At the GateWithout minding who would lose his job or be reproved because of their presence, the two boys never relented in their quest.“Good afternoon, Cadets,” the Major greeted them happily when he arrived. “Good afternoon, Major,” Gerald panted and Samuel focused on the Major. “I think there is a misconception here. We don't have any record of such a thing here,” the Major pointed out but they insisted. Their big sister and mother could not be lying when they said that he was killed by the soldiers and taken away in a helicopter.“Major, we are certain that he was killed by the military and taken away with a helicopter,” Gerald stated.“We are not asking for justice for him, Major but give us his body for a proper burial,” Samuel requested.The confused Major looked at their puffed eyes and told himself that he had a serious problem. He was aware that the military did not do that but played down his knowledge and asked, “When did it happen?”At that point, David was happy that
“They are looking for you and crying because they believe that you are dead?”“My goodness! I can't meet them. Let them remain with the notion that I am dead.”“It is all right.” Meanwhile, Tim who had not come to terms with why they were at the gate added, “When they are tired of searching for me, they would leave.” “That is it.”“Thank you for informing me, Your Excellency.”“You are welcome.”After the call, he looked at them again and asked himself, “Is that why they had been calling me?”Without delay, he joined George. To his chagrin, George could not even drive a screw into a hole. He laughed softly and asked, “Is it difficult for you?”Unhesitatingly, he answered, “Yes, Boss.”“That is a good one to own up. It is good for you to know how to do it because you may need it someday. If you run out of weapons on the battlefield, the ability to improvise will help you a lot.”“I got it, Boss.”“Take a break. We will continue later.”“Okay, Boss,” he said, carefully gathered the p
At Laura's HouseUnfortunately, the family was never prepared for the trauma of the missing children that day. They had their dinner quite well but were distressed afterward.“Where could they be at this moment?” Madeline asked bitterly.“It baffles me, too,” Laura stated and looked at her worried father's face.“Have you called their numbers?” He asked.“Let me do that, now,” she promised and dialed Gerald's number. They waited anxiously while it rang. Afterward, it timed out. “What is the meaning of this? Why are they not picking up their calls?” Madeline asked.“Could they have gone to Rakaia?” Her father asked and they focused on him.“What will take them there, Dad? When they were looking for Tim's corpse”“Maybe to see their old friends.”Rakaia was their native town and it was seated close to the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains. That was the river Tim fell into after Gen. McDonald shot him. “It is possible. What do we do?” Madeline asked.“Tim wou
At The President's Office.Now, George was through with Capt. Bruce and was in his office. He thought that the Secretary had arrived and was attending to other things when he did not meet her at her desk. Besides, he did not need her. For reasons best known to himself, he avoided the President's desk and worked from the Conference Table. He looked at the security camera and saw the gate. Before he could think of the right punishment for the latecomers, he got a call from Tim. He had been monitoring the activities in the complex and trying to contact him but did not because he was with Capt. Bruce. Instantly, he picked up the call and greeted him, “Hello, Boss. Is there anything you want me to do for you?”“Hello, George. I think a minute's punishment is okay for the latecomers. You can ask them to go in.”“Okay, Boss,” he accepted and walked to the intercom. He called the gate and Cpl. Simpson picked up the call and greeted him, “Good morning, General. How may I be of help to you?”
Now, George faced the General Manager and informed him, “To serve as a deterrent to the other staff members, …”“Yes, what do I do?” He interrupted him and asked anxiously. “Just paste the names on the notice board. I think it is lighter than a query. What do you think?”“You are right. Thank you for your understanding,” he appreciated him, stood up, and stated, “I will take my leave at once.”“It is all right. Kindly ask the Secretary to see me.”“Consider it done, Sergeant,” he consented and walked away while George brought out the handgun. The General Manager walked to the Secretary's office and informed her, “He needs your attention, Secretary.”“It is okay, Capt. Bolton,” she answered with extreme enthusiasm, and he walked away. At Capt. Bolton's OfficeHe was happy with the turnout of events and was ready to give it all his best. Instantly, he asked his secretary, Stephanie Benjamin, a twenty-five-year-old lady who had been in the organization before the war, to prepare a mem
At The Auxiliary Armory PLCLaura walked back to her desk like one in a trance and took her seat. Now, she was breathing heavily and trying to put herself together. After a while, she said, “The Corporal confused me. Why did he address him as General?”She looked worriedly for some time before she asked, “Why is he putting on the wristwatch I gifted the President?”At Tim's ApartmentHe was happy when George returned and continued his work by reporting all the abnormalities in the office. “Welcome back once again. You look worried,” Tim asked. He took a deep breath and pointed out, “I wonder how military staff members would come to work late. What is the difference between us and the civilians.”Tim laughed inwardly at his bogus expectations from humans and declared, “That is human beings for you. How do you think we can curtail it?”“By continuing to punish them. I asked the General Manager to display their names on the notice board to serve as a deterrent to others?”“I like that.
At Tim's HouseAfter the chat, he continued to watch the television. Before dinner, he sent for George and when he arrived, he prepared him for the next day's work and he showed fear. He could not imagine how he would receive a Brigadier without his support. Howbeit, he gave him an encouraging smile and asked, “Are you scared?” He vacillated before he answered, “No Boss,” even though it was obvious from his expression that he was.“That's good to hear. You won't be alone with him. The General Manager and the Sales Manager will be there with you. Are you okay with that?”“Yes. I got it, Boss.”They had their dinner peacefully and went to sleep. Unaware of what the next day will bring.The Next DayAt The Headquarters' GateSamuel was weak and rested his head on Gerald's shoulder all through the night. Cpl. Kenneth and the other soldiers were helplessly watching and praying for them. At that point, their lips were dried and the mark of tears distorted their lean faces. It was obvious t
At The Canterbury Defense AcademyThe Commandant held his breath while waiting for the call to connect. Above all, he was unaware of how to begin his complaint. After a few seconds, the call connected and his heart sank. “Hello, Commandant. How are you?” His Excellency greeted him happily when he picked up the call.Nevertheless, the cheerful greeting did not have much effect on his downcast spirit.“Good morning, Your Excellency. I'm fine,” he responded with a fallen voice.“What is the matter? You sound cold.”“Yes, Your Excellency. I wish to inform you that two of our students are missing. They left the school three days ago but have not returned as they promised.”“That is serious. What was their reason for leaving the school?”“They said their brother-in-law was killed and wished to attend his funeral. …”“Hold on. How many did you say they are?”“They are two, Your Excellency.” Now, His Excellency was abreast of the story and played along.“The two of them? Have you contacted
At The Complex Laura got up and walked to the door like a bulldog. The Corporal and warden gave way for her or she would have pounced on them. With that, she increased her offenses, and Jerry cashed in and whipped her legs with the horsewhip."Repeat after me, Miss Dickson. Say I will not disturb the peace of the complex again," he requested while flogging her."I will never disturb .... Hey!" She stopped and shrieked in pain.Jerry continued to flog her, and she continued to cry and repeat after him."Run for your life before I kill you. Silly girl," he shouted at her and she obeyed. George was happy to see her running out of the cell like a little mouse frightened out of the Queen's chair.She continued running towards the reception when Jerry joined George in the car and he turned on his ignition."Good job, Sergeant," he said and drove off.Nevertheless, she got to the lobby, and the new security team was surprised to see her running like a thief."What! What are you doing here?
He would have called Cpl. Simpson, who was on night duty, to release her, but it would not give him the satisfaction he wanted. Shortly after, he stormed out of his room, got the car keys from the hangar, and walked to the garage. His car alerted Collins and Jerry the moment he turned on his ignition. They walked out of the boys quarters and focused on him."We are going to the complex. Hop in if you are ready," he informed them.They were troubled and did not want to keep him longer than necessary. Jerry was on his khaki pants and camouflage shirt. Collins was putting on the same shirts upon knickers and was not comfortable with it."I will change to trousers," he said and walked away.Jerry got into the front seat, looked at George's sad face, and inquired, "I hope there's no problem?""The boss said we should release that wrench in the guard room.""Ha! You can ask the Corporal to release her," he advised him."I would have done that not until I lay my hands on her, and she would r
He furrowed his brow when he saw her in the kitchen preparing her dinner."Why doesn't she live in a big house and have security guards and a cook like Laura? At least a cook," he thought."Something should be done about it," he concluded.After he left the parlor, George sat on the couch to wait for him. At that point, he got a message from his father. He relaxed and punched on it. A wide smile covered his face while he was reading through it."She will never stay without trouble," he said when he read that Laura was arrested that morning.In the end, he said, "She would soon be working to finance bills that she incurred out of stupidity."At that point, Tim joined him and they walked to the dining table."How was your meeting with the Major General?" "It went well. Empress has grown lean," he pointed out and George was lost."What has Empress got to do with your meeting?" He asked him at once."Oh! I didn't inform you. The meeting was because of them. She fought with her instructor
To extricate herself, she answered at once, "No, Sir.""Then what happened? Don't keep me here longer than I wish," Dale thundered, and she was fear-stricken. "I apologize, Boss. I agreed with her and watched her walk to her husband. When she was sitting with him in the car, I called Mrs Bentley and showed her the two. She was surprised to see them discussing freely. When she returned, Mrs. Bentley did not bother to verify whether it was true or false."She stopped and looked at Richard who had killing intentions on his face. Tim was relishing the story and hated it when she stopped. He hit his hand on the table angrily and shouted at her, "Then what happened?"Although, they were not familiar with Tim's identity they believed that he was an important person to Dale.Instantly, she continued, "She gave her a knife hand strike. Before she could defend herself, she struck her with her shinbone and they began to fight."They focused on Empress who was still looking down. They compared
"I hope she is all right," he said and was restless.Before Tim walked to the foyer, he remembered Dale's summons to Richard's wife. He looked at his time and mumbled, "I would like to be there."He walked to his room and before he settled down, he heard a knock on the door."Come in, the door is not locked," he said, and George walked in with his stoic face."What is the matter. You scared the farmers away with your look," he made clear to him.He smiled weakly and asked him, "Did I? Miss Dickson attacked her colleague and injured her."Tim furrowed and dismissed him, "I have a meeting with Dale. We will talk about it when I return.""I got it, Boss," he said and returned to his room.Tim lay on the bed, breathed heavily, and asked himself, "What is wrong with this girl? Sacking her would not favor me otherwise, I would have done that."He thought for a while and resolved, "I know what to do?"Likewise, he rested for a while and got up. At that time, he heard Richard's car and tried
To Valentine, Tim may sound boastful but Ambrose knew better. "What do you think, Ambrose? Do we employ another person for that?" Richard asked him."No, Major. I can handle it."He faced Tim, smiled, and undertook, "I got it, Boss. We won't let the Third in Command down.""If you say so.""That is good to hear. Let's see the farmers," Richard said and moved.They followed him at once and walked to the farm. Since the incident of Monday, the farmers had not seen Tim and Richard. They stopped work when they saw them and greeted them accordingly."Good afternoon to you all," they responded simultaneously.Tim stepped aside and Richard addressed them, "Thank you all for your patience."Meanwhile, George, the General Manager, and the team arrived and parked beside the clunker. They got out of the car immediately and George tried to walk to the estate."They are at the farm, Major," one of the security guards informed him after the salutations."Thank you for informing me," he said and mo
At The Complex At lunch, Laura was not back, and Barbara took the initiative. She informed the Corporal of her intentions to be away for lunch and left. She returned at once with her packed food and ate in the cubicle. George and Bright met the General Manager in the elevator and informed him of the arrival of the machines."That is good to hear. I would love to see them. Or what do you think?""I planned to visit there after lunch. We can go together then," he declared.Now, the elevator door opened and they walked out."That is better," the General Manager said and they walked on.Soon, they were at the canteen. They had the meal happily and avoided discussing their proposed visit to the mining field. Their reasons were simple - to avoid luring the other managers from volunteering to come with them. Afterward, they returned to their offices and hoped to leave at 2 PM.Nevertheless, the exhausted Laura returned a few minutes before 2 PM. As for lunch, she was aware that she had miss
At Mount Olive "Kindly get your attorney, Young lady," the officer advised Laura."I was wrong, Officer. I shouldn't have missed my way," she declared, concealing her motive for visiting the palace.The officer pouted, gave her the statement paper, and said, "Write all you could remember about the incident here."Now, she was conscious of her office and afraid that she might be too late to work. She looked at the time and it was a few minutes before 9 AM.'Barbara would be happy to see me punished if I am late to work,' she lamented and began to write her statement quickly."I'm through, Officer," she showed her the statement and announced.She collected it, looked through it, and informed her, "The DPO is in a meeting. I will submit it to him after that."Instantly, she began to fidget and asked her, "Huh! When will that be? I should be in my office."She paid no heed to her question and simply said, "Kindly wait at the reception.""Hey! I'm in trouble," she exclaimed, got up and w
She saw herself walking into the palace and was covered with sweat immediately. The officer was calm and watching the television as well. She switched her look from the television to the officer. When she got to the point, she said, 'I'm in the wrong place,' she looked down and pursed her lips to suppress her nervousness.'Ella must have done this. The Duke does not know my house and could not have gotten my address,' she thought.The officer picked up her form and looked at it. Without any signs of anger, she said, "Your workplace on the form is different from what you said in the footage."'Why can't I get it right? Why can't I get what I want?' she asked herself in low spirits."Did you get my question?" The officer asked her when she failed to answer her."I apologize, officer. We can talk it over," she pleaded, hoping to bribe her.At Tim's House "Just calm down. Everything will be sorted out shortly," Tim advised Richard and they began to wait."Do you mind breakfast?" Tim off