2100 AD: A Sly Pretense Page 8

  “ORRF was there before I took this chair. I am the one who captured and killed their last leader. Maybe the chairman can refresh the CEO’s memory.”

  “I do; I have. Joshua, I have always been on your side. I cannot forget your services to the UPF, my father, and above all, me. No damn CEO can ever change that.”

  “ORRF cannot be working alone. They must have some support from the inside.”

  “What do you mean by inside?”

  “From us—the ease with which they take over our satellites, hack our security systems, deploy sophisticated bombs and then hide, is unreal. I sense they are getting some support from someone powerful.”

  “A compelling reason to capture their leader soon and dismantle their organization.”

  “You should also run some checks on your team. I am worried that you are surrounded by politicians and traitors.”

  “I am doing what I can do, but it is not easy.”

  “I understand.”

  Both of them stayed silent for a few seconds.

  “You should come over sometime to see me,” said the chairman.

  “All you have to do is order and I will follow.”

  “Not because of my orders, Joshua. Come to see me because you want to see me.”

  “We passed that stage a long time ago, Chairman.”

  The chairman took a deep breath, knowing what he meant. “Help me sort this out,” she said, changing the subject.

  “I will, I promise.”

  “I have to go now,” said the chairman.

  “Yes,” replied the Commander and they both hung up. He quickly decided on his next steps, called his junior officer, and explained to him what needed to be done.

  ***

  In his ward, Nile was feeling terrified, having watched footage of the incident on the television. He knew what this meant for him.

  “I want to see the doctor,” he said to one of the attendants.

  “Which one?”

  “The one who attends to me all the time -Twelve.CO.”

  “OK.” The attendant left the room.

  As soon as the doctor entered the ward, Nile started talking loudly, not caring about the attendant. “I have got nothing to do with this.”

  The doctor knew what he meant and understood why he was afraid.

  “You have to convince the Commander,” Nile said, nervous and afraid. “I know nothing about these people. I study religions as a hobby. Someone passed to me all those books and flags. I kept those because I was intrigued. I am not a terrorist. Please help me. The Commander will kill me. I have a wife. I have kids.”

  “I cannot help. You do not cooperate.” Coco felt sorry for her patient, but offered no help.

  “I have nothing to tell. I am a small-time trader. I buy wholesale and sell retail. That is what I do. I am nobody.”

  “And the books and flags?”

  “I told you, someone gave those to me. He is a supplier of office stationery to my shop. He gets these books and flags from somewhere. I do not even know from where.”

  “You can tell the Commander his business address; surely you know it. You can help us make a sketch of him. If you cooperate, we can find him relatively easily.”

  “I cannot do that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I promised him that I would never give him up. That was his condition to continue to supply me with new books. Even his contact details in my records are fake.”

  “Are you stupid?” Coco was furious. “The Commander was going to burn you to death, and here you are trying to save someone who is potentially ORRF personnel.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “How else is he getting these books? They are very dangerous people. Look what they did in Sector One today. They killed hundreds of innocent people.”

  “Everyone has a right to worship. I have a right to worship.” Suddenly, Nile was angry. Gone were his fear and nervousness.

  “Are you willing to die for claiming this right?”

  Nile was silent for a few seconds before be answered. “If this is how it has to be, then let it be.”

  “Think about it. You have a wife and kids. How many kids do you have?”

  “Three,” replied Nile.

  Two uniformed soldiers entered the ward at that moment. They walked straight to the attendant, who was sitting on her desk on the other side of the ward. One of them spoke to her briefly and then the three of them walked toward Nile and Twelve.CO.

  The soldier who had been talking to the attendant addressed the doctor. “We have orders to take him to the interrogation room, now.”

  “I have not cleared him yet. He has not recovered fully.”

  “Once you sign this form, he will be,” The soldier handed over a piece of paper.

  She glanced at it. “I cannot sign this.”

  “I recommend you do, or else you can talk to the Commander and explain to him your reasons for disobedience.”

  The soldiers ordered Nile to get up. Nile looked at his doctor and, sensing her incapability to stop the proceedings, he complied. As soon as he put his bandaged foot on the floor, he felt pain and struggled to stand. The soldiers grabbed his arms, one from each side, and dragged his large but weak frame out of the ward.

  The doctor stood there staring, not sure what to do, as Nile was dragged away. He was silent, not lamenting anymore, as if he had accepted his fate. She was sure that he was not going to talk, come what may. She was also aware that the Commander would be furious today. He took every act of ORRF personally.

  She rushed to follow the soldiers as they hauled Nile through the corridors, passing uniformed soldiers, doctors, nurses, and admin staff, but no one cared to interfere. No one is interested, thought Coco. Why am I feeling so bad, then? Everyone is doing their job without asking any questions, I should do the same.

  The soldiers entered the interrogation room and the doctor followed. This room was different from where they had tortured Nile the first time around. It was almost the same size, but had a large cross-like structure in the middle of the floor. The cross was mounted on a platform that could be raised and lowered.

  Coco looked at the roof, just above the cross, and realized why they had brought Nile to this room. The roof was charred. She was standing in the infamous Oven: a place where war criminals were sentenced to death and burned alive.

  This cannot be happening. What the hell? Someone stop them, please. She had a sudden panic attack and broke into a sweat. She felt her legs weaken, no longer able to support her weight. She sank to the floor next to the door, with her back against the wall. One of the soldiers saw her and gestured to the other to look. They both smiled.

  “Must be her first time,” said the first.

  They quickly stripped Nile and tied him to the cross. His feet rested on a small plate on the vertical pole of the cross. His hands were stretched to the sides and tied to the horizontal pole. His neck was tied to the vertical pole with a razor-sharp wire with only enough room to draw breath.

  Nile looked at the doctor, who was sitting on the floor and looking pale. She spoke to Nile inaudibly, moving her lips slowly so that he could read her lips.

  “I am sorry,” said Coco.

  CHAPTER 9

  Sector 91, Sub-Sector 1 (formerly known as Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

  “The architect of this torture room believed that the cross has a significance for you religious types,” said the Commander, standing in front of Nile. “So we always bring you people here.”

  Nile did not reply.

  The Commander pointed at Coco, who was still sitting on the floor. “What happened to her?” he asked the soldiers.

  “She has been sitting there since we brought him in,” replied the soldier.

  “Weakling,” said the Commander loudly, looking at Coco so that she knew he was talking about her.

  Coco looked at the Commander, embarrassed for her physical and mental weaknesses. She wanted to leave the room, but did
not for two reasons: her legs were still weak, and she did not want to leave Nile alone. She had no control over what was about to happen, but she felt the urge to stay by his side until the end.

  The Commander walked to a small table next to Nile. He picked up a large combat knife and faced Nile, flaunting the knife at him. He then ordered one of the soldiers to remove bandages from Nile’s injured foot.

  “Your foot has healed very well,” said the Commander. “See what medical science can do?”

  Nile was sweating profusely and started chanting something, as if it would magically transport him to a different world, away from this murder cell.

  “I heard what you said to the doctor in the ward. I know you are not going to talk, so I am not going to waste my time by asking you anything. Your friends at ORRF are costing me my honor and my job and there is nothing I can do about it. So, I am going to take my revenge on you. I am going to torture you to my heart’s content and then I am going to give you a painful death.”

  “I am not with ORRF!” shouted Nile.

  The Commander ignored Nile and placed the pointed tip of the knife on the prisoner’s belly button. He then gently applied pressure and the tip pierced through the skin. Drops of blood oozed out and Nile screamed in agony.

  “Ya Allah, help!” screamed Nile, heavily panting.

  “Look into my eyes, you bastard,” shouted the Commander. “Now you know how it feels to kill innocent people.”

  “I did not kill anyone,” Nile said resolutely.

  The Commander applied more pressure, pushing roughly two inches of metal into the prisoner’s abdomen. Nile gasped for air. He had never felt such pain before and was finding it difficult to breathe. Just then, the Commander forced the entire eight inches of blade into Nile’s abdomen with one strong push, and Nile screamed even louder. The doctor covered her ears with her hands to block out Nile’s screams. She was unsuccessful.

  “Can you feel it now?” the Commander asked frenziedly. “Let me show you how good this blade is.” Mercilessly, he applied pressure sideways and the knife moved another inch inside Nile. “I am going to cut you into two pieces, you son of a bitch.”

  Nile was crying in pain, unable to breathe. He prayed to Allah to take his life quickly, to not give the Commander the joy of torturing him longer.

  Coco watched the proceedings in agony. Nile was being butchered and she had to do something. She mustered up the courage to stand and face the demon in the room. She ran to the Commander and grabbed his hand.

  “Stop this madness!” shouted Coco. “He is a human being, not an animal.”

  The Commander let go of the knife, leaving it inside Nile’s abdomen. He freed his hand from the doctor’s grip with a quick jerk. She stepped back, staring at the Commander in horror. Shit, what have I done? She quickly evaluated her last move. Too late, you stupid woman.

  “How dare you interrupt me, you incompetent mutt!” shouted the Commander. He grabbed Coco by her hair and pushed her toward the two soldiers. The doctor screamed in pain as she landed in the arms of one of the soldiers.

  “Arrest Doctor Twelve.CO for obstructing this interrogation,” shouted the Commander.

  The soldier picked up a pair of handcuffs from the table and secured the doctor. She did not resist. Nile watched the whole event silently, still hurting, bleeding, chanting, and out of breath. It seemed like Allah had no plans of taking his life quickly.

  “Now you watch me burn this son of a bitch,” shouted the Commander. “You”—he pointed at one of the soldiers—“put the helmet on his head.” He then moved closer to Nile, gripped his knife, and with one quick movement pulled it out.

  Nile did not respond this time; he had already passed out. The Commander picked up a half filled pail of water from near the table and threw water on Nile’s face. The prisoner regained his senses momentarily.

  “Not so fast,” said the Commander. “Stay with me a little longer. You want to die? I will give you death—a really painful one.”

  Nile was halfway between life and death already. His body was numb and his senses compromised. He could hear the Commander somewhere in the distance, but could not fathom what he was saying.

  “This helmet is fireproof,” said the Commander, pointing at the helmet that had been placed on Nile’s head. “It keeps your brain alive while the rest of your body burns. You will smell your flesh burning, through the ventilators. You will feel the pain, you will see the flames, but you will not die quickly. Your brain will be the last thing to leave you. But before that, you will have the pleasure of feeling your insides burned.”

  Nile closed his eyes and prayed. Allah, take me now. I cannot stand what is to follow. Protect my family after me. Forgive me for all my mistakes and shortfalls.

  “Let him go, don’t do this,” shouted Coco, struggling to free herself from the soldier’s grip.

  The other soldier picked up a hose from the corner of the room, walked back to Nile, and opened the lock to shower Nile with gasoline, but did not douse the helmet. He stopped when Nile was totally wet and returned the hose to the corner. He then passed on a cigarette lighter to the Commander.

  The Commander took one last look at Nile, who was motionless. He must have passed out again. Nile was not crying or begging for mercy, which disappointed the Commander. He had behaved rather bravely, which was upsetting. I can burn him alive, but he wins. I was not able to break him, the Commander thought angrily. Somewhere in the background, Coco was still shouting, pleading for mercy. The Commander quickly evaluated his possible moves. He could torch Nile and put an end to the only lead he had so far to get to ORRF. He could spare his life, once again, and torture him again when he was healthy. Or he could try something different. But what?

  A third soldier entered the interrogation room. “Sir, this just came in,” the soldier said respectfully. He handed a piece of paper to the Commander.

  The Commander read the message on it and smiled to himself. He had found the perfect excuse to do something different this time.

  “Release him,” ordered the Commander, pointing at Nile. “You”—he shouted at Coco—“make sure he survives. I will deal with your insubordination later.”

  The soldiers released the doctor from her handcuffs and she rushed to Nile.

  “Take off this helmet,” she shouted.

  The soldiers quickly obeyed her orders. Nile’s wound was bleeding profusely. He had lost consciousness and needed medical attention urgently or it would be difficult to save him. She slapped him hard on his face.

  “Wake up, wake up,” she shouted. “We will get through this.”

  A team of nurses rolled a stretcher into the interrogation room and quickly placed Nile on it. As they rushed him to the operating theater, Coco noted that the Commander had already left the room. Bloody savages, she though angrily.

  ***

  Back in his office, the Commander reread the message from the head of Sector Two, a very prominent and powerful figure in the UPF. Nile’s wife had filed a petition with the local courts for a meeting with her husband, questioning details of the charges against him. She wanted him to be tried in civil court, not a military one. It was nothing but a feeble attempt to know the whereabouts of her husband and potentially give him a few more days of life. The head of Sector Two had approached Counterterrorism for details on the case and requested evidence that warranted the case being handled directly by the Counterterrorism team. Evidence against Nile was overwhelming and his wife’s petition had no legs. The Commander could inform the head of Sector Two that the matter was clearly in his jurisdiction, provide him with the details of evidence held by the Counterterrorism team, and the petition would be dismissed promptly.

  The Commander, however, chose to call the head of Sector Two. Once he had confirmed the cooperation of the sector head, he decided to put things in motion. He called his junior officer and explained his plan.

  “Once Nile recovers, I want you to transfer Doctor Twelve.CO back to Civil in S
ector Three,” said the Commander.

  “Yes, sir,” replied the junior officer.

  “Put a notation in her file. I want her demoted, possibly fired. She is a weakling, a potential traitor. She should pay for her insubordination.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “But wait until Nile has fully recovered. She sympathizes with him and he saw her fighting for him. They are likely to bond because of their hatred for me. I think their potential friendship can help us.”

  The junior officer nodded in the affirmative.

  “When Nile recovers, release him. Drop all charges against him. Make him believe he has been spared.”

  “Sir, we have abundant evidence to charge him.”

  “His death leads us to nowhere—a dead end. His life will open doors for us. He will lay low for a while, but if he is indeed ORRF, they will contact him eventually or he will contact them. And when they meet the next time, I will kill them all.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  “One more thing, put Doctor Twelve.CO under twenty-hour surveillance once she leaves us. I want to know where she goes, who she meets, and what she does. I want her to make one mistake and then we will grab her. I will strangle her to death with my bare hands.”

  “Noted, sir. It will be done.”

  The junior officer left his senior’s room with clear directives. He had no intention of challenging the several procedural irregularities he was about to commit. In here, the Commander’s words were the law and no one dared to confront him. Twelve.CO was stupid and now she will pay the price. The Commander will finish her career first and her life second, thought the junior officer.

  ***

  Unaware of the plot hatched against her career and life, Coco was frantically trying to save Nile’s life in the operation theater. As they prepped for Nile’s surgery, he regained consciousness briefly. He looked at the bright light above his head and believed he had woken up on the other side. He struggled to adjust his vision to see through the light clearly. He could not feel his body—no pain, no sensation. So this is how you feel in the spirit form, he thought. He waited for his spirit to fly toward the light, but nothing happened. He was not moving closer to the light and he wondered why. He partially recovered his hearing sensation and for the first time since his waking up, he noticed background noise. A familiar face appeared in front of his eyes, blocking the light. He had seen her before—several times, in fact. What is she doing here? Is she dead too? he thought.