CHAPTER TEN: INJUSTICE

      Monday evening, in North Kamasha, Mr.Dennings emerged from the metroline bus station. He rushed through the busy pathways alone. He was dressed in his usual long black woolen coat with a black hat to complete his inconspicuous look. He was headed somewhere, and by the looks of things, he was going to be late. He looked out into the North Kamashan metropolitan, the streets were extremely busy. Cars were zooming through the highways as working class Kamashans rushed to get back to their homes after a long and tiresome day at work. The metroline bus and train stations were full to the brim with exhausted and irritable people trying to get a ride back into the residential area. Some are hand in hand with their young children, who presumably had an intensive day of learning at their respective educational institutions. It was quite noisy, there were loud and incoherent rambles from passers-by coming from every direction while cars and buses alike honked their horns expressing their frustrations about the evening traffic. Mr.Dennings could not help but think about the Kamashan fantasy of perfection and elitism that was gradually fading away right before his very eyes. That the more he walked towards the metro center and as the sun continued to descend towards the West, the Kamashan reality was exposed, a reality that its residents were all too familiar with, but would never openly speak of. 

     Dark clouds began to blanket the entire sky and the North Kamashan atmosphere became gloomy, irritating the residents even more. ‘Will it rain?’ Mr.Dennings pondered as he drew closer to his destination. The streets were packed with people. Mr.Dennings’ large body could not help but bump into a person or two with each step and turn that he took. However, he always made sure to excuse himself; at that particular time of day, each person on the street that was next to him was a dormant volcano. He walked into a narrow, abandoned alleyway and stood there for a while and began to scan the vicinity while he contemplated. Compared to the typical evening scene, there was something quite different about this particular Monday evening. He checked his watch and looked around the area again, cautious that he didn't arouse the suspicion of passers-by. He waited and watched as darkness began to engulf the city and the bright orange coloured street lights were promptly turned on. Suddenly, a car pulled over in front of one of the buildings that sandwiched the alleway. Mr.Dennings turned his attention towards the car and stared at it for quite a while. He cautiously walked towards the car and attempted to peer through the windscreen, hoping to catch a glimpse of the driver before he got too close. He walked towards the front of the car and stood there. The driver, realizing what he was trying to do, briefly turned on the interior lights. Mr.Dennings consequently recognized the driver’s face and he took a step back towards the pavement. He pointed towards the alleyway, ushering the driver to park there. The driver began to drive into the alleway and parked the car, while Mr.Dennings swiftly followed behind. He walked towards the front seat and knocked on the door. The driver promptly unlocked it and Mr.Dennings hopped into the car. “Were you followed here?” He inquired in his usual stern but calm voice.

     “I thought I specifically asked for Doreen,” the driver replied, quite annoyed by the rude change of plans, “I said I would only talk to her.”

     “Given the nature and circumstance of this meeting it would not have been wise of Dr.Schully to meet you,” Mr.Dennings explained, “If someone spotted her here, it would look suspicious. So she sent me instead.”

     “I said I would only talk to Doreen.” the driver insisted.

     “Same result. Different messenger.”

     “Meaning?”

     “I have what you asked for,” Mr.Dennings said, “In exchange for your cooperation.”

     “You have my documents?”

     “Yes I do. I will give them to you, after you tell me what I need to know.” Mr.Dennings flashed a brown envelope that he had kept in his inner coat pocket. The driver stared at him, and eyed the envelope while contemplating, “Alright then,” the driver replied, “What do you need to know.”

     “Why did she come back?” Mr.Dennings asked, “Did she mention anything to you?”

     “She wanted to get close to professor Cain,” the driver explained, “When she found out that he had been lying to us about the genetic database, she was devastated and she threatened to drop out of the project entirely. But she knew the only way to get to the truth was from the inside, that's why she came back. She kept it up for quite a while. We spent 7 years building that database, all the while she was gathering information.”

     “Then what happened?”

     “The press started getting information. Specifics about the database that only we would know. So they got suspicious. Then one day, out of nowhere, we started getting called, one by one, into professor Cain’s office.”

     “For what?”

     “Polygraph. They were certain that someone on the inside was leaking information about the database to reporters.”

     “That’s how they found out about her, I assume.”

     “Ever since that incident at K.B.C studios, professor Cain was always keeping an eye out for her. He didn’t trust her. But he still needed her to design the database.” 

     “How did she initially find out that he was lying about the database?”

     “She didn’t mention anything or anyone. I always assumed that she figured it out by herself. She’s smart like that.”

     “But she must have said something.” Mr.Dennings insisted.

     “Umm… She once told me about an informant.”

     “What about them?”

     “Like I said, she didn’t give specific details. But she did mention something that I found to be quite peculiar about the informant.”

     “Which is?”

     “Have you ever heard of ghouls?” The driver asked, “They are people seemingly without any region that they call home. They wander around with no identity and no sense of belonging.”

     “Yes I’ve heard about them.” Mr.Dennings replied, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

     “She mentioned that the informant was a ghoul. She said that she knew nothing about him. But the information that he gave her was always accurate. That’s why she trusted him.”

     “Interesting,” Mr.Dennings remarked, “Have you ever encountered this informant before? Maybe you saw her talking to a suspicious character but didn’t think twice about it.”

     “Come to think of it,” the drive began, “I once saw her talking to a weird looking man when I went to visit her at the clinic. He was tall, with a light brown complexion. His coat collar covered most of his face, so I couldn’t make it out. But when I was at her office door, I heard him reference a particular word repeatedly.”

     “Which word?” Mr.Dennings asked as he leaned towards the driver inquisitively.

     “He said,” the driver elaborated, ‘My friends at rago will know what to do.’

     “Rago?” Mr.Dennings repeated.

     “Yes. I suppose it's an acronym of somesort.”

     “Rago.” Mr.Dennings repeated. He began to ponder about the meaning of the word. He paused for a while as he gathered his thoughts, piecing together this small but highly significant piece of the information. His thoughts were scattered, flying left and right, clouding his mind. ‘Rago’ he thought, ‘what could that mean?’. Then suddenly, seemingly out of thin air, he finally figured it out. His eyes popped out of their sockets as his thoughts finally settled, ‘Rago’ he thought, ‘R.A.G.O’ . He stared out into the alleyway and his gaze immediately landed on the first thing that he saw, heaps of boxes that were right in front of the car, stacked against the wall. The driver became suspicious of his silence and began staring at him, “Did you figure something out?” The driver asked, “You’re awfully quiet.”

     “I need to go.” Mr.Dennings announced.

     “What?” The driver exclaimed, “What does rago mean?”

     “Trouble.” Mr.Dennings answered swiftly. He dug into his inner coat pocket and took out the envelope, “Thank you for all your help,” he said as he handed over the envelope to the driver, “Those documents are only valid for 14 days. I assume you’ll be out of the region by then. Dr.Schully thanks you for all your help.” He hopped out of the car and began walking through the alleyway towards the pavement. The car backed up through the alleyway and stopped right next to him and the driver cracked the window open.

     “I’m not doing this for her,” the driver added sharply, “Things were going great for Beatrice, up until she got together with her. It just seems like ever since she came into our lives things have been getting worse. And now she’s…”

    “You should get going now, Dr.Stone.” Mr.Dennings interjected, “They might be watching.” 

Rose hesitated and reluctantly turned away from him. She backed up out of the alleway into the streets and drove away, disappearing into the distance as Mr.Dennings watched on. 

     It was nighttime. The streets were slightly less busy, allowing Mr.Dennings to walk with ease. Suddenly, he felt a tiny cold sensation on his face. He looked up into the sky, the clouds were heavy, and he heard terrifying thunder blasts coming from every direction. The cold sensations became more obvious as the rain began to pour into the gloomy North Kamashan Metropolitan. Mr.Dennings tucked his hands into his coat pocket and rushed towards the metroline bus station. ‘Would you look at that’ he thought to himself, 

     ‘Nothing can hold back the rain.’

     Tuesday afternoon, in Northern Residential Benue, Joanne Schully is seated comfortably reading a newspaper in the backyard of her recently renovated home. It was calm and sunny. Judging by how much her long grey hair swayed along with the wind, it was quite a breezy afternoon. Joanne had been at it for almost an hour now, dissecting the various segments on the paper. However, she was always looking forward to one particular segment. There it was, on page 35 of The Daily Benue, the anonymously submitted confessionals that were published every other Tuesday. Joanne was obsessed with these raw and unfiltered stories about everyday people and their struggles finding love and maintaining romantic relationships. It was a good distraction for her, ever since Dorrie moved out of their home and made a life for herself in Kamasha, she felt lost. Joanne was getting older, and even though she had aged gracefully, she had this strong feeling that there was something missing in her life. And in the beginning of that year, Joanne decided to take a step back from her normal routine to search for that missing link. During the course of the past several years since Dorrie moved out, the Schully bakery had undergone a massive upsizing. Joanne was forced to hire more working staff to accommodate the growing demand for her pastries all over Benue. She took on a managerial position and no longer made the pastries on her own. She gradually began spending less time in the bakery and more time in the office signing documents and overseeing mundane meetings. This change in her work dynamic made her extremely uncomfortable, and as a result of that, Joanne began spending even less time in the office and more at home. She dove into the confessionals in attempts to distract herself from her constant worry about the future.

      Joanne was startled when she heard a noise coming from inside the house. She turned and peered through the kitchen window and was relieved when she saw Robert. He was restless as usual, pacing through the corridors carrying a bunch of boxes of old clothes from the attic to the living room. ‘It’s just Robert’ Joanne thought to herself. She turned back to the newspaper and continued to read the confessional. In a matter of minutes, she was totally immersed in the story. It was romantic, suspenseful and tragic, just how she preferred them. She echoed some heartfelt sentiments to the anonymous author the further she got into the story, ‘No don’t listen to him’ she advised, ‘He’s only going to hurt you’. In Joanne’s mind, the anonymous author could hear her, but would inevitably go against her advice. She went through a rollercoaster of emotions as she got to the end; feelings of passion and sadness. She felt the author’s joy as she herself dived into the turbulent romance, while consequently feeling her frustrations as the love gradually faded away into nothing and was left heartbroken by an untruthful and manipulative lover. Joanne clasped her hands in suspense as she got to the end of the confessional, ‘I can’t believe he lied to her all that time’ she thought to herself in anguish, ‘But they were perfect for each other, perfect!’. Just as she was done, Joanne heard the backdoor swing open. Robert charged into the backyard and pulled a seat right next to her. Joanne could tell that he was frustrated about something, he sighed heavily when he sat down and massaged the temples of his head before he gradually turned towards her and began to speak, “Are you reading those confessionals again?” He inquired in a surprisingly calm voice.

     “No,” Joanne replied as she lifted the paper towards him, “I’m doing sudoku.”

     “Uh Huh.”

     “You don’t believe me?”

     “I would but I’ve been married to you for almost 50 years now. So either I don’t know you too well or you don’t know how to lie to me.” Robert replied and he sunk deeper into his seat, “Plus you also don’t have a pen.”

     “This was my fault, you know? Marrying a reporter. I should have kept it simple.”

     “You’re not a simple woman. So what makes you think that you would choose a simple person to spend the rest of your life with?”

     “You always have an answer to everything that I say, don’t you?”

     “I don’t think you would still be with me if I didn’t.” Robert replied hastily. Joanne stared at him for a brief moment and chuckled. She flipped the newspaper back to page 35 and turned to Robert, “I was reading the confessionals,” she admitted, “What can I say? I’m obsessed.”

     “I don’t have a problem with you reading them Jo. This is your time and you get to do whatever you want. You’re working hard at the office and the bakery is growing everyday. I’m proud of you,” Robert replied, “But I’ve noticed that you’ve been reading them frequently since the beginning of this year and I want to know why.”

     “It’s strictly for entertainment,” Joanne snapped, “There’s nothing more to it.”

     “Okay then. Tell me about today’s story.”

     “How about I just give you the newspaper and you read it for yourself.”

     “No. I want to hear it from you.”

     “Why?”

     “I’ll tell you why, after you tell me the story. Don’t be shy now Jo, I’m all ears.”

     “Well I’ll be damned. You’re really serious about this.”

     “If it came from my mouth, then yes.” Robert answered. 

They stared at each other. Joanne contemplated telling Robert about the story. This was the first time that he seemed genuinely interested in the confessionals. Joanne wondered if that meant something, should she be worried? She thought about it for a while longer. Robert slyly raised his eyebrows at her, hoping to intimidate her even more. “Alright then,” Joanne responded, “I’ll tell you about the story.”

     “I’m all ears.” Robert replied.

     “Today’s story was very tragic. I knew that going in but I didn’t know to what extent it would be. The author is a very young lady, around her early twenties, I’ll call her Wish. When she joined college, she already had a boyfriend of 2 years. According to Wish, they were madly in love with each other, so much so that Wish had envisioned spending the rest of her life with this man, who I’ll call Coffee. However, when both Wish and Coffee joined college, Coffee suddenly became distant. He wouldn’t respond to her text messages and barely made an effort to see her. The distance between their colleges only made it worse, so Coffee always had an excuse not to go visit. So after a while, they grew apart. But Wish still loved Coffee, with all her heart. She wanted to be with him, but Coffee was too busy with his own life to give her the time of day. So Wish gradually began to lose interest in Coffee. She would go out on dates with other guys, hoping that it would get Coffee’s attention, but it never did, Coffee just didn’t care enough. During the course of all this, Wish met someone else, an older man, I’ll call him Blanket. The interesting part about Wish and Blanket’s relationship is that Wish wasn’t at all interested in him. They just met one day, under very fishy circumstances if I might add, and they just went with it. Since Wish’s relationship with Coffee was non-existent at this point, she decided to take a chance with Blanket, and they had a romantic fling for a while. It was a no-strings attached, purely physical relationship. Wish dove into the relationship head first and she was content with it. But at the back of her mind, she would always think of Coffee, and how he would feel if he ever found out about her relationship with Blanket. This thought plagued her mind. Whenever she was with Blanket she would always think of Coffee. She even told Blanket about Coffee just to get it out of her chest. But Blanket didn’t care, this wasn’t your typical emotional type of relationship. They weren’t really together, so Blanket could care less what Wish did in her free time, so long as she was there whenever he needed her. Wish was okay with that for the most part, and her fling with Blanket continued for a good 7 months before everything came crashing down on her young naive little face.”

     “What happened?”

     “Well it turns out that Blanket actually had two children with two different women from previous relationships. One day, when Wish was going over to his place for their usual Friday night sessions, she heard the two women’s voices blasting from his house. They were confronting Blanket, scolding him about being a deadbeat father who wasn’t more active in his children’s lives. Wish couldn’t believe what she heard. She walked into Blanket’s house and suddenly, those women began hurling insults at her. They told her that she should be ashamed of herself, being with a man that couldn’t even take care of his own children. The worst part is that she didn’t even know about it, Blanket completely kept her in the dark about his personal life. She knew nothing about him. But I suppose that was her own fault, I mean, why would you get involved with a man that you know nothing about? But at the same time, I understand why she did it.”

     “Why do you think she did it?”

     “Isn’t it obvious? She wanted to be loved. She wanted to be needed by somebody, even if that person was a no-good deadbeat father. She wanted to fill that void that Coffee left in her heart. She couldn’t wait to find real love, so instead she settled, and she got hurt.”

      “What makes you think that she got hurt?”

      “Didn’t you listen to the story Rob? Those women berated her for being involved with Blanket.”

     “Their anger was misplaced. They knew that by redirecting all their frustration with Blanket- on Wish, they would do even more damage. Because they felt that Wish was threatening their stand in Blanket’s life.”

     “Well… that might be a possibility.”

     “Did Wish mention that Blanket tried to contact her after that confrontation?’

     “Yes she did… she rushed out of his house and he followed her to try and explain things, but she didn’t want to listen to any of it. She didn’t want to hear any more of his lies.”

     “Did he try to reach out to her after that?”

     “He called her every single day for 3 months. She just didn’t want to talk to him.”

     “That’s what she would have you believe.”

     “This is her story Rob. She told it the only way she knew how to, From her perspective.”

     “That’s not what I mean,” Robert interrupted, “You said that Wish is a very young lady. Do you think that she would want to be involved with an older man with not one but two children from previous relationships?”

     “Well… no.”

     “Do you think she would give him the time of day to explain himself? What do you think Blanket would have said to her that would have made the situation better?”

     “Nothing really.”

     “That’s why Wish didn’t want to talk to him. Because she knew that there was nothing that grown man would have said to her that would persuade her to give him a second chance. That’s why she didn’t pick up his calls. But that doesn’t mean that Blanket didn’t love her. I mean, why else did he call her everyday for 3 months?”

     “Because he is a narcissist!” Joanne exclaimed, “They manipulate you into thinking that you owe them something, they guilt you into feeling sorry for them so that you fall into their trap. Wish wasn’t having any of that.”

      “He does actually sound like a narcissistic person. However, I think that he still loves Wish. Those two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive.”

     “So you’re saying that Wish should have talked to him? After all that happened?”

     “No. She wasn’t ready for a conversation with him, and that’s fine. Wish was well within her rights not to talk to Blanket ever again. But now that we’ve talked about it, I want to say something about why you, for some reason, can’t stop reading these kinds of stories.”

     “You never really cared about the story, did you?”

     “Do I look like I care about a story about some people that I’m never, in my life, going to meet?”

     “Yes you do. You’re a reporter.”

     “Well that’s besides the point,’ Robert dismissed, “Jo, you keep reading these stories because you know they’ll always end in tragedy.”

     “What’s wrong with reading tragic stories?”

     “It’s a subconscious thing,” He explained, “You feel like you’re going to have a tragic end, so you familiarize yourself with other people’s tragedy to cope with your anxiety.”

     “I have done no such thing. Like I said before, it's strictly for entertainment.”

     “Then let me ask you one thing. If you were Wish, would you have done anything differently? Keep in mind that she was in her early twenties when that situation occurred.”

     “Well I… I would have… I probably… I… I don’t know.”

     “Exactly. You don’t know. And the reason you don’t know is that you are not Wish, you are not Coffee or Blanket. You don’t know what it’s like to be those people. And these stories that you read are just tid-bits of their entire life. You can’t make an assumption about a book by reading one page. And you can’t learn Biology from a Chemistry textbook.”

      “What do you mean Rob?” Joanne sighed.

      “I know you’re feeling out of place. I know you’ve been struggling to adjust yourself to being the executive manager of the bakery. But it's barely been a year, you still have time to make it work. It's uncomfortable, I know it is, but you’ll get the hang of it. Ivan and Robbie are almost turning 7, I want them to learn from you, on how to build something from scratch and watch as it grows into an empire right from your own home,” Robert explained,  “You’ve always put others above yourself. You consider everyone else’s needs before your own. It’s  time that you focus on yourself. Maybe you’ll get into some other hobbies as well, it doesn’t always have to end in tragedy. Free yourself from that thought and you will continue to grow into yourself.”

     “It’s just… I don’t know who I am anymore. Baking gave me purpose, and now I can’t do that. All I do now is give out tenders and sign documents all day. That’s not how I imagined I would be spending my days.”

     “There is a reason Dorrie splurged on that customized kitchen for you. So that you can bake comfortably from home. The bakery is handling 50 times the amount of orders you were handling in an entire day in a single hour. That’s too much work.”

      “I don’t want to slow down while the world moves,” Joanne argued, “I’ll get left behind.”

      “Then create your own world and move at your own pace.” Robert answered. Suddenly, his cellphone rang and he excused himself to answer it. 

     Joanne was now left to her thoughts, wondering and contemplating. When she planned for her Tuesday the previous night, she didn’t recall scheduling a therapy appointment with her husband, but it was needed. Joanne thought back to some months back when all she could do in her new office was sit and organize her desk while she waited for a document or two to sign. She thought about how she felt seeing the bakery staff busy working, taking orders, baking pastries and preparing the cheeses for the endless stream of customers that walked into the bakery every single day. She remembered the look in their eyes when she walked through the oven unit, how the staff greeted her with so much love and gratitude. Every single member of her staff respected her. They all knew of her achievements and her endeavours creating a business by herself all those years ago. Joanne kept working and building her craft to a point where she was now able to employ others to take over while she consequently made enough money to keep her comfortable. And as her train of thought stopped at the station, she thought to herself, ‘This is a dream. I am living in a dream. But my mind keeps telling me that it’s a nightmare.’ She thought back to what Robert had told her, to break free from the thought of tragedy, and in that moment Joanne committed to doing exactly that. Just as she was about to get back to the newspaper, Robert walked back into the backyard hastily, “Joanne!” He called out. She looked up at him and she immediately noticed that his demeanor had changed drastically. He seemed distraught and worried. But worst of all, Joanne thought, he had called her by her full name, this worried her. He was tapping his cellphone anxiously against the palm of his hand. ‘This can’t be good’ Joanne thought to herself as she swiftly stood from her seat while Robert approached her.

      “You might want to sit down for this.” Robert continued as he sat next to Joanne to tell her about the call,

     “Something has happened.”

     Wednesday morning, in Eastern Residential Benue, Joanne Schully walked towards Channel 21 studios. She had travelled from Northern Benue by taxi but had instructed the driver to drop her off at the bus stop, opting to walk instead. It was quite a chilly morning, Joanne was adequately dressed in a long, black, heavy leather coat accompanied by grey woolen gloves and a cosy purple woolen scarf wrapped around her neck. She was also wearing a large black hat that covered most of her face and she finished the look with dark-tinted sunglasses. She walked confidently towards the front gate and stood there for a while. Thoughts were racing through her mind as she waited. She hoped that, for once, things would play out in her favor. However, she was not there to see Robert. Truthfully, Channel 21 was not her final destination. Joanne was waiting for something. Right after her conversation with Robert that previous night, she knew that she had to take matters into her own hands. The cold breeze kept pounding on her face, a sign, Joanne thought, that the Universe was urging her to commit. She turned away from the front gate and her gaze travelled past the tarmac road and led into the rightfully named, Forbidden forest. It encircled Channel 21 studios and went on for miles, covering a very large area. She stared into the forest, her mind was plagued with unrealistic probabilities of what might happen to her if she dared go in, but she must. Joanne tried to talk herself out of it, ‘Maybe no one’s around’ she argued, ‘They might be of no help at all’. But the cold breeze kept sweeping through her face, reminding her who she was and what needed to be done. Suddenly, Joanne’s cellphone rang. ‘Hello?...’ she answered, ‘Yes I’m here…. He’s in?... Good. Thank you John. I owe you one.’ Joanne ended the call and took a deep breath. She then walked away from the gate and made her way towards the eerily looking Forbidden forest. Once she got to its periphery, she reluctantly walked in.

     Joanne rushed past the trees, zooming through the poorly lit and encroached spaces as though she was prey being hunted down. There were short trees all over that part of the forest. Most of them were dead or barely clinging to life with no leaves on their branches while the undergrowth ran wild, invading every single inch of the forest floor forming a sort of carpet. Joanne had to be careful while she walked to avoid the pointy low-hanging branches that were in the way. As she got deeper into the forest, Joanne noticed tree stumps scattered all over, and right next to them were empty hollowed-out logs invaded by all sorts of bugs and creepy-crawlers, remnants of what they once were. Joanne continued walking until she got to a section of the forest where the trees were much taller and had more leaves on their branches, forming quite an extensive canopy. She walked towards a very large tree that seemed to be at the center of the canopy. She stooped towards it, careful to avoid the cobwebs that were in her path, and crouched down under the tree. She scanned the area and just like she expected, there was a medium sized rock right at its trunk. Joanne crouched over and removed one of her gloves to inspect the rock. She felt its rough crevice-covered exterior with her eyes closed, hoping that she would feel something ‘unique’. Suddenly, she heard the chirping of a large flock of birds getting closer towards her ear. She ducked out of the birds’ way and a voice immediately came into her mind. She thought back to a time long ago, when she was a young girl learning the ins and outs of the Forbidden forest. She concentrated on the voice that was bouncing through her mind, ‘There are a lot of paths to your destination’ she remembered, ‘But the best path is that which you create on your own’. The voice was guiding her then just as it did all those years ago, and the more Joanne concentrated on it, the more confident she felt about her mission.

     To the average Benuan person, the Forbidden forest was a dark, mysterious and scary place. The children of Eastern Benue were always warned by the parents to stay away from the forest. That under no circumstances were they to wander off into the forest, lest they be gobbled up by the forest itself, never to return. These kinds of tall tales circulated all over Benue and were created by terrified locals and the media alike to keep unsuspecting people out. But Joanne knew better. An idea popped into her mind and she quickly turned the rock over. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She smiled at the rock, ‘I knew it’ she thought, ‘It’s here’. There was a symbol etched onto it, a symbol that she herself had etched onto the rock a long time ago when she was still a child. She stood up and straightened her coat. She began to walk straight ahead from the large tree as she scanned through the thick bushes and trees, looking out for the symbol that would create a path towards her final destination. Joanne could remember the exact location of each tree and each stone that bore the symbol. The deeper she got into the forest, the less fear she felt. Even as the owls hooted and the tree branches crackled and whistled as they swayed with the wind, she kept on the journey. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins as she lugged herself from one tree to another. It was as if she was back to being a child. She would take a moment to feel the engraved symbols and thought back to a time, long ago. Joanne thought back to a time when the Forbidden forest was the only reality that she knew, her home and her refuge from this cruel and unforgiving world. And as she got closer to her destination, she thought to herself, that as much as she had successfully broken free from the grasp of the Forbidden forest, her spirit still remained entangled in its branches for eternity.

     Joanne walked towards a medium sized shed that was seemingly in place right next to some decaying logs and marshy shrubs. At first glance, the shed seemed to be an ordinary abandoned structure. Its cement exterior was blanketed in algae which extended onto the forest floor and terminated right next to the shrubs. She approached the shed, took a deep breath and knocked, ‘knock. Knock. Pause. Knock. Knock. Pause. Knock. Knock. Pause. knock’ she slightly banged on the door using a secret technique; to let them know that she was one of them. She waited for a while and someone finally came to the door and opened a peephole, “State your business here.” a manly voice ordered from the other side of the door. Joanne could only see his eyes through the peephole, peering at her.

     “I’m here to see Joseph.” Joanne replied confidently.

     “And who are you?” The voice asked. Joanne looked around, cautiously inspecting the area before she hesitantly raised her left hand. She took off the glove and exposed her palm towards the peephole. The man flashed a fluorescent light onto her hand. This revealed a tattoo, similar to the symbol that Joanne had encountered while galavanting in the forest. The man gasped in realization.

     “Joanne?” The man said, “Is that really you?”

     “Unfortunately.” Joanne replied. The man swiftly began to unlock the door. He pushed the heavy door open and Joanne hesitantly walked in. She took a few steps and began to look around the shed. For a very brief moment, she was engulfed by a sudden wave of nostalgia. It was quite a small space, there was barely any leg room, but it was enough for the watch guard to keep an eye out for intruders, just how she remembered it. At the far end of the room was a one way elevator. Joanne turned towards the watch guard, “Where is he?” She asked.

     “He’s in his office. 7th level. On the right wing, 3rd corner to your right.”

     “Hmm. I see he moved up.”

     “You know who he is now.”

     “I don’t think I do.” Joanne replied. She walked towards the elevator and walked in. She took a deep breath as the watch guard pressed a button under his tiny desk, closing the elevator door and lowering it into a concealed underground base. 

     Joanne turned around, her mind had begun to register where she was and what she was about to do. As the elevator continued to descend, she started to get claustrophobic, fearing that the walls might crush her. She started taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, she could not let her fears get the best of her. ‘You’ve done this so many times before’ she reassured herself. It was only after she got to the first level of the base that she started to calm down. She looked around as the elevator continued to fall and was in shock at the sight that she beheld. There were hundreds of people walking through the corridors, like it was some kind of office space. Men and women in suits were scattered all over the first, second and third level, getting coffee, talking to their ‘colleagues’ and some were even having meetings in a boardroom. She was confused, and rightfully so, the last time that she was at the base, the environment was much less formal. ‘What on Avulan happened to this place?’ she pondered. Several thoughts began to race through her mind the lower she got. She could see everything that was going on inside the base through the transparent glass wall of the elevator; a feature, Joanne remembered, that was added to accommodate her. Joanne was on a mission, she had several questions already lined up. However, as she got closer to the seventh level, her mind had replaced them with a completely fresh set. 

     She hopped out of the elevator in a hurry once it stopped at the seventh level. She walked into the hallway, the base was more crowded than usual, this made Joanne extremely suspicious. She walked towards the right wing, careful that she didn’t draw too much attention to herself. She kept her head down at all times, if anyone else was to realize her presence, it would cause quite a stir in the base, something that Joanne wasn’t too keen about. She zoomed through the hallway and entered into the right wing area. She saw a couple of people that she recognized chit-chatting about while they walked through the corridor. She stared at them briefly and felt a sudden urge to let her presence be known. However, she quickly talked herself out of it, ‘This is not what I’m here for’ she asserted and continued to walk towards the office. When she got to the very end of the right wing, she noticed that the three front desk secretaries were extremely preoccupied making calls while they typed on their computers. Joanne, realizing that this was her window of opportunity, quietly sneaked past the front desk and walked right into the office unnoticed, and just as she expected, Joseph was there. He was standing right next to the desk with his back turned towards Joanne. He had a document on one hand while he held a phone on the other. The office was quite spacious and cosy. It was decorated with vintage Natoni furniture and boasted a high ceiling. The office was surprisingly well lit, all things considered, you could barely notice the lack of windows and natural lighting. Joanne walked towards the desk and pulled up a chair. She sat down and began inspecting him. Joseph was quite a tall and slim man. His grey suit had engulfed his entire body, exaggerating his build. Joanne looked at his head and let out a small chuckle when she noticed his small protruding ears. He was slouched against the desk, with one leg crossed onto the other while he held himself firmly with one hand on the desk. He was having a very heated argument with someone on the phone and Joanne overheard him making several demands. Joanne watched him as he turned around and she proceeded to take off her glasses. Joseph was startled by her presence, “Joanne,” he realized, “What are you doing here?” 

He abruptly ended his call and walked to his seat, his eyes fixed on Joanne, while hers on his, staring each other down until Joanne began to speak.

     “I like what you’ve done with the place,” she said sarcastically, “She would have liked it a lot.”

Joseph continued to stare at her. He was still shocked by her sudden presence at the base, he had an awfully vague memory of the last time she was there. “We thought it would boost morale if things felt my professional around here,” he answered, “So what brings you here?”

     “Isn’t it obvious?” Joanne said sarcastically, “I’m here to see you.”

     “You want something.” Joseph answered. His eyes still fixated on Joanne’s, “What is it you want?”

     “I have a lot of questions, Joseph. You will do me the favour of answering all of them.” Joanne replied. Joseph stared at her and smirked, “As you can see I have a lot of work to do,” he stated, “If you have questions, go talk to John.”

     “John and I already spoke,” Joanne snapped, “He directed me to you.”

     “Everything that I know, he knows too.”

     “Apparently not. Because if he did, I would be having this conversation with him, on the phone.”

     “Are you insinuating that I am keeping information from him?”

     “I don’t care. I’m only here because your shenanigans has started to affect the people that I care about.”

     “What are you talking about?” Joseph inquired in a condescending tone.

     “I’m talking about your persistent attempts in taking down the Kamashan government.”

     “You of all people understand that the true purpose of the Ragers association is not to cause conflict but to enact liberation across all regions in Avulan. Over the years we have realized that the most efficient way for us to do that is to focus on the source of oppression itself. So as long as R.A.G.O still exists, the Kamashan government will never know peace.”

     “Normally, I wouldn’t care what you people do down here. But you made it my business when you sent your people to Kamasha and got them involved with people that I care about.”

     “I beg your pardon?”

     “Don’t play dumb with me Jospeh.” Joanne snapped, “We both know that nothing happens around here without your knowledge and approval.”

     “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Joseph answered. Quite frankly, he was surprised by the accusations that were being thrown at him.

     “Dr.Beatrice Donohan,” Joanne shouted, “What have you done with her?”

     “Ooh!” Joseph answered, “I know her. She’s that famous genetic engineer that made that thing… technology… whatever it was. What interest is she to my organization?”

      “Your organization?” Joanne was amused by his preposterous statement.

      “Yes Joanne. I took over, remember?”

Joanne took a deep breath to calm herself. One more poorly thought response from Joseph and she was prepared to smack his teeth out. “You sent your people to Kamasha to get more intel on the Kamashan government. And in that pursuit, you got her involved, and now she is nowhere to be found.”

     “I’ll ask this again,” Joseph asserted, “Of what interest is Dr.Donohan to my organization?”

     “The supercomputer,” Joanne answered sharply, “I know you wanted to get more information about it. She was your best option, and an easy target.”

Joseph stared into Joanne’s face. She was red with rage and he noticed that she huffed aggressively with each breath that she took, this was all too familiar to him. He paused for a moment to think, trying to decipher the information and the accusations that were brought forth. He stood from his seat and walked towards Joanne. He sat at the edge of the desk and faced the wall and stared at it briefly before he eventually turned towards her. “Joanne,” he said in a surprisingly calm tone, “We had nothing to do with any of this.”

     “Don’t you dare lie to me Joseph!” Joanne shouted, “One of Dr.Donohan’s colleagues told us that she was getting information from a Rager’s informant. The informant was using her to get information about the supercomputer, and the genetic database which she was creating.”

     “Joanne, we already got all of that information,” Joseph argued, “We get all of our information first hand, we’ve never needed a fixer.”

     “What?” Joanne mumbled, confused by Joseph’s seemingly honest answer. “You already knew about the supercomputer?”

     “Of Course we did.” Joseph answered. He walked past Joanne towards the right side of the room. He hesitated, and pressed his left palm onto the wall. A green outline glowed underneath his palm and he took a step back. Suddenly, the wall split open, revealing a hidden room. He walked inside the room and switched on the lights which illuminated endless rows of organized filing cabinets. He walked towards the section often room that haboured documents under the key alphabet letters ‘S’ and ‘K’ and began to inspect each cabinet with one specific file in mind. He stretched towards the topmost drawer of one of the filing cabinets and began rummaging through it. He found what he was looking for, a file that contained every single piece of information that the organization had concerning the supercomputer. He then scanned through it briefly and walked out of the secret filing area back into his office where he handed the file over to Joanne.

      “That is all we know about the supercomputer. We hacked into the Kamashan government's database 5 years ago when we first heard about it.” Joseph explained, “We know about every single person that is involved in the project. We wanted to make sure that they didn’t have any ulterior motives. So we did our own investigations, and what do you know? We found out quite a bit. As soon as we figured out what they were really planning to do with all that data, we compiled all the evidence and leaked said information to various Kamashan media houses.”

Joanne continued to scan through the file, checking the dates and all the information presented on the file. Every single document in the file contained the official Kamashan government emblem, proving that they were all obtained from their official and highly secured database some hours after they were updated. It all coincided with what Joseph was saying. However, this new information that Joseph had presented had only succeeded in complicating the situation, and Joanne was left confused.

     “This doesn’t make sense,” she pleaded, “But… she’s been missing for almost a month now.”

     “My guess is, whoever was using her to get information used our name to cover up their real identity. They also didn’t know much about what they were actually getting themselves and Dr.Donohan into. The Kamashan government is an extremely tactful group of people. They have a wide arsenal of strategies at their disposal which they’ve never been shy about using. They keep an eye out for their people, they know about everything and everyone. This database is going to add to their power, asserting themselves as the intelligence center of Avulan. Their current database is nothing, our IT division gets access into their servers without breaking a sweat. But this supercomputer is going to be the greatest invention that Avulan has ever seen. Our engineers have gone through the designs a couple of times, they say that this supercomputer is designed to be a completely independent data storage unit. It will have the ability to make predictions, suggest ideas and even replicate data on command. Those K.I.S.T scientists are creating a highly advanced central processing unit, the Brain 5.6, which will be able to replicate the efficiency level of an actual human brain. This device will be powerful enough to calculate probabilities and make a call on the tough decisions when it comes to resource distribution across Kamasha. This, however, will be at the expense of their own people’s data security. And if they succeed, the supercomputer will be the most powerful device on the planet, maybe in the entire galaxy. So I have no doubt that they weren't too pleased when they found out about what Dr.Donohan was really up to. The only thing that the Kamashan government hates more than immigrants, is people who are willing to betray them. They will not hesitate to neutralize traitors and moles that are brought to their attention. That’s why we don’t send operatives to Kamasha, we prefer to work remotely, it's far too dangerous, even for us.”

Joanne took a deep breath and closed the file. She placed it on the desk and became lost in thought for a brief moment before she realized what Joseph was implying.

     “So you mean that…”

     “I’m sorry Joanne.”

     “No. I refuse to accept that. Beatrice is my family.”

     “The Kamashan government doesn't care about your family, Joanne. She was a threat. So they treated her like one.”

     Joanne became furious and quickly rose from her chair. She began restlessly pacing from one end of the office to the other, pausing only to glance at Joseph. Several thoughts raced through her mind, ‘What am I going to tell Dorrie?’. She could feel her enormous heart pounding in rapidly, and she feared that it might just break out of her chest. She was in denial, the thought of losing a family member this way, crushed her diamond spirit. Suddenly, a wave of hope washed over her body. She stopped pacing and stood still. Joseph rose from the desk, alarmed by her abrupt stillness. He watched as she took deep breaths, her head was tilted slightly upwards and her hands were wide open, as if she was letting something inside of her. Joanne remained like this for a while, and suddenly fell back to reality. She turned towards Joseph and walked towards him. She stood in front of him, silent, and grabbed his left hand with both of her hands. She looked him deep in the eye as tears began racing down her cheeks. One drop fell onto Joseph’s hand. He felt a small, cold sensation and briefly looked down to his hand to confirm it. He then raised his head towards Joanne, anxious about what she was about to do next.

     “Joseph,” she began, “I know that we’ve grown apart. As much as I don’t want to admit it, it was my fault. I couldn’t be here, with you, with all of you. I couldn’t be a part of your battles because I thought that I wasn’t strong enough. I wanted to find myself, to know who I am, and when I did, I realized that this wasn’t the life that I wanted. That’s why I left. I didn’t leave because I didn’t love or care about you all, I didn’t leave because I didn’t have the strength to fight alongside you. I left because I needed to be elsewhere. But I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t think of coming back here every single day. You are my family, I might not hold a special place in your heart anymore, but I am asking you, as your older sister, as the person you used to talk to every night to calm you down when you got scared or anxious. As the person who held onto you while we stayed in the bunker for days on end, without a clue when it would be safe for us to come back up to the surface. I am asking as that person that was by your side everyday, to please, help me find Beatrice. Dorrie needs her. Ivan and Robbie need her. They are a family and they deserve to be together.”

     Joseph stood still while he stared at Joanne and absorbed what she had just said. Her eyes were now as red as her face. He looked away from her as he tried to gather his thoughts. This was the first time in a very long time that he and Joanne had such an emotional moment together. As he looked in her eyes, he saw pain and anguish, and he wished that he could do or say something to take it all away. He saw the effect that time had on her. Her face looked tired, her skin was much paler and looser than it used to be. She had no strength to argue with him as much as she used to. Joanne let go of his hand and wiped the drying tears off her face. She cleared her throat and straightened her coat while she sniffled repeatedly, trying to collect herself. She began to take one wobbly step after another towards the door. Suddenly, Joseph lunged towards her and held onto her elbow. Joanne looked back at him, she had one hand on the door handle ready to storm out. “I’ll see what I can do,” Joseph said as he let go of her elbow. He raised his left palm towards her and stared deep into her eyes, piercing into her exhausted soul, “She would have wanted me to.” He added. Joanne let go of the door handle and tightly held his raised hand with her left hand. She sniffled quietly and nodded her head, “Thank you.” She replied. Eventually, they let go of each other. Joanne proceeded to open the door and wobbled out of the office and disappeared into the corridor.

     Joseph was left alone with his thoughts to ponder about the eventful encounter that he had with his older sister. He paced around the office, trying to piece together all the information that she had presented to him. He became sceptical of their alleged involvement in Beatrice’s disappearance. ‘Could it be?’ he pondered, ‘That we were actually involved?’. He continued pacing around his office, his heart racing back and forth in his chest as his hands became wet. Joseph was nervous, ‘Could it be?’ he worried, ‘That someone has infiltrated R.A.G.O?’ He walked towards the door, anxious to leave his office before he became engulfed in a sea of anxiety. When suddenly, a piece of the puzzle fell into place, stopping him right as he got to the door. He looked around the room in realization, ‘It can’t be’ he repeated to himself. He rushed back into the secret filing room and walked deep into the room towards an isolated section that contained a very large storage safe which was almost as tall as the room itself and was made entirely out of reinforced titanium steel. He input a secret code onto the safe and it clicked open, revealing even more rows of filing cabinets. He walked into the safe and searched for a row containing the key alphabet letters ‘P.A’ and ‘R.A’. When he identified the cabinets, he opened each drawer aggressively and began rummaging through them. At the back of his mind, Joseph feared that the entire organization may have been compromised. An organization that was left in his care by someone that even in death, was much more powerful and far more respected than he would ever be. Finally, he found one of the files he was looking for at the topmost drawer of one of the cabinets, while the other was in a middle drawer of another cabinet. He yanked each of the files from the drawers, secured the safe and walked out of the secret filing area back into his office.

     He threw the files onto the desk. He aggressively opened one of them and flipped to the very last document. And at that moment, his fears morphed into an unfortunate reality. He stared at the document intensively. The words, ‘ROGUE AGENT ’ were plastered boldly across the document with a bright red stamp. Joseph noticed that the document was dated almost 10 years prior. Coincidentally, it was recorded that the agent’s last known location was in North Kamasha. Joseph's thoughts began to run wild, he feared that it might have been too late to salvage the situation. Then, a voice popped into his mind, ‘If you fail to cut the weeds’ he remembered, ‘They will kill all your crop’. Joseph felt as though the voice was scolding him for not realizing the situation sooner. He walked towards his seat with the document still in his sights, and sat down with great frustration. He pulled the file closer and in that moment, he knew what he had to do to try to make things right. He took the other file and opened it to the most recent document. He scanned it until he identified a phone number, the last known registered contact. He pulled the landline closer and began to dial the number. He proceeded with the call. He wasn’t sure whether the call would go through, but when it did, he was extremely relieved. Just as he thought, the person at the other end of the call was quite annoyed, and threatened to end the call if Joseph didn’t make his case within the next 35 seconds,

      ‘You know I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important,’ he said assertively as he continued staring at the document that was on the table,

     ‘We have a problem, and it requires your immediate attention.’

    

     Thursday evening, in East Kamasha, Joanne and Robert Schully landed at a private airstrip. Their flight was mostly quiet, Joanne and Robert being the only passengers onboard while the pilot, co-pilot and stewardess made up the entire flight crew. Once the stewardess confirmed that it was safe to alight, they dragged themselves out of the jet towards a large black sedan car that was parked right next to the airstrip. To no one’s surprise, Mr.Dennings emerged from the car in his official black suit attire. He walked past them in a hurry, and grabbed onto the luggage trolley that had already been loaded by the stewardess. The pilots approached him and had him sign onto something that was attached to a wooden clipboard. And without a word, they shook hands and parted ways. The pilots then walked towards the landing dock accompanied by the stewardess. Mr.Dennings rushed past Joanne and Robert towards the car where he loaded their luggage into the boot. He pushed the trolley back to the airstrip crew that were standing nearby and rushed towards the backseat to open the door for the Schullys. Once they were both in the car, Mr.Dennings made his way to the driver’s seat, this aroused Robert’s suspicion. He hopped into the car and adjusted the front mirror, angling it to be in direct view of Robert. They stared at each other for a while, seemingly trying to communicate something to each other. Mr.Dennings made a brief sideways upward motion with his eyes, and proceeded to stare back at Robert. Robert quickly figured out what he was trying to tell him. He turned his head towards the window and looked up at the sky. He noticed something in the distance, a small black figure hovering above the airstrip. He then turned towards Mr.Dennings and nodded his head. Joanne, who had been left out of their silent conversation, noticed that there was something going on between Robert and Mr.Dennings. She had been observing them from the corner of her eye, and once she realized that they were having a conversation, she wasn’t too pleased about being left out of it.

     “What’s going on between the two of you?” She asked in an annoyed tone. But no one answered her. She began switching glances between the two of them. She knew that something was going on but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Mr.Dennings switched on the car and began to drive away from the airstrip. They sat in silence as he drove, and when they got to the main entrance of the airstrip, he scanned all their credentials before they were allowed to leave the premises. Robert kept his eye on the mysterious figure. It had been following them for a while now at a 120 degree angle from the car. But once they got into the highway, Robert noticed that the figure had mysteriously disappeared. He turned towards Mr.Dennings and tilted his head slightly towards the window then nodded. Mr.Dennings nodded back, proceeded to close all the windows and blasted some tunes on the radio. “We don’t have much time,” he asserted, “It will be back as soon as we get out of this traffic.”

     “What are you talking about?” Joanne asked, “What will be back?”

     “The drone,” Robert answered promptly, “It’s been following us since we were at the airstrip.”

     “What?” Joanne asked, perplexed about the entire situation, “Why would a drone be following us?”

     “Because of Dr.Schully.” Mr.Dennings answered.

     “But she’s not here,” Joanne argued.

     “They are keeping an eye out for everyone that is in close contact with her.”

     “So that drone…”

     “Yes,” Mr.Dennings answered, “Is following me.”

     “It seems like quite a lot has happened since you called, Mr.Dennings.” Robert commented.

     “It’s been going on for quite some time now.” Mr.Dennings elaborated, “It’s been difficult. Especially for her.”  

     “Where is she?”

     “She’s in the West, back at their home. She doesn’t want to leave the house, incase Dr.Donohan comes back.”

      “How long has she been waiting?”

      “She’s been missing for 3 months. We still have no leads. I was hoping maybe you had something.”
      “Joseph swears that R.A.G.O had nothing to do with her disappearance. And I believe him,” Joanne commented, “There must be something else we’re missing.”

     “I fear it might be too late.” Mr.Dennings said.

     “Now is not the time for fear, Mr.Dennings. Now is the time for faith.”

     “I don’t get it,” Robert said, “Why are they spying on you?”
    “When they found out about what Dr.Donohan was doing, they became suspicious of everybody who was part of the project. They started sending drones to follow all the scientists, technicians and engineers. They even assigned a different bodyguard to Dr.Schully to replace me, from government security. But she fought against it, she fought to keep me by her side, that’s why they are following me as well.”

      “Wait,” Robert said in realization, “You’re not part of government security?”

      “No.”

      “Then who assigned you to Dr.Schully when we first got here?”

      “A friend. He is the owner of the hotel you’ll be staying at for the next couple of days.”

      “The East Kamasha Luxury Suites? That’s where we’ll be staying?”

      “He owns that hotel too, but that’s not where you’ll be staying. You’ll be staying at the East Kamasha Homely Suites. It’s located next to the residential area.”
      “What about Dorrie?” Joanne asked, “I thought we were going to stay with her.”

      “Getting you into West Kamasha at such a short notice is impossible. Plus she’s extremely busy preparing for the launch of the supercomputer. She preferred if you and the kids stayed together here in East Kamasha for their birthdays.”

     “When was the last time she was with the twins, at their West Kamasha home?”

     “About 2 months ago.”

     “Since Beatrice disappeared?”

     “As the days passed without a word from Dr.Donohan, she began to lose herself in worry.” Mr.Dennings replied, “She knew that sooner or later they would start asking for her, and she wasn’t ready to have that conversation until she knew her actual location.”

     “Where have they been staying?” Robert asked, “If not with her.”

     “After Beatrice disappeared, she became extremely paranoid. She wasn’t sleeping enough and was quite irritable on most days. She didn’t want Ivan and Robbie to see her like that. So she talked to that friend of hers that I told you about, and he agreed to let the twins stay at his hotel, with complimentary round-the-clock care.”

     “What about school?” Joanne interjected, “Didn’t they used to attend an elementary school in West Kamasha? How are they doing that from here?”

     “Per Dr.Schully’s request, the school allows them to leave in the afternoon. They then make the trip from West Kamasha back here to East Kamasha, where they occasionally take language and self-defense classes.”

     “My grandchildren are traveling from East Kamasha, to West Kamasha, then back again, every single day of the week?” Joanne asked angrily, “Robert, does that seem normal to you?”

But Robert said nothing. He looked out of the window towards the sky and inspected it. He knew that the drone was still around, hovering higher to avoid being spotted. Robert figured that the drone also possessed an impeccable audio system, that could be the reason why Mr.Dennings turned on the radio before he spoke. However, at that moment, the drone was nowhere in sight, “No it doesn’t,” he answered as he turned towards Joanne, “James, do they have drones following the twins as well?”

     “I’ve seen them a couple of times, but only when they are in East Kamasha,” Mr.Dennings answered, “Drones are prohibited in West Kamasha.”

     “Why is that?” Joanne inquired.

     “Because the rich don’t want the government invading their privacy.” Robert replied swiftly.

     “Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought East Kamasha was also a haven for the rich.” Said Joanne.

     “Have a look around, Mrs.Schully. Tell me what you see.”

Joanne turned towards Robert, confused about Mr.Dennings’ request. She looked outside the window into the town. There were a lot of people up and about, walking on the streets. The East Kamashan environment was quite modern and scenic. There were tall hotel buildings all over, while the highways crossed each other, completing the modern and futuristic look. She saw multiple taxis and large omnibuses filled with sight-seeing passengers zooming through the streets. Joanne looked around and spotted groups of young people walking hand in hand with their friends while they took photos of each other in front of various landmarks. She also noticed that everyone she saw was casually dressed. It was a scene unlike any other Joanne had seen before. And even though she had been to East Kamasha a few times before, she had never taken the time to appreciate its informal and touristy customs and culture. However, Joanne failed to notice anything peculiar, and she turned away from the window towards Mr.Dennings with frustration.

      “Have you noticed anything different?” He asked her with a straight face. Truthfully, he knew that she didn’t, but proceeded to ask anyway.

     “What’s there to notice?” Joanne snapped, “All I see is youth living their lives.”
    “Well, that's' true. But if you look closely, you’ll realize that none of them are actually Kamashan.”

     “What?” Joanne said as she turned towards the window to inspect the town again. And after they had zoomed past a few faces, Joanne realized that Mr.Dennings was right. None of the youth that she saw looked Kamashan. Just by a glance, she could tell where they were all actually from. She spotted some Chakari girls walking in a very large group towards an eatery. She saw another group of Syronian youth bike riding through the streets as they laughed and cheered each other on. Most surprising of all, she saw some Natoni youth stroll past the car while they conversed in their native Natoni language which Joanne immediately recognized. They had backpacks over their shoulders and books in hand, seemingly from an afternoon class. Joanne was utterly shocked and she hesitantly turned towards Mr.Dennings, “What is going on here?” She asked sharply, “These kids... They are not from here.”

     “East Kamasha houses the best hotels and resorts on Avulan. Most of them are owned by Kamashans. However, most of the resort staff are from three other regions.”
    “Why do they choose their workers from those three regions only?”

     “It’s all politics,” Robert interjected, “Benuans are business owners and would rather invest in their own region while consequently contributing to the growth of other regions through bilateral trade instead of contributing to their work force. While the Mizabati... well... they tend to keep out of what the rest of Avulan is doing. So that leaves…”  

      “The Natoni, Chakari and Syronians,” Joanne answered, “But I still don’t get it, why would they come here? Why would they leave their home regions?”

     “Opportunity.” Mr.Dennings replied.

     “Look around you Jo, most of the people you’re seeing are youth,” Robert expounded, “The only reason they are here is because their parents came here a long time ago in search of employment.”

     “These hotels and resorts pay well,” Mr.Dennings added, “The pay is enough to support an entire family, cover all their expenses; medical insurance, food and education for your kids. Here, you have a chance at a better life, compared to the ones back in your home region. During the tourism boom, East Kamasha became a refuge for so many that were looking to escape.”

     “What about your government?” Joanne asked, “What did they think about all the immigrants invading their region?”

     “Earlier on, they used to be quite stingy when it came to granting passes. Back then, workers weren’t allowed to bring any family members with them, even infants. That was only allowed for the elites.” Mr.Dennings explained, “But in the advent of the supercomputer, they began to allow more people into the region. They only demanded identification documents from everyone who wanted to be granted a residential or working pass. Further procedures are followed if the immigrant in question chooses to apply for partial Kamashan citizenship. That was unheard of before. Back then, the only way for an immigrant to get partial Kamashan citizenship is through marriage to a registered Kamashan citizen. However, Kamashans weren’t too keen about that.”

     “Isn’t that something,” Joanne commented, “So what happens if you choose to apply for partial Kamashan citizenship?”

     “They take a blood sample,” Robert answered, “Then you answer a couple of questions in regards to your future in Kamasha.”

     “A blood sample?” She interjected, “Why on earth would they need a blood sample?”

     “For the genetic database,” Mr.Dennings replied, “It is mandatory for every Kamashan citizen to submit a blood sample.”

     “And what happens if you don’t submit the sample?” 

     “I assume that’s what Beatrice wanted to find out,” Robert answered, “So I guess we’ll never really know until she comes back.”

     Joanne turned away from Robert. His words were piercing through her mind, making her spirit extremely uncomfortable. After her conversation with Joseph, Joanne was convinced that Beatrice might never return. If Mr.Dennings’ words were anything to go by, the supercomputer was going to become a very crucial instrument in Kamasha once it was launched. However, if Joseph’s words were anything to go by, the Kamashan government had already dealt with Beatrice, and she, along with anyone else who had aided her plans, would never be heard of again. Joanne thought about her daughter, her heart screamed in agony for her. She could not begin to imagine how difficult the past 3 months must have been for her, having to send her children off while she stayed all alone in that humongous house. Joanne thought back to a time when Dorrie was younger, how she strived to keep her out of harms’ way. She now understood the severity of the situation, it was far greater than she could have imagined. However, she remained hopeful that someone somewhere with enough power would see to it that Beatrice was returned to her family, safe and sound.

     As the sun began to descend upon the East Kamashan horizon, they finally made it to the hotel after a long 2 hours’ drive. Mr.Dennings drove into the large compound of the East Kamashan Homely Suites. It was quite exquisite, but a bit toned down compared to the East Kamashan Luxury Suites. There were a lot more, ‘regular-looking’ people around, Robert noted. Parents were hand in hand with their obnoxiously loud children as they walked through the lobby towards the dining area, it was almost time for dinner. Robert noticed that the interior decor was quite similar to that of the East Kamashan Luxury Suites, with the front desk being situated at the same position. The hotel staff also had the same uniform design, the only key difference being that those at the East Kamashan Homely Suites had blue and white stripes across the edges of their black half coats and pants, while those of the East Kamashan Luxury Suites had no stripes at all. Mr.Dennings checked in with the hotel receptionist while the concierge proceeded to take the Schullys’ luggage to their room. Once he got the room cards, he ushered Robert and Joanne to follow him into the elevator and they made their way to the 21st floor. 

     When they got to the 21st floor, Mr.Dennings pressed the emergency stop button and the elevator doors stayed shut. He turned towards Joanne and handed her the room cards, “You’ll be staying in room G-217. The twins should be joining you shortly, they had soccer practise this evening. If you need anything, whether it be medical, food-related, anything at all... there are numbers that have been outlined in the registry that you can call,” he said as he turned towards Robert, “You have my number if you need me. You must not, under any circumstances call Dr.Schully.”

Robert Turned towards Joanne who seemed saddened by Mr.Dennings’ order. He then turned towards Mr.Dennings and nodded hesitantly.

     “The four of you will not be allowed to leave the premises without first checking out with the receptionist. If you do need to leave, someone will be assigned to take you into town.” Mr.Dennings continued, “The twins’ school and after-school schedule is plastered on the wall. Mrs. Mavis, the nanny, usually takes care of everything but you can join them for their after-school activities, if you would like.”

Robert and Joanne glanced at each other again, “When will we see you again?” Robert inquired.

     “I’m going back to the West,” Mr.Dennings replied, “But you can call me whenever you need to. Just make sure it’s urgent.”

    “No,” Joanne interjected. Robert and Mr.Dennings turned their attention towards her. “Go keep my daughter safe,” she added, “We can take care of things here.”

Mr.Dennings nodded and proceeded to press the release button. The elevator doors opened, and the Schullys walked out into the corridor. They both hesitated and turned towards Mr.Dennings. He pressed another button and crossed his hands at his front. They watched as the elevator doors slowly began to close. Mr.Dennings took turns switching glances between the two of them. And at that brief moment, as their gazes landed on him, they silently whispered sincere sentiments of gratitude for all that he was doing for their family. They could see the stress and exhaustion in his eyes, it was clear as day, written all over his face. But in that very last second before the elevator doors closed, Mr.Dennings decided to ease their worries by giving them a brief smile, notifying the Schullys that even in the midst of all the madness, his fighting spirit was still as strong as ever.

     Friday morning, in North Kamasha, General Qadira was walking through I.C.C.A headquarters. She was from a briefing at the conference room and was headed someplace else, accompanied by her bodyguards, Agents G and M. They marched through the corridors while General Qadira inspected every inch of the building that her gaze landed on. When she noticed something that was out of place or had signs of imperfections, she shouted orders left and right. She found herself feeling utterly disgusted by the state of some of the agents’ working spaces. “Clean that up!” She ordered, “File those documents!” By the time she got to the 14th floor, word had already travelled around  headquarters about the impromptu inspection. Everyone stayed clear of her way, ducking and locking themselves in their offices once her presence was quietly whispered throughout the floor. It was evident that no one around headquarters was particularly fond of the General. However, she didn’t mind it at all. She was still the primary head; she was everyone’s boss. In her mind, bosses didn’t make friends; the less of a relationship she had with the people that work for her, the better a leader she became. When she grew bored of terrorizing everybody, she marched towards the elevator, where she input a secret code that directed the elevator towards a concealed floor at the very top of the I.C.C.A main building, to the 49th floor. 

     As soon as the elevator got to the 49th floor, the General along with Agents’ G and M hopped out and marched into the floor. The floor was quite mundane, it was dull-looking and grey. There was not a single piece of furniture in sight. There were also no windows on the walls which kept it completely isolated from the rest of the building. The secret code ensured that the floor was hidden in plain sight, away from any ordinary person. The General marched towards the end of the floor while Agents G and M stayed behind at the elevator door keeping guard. As she walked, she kept her hands crossed behind her back, taking calculated steps, one after another in a single straight line towards her destination. Once she got to the end, she walked towards the wall and input a series of numbers into the code input panel. A distinct noise followed immediately after. She turned around and watched as a wall rose from the middle of the floor and barricaded her from the rest of the floor, creating a large room. 7 individual seats began to emerge from the floor, while a large, circular platform emerged at the center of the room, completing a round table. She walked towards one of the seats and pressed her right hand onto the table, which consequently set off a beam of light through the table. She sat down and watched as a bright blue light appeared from the middle of the table, illuminating the entire room. “General Qadira,” a robotic voice announced, “I was not aware that I had scheduled a High Council meeting today.”

     “It’s just me,” the General replied, “My task update was due today.”

     “Proceed.” The voice approved.

     “Over the course of my time as the head of the Information Division, you have assigned me a number of tasks, all of which I strive to accomplish to the best of my abilities. And with the launch of the supercomputer due in a couple of weeks, I would like to officially inform you that the data collection phase for the entirety of the Kamashan population is now successfully underway regionwide.”

     “I expect nothing less from you, General.”

     “Thank you, High council.” The General replied with a slight bow, “Under the advice of Dr.Schully, we were able to launch several data collection clinics all over Kamasha. Currently, there is one in each quarter region. However, plans for expansion will commence shortly to accommodate rapidly growing areas. Dr.Schully mentioned that East Kamasha will have the highest exponential growth rate over the next couple of years.”

     “It seems that our immigrant relocation program is progressing better than we thought.”

     “Yes, High council. Soon enough, the immigrant population in Kamasha will be at 25%. And once the rest of Avulan sees that it is possible to have what we have, they will want to come here. And all we ask for in return, is data.”

     “The Royal family will be quite pleased with your efforts General,” the voice acknowledged, “I will make sure that they receive word of your work for the great region of Kamasha.”

     “I am grateful for the opportunity to be of service to the great Kamasha Royal family,” the General replied confidently, “There is, however, one more thing that I would like to bring to your attention.”

     “Continue.”

     “About project Q.S,” the General said hesitantly, “We finally found a promising lead.”

     “We terminated that project years ago General.”

     “I have an impressive team of scientists, High council. They never stopped looking.”

     “What did you find?”

     “According to my scientists, the radio wave phenomena that happened 49 years ago, wasn’t an isolated event. When it happened, they were able to isolate the transmission and record its frequency. Then, when DADA 2.1 was sent into space 14 years later, we had eyes on Tyran again for the first time in a while. Today during our regular weekly briefings, the scientists brought to my attention, new data relating to the radio wave phenomena. While they were analyzing the data that DADA 2.1 sent back, they identified bursts of radio wave transmissions which had the exact same frequency as the one that caused the radio wave phenomena. But that’s not even the most interesting part about it.”

      “I’m listening.”

      “DADA was recording this exact same transmission frequency once every seven years on the exact same date.”

      “You mean that we’ve been having these radio wave phenomenons every 7 years?”

      “Yes, High council. The only difference is that these recent ones didn’t cause as much damage.”

      “How is that possible?”

      “We’re still not sure yet. That’s why I'm here to ask your permission to reopen the case.”

      “I’m not entirely convinced about that,” the voice argued, “If the phenomenons aren’t devastating us, why would we need to look into them?”

      “Because the presence of the phenomena indicates the presence of something much greater.” the General explained, “When agent… detective Wesley questioned Matthew Arbury, he mentioned that the Quarter’s symbol was currently in our midst. I can’t think of anything else that would have the power to amplify a simple radio wave transmission to the point where it would cause that much damage.”

     “You believe that finding the source of the radio wave transmission will lead us to the Quarter’s symbol?” The voice asked, “But even if we were to find it, how would it be of any use to us?”

      “Use it wisely and be great.” the General murmured.

      “Pardon?”

      “Those were his exact words. That we find the quarter’s symbol and use it to better ourselves. That is why it came to us.”

     “If what you are saying is true, General, then it might be the most powerful weapon that we would have at our disposal.”

     “Exactly, High council,” the General said as she leaped from her seat, “That is why I insist that we reopen the case. We will find it, I assure you. And once we do, the rest of Avulan will know just how powerful Kamasha truly is.”

     “Your argument is quite convincing,” the voice acknowledged, “However, I will not be able to make a decision until the entire High Council discusses and agrees on it.”

     “I understand,” the General replied, “I just wanted to run it by you first.”
    “You wanted me to talk to the Royal family about it,” the voice countered, “You knew that they would choose to reopen the case, even if the High Council didn’t agree to it.”

     “I suppose I did.” the General smirked.

     “Very well then,” the voice replied, “I will talk to them and get back to you on their response during our next High Council meeting, before the launch of the supercomputer.”

     “Thank you, High council.”

     Suddenly, the bright blue light disappeared from the table. The General walked towards the end of the room, and pressed a code into the input panel. The high table along with the chairs began to lower and disappear into the floor. The wall that created the room began to lower as well and eventually disappeared into the floor. She walked towards the elevator, where Agents’ G and M had been stationed. They all hopped into the elevator and Agent G pressed the elevator button to take them to the 13th floor. They stood silently in the elevator. Agent G was on one end of the elevator while Agent M was on the other, with their hands crossed at their backs while they hovered at a respectable distance from the General. Once they got to the 13th floor, General Qadira hopped out of the elevator, while Agent’s G and M swiftly followed behind her. As she walked through the corridors towards her office, anyone that was in her path quickly went the other way. No one dared to be in her field of view, and as a result of this, there was always a clear path between the General and her office. When she got to her office corner, her secretary, Madam Parson swiftly rose from her seat. “General Qadira,” she said anxiously, “You’re back.”

     “Which office would you have preferred that I go to?” The General snapped. She made a curve past Madam Parson towards her office.

     “There’s someone in your office!” Madam Parson replied hastily, “I told her not to go in but she insisted that you know her personally.”

The General stopped in her step and turned towards Madam Parson, “Does this person have an appointment with me?” She asked.

     “No… No she doesn’t.” Madam Parson replied.

     “Then what is she doing in my office?”

     “She stormed in,” Madam Parson explained nervously, “I tried to stop her but she said if I told anyone she was here she would do unspeakable things to me.”

The General raised her eyebrow. She turned towards Agent’s G and M, “Take care of that,” she ordered while pointing towards her office, “And do it fast. I don’t have all day.”

The agents nodded and proceeded inside the office. 

     The General stepped back and watched through the frosted glass that formed the partition between her office and the secretarial space. She instantaneously heard intense thumping noises, and could see three individual shadows writhing against the glass. These thumping noises continued for a while. The General took turns switching glances between Madam Parson and the partition. Then she heard two loud thuds followed by some light footsteps as one of the shadows proceeded further into the office. She glanced at Madam Parson who was on the verge of having a panic attack. She walked towards her office, calculating each step towards the door until she finally got to the end of the glass wall. She turned her back towards the wall and leaned her entire body against it. And for the first time, the fear that the General felt was quite tangible. Her heart was pounding rigorously inside her chest, she had no idea what or who was waiting for her in her own office. She took a deep breath and turned her head into the office, and was shocked when she saw both Agents G and M’s bodies lying on top of each other unconsciously on the floor some few steps from the door. She quickly turned her head away from the terrifying scene and began to breathe rapidly. She slowly grabbed the rifle that was always hidden inside her coat pocket and reluctantly turned her entire body to proceed into the office. 

    She hesitantly walked in, calculating one step after the other. She noticed that there was someone at the very end of the office seated on her desk with her back towards her. Upon further inspection, she could see a large dome of brown hair above the mysterious figure’s medium sized body. She walked past Agent’s G and M, her eyes gravitated towards their lifeless bodies for a brief second before they immediately bounced back to the person of interest. She had both hands on the rifle, ready to fire at any moment. She continued to walk slowly towards the mysterious woman, who at this point still hadn’t noticed her presence. The soft fluffy carpet absorbed any sounds she made as she walked and the General found herself conflicted on whether to shoot the intruder or not. She finally walked past her desk and towards the woman. To her surprise, the woman was completely unarmed. She looked over the woman’s shoulder and noticed that she was holding on to something in her hands, and at the corner of her eye, she could see the edges of a picture frame. The General looked past the woman towards her low cabinets that lined the glass window edges of her office. She noticed that there was something missing on top of one of the cabinets; there were only two picture frames where there previously used to be three. Once she realized which picture frame was missing, she speculated the identity of the mysterious woman that was unknowingly seated at point blank range from her rifle. 

     “Rachel?” She said inquisitively, “Rachel Arbury?”

Suddenly, the mysterious woman turned towards the General, revealing her identity and confirming her earlier suspicions. The woman crossed one of her legs onto the table, turning her entire body towards the General as her majestic hair bounced behind her while she held onto the picture frame. “In the flesh.” She replied with a smile on her face, “Although I go by a different name now.”

      “And what might that be?” The General asked in a condescending tone.

      “Well wouldn’t you like to know?” Rachel replied sarcastically.

      “What are you doing here?” the General asked with a perplexed look on her face, “How did you get into I.C.C.A?”

      “Come on now. You know I can’t tell you that. However, I will say that the security around here has gotten quite sloppy.”

      “What do you want?”

      “I want us to talk.”

      “You’re confused if you think that I am going to have a civil conversation with you.”

      “Why is that?”

      “You are one of them, aren’t you? The Ragers. Why would I talk to a member of an Anti-Government group?”

     “I left the Ragers a long time ago. After a while it became too much work, and I wanted to settle down. So I am coming to you, not as a Rager, but as a Kamashan citizen.”

     “I’ve been tracking you for years. Every time I got closer to bringing you in you dug deeper into the ground-”

      “I’m hoping you meant that metaphorically.” Rachel interrupted anxiously.

      “-And now you show up out of nowhere, wanting to talk,” the General continued, “How stupid do you think I am?”

     “I don’t think you want me to answer that question, General. However, I am willing to give you what you’ve always wanted, in exchange for something else.”

     “Like a trade off?” The General inquired in a condescending tone, “What could you possibly have that I would want?”

     “You’ve said it yourself. You’ve been hunting me down. Well here I am, ready to turn myself in.”

    “You must really think I’m stupid,” the General chuckled, “Is this some sort of joke to you?”

    “Again, I really don’t think you want me to answer that.”

    “You expect me to believe that you’re going to willingly turn yourself in if I give you what you want?”

     “Whether or not you arrest me, I will be walking out of this office with the information that I came for. How I obtain that information, is solely up to you.”

     “I should have shot you the minute I figured out who you were.”

     “Well it's a good thing that you didn’t.”

     “And why is that?”

     “Did you know that there are cameras all over Kamasha these days?” Rachel asked rhetorically. She noticed the General looking away from her suspiciously, “There are some in the sky as well. Ever since I got here, I made sure that my face was picked up by every single camera on the way, especially the ones that are here in this building. You see… There is evidence that I walked into this building, and came into your office. And if you shoot me, there will be evidence of that as well. But I'm sure that even if you did shoot me, the Kamashan government won’t waste any time deleting all that footage from their database. But I have it on good account that that footage will pop up from somewhere.”

     “The Kamashan database is impenetrable.” the General boasted, “There is no way you would get your hands on that footage?”

     “Why don’t you pull the trigger. Then wait to see what happens next.” Rachel replied with a serious and intimidating look on her face. 

The General stared at her intensively. At that very moment as she was pointing the rifle directly at Rachel’s face, the General had the chance to rid herself of her for eternity. She had been a stain in her career; a persistent reminder of her past failures. But she knew that it might not end well for her, especially since Rachel had insinuated that the Ragers had been monitoring them. She stared deep into her eyes and reluctantly began to lower the rifle. She put it back into her coat pocket and crossed her arms, “What do you want?” She asked in an annoyed tone.

     “I’m here to clean up a mess,” Rachel elaborated, “You’re going to help me do exactly that.”

     “So I’m the janitor now?”

     “Where I come from, Janitors have a more respectable job than you do,” Rachel argued, “Don’t compare yourself to them, ever.”

The General rolled her eyes and they happened to land on the picture frame that Rachel was holding in her hands, “Can you get to the point?” She snapped. 

     “It seems as though you thought that Dr.Beatrice Donohan was working with the Ragers. When the reality is that R.A.G.O never really needed an insider to get information about the supercomputer.”

     “I don’t understand what you mean.”

     “I know you have her, General. I know you think she betrayed the Kamashan government by conspiring against the launch of the supercomputer. But I’m here today to tell you that wasn’t the case.”

     “At the beginning of our conversation you assured me that you were no longer a part of the Ragers. And yet here you are, telling me all this.”

     “I told you, I’m here to clean up a mess.”

     “This is not one of those messes that you get to clean up. It’s not in your hands.”

     “So you won’t tell me where she is?”

     “I don’t know where she is.”

     “Don’t play these types of games with me, General. They will end badly.” Rachel snapped. She aggressively thrusted her body towards the General, who then cautiously took a step back. “Tell me where she is,” Rachel calmed her rage and continued, “Then I’ll tell you how to find what you’ve been looking for.”

     “You didn’t tell me about it then, what would make me believe that you will tell me now?”

     “If I had told you about it then, I wouldn't have had leverage for today, would I?”

     “I suppose not.”

     “See? It all worked out in the end. So tell me where she is.”

     “How about, you tell me what I want to know first.”

     “Just so we’re clear, it’s the Quarter’s symbol that you want to know about, right?”

     “Right. Tell me about that then I might give you Dr.Donohan’s location.”
    “Alright then,” said Rachel. She stood from the desk and walked towards the window and looked out into the town. She raised the picture frame into her sights and took a deep breath. The General’s gaze was following each step that she took, cautious that history doesn't repeat itself. 

     “Before my husband died,” Rachel began, “He told me something cryptic. At that time I had no idea what he meant but I do now, more than ever. He told me that he didn’t go looking for it, that it instead, found him. He just happened to be there when it came.”

     “What does that mean?” The General inquired.

     “It means that you’ve been wasting your time. The Quarter’s symbol isn’t some ancient artefact that contains power, it is power. It is unimaginable and unfathomable power, one which the human mind couldn’t even begin to comprehend. You can’t look for it, it finds those that are destined for it. Matthew just happened to be one of those people. I guess you could say that-”

     “-He was at the right place at the right time.” The General murmured. Suddenly, her train of thought began to gain momentum as she wondered about the possibility that she would never be able to find the Quarter’s symbol. But a few seconds later, a flicker of hope sparked in her mind. She remembered the radio wave phenomena and the similar transmissions that followed after. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the symbol had never appeared again since the incident, but the transmissions kept on coming. The General thought long and hard until she was finally able to piece together all the information that she had, “...You’re right.” She said in realization.

     “Now that I’ve told you everything you need to know,” said Rachel, “It’s your turn to hold up your end of the bargain.”

     “Normally, this would be the time that I’d have you arrested. However, you have given me extremely crucial information, and it will be of much use to me,” the General responded, “So I will give you Dr.Donohan’s location. However, I can’t do it right now.”

     “But we had a deal.” Rachel argued.

     “Don’t you worry, I intend to keep my end of the bargain. But the truth is, I don’t know where she is. I’m going to have to talk to a few people at the Security Division. Once I find out, I’ll let know.”

     “How can I be sure that you’ll keep to your word?”

     “You can’t,” the General said, “I guess you’re just going to have to trust me.”

      Rachel stared at the General. She had no way of reading her expressions, so she couldn’t tell whether she was telling the truth or not. But either way, Rachel had no other choice but to trust her. She walked towards the General and stopped next to her, “You better keep your word. Or else the Kamashan people will have a lot to read about in tomorrow’s paper.” She threatened. She realized that she was still holding on to the picture frame, and she smiled after looking at it briefly, “I’ll be keeping this.” She said in reference to it and began to walk away. The General suddenly turned towards Rachel as a thought struggled to break free from her mind, “It’s quite interesting,” she began, “He was more of a father to you than he ever was to Imani.” 

Rachel halted in her step, as she was immediately bombarded with the General’s words. She hesitated, and turned around. They stared at each other for a while, it was a silent yet extremely intense few minutes. Rachel, having realized that she had successfully gotten under the General’s skin, smirked at her. 

     “That would technically make you my aunt,” Rachel replied, “And we both know that I want no relation to you whatsoever.”

     “So you admit that it’s true.” The General rebutled.

     “What do you want me to say?” Rachel began, “I walked out of this building all those years ago because of him. The only reason I am here now is because of him. I might not have agreed with how he chose to live his life before, but I did get to witness his growth. I watched as he struggled to become the best version of himself. But he’s gone now, and I am on my own. And as you can see, I will be walking out of here today, alone.” 

Rachel began walking away as the General stared at her cautiously. She then stopped once she got to where the agents’ bodies lay. The General watched helplessly as Rachel playfully leaped over their bodies and walked further towards the door without a single feeling of remorse for what she had done. She couldn’t help but wonder, what had happened to the wide-eyed, weak and naive girl that walked into I.C.C.A that fateful day; what had the Ragers done to her?

    “Ooh, by the way,” said Rachel as she got to the door, “I feel compelled to let you know that the days of the Kamashan government are numbered. Jane might not be with us anymore, but her legacy and vision are eternal, and live on in every single Rager. The Ragers are coming for you, and every single one of your aids. It might not be today, or tomorrow, it might not even be 10 years from now. But best believe that you will pay for every single thing that you’ve done not just here in Kamasha, but in Chakara, in Syrona, in Natona and in Benue. Let’s not forget about what you’ll eventually do in Mizabat, because that’s just the kind of people that you are. You will be held accountable for every injustice that was carried out in your name, and most especially for the lives that have been cut short in your endless pursuit of power. And the best part is that you won’t even notice it happening, like a thief in the night. So keep an eye out, or don’t. It doesn’t matter.” 

     Rachel smirked slyly and proceeded to strut out of the office while her hair bounced behind her, confident that the General wouldn’t instruct anyone to follow her. The General became lost in thought, pondering on Rachel’s cold final words. There was a ringing in her mind, as her sight blurred while she watched Rachel walk away. And for the first time, the General felt helpless. Her fear of the Ragers was now as obvious as Waaridei’s blaring light on a hot summer day. It didn’t help that they had managed to remain elusive throughout her entire career, so the General had no clue what to expect if the Ragers did decide to attack the Kamashan government. To the General, Rachel’s threat was a declaration of war. She concluded that it was high time that their hunt for the Ragers became more serious before they began to disrupt their established regime. However, she pondered on the impossibility of said task, since her own brother, the great detective Wesley, was unable to bring the organization down all those years ago. The General reluctantly disconnected from her train of thought and rushed to the aid of the agents whose bodies were still lying helplessly on the floor. She reached towards them and was relieved when she noticed a pulse on both of their bodies. She quickly rushed out of the office and frantically searched for someone around the corridors, and her gaze immediately landed at the secretarial space, 

     “Madam Parson!” She called out,

     “Get paramedics in here now!”

      Saturday morning, in East Kamasha, Robert Schully woke up to an empty bed. He stretched his hand and inspected Joanne’s side and jerked his head off of his pillow once he realized that she wasn’t there. He sat upright and massaged his face gently, forcing his body to wake. He yawned and looked around the room, scanning for anything that seemed suspicious. And even though he didn’t find anything out of place, Robert knew that in their current situation, one could never be too cautious. He got out of bed and wore his fuzzy sandals. Initially he had fought against them, arguing that he would rather walk barefoot than be caught wearing them. However, 2 days into their stay at the hotel and he had already given in to the warm and comfortable feeling that the sandals provided. He walked out of the room and headed towards the kitchen where he found the coffee maker kettle full to the brim. He dragged himself towards the cabinets while he dodged the bright beams of Waaridei’s light that penetrated through the wide kitchen windows. He grabbed a large mug and walked towards the coffee maker, where he poured himself a cup of coffee. The strong smell of coffee filled the air, it was fresh and aromatic, a strong-toasted smell characteristic to the infamous and quite pricey coffee beans from the Eastern Natoni highlands. To Robert, and most other Kamashans, the smell of that particular brand of coffee beans was the highlight of their mornings, while the actual mug of coffee that it made was a worthy plus. And as a result of this, the Eastern Highland Coffee brand became Natona’s number one export to Kamasha, adding millions in revenue and taxes each year and subsequently, boosting their agricultural sector.

     Robert added a teaspoon of sugar into his mug and proceeded to stir it as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room area. To his surprise, he saw Ivan seated on the carpet alone in the middle of the room while he silently watched some cartoons. Robert stood at a distance for a while and observed him. Ivan barely moved a muscle. His brown, curly and unkempt hair emerged from his head and fell onto his shoulders, while his head remained in the same position as he intensively stared at the TV, completely immersed in whatever he was watching. He had his legs crossed, one over the other while he anchored his tiny hands on his thighs. He was still in his pajamas, and if the two plates and two mugs at the drying panel in the kitchen were anything to go by, Ivan hadn’t had his breakfast yet. Robert continued watching him for a while when suddenly, Ivan turned towards him and glanced at him briefly. Robert was quite startled and he wondered how long ago Ivan had noticed his presence. He walked into the living room and took a seat on one of the large leather couches that were situated at each corner of the room and they sat in silence for about an hour, as Robert drank his coffee while Ivan remained glued to the TV. Robert found himself watching the TV as well, he was curious as to why Ivan was concentrating on it so much. Once the second episode of that particular cartoon series was over and the end credits began to roll, Ivan grabbed the TV remote from his side and began scrolling through the programming schedule. Robert realized the window of opportunity and attempted to make conversation with him since Ivan had barely spoken a word to neither him nor Joanne since they arrived.

     “That was a great cartoon,” Robert began, “What’s it called?” Ivan turned towards Robert briefly, acknowledging the question. He turned back to the TV and opened the information tab which showed the programming schedule for each channel. He then scrolled to the topmost tab and flicked his tiny hand towards the TV. Robert directed his eyes towards the information tab and read through the title, “Courage the cowardly dog.” He read out loud, “Is that the name of the cartoon you were watching?” He asked. Ivan nodded his head and continued scrolling through the information tab to other channels to find something else to watch. Robert figured that he would have to try harder in order to get his attention. He took the last sips of his coffee and stood from his seat. He placed the mug on a small wooden stool right next to the couch, and proceeded towards the middle of the room. Once he got to where Ivan was, he crouched down next to him while he struggled to cross his legs so that he could sit down. Ivan glanced at him briefly. He was silent as he watched Robert struggle to sit down. Eventually, Robert settled down and he turned towards Ivan who was still busy scrolling through the programming schedule. It was only after Ivan switched back to the initial channel he was watching, that Robert realized that he had been stalling for time as he waited for more Courage the cowardly dog episodes to air. 

      “I thought it ended,” Robert commented. Ivan glanced at him again, and flicked his hand towards the top-left side of the TV. Robert followed his hand and noticed the word, ‘omnibus’ written in small but exciting letters. “Ooh.” said Robert, “Is it going to air the entire day?” He asked. Ivan raised his shoulders while his head slightly tilted to the right, indicating that he didn’t know. “Okay.” Robert answered in a disappointed tone. He thought back to some days ago when they first got to the hotel. How excited both he and Joanne were as they waited for Ivan and Robbie to arrive from soccer practice. Dorrie had meant for them to keep each other company while she dealt with everything that was going on, but instead, her absence had created an entirely different set of challenges. According to the nanny, it had been over a month since Dorrie was in close contact with the twins. She meant to keep them busy with school and co-curricular activities in attempts to distract them from her absence. This tactic seemed to work for Robbie, he was doing well in school and kept excelling in his co-curricular activities as well; every single one of his teachers sang nothing but praises about him. However, the same couldn’t be said for Ivan. According to the nanny, Ivan stopped talking a week after he and Robbie were brought to the hotel. When Robbie was asked about it, he mentioned that Ivan stopped talking to him as well, even when they were alone in their room. Ever since they came, both Joanne and Robert made it a personal mission to get Ivan to start talking again. Whether it was a word, or just a sentence, they didn’t care, so long as their grandson started talking again. Robert grew weary of his silence. He feared that it was getting quite loud in his young mind, that he wouldn’t even know where to begin if he did begin to talk. However, Robert knew that he couldn’t afford to give up hope just yet. So he sat there with Ivan, and they continued to watch his cartoons for hours on end, engulfed in a sea of silence, the only refuge being the childish and witty cartoons that were before him. 

     Robert became completely immersed in the cartoon adventure as the hours went by. He found himself feeling empathetic for the main character, Courage the dog, who was always going to extreme lengths to save his family from the outrageous and unrealistic scenarios that they found themselves involved in. In fact, he was so immersed, that he didn’t notice Joanne and Robbie burst into the suite as they jeered joyfully while they reminisced about their eventful day. Following behind them were two concierges, each with one large white box in their hands. They walked into the kitchen area, placed the boxes inside the refrigerator and immediately walked out of the suite. “Thank you!” Joanne said as she escorted them out. Robbie zoomed through the living room as his hair bounced along with him towards his room. Joanne hesitantly approached Ivan and bent closer to him. “You should have come with us today.” She said as she held on to his chin. And for the first time, Robert noticed that Ivan had shifted his focus from the TV while he concentrated on Joanne. “We had so much fun at the park.” She continued. Ivan smiled at her briefly and immediately switched his attention back to the TV. Joanne sighed and turned towards Robert, who was coincidentally staring at her. She stood up and walked towards the kitchen, where she tilted her head, seemingly to direct Robert to follow her. Robert nodded and turned his towards Ivan, “I’ll be back buddy,” he said. He stood and walked into the kitchen, where he found Joanne restlessly pacing back and forth. He knew that there was something weighing heavy on her mind.

     “I can’t take it anymore,” she announced, “How long is he going to stay quite like that?”

     “I don’t know Jo,” Robert replied, “He just doesn’t want to talk.”

     “But it’s driving me crazy. There is so much going on around us and our grandson won’t even talk to us.”

     “Let’s just give him some time,” Robert explained, “He’ll come around. I’m sure.”

     “It’s been almost a month now. I’m afraid I might forget what his voice sounds like.”

     “You won’t. We just need to give him some time. Eventually he’ll ask for something or want to tell us something. He can’t stay quiet forever.”

Joanne started pacing again as her mind was being bombarded by so various overwhelming thoughts. At the beginning of the week, her only concern was Beatrice’s location. As the week progressed, she found herself worried about Dorrie’s well-being. However, all her attention was now on Ivan. Ever since they came to East Kamasha, and they were informed that he had stopped talking, it was the only thing she could think about. Ivan was still a child, she knew that he was overwhelmed with everything that was going on. And while other children his age had their parents to guide them through these kinds of situations, Ivan didn’t have that luxury. Joanne knew that the only thing that would make Ivan talk was his parents. And she feared that as long as he couldn’t be in contact with Dorrie, her grandson would remain mum forever.

      “Let’s just get through today,” Robert continued as he walked towards Joanne to stop her from pacing, “One day at a time. It will be alright.”

     “You don’t know that,” Joanne argued, “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

     “Those two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive, you know?” Robert replied. Joanne stared at Robert for a while. Her entire demeanor changed drastically; she was neither worried nor sad, she was now angry. She shook her head disapprovingly and began to walk away from Robert. When she got to the end of the middle counter, she stopped and turned towards him, “I have tried everything to get Ivan to talk to me,” she began, “When this week began I didn't think that my greatest worry would be whether or not I'd get to hear my grandson’s voice. I am worried, as I should. I can’t talk to my daughter and now my grandson won’t even talk to me. Stop telling me things to try and make me feel better. His voice is the only thing that is going to make me feel better.” And with that final word, Joanne stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Robert fumbling over his words as he tried to apologize. He had not realized that in his attempts to get Joanne to calm down, what he was actually doing was invalidating her emotions. Robert took a deep breath and rushed out of the kitchen towards their room. When he turned the doorknob, he realized that Joanne had locked the door from the inside. He knocked on the door repeatedly, pleading with her to unlock the door, but his attempts fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, Robbie emerged from his room and rushed towards Robert. He slid through the corridor and bumped into Robert’s leg which he grabbed onto, causing Robert to slightly lose his balance.   

     “Grandpa Rob!’ Robbie exclaimed cheerfully, “Let’s go watch cartoons with Ivan.” Robert stared down at the little boy and a strange thought popped into his mind, ‘how could two individuals who look exactly alike, react to the same situation so differently?’ At this point, he had resigned to the fact that Joanne wasn’t going to open the door for him. He grabbed a hold of Robbie, and hoisted him up, “That sounds like a great idea!” He exclaimed pretentiously. He then carried Robbie into the living room area and they both sat next to Ivan, legs crossed and all, and proceeded to watch cartoons for the entirety of the afternoon.

     After hours of a long and endless cycle of cartoons, Robert grew tired, and went to sit on the couch, where he immediately fell asleep. When it was almost nighttime, Joanne walked into the living room to check up on everybody and she chuckled when she saw Robert asleep on the couch. Even though he didn’t look like he was uncomfortable, the upright sitting position didn’t seem like the most comfortable position to sleep in. And for a brief second, Joanne felt bad about locking him out of their room. She walked past the twins towards the couch and woke him up gently. “Rob,” she said softly, “Wake up.” Robert was startled from his sleep. He looked around as his vision suddenly became clear and he saw Joanne bent over him. He yawned and stared at her, “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He commented. Joanne laughed and grabbed his coffee mug from the stool, “I think you mean sleepy eyes.” She replied. She then walked towards the kitchen, where she rinsed the mug at the sink and began to collect cutlery from the cabinets. Robert rushed behind her and closed the kitchen door once he got in, “Jo,” he began, “I’m sorry about earlier.”

     “I may have overreacted,” Joanne interjected, “I shouldn’t have locked you out of the room.”

     “I was being insensitive to your feelings. I sometimes forget that you’re not as hardened as I am. I shouldn’t have expected you to handle this Ivan situation the same way I was.”

     “It’s just weighing me down,” Joanne explained, “Everytime I think that it’s going to get better, something else happens, and my emotions begin to spiral.”

     “We are in this together,” Robert said as he walked closer towards her and held her hands, “And we will get through this together, I promise you.”

      Joanne stared at Robert for a moment. She smiled at him and gave him a long kiss on the cheek, “Thank you for that,” she said, “Now help me set up.” Robert huffed lightly and walked towards the cutlery drawers. He pulled out 4 forks and one large cake knife. He placed them on top of the five plates that Joanne had already pulled out of the cabinets. He opened the fridge and looked at the two cake boxes that were staring right at him, “Should I grab both of them?” He asked. Joanne zoomed behind him with the utensils in hand, “One for each of the boys.” She answered. Robert took each box out of the fridge and placed them on the counter behind him. He pondered about how he was going to get both of them to the dining area and finally decided to balance one box on each hand. He cautiously walked out of the kitchen towards the dining area, where he found both Ivan and Robie already seated while Joanne was busy setting the table. He placed each box after the other on the table and was relieved that the weight was off his hands. He sat at the high chair, next to the door, while Joanne sat to his left and the twins to his right, facing the door. Joanne opened the boxes, identifying each of the twin’s cakes. “This one is for my dear Robbie,” she said as she placed one of the boxes in front of Robbie, “And this one is for my sweet Ivan” she said as she placed the other in front of Ivan. Robbie stared at his cake gluttonously while he raved about it endlessly. On the contrary, Ivan wasn’t the slightest bit enthusiastic. As he stared at the cake, Ivan couldn’t help but wonder how happy his 7th birthday truly was without his mother there to celebrate with him. Deep down, Ivan desired to throw his cake onto the wall and watch as the creamy frosting splattered all over and made a mess. He watched as Joanne anchored candles on each of their cakes, 7 on each. Robert lit a match and began to light each of the candles, while Joanne turned the lights off to accentuate the dim candle lights. 

     Once the preparations were completed, both Joanne and Robert sat at their seats. Robbie was ecstatic and could barely sit still on his seat. Joanne noticed his impatience and giggled, “Wait a minute young man,” she instructed, “You have to make a wish first before you cut the cake.” As was the norm, Robert and Joanne began to sing them the happy birthday song. It was joyous and full of energy. And when they got to the second stanza, Robbie couldn’t help but join in, premiering his own ‘unique’ rendition to the song. They clapped their hands as they got to the end of the song. At that point, Ivan looked around the table as he held on to his cheek with the palm of his hand. Joanne and Robert kept throwing glances at him, hoping that their birthday celebration would cheer him up a little. “Make a wish.” Said Joanne cheerfully. The twins waited for a moment and glanced at each other. Robbie proceeded to blow his candles out first, Ivan followed suit a few seconds later. Joanne stood from her seat and began to pick the candles out of the cakes. She turned towards Robbie and smiled, “What did you wish for dear?” She asked. Robbie could barely contain his excitement. He was kneeling on his seat with his eyes glued to the cake, ready to attack it at any second. “I wished for a new toy train set!” He announced, “Just like the one we saw on the TV!” Joanne glanced at Robert and she ogled her eyes at him, “That’s great dear,” she replied. “And how about you Ivan?” She asked, “What did you wish for?” She stared at him and hoped that Ivan might get lost in the moment and finally say something. But after seconds of silence, Joanne’s hope began to fade away. 

      She resigned and continued to pick the candles out of Ivan’s cake when suddenly, there was a bit of commotion at the door. Both Joanne and Robert didn’t think much of the disturbance. They figured that it might be Coco, a dog that was allowed to wander around the hotel and was quite fond of the twins. She placed all the candles on a plastic plate and proceeded with them towards the kitchen while Robert grabbed the knife to help the boys cut their cakes. She placed the plate into the sink and opened the tap to soak the candles in water. She became lost in thought. As she stared at the plate while it filled and the water spilled over, she became one with the candles. In that moment, she felt as though she was sinking into her emotions. She was quite overwhelmed and sad. Joanne had hoped that Ivan would have at least made an effort tonight, she hoped that the birthday celebration would have boosted his mood and made him feel like he truly wasn't alone. But all it did was make her realize how bad things were getting. She was disappointed that all her efforts couldn’t bear any fruits. Then suddenly, she heard the front door creak open. Joanne became alert and began to walk away from the sink. ‘Who could that be?’ she pondered. And as she got closer to the door, the answer to that question would come from none other than Ivan himself. 

     Ivan’s voice blasted across the suite, followed by an indistinct commotion. Joanne halted in her step as her ears concentrated on Ivan’s voice. His voice was as sweet as honey, caressing her ears and laying her worries to rest. She couldn’t believe it, for the first time in a month, Ivan had said something. Joanne rushed out of the kitchen towards the living room area. Joanne was so excited to have heard Ivan’s voice, that she hadn’t paid attention to what he had actually said. When she got to the living room, she was shocked to see her daughter at the door holding on to the boys. She saw Mr.Dennings standing behind Dorrie silently with his hands crossed against his back. Joanne stood in silence and watched as Ivan burst into tears while he laid on his mother’s shoulders. Dorrie held on to her sons tightly, seemingly oblivious to Joanne and Robert’s presence. Robert walked towards Joanne and stood next to her. It remained silent for a long time, the only prevalent sound was Ivan’s sad sobbing as he tried to process his mother’s presence. Dorrie stroked through his hair repeatedly while she whispered caring sentiments, however, Ivan wouldn’t stop crying. She turned her gaze towards her parents and stared deep into their eyes while she held onto her sons with all her strength. Streams of tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned her gaze towards Joanne and stared at her deeply. Joanne could tell that there was something wrong. She stared at her daughter and they silently communicated to each other. Once Dorrie turned away from her, she quickly figured out what she was trying to tell her. Joanne reluctantly turned towards Robert. Tears plopped from her eyes as she struggled to come to terms with what had happened. She stared deep into his eyes and pierced into his soul. And at that moment, Robert understood what was actually going on. He had tried to make sense of Dorrie’s sudden presence in East Kamasha, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He looked back at Dorrie, and analyzed her demeanor. Her face looked tired and her spirit seemed to be entirely drained and exhausted. Judging by the look on both of their faces, Robert realized that Dorrie’s presence could only mean one thing, 

Beatrice was dead.

     Sunday evening, in West Kamasha, Robert Schully was at the Donohan household. He stood at the middle of the compound and was leaning against the car with his hands crossed while he faced the fence. He was waiting for Dorrie, she was giving Beatrice’s parents the news about their daughter’s death and had requested for some privacy. Robert scanned the entire perimeter of the compound, it was surrounded by a tall and bushy fence which separated the household from the rest of the neighbourhood. But as he looked closer, Robert could see multiple shadows lingering on the other side of the fence. He heard several twigs cracking and noticed some parts of the fence move forcibly. Robert eventually got suspicious and decided to investigate. He hesitantly walked towards one end of the fence and peered through it. When he moved closer, he heard snickering and murmurs coming from the other side of the fence. Once he realized what was going on, Robert became furious. “You people need to leave right now.” He ordered, “Or I can call security and have you forcibly removed.”

The snickering and murmuring continued for a while longer and Robert could hear his name being mentioned several times. Eventually, one person with a very deep voice decided to speak up, “We’re not leaving until we get a statement and some shots of Dr.Schully,” he answered, “She has been dodging us for months.”

     “My daughter doesn’t need you people adding onto her stress right now.”

     “Is there something going on with her that we should know about?” A softer voice asked.

     “She has been laying low these past few months,” another commented, “Tell us what happened.”

     “It’s not my place to tell you what’s going on in my daughter’s life,” Robert rebutled, “If she wants you to know, she will tell you herself.”

     “Then we will wait until she comes out,” the deep voice answered, “I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Dr.Donohan. We haven’t heard from her or seen her for a while as well.”

     “Unbelievable,” Robert murmured, “Is this how the majority of the Kamashan press behave? Do I have to beg you to give my daughter her privacy?”

     “Oh no no,” the softer voice answered, “We are not press.”

     “We are paparazzi,” the deep voice added, “We have no boundaries.”

     “But if you want us to leave, you should tell us what’s been going on, on the record of course.”

     “I’m not telling you people anything,” Robert asserted, “Now go away, before I let the West Kamashan border patrol know that there are intruders around this neighbourhood.”

The snickering got louder and the chatter became more obvious. The paparazzi started to laugh cynically. Robert couldn’t tell whether they were laughing at him or his threats. He got annoyed and began to walk away as the laughter persisted.

     “Who do you think let us in here?” The deep voice shouted. Robert stopped in his step, inhaled deeply and continued to walk away. He walked towards the car, and leaned onto it while he kept an eye on the fence. Just as he got to the car, Dorrie and Mr.Dennings emerged from the front door accompanied by Mr. and Mrs.Donohan. Robert could hear the chattering at the fence grow louder. He saw camera flashes flickering from one end of the fence to the other. Robert turned around, and when he saw Dorrie and the Donohans talking, he began to ponder about his daughter’s safety, ‘How did they know we were here?’ he wondered. He watched as Dorrie shook Mr.Donohan’s hand and then gave Mrs.Donohan a very warm and tight hug. Afterwards, both she and Mr.Dennings dragged themselves towards the car. Robert walked towards the other side of the car and opened the door for Dorrie, “Get in,” he said, “There are paparazzi all over this place.”

Dorrie glanced at Mr.Dennings. She turned towards her father and took a deep breath, “I know dad.” She replied. She then hopped into the car followed by Mr.Dennings who got into the driver’s seat. Robert then walked back to the other side of the car and got into the passenger’s seat next to Dorrie. They strapped on their safety belts and Mr.Dennings turned on the car and proceeded to drive out of the compound. When they drove past the front door, Mr. and Mrs. Donohan waved at Dorrie and proceeded back into their mansion. 

     Once they got to the gate, the guard immediately opened it and they drove out of the compound and into the neighbourhood where they were immediately bombarded by paparazzi. They surrounded the car and flocked towards Dorrie’s side while they banged on her window, hurled question after question and kept on taking photos of her. In a normal situation, Dorrie would have ignored them until she was at a safe distance. However, this lot was extremely persistent. They kept banging on her window so hard that Dorrie feared that it would break. She anxiously scurried towards her father and kept her head down. Having noticed Dorrie’s distress, Mr.Dennings began to accelerate out of the neighbourhood at top speed. He was driving way beyond the speed limit and he knew that he would be fined for it later on. However, the paparazzi could not keep up with their pace and they eventually halted their pursuit. Dorrie took a while before she calmed down. She eventually moved back to her seat and began staring out of the window. Robert, however, was still in complete shock. He had been watching his daughter, monitoring her reaction to the paparazzi. By the look on her face, he could tell that these run-ins happened more often than not. He could tell that she was used to them swarming all over her and demanding for photos and statements. Robert began to wonder what the rest of her life was actually like. He had gotten a tiny glimpse into the life of a Kamashan public figure and witnessed it first hand. But even in that moment, the incident with the paparazzi was the last thing on his mind. He had been staring at Dorrie for a while now, she had been silent since they got into the car. However, after watching his 7 year old grandson stay mum, Robert was weary of any kind of silence, and would not allow it to persist any longer.

     “Are we going to talk about what happened back there?” Robert asked. His gaze still glued onto Dorrie while she stared out the window. Dorrie turned towards him. She had an exhausted look on her face

     “What’s there to talk about?” She rebutled faintly, “I think we all know what happened.”

     “I’m not talking about the paparazzi,” Robert dismissed, “It is clear to me that the Kamashan public is for some reason, very interested in your private life. However, I’m actually referring to your chat with the Donohans. How did it go?”

Dorrie took a deep breath and turned back to the window, “I found out something today morning while I was having my… tea,” she began, “Did you know that some species of whales eventually stop coming up for air? They just get tired, and they suffocate themselves, willingly.”

Robert looked at Dorrie, confused about the premise of what she had just said, “Okay,” he replied reluctantly, “What has that got to do with anything?”

     “Beatrice,” Dorrie answered, “This was a woman that had everything. She had no record of misconduct, she had her own biotechnology clinic and she was working on the genetic database with us and the robotics team. She had everything. But for some reason, she got herself involved with people that were scheming against the Kamashan government. So everything that she’s worked for to this point is gone, and they killed her because of it.”

Robert continued to stare at Dorrie. She turned towards him and took a deep breath. She looked around the car as she struggled to keep herself together while she was falling apart mentally and emotionally.

     “There is no way Beatrice gave all of that up unknowingly. There is nothing anyone can tell me to make me believe that. Beatrice was one of the smartest people that I have ever met. If she got involved with people that were conspiring against the Kamashan government, she did it willingly. But I just don’t understand why she would do that. I can’t wrap my head around it. I’ve been thinking about it all day but I still can’t figure it out.”

Robert began to analyze his daughter. Deep bags created depressions underneath her eyes, probably due to severe sleep deprivation. Her face looked extremely pale, and her body kept twitching, which alarmed Robert. She was wearing a big puffy jacket and she had her head covered with the hood. Her hands remained tucked inside her pockets, even though the weather was quite warm. He looked deep into her eyes and he noticed that they had a light purple tinge. He suspected something, but couldn’t be sure until he questioned her about it.

     “What was in your tea this morning?” He inquired.

     “Why do you ask?” Dorrie rebutled anxiously.

     “Well you look like you haven’t slept in almost a month. I don’t think there is any blood left in your body, and your eyes are definitely purple.”

     “They are? I hadn’t noticed.”

     “What is going on with you?” Robert asked, “You look like you are about to die.”

Robert probably shouldn’t have said that, you never really know who has an ear out. “Tell me the truth.” He ordered.

     “Fine. I’ve been taking some Bthalman Bomb berry tea to ease my stress.”

     “What?” Robert exclaimed, “For how long?”

     “The past 2 months. Ever since I sent the twins to the East.”

     “So you’ve been taking Bomb berry tea everyday for the past 2 months?”

     “Yes.” Dorrie sighed.

     “What grade have you been taking?”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Bomb berries have different potency levels. So which one have you been using?”

     “I don’t know. I didn’t think to check the box when I got it.”

     “You shouldn’t have done that,” Robert argued, “You of all people know how addictive Bomb berries are. Once you start you can’t stop.”

     “That’s not true. I can stop whenever I want. You don’t get to tell me what I can or can’t do anymore.”

     “I know that,” Robert retreated, “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just saying that you should be mindful of your intake.”

     “You’re right,” said Dorrie, “The only reason I had it today was because I was anxious about meeting Beatrice’s parents. I didn’t know how they would react to the news. She didn’t talk about them too often, but when she did, it was always something negative.”

     “I could understand that. But don’t make it a habit, especially if you’re having trouble sleeping, it will only make your anxiety worse.”

      Dorrie stared at Robert briefly then looked away. Before he had mentioned it to her, she had no idea that her inner struggles were being reflected outwardly. It had been awhile since Dorrie stood in front of a mirror and took time to assess herself. Ever since she learned about Beatrice’s death, she had been drowning in tears. However, she would occasionally try to keep herself together whenever she was in proximity to her sons. She didn’t want them to see her while she was broken down and distraught. However, after the talk with Robert, it was clear that she needed to find a different approach to her grieving. She needed to find another outlet where she could express her frustration and anguish. As each second passed, Dorrie’s mind made it a point to remind her that Beatrice was no longer with her. Her death was a persistent thought in her mind that would forever remain a plague on her existence. She had lost a colleague, a confidant and most especially, she had lost a friend. Grief suddenly began to overwhelm Dorrie and tears started streaming down her face. She could feel her heart aching, it was as if someone had stabbed her with a knife and left her on the side of the road to bleed out. She neither sobbed nor whimpered. She didn’t feel sadness or frustration. She only felt pain. It was an overwhelmingly strong sensation and it remained the only thing that she could think about. There was no amount of physical pain that could amount to what Dorrie was feeling. Because the pain that comes along with grief is inflicted by the mind itself, and it is the mind that ultimately dictates the intensity and duration. 

     Dorrie calmed herself and peered towards Mr.Dennings, “Take me to the research center.” She ordered. She wiped the tears off her face using her jacket sleeve while she sniffled repeatedly. “Yes, Dr.Schully.” Mr.Dennings replied. He set a course for a 2 hour drive towards the research center, and they all sat in silence for the entirety of their ride through the smooth West Kamashan streets. Robert kept sneaking glances at his daughter who stared outside for the entire trip. He noticed the tears plopping from her eyes as she cried the whole way to the research center. Once they got to the main entrance, Mr.Dennings scanned Dorrie’s credentials and the gate immediately slid open. They got into the compound which was totally empty at that time, and Mr.Dennings proceeded to park the car right in front of the main building. Dorrie hopped out of the car and proceeded into the building. Mr.Dennings attempted to follow her but she immediately stopped him, “Wait here,” she said, “I won’t be too long.” Mr.Dennings nodded in agreement and Dorrie continued into the building as he watched over her until she disappeared further into the lobby. He and Robert sat in silence for a while as they looked around at the uninteresting empty compound. Robert became lost in his thoughts and he seemingly didn’t notice Mr.Dennings sneaking glances at him while he contemplated confronting him. The silence persisted for about 20 minutes and Mr.Dennings couldn’t hold back his thoughts any longer. He turned towards Robert and began staring at him sharply.

     “What?” Robert asked when he noticed Mr.Dennings’ piercing gaze.

     “When are you going to tell her?”

     “Tell her about what?”

     “About what really happened to Beatrice.”

     “Don’t you think I would have already if I knew?” Robert argued, “I’m in the dark about it as well.”

     “So you mean to tell me that I call you and tell you about Beatrice’s disappearance. You tell me that you’ll do something about it, we mysteriously get her location 2 days later and you expect me to believe that you didn’t have a hand in it?”

     “What you do or do not believe is none of my concern,” said Robert sternly, “My only concern is my daughter.”

     “How do you think Dr.Schully will feel when she finds out that you’ve been lying to her?”

     “Lying to her about what, exactly?”

     “Your involvement with R.A.G.O,” Mr.Dennings answered, “I know that’s where Beatrice’s location came from.”

     “We are not involved with R.A.G.O. I happen to be in contact with some of their agents who give me crucial information about the Benuan government. I figured that they would have information about the Kamashan government as well, so I asked them about it.”

     “You were the one in contact with agents from R.A.G.O?”

     “Yes I was,” Robert answered.

     “That’s strange.”

     “What is it this time?”

     “You see, when we talked the other day, I specifically remember that it was Mrs.Schully who mentioned that she talked to a certain Joseph. She said that he told her he had no idea about Dr.Donohan.” Mr.Dennings explained, “I assume that this Joseph is an actual member of R.A.G.O.”

Robert remained silent. He knew that Mr.Dennings had already figured them out. He couldn’t hide it from him any longer. “We are both in contact with R.A.G.O,” he explained, “But Joanne’s ties to them are a bit more... personal.”

     “So that’s how we got Beatrice location,” Mr.Dennings commented, “If only we would have let you know sooner.”

     “What’s that supposed to mean?”

     “Think about it, Mr.Schully. Do you know what’s going to happen once Dr.Schully finds out that you have ties with the people who got Beatrice into this mess in the first place?”

     “That informant was not a R.A.G.O agent. I can assure you of that. They would have never put Beatrice in harm's way, or any other person for that matter.”

     “Do you see how broken she is? Do you see what she’s doing to herself? Your daughter is falling apart right before your eyes and you can’t even do the decent thing and tell her the truth about Dr.Donohan’s dealings with R.A.G.O. She’s being blamed for what happened to Dr.Donohan. She’s heard it so much she’s actually starting to believe it. So you need to come clean about this to her.”

     “I can’t do that,” Robert argued, “Both Joanne and I agreed that we would keep Dorrie out of it.”

     “And how’s that been working out for you?” Mr.Dennings interjected. “Dr.Donohan is dead. Whoever it was that she was involved with, whether it was a R.A.G.O informant or not, all that doesn’t matter anymore because we didn’t get to her soon enough. What matters right now, is the truth. Dr.Schully needs to know what’s been going on. It's my job to protect her. So if you don’t make a point to tell her about it soon, I most certainly will.”

     Robert sunk back into his seat after Mr.Dennings dealt him with that last blow. His train of thought instantaneously gained momentum. He thought about coming clean to Dorrie about their family’s relationship with R.A.G.O. He thought about what the truth would entail. Was it really time to tell her about it? He thought about Joanne, and how she would react if she knew that he had told Dorrie about it before he had the chance to discuss it with her. He knew that she would disapprove, and would fight tooth and nail in order to maintain the secret. But deep down, Robert knew that it was the right thing to do. The image of his daughter’s exhausted face continued to pop up in his mind. He started to feel guilty about keeping the secret from her knowing that she blamed herself for Beatrice’s untimely demise. But he feared that by telling her about it, it would re-open old wounds while consequently inflicting new ones. However, the thought of his daughter’s emotional deterioration carried more weight in his mind, it was a thought that he could not bear. And it was at that moment that Robert made his decision.

     Robert hopped out of the car and walked towards the main building. Mr.Dennings had been keeping a close eye on him and followed his movements with his sharp gaze, “Where are you going?” He asked. Robert stopped at his step and turned towards the car, “I’m going to tell her the truth.” He answered. Robert then turned and continued into the building while Mr.Dennings gaze followed him until he disappeared into the lobby. Robert walked past the reception and checked the floor directory that was plastered on the wall. He checked for the Y-Chromosite Gene Technology clinic and saw that it was at the right wing on the third floor, and he rushed into the right wing elevator. He pressed the elevator button and it began its smooth accent towards the third floor. While he was standing in the elevator, Robert couldn’t help but think about all the times Dorrie had invited him to come visit Beatrice’s clinic. He remembered making up several excuses not to come, whether it be an illness or a work-related excuse. Robert felt ashamed, and a scolding voice pierced through his mind reminding him that only in the event of Beatrice’s death did actually muster up the courage to take an initiative. Once he got to the third floor, he hopped out of the elevator and rushed towards the clinic. While he walked, Robert had the clinic in his sights. So much so that he didn’t even notice the infamous Kamashan Population Management Supercomputer that had been built some few floors below him at the very middle of the research center. He passed the humongous device unknowingly and swiftly walked towards the clinic.

     Robert walked into the clinic and looked around. Over the course of the past 7 years since it was opened, the clinic was expanded to cover three individual units from the third floor to the fifth. When he walked in, he noticed a large waiting area on his right, while the reception was a few steps from the door. However, he didn’t see Dorrie around the area and he proceeded into the clinic. He walked past the reception into a small corridor. While at the corridor, the first thing he noticed was Beatrice’s office to his immediate right. He tried to open the door, but quickly realized that it was locked. He concluded that Dorrie wasn’t there and proceeded further into the corridor. Robert’s gaze travelled all the way to the end of the corridor where he noticed that there was a stairway which he then set his sights on. He took a couple of steps towards it, but seemingly didn’t notice the open door that was a couple of steps past Beatrice’s office. However, there was a slight breeze that swept through his back once he walked past the room which caught his attention. Robert stopped in his step and walked back towards the room. He stood in front of the door and once he walked in, he realized that it was Beatrice’s lab. Robert was sure that Dorrie must have been around there somewhere. “Dorrie!” He called out as he walked past the benches, “I need to talk to you about something.” But there was no answer. He walked towards the back of the lab and peered past the refrigerators, but there was still no sign of Dorrie. He turned around in frustration and frantically looked around the lab. And in that instant, his gaze caught on to the preparation room door which was mysteriously wide open. ‘She must be in there’ he concluded. 

     Robert began to walk past the benches, towards the preparation room. A large gust of wind blew through the windows into the lab, disorienting Robert slightly. “Dorrie!” He called out again as he walked back towards the windows to close them, “Could you come out here, I really need to tell you something. It’s important.” Once he ensured that all the windows were closed, he continued walking towards the preparation room. As Robert got closer to the door, he noticed a shadow against the floor. He got suspicious and hesitantly began to walk into the room where he found Dorrie’s body lying lifelessly on the floor in the middle of the room. Robert gasped in shock and rushed towards his daughter, “Dorrie!’ He called out as he frantically inspected her body. Her face felt extremely cold and she was struggling to take light breaths. Robert aggressively pushed the tables aside and knelt next to her body.“Dorrie can you hear me?” He yelled repeatedly. But Dorrie did not respond. Robert frantically looked around the room to look for anything suspicious. However, it did not seem like she had interacted with anyone or anything. He placed his hand on her neck and noticed a very faint pulse. He quickly got his phone out of his coat pocket and dialed Mr.Dennings. “James!” he said hysterically “Get an ambulance right now…. It's Dorrie… she is unresponsive… I don’t know!... I  found her passed out in the clinic.” Robert threw his phone onto the floor, loosened Dorrie’s jacket and began to give her the heimlich in attempts to wake her. However, Dorrie remained unresponsive, and her pulse kept getting weaker as the seconds passed. Robert held onto his child and tears began rolling down his face. He started panicking and rocked his body back and forth while he held on to Dorrie. And for the first time in his life, Robert found himself begging the all-powerful Universe to keep his daughter alive until help arrived. Robert was pleading for his daughter’s life, but this, as in most cases, was a losing battle. As he continued to cry over Dorrie’s lifeless body, the daughter that he knew and loved was slowly slipping away from the grasp of reality, 

never to return again.