, collapsing into a chair as understanding dawned.

"She named it after me," he whispered. "Her contingency for total industrial warfare... she named it after the fool whose failures helped hide its creation."

"Explain," von Kleist commanded, but there was dread in his voice now.

Weber's hands moved through the evidence, showing the full pattern at last. "Every time I tried to die, she used it. Every failure, every accident, every pathetic attempt at suicide - all documented, all explained, all hiding something else. She built an entire parallel infrastructure behind the cover of my incompetence!"

The evidence mounted as more reports arrived. Not just hidden production capabilities or concealed resources. An entire secondary industrial system, built piece by piece behind the cover of Weber's apparent "inspirations."

"The scale," von Kleist whispered as the true scope became clear. "This isn't just retaliation. This is..."

"Industrial horror." Weber finished. "She didn't just build hidden weapons. She transformed our entire production capacity into a weapon. Used my supposed improvements to create systems that can switch from normal manufacturing to... to..."

His voice failed again as the calculations marched across pages in neat columns. Every factory. Every processing center. Every transportation hub. All capable of instant conversion from peaceful production to something that made conventional chemical weapons look merciful.

"She used me," Weber's voice broke completely. "Every time I tried to die, she used it to hide another piece. Built all of this behind my... my..."

"Your perfectly documented failures," von Kleist finished. His voice held strange respect tinged with horror. "Every suicide attempt providing cover for systematic preparation."

"Sir!" Another aide burst in. "Colonel Tanya's latest transmission... she's requesting full implementation of Weber Protocol Stage One across all industrial sectors!"

Weber's hands trembled as he translated the codes. Not just military mobilization or chemical weapons deployment. Something that would transform the entire industrial base into an instrument of mass horror.

"She made me a joke," he whispered. "Every failure, every pathetic attempt at death - she used them all. Probably laughed at how perfectly my incompetence hid her true work."

The room fell silent as the full implications sank in. The Allies had deployed CK gas thinking it would break German defensive capability. Instead, they'd given Tanya justification to activate systems she'd built through months of methodical preparation.

"The Weber Protocol," von Kleist tested the words. "Named for the man whose repeated failures to die helped birth something far worse than mere death."

"Sir!" A final aide rushed in. "Colonel Tanya's latest orders... she's directing implementation through existing optimization systems. Using Doctor Weber's documented protocols to..."

"To activate what she built behind them," Weber finished. His laugh held no sanity. "Using my own failure to implement her true design."

The calculations continued in neat columns while Weber felt his soul die. Not just weapons or tactics. Something that would teach their enemies the true meaning of industrial warfare.

In the farmhouse cellar, Tanya began activating systems that would transform every factory, every process, every industrial capability into something far worse than mere chemical weapons. Using protocols named for the fool whose repeated failures had helped hide their creation.

The horror grew with every revelation.

The patterns emerged from chaos.

And Weber watched his pathetic attempts at death birth something far worse than mere vengeance.

Something that would teach them all what true industrial horror meant when every optimization became a weapon of systematic slaughter.

All of it hidden behind the documented failures of a man too incompetent even to properly die.

All of it now bearing his name as its final activation code.

The Weber Protocol continued its implementation while its namesake stared at evidence of his own unwitting contribution to mechanized horror.

In the farmhouse cellar, Tanya allowed herself a small smile as she activated the systems she'd built through months of careful preparation. Everything proceeding according to documented protocols. Everything hidden behind the endless failures of a man too useful in his incompetence to be allowed to successfully die.

The calculations continued.

The horror grew.

And Weber's name became synonymous with industrial-scale terror, all because he couldn't even commit suicide without serving efficiency's darker purpose.