Antumbra - A Lost Cause

Good for the Soul - Chapter Sixty Three

The Prime Minister was not one to be kept waiting, and she took any delay to her schedule as a personal insult. Silly, perhaps, but she had a nation to run, and fulfilling that duty required discipline and commitment, something the Grand Admiral understood, but the Chairman of the Board was decidedly less regimented. He tended to indulge more than them, flex the full might of his political power to bed women half his age. It was frustrating to have to deal with a civilian in the Administration, but at least he had a weakness she could control, and as she saw him leisurely stroll into the dark room she was tempted to tighten his chain right then and there.

"You're late," she said, watching the middle-aged man press crinkles out of his expensive yet tasteless suit, a petulantly carefree smile across his face.

"Relax," he said dismissively, "he's not going anywhere."

"For God's sake, man, don't you take anything seriously?" The Admiral asked.

"Enough, both of you," the Prime Minister held up a slender hand, "let's just get this over with."

"Whatever gets me out of here fastest," the Chairman said. The three Administrators each approached a small screen on the wall, which scanned their faces one after the other. Afterwards a small pad extended, and one by one they typed in a fourteen digit code and gripped the side, a small needle sampling their DNA to verify their identities. Once all parties present were cleared, the doors next to the screen parted, then another set behind them, then a third set, allowing them access to the portal between the outside and the dark room itself. Once the first three doors had closed, one final steel bulkhead hissed opened, and inside the small room sat Commander Cassius Benoit, bound to a chair by his wrists and ankles. His head hung low, and there was blood splattered across his bare chest as he seemed initially unresponsive to their presence.

"I hope..." he coughed up blood, able to only open one eye as the three stood before him, "this doesn't count as my visitation hours."

"Garrison Commander Cassius August Benoit," the Prime Minister recited, "only heir to the Benoit bloodline. A dynasty so prestigious, their military doctrine formed centuries ago stands even to this day, and due to your unique position as both the heir to one of the most powerful and honoured families and a high ranking military officer under the Moonlight Edict, which grants you the possibility of being elected Prime Minister by the nation's Senators, the only individual in GDU history eligible for election into the Administration more than once. A conceivable eight year term to do whatever you wanted with near unlimited power." The Prime Minister sighed profusely, "you had a future. You had potential. Yet you gave it all away for that miscreant."

"If you're here to ask why I did it," Cassius said, giving a weary smile as he hung his head, "you're wasting your time. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

"It doesn't matter," the Prime Minister said, "because quite frankly, I don't care. I just want to know where he is, and what he's planning to do with that machine."

"I bet you do," Cassius said groggily, seemingly on the edge of consciousness. The Prime Minister let out a sigh of frustration and knelt down to his level, trying to look him in the eye.

"What are you going to tell your children, Commander?" She asked him, "or your wife? Surely you must know your life isn't yours alone to waste?"

"I know one thing," Cassius chuckled as blood ran from his mouth, "I'd want my children to be proud of their parent. Can any of you say the same?" The Admiral and Chairman scowled at him, dissatisfied, and the Prime Minister said nothing as she rose.

"Continue," she said, and a previously unseen man wearing all black appeared from the shadows of the room's corner. Without warning he struck Cassius in the back of the head, hard enough to nearly knock him out, only for the Commander to be jolted awake by the sting of an electrical prod in his side.