by Max Jager
"Come in," said the familiar voice.
Erand timidly opened the door and stepped inside, closing it gently in his wake. The Serann staring straight across at him seemed like a completely different man in demeanor than the Serann he was used to.
Then again, do I really know the real Serann?
"I may presume now, that you know?" The statement sounded more like a declaration than a question.
Erand nodded quietly.
Brent Knox reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a sheaf of lottery tickets connected in a sequence with perforated edges.
"Read the number sequences from top to bottom, and use that ordering to code out the letters. You are to interpret each sequence of four numbers as paragraph, page, word, and sentence. You are to do this in your head and not write anything down on paper. Also, you will need to determine yourself where one word ends and another begins as well as punctuation. Use the case file for the fraud case I gave you last week. Is that clear?"
Erand nodded again, the listless demeanor ever apparent on his face.
"Good, then you are dismissed."
Erand made his way out of the room with the tickets tucked safely into a side pant-pocket. He didn't consider himself the gambler type and preferred not to be seen with them by a colleague. He stopped at the break room along the way to make himself coffee before finally settling into his office.
Setting his coffee down, he pulled out the tickets and extracted the case file from a cabinet. Massaging his temples, he began interpreting the code and did so tirelessly in his anxiety. By the time he had finished, his heart was racing and every vein in his body throbbed uncontrollably.
"For now, you are to keep quiet about everything related to the Council, Brent and Serann. In a week's time, the prisoner whom the government has on record as Brent will be executed after serving on death row. Yes, you know who really is going to be done in."
B3 Chapter 5
V
11:02 a.m.
Erand wasted much of the morning reinterpreting the code until he was certain that the message he had constructed earlier was indeed correct.
But why would they do this? They promised me Serann's safety as long as I would follow their orders! Don't they realize that the moment they kill him, I'll have no reason to obey them? For now, there's only one thing I can do that doesn't directly violate my terms with the Council.
11:31 a.m.
Supreme Justice Zelda Izer raised her eyebrows so that they now protruded from well near the top of her prominent forehead.
"You're saying that the termination of death row inmate Brent Knox needs to be delayed for a whole year pending a deeper investigation into his case? Are you not aware that it was I who pronounced his guilt? The case against him was flawless. Capital deception and caught red handed in murder. But of course, if you insist, you need a signed letter of approval from your superior indicating the reasons you are reopening the investigation. The signature from your superior indicates that he or she is okay with you conducting this investigation on top of your other assigned cases."
Erand cursed under his breath, fearing it would come to needing Serann's, or rather Brent's, approval. He nodded respectfully and left the Justice's office. Over the next few days, any attempts on Erand's part to delay the execution without arousing any suspicion from the Council were futile. Erand could do no more than wait helplessly for the day to come. On the day before the execution, he was given one more message from the Council:
"You are cordially invited, read required, to attend our bi-quarterly board meeting, held tomorrow, the sixtieth day of winter. Brent has already excused you and himself from work in order to make that arrangement possible. Our chartered transportation will arrive at your residence at 8 o' clock in the morning."
Erand banged his fist hard against the nearest wall of his office.
If they allow Serann to die while I'm in attendance at this stupid board meeting, then the only thing they'll be able to threaten is my own life. I'd rather die than allow those manipulating bastards, those filthy Half-Orc curs, to exploit me for their own gain!
7:58 a.m.
Erand had used his license as a public servant to acquire a free firearm, a basic laser handgun, from the government munitions depot.
If they indeed allow Serann's demise, I will first try to kill Lem followed by every member of the Council I can get my hands on.
He stowed the weapon in a holster strapped near his left armpit and concealed by his long woolen overcoat, a necessary precaution against the weather, as it had already begun to snow outside. He finished his morning coffee and breakfast of toast and eggs, and waited for a knock on his door, which came promptly at 8 o' clock. Right as he opened the door, two figures garbed in black coats and robes rushed in and proceeded to blindfold and handcuff him. Within seconds, Erand was pinned to the ground and seemingly helpless. He hoped dearly that he wouldn't be searched, but to his dismay, he could feel them patting around his body.
"Aha!" he heard as a hand pressed over his left chest area. The Council would consider it an act of infidelity to attempt to bring a concealed weapon to the board meeting. Erand could only lie motionlessly as his assailant dug a hand under the woolen fold of his coat. That is, until his wrist cuffs seemed to break on their own accord. Without needing sight, Erand's hand found the neck of the attacker trying to confiscate his weapon and compressed it like putty. He then heard a squeal followed by rapid footsteps.
So the other one thinks he can escape?
Still keeping his blindfold on, Erand leapt in the general direction of his front door and pounced at the ankle of the fleer. A loud thud indicated the thug had tripped.
"Please! Please don't hurt me!"
Begging for life now? Truly pathetic.
Erand's hands snaked their way up toward the victim's neck and crushed out every last bit of life in the man with one squeeze. He then removed the blindfold and in doing so freed himself from the "savage trance." The first thing he noticed was the blood and gore on his hands and coat. He gasped in terror and quickly became sick to his stomach at the sight of two bodies bleeding profusely from their necks.
Did I do this?
Erand then noticed what seemed disturbingly like the sound of applause coming from outside his door.
Someone is lauding me for taking two lives?
"Well done Erand," came the sound of a familiar voice belonging to none other than Lem Griffendar. "You have proved what race you are by displaying the savagery you are capable of right in front of the Council. Undoubtedly, you have Orc blood flowing through your veins."
Still overwhelmed, Erand found it impossible to think up a refute to this.
Could any normal human, especially one with enough restraint to become a lawyer, be capable of such an unconscious act of brutality?
"I know what you're thinking, Erand," Lem continued. "I am quite sure that most humans are incapable of what you just pulled off. A humanoid neck is not made out of butter. To be able to crush one into a pulp in a matter of seconds is no ordinary feat of strength. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to find a Half-Orc or even a pure Orc capable of possessing such a boundless quantity of strength, even for only a short period of time. We have reason to believe that certain proportions of racial DNA within you produce a catalyst that allows you to enter a state of heightened strength and awareness. Perhaps one-quarter is a magic number."
All this entered and exited Erand's brain without processing. Right now, he simply wanted to know how he could commit such a cold-blooded act without even being aware of it. All he could recall were malicious thoughts toward his victims, which occurred seconds before taking their lives.
I am not evil! I'm a prosecutor! I fight for good and justice!
"Every soul has sin, Erand. You may regard yourself as having pure motivations, but still, that light cannot shine without darkness, and that is what this savage instinct feeds off of.
"Now if the IFG finds out about this, and
they will, your reputation and your record will be in dire jeopardy. You must join the Council, Erand. We have enough money and power to turn heads away from this. You will be safe as long as you work for us."
Erand could no longer stand the sight of such profuse amounts of gore and retched on the floor beside him. The refuse was creamy white in color and travelled along the grout in the tiled floor toward the pools of blood. The two abominations of disgust merged and formed a pink-colored blob, something that looked like a cloyingly sweet liquid that appeared to exist entirely separate from the other two entities.
Lem reached out a hand and placed it gingerly on Erand's shoulder. "Serann is not going to die today. Instead, we will reveal the IFG's judicial system as the pathetic excuse for justice that it really is."
The words took Erand completely by surprise. Barely able to make himself audible, he leaned forward and whispered his reply in the other man's ear. "H-how exactly is Serann not going to die?"
"Well that's simple, really. We're going to break the fake Brent Knox, in other words, Serann, out of jail and then reveal in front of thousands of people that he was really telling the truth about his identity. Today is not a board meeting, Erand. No, today is a publicity stunt. Today, we will reveal just how oblivious and incompetent the IFG is. We'll show that it's no more than a pathetic excuse for government. Today, Erand, we exact our revenge for that fateful day when those filthy humans decided to obliterate our sacred Planet Iltenaan!"
2:50 p.m.
Looking out the window of the Council's cruiser, Erand could see Capitol Square in the center of Royale. Lem stood at the head of the ship, giving orders to every free man on the vessel.
"Serann's execution is in ten minutes. We will need photon lasers locked onto his chains at least a minute before it happens. To minimize the risk of detection, we'll need to be cloaked and situated at the maximum range of 800 meters from the target. Once the chains have been broken, we shall blitz the facility and make our exit from the cruiser completely armed. Sil, you will rescue Serann from free fall once his chains have been broken and then dispatch any security they have in the immediate vicinity. I will then declare my address of revelation to the public, and we will make our exit to the rendezvous point about 0.236 aurons away from the atmosphere of Aezar. Is everyone clear on the mission?"
The question was met with an enthusiastic "Yes sir!" voiced in scattered unison. A female operator turned her chair around to address Lem. "Sir, we are approaching twelve miles to target."
"Very well, activate the cloak once you detect that we are in the blind spots of all nearby vessels."
"Aye, sir."
Not too long later, Erand witnessed the short wings protruding from the cruiser's chassis melting into the surrounding atmosphere until they were no longer noticeable save for the currents of air flowing above and below them.
"Five miles to target!"
"Commence lock-on!" ordered Lem.
Part of the front windshield of the cruiser changed into a display depicting a man with the appearance of a Half-Orc bound in a white body bag while officers of the IFG secured a chain around his throat. A red circle with crosshairs appeared on the same display, and Lem placed his index finger firmly on the pictured chain several feet above the hostage's neck relative to the actual scale of the scene. The center of the crosshair was now positioned on that very point and beside the reticule appeared a red number which read 2137 at first but was decreasing rapidly.
"Begin deceleration! If we are going even a fraction of a meter per second too fast, the vibration of the chassis might cause enough offset in the blast for us to miss the target entirely and destroy something we had not intended to hit. Remember, our goal is humiliation, not destruction."
The crew responded with another hearty "Yes, sir!" Erand could now see Serann, chain bound tightly around his neck, walking over to a black patch in the light concrete ground, escorted by two heavily armed and armored guards.
"We're getting audio; I'll stream it in," reported the operator.
"You are truly a bunch of fools. You've let the enemies of Aezar fool you into believing that I'm someone that I clearly am not."
"We know you are Brent Knox, and you will die as Brent Knox. Now if you have nothing more to say, you will kindly step on the platform and let us execute you."
Serann said no more and stepped onto the black area, which immediately began to rise.
So they're going to hang him? Erand thought with animosity.
"1500 meters!"
The platform raised further; the chain connecting Serann's neck to the pole above becoming less and less taut.
"1000 meters!"
The platform was now at maximum height. The voice of the IFG's Head of Discipline was now clearly audible in the background.
"Prepare to release!"
"We're at 800 meters! Fire now!" Lem barked.
"Release the prisoner!"
The platform fell from below Serann's feet as the photon laser exited the cannon. Serann had started to free fall.
In a matter of one second, the chain will become taut and he will die unless...
The beam pierced directly through the chain, snapping it cleanly. Serann's limp body continued falling as a result.
It's no good! If he hits the ground, he'll still die!
As Erand thought the word "die", a blue blur flew under Serann, stopping his fall and carrying him back to the cruiser.
"It's time to make our entrance. Deactivate the cloak, Elsa!"
"Aye, sir!"
A hatch in the floor of the cruiser opened and in came Serann, under the guise of Brent Knox, followed shortly by a figure wearing a suit consisting of mithril and gold.
"Good work, Sil," Lem lauded.
Now hovering over the execution site, the ship slowly descended into a smooth landing. The crowd surrounding the area who had come to watch the spectacle was now beside themselves with awe.
"Kill the intruders!" boomed a loud and commanding voice.
Sil had already descended from the hatch well before the cruiser landed and quickly dispatched of several incoming guards by creating a powerful electric field that emanated to a ten meter radius of himself. He downed others by firing energy rays from his right index finger.
Once the coast was clear, Lem, holding a knife to Serann's throat, made his exit from the vessel flanked by two burly Half-Orcs wielding Gatling guns.
"Silence!" Lem bellowed, quickly quieting the shocked crowd.
"Citizens of Royale, Aezar, and the Intergalactic Federal Government, please do not exhibit alarm at what you've just seen. In fact, I am about to do you a great favor; correct a horrible misjudgment, if you will. The man who stands before you, whom you may know as Brent Knox, a Half-Orc who committed great deeds in our name, is an impostor! You may be wondering then, why I have a knife placed against the throat of a supposed ally of mine. To tell the truth, I have no more use for this man."
Erand watched in delayed horror as Lem quickly drew the blade across Serann's neck, but to his surprise, no blood was drawn.
"Yes," Lem continued, "this man is no acquaintance of mine but rather a very powerful figure within your government. This man is none other than district attorney Winston Serann!"
As he said Serann's name, Lem pulled off the shell of Brent's face and thrust the gasping attorney to the ground.
"A simple blood test would have proven this man's every word as he pleaded for his life on the precipice of an untimely death, but you fools chose not to take him for his word. Now for your viewing pleasure, I present the man who has been masquerading as Serann this entire time: the real Brent Knox!"
The Serann Erand had known over the past several weeks since starting at the Prosecutor's office stepped out of the cruiser, smiling wryly at the crowd. Lem slit a bit of skin on the nape of his neck and proceeded to pull off the peach-white mask, revealing a dark gray skin tone underneath that was identical to the color of the mask pulled off of the real Serann j
ust moments earlier. The crowd had become restless at this point, but Lem chose not to order its silence, electing instead to raise his voice and speak over the deafening din that emanated from the thousands of people around him.
"So, citizens of the Intergalactic Federal Government, I have revealed the incompetency of your government and its justice system. Rise up and demand the justice you so rightfully deserve. My comrades and I certainly did not receive it when our home planet was decimated all those years ago!"
And with that, Lem and the other Council members re-entered the spacecraft, which in turn sped off back toward outer space.
