“I see, we truly can’t thank the Major enough… no matter how many times.”
Winfried’s gaze returned to the report. His eyes, scanning the names on the paper, filled with undisguisable anger.
“To think even the Vice Marshal was involved… No wonder we couldn’t find anything all this time.”
Winfried muttered to himself as if everything finally made sense. He had already suspected that those related to Livio were high-ranking personnel in the Defense Force.
However, he hadn’t expected that top officials like the Vice Marshal, the Chief Justice of the High Military Court, the former Director of Investigation, and the head of the Special Investigation Team of the Board of Audit and Inspection would all be involved.
“Major Hyun’s whistleblowing probably fizzled out due to their maneuvering.”
“It’s painful to say, but they must have tried to bury it somehow, knowing it would be their turn if former Major General Logan fell.”
Winfried agreed with the team leader’s words. As a veteran of the Defense Force, he could roughly picture the situation without seeing it.
“They might have escaped then… but not this time.”
A grim voice escaped through his tightly pressed lips. Winfried had thoroughly investigated military personnel close to Livio and others who came up during the corruption probe. This meant he had dirt on at least one or two people on the list attached to the report.
“How’s the discussion on the special prosecutor going?”
“Ah, its establishment is almost certain. They’re adjusting the timing, but it’s likely to be announced as early as next week. The scope and targets of the investigation aren’t finalized yet.”
“Hmm, starting tomorrow, leak the corruption of these people to the press. We need to make them face the special prosecutor along with Livio.”
Winfried ordered the team leader after a brief pause. After securing evidence to disprove Livio’s alibi, he had been leaking information received from Iberis and corruption data collected so far to the press one by one over the past month. It was to heat up public opinion before dropping the bomb.
He also discreetly leaked to like-minded reformists that Livio and key conservative figures were involved. Even those who had been internally dissatisfied with Winfried’s actions became active supporters when hinted at the possibility of a clean sweep this time.
His strategy to shake both inside and outside the Defense Force worked brilliantly. With the press and reformists pressuring together, even the Marshal eventually raised the white flag.
“…! Even the Vice Marshal?”
The team leader was shocked by Winfried’s order and asked again. While others were one thing, targeting the Vice Marshal or the Chief Justice of the High Military Court felt somewhat burdensome.
“Let’s clean it all up at once.”
Unlike him, Winfried was calm. It was the face of someone determined to avoid no fight.
“Hmm, then the announcement of the special prosecutor’s establishment might be delayed. Originally, we had agreed with other factions to investigate only three or four people including Livio Logan… If we accuse the Vice Marshal and the Chief Justice of the High Military Court, the conservative faction will immediately protest. The neutral faction might turn their backs on us too.”
“It’s fine. General Gerhardt has agreed to lend his support.”
“What? You’ve already spoken with the General?”
The team leader’s eyes widened at Winfried’s words. General Elias Gerhardt was the leader of the reform faction and a powerful military figure likely to become the next Marshal. If she stepped in directly, the situation could be easily resolved.
“Yes, last night he promised unconditional support. He agreed to establish the special prosecutor no matter what.”
“Hmm. General Gerhardt is known for never making empty promises. Then we can be a bit more at ease.”
The team leader’s expression finally brightened. Elias, known for his taciturn and serious personality, was famous for keeping his word no matter what. Moreover, if core conservative figures like the Vice Marshal and the Chief Justice of the High Military Court were removed, it would only benefit her in her pursuit of the Marshal position, certainly not a loss.
“However, the delay in establishing the special prosecutor seems unavoidable. We can’t trust the Board of Audit and Inspection now, so we’ll have to exclude them from the special prosecutor’s team. This means we’ll have to discuss everything from scratch.”
“We’ll have to bear with that much. So, keep feeding the press to maintain interest. Make it burn brightly… Let’s create public opinion that forces them to accept the special prosecutor.”
“Understood.”
“You may go now.”
After dismissing the team leader, Winfried covered his face with both hands, groaning. He felt nauseous and his solar plexus was burning hot.
“This won’t do, I need to relay the news quickly…”
Winfried snapped back to his senses and picked up his phone. He needed to inform Lucas that Livio Logan was certainly the enemy of his parents.
However, he couldn’t easily press the call button. Imagining Lucas’s reaction to this news made it difficult to move his hand.
The existence he had long suspected but could only watch for years due to lack of concrete evidence. Thinking about what Lucas would feel upon confirming that Livio indeed killed his parents made Winfried’s heart sink.
But it couldn’t be hidden. Now, it was time for righteous revenge.
And it would probably be okay. Unlike before, now there was someone by his side to lean on in difficult times.
Thinking of Iberis, Winfried firmly set his trembling lips. Then he carefully moved his fingers.
– Hello.
A familiar voice was heard before the dial tone rang more than a few times. Winfried’s throat tightened instantly, and he swallowed hard. Tears welled up as soon as he heard Lucas’s voice.
– Major General?
When Winfried remained silent without saying anything, a puzzled call came through the phone.
“…Lucas.”
Winfried’s lips trembled as he felt his vision blur. He called him by his name instead of Lieutenant Colonel Illum. This news needed to be heard by ‘Lucas Lowell Blake,’ not Luke Illum.
– What’s the matter, sir?
Lucas’s voice lowered, sensing the unusual atmosphere. Winfried desperately suppressed the tears welling up to his chin and slowly opened his mouth.
* * *
Tap, tap.
Iberis walked, almost running, towards the officers’ quarters. The conversation he had with Lucas just before kept bothering him.
‘I’m sorry, I’ll be leaving work early today.’
Lucas’s sudden message in the afternoon was enough to perplex Iberis. It was unusual because Lucas had rarely left work alone without Iberis, except during his initial days of assignment.
To be precise, they had been commuting together every day since they started living together. Lucas always came to pick up Iberis on time, except when he had to go out of the base for meetings like the N-zone Guide Team Leader conference. As if it was important to return together, even though the quarters were just a few minutes away.
For someone who always did that to suddenly do something out of character, it was bound to be worrying. Iberis, who had been restless like an anxious puppy, jumped up from his seat as soon as it was time to leave. He then left his office, barely saying goodbye to Brenda.
Honestly, he couldn’t concentrate on work at all after receiving Lucas’s call. If Major Russell hadn’t contacted him about an urgent matter, he would have left work much earlier.
“Is he sick or something…”
Iberis quickly climbed the stairs upon reaching the quarters. He was too anxious to wait for the elevator to come down to the first floor.
Lucas had seemed troubled for the past few days anyway. He had even tried to say something to Iberis but uncharacteristically closed his mouth again. With today’s incident on top of that situation, it was impossible not to worry.
Iberis hurriedly opened the front door upon reaching the quarters in the blink of an eye. He then hesitated at the sight of the darkened living room.
“…Luke?”
The house was very quiet. And dark too. Confused, Iberis entered, almost throwing off his shoes. He called for Lucas while turning on the living room lights, but there was no answer.
“Luke?”
Where did he go? Iberis moved towards the bedroom, suppressing the creeping anxiety. He felt a faint presence from that direction.
“…Lucas?”
Fortunately, Lucas was in the bedroom. Iberis finally felt relieved when he found him sitting blankly on the bed.
“Why are you like this? Not even turning on the lights…”
Approaching Lucas with a more relaxed expression, Iberis involuntarily tensed his eyes when Lucas turned to look at him. Lucas’s atmosphere, his expression, was too strange.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
