The Memoir

by Vaibhav Reddy IVN

  ‘And, you should be thankful to us for freeing your lives from the rule of such an idiot. And, to honor this revolutionary step, we call the day of his assassination, The Judgment Day.’

  David rose from his seat, pointed his AK-47 in the air and fired it twice. ‘Hail The Invincible Army!’

  THE PEUPER PALACE- ON THE JUDGMENT DAY

  THE LAWN OF the Peuper Palace swarmed to its capacity with journalists, who were eagerly waiting for the appearance of the Prime Minister Donald Jol Miller. The arrangements for the press meeting were already completed and there were twenty minutes more before the Prime Minister appeared before them. No one was ready to miss this particular meeting.

  It was the first press meet the Prime Minister had called for after the blasts in the old Kraminko, which had claimed the lives of nearly a hundred. Even though many believed the so-called Invincible Army as the perpetrators behind the blasts, there was still a doubt about the involvement of the Mercupo Liberation Society, which was increasing its support in major cities of Fremia like Kraminko, Silvinkeria, Nyurado and Keotgia. The Prime Minister offered his condolences to the victims of the blasts during his survey of the blast site and promised to solve the case ASAP.

  Gunther stood behind his camera and adjusted the camera’s settings for the meeting. He focused his camera on the palace, which was a sight no camera operator or a photographer could ignore without giving a few seconds of his footage. The Peuper Palace’s history could be traced back to early 1800s, when it was said to be constructed under the supervision of famous American architect Sir Jonathon Bruner. However, the benefactor of the property was a person open to debate. Initially, people called it “The Riverside Palace” because of its proximity to river Anolusa. After Fremia’s transition into a democracy, it was named The Peuper Palace in the memory of Sir Stanley Peuper, who was the initiator of the education system in Fremia. After the capital shifted from Silvinkeria to Kraminko in 1992, the palace became the official residence of the Prime Minister of Fremia. If not for the Rochen Fort Blasts, Silvinkeria would have persisted as the capital, and Peuper Palace would have still been a tourist spot.

  Prime Minister Donald Jol Miller came out the side door of the palace accompanied by Agent Jacob, his head of security, and Linda Zyb Carter, his personal secretary. He joined the Minister of Defense, Joseph Lyn Martins, Kalyn Ryu Beloit, the Director of Joint Operations Force, and Gen. Markus Byn Levisohn, Chief of Army Staff.

  Donald Jol Miller stood above five-and-a-half, with protruding eyes, square jaw and mutton-chop sideburns. Back in the 90s, he worked in the Explosives Unit of the Explosive Device Detection and Analysis Organization of Fremia (EDDAOF). He rose to fame after contributing a major part in solving the Rochen Fort blasts in 1991. Later, he found his place in the Fremian National Party in 1993 and slowly, but steadily, rose to become one of the most prominent members of the party. Finally in 2014 elections, the party selected him as the Prime Minister candidate, and he became the Prime Minister of Fremia at the age of fifty-five.

  After he took his place alongside the others, Linda announced, ‘The PRIME MINISTER is ready to answer your questions before delivering his speech.’

  So began the stream of questions. The journalists aimed their questions at the measures the government was taking to solve the mystery behind the blasts, and any plans to prevent repetition of such incidents in the future. Donald answered whatever questions he could and passed those he could not to his accomplices.

  When the questions shifted from the issue of the blasts to the rising distress among the people against his government, which despite their irrelevance to current scenario the journalists raised, Donald grew so intolerant that he displayed it in his tone, before ending the meeting abruptly without offering his condolences or speech. He stood up from his chair and announced the end of the meeting, giving an excuse. The reporters scribbled notes to describe his disrespect towards the democracy and his dictator-like behavior in their own words.

  Few minutes following the end of the meeting, the transformer and the generator supplying The Peuper Palace went dead within a gap of a couple of minutes. A heavy explosion followed just outside the compound of the palace, which shifted the attention of the Prime Minister’s security to taking control of the situation.

  Agent Jacob, the head of the Prime Minister’s security, left behind four of his men outside the Prime Minister’s office in the building and headed towards the main gate of the compound ensuring that four others stayed outside the building’s entrances.

  The explosion, which followed the sudden blackout, caught Donald off-guard, and he fell off his chair by the sudden impact. Such occurrences were very rare in the place, and his feeling of insecurity worsened. He sensed that something insidious was bound to happen.

  He heard hushed voices in the corridor, followed by successive gunshots. As the doorknob began to turn, he kneeled down behind his desk and began praying.

  Gunther was still seated in the driver’s seat of his van, when he heard the gunshots. He pulled his mobile out of his pocket, punched in the numbers on his keypad, and awaited the moment to punch the “call” button. When a person crashed out of a first floor window and landed in the bushes below, Gunther grinned and hit the “call” button.

  The person answered on the first ring. He spoke the code words, ‘Have a good day,’ and ended the call.

  He ignited the engine and sped off away from the fuss of the palace.

  David’s second-in-command 2 rushed to David with the mobile still clutched in his hand. David was eagerly waiting for his arrival and his face lit-up as he watched him rush into his room. The smile on his second-in-command 2’s face was a res ipsa loquitour.

  He bowed in front of David and said, ‘Sir, the work is done. Donald Jol Miller is dead.’

  David clasped his hands together and rose from his chair. He ran his fingers through his beard, which meant that he was happy. He began laughing aloud, which echoed around the room.

  ‘Sir, do you want to go on air for the evening news sir?’ his second-in-command 2 asked.

  ‘No,’ David said, his fingers still in his beard. ‘Let them imagine.’

  FREMIAN NATIONAL PARTY OFFICE- ON THE EVENING OF THE JUDGMENT DAY

  Seventy-six year old Godwin Nyl Sanders, the co-founder of the Fremian National Party and ex-Prime Minister of Fremia, looked around the enormous conference hall as important people of his party poured in for that evening’s meeting. He remembered the last time they had a meeting in the same conference hall three years ago, when they had to decide the Prime Minister candidate for the 2014 elections. Not even six months following his election as the Prime Minister, Donald proved how bad they sucked at selecting the right candidate. Godwin wished his people chose the right person this time.

  When he felt that all the important people of the party were present, he stood up and spoke in the microphone, ‘Before we start the meeting, two minutes of silence for Donald Jol Miller.’

  Everyone stood up and, irrespective of their compliance, followed him. When they felt they had offered condolences for the death of the man they despised, they sat down, except for Godwin.

  ‘Now, I would like to come straight to the point. We know that people are looking towards us to elect their new leader. Unfortunately, the assigned vice-Prime Minister, Shawn Bolton, has fallen seriously ill and could not handle the responsibilities. So, I wish that we complete the ritual without any kind of problem driving us off the process.’

  He picked up the papers on his desk, adjusted his spectacles and spoke, ‘The main candidates I put forward as the ones eligible for being the next Prime Minister are Samuel Byn Gregory and Harrison Gyl Murray.’ He turned to Francis, his Personal Secretary, and gestured him to come. He pulled a stack of papers from an envelope and handed one each to every assembled person. ‘Now,’ Godwin said, ‘write the name of the person you vote in that paper and hand it over to Francis.’

  Despite feeling that the use of paper
s was old-fashioned, Godwin settled with that idea. Some of the people stood up and argued with him for not considering the name of Alvin Pty McCoy, who was also a prominent member of the party.

  ‘Listen to me,’ Godwin said. ‘We haven’t got time for these useless affairs. I asked the President to give us time until tomorrow’s evening to announce our next candidate. It is already late and delaying it would damage our credibility. The voting has got to take place now.’

  Yet, it did not resolve the issue. They left the room protesting against Godwin’s decision. When Godwin decided to continue the meeting without them, yet some other people followed the same, demanding him to include even more names in the list. It then led to verbal abuses between the supporters of different candidates and left Godwin with no option but call off the meeting.

  As he sat in his chair, immersed deep in his thoughts, Francis brought him his mobile, announcing a call from the President.

  ‘Good evening Mr. President,’ Godwin said, straightening up. President Victor Kyl Newman was elected the President of Fremia as the opposition’s candidate during the reign of their opposition, which was a reason for the tension between Godwin and Victor.

  ‘Good evening Mr. Godwin,’ President Victor Kyl Newman wished. ‘How did the meeting go?’

  ‘Well, it went pretty bad,’ Godwin mused. ‘Since the people turned against Donald for his senseless decisions the last year, a lot of distress has arisen within the party. There was already a kind of civil war between Samuel and Harrison, and now, even more have begun their endeavors to construct their own supportive groups, and the equilibrium is completely lost in the party. I am unable to make any decision.’

  ‘Why don’t you take the chance, Mr. Godwin?’

  ‘Me? No way, our party’s main principle is to give chance to younger people. I am seventy six.’

  ‘Fifty-five was not young, Mr. Godwin,’ Victor said sarcastically.

  ‘If I become the Prime Minister again, the opposition would start barking in front of the media, trying to teach me my own party’s principles.’

  President Victor stayed silent for a few moments.

  ‘Mr. President, are you there?’

  ‘Yes, I am. Well, good things are bound to happen in Fremia,’ Victor said, before hanging up.

  Godwin ended the call trying to interpret the context of the final sentence.

  It was 4.30 in the morning, when Godwin woke up to the sound of his ringing phone. He cursed whoever it was and picked it up from the bedside table. It was Samuel.

  ‘Samuel, this better be important,’ he growled, adjusting his spectacles.

  ‘Mr. Godwin, the situation is out of hands. The military has taken over.’

  The words left him dumbstruck. ‘What?’

  ‘Yes sir. The military trucks have already assembled in major places of the major cities of Fremia. And, the President is on the TV.’

  ‘What? So early in the damned morning?’ he taunted.

  ‘Yes, you better watch it yourself.’

  Godwin ended the call and switched on the TV. He had no problem finding the right channel. Every channel, irrespective of what they usually broadcasted, telecasted his speech. The speech was taking place in the conference room of the President’s residence.

  ‘The Ruling party has got the majority to run the government. However, they lack an important quality to rule a democracy like our country; unity and people’s confidence. A government without these qualities is no good to rule the country. In my opinion, democracy need not be “By the people” as long as it is “For the people”. Therefore, as a well-wisher of the people and as a person, who respects the concept of democracy, I have decided to hand over the rule of this country to the Regnant Council of Armed Forces. And, this government under the rule of military is called Egalitarian Summit of Armed Forces under Gen. Mark Byn Levisohn, as the chairman, which consists of officials from Regnant Council of Armed Forces holding major ranks of the government.’

  The speech ended and it was re-telecasted. Godwin switched off the TV and smashed the remote against the wall.

  ‘That bastard!’ he yelled.

  Slowly realization dawned upon him.

  Good things are bound to happen in Fremia.

  THE MAN WHO LOST IT ALL

  THE MILLER RESIDENCE- FIVE DAYS POST THE JUDGMENT DAY

  THE SMALL POINT of light ahead of him provided him the motivation to keep running, despite his aching legs. He yearned to stop for a while, catch his breath, oxygenate his tired muscles and slow down his racing heart. But he was afraid that he might lose the light, and he did not want the adrenaline rush to recede. He kept going as the walls of the cave closed in on him as he proceeded forward, and the point of light began to grow as he approached it. For a second, he thought it was his hypoglycemic brain playing games with him. But he was too afraid to stop.

  Finally, he approached the cave’s end and the sudden surge of light forced him to close his eyes. But, before he could open his eyes again, something hard hit the back of his head and everything went black.

  Jeremy rolled off his bed onto the floor and hurt his already dislocated left shoulder. He pressed the ground with his right hand and forced himself off the floor, and collapsed facedown onto the bed. The exacerbated pain in his arm forced tears from his eyes. He reached for the aspirin bottle on the bedside table with his right hand, took three of them in a shot, and chased them with water.

  The glimpses of his nightmare replayed in his mind and he wished for his memories not to resurface as nightmares.

  THAT MORNING

  Jeremy was getting dressed, helped by his assistant Kieran, when his maid entered his room to announce the arrival of some officers from the Crime Investigative Branch of the Joint Operations Force. He was not anticipating it, and did not appreciate it much. Yet, he had to. As he exited his bedroom, his mobile began ringing. He adjusted his sling and removed his phone from his pocket. It was a call from the office of Kalyn Ryu Beloit, the Head of Joint Operations Force.

  ‘Hey Jeremy, it is Kalyn. How’s your shoulder?’ Kalyn said, trying to sound concerned.

  ‘Hello Mr. Kalyn, it is fine, formally speaking’ he said, masking the embarrassment in his voice.

  ‘I just called to announce the arrival of my people,’ Kalyn said.

  ‘Yes, I know. They are already here,’ Jeremy said, in his rough tone.

  ‘Jeremy, I know you are embarrassed by this. We shouldn’t be troubling you after what you have been through the past five days. But, I am in a kind-of helpless position. Since the army took over, even our hands are tied down to strings. There is no such thing as protocol and we must act according to ESAF. The dirty part is Gen. Levisohn controls the strings. I told him that we talked to you about the…assassination when you were in the hospital. But, he insisted- no, commanded me to question you again. So, please, try to stay calm and co-operate with them. He has even sent a Col. Mike Nyl Fischer with my people.’

  ‘Yeah, I will take care of it,’ Jeremy said, longing to end the conversation.

  He ended the call and descended the stairs, to find three men from JOF and Col. Mike seated in the living room.

  Here are the assholes!

  Jeremy, himself being an ex-lieutenant in the armed forces, knew the colonel very well and served two years under him. If he were still an army man, he would have saluted him. But, he was not. So, he greeted him just like the others and sat down in a chair across them with his legs crossed.

  When all formalities were taken care of, one of the agents spoke, ‘Mr. Miller, I am Randy Sni Bollard, Joint Director of Crime Investigation Branch,’ stretching his hand forward.

  Jeremy shook it and said, ‘I prefer Jeremy.’

  ‘Jeremy,’ Mike interrupted, not caring to excuse himself. ‘Can you once again take us through the details of all the events that happened in your father’s office?’

  Jeremy wanted to yell at them that he had already gone through those things. However, he knew wh
at kind of an idiot Mike could be if he was pissed off. He adjusted his blazer and leaned forward in his chair before speaking. ‘As I already said, I was in my second floor bedroom when I heard the explosion outside the compound. The explosions aroused me and I came out of my room. When I gazed in the direction of my father’s private office in the first floor, I saw a person walk towards it. He-’

  ‘Did you recognize him?’ Mike interrupted.

  ‘No, he was having his back to me. I would have, only if he had his head turned a half circle to the back. As he approached the office, the four agents guarding the office, drew their weapons. But one of those four agents turned against the others and shot two agents, while the man shot the other with his own gun. Then, the two of them, the man and the agent, walked into the office. Watching all this, I went towards the office and got in. But, before I could get in, I heard one more shot. When I entered the office, my father was already lying on the ground and the man was watching the fallen man on the ground, still with his back to me. But before I could reach him, the agent stopped me. Our struggle led to me being thrown out of the first floor window and ending up in the bushes below with a dislocated shoulder,’ said Jeremy, slightly raising his left elbow.

  Mike nodded his head. ‘It must have been after that that the man slit the throat of the agent and left. Didn’t you carry anything for defense? I mean, how did you intend to outweigh the two of them?’

  ‘On the way, I got hold of a flower vase. But it didn’t prove to be helpful. By the way, didn’t the cameras record anything from the scene?’ Jeremy asked, trying to drive the conversation to some interesting point.