Dawn Of The Day - ONC 2022

Chapter 22. Hostages

Curiosity got the better of us.

I hunched down to join my brother. We faced each other to keep watch on both ends. The passageway might be empty at the moment, but we knew someone could randomly walk by and catch us. It would not be a good look and God knew what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into. Whatever those two older men inside talked about, it was not meant for us to listen.

To be honest, I still couldn't wrap my mind around the relationship my dad had with general Castillon. Granted that I didn't know much about politics. My dad rarely discussed his work with us and the one time that he did when I was in the hospital, he had stated how dissatisfied he was with the Federation's current state and blamed it all on general Castillon.

My dad had served the Federation army most of his life, long before general Castillon rose to power. A soldier at heart, who worshipped the Federation and its fundamentals, my dad believed in a balanced government. He stubbornly held on to his neutral position even when he got tempted or attacked by both sides. Many times, he was one of a few people who publicly criticized general Castillon. The two men seemed like fire and water, but these days, I had learned that nothing was what it seemed.

I was surprised general Castillon came here by himself, without any security guards or his assistant. Where were Charlotte and Robert?

I heard my dad's angry voice. With the level of pain he had suffered, it was amazing how he could still raise his voice like that.

"You promised me! You promised that nothing would happen to us. Look at me! Look at my kids! We could've died..."

"Jon, no one died! You know I would not let that happen. I don't want any of this more than you do, but you know the deal when you signed up. Crow's people are savage..."

"Oh, no, not with Crow's people again," my dad chuckled humorlessly before screaming, "Stop trying to fool me! It's enough! You think I'm stupid? Am I not committed enough? Loyal to you enough? If you cannot trust me, who else can you even trust?"

"Keep your goddamn voice down," General Castillon hissed, "I came here to discuss something with you, not to fight. I want to let you know that the project has been completed. No one can stop it now, not even the Hansens. They've been playing catch up with us for a while, but they soon won't be able to. They don't even have the slightest idea what we have..."

"Fernando, get to the point! What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to vote for the release package of the two Zedlum bombs next week. We will use them on the Hansens. A lot of people have shown support, but I still need you and a few more to get the majority."

"We all watched the demonstration," my dad sighed. "That is not something we want to mess with. You asked for my opinion some time ago and my advice stays the same: Continue with the lockdown in Nalka and the three surrounding cities as we have. The Hansens have a stronghold there, but if we cut off their supply routes, they won't last long. They are completely boxed in. When we move in, there will be not much they can do. You don't need Zedlum bombs. Trust me."

"Nalka is hell, Jonathan. We barely gain any traction there. The Hansens don't even flinch and we have thrown pretty much everything at them. They've really dug themselves a nice little spot there. Once our troops are all depleted, they will move. They will take the Citadel and all the Northern states, then we'll be thoroughly screwed. They will hunt for me and all the people who support me. They won't stop until we're all dead. That's how the Hansens operate..."

"You cannot use the Zedlum bombs! That's just the bottom line. We have to try and win the normal ways. We just have to! Most of the troops and public support are with you. If you win but half of the country is blown up then what's the point? Think of all the death and damage."

"Most civilians have already been evacuated from the area. Nalka's geography will help contain the explosions. We've already done the calculation."

"I swear to God, Fernando..."

"Jonathan, listen, I don't have a lot of time. I respect you and owe you my life. I would've never survived Struthers if it wasn't for you, but I won't let anyone stand in my way of protecting what's mine. Not even you. Think about yourself and your kids. Don't go against me on this."

"What do you mean by that? Are you threatening me? "

"I'm just saying you should think about it."

"I'll be damned," we heard our dad chuckle, "You did this to me, didn't you?"

As some kind of realization dawned on our dad, Vince and I also stared at each other wildly in shock. The footsteps suddenly sounded closer behind the door. We scrambled to our feet and dashed into the nearest room. Our hearts banged like marching drums as we squeezed behind the door together. If he came into this room, we were screwed.

The footsteps stopped right outside of the room.

General Castillon stayed there for what felt like an eternity before walking back in the direction where he came from. We stayed there, drenched in sweat under layers of clothes until there was absolutely no sound in the passageway besides the constant humming of the ship.

When we got back into the room, our dad was staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Dad, is everything ok?" Vince muttered.

"Where have you guys been?" my dad responded with a question.

"Well... Outside."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough," I said.

"So you know what kind of situation we're in," my dad looked defeated, "I hoped it would not come to this. I thought I could trust him. Now you guys are dragged into this..."

"Dad, it's not your fault," I touched his hand.

"Listen, Lou," he turned his head and looked at me, "I want you to stay away from Robert... You too, Vince. Do the same. I know you guys are all close, but Robert is not who you think he is."

"I know, dad," I sighed, "He told me."

"What did he tell you?"

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Vince interrupted.

"Robert is general Castillon's son," I looked at my brother and pressed on each word, "His team at QL discovered Zedlum, but he doesn't support the general's decision," I turned back to my dad, "He quit."

"That's what he told you?" my dad looked up at the ceiling again, ruminating, then continued, "Everyone who is involved in that project has been silenced, one way or another. The only reason why Robert is still alive is that he's Castillon's son. It's not wise to stay close to them. We are the hostages here. Castillon wants to use you guys to pressure me. Things are already complicated enough, you don't need to add more to this. You guys need to stay away from Robert. We don't know what he reports to Castillon."

"He's not like that, dad!" Vince jumped as if someone stepped on his tail.

"No, he's not," I said, mostly to myself.

"You cannot trust what people tell you," my dad sighed, "Sometimes, you can't even trust what they show you. You just have to go with your gut instinct."

My gut instinct was really shitty from what I could tell, but I knew what my dad meant. Who he referred to. I felt for him. It was not easy for my dad to lower his guard and open his heart after years of being on his own, just to get betrayed like that. That woman, Meg, who must have been planted next to him for months at least, had messed his head up. I knew how painful it could be.

"Dad," I said, "Everything will be alright."

"I'm too old for this crap," my dad sighed again. He looked exhausted.

There was nothing any of us could say to make the situation better. Realizing our dad slowly drifted off, Vince signaled me toward the door.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

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