Chapter 25
Luciano had opted to ride in a different car than mine, I thought it funny the look he gave Matthias as they met outside, I gave the same look to my wife, Jesse, whenever I found handling the children, particularly the girls a bit too much to chew.
I scoffed at the thought that the both of them saw me as their ward, not only because it would be completely awkward having two straight men actively trying to parent me, but also because I was mentally older than the two of them combined. And there was also that little fact that one of them had me killed in a past life.
I feel Matthias get in the car and shut the door, "Let's be on our way." He orders and off we go.
There's a long silence with me staring out the window again. I probably look like a sulking teenager. At the thought I force myself to straighten up, I wouldn't give any of them more reason to think they can lecture me anytime they feel like it.
Still, I find myself feeling uncomfortable as I can see the look on his face soften from the corner of my eye. Usually, silence never got to me, in fact, I preferred it but I hadn't an idea what Luciano had told him while they were outside.
I bit my lip as I yet again realized I was behaving like a teenager who'd done wrong. I felt like I was awaiting yet another scolding from a parent and I hated it. Feeling like I had to defend myself from a verbal onslaught that would boil down to 'I'm disappointed in you' 'You're better than this' and even more condescending implications.
It wasn't what I needed, not now, not ever.
"Hasina,"
To my eternal shame, I flinched at his call. I wash my face of whatever emotion that it might betray and turn to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Hm?"
"Relax," he says softly, his voice soothing and his smile bright and welcoming.
If he and Luciano were indeed my guardians I'd say he served the maternal role quite well. His smile was easing, I felt my shoulders fall and that too surprised me as I hadn't even known how much I'd tensed up.
"Whatever happened today, whatever Luciano might have said, whatever you've done," his eyes bore into me, not invasively but safely, as if providing a cus.h.i.+on for me to fall into, "I'm on your side, Hasina. If you've done something wrong that's fine and if you think you made the right choice I'm all for
His voice flatters a bit as we enter the army base, he lets out a sigh and rea.s.serts his smile, "I'm here aren't I?"
I could tell he wasn't completely in support of my current decision and was being loyal. But with all he'd just said, I was even more confused. I wasn't sure if he held his protests because he was loyal to my word, if he was just trying to save his own skin as this was in fact in part his failure, or if he genuinely meant he was by my side no matter what. As motherly as he'd been to me all these years, I couldn't help but bear my suspicions.
We stepped out of the car and I found myself standing under the moonlight, the base was a well-lit place with long high powered lampposts scattered all around. But somehow I felt I was under the moonlight.
I look up at the crescent moon and smiled, the eerie feeling it gave made me excited for the month to come and with Matthias words I felt no need to burden myself with hostile and suspicious thoughts. At least not any longer. Bathing under the moons s.h.i.+nes had me feeling like the day had just begun.
Keeping my smile, I walked beside Matthias as a soldier came to guide us to our destination. The field, upon reaching there I notice the lampposts shone even brighter than at the entrance and to good effect as several men stood upon a raised platform wearing nothing but their briefs with ropes tied around their necks as they s.h.i.+vered in the cold air of the night.
Matthias, Luciano and I stood in front of them, albeit, safely on the ground and not on a platform with doors under our feet. A soldier runs to me with a microphone in hand, I thank him quietly and turn it on, I wasn't going to strain my voice sentencing these men.
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"The council of chiefs," I begin, "How exciting!" I look to every one of them, they weren't complete as some had fervently resisted capture and died on the spot. The ones lined up above me all had bruises and injuries of varying degrees from a rather enthusiastic interrogation.
"This is the first time you've all been gathered before me, in fact, it's the first time seeing me with your own two eyes for many of you. Are you nervous?" I get no reply but that's the point.
I turn to my side and gesture to one of the men standing at the edge of the field. He salutes and ushers in some more people. Some wore lab coats, others were in casual wears or suits and blouses. But they looked professional but scared. Good.
One man, in a lab coat, steps out of line and points to one of the chiefs standing on the platform, "W-What is the meaning of this?! What is going on here, Felix!?"
He is immediately pushed back in line by some armed men, the message is clear but it seems he doesn't want to listen as he continues his outcry, I hear some of the other men and women behind begin to mutter in their fear, their voices getting louder every second. Annoying.
BANG!
It'd be the second time I'd fired a weapon in this life. It got me the desired reaction. Silence.
"Get back in line or get up on the platform with your colleague."
Despite his previous questions, his action spoke clearly that he indeed knew what was going on, he just wanted to act like a fool.
With the man back in line, I turned my attention to them, "The men lined up there are your predecessors. I'm sure you've all read today's newspapers, I'm sure you are aware of their treasonous actions." I narrow my eyes at every one of their faces, taking my time to make them squirm under my gaze as I address them, "You are their replacements, you have been called to serve in my cabinet as ministers of various sectors of ministerial governance and you have answered that call."
I stretch out my arms to the chiefs who still stood on the platform, gagged and tied up, "This is what awaits you if you fail me, this is what awaits you if you daydream about biting off more power than you could fathom."
Swiftly, I swung my hand down and the door under their feet fell open, letting them through to hang by their necks, tras.h.i.+ng their legs about in a futile attempt to survive.
Silence permeated the field, the m.u.f.fled grunts and chokes of the chiefs alone resounded through, and even that fell silent after a few minutes. Then the sobbing began. A woman among the new ministers started crying out, she was swiftly comforted by the others.
I cast one last gaze on them as I tuck my gun away and throw the microphone to the ground, "Let this be the last lesson I have to teach."