A few hours later, we arrived at Saint Money. At that moment, it felt like a cruel joke: I had endured days of intense hardship to reach Elitesburg, only for a simple plane ride to bring me back to my starting point with the greatest of ease. We landed in front of the police station's main entrance, and the moment we stepped off the plane, a swarm of cameramen began taking pictures of us. In front of the entrance, a press conference was underway, during which the governor was delivering a speech.
They put us on the stage surrounded by officers and soldiers.
"As irrefutable proof of our commitment to Saint Money's safety," the governor declared, "we have carried out a historic operation that led to the finding and capture of one of the most dangerous terrorists in recent years: Dark. And, to send a message to any other criminal who might wish to follow in his footsteps, Congress has unanimously decided to make an exception to the law and sentence both him and his associate, Herobert, to capital punishment. Only then will the people of Saint Money be able to live in peace."
Journalists, officials, and public servants alike gave the governor a standing ovation, while cameramen kept taking pictures of us.
Afterward, they took Dark and me to a room with a table covered in weapons of various types and calibers, packages of drugs, ammunition, and other illicit goods. They positioned us behind the table and took pictures of us until they were satisfied.
From that point on, Dark and I were separated. He was taken to a cell, while I was locked in an interrogation room. The only thing I could do in that place was sit in one of the two chairs there and wait.
Minutes later, General Tantrum opened the door and walked in. He approached me and struck me in the face with such force that I fell off my chair.
"You son of a bitch!" he shouted at me. "Why the fuck did you have to kill Alpha?! When the hell did we ever ask you to do that?!" He kicked me in the back repeatedly. "Do you have any idea what kind of mess you've caused by dismantling Ash?!"
"And what does that have to do with you?" I asked because I was honestly surprised by his reaction to what had happened to a gang operating on the other side of the country.
Then he kicked me in the face with such force that I nearly lost consciousness.
"Don't play dumb, you asshole! I was the one who set you free! The moment you killed him, everyone who had business with him came after me! If we hadn't caught the two of you, I would've had to leave the country!"
"Did you also have dealings with him?" I asked, after recovering from that kick, but he gave me another one, this time so hard I writhed in pain.
"Not anymore thanks to you."
"Did you know what Alpha was doing at that farm?" After asking him this, he kicked me in the stomach, and I vomited.
"Hey, why are you interrogating me, you piece of shit?" he asked. "And besides, what the hell were you doing there?"
"His gang caught me and tried to recruit me."
"No way. You were the hero. How a bunch of nobodies managed to do that?"
"Do you know everything a migrant has to go through?"
"Shut up. How the fuck could they have caught you when, that very same day, you killed almost the entire gang? You let yourself get caught so they'd take you to Alpha, and then you could kill him. You did this to fuck me over, didn't you, you son of a bitch?! You absolute piece of shit! This is the second time you've disobeyed me, you bastard!"—after saying this, he kicked me repeatedly. All I did to defend myself was cover up with my arms and legs.
Tantrum continued kicking me until he was tired, which took quite a while.
Then he sat down in one of the chairs and slowly caught his breath.
"You sure love making me fucking furious. If you'd just captured Dark and hadn't messed with Alpha, maybe we would've set you free." As Dark had already told me, they had no reason to let me go—especially since they'd already branded me a terrorist.
"Why do you stay with the police? If you were going to make deals with criminals, wouldn't it have been better to just become a criminal yourself?" I asked him after a while—this was something I had wanted to ask him for years, but hadn't because I feared any retaliation on his part.
But at that moment I had nothing left to lose.
He looked at me for a moment, as if trying to discern whether I was attempting to mock him or to throw his hypocrisy in his face.
"Maybe you've forgotten by now, but I was a Hero too," he said, settling back in his chair and beginning to speak as if recalling his own youth. "I know what it's like to break your back working every single day, only to get paid about the same as any other officer. I was just like you—I didn't see the big picture, either. You know that no matter how many people you arrest or how many operations you carry out, more criminals will always pop up. It's like trying to put out a fire that never ends.
"Once I became a general, I realized that the best course of action is to negotiate with the criminals. We reached an agreement regarding what they would do, as well as when and where. There's no need for fighting or killing—just talking. If I let them conduct their business without interference, they, in turn, won't bother the people of Saint Money. Everyone wins."
"And you become a millionaire in the process."
"Listen here, you asshole. I'm only doing what's best for the people." He stood up from his chair and stepped on my hand. "Sure, I take their bribes—but you know they wouldn't work with me if I didn't. What they give me isn't just payment for my services; it's a guarantee that I won't betray them. Because if I did, they'd make it public that I was on their payroll, and I'd end up right here—just like you."
It is in neither party's interest for the other one to fall. Only like this they and I can collaborate.
"How convenient," I said, standing up. "You claim to do everything in the name of justice, but did you know what Alpha and his people were doing at that farm? Did you see where they locked up the people they captured? Did you see the clandestine graves they forced them to dig? Did you see what they make people do just to join the gang? You and all the other corrupt generals are just as guilty as they are, because you allow it to happen. Your hands are just as stained with blood as theirs. You, and people like you, have turned the police force into nothing more than another gang. You're a criminal, too. The only difference is that, at the very least, they own up to what they are—they don't try to justify their actions with stupid excuses."
At that moment, Tantrum struck me in the face with all his might. I staggered back and nearly fell, but he hit me again, then shoved me against the wall, covered his fists with magic, and gave me a brutal beating.
"You think you're better than me, you asshole?!" he shouted. "If Saint Money is a safe place, it's thanks to me! You just did whatever I told you to do! I was the one who negotiated everything! So what if I take money from criminals and have dealings with them?! With the salary we're paid, we can barely scrape by! And no one ever thanks us! It doesn't matter if we do everything right—the moment someone gets mugged or goes missing, suddenly everyone hates us! People just want everything from us, even though they're the ones who allow crime to exist in the first place! If there's drug trafficking, it's because they're the ones buying them! If there's human trafficking and prostitution, it's because they're hiring those services! If there are hitmen, it's because someone is willing to pay to have someone else killed! The public itself fuels crime, yet they refuse to face the consequences! Besides, the government itself makes deals with these criminals! If I hadn't done the same thing, they simply would have replaced me, just like we did you!
After so many punches, I was barely conscious. I could feel several broken bones, and my body was covered in blood.
But he kept hitting me.
"You can't kill me..." I barely managed to murmur, and he stopped. I was too weak to stand on my own, so I fell to the ground. "Your bosses want me alive until the execution…
"Otherwise, you would have killed me by now.
He glared at me for a few seconds and left.
I then lost consciousness.