Bad News
In the 42 square meter cabin, Archer Moore was checking his long-barreled rifle. After spending five years there, he ended up as a lieutenant general in the military. He spent all his time in the main front line to make sure he did his service in the military to the fullest.
It was an accomplishment he managed to get in a relatively short time. For his hard work on the battlefield, he earned the nickname Artic Bear. With a cold and unforgiving demeanor, he aimed his rifle without hesitation at those who threatened the security of his country. For the past few months, he has spent his time in the battalion quarters when it was safe enough.
He still intended to continue checking until a soldier entered with a telephone for him. The man said that someone named Edith asked him to give Archer the phone.
Archer, who heard his sister’s name mentioned, approached with a smile. It had been a long time since he had received a call from home. He also chose not to contact them during his military service because he was too busy and kept moving. Once in a while, he would only write to them via email.
But as soon as he heard the sound of heavy breathing on the other side, something made him tense up. “What’s wrong?” Archer asked rather heavily.
“Archer, things are not okay right now.” Edith’s small voice made the hot air in the cabin cold and stuffy.
Archer pressed hard on the phone. “Tell me what’s going on?” He tried to be calm and listen.
“Our parents, they’re dead.” There was a soft sob. Archer’s pupils opened wide slowly, his gaze became blank, and his sight sharpened.
Something made him feel the emotions that continued to rise slowly within him. “What do you mean?”
“Listen to me carefully, Archer.” On the other side, Edith seemed whispering in a condition he could not imagine. “Mum and Dad died jumping off a building. They did it under force. The family company went bankrupt, and it all happened because Viviane conspired with the four big families.”
Archer groaned; he remembered that Viviane, his fiancée, had once conspired with them to divide family assets, which he opposed, and now Viviane was doing it again. That woman was again planning something when he was not around.
Before Archer could comprehend the information, he was shocked by the loud sound from the other side of the phone; along with the loud bang, Edith’s cries sounded even more deafening, wailing pitifully and sounding heartbreaking. “Archer... Archer...” She called out frantically. Her fear could be heard in that voice. “Strangers broke into the house. They said we owed 300 dollars, and I couldn’t pay it. There’s no money or anything that can make me pay it off. They said I should pay by becoming a slave.”
Bastards! Archer cursed furiously. He banged his fist against the cabin wall and made a trace there.
“They want me to be a servant to pay them off. I tried to hide, but they found me. Archer, please save me. I beg you, Archer! I’m scared.”
“Edith, calm down, I’ll-” Archer paused, no longer continuing his words as the voice on the other end screeched loudly.
His ears heard the sound of crowded steps and then Edith’s wailing cries. His head imagined his sister being dragged away by the horde of people, and his blood boiled. Archer’s hands were clenched tightly; repeatedly, he heard Edith calling his name very loudly, and it hit his chest. “Damn them!” He roared out of his cabin.
The soldiers there saw him come out stunned, as they had never seen him that angry. The men immediately opened the way, letting Archer take more than one gun from inside their base.
Someone told Demelza, the beautiful woman who was Archer’s subordinate, that their commander was acting very strangely. Demelza rushed to him and joined him in retrieving more than one gun from their base, prepared without being asked.
“I want you to block roads on a large scale, close all border accesses in the Canopus Hill region, and don’t let anyone out.” He gave an order that was heard by Demelza, who was in charge of coordination.
Demelza stared the same as Archer; without asking much, she nodded. “Yes, commander.” She parted from there towards another car.
Archer traveled from the training ground, which took more than three hours if traveled by road, and to shorten the time, he chose to fly in the helicopter owned by his battalion. Sitting there, he clenched his jaw with heavy, ragged breathing; he couldn’t accept that while he was busy fighting and defending the country’s security and protecting others, his own family was being killed by a bunch of f*****g surgeons.
It was those bastards who started the chaos in his life. Five years ago, when Archer was engaged to Viviane, one night, they set him up by getting him drunk and then making him sleep with a woman he didn’t recognize. Just like that woman was also trapped in the same situation, and because of that, Archer was accused of raping her.
Archer tries to explain, but the rumor spreads like a fire that burns a wheat field about to be harvested. From there, he learns that the woman he slept with is the daughter of the Wood family. Everyone is talking about it, and Callie Wood, the woman he shared a bed with that night, has a tarnished reputation.
He gets a lot of flak. Archer tries to explain. He tries to restore the woman’s good name, and with that effort, Callie forgives him because she realizes Archer is not entirely guilty. However, due to his confession, Archer was forced to choose to go to prison or serve in the military for a long time. Archer decided that it was better for him to serve in the military because spending time in prison would tarnish his family name and embarrass his parents with the status of an ex-prisoner who would be attached to him later after his release.
Archer took a deep breath and again tried to contact Demelza. “Track down Edith’s whereabouts. I’m sure she’s near the harbor; they must be crossing.”
After receiving the order, Demelza used her ability to trace the surveillance cameras installed in every corner of the city. She started by snooping on the cameras around Archer’s residence and then found a jeep leaving there in a hurry. He kept moving his finger until the car that brought Edith in stopped.
The car he had marked had crossed over from the harbor. “Commander, they got away. I found the car carrying Edith on a ferry crossing from the nearby harbor.”
Archer closed his eyes, his blood rising rapidly to the top of his head. “Keep making sure you get the location. Let me know their movements periodically, and I’ll catch up.” He was unsure which was faster, but he intended to do everything he could to save Edith. “Direct the special forces to the location and give them orders to find Edith.”
Edith was his only remaining family member. He would destroy everything if he needed to free Edith. If the country he was guarding could not ensure his sister’s safety from those plagues, then he had no objection to making that country pay for her, including them.
“I will do that, commander.” Demelza organized another call for a team closer to the port to join the chase.