Failing to register any action from the other side for several minutes, he retraced his steps back to the window to peep out. The beefy man was gone, and so was his anxiety. Despite the mitigated anxiety, he braced himself and stepped out. He took less than ten steps before metal met with the scalp over his occiput.
ESAF HQ- ELEVEN DAYS POST THE JUDGMENT DAY
When President Newman had made him the Chairman of ESAF, ignoring Field Marshal Robert Qyx Butler, the Chairman of Regnant Council of Armed Forces, Gen. Levisohn believed that Newman trusted him over the Field Marshal. However, the pressures and tensions he had endured over the past week made him believe otherwise. Since the outlaw of Fremian National Party’s government, the ties with other nations weakened, which ultimately fell into his court to strengthen them up. He had to make several calls to the leaders of those nations to arrange for a summit, where he could explain them the advantage ESAF had over the Fremian National Party’s government. He was expecting to hold the meeting at The Peuper Palace the following week if greeted with positive vibes from the other side. But Lt. Gen. Papal, Deputy Chairman of ESAF, insisted on holding a video conference, which would add to the convenience of the Presidents and the Prime Ministers of those nations.
He had already passed on the orders to the administrative officers to make the required presentations and arrangements for the meeting. He had yet to deal with the problem of the protests, which added to his burdens and weakened the faith in ESAF. The CIB’s handling of the investigation of assassination of Donald Miller added to his relief. The intelligence had warned his office about the threat he might face from The Invincible Army and Mercupo Liberation Society. Miller’s proposition to lease the Mercupo Islands to the MNC had been on the hold since the mass protests the previous year. He wanted to cancel the contract permanently, which he believed would win him the trust of certain sections of the people.
His Secretary, Saunter, half-stormed into his office at five in the evening, which startled Levisohn.
‘General, you better watch this,’ he said, switching-on the TV, and jumped to a news channel.
It displayed the Minar of Mercupo, over which flew the flags of TIA and MLS. Since the invasion of Mercupo-I by The Invincible Army, their flag flew over the Minar. The sudden appearance of the Mercupo Liberation Society beside it surprised Levisohn, and many questions formulated in his mind. The faces of David Linden, Leader of The Invincible Army, and Mudassir Al-Mustafa, Head of Mercupo Liberation Society, appeared on the screen.
‘Good evening, the people of Fremia and specially, Gen. Levisohn,’ David said, running his fingers through his beard. ‘We are today in front of you to announce the Alliance of The Invincible Army and Mercupo Liberation Society.’
He shifted his gaze to Mudassir, who took over. ‘We feel honored to announce that the assassination of Donald Jol Miller was the combined effort of our Alliance to set free the people of Fremia from his suppressing and depressing rule. We have not ignored the complaints against the newly formed ESAF, which has already begun lashing the society with its rule. This message is to warn the Chairman of ESAF, Gen. Mark Byn Levisohn. You know very well what fate Miller met with. If you wish to avoid a similar fate befalling you, you better dissolve your stupid ESAF and conduct elections for the next government, unless you wish to meet the same end Miller met with.’
Levisohn switched off the TV and fisted the table in anger. Even though the message seemed to be short, they made their intentions clear. The Alliance was trying to look good in the people’s eyes by enacting a concerned-mother role. Levisohn knew that he had to give his comments about it. He was sure of one thing. Unless the people of Fremia were stupid, they would not fall for the crocodile tears of the Alliance, which had been responsible for the deaths of many innocent citizens over the years.
Before he could appear before the press with his comments, he had certain discussions to make with his men about the new problem.
‘Saunter, connect me with Lt. Gen. immediately,’ he ordered and waited patiently.
I have this under control!
OUTSIDE PRIORITY-1’S RESIDENCE- NOVEMBER 1991 (ON THE DAY OF ROCHEN FORT BLASTS)
Time had flown off slowly for Santo during the course of his wait. When he received the call from his employer, he let out a sigh of relief before answering it.
‘Santo, the car is ready at the corner. Replace it in its spot and wait in your van till 5.’
‘Yes sir.’
Santo acted accordingly and retrieved the car from the same man. Once he replaced the car in its previous spot, Santo went back to his van, poured coffee from his flask and leisurely sipped it, awaiting further instructions. At exactly five, he received a call from his employer.
‘Santo, listen carefully. This is what I want you to do…’
Santo listened carefully throughout the extent of the instructions, expecting any element of thrill. By the end of it, he wasn’t much disappointed since he received at least some part of the thrill he had anticipated. He packed the required things in his backpack and exited the van. As instructed, he left the keys within the pipe of the rear-bumper and walked over to the house. He carefully surveyed the doors and windows of the house to find a way in, which he found in the form of the ventilator of the basement. It appeared as if a glass guarded it previously, which had been broken. He checked the dimensions of the ventilator and made a mental calculation in his mind. After confirming that he would fit in, he first slipped in carefully through the ventilator and then retrieved his backpack. He used the flashlight to illuminate his path as he ascended the stairs.
Taciturnly, he tried the basement door, which gave way. He switched off the flashlight and opened the door. Since he had verified that Priority-1 was sleeping, he tiptoed to the bedroom, where he was still sound asleep. He looked around him for any safe place to hide. There was a couch facing the door of the bedroom, which had a gap of about two feet between it and the wall behind it. Finding the spot perfect for hiding, he settled in the space and waited for the right time to take his next move.
At 6.30 in the morning, Priority-1 woke up and went through a usual of brushing his teeth, having a cup of coffee, shaving his beard, and stepped into the shower. When he was in the shower, Santo decided to change his hiding spot, since he found himself vulnerable in that spot, with Priority-1 roaming about in the house. He found a large closet under the stairs, which accommodated old magazines and worn out clothes. He created himself some space and left his backpack in there. Then, he left a walkie-talkie in a decorative bag hanging beside the door, retraced his way back to the closet and fit himself in.
After Priority-1 came out of the shower, Santo sensed him moving around the house, packing things for what he believed to be a routine day at work. He made a phone call to a Brad.
‘Brad, it’s Ross,’ he said. ‘I have called to check with the progress of the new explosive. It has been three weeks since I submitted the necessary reports and the model. But I haven’t received any updates regarding its status or its progress. I just wanted to know about its current status.’
A brief interval of silence followed his words. ‘Well, if Mr. Kennedy hasn’t discussed the matter with you, I think no one knows about it. I shall meet him today and talk to him personally. Thank you, Brad.’
Santo checked the time in his watch. It was eight. According to his report, Ross, aka Priority-1, left home at 8.15 in the morning. Santo had never relied upon info gathered by someone else about his priority’s activities. However, this mission had him acting according to info obtained from someone else, and he hated his superiors for making him do that. Santo realized that it was time to step into action. He slowly opened the closet’s door and stepped out. He cracked his knuckles and pulled out the gun from his backpack. He removed the safety and strode into the kitchen. Ross was buttering a slice of bread on the countertop with his back to Santo.
He raised his gun at Ross and said, ‘There you are, Mr. Ross.’
Ross
turned around and found himself gazing into the gun’s barrel. He dropped the knife and involuntarily raised his hands into the air. Santo enjoyed the fear in Ross’s face and grinned at him.
OREGO DISTRICT, OLD KRAMINKO- ELEVEN DAYS POST THE JUDGMENT DAY
It was not part of Tim Gyl Bronson’s daily routine to wake up with the sun. However, the day had something important, which required his attention. He had not come up with the idea until he saw Daniel Shelby on the TV the previous evening. It was the most riskless task he had performed in the past few years since he established himself as a renowned hacker in Kraminko. The task involved very personal interests, so he took special interest in the task.
As soon as he had a cup of strong coffee, he sat in front of his laptop and got to work. It was not difficult to find Daniel’s Facebook account. It was easy for him to crack his way into his account and take control of it. The last time Daniel’s timeline registered any activity was a month ago, when he shared something concerning the plight of the soldiers in extreme climatic conditions. However, what Tim was going to post on his timeline was going to change certain things definitely. First, he had something more to do. He first opened the page of “Debate Fremia” from Daniel’s account and liked their page. He randomly began liking their recent posts, which exposed the social-crimes ESAF committed after coming to power. He used harsh language to criticize the military’s measures in the comments of those posts.
He went back to the timeline and posted-
WHEN I HEARD “ESAF” WAS GOING TO TAKE OVER FROM FREMIAN NATIONAL PARTY’S GOVERNMENT, I FELT PLEASURE. BUT WITHIN ONE WEEK INTO THEIR RULE, I QUESTIONED MYSELF “WHAT THE FUCK?” THESE GUYS ARE FAR WORSE, MAYBE THE WORST THE PEOPLE OF FREMIA DESERVE. WHENEVER GEN. LEVISOHN APPEARS IN FRONT OF THE MEDIA, RECITING HIS POLITICAL JOKES AND FAKE PROMISES TO UPHOLD FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE, I AM AMAZED AT HIS SENSE OF HUMOR. HE MUST BE HAVING HIS BRAINS WHERE HIS BALLS RESIDE TO BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WOULD TAKE THIS BULLSHIT. HE IS BETTER OFF BEING A COMEDIAN, RATHER THAN THE CHAIRMAN OF ESAF. I HAVE ALREADY BEGUN WISHING FOR A SUPERHERO TO PUT US OUT OF THE HANDS OF THESE NUT HEADS OF ESAF.
Once he posted the message, he rested back in his chair and shifted his attention to other important things, which paid him. All he had to do was to wait for the outcome of his mischief.
CYBER CRIME POLICE STATION, KRAMINKO- ELEVEN DAYS POST THE JUDGMENT DAY
Officer Constantine was studying his report on “Debate Fremia”, when he received a new report from his deputy Ted about a Daniel Vab Shelby, who had posted some offensive posts on his Facebook timeline, criticizing the ESAF. Cyber Crimes division rarely dealt with such matters until the rise of ESAF. The dawn of ESAF’s reign meant the dusk of Fundamental Rights; right to expression and speech were no exceptions. Col. Fischer had ordered them to concentrate particularly on people criticizing ESAF on social networking sites and he required requisite actions within twenty-four hours.
After reading the report on Daniel, Constantine decided that he was into some serious shit and decided to act on it immediately. He issued an arrest warrant to his deputy and ordered him to capture Daniel as soon as possible. Once Deputy Ted dispatched two officers to capture Daniel, Constantine began analyzing the figures. He had already issued warrants for the capture of more than four hundred other citizens, who were involved in similar offences. If they captured Daniel, he was going to emerge as the three hundred and fifty fourth captive on their list.
Constantine nodded his head and got back to his report on “Debate Fremia”.
THE MAN WHO LOST IT ALL
MILLER RESIDENCE- TEN DAYS POST THE JUDGMENT DAY
‘YES SIR, IT’S a Daniel Ryu Xavier, an investigative journalist,’ John said.
‘OK, I want his address right now. And, I want you and Adam at his place to observe his actions.’
‘Yes sir. We have the address. We will be there within an hour and search his place for any related documents.’
‘No, don’t do that. I just want you to go there and keep an eye on his activities. If he goes somewhere, follow him. Do not take your own decisions and complicate things for me. Do not act unless I say so.’
‘Yes sir,’ he said and hung up.
Jeremy tossed the mobile onto the bed and removed the sling carefully. He unclothed himself carefully and stepped into the shower. While he showered, he heard the ringing of his mobile. He tried guessing who it was for a moment before dismissing the idea. Once he was done with replacing his arm in the sling, he checked who it was. It was a call from Bronson, the hacker. Jeremy had told him to call him only if he found a lead. He wished it were one more identity. He dialed Tim’s number and waited.
When Tim answered the call, Jeremy instantly recognized that he was not sober.
‘Good evening, Mr. Miller,’ Tim said. ‘How you doing?’
‘Fine, I presume, and, finer if you tell me that you have a name,’ Jeremy said, biting his nail.
‘Then, you are going to be the finest, Mr. Miller. I got two names.’
‘What’s with the delay? You took four days to come up with the names,’ Jeremy said, trying to show some arrogance despite his contentment.
‘Yes, I did. Mr. Miller, you must understand the scenario. When the SAF dissolved earlier this year, someone paid me to hack into the military’s database and reveal their identities. But I wasn’t this cautious at that time. The government sensed it and deleted the SAF members’ records from the database. So the only way I can find the members’ identities is by hacking into the high security database, take time and check each serviceman’s records for any strings relating to their services at SAF. Now, how about we talk about my two hundred thousand?’
Jeremy was embarrassed by the sudden hike of his remuneration. ‘Last time, it was eighty thousand for a name.’
‘Yes, but when I gave you William’s name, I was not aware of your intentions. But after I learnt of his murder, I began doubting that your interest in the SAF exceeded what met my ear. Since I am more knowledgeable of your intentions, paying more would not go in vain. Right?’
Even though Jeremy intended to keep the matter confined within his circle, Tim figured it out. Jeremy began doubting the new intentions, which took shape in Tim’s mind as he spoke. ‘OK, fine. I will have a request processed to credit money to your account right now. The money will be in your account very soon.’
‘That’s the spirit, Mr. Miller. But, this time you are lucky.’
‘Why do you say so?’ Jeremy asked, enthusiastic.
‘One of the names I have is a Belfort Kyl Harper. He served as the Head of the East division of SAF.’
The statement annoyed Jeremy. Belfort had been dead for nearly a month. ‘Hey Tim, are you mad? Or, do you take me for an idiot?’ he yelled. ‘Listen, Belfort is a dead bastard, idiot. Open your fucking eyes and read his profile carefully.’
There was a silence on the line for a couple of minutes before Tim spoke, ‘Sorry Mr. Miller. You see, I am a little drunk. So it was my fault.’
‘Yeah, it was your fault and you demanded money for a dead man. You had better realize whom you are dealing with. I am not the regular person you deal with. The other agent better be alive if you wish to live.’
‘Sorry Mr. Miller. Next time, I will keep a careful eye. He’s alive. I made sure of that. I shall mail you his profile within half an hour.’
Jeremy ended the call and rested his head on the pillow, cursing under his breath. And without realizing that he hadn’t had his dinner and medicine, he fell asleep.
THE MEMOiR
Jeremy was busy in the kitchen cursing his wife for emptying the ice cubes; his impatience grew with every passing minute and he finally settled down on the couch with a bottle of whisky and a glass. He poured himself a peg, drowned it within seconds, and went for the next peg. He resumed his search for the names related to Operation Rochen Fort on his laptop, while he sipped the fluid. He was in the middle of the fourth, when the door opened and his wife walked
in with shopping bags in one hand and Ricky’s hand in another. His impatience grew with the sight of her. She shot him a disgusting look and walked into the kitchen after leaving the shopping bags on the dining table. Once he was done with that peg, he replaced the glass on the table with a thud to express his annoyance. But Evelyn did not flinch, which annoyed him more. He stood up and walked over to her.
‘Eve, where have you been?’ he bellowed.
‘I went shopping for my birthday. I told you that yesterday. Don’t you remember?’ she asked, looking him in the eye.
He definitely did not. He broke eye contact with her and looked sideways, as she observed him intently.
‘Of course, you don’t. Last night, you were drunk just like you are right now. No wonder I have to take care of the house all by myself in spite of your presence because you do nothing, but lie idly on the couch with your laptop and drink all day and leave to Ethan’s at night to drink again. Don’t you realize how pathetic you are, Jeremy? Look at Rick,’ she scoffed, pointing at a playing Rick. ‘How do you expect him to turnout when he grows up with a drunkard like you around?’
Jeremy had had enough of the mockery. He turned away and took his place back on the couch. He poured himself a drink and sipped it. He observed Evelyn from the corner of his eye and knew that she was about to break down.
‘Why are you so stubborn, Jeremy?’ she asked, leaning her shoulder against the doorway of the kitchen.
He knew that he was not in a state to reply. He kept his calm and continued drinking.
‘Jeremy, gone are those days when I used to miss your presence. I just wish you weren’t here,’ she said, cupping her mouth.
The Memoir Page 9