CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

In the dead of night I was awakened by someone putting a gloved hand over my mouth. A strange hissing voice whispered quietly in my ear;
“Stay calm. I am going to get you out of here. Keep quiet.”
I nodded and was directly wide awake. The butterflies in my stomach were going wild with excitement. As the hand let go of my mouth and I got up from my bed, I saw the benevolent intruder who had come to my rescue. The first thing that struck my mind was how large he was, almost two meters, and his posture was broad like a bull. He was dressed in an all black outfit; a long trench coat, black gloves and high boots. His face was concealed with a ski mask and only the narrow opening around his eyes showed his skin. Despite his enormous shape, he moved without a sound. Like a silent wind he swept across the room, checking the outsides through the window.
“Let’s go” he whispered and we went out the door. As we stepped outside I saw two bodies dressed in camouflage uniforms lying on the ground on each side of the entrance.
“Are…are they dead?” I asked silently.
“No” the dark figure answered “They are just taking a little nap”. I couldn’t see it, but I was sure he smiled under his mask.
I now got a chance to see where I had been held prisoner. It was a small camp in the forest. A watchtower stood in the middle and there were only four larger buildings there; the field hospital where I came from, a concrete bunker looking building where I figured the interrogations had been taking place, two wooden structures where in one of them I probably had my cell and another one that looked like the soldier’s barracks. The rest was just open surface apart from a garage shed and some other random huts and hovels. The entire area was surrounded by an enclosure made of wood pillars and a fine mesh fence with rusted barbwire on top.
The searchlight from the tower was still aimed at the window to my holding cell so we had plenty of shadows to dwell in as we escaped, swift and silent.
As we approached the main gate and the tall man gently pushed it open. I could see two more ‘sleeping’ soldiers on the ground.
Outside the camp night was in full control of the area. We crossed the gravel road leading from the base and into the woods. My saviour moved much faster than me through the woods, just as easy as if it would have been full daylight. To my further disadvantage, the torture I had sustained and the lack of food and water made me stumble and fall repeatedly. The dark figure stopped and came back to me where I struggled just to stand up.
“Are you okay?” he asked with a voice deeper and murkier than the woods itself.
“No…” I answered “I can’t go on. I am too weak”.
Without any hesitation, he lifted me up with ease and put me over his shoulders and kept on running like I weighted less than a bag of feathers.
After coming down a long, steep slope we approached a river running through a deep gorge.
The sound of the splashing water felt refreshing… the normal world still existed.

The dark man put me down on the ground and went over to pull out a rubber raft that was hidden under some branches. He signalled for me to get in and I scrambled aboard.
He pushed it into the water and jumped in with me. The torrent was rapid and we travelled a long distance in short time. The sky was clear and the moon didn’t shine but every single star in the galaxy was visible. The sound of the rushing water was like music to my ears. I felt free again as the waves gently rocked the raft. It was like Mother Nature had taken me to her arms and was soothing and comforting my mistreated body. I smiled and sighed with relief.

“Sorry I couldn’t come earlier” said the dark man. “But I had to wait for the right moment. I’ve been surveying that camp for a nearly a week, preparing to strike”.
“I was there for how long?” I said with astonishment.
“Six days to be more precise. I am glad you are in such good shape” he replied.
“Yeah…” I replied thinking that I was more than glad myself, having lived through that hell-hole for so long. ‘Thank God for delirium’ I thought to myself.
“You look freaking awesome man” I chuckled. “Like a black metal warrior or something”.
His eyes narrowed and I once again got the notion that he smiled.
“Black metal, yes, something like that…” he answered. “Grįžtantys su karo ugnim…”
I frowned curiously over that last thing he said. It sounded like some sort of Baltic language and I started thinking that maybe I was close to Sweden again. I really had no idea where I was so I might just be just across the sea to sweet old Stockholm. The nature however, didn’t fit into that notion. I could have asked the dark man but I was not in the mood for talking, I just wanted to use every single moment I could get to rest. Besides, it didn’t really matter as long as I was out from the grip of my tormentors. Being free was good enough.

After rushing down the rapids for a couple of hours, the waters calmed down and we made for the short shoreline. I clambered out of the raft, feeling the gritty sand between my fingers.
The dark man pulled the rubber dingy into the woods and emptied it of air. Suddenly, cramps hit my stomach I felt the need to go come over me like crazy.
“I’m sorry, I have to, you know, take a freaking dump!” I said to him and got behind some trees. It turned out to be a mixed sensation of both sweet relief and awful discomfort. I must have been at it for 45 minutes before I felt like I was done and by then I was literally pooped. Harder still was sitting there, poking the pile with a stick trying to find the USB device. After some time, I dug it out and I couldn’t help but laughing at both the joy of finding it in one piece and the bizarre situation. The dark man gave me a piece of cloth to wrap it in.
When the raft was properly concealed, my rescuer uncovered an all-terrain motorbike that he had prepared for our further journey.
I clung on for dear life as we sped off down a rough trail through the woods. Without a word being spoken we drove on until morning light.
In the middle of the forest the bike stopped and the dark figure grunted; “Get off and walk in that direction.” He seemed detached from tour encounter and continued by pointing with his whole hand and thumb folded in his palm like a soldier. “About three hundred meters… straight.”
I got off the bike, feeling a bit confused.
“You’ll come too, right?” I asked anxious about being left alone.
The cold woods watched the scene.
“No” he shook his head. “I was only supposed to get you out of the camp and set you back on track.”
The answer made me curious.
“Can I at least know you name? I mean, you saved my freaking life!” I said and my hands flew from my sides.
The dark man, looking like the black knight on his iron horse looked at me in silence for a moment before he whispered; “I am known as the ‘Benevolent Tyrant’, that is all you need to know”.
He revved the engine and raced off into the forest before I had a chance to ask anything else, but before he got out of sight I heard him roar like a bear out of hell:
“Žirgas parneš mano kūną!”


[edit on 28-3-2010 by Raud]

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I stood like a statue, listening to the motorbike fading out into the misty morning forest until there was only silence. The air was crisp and damp. I turned towards the direction I had been shown. As I limped carefully on, I started sensing the smell of burning wood.
The smell got stronger the closer I came. When I arrived at the edge of a small ravine I could see where it came from; a small camp with a hut made from spruce branches.
A small campfire flickered weakly where a man was seated with his back towards me. I crept down the slope, my aches flaring and easing as I hurried on.

When I came out into the clearing the man flew up from the log he was sitting on and quickly held up and axe to defend himself. A few seconds went by in silence, I stood holding my ribs and my dark-rimmed eyes searched the stranger’s face.
The man lowered the wicked-looking axe and smiled, I smiled wanly back.
“Wax my dingle, you scared the hell out of me!” he chortled and his choice of words made me recall what the drunken weatherman had said in that bar and I too gave a chuckle.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” I offered and moved closer to the warmth.
The guy approached me and held out his hand. I shook it with my weakness as he said;
“You must be Raud… Man you look like crap!”
“Yeah, I know. I feel like it too” I answered, being painfully aware of my poor state.
“I’m Karl, Karl Hungis. Don’t worry, I am here to help you.”
His name was familiar to me since this was the one I should have met in California. He looked like a true woodsman; his brown hair trimmed short and a well-kept beard that covered the lower parts of his face. He looked to be around 30 years of age and in his face that spoke of great life experience; eyes alight like glowing gems. His charisma was warm with peace and he had a shine of reserved authority. Overall, he seemed like a man I could trust.
“So you are Karl?” I said with a broad smile “Great to finally meet you.”
I fell to the ground and tried to make it look like I’d sat down, Karl watched with concerned eyes and busied himself putting a couple of branches onto the crackling fire.
“Likewise” he said over his shoulder, “I’ve got some new clothes for you. You can’t walk around looking like a runaway convict”. He stuck his head into the hut and took out a large rucksack. From it, he produced a nice set of cargo pants and warm underwear, a t-shirt and a knitted sweater, a pair of Meindl boots and wool socks. It puzzled me how he had gotten hold of a pair of shoes with my exact size.
“I hope it fits” he said. “I got some food if you are hungry”.
“Am I ever!” I said with delight and tried a broad smile on my face… it may have been a stranger to my visage for a while, but it felt comfortable again.
The meal; rice and a grilled squirrel that Karl had caught the day before, and the new dry, warm clothes was like a gift from heaven. Even though my stomach was aching from being unaccustomed to proper food, I couldn’t stop eating and ended up gnawing on the bones.
My body thanked him with a faint belch, I smiled with kind embarrassment.

“So…” Karl said “you got out from that camp I see.”
“Yeah” I said and put the bones down. “Someone called the ‘benevolent tyrant’ came to my rescue. Is he a friend of yours?”
“Umm” Karl said and looked up, searching in his memory “No, never heard of anyone go by that odd name.”
“No?” I said surprised. “Then how did you know you were going to meet me here?”
“Oh” he said “I got an encrypted message with GPS coordinates. I am too damn inquisitive to let it pass, had to check it out. Besides, I got really worried when you didn’t turn up where you should have, on the west coast.”
“Yeah…” I said, feeling a little guilty, even though I wasn’t to blame “I ran into some trouble back in South Africa…” I gazed into the embers, trying to get my mind straight. “Where exactly are we right now?”
“Well” Karl said and pointed towards the north. “Not very far away in that direction we have Canada. But we are in the US of A right now.”
“I see…” I said feeling immensely relieved to at last have come to the right country. “And what do we do now?”
Karl cleared his throat and looked into the fire for a moment before he spoke.

“Things are being set in motion, or at least I have been told so. We are to wait here for a while, maybe a day or so until you regained some strength. Then we’ll sneak back into civilization and I will make sure those legendary documents of yours will come to proper use.”
From hearing that, I already felt like going straight into battle, but I knew I had to rest.
“You must be exhausted, let me show you where to sleep” he said and led me into the hut which turned out to be a very professional shelter. It was much more spacey than it looked from the outside.
Being much into hiking myself, I was very impressed over how skilled Karl was at living out in the wild. My sleeping place was outstanding in comfort with an inflatable sleeping pad upon a thick layer of conifer branches. I got undressed and slipped into a warm, soft sleeping bag. I fell asleep immediately.

I was awaked to birdsong and a grave need to take a leak. I got out of the hut like a mummy creeping out of its forgotten crypt. It was twilight and I thought I had been sleeping all day if it wasn’t for Karl saying;
“Well, I’ll be waxed. Look who’s up!” I smiled and blinked sleepily.
“Hi…” I gurgled. Karl handed me a bottle of water and I drank it greedily. “What time is it?” I asked when I was done drinking.
“Around nine a.m.”
“Oh, so I haven’t slept more than a couple of hours then…” I said, a little surprised I felt so refreshed after sleeping such a short while.
“No man…” Karl grinned “You slept all day and all night. More than 24 hours straight!”
“Oh…” Everything started to make much more sense to me. I wandered off and did my business.

We had a steady breakfast made of ready-to-eat army rations and drank coffee and plenty of water. Karl started to dismantle the shelter, emptying it of the gear inside.
“We should get moving” he said “It is too dangerous to stay here longer. Besides, I’ve been out here for ten days now and I am dying to have a beer and a burger.”
“Sounds fine” I replied and helped him gather our equipment.

After some time, the place looked like it was untouched by humans and we were content with our work. Even though my body still ached, I was ready to get moving.
We hiked all day through the wilderness without even once walking on a path. Karl kept our direction right with his compass and maps. We rarely spoke and every once in a while we stopped and listened closely for any followers.
At dusk we came high up on a ridge and down below we could see a mid-sized town.
“Alright” Karl said. “This place is a suburb to my city that is located behind those hills” he pointed towards the horizon. “The plan is to place you in a motel while I take care of the rest”.
“The rest?” I asked with a frown.
“Yeah, we will talk about that later” Karl replied and set off towards the twinkling lights.


[edit on 28-3-2010 by Raud]

CHAPTER TWENTY

It was dark when we came into the outskirts. Everything seemed quiet and there wasn’t many people walking about. It seemed like any other ‘sleeper town’ where people only live and work elsewhere. We managed to get a cab and drove down deserted streets until we stopped outside a four-storey weather-beaten brick building. A partly lit neon sign was supposed to say ‘Cosy Relax Sleepy Motel’ but the letters that worked, weakly buzzed on and off. The damaged neon sign now read ‘C Re epy Motel’ I smiled at the joke as I hurried to get in from a light rain that had followed us out of the woods.

When we entered the lobby we saw a man that was talking to the receptionist at the front desk, so we remained in the background to avoid unwanted attention. He seemed obviously intoxicated and spoke with a French accent;
“Is it possibull to have a Heinikun?”
The receptionist looked very tired.
“I’m sorry sir, but I told you already; if your mini-bar is empty we won’t refill it until morning”.
The guest looked down at the desk, swaying. He smelled of alcohol and cheap perfume all the way to where I and Karl were standing.
“So it’s not possibull?”
“No” the receptionist answered with a sigh. “It is not possible.”
“It’s impossibull?” the Frenchman repeated.
“Right, it’s impossible.”
The guest tapped his fingers on the counter and said once again;
“But in zu bar, I cun get a Heinekun?”
“I said no!” The receptionist was getting frustrated. “It is closed! And for the millionth time, you can’t bring drinks from the bar to your room! Don’t you get it?”
The Frenchman got equally frustrated and slammed his hands on the desk shouting;
“But zu customur is always right!”
The receptionist yelled even louder straight into the guest’s face;
“What about this; the customer is always a pain the ass!”
The Frenchman stumbled a few steps back, looked around with a confused face and staggered back to his room.
Karl and I stepped up to the front desk when the scene was over. The receptionist muttered and went into the back office before he had seen us. Carefully we rang the little bell on the desk. From the back came a roar;
“What? What? What!” The receptionist came rushing out and as he saw us, he changed his approach abruptly and brushed off his worn out suit jacket.
“Oh, I’m sorry” he said “I thought it was that freaking Frenchman again. Really sorry about that...” He waved an arm in the vague direction of the Frenchman’s room.
“No problem” Karl said. “I called earlier, my name is Wallace Dingle. I think I have a preliminary reservation here…” I tried not to burst out in a giggle when I heard Karl’s choice of fake identity.
I studied the poorly-painted scene on the reception wall… it was of the countryside.
“Yeah, yeah…” the guy tapped on his keyboard. “The guy with the strange enquiry that must be you…”
I gave Karl a look but he waved it away.
“Here you go, room 913” the receptionist said and handed Karl the key. “No phone calls, no trace, no nothing, right?” he asked.
“Yep” Karl smiled tightly “Nothing.”
“It’s like you are not even staying here, or never had” the guy at the desk asked and looked up at us.
“That’s right. Like, we don’t exist.”
The receptionist gave an ‘okay’ gesture by pointing at us at blinking with one eye, making a clicking sound. He went back to checking the dog track results in the paper.

We walked through the murky corridors until we got to the door to room 913. The air inside was stale and the walls were soiled with the wallpaper hanging down a few inches from the ceiling. The bed looked like it had been slept upon by the legions of the damned and the bathroom made me wish for the forest again. I sat down on a chair that immediately gave away and I found myself sitting on the floor.
“Oops” I said. “I hope we won’t be charged for that”.
Karl chuckled;
“Don’t worry. You just have to stay here until tomorrow evening. Try watching some TV or something.” He threw me the remote. I flipped the channels. The set was small and the picture was blurry. I turned it off.
“So what is the plan then?” I asked and went to sit on the bed.
“Well” said Karl and took a deep breath. “I need the documents.”
I instantaneously became suspicious.
“And…?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Don’t worry Raud, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to it.”
I felt very uneasy with the idea to let go of the little USB stick. It had become a part of me…
literally!
“Tell me what you are going to do.” I said, sounding very serious.
A few seconds passed before Karl laid out his idea.

“This is the deal… I have access to this hidden server. It has software that I programmed myself. It’s probably illegal, but it works real well.” He made a pause.
“Continue…” I said, fumbling the little bundle in my leg pocket, the bed creaked.
“The server is totally invisible, so to say. When it is operating, it is traceable for only a fraction of a thousand of a second and everything that leaves it has a security level that just goes off the AES charts. I once thought I would sell this idea, but I think it is better to keep it my personal secret. I was hoping I would get the chance to use it in a ‘hot’ situation like this one day…and here is my chance.”
There was a moment of awkward silence. I was still reluctant to give the device away.
“You didn’t answer what you were going to do with it” I asked.
“Oh” Karl sat down on a small table and continued explaining “You see, I put the information into the server and program it to send at a certain time. As it goes, it will send billions of ‘ghost’ copies, making literally impossible for anyone who listens to know which one is the original. Thus, it can reach its destination safely.”
I still had a hard time understanding what he meant, even though I wasn’t a complete stranger to computer technology.

“And the receiver can then read it straight off?” I asked.
“Sort of… I’ll include software for translating the encryption, but it will come afterwards and not until I will get a reply from the other end that will confirm that the correct destination has been reached. This will be approved by yet another program I’ve made, fail safe” Karl made a poised expression and chuckled. “The software will of course, self destruct afterwards, keeping the source and the code hidden. I tired this many times myself so I can promise you, its state of the freaking art stuff we’re talking about.”
I tried picturing the process in my head.

“And where is this being sent?” I asked.
“Well...” Karl held up the palms his hands “…CBS, NBC, BBC, the Tribune, Reuters, all of them. Even Al-Jazeera and your native SVT! Every major network except Fox, just for the hell of it.”
My eyes became wide open. ‘The crap is really going to hit the fan’ I thought. ‘This is it!’
Then I pondered:
“Uhm, do you even know exactly what is on the disk?”
Karl shook his head and his hands flew from his sides;
“Nah, not hundred percent. I am just doing what I have been asked by some very reliable people. I’m not sure I even want to know. But don’t worry; if I was one of them bad guys, you wouldn’t be here right now.”
I sighed and lay back on the bed, closing my eyes.
“No” I said tiredly “You sure don’t want to know that. But I guess you will pretty soon.”
I picked out the bundle from my pocket and handed it over to him. He opened it and jerked back his head, his nose wrinkled with disgust.
“Geez!” he shouted. “What the hell have you done with this?” The stench hadn’t come off even the slightest.
“It has been pretty much everywhere by now” I laughed. “Just get on with it. It’s your burden now.”
Karl folded it carefully back into the bundle and got to his feet.
“Well then...” he said before he left “I… have to get to the location where I can perform my little miracle, it’s in that town over the hills. I’ll be back later”. He did a salute and went out from the room.
“God speed” I sighed just as he left the room.
I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling. This was finally coming to a close. I was rid of that cursed memory stick. I tried comprehending how far I had travelled to get here, to this final moment of relief.

I really felt like celebrating so I snuck out of my room and down to the front desk. No one was there but from the back office I could here someone laughing. I hesitated for a few moments before I rang the bell.
“Ugh!” A disappointed grunt came from the back and the receptionist shambled out.
“Oh, sorry” he said a bit embarrassed when he saw me “it’s just you. What can I do for you?”
“Well” I said “the room is pretty bleak to be honest”.
“No need to tell me about it” he answered with a dejected expression. “This place sucks!”
We both laughed at it.
“My name is Wukky, by the way” the receptionist muttered and put out his wrinkled hand. I shook it.
“I’m Raud, nice to meet you”. Wukky nodded. “You don’t happen to have cigarettes here, do you?”
“No problem, they are on the house!” Wukky replied with a smile and put a pack on the counter.
“Thanks a million mate” I said and tore it open. “Can I smoke in here?” I asked just as I was going to light it.
“Go right ahead. It’s not like there is any atmosphere to ruin really” he answered with a s'n-word'.
I looked around and saw a lounge area with a TV.
“I’ll sit over there for a while if that’s okay with you.” I asked.
“Please” Wukky said “Can I get you anything else? A beer? Whiskey? Food? My personal produce of freshly squeezed Wuk Nog?”
“Oh” I said feeling like I was making too much fuzz “A beer would be nice, and maybe I’ll try some of that last thing you mentioned…”
“Nah” Wukky said with an slightly appalled grimace. “You don’t want that. I’ll get you a beer and a whiskey instead.” He shambled away, giggling over that alluring ‘nog’ he’d offered me.


[edit on 28-3-2010 by Raud]

CHAPTER TWENTYONE

I went over to the lounge area and I don’t know if it was worthy to be called that, but the greasy sofa that stood there was remarkably comfortable. I switched on the TV to check the news. Nothing interesting was on the headlines. I thought of what I had read in the document, that the media should be blindfolded and gagged.
The anchor woman just sat there, yapping about whatever. She had no idea what is happening behind the curtains. ‘And I’ I thought ‘who always believed there was a conspiracy within mainstream media. Now I know that there is a conspiracy against them instead’
I attempted a smile… but only managed a grimace.

I hoped from the bottom of my heart that Karl was going to make it. I tried to rid myself of any anxiety because I didn’t want to ruin the joyful excitement that was keeping me from going to bed, despite hiking all day. Of all the nerve wrecking tension I had felt up to this point; reading the document for the first time, hiding in a barrel while dogs tried to sniff me out or climbing down the anchor chain and swim through rotten water, none of that was as exhilarating as waiting to hear from Karl.
Wukky came into the lounge to burst the neurotic bubble I had closed myself in.
“Here you go” he said at put a tray down on the table “some bourbon; Wild Turkey Rare Breed, very tasty, and a freaking Heineken.”
“But I thought you told that French guy…” I started, but Wukky waved that question away;
“Bah, screw him. He’s already had enough. You, on the other hand, sure look like you need one.” By the extreme satisfaction I got from drinking the beer, Wukky was more than right by that.
“Thanks a million, man” I said after drinking down the entire bottle in one sip.
“No problemo” he replied “I’ll get you another one.”
My soul sighed and even though I was a long way from home, in a shabby motel and had endured horrific tortures, my soul smiled and I felt good.

When he returned he asked:
“Is it okay if I join you and watch some TV? Got no work to do anyway…”
“Sure” I said “absolutely”. The trauma from the time in the prison camp had made me uneasy whenever I was left alone.
“Cool” Wukky said with a thumbs up “I’m just gonna finish this chat session, I’ll be right back”. I gazed at the wall with an easy feel across my body as the rain tapped softly on the window.
He returned after a short while with a chuckle.
“What?” I asked.
“Ah, nothing” he said and sat down in the sofa “I was just chatting with this crazy Aussie dude called Chad about Australian chicks when another member, a girl also from down under; ‘Zazz’ came in and…”
“Wait a minute!” I almost shouted. “Chad Wickus? And Zazz?” From Australia?”
“Yeah…?” Wukky said with a confused expression. “You know these people?”
“My God, that’s great news! They are alive!” It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I laughed out loud and held up my arms in the air in praise.
“You’re weird” Wukky said.
“I know” I replied, taking a sip on the whiskey trying to un-weird myself.

We sat half-way into the morning looking at TV together. Wukky turned out to be a hilarious guy and his flaming fury against politicians had a humorous side that made me laugh so hard I ended up sitting double folded, hacking to catch my breath. When his shift was coming to an end he upgraded my room to the top suite which actually had a brand new bed in it. I slept like the dead until I woke up in the afternoon by a knock on the door. Karl opened it slightly and peeked in;
“Hello. Up already?” He said with a grin.
“Yeah, since you woke me up and all.” I grinned back at him. “How did everything go?”
“Oh…” he said and seemed cheerful “…much better and foremost faster than expected.”
“Really?” I said with excitement.
“Yeah” Karl said and looked briefly over his shoulder. “Get dressed, there is someone here who wants see you”
I hurriedly put my clothes on and Karl opened the door. I was met by a kind-looking man in his best years with a jet-black moustache. He held out a big, strong hand and as we shook he said;
“Hello Raud. My name is Springer and I would like you to come with me.”
I looked blankly at Karl who gave me an approving nod and I stumbled after the stranger.

When we got out on the street I was overwhelmed with what I saw. At least a dozen police cars had parked all around the area and three shiny, black Cadillac limousines stood outside the motel entrance. With weary steps, I followed Karl and Springer into one of them and got inside. As soon as the doors closed, the spectacular convoy was set in motion.
“The night was okay I hope?” Karl asked me.
“Yeah…” I answered with wide-eyes “…that receptionist upgraded my room. He’s a real nice guy, ‘Wukky’. Treated me to drinks on the house and all...”
“That was Wuk?” Karl expressed with surprise.
“You know him?” I said with a raised eyebrow, outside lights flashed colours and figures moved.
“I think I do…” Karl mumbled. “Never mind that, I hope you slept well because this is going to be one big day.” He gave Springer a glance. “Tell him about the news.”
Springer had been watching the conversation between us two… he nodded and took a deep breath.
“I understand this might be a little confusing, especially after what you have been through” I looked at him. This sure was a little much for me to grasp. He continued;
“What you have done is pure heroism. You have spared the world a lot of pain.”
He pushed a button and a small flat-screen TV folded down from the ceiling. He flipped through the news feeds. They all carried the same breaking news;
A hidden, world-wide network of high ranking military officers and members of major corporations had been caught planning a world takeover. All across the globe, people were arrested, some during fire fights with the police. Mass protests had broken out in numerous cities on all continents.
“Seems like people of all origins finally have found a common enemy” Karl said with emphasis. “For once, an enemy that doesn’t have a nationality either.”
“Yeah” Springer filled in “The dreaded military industrial complex, finally caught red-handed”. I noticed a satisfied smile appear from under the moustache.


[edit on 28-3-2010 by Raud]

CHAPTER TWENTYTWO

After driving for an hour while I tried to grasp the extent of what was going on, we arrived at a massive conference centre. As I exited the limousine I was immediately shielded by police officers and pushed past oceans of photographers and reporters shouting my name and asking questions. Once inside, I was led into a lounge and as I got there my chin nearly detached from my head out of sheer astonishment;
There they all stood to greet me: Hellmutt, Ziggystar, the cross-dressing Brit known as ‘Biad’, Zazz, Chad, the weatherman and little cute Jinx.
We exchanged hugs and words of gratitude. My eyes were soon filled with tears, this was just unbelievable.
“You guys were in on this all the time?” I said while wiping my eyes. They all turned and looked at Springer.
“We use to talk to each others over the internet at times. We didn’t want to reveal ourselves; it would risk the entire operation, so to say. But we did know of that conference at your museum. It’s all a complicated story, I’ll explain everything later.”
I looked at all their faces. I hadn’t even thought in my wildest fantasies that this would happen. Everyone who had helped me was here, safe and sound. That was all I could ever have asked for. Everyone but that alluring ‘benevolent tyrant’…
Biad came up to me and put his arms around my shoulders;
“So, my lad. Are you ready to face the press?” I nodded, took a deep breath brushed away the last tear drops from the corner of my eyes. He led me through a pair of doors and into a massive press reception. I was blinded by hundreds of flash bulbs… the world seemed to be only seen in glimpses.
As soon as I got seated at a long desk facing the crowd of reporters, Springer held a short introduction before all kinds of questions were fired at me. I answered them all as accurate as I could; how I got hold of the documents, how I performed my many great escapes, what was done to me at the interrogation camp, and of everything in between. The last question before I retired was a bit odd;
“Hello, I’m Johnny Anonymous from ATS news. Do you plan to write a book about all this?”
I looked at my friends seated next to me on both sides for a moment before I answered;
“I don’t know. Maybe sometime in the future…”



THE END


[edit on 28-3-2010 by Raud]

Great job Raud. Enjoyed every word of it.

Oh, lord...

I just realized I have posted the wrong version of the story....

This is not the one that Biad helped me edit!

I'm so very sorry for this error. Feels like a huge failure.
I'll see if I can change it, but I'm not sure how that would work out really...

I apologize. This is what happens when you edit and re-edit over and over.
Total screw-up.

*siiiiiiigh*

EDIT TO ADD:

There!

Now the "true" version of the story is up.
For you who already have read the original, unedited one, I ask of you to read it once more.
Not only does this newer version contain the much needed "spice" added by Biad, but also other things have been edited both in and out by myself.

Thank you for your patience.

[edit on 28-3-2010 by Raud]

Hi Raud,

Whatever version I read was a great story! Lol, I will never look at ATS and it's members the same. Whatever the case, you do have a fascination with bodily functions, huh? Just kidding... the story kept me captivated for 2 hours!

Wow. Just wow, Raud. What a fantastic story you have written! It is not only exciting and quite creepy at times, parts of it is funny as hell! The dialogues are really good, and your attention to details, the way you describe the different locations and charachters made it all come alive. I loved every bit of it. You captured my interest right from the start, and held it all the way to the end. It never got boring or stale. The last chapters I actually read as slowly as I could, because I wanted this great reading experience to last as long as possible!

I am truly honored that you let me play a part in your story, Raud. Thank you so much!

Excellent, your a fine story-teller. It's good to have friends to help you and encourage you along the way as well. I know "that feeling"

Well I read it from start to finish and savoured almost every word.

Your writing is very descriptive from the surroundings, to smells to tastes, to feelings of the ambience of certain rooms and places, it's just wonderful.

Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Starred and Flagged of course

Good read Raud!

My star finger is sore now...

[edit on 29/3/10 by Chadwickus]

Awesome story!!!
My thumb nail is chewed down to the flesh....

LMAO at the South African gangster lingo! You hit the nail on the head with that one. As the South African's would say- Kak funny!




S+F No doubt!

[edit on 23/01/2010 by jinx880101]