"Are you truly a security agent?"
Iluba Duro asked with grave seriousness. He was a man in his sixties, the widowed father of Damak and Okai, seated on a long couch along the right side of the sitting room in the Duro family house. A center table stood in the middle of the parlor, flanked by three chairs on the other sides. The chair on the right was occupied by Damak and his wife Afryea.
Damak, hearing his father's question, bent his head down, bracing for the blame he knew was coming. The room felt tense, the family's worry hanging like a shadow.
"You cannot even call yourself a responsible elder son, let alone the assistant director of the Investigation Unit," Iluba continued, staring straight at Damak with deep disappointment.
"You let your brother act on his own whims. You are meant to protect Kharona from evil, but instead, you and Okai kept that cursed, destructive weapon hidden."
Damak opened his mouth to speak, but Iluba pressed on.
"Under every law in this country, and even in this book…" He pointed at the history book on the center table.
"The blade is forbidden and dangerous. Yet you let Okai handle it recklessly."
"Okai is a grown man!" Damak countered, his tone raised slightly but still respectful.
"He is 23, for crying out loud."
"A man doesn't reach an age where he can't be guided or corrected," Iluba replied firmly.
"You take orders from the Director of the Investigation Unit, don't you? Aren't you a grown man at your age?"
"Not to be disrespectful, but you and your book are the cause of all this trouble."
Iluba's expression softened, and he leaned back in the couch without a word. The silence stretched, broken only by the distant sound of birds outside the window.
"Your book fell into Jina's hands, and he ventured into Oman-nali seeking the blade, just as it described."
Iluba sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping.
"Perhaps worse would have happened if I hadn't left my home in Benrah to come here," Damak concluded. Afryea sat beside him, calm and silent, watching her husband and father-in-law exchange heated words, her hand resting gently on her knee.
Iluba sat upright, shifting to the matter at hand.
"Now Okai is arrested for a serious crime. We must handle this with careful planning and your position as Assistant Director in the K.I.U., or else… your brother could face execution."
Damak paused, lost in thought, then met his father's gaze.
"On my way here, I saw Jina walking alone on the road to Benrah," he said firmly.
"Who knows where he was going? Perhaps another clue from your book… The clans near my home in Benrah are opportunistic, especially the Carrion Talons. I've clashed with many of them."
"Quiet!" Iluba snapped, rising to his feet abruptly.
"Okai is detained, and you're busy assigning blame. This is not the time."
Afryea's eyes widened, and she shifted slightly to calm him, but she held back and remained quiet, her hands clasped tightly.
"The history book is meant to warn my family of the world's dangers, past and present. I expected you all to heed it and stay far from such things," Iluba said, sitting down again, his voice steadying.
"What can be done to ensure Okai's safety?"
"It's not about what needs to be done, but what can be done," Damak said and sighed, his face etched with worry.
Afryea looked at her husband and placed her hand on his arm softly, her expression calm yet filled with pity.
"My beloved, you must do something, please."
"There might be hope if Okai is moved to the Military Tribunal for trial," Damak said. He fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, then continued.
"I'll serve as defense counsel in the courtroom."
Damak knew his plan was weak, as being counsel wouldn't save Okai from execution under the law's harsh verdict on possessing the blade. He stayed moody, his heart heavy with sadness. Calmness and emotion filled the room, tension on every face.
The roaring engine of a brown military vehicle shattered the quiet at a central police barrack as it rolled into the compound and parked. The rumble echoed off the walls, drawing stares from the guards.
Two hefty army officers marched out of the car and headed to the door. A few policemen at the entrance saluted and greeted.
"Good morning, Sergeant."
"Good morning, officer," Sergeant Dinka replied, his posture rigid.
The first policeman, aware of their purpose, informed them.
"So far, the confessions from the suspect don't seem credible."
Dinka listened, his face impassive. The rest of the army troops exited the vehicle. Dinka entered the building with military precision, followed by one officer, while the others waited outside.
Minutes later, the two officers emerged with Okai between them. Okai remained in handcuffs, his face frustrated and drawn. He spoke up.
"I've been in these handcuffs since yesterday. My wrists hurt."
He got no reply. Instead, they guided him firmly into the military vehicle. Okai didn't resist, his steps weary on the ground.
The armies climbed in one by one. The engine started, and they drove out of the compound.
On the road, Okai kept a neutral expression, glancing at the soldiers' faces around him. They stared ahead, silent and unmoving, ignoring him completely. The vehicle rolled on for a long stretch until it slowed near a military holding facility, its gates standing like a grim barrier.
The vehicle rolled into the garrison grounds, its tires crunching on gravel under the watchful eyes of armed soldiers. About five guards stood at each corner, their rifles ready and faces stern. Okai stepped out after the car parked, remaining calm despite the fierce glares around him. He thought to himself, the words echoing in his mind.
"So much effort to prosecute one man, while they ignore the killings and crimes by clan members."
They led him into the garrison, marching along a long passage. They turned left near the end, entering another narrow corridor lined with guarded cells on both sides. The barred walls gleamed coldly in the dim light, extending to the passage's end. They passed two cells and stopped at the third.
One leading soldier held Okai, still handcuffed. The other opened the barred prison cell with a creak. Okai walked inside carefully and extended his cuffed hands for removal. They slammed the door shut, the iron clanging loudly. Okai's eyes widened, and he frowned as they locked it.
"Since when do prisoners stay locked in cells while still handcuffed?"
"Quiet, you murderer!" Sergeant Dinka barked.
"Excuse me…" Okai said, his brows furrowed. "Was he your son?"
"I advise you to make the most of your time here in this cell, as it may be your last. Crimes like this are punishable by execution," Dinka said, ignoring the question.
Okai blinked in silence, staring at Dinka's angry face. He waved off the threat in his mind and put on a confident expression.
"Koti was a good friend of mine. You haven't heard the full story, and you call me a murderer?"
Sergeant Dinka kept his angry stare on Okai as he slowly left the cell area, the second soldier following. Okai, confused, looked at his cuffed hands. He took a few steps back to the cell's edge and sat carefully on the ground, relaxing his back against the wall. His head tilted up, gazing at the ceiling.
It was a small cell with concrete walls, roof, and floor. The front wall was made of prison bars, including the door. Okai got lost in thoughts, his mind flashing back.
[ Okai, rage burning on his face, grabbed Koti by the neck and slashed his rib with the loomil blade. Koti's hand fell to the ground, severed. ]
He kept his gaze on the concrete ceiling, another flashback hitting him on the reason for his violence.
[ "Here comes the one who can't find his missing beloved," Koti teased him. ]
[ Koti lifted off the ground as Okai raised him with one hand. "Sharp enough to sever your head if you speak of Zerua again," Okai snarled. ]
Koti's words weighed on him as he remembered Zerua Lami, his cherished love. She was a beautiful girl who vanished four months ago. Everyone believed she had been kidnapped by clans or perhaps killed, since kidnaps usually brought ransom demands, but here there was nothing. Armies were still searching for her. She was the daughter of Jijide Lami, chief of Boron refinery, known as the man of many wives for having eleven, and rumors said he planned a twelfth. His first wife, Zerua's mother, had passed away.
Okai, still in the same posture, realized tears had streamed down his eyes. He straightened his head and wiped them off with his handcuffed hands, the metal clinking softly.
An hour later, after Okai had sunk deep into thoughts in a sorrowful and regretful mood, his body leaned relaxed against the cell wall like someone asleep, but his eyes stayed slightly open. He kept his gaze fixed in one direction without blinking. From a distance, heavy footsteps approached, catching his attention. He stood up, brushing off signs of sadness from his face with his hands. He put on a confident expression.
The sound grew closer. Then a tall man in a suit, likely in his forties, appeared and stopped in front of Okai's cell. He turned to face it, it was the Military General. Okai's expression shifted from seriousness to surprise, his eyes widening briefly. He tried not to show it, but he never expected the Military General to come personally for an interrogation on this case.
"Okai Duro."
The General's deep voice resonated through the dimly lit prison cell, bouncing off the cold, stone walls that seemed to close in around them. Okai held his gaze steady, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the imposing figure before him, the air thick with tension and the faint scent of damp earth.
"It is your name, is it not?"
The General asked this while glancing down at the crumpled report paper clutched tightly in his gloved hand, the edges slightly worn from handling. Okai paused for a moment, his mind racing through the weight of the situation, before he replied.
"Yes, that is my name."
"Good."
With an expression carefully crafted to instill a deep sense of fear, the General locked his piercing eyes on Okai, his brows furrowed and his jaw set firm.
"Before I proceed with my questions, I would like to offer you some advice that might spare you from the death penalty. Do not raise your hopes too high. Your chances of escaping it are like this."
The General raised his hand slowly, using his thumb and index finger to demonstrate a very thin gap, the gesture hanging in the air like a silent threat.
"The quick advice is this. All your responses must be nothing but the truth. Any lies you tell here, if uncovered later by evidence, will destroy whatever slim chance you have of avoiding execution. That is, if you have any chance at all."
"In military cells, do they imprison a person and still handcuff him at the same time? Who lied to you all that I am dangerous?"
Okai asked this without paying any heed to the General's stern words, his tone defiant as he shifted slightly against the rough chains binding his wrists.
The General shot a cold glare at Okai, his eyes narrowing into slits. He subdued his rising rage, the veins in his neck pulsing faintly, and responded in a chilling tone that cut through the silence like a blade.
"I am amazed to hear that the handcuffs deprived you from listening to my words."
Okai returned the same cold glare to the General, his own features hardening with resolve. He remained silent, the quiet stretching between them like a taut rope.
The General slipped his hands into the deep pockets of his crisp suit, his movements deliberate and controlled. He pulled out a small, gleaming key that caught the faint light filtering through the barred window.
"It might be true. They fear you are dangerous because you are a brother to Damak, the only man in Kharona who fights clan members all by himself, his reputation echoing through the streets like a legend. Now imagine if a person with the same skills and strength as him stands against what is good. Well, it turns out you are not skilled, nor on the same side of justice as him."
The General paused, his breath steady as he assessed Okai's reaction. He stared at Okai for several tense seconds, the air growing heavier with unspoken accusations. Then he continued, his voice dropping to a more probing level.
"Tell me, what inspired you to choose an unlawful role?"
Okai gave no response, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared at the floor, the shadows playing across his face. The General shifted his stance slightly, then moved back to the main questions on his list, since Okai refused to yield to the trickier ones that probed deeper into his motives.
"I do not plan to spend much time here. Now I will start the quick interrogation."
"The police has done this for hours when I was in their custody for more than a day. I spilled all the truths of the stories, and I am not ready to give more answers."
Okai said this without a trace of fear, his voice steady and unwavering despite the chains that still bound him.
Upon hearing this, the General could no longer hide his anger. His fingers gripping the key tightly, He inserted it into the cell's rusted lock and flung the door open with a loud, echoing clang that reverberated through the narrow corridor outside.
He pulled out his short pistol from its concealed holster, the metal glinting ominously in the low light. He strode aggressively into the cell toward Okai, his boots thudding heavily against the gritty floor.
Okai took three steps back, his heart pounding in his chest as a flicker of fear stirred deep in his mind, his back brushing against the cold wall behind him.
The General reached him in a few powerful strides. He shoved Okai down with forceful hands, pressing him to the ground and forcing him to sit on the cold, unforgiving floor that was strewn with bits of dust and straw.
The floor creaked loudly under Okai's heavy fall, the sound sharp and protesting in the confined space. Even though Okai wished desperately to fight back, his muscles tensing with the urge, he held himself in check. He did not know the General's level of skill in combat, the man's broad shoulders and steady grip hinting at years of training.
The prison compound is surrounded by more than a hundred soldiers, their distant voices and footsteps a constant reminder of the overwhelming odds. What fate would await him if he clashed with their Military General, the man who commanded them all?
The General kept his left hand firm on Okai's shoulder. His right hand pressed the pistol against the left side of Okai's head, the barrel cool and hard against his skin.
"I am not here to joke around with you, young man. You are so ignorant not to know who the person standing right in front of you is."
He said this with commanding power, his voice booming in the small cell and carrying the weight of authority earned through battles and commands.
Okai stayed silent, his breath coming in shallow bursts. His head tilted to the right from the relentless pressure of the gun. The scene unfolded clearly, showing that Okai had been humbled, his earlier defiance now subdued under the threat.
The General's anger eased gradually, his shoulders relaxing as he noticed the change. He grew calm as Okai made no move or uttered a single word in resistance. He removed the pistol from Okai's head with a deliberate motion and slid it back into its holster, the click of the mechanism echoing softly.
He reached into his top suit pocket, his fingers searching for a moment. He brought out a small handcuff key, its surface worn from use. He lifted Okai's bound hands, the chains rattling faintly, and began unlocking the cuff.
Okai's hands were now free, the skin around his wrists red and chafed from the restraints. The General hooked the handcuffs onto his own uniform belt with a casual flick.
"According to the side of the story written down by you..."
He read this while scanning the paper carefully, his eyes moving across the handwritten notes that detailed the accusations.
"You never meant to kill Koti Ibena. On the incident, you used the forbidden blade as self-defense when Koti and two others of his friends tried to attack you. The blade cut off Koti's hand, which normally a person is not supposed to die by that alone. But it turns out later on you heard that the poison in the blade led to his death."
Okai nodded slowly, his expression neutral as he rubbed his freed wrists.
"So how can you make us believe that this is nothing but the absolute truth?"
The General asked this without pause, leaning forward slightly to emphasize his demand.
"I am not trying to convince. I am saying everything clearly, and it is left for the judges to believe or not."
"Why did they try to attack you?"
"Koti was a member of the Ashakra Clan, and he hid it from me for months of our friendship."
"And then?"
"Then the very day I knew, he thought I would go against him as my brother is always against clans. So he alongside Lamuh and the other young man planned an attack to slay me so I would not be alive to inform Damak."
In his mind, Okai marveled at how he delivered those fabricated tales without a single stammer, the words flowing smoothly like a well-rehearsed tale. If only the thoughts swirling in his mind could show on his face, he would wear an evil grin, his eyes gleaming with cunning satisfaction.
The General paused, his brow furrowing deeper as he absorbed the details. He pondered the answers for a moment, turning them over in his thoughts like pieces of a puzzle that did not quite fit. Doubt clouded his face, casting shadows over his features as he continued.
"Where did you find the blade, and why were you in possession of it?"
Okai sighed deeply before he replied.
"I did not find it. My twelve-year-old brother did. I never heard about it or how dangerous it is. You all hide all history books of this country. How do you expect a civilian to be more cautious?"
"Your lies have grown so much to the extent that you no longer deserve a death sentence. How I wish there is a legal punishment worse than death. I would make you face it."
The General threatened, his voice laced with venom and his fists clenching at his sides.
"Your brother knows all the laws. He is a security personnel."
"I was planning to present the blade to him and ask if he knew about it before the incident."
"You were not, Sergeant Wurdu with some officers arrested you, and you were ready to fight with that same forbidden blade. What excuses do you have to say about your prolonged uses with the blade and even with Damak together with you in the car?"
"Damak was the one with the blade at the time. I already handed it over to him. He came for a visit and intended to submit the blade when he got back to work."
The General stood upright, his posture straightening with military precision. He adjusted his collar, smoothing out the fabric with a sharp tug.
"Better bring enough evidence and witnesses to back up your lies."
The General's last words carried a look of deep disgust, his lips curling in contempt. He walked out of the cell, his steps measured and echoing, and locked it with a firm click that sealed the barrier between them.
He gave Okai one final glance, his eyes filled with unspoken judgment. Then he strode out of view, leaving the cell in heavy silence.