Free Web NovelChapter 80: Recruits [Part 2]
At the camp of separatist, a young man with black hair and brown eyes stared down at the people who were his subordinates.
"Where’s Maria?"
His voice was filled with repressed rage as he asked for the location of their only doctor.
"She went missing... All we have are her guns and weapons. There was a second trail of footprints but it vanished suddenly and we can’t find out where they went"
"There was no sign of a helicopter so she wasn’t airlifted out and the armed forces have yet to discover our trail... she may have defected"
"It’s obvious she defected! She was the only one who was against the operation!"
Everyone started to voice out their opinions, some tried to look at things from a different perspective but whatever point the situation was looked at, the conclusion was still the same.
Maria de Guzman had defected, she dropped her weapons and disappeared into the forest without a trace-
The young man who was the leader of the group, Jon Adrian Calipso, the only son of an influential politician had a pondering look on his face.
He was not the brightest among the group but he was the one who had the most experience with people.
Unlike the group of geniuses below him whose only experience in groups consists of college academic organizations and this separatist group that had transformed from a protest union... Jon had dealt with many other people.
He had experience in handling business and even talking with high ranking officials.
Jon was not a born leader but he sure as hell was trained to be one.
Because of this, Jon was able to look at things as they were and the conclusion he arrived at was-
"Maria may not have defected"
"Huh?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Everyone showed a confused expression on their faces.
After all, Jon had gone out of his way to show his distaste for Maria’s beliefs and her actions on numerous occasions.
From the decision to sacrifice a comrade, the decision to leave the wounded-
Maria was always the one who would go against those orders and try to argue against them. She was the woman who went against Jon over and over again because she was the only one brave enough to speak up.
Everyone expected Jon to label her as an enemy but to their surprise, he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
"She vanished without a trace leaving only her weapons, right now, we’re monitoring a mansion, it’s not connected to any powerlines or water source, yet for some reason, the lights are always on and the water for their pool is drained and refilled everyday. Moreover, despite being smack dab in the middle of nowhere, with no roads leading to the manor and no aerial vehicle transporting supplies, they never seem to run out of food and other necessities"
Jon turned to face his subordinates, his expression serious as he declared.
"The witches in that cursed manor are starting, they probably noticed us and lost their patience! We need to strike! Not only are those witches monsters in human skin! They are also foreigners who are invading the land- OUR LAND! For the safety and security of the nation, to do the job that our armed forces refuse to do while constantly harassing us- let’s show the world what true nationalism looks like!"
With his words, the people all roared in unison-
"Tonight we strike! Let’s tear down their corrupt capitalistic fortress! Show them the rage of the common man!"
"RAAAHH!!"
The atmosphere was feverish, whether it was the men or the women, all of them reacted the same. A few were following along weakly but the majority always wins. Even in a group that claims to fight for the minority.
All of their declarations were being broadcast directly in Richard’s room, Maria sat there starring at the display.
She did not even question or ask how such a scene was being shown, instead, her mind was more focused on another matter-
"They’re not all bad people"
She turned to Richard as she pleaded and the response she got was a nod.
"I know, that’s why you will decide their fate"
"Huh?"
"I can’t make a decision without information, I may end up killing an innocent and sparing a monster. That’s why, you decide who lives and who dies"
Richard smiled as he said those words, Maria felt the weight of his words crash onto her.
The thought of being the one to make the call, the individual who had to decide whether a person she knew lives or dies-
That was something that she didn’t want to experience.
It was one thing for her to be the doctor that desperately tries to save lives but to be the judge of life... that was a different matter entirely.
"Of course, I would prefer if you choose women, I don’t mind having some men in my group but the way to ensure their loyalty... I could only do so for the women, the men would have to go through something even more painful"
Maria had already been told what had been done to her.
Richard cast a spell on her that transformed her body and made her subservient towards him.
It was his way of ensuring that the people around him would not betray his trust.
While not all women in the manor had received such treatment, only those that did received protection, support and the chance to speak with Richard.
The rest were just outsiders who were staying with them for the time being.
It was a familiar system to Maria but that familiarity is the reason why she was able to accept it easily.
The only reason she was more accepting of Richard was because of the gulf in power that existed between them.
Jon was a bastard who she could have easily just shot and killed but the problem with doing so was not about killing him but about the repercussions.
If Maria had killed Jon, then her family who had nothing to do with her would be affected. Jon’s family, which was a huge political dynasty that spanned many lower to middle level political positions and government offices, would use their connections and influence to attack her family.
That was not a possibility but an assurance.
After all, their whole group was already tagged by the government yet Jon still remained a "mystery man" in the official records.
Of course, everyone in the group was aware of it but-
So what?
None of them could match up to the power of Jon’s family and majority of the members participated because of the benefits they get from associating with Jon.
Why else would a bunch of genius scholars in a top university stick to an idiot?
Because those geniuses knew that not having such a connection would prevent them from ever getting any opportunities.
Unfortunately for them, Jon never planned to take the standard path and instead led them to their current situation.
Some of them willfully deluded themselves into believing that this was their only option while others could only suck it up as getting caught and imprisoned was a far more horrific fate in this country than others may think.
This wasn’t the US or Netherlands where prisoners get three full meals and a decent living space while their only problems are troublemaker inmates and bad cops.
No, prisons were all lacking in funding, groups of prisoners were crammed into one cell because a big name political criminal was being held up alone in another one.
Cops didn’t abuse their authority all that much, instead, they were thugs for the powerful inmates.
Drug dealers who had money, politicians who had influence AND money...
A nobody who had neither money nor influence was just another poor man who will eventually starve to death if their family doesn’t send them food and supplies regularly.
Those that didn’t even get that help would end up becoming gofers and slaves to the richer people with some semblance of power and authority.
It was either the mountains where you could still find a way out or the prisons where you would surely die behind bars. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Everyone chose the former and that is why there are people who are not deluded within Jon’s group- Maria included.
But that group still ended up in a bad position.
Jon was aware of them and he was not happy having a group that always goes against his orders but he was not some idiot dictator.
Keeping opposition allowed for him to create the illusion of democracy and choice. Even when the opposition rarely wins and his orders are ALWAYS followed, the fact that an opposing party exists allows for his subordinates to believe that he at least isn’t a dictator.
That’s the same playbook by which his father plays.
Becoming an opposition party member, the main body would always have an enemy but that enemy was bound to always lose.
His father took the losing role and gained support while his followers were always getting the short end of the stick.
But Maria didn’t know about where Jon got his values from, all she knew was that Jon was taking advantage of his companions and she didn’t like it.
Now though-
She had a chance, the ability to change fate and with a monster like Richard on her side...
"I... need assurance"
Still, she can’t just let her emotions take over.
The very same reasoning that prevented her from killing Jon was now taking over once more.
"My family... I want them to stay safe... can you do that?"
Richard stared at Maria, he already knew of her situation, from the monologue that he enjoyed listening to up to the pillow talk that lasted for who knows how long-
There were basically no secrets between Richard and Maria, except for Richard’s own but that’s not part of the equation.
"Since you’re already one of my people, I could easily deal with your parents’ situation. Do you need me to deal with your extended family or just your parents? I need to know how far I need to go so I could not down just how much work I’ll be giving you"
"... just my parents..."
"Done"
Richard extended his hand which Maria held onto, a pact was not made- there was no need for it.
After all, Maria was already under Richard’s rule.
But that did not mean that Richard was going to go back on his words. Although he could ensure loyalty through his magic, there was still the potential for betrayal and the last thing he wants is for someone to spend their time finding a loophole in his pact and betraying his trust when he least expects it.
The countless stories he read about such moments made Richard wary of those matters and so he wants to make sure that he at least creates a circle of people he could truly trust.
"I’ll give point them out now"
Richard nodded as he carefully looked over every single individual who Maria pointed out, those that could be killed and those that could be saved.
None were assured survival and none were assured death.
Maria only gave the recommendation based on her own assessment and Richard would make the final call.
Hours quickly passed and the afternoon came just as Maria finished all her recommendations.
"Is that good enough?"
"Yes, I’ve made my decision"
So began the Richard’s recruitment run-
