The days following the Klagenfurt raid passed in a strange blur too quick for reaction, too thick for clarity.
Markel tried to maintain order, but authority had begun to slip like sand through glass.
Protests increased and police barricades appeared at university gates, only to be mocked and dismantled by the same students they meant to deter.
Pamphlets, printed in immaculate German, littered the streets calling for "brotherhood," "unity," and "a return home."
But nowhere was "Germany" mentioned explicitly.
The campaign was subtler now.
And far more dangerous.
In his Vienna office, Markel sat across from Interior Minister Guido Schmidt.
The doors were closed, the curtains drawn.
"You saw the cable from Innsbruck?" Schmidt asked.
"I did," Markel replied quietly.
"Half the city joined the cultural parade. There were flags, Anton. Black-red-gold. But in the wrong order."
Markel didn't respond.
