Koruna

Negotiation

Chapter 97

NEGOTIATION

“Mr. James?” Oni stared at him questioningly.

He grinned and sat beside them, “Surprised, well here we are. You know what they say, if you want anything done well, do it yourself.”

“The unknown member of the Council, it is you.” R’ao said decisively.

“The one and only. You all have been very busy, I am impressed by what you have been able to accomplish so far. I have to say, I did not see it coming.” Mr. James crossed his legs.

R’ao had never paid attention to him in school before since he was in and out of school so far but he wasn’t so out of it that he didn’t know who he was, he was a school favourite and was mostly known for his eccentric teaching methods. For all of his guesses as to who the unknown member would be, it did not occur to him that it would be a college teacher. “I think we can say the same, what do you want?” He asked in a matter of fact tone.

“Immortality, wealth, power, peace and a number of things. What can I do for you? I mean you have spent effort in trying to find me. I am here, what do you want?”

Ati watched the exchanges in silence, his wound had been treated and bandaged. It was a confusing moment, this wasn’t what he expected after being kidnapped. Koruna was rousing awake, she groaned at the pain and opened her eyes slowly. Fortunately, the place wasn’t so bright that it affected her but it was illuminated enough for her to recognize the people around her. She became aware of her bound hands, and was used to it by now. There was only so much a girl can take before she either loses her mind or comes to terms with it, she caught a glimpse of Mr. James smiling at her.

“Huh, what is happening?” Koruna asked slowly.

“Hello, Koruna. I have to say I was looking forward to your assignment answers, I like the way your brain works. Do you realize how important education is?” Mr. James scolded.

“I… I’m sorry that I missed school.” Koruna said while trying to gather her thoughts, the last thing she remembered was that she was in the Black Zone before she was drugged again. She looked at her side to find R’ao also bound glaring at her, yeah she knew she was in trouble with that one. Why was Mr. James there? “How are you here? Am I dreaming? This is a bizarre dream. That beating must have done more damage to my brain that I’d thought.”

“No, this is not a dream. I’m here and if it were a dream, would it be a good dream? Or a bad dream?” Mr. James answered amusedly.

Koruna thought about it, “Depends, did I escape?”

Mr. James chuckled, “I am sorry about the bounds, I was afraid you all would not agree to this meeting if I had simply just asked.”

R’ao and Oni exchanged looks, this was a new terrain. “Why don’t you kill us? Then you would not have to be afraid of what we could do to you.” R’ao said.

“Heyyyy, do not give the man ideas. Wait… why would he want us dead?” Koruna looked around as she connected the dots. Her eyes widened… “No waaayyyyyyyy!!! Him? Really??? Mr. James??? How? He is so pleasant and nice and handsome. He’s a teacher! Wow, just when I thought I couldn’t get surprised anymore.” Koruna gaped at Mr. James with new eyes. She had difficulty thinking about him as someone capable of that kind of evil.

“Big surprise there, so I am here. What do you want from me?” Mr. James asked again.

Koruna looked at Ati who was trying to understand why he was there, “I do not want anything from you, I cannot understand why I am here. You are their teacher and not mine.”

Mr. James looked at him with interest, “The Council unknown member is me, Jonathan worked with me, he didn’t know who I was. In more than one way, we were business partners. In answer to your question, I am a pacifist, I do not enjoy shedding needless blood. I have laid all my cards and now it’s your turn.”

“You haven’t done anything.” Oni replied.

“Oh Ark, my face is everything. No one has ever seen it in this regard, I need you all to listen to each other reasons. Do you want me dead? No, does your father want me dead R’ao? If so, then why? Do you want me to pay for the death of your friend Koruna? That wasn’t my doing, each member works independently and contrary to the popular opinion. I am not superior to any of them, so I bring it to you, what do you hope to achieve with my demise? Revenge, Justice, Power, and Serendipity. Which is it?” Mr. James asked.

“Are you going to give us what we want?” R’ao asked.

“Well, I was going to negotiate some sort of deal where every one of us leaves happy.” Mr. James shrugged.

“What kind of deal?” Ati sighed deeply. Mind games were not his forte, they gave him one heck of a headache, he hoped his men were alright but he wasn’t in a position to worry about other people.

“I can take my hands off everything as long as you leave me alone.” Mr. James said with a straight face.

Koruna burst out laughing but hissed in pain nearly immediately, R’ao looked at her with worry, “You are injured.”

“I thought you weren’t speaking to me.”

“I see, you are not in enough pain then.” R’ao took his eyes off her.

Koruna scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Why don’t you kill me then?”

“I don’t have to try, I am sure you will get yourself killed successfully one of these days.” He glared at her. Ati chuckled at that, Koruna glared at him and he stopped immediately.

“Unbelievable, I know but I thought about it. If I kill Ati, his men will try to come for me and then I’ll kill them and so the cycle of violence begins, Koruna ends up coming after me and then let’s say I end up killing her, then I have the Arks after me, then maybe I succeed in killing you lovesick duo, then I have your father after me, to be honest, I am honestly terrified of that man. In the long run, it becomes an exhausting ride. You took down three of the members of the Council, one way or the other you were going to find me. Why delay the inevitable?” He opened a bottle of water and took out a straw from his blazers and used to drink.

“I am being held hostage by a man who uses straw to drink water.” Koruna muttered unbelievably.

“The Council exists for a number of reasons, believe it or not… It is not actually the worst thing to ever happen.” Mr. James started.

“You trafficked people, blackmailed, killed, humiliated and other things that I cannot even say. Then you go ahead to call yourself a pacifist after you killed Shola.” Koruna wondered if he was mentally sound.

“I see where you are going with this but still, the worst thing?!” He chuckled, “Join the Council, make use of its resources to your advantage and together maybe we can make Nige better for us. Ati, I am giving you an opportunity to make Flames grow until it can stand on par with Elites, Koruna you are hard to figure out but with this you can ensure that your family and loved ones remain safe. R’ao, your father can finally have the world. What do you think? I will come back in thirty minutes, then I expect an answer.” Mr. James left them alone.

“Do you think he means it?” Ati asked.

“Simi said he got rid of the older members, I don’t think he is capable of that kind of generosity. Men like that do not like to share power.” Koruna cracked her stiff neck.

R’ao stretched his legs, “I think he is saying the truth. He is not like most people, He strikes me as someone who wants almost nothing out of life and that drives him crazy.”

“Like you before her?” Oni said blankly.

“Not quite. He is right, if he kills us now, he would pay for it one way or another. He must have analyzed the situation and has come to a conclusion.” R’ao added.

“So what? We become the Council?” Ati asked.

“Ewwww, Nooo!!! Don’t say that.” Koruna scolded.

“There is still the first option, we leave him alone and he leaves us alone.” Oni reminded them.

“He becomes too powerful.” Koruna argued.

“He is already powerful, he doesn’t need us to achieve that.” R’ao countered.

Koruna faced him, “So what? We agree to his proposal?”

R’ao stared right at her, “I am only establishing facts. They are he is powerful, it took him less than 48 hours to get to all of us neatly, he runs the Black zone which means he has access to as many hardened criminals he wants. Why do you think he brought us here? It is a show of power, he is giving us another way while also letting us know how strong he is. He is not afraid of us and as we have learnt, he doesn’t have to do the killing himself. He has more than willing men ready to take that position. Do not kid yourself to believe he is giving us a choice. It’s death or him, even if we somehow managed to survive today, what about tomorrow? Your friends you cherish more than your life? Your family that is only just beginning to bond, the Flames that is a dumping ground, are you willing to risk them to fight a war that might obliterate all of us?”

Koruna swallowed, she understood the predicament they were in. This wasn’t a negotiation, this was a thinly veiled threat as to what would happen if they came after him. “What do we do?”

“That is what we have to decide.” Oni answered.

“Shit!!!” Ati cussed.

“I know!!! I think we might have helped him achieve this height by eliminating Simi and Jonathan. I have the feeling that he doesn’t give a damn about them.” Koruna commented.

‘Then, there is how Shola died. Why do you think he was tortured?” R’ao asked.

“What could a man like him want from Shola?” Koruna thought about it.

“An incriminating evidence of his involvement in nefarious activities? I doubt it. What could it be?” Oni thought out loud.

“His weakness could be anything, probably his past. What do you know about him?” Ati asked.

‘He was or is our teacher, do you get curious about your teacher?” Oni said with a bite.

“I wouldn’t know, we don’t have those where I come from.”

Mr. James came back in and sat down, “So, what will it be?”

“If we were to join the Council, first a name change and second, we have to drop the human trafficking part of it.” Koruna answered to stall until one of them can come up with a solution.

“That isn’t difficult, I have always found brainwashing and human trafficking to be distasteful. Is that it? I am curious, why do you think the Council exists?” Mr. James asked.

“Power.” Ati answered simply.

“Please tell me that you do not think that the Council controls nearly everything in Nige. I mean it is obvious that it is not that simple, people are not that agreeable or easy. We were people who wanted power, true but there is no such thing as absolute power. If you think that with my end, there will be no more evil, then you are mistaken, there will always be people like me and unions like the Council. There will always be someone stronger, meaner and crueler.”

Koruna had to agree to a certain degree, “Why a teacher? Why kill Shola?”

“Oh, how else to find out whose minds will cause a hiccup in the future if not in school. Shola was no longer useful and he had offended a lot of people. I did not kill him, that much I can say. I told you, I am a pacifist.” He smiled smugly.

“I am not.” R’ao had loosened his bonds since and was waiting for an opportunity to strike, he quickly slid and took Oni’s knife, without giving him a chance to react… He slit his throat.

The rest of them stared in shock, Koruna balked, “What have you done? How are we going to leave here? There is like a two hundred very very bad men out there! Have you gone mad?”