“There is no peace at all, my old friend. I feel like things are getting much worse than I imagined.”
“Why do you say that when you are the leader of this country? You are the one who, if you say today we will not go to work, no citizen will oppose you. If you say tomorrow no one will go to school, that becomes law, even the livestock at home might not be taken to pasture. So what’s going on, my boss?” The elderly man asked with a tone of insistence and closeness, noticing the President's unusual distress.
“I worry a lot about this country, about its security, and my people in general. I am deeply afraid that those who are causing these problems might easily take over the State House at any time. I think about how Mark was killed and the late President. I remember well the then Prime Minister, who was the source of all this, who was brutally killed, the rights defender. He was the one who exposed everything hidden but also started the wave of killings in this country. This makes me very fearful, my old friend,” the President said, pausing to swallow the saliva that had filled his mouth before continuing.
“To be a President is more than being a father in a family. The President oversees not only the citizens but also the resources within your country and everything that lies within the boundaries of the mapped territory of your nation. I wonder where we would end up if the Chief of Defense is not on our side. He is a very powerful person, not easily broken. He already has his people in place, and if I were to remove him from his position today, it would create a major uproar among the citizens, causing division and eroding trust in my administration. I would also be openly declaring war against him, which could lead to major unrest in the country. There are times I wish I had refused this position, but I would then appear unpatriotic.” For the first time, the President admitted his regret for the position, feeling more like a figurehead than someone with real decision-making power compared to others with greater influence.
He remembered his time as Vice President, with fewer significant responsibilities other than representing and advising the President on important government matters. He had once yearned for this position but had not anticipated its consequences and burdens. Now he was here, regretting it, with a heavy burden from his people who looked to him for decisions that would ensure their peace.
“If I were you, I would do two major things. First, I would make sure to please my enemy. Pleasing your enemy is a very good way to buy time. You see, we humans are driven by vanity. So, if I hold a high position and still admit to being weak before you, you will want to prove to everyone that you are the stronger one and that there is nothing I can do. This show of strength makes the enemy waste a lot of time humiliating you, while the time they spend thinking you are foolish is the time you use to address their weaknesses. When they finally realize that they are the foolish ones, it is already too late. You will still have one final move left to make to end the game, and that is Jason himself. Here, we obtain the second advantage through this move.
The second thing is, instead of the six months initially planned to start this task, the time is reduced. By the time your enemy realizes their mistake, you will have the final move to win. Then you introduce that child and his team and show them their true selves. By the time they come to realize it, they will be too late, and the task will be over. Just remember that they too will start sensing it and will want to ensure it first, so they will begin setting their traps. You need to be prepared for that and ready for any consequences that may arise…”
The historian was giving his boss this free lesson to help them understand how to set things right, but he was interrupted by a call from the president’s phone. He looked at the screen and saw that his secretary was calling. He answered and put it to his ear.
“Mmmmm, let him in,” he said briefly before ending the call.
“Jaiwelo is here, and he insists that he has a serious issue with me at this moment,” he said, surprising both himself and the elder.
“I’ll leave you now, but be very careful with every step you take, boss. Remember, you are protecting the country and the lives of all the citizens, so every decision you make is crucial for every being on this land,” he said, giving his respects before leaving.
At that point, the Chief of Defense Forces entered, passing by the elder at the door, where they exchanged significant glances. He then proceeded to the president, saluted, and took his seat, his face showing great concern.
“Every time I remember how Yusuf was betrayed by his own brothers, I am deeply frightened. At first, I thought it was just a fictional story and rejected it, believing that they would never betray him. But in my current life, I have come to believe that it should serve as a significant lesson because not knowing something is like being in a pitch-black night, where only those with a bright light can survive. I have always been someone who loves living with my relatives. I don’t want to be Cain before Abel. I wish to be like Job, who obeyed God even when he lost all his possessions, wives, and everything he owned to prove his faith. I want to be like that with my relatives, but when one of them wants to act contrary to my expectations, it makes me feel very bad personally.” CDF Jaiwelo spoke with a face full of anger, then took out his phone and placed it on the table in front of the honourable president.
“Hmm, what do you want me to help with, speaking in such cryptic terms? Don’t you know who you’re speaking to?”
“I know very well. I know that I’m speaking to my beloved president and boss. But the issue I’m discussing here is one only you have the authority to make decisions on. It pains me greatly, but for the broader interests of my country, I must make very tough decisions, which are not easy at all,” he said, moving the phone closer to where the president was seated.
The president took the phone to see what had angered the person so much, and what he saw made him pay even more attention to the incident.
The person appearing on the screen was IGP Lusubilo, holding a very heavy long-range weapon. The president knew he might have seen it wrong and replayed it more than five times, but the footage remained the same and did not change. IGP was shown in the video as being involved in the assassination of the late President Shadrack. The elder’s face contorted with great anger, so much so that he almost crushed the phone with his hand, but he could not.
“Where did you get this video?”
“The youths I had placed to follow this issue said that a young man sold it to them through the dark web. He obtained this video from his cameras, which he had set up in mixed-use areas because he engages in online theft in various locations. So, he first examines the area before carrying out his operations.” The CDF’s face was very stern as he provided this information, indicating that it was a serious matter.
“Has this video reached the public?”
“No, I would not allow, my brother, for this video to easily reach the common people in the streets because it would cause widespread panic among the people and the country at large, with a high-ranking person like him being directly involved.”
“Please have him arrested immediately from this moment,” the president spoke with deep anguish, slamming his hand down on the table in great anger.
He made a decision he did not seem to fully agree with, but he could not show weakness in front of one of his subordinates, especially as the chief military leader.