War in 6 days ( part III )

Though he said that he would be fast to come back after escorting the group which was transporting the wounded, it took several minutes for Jamal to join back the rest of the team. Two of them were sitting recklessly behind their vehicle while the others had their weapons in the hands, surveying the surrounding in case an enemy appears. [ Seems like at least half of them are still vigilant ] he thought while stopping before their eyes.

" What did take you so long? I have thought it would be quick as you've said, " they were getting near him while Sania asked this question.

" Yeah I know, you may excuse me, " he stroked the back of his head while taking a look on his back, " in fact, on my way back I happened to see the rest of the enemies on the streets, it seemed that they were ready to attack you as they were fully armed and were running in this direction, so... "

" So you took the chance to eliminate them all, " they all said in one voice, they glanced at him with doubtful eyes waiting for him to confirm them that it was not actually what they were thinking, that they were not as many as they were thinking, that he was lucky the big majority of them were already killed. They couldn't just believe that one man went through fighting against an entire army and came out victorious with not a single scratch and acting like he didn't do anything special. Even though they had seen it once, earlier when he came to save them, it was still hard for them to accept.

" Yeah... actually, it was easier as they were walking and I was on my motorbike, " he responded thinking that it would low the tension while it made the total opposite, " well! Since the way is clear now I think we can get going. I have to meet your superiors as soon as possible to establish a plan as we have to take action as soon as we can ", he pressed them to settle things in their minds and made them go up in their vehicle to lead the way to their HQ.

As Jamal already cleaned up the path, they didn't go through any attacks. On their way, they only happened to cross corpses laying down on the ground here and there, in a spectacular display, it looked as if they didn't even try to fight back but rather try to escape. " They tried running away from him, " Carl spoke up what they were all thinking, he removed his head from the window-pane and turned it to his comrades, the face contracted as he added, " he literally hunted them like they were some mere preys ".

" Is he even a human? " Daphne added a little bit scared. Brad sighed irritated, " don't be so oafish, don't you think you're overdoing it? We have already seen guys like him on the TV, he must have been a navy officer or maybe a member of the special forces which would be more logical regarding all the talent he has " he supposed.

" Yeah it may be possible " Sania supported his argument " but look carefully, do you think any navy officer or even the best among them could actually imitate what he did? It was like he was playing games, and in our point of view, it was like a movie scene. Do you assume that a normal man could do that in the reality? "

Brad did not respond as he knew that his argument was not as reasonable as he wanted to make people believe. He was already aware of that as he was there and like everyone, he witnessed what he had done earlier, but he couldn't just give them reason this easily, it was beyond what his pride could take.

" He must be a kind of mon-... "

Carl didn't get the time to finish his words that Sania cut him before he went too far, " shut up! Don't you have any shame?! He came all along from his city to help us and you... you were about to insult him of monster?! " she said madly.

" What? You even acknowledged that what he did no human can reproduce it " Carl tried to defend himself.

" What I have said was that what he did was beyond human capacities... but just from what we know, " she said while trying to figure out something which would explain what he did. She looked away through the window-pane. " When we observe well there was nothing unbelievable though. What I'm trying to say is that he didn't use any tricks, no magic, or any kind of superpowers. Just he and his weapon, so why can't we just assume that he has been trained very well ".

" Yeah maybe, " he finally accepted, " but one thing is clear and we can't deny it " he glanced forward, his sight straight and his voice clear " he is a very dangerous man and we have reasons to fear him ".

The others didn't try to reply, they just remained silent meditating on his words, and they ended by accepting this truth which was hidden within their hearts since the first time they met.

•••

The fact that they rolled for quite a long time before they arrived made Jamal realize the real amount of effort Don's team put to come greeting him. Looking back at the events that happened earlier, it ended up making him regret the way he acted toward them. [ They must have woken up very early and waited there for a long while before I arrived and what did I do? I started to talk to them coldly ] he scolded himself [ I have to settle things when we arrive or at least before I leave the city ].

A few moments later they finally reached the HQ, it was a big edifice surrounded with a high wall of concrete, Jamal noticed many armed people placed on the top, all along it watching the HQ, [ patrollers ] he thought. Before penetrating the real construction, they first passed through a gate that was opened by the sentinels after they identified them. They even got a funny expression when Jamal presented himself as if he was some kind of rockstar. Then, they parked their vehicles in the garage where were stocked all the vehicles of their army.

After leaving the garage they passed by a big garden where they found a few people busy with their stuff; polishing or cleaning their guns or just sitting on the turf chattering. They didn't notice Jamal yet so he stopped himself from doing something which might catch their attention. During all their way to reach the entrance of the edifice Sania didn't cease to try charming Jamal, she first decided to walk beside him while slightly opening her shirt a bit to reveal her enormous breast, thinking that he would be hypnotized by it and she flirted with him all along even though there was no feedback from him.

Carl pulled her aside by her sleeve, Jamal used that occasion to speed up away from her, " what are you doing? Are you insane? I recall you that he is dangerous, you better not try getting too close to him if you don't want to die, people like him always attract the problems around them like magnets, " the man said to her anxiously.

She pulled off her arm annoyed and replied, " no I'm not insane, stop acting like he was some sort of monster, want you? This guy has just saved our lives. And he may be a killing machine I still want him in my bed and between my legs, " she turned her head in Jamal's direction and started staring at his butt while biting slightly her lower lip, " didn't you see how sexy he is? I love dangerous men and this one is one hell of a specimen, he literally makes me shiver ".

The man gazed at her looking disgusted, " you are really crazy, " he said to her by detaching his words, " by the way, aren't you with Brad now? Don't you see any with flirting with another guy in front of him? "

She gazed at him even more annoyed, " Brad and me? Impossible it has never happened and will never happen, you should know that I may be a slut but I have my pride, I'm not the kind to go for taken man ". She replied to him, obviously upset, " and by the way why are you so implicated in my life? "

He glanced down, looking embarrassed, and replied with a low voice " because you're the only family I have now, so please don't die by leaving me alone, " then he left her and speeded up to join the others while they were entering in the huge mansion.

After entering the mansion, they walked again a little while passing by many rooms which seemed to be the dorms of the soldiers, they went up the first floor where the wounded were treated, and as they were passing by, Brad left the group to go ask for some information from a nurse before he joined them back when they reached another room, where they found Morice on a bed with his leg hanging up and wrapped in coats of bandages. Beside him, they saw Axel sitting on a chair while leaning her head on his shoulder. When they got closer they could observe that the couple was actually sleeping, Jamal couldn't help but think about how much they looked cute in that position.

" They are going out together? " he asked his fellows beside him. They were all staring at them and only Sania turned to respond to him, " they are actually engaged and wait for the end of the battle to finally get married ". He gazed a little more at them before he said, " hmm, so it seems like I will have to work hard to fulfill their wish ".

They all turned their heads to look at him but they didn't have the time to put a comment as Don, arrived by the back and interrupted them.

" Hey, happy to see that you are all fine. Some of the men averted me that you came back, I couldn't believe that you made it so quickly ". He made some gestures with his hands to call them out, " come with me the mayor wants to see you, he also ordered an emergency meeting. We have to hurry up ".

They followed him out, walked through the hallway where they found, at its ending, a large door. Don opened it and made them enter a giant hall which was as big as an amphitheater. There, a bunch of men and women was already waiting, Jamal understood that they used to be more than their actual number as there were many free seats and the way they were spread in the auditorium, it could be seen they couldn't fill even the quarter of the hall.

While they were walking to have some seats, the heads started to turn in their direction and Jamal could feel all their eyes on him, they were few people who were whispering his name while pointing him with their fingers but he just ignored them and just went to have the seat Sania has prepared for him, just between her and Daphne who was still quiet even though they came back safely to the HQ. He calmly sat down, trying to focus on what was happening in front of him while ignoring Sania's advances.

Before them all, standing on a small stage, one man dressed in a white shirt and black trousers was preparing to speak. " He is our mayor, Howard Varal, " Sania presented him to Jamal by whispering in his ear, " he has worked very hard to maintain this city well before the catastrophe of 2 years ago. And with the rise of criminality, his job became even harder for him, but he didn't give up and did his best, every time trying to come out with a new solution to treat the problem. I recall once he tried to negotiate with the criminals but in vain, then he proposed the idea of this militia to support the few police officers, who remained loyal to their duties, to protect our townspeople. At the start, we were very numerous but, as you may have guessed, many of us died. The poor man. He is so preoccupied that he can't sleep anymore. Your arrival is his only... no, our only hope to win this war and survive ".

Jamal realized, even more, all the extent of the pressure put on his shoulders, for other people it would have been a burden but for him, it was thanks to that he was even more resolved to put an end to this war as fast as possible.

Howard put a hand up to bring the calm back, and started with a loud voice, " I have summoned this meeting to inform you about something very important. As you could have surely noticed for a while we have been receiving the help of our dear neighbor, Stainfall city, which is in a more prosperous situation than us, in the matter of strategy and support. Their Mayor proposed us to take care of our townspeople to leave us the time to finish this war but after seeing that despite all that we're still facing difficulties, she kindly sent to us her trump card, " he paused and looked at the public while pointing to Jamal with his hand, " this man, Jamal Sabani, is the reinforcement we have received and with his help, we hope to end this nightmare very soon ".

The whispers started to become louder and Jamal understood that it was the moment for him to introduce himself to the crowd. He stood up and walked toward the stage beside Howard, he stared at them and said, " I'm Jamal Sabani, and as he said I'm the key player which will lead you to the victory. For those who still don't believe how one man can change your fate, I came with a plan which may allow you to win in one confrontation, and your fellows in Donald's group can testify that it's not any kind of boastfulness when I say that I'm very strong, " Jamal couldn't believe that he said such things but he knew that it was necessary to cheer them up, he closed his eyes, took a breath and carried on, " this plan would have normally taken two days to be achieved but it seems like we have all the elements we need to end it today ".

The whispers came back and the mayor couldn't help but express their inquiries louder as he was surprised as well, " what... what are you talking about? Do you mean that we can finish it today? Seriously? "

When Jamal nodded at him it seemed like he was about to lose his balance and fall on the stage, hopefully, he managed to keep his emotions in order, " how can you do that? " he asked his voice full of hope.

" I can't do that... alone I mean for that we all have to work together, " he rectified him, " my gi- ahem, the mayor of Stainfall who assigned this mission to me, explained that all that you need to do to win is to know the location of your enemies and to have an army enough strong to deal with them. Since I'm here with you we can consider that you already got the strike force need, so the only problem we have now is the answer to this question, 'where can we find them?', but that one also is no more a problem ".

He waited for the silence to come back before he continued, " I've heard that the most of time, it is the enemies who came to confront you here, in this edifice, so until now all you could do is to defend, all your previous actions you have tried to reverse the game failed as they managed to counter quickly and wisely, what caused you to lose many of your comrades, right? "

They all responded affirmatively with the same voice, " yes that's true, but what does it mean? " Howard asked anxiously.

" Isn't it obvious? " Jamal replied, " in fact, the plan we have given you to isolate them behind a wall or a barrier like we did in my hometown, was not sure to succeed as we couldn't coordinate effectively the exact maneuvers you had to use for that, it's not your fault, however other great plans have been proposed to you and the three other cities which, like them, was supposed to allow you getting the advantage over your enemies. But out of the three cities only you failed, and one more time again your enemies got the advantage over you ".

Everyone started to think about it, how in the other towns the plans proposed succeeded but not here." It looks like they were aware of every single of your moves, " he said, giving them another clue to figure out. But it was the mayor who got it in first, " do you mean that... that there is a spy among us? "

The auditorium became all noisy, on the side people were complaining that they couldn't believe that, another part was shouting indignantly and finally there was the third part who was already thinking about who was the traitor. Jamal put a hand up to stop the unproductive quarrel, " I will spare you of too many useless thoughts and give directly the name of the spy who is in Donald's team and knew about the day I had to come, who knew about the path we would have to take to come back to the HQ and tell that information to the outlaws to prepare a trap which was aiming to kill me in vain, though. And that person is " he pointed with his hand, " Brad March ". Everyone exclaimed loudly with expressions of surprise.

The man stood up furiously and shouted, " what are all these bullshits? Are you insane? There's no way I could betray them! " he turned to the crowd carried on defending himself " he just wants to convict me wrongly because I refuse to idolize him as you all do ".

But as his usual Jamal remained serene he gazed at him like a father gazing at his guilty child shouting that he didn't do anything wrong, but Jamal already knew the truth so he waited for him to finish before starting exposing him, by showing to everyone the undeniable prove " you know I could talk about how you looked tense the first time we met or how on the road you didn't stop looking to the right and the left and at the buildings as if you were expecting to see someone coming, when you were driving and when we stopped at the hideaway I have suggested you. But it may not convince everybody in here as it only me who noticed these from you. So we may use something else, " he pulled out a walkie-talkie from his back and showed it to everyone, and Brad's face started to fade, " I got this and many others from the enemies I killed earlier in the morning, there was one at each building I have visited. When I was escorting Axel, Morice, and Don, I asked the latter and he told me that only the chief of the section was allowed to have a walkie-talkie and Axel confirmed that no one among the group had one besides Don. And You know what I've found? I have found that Brad has a walkie-talkie similar to this one ".

He made a sign to Don who was sitting beside Brad and he lifted Brad's bag high enough for everyone to see it and pulled out the walkie-talkie from it and showed it to them so they could see by themselves the clear proof. The looked more disappointed than anyone else, " well for those who still have doubts I shall call him now and we can see if it's connected to the same frequency, " then he pressed the button and said " 1 2 test, do you hear me? " and his voice a bit jolted came out from the walkie-talkie Don had in his hand what ultimately confirmed what everyone couldn't acknowledge, " well, I will need someone to restrain him and remove him into another room where I can interrogate him ".

Some people dared to step up to catch him but Brad was stronger than anyone who approached, he beat and pushed them away and started to run toward the door thinking that he could escape.

" Oh God, " Jamal sighed exasperatedly as he thought that only him among this crowd could stop him, he ran toward him, jumping on the backrests, from seat to seat which was the fastest way to catch up to him and therefore stopping him before he reached the door. When he got close enough Jamal pushed him away, jumped before landing between him and the door, which showed that he couldn't go anywhere, " just give up, you know you can't run away ".

" Shut the fuck up motherfucker, since this morning I wanted to beat up your face, " he said spat furiously before he jumped on him and started to throw punches at him. He executed, what looked to be, his best combos but he couldn't touch Jamal even once as he avoided every single one of his attacks.

He went on fighting until he got tired and knelt out of breath, " you are very poor in endurance, it's a shame to have such an athletic body but no stamina, " Jamal said without any drop of sweat on his forehead, " well, give up now, don't force me to hit you in front of those who used to be your friends, " but the man didn't listen he ran toward him while shouting desperately, " screw you! " Jamal understood that he didn't have the choice but to use force, he jumped and threw a high kick on his face what directly put him on K.O.

Jamal gazed down at him lying unconscious on the floor and commanded two guys to bring him to another room. He turned to the others, " the best thing you can do now is to go prepare yourself and after I finish interrogating Brad about the location where the rest of the enemies are hiding, then, I will come to you and explain to you how shall we proceed to get rid of them, " he paused and looked at them, " I promise you that we will finish this war by today, " then he left the amphitheater letting them assimilate what just happened.

The mayor stepped forward, " my friends I understand that what we just witnessed let you in a state of incomprehension but we have to hold it for the moment, let's listen to Jamal, and let's go prepare to our final battle, a dear friend of us betrayed us but we have more important to mind, lift your heads up and let's go ". It was not a very cheerful speech, indeed, but they all understood what he meant so they listened to him and left the auditorium to go equipped themselves, they were shocked and hurt but they couldn't help, they had to go forward.