Sapien Loop 3 - Chapter 77: We Want Answers

Chapter 77: We Want Answers

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A clean-up operation was immediately started. The dead were transferred to the far side of the Downs Agriculture Zone to be buried. Angelo, Julio, Demadrian, Volo, and Razor’s bodies were not found and assumed to have been destroyed by the lightning. The Hat Lady’s body had also mysteriously disappeared. The injured were taken to what was left of the medical centre. Storage facilities for most of the medicines were still intact.

Hermon and Benny were arrested and taken to the Enforcer Headquarters for interrogation. They joined Duffo in one of the cells, and Tiberius was kept in a cell next to theirs.

‘Oh dear, it looks we’re in trouble now,’ sighed Benny.

‘Nonsense,’ replied Hermon. ‘You just need to know how to talk to these barbarians. Once they realise I’m superior, they’ll be begging me to run the show.’

‘They’re the same group we were dealing with when we were defrosted, you fool,’ sighed Duffo as he looked at the ground. ‘After all that has happened, you should at least try to be a little humble.’

‘The idiot and the wimp,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Both of you lack the necessary survival instincts to get out of this.’

‘That’s why you need to listen to me,’ said Hermon as he patted Benny on the back.

Henders had been in the interrogation room with Vulay and Orcilla for over an hour.

Henders handed Orcilla a drawing of August, Colin, a plate of cookies, and a hand showing a big thumbs-up.

‘This does not answer any of my questions and is not even remotely helpful,’ said Orcilla angrily.

Henders began writing on another piece of paper. Less than a minute later, he handed it over to Orcilla.

‘What’s this all about?’ asked Orcilla.

‘It’s the ingredients for the cookies he makes,’ said Vulay, smiling. ‘They are very good.’

‘Where is he?’ asked Orcilla, pointing at both Colin and August in the drawing.

Henders’ eyes darted from side to side, and then he wrote, ‘I make for you. We be friends.’ on the drawing, pointing an arrow at the cookies.

‘This is hopeless,’ sighed Orcilla.

Henders puckered his lips and shook his head.

‘He doesn’t know anything,’ said Vulay to Orcilla. ‘We should let him go and interview one of the others.’

‘Okay, beat it!’ said Orcilla in frustration to Henders.

Henders stared blankly at Orcilla.

‘It’s okay,’ said Vulay. ‘You can leave now. Thank you for your help.’

Henders stood up and held his arms out for a hug. Vulay gave him a hug. He then looked at Orcilla.

‘Go on,’ said Vulay. ‘Give him a hug.’

‘Sure,’ said Orcilla as she gently patted Henders on the back.

Henders smiled at them and exited the room. A few minutes later, Benny entered the room. Orcilla directed him to sit down opposite them on the other side of the table.

‘Do you know why you’re here?’ asked Orcilla.

‘I was in Tiberius and Miro’s executive councils,’ replied Benny. ‘They did some very bad things.’

‘What role did you play in these “very bad things”?’ asked Orcilla.

‘I wanted to keep my friend Hermon out of trouble,’ replied Benny.

‘Did you manage to stop Hermon from doing “very bad things”?’ asked Orcilla.

‘I didn’t want him getting hurt,’ said Benny. ‘He’s the family trouble-maker. He can’t help himself. He’s always been that way.’

‘In the context of Hermon, when you say, “very bad things”, do you mean plotting murders and massacres?’ asked Orcilla.

‘Oh no!’ said Benny, sounding alarmed. ‘I mean lazy, selfish behaviour, silly pranks, or anything that could get him killed.’

‘So your friend is just a complete fool,’ said Vulay. ‘You wanted to help, and you’re completely oblivious to Tiberius’ big picture.’

‘Well, yes,’ said Benny. ‘Please don’t tell him that. He’ll make my life hell!’

‘Do you know where Colin or August might be?’ asked Orcilla.

‘Colin disappeared a long time ago,’ said Benny. ‘Who’s August?’

‘Never mind,’ said Vulay.

Next, Hermon was escorted to the interrogation room.

‘You’re in a lot of trouble,’ said Orcilla firmly as she leaned on the table as she stared at Hermon. ‘You can help yourself by answering our questions honestly.’

‘Ha, you’re the one who’s in trouble,’ replied Hermon as he leaned forward on the table. ‘I’m the new head of the Alset family, and I’m about to take over Downs and then all of Sapey.’

‘There’s no chance of that happening,’ said Orcilla. ‘You’re an accomplice to Tiberius’ crimes, and you’ve committed your own crimes.’

‘You’ve been speaking to Benny,’ said Hermon as his eyes began to dart. ‘I swear he’s out to get me.’

‘Benny defended you, you ungrateful bastard,’ said Vulay as she thumped her fist on the table. ‘You helped Tiberius usurp power. You helped Tiberius commit mass murder. You stole from the technicians through your “money” scheme.’

‘That’s a complete lie!’ shouted Hermon. ‘I’ve never helped anyone in my life.’

‘You really are despicable,’ said Vulay as she grabbed Hermon by the collar.

‘At least I’m not a traitor,’ replied Hermon in a smug tone. Then he looked at Orcilla. ‘Or a terrorist for that matter.’

‘You evil bastard!’ shouted Vulay as she held her hand up to hit him.

Orcilla grabbed Vulay’s hand to stop her. ‘Don’t,’ said Orcilla. ‘He’s not worth it.’

‘Please don’t hit me; I’m sensitive,’ blubbed Hermon as he cowered on his knees in front of the chair he had slipped off in fear.

‘Where’s Colin?’ asked Orcilla. ‘Where’s August?’

‘I don’t know,’ replied Hermon as he stood up. ‘If you see them, tell them they can forget about joining my executive council. I prefer Julie. Such a pity she stopped baking.’

Vulay was about to try and hit Hermon, but Orcilla stopped her. ‘Hermon, when did Julie stop baking?’ she asked.

‘A few weeks ago, it was very annoying. I have a thing for her pastries,’ gasped Hermon as he cowered again.

‘Thank you, Hermon,’ said Orcilla, smiling slightly. ‘Followers take him out!’

The followers entered the room, grabbed Hermon, and then escorted him out.

‘Can you believe that guy?!’ said Vulay, waving her hands above her head.

‘August was playing Julie while Maskameera was with us,’ said Orcilla. ‘We need to press Duffo on this.’

A few minutes later, Duffo entered the interrogation room. He sat down opposite Orcilla and Vulay, who were standing.

‘I hope you find your cell comfortable,’ chuckled Orcilla.

‘I’ve experienced worse,’ replied Duffo. ‘The clowns I’m sharing it with are the problem.’

Your perceived competition, I suppose,’ said Orcilla, nodding her head slightly.

‘Not at all,’ said Duffo. ‘Hermon wants to take over as the leader of the Alset family and become the new ruler of Sapey. I want the power given back to the technicians and the Downs residents.’

‘Your actions and recent claims suggest otherwise,’ said Vulay.

‘Of course they do,’ said Duffo forcefully. ‘I needed to stay close to Tiberius. To do that, I had to play along with his madness.’

‘Why did you need to stay close to Tiberius?’ asked Orcilla.

‘Have you heard of the saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”?’ replied Duffo.

‘I have,’ said Orcilla, frowning.

‘I was part of the resistance,’ said Vulay. ‘We had no contact with you.’

‘Not you,’ replied Duffo. ‘I worked with L1. It was a secret; she didn’t want to put me at risk.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Orcilla as she pressed her palms on the desk as she stared into Duffo’s eyes.

‘Tiberius had the imperial guards and his psychotic Head Enforcer,’ said Duffo. ‘If I stepped out of line, they would have killed me.’

‘What is the point of your “secret” mission if you did nothing?!’ shouted Orcilla.

‘After Tiberius left for the West Camp, I put an end to Lily’s torture,’ replied Duffo. ‘I also voted Tiberius guilty of his crimes. I was going to act against Miro. As you know, that wasn’t possible.’

‘You also tried to get all the resistance killed!’ said Vulay angrily.

‘I didn’t; it was all part of the plan,’ said Duffo. ‘We wanted Tiberius to think you were out of the way for good, and it worked. Look, you’re here.’

‘What do you know about Colin and August?’ asked Orcilla.

‘Colin left a long time ago,’ replied Duffo. ‘I don’t know anything about August.’

‘How about Julie?’ asked Orcilla.

‘She re-emerged just before Tiberius returned,’ said Duffo. ‘She was trying to play us off against each other. I wanted no part of these games, but I played along with her.’

‘Do you know where she is now?’ asked Orcilla.

‘No idea,’ replied Duffo. ‘She might have been killed at the inauguration.’

‘Thank you, Duffo,’ said Orcilla.

The followers came in and took Duffo back to the cell.

‘That’s the biggest load of crap ever,’ sighed Orcilla.

‘Probably, but L1 did seem to have some compassion for Duffo,’ replied Vulay.

‘They were both frozen,’ replied Orcilla. ‘I expect they have history that might have earned him sympathy.’

‘Yeah, I expect so,’ said Vulay. ‘Okay, time to question Tiberius.’

‘Yeah,’ sighed Orcilla. ‘Stay cool. Don’t let this monster into your head.’

A few minutes later, Tiberius was escorted into the interrogation room by four followers. His feet were chained together and his hands were cuffed. Tiberius plonked himself down on the chair opposite Orcilla and Vulay.

Orcilla was about to ask a question when Tiberius began to chuckle.

‘You’re not going to find being a “gone case” very funny,’ remarked Orcilla.

‘I find your delusional behaviour quite comical,’ said Tiberius as his eyes glistened slightly.

‘Tell us about your relationship with Duffo?’ asked Vulay.

‘Not as entertaining as yours with Victor,’ smirked Tiberius.

Vulay clenched her fist in rage.

‘Ignore that,’ said Orcilla firmly to Vulay. ‘It’s just something he got from Jennifer.’

‘Watching him peppered with bullets was a true highlight of your life,’ chuckled Tiberius.

‘You complete shit,’ said Vulay angrily as she lunged towards Tiberius.

Orcilla grabbed Vulay hard. ‘Out of the room now,’ said Orcilla as she pulled Vulay into the corridor.

‘You do not let him dictate anything,’ said Orcilla.

‘I want to kill him,’ said Vulay.

‘I’ll ask the questions from now on,’ said Orcilla. ‘You observe.’

Orcilla and Vulay entered the interrogation room.

‘A timeout this early is not a good sign for you,’ remarked Tiberius.

‘We ask the questions; you answer them,’ said Orcilla. ‘Do you understand that?’

‘I understand that your father cared deeply about you,’ smirked Tiberius.

‘Were you solely responsible for ordering the massacre of those in the underground cities?’ asked Orcilla.

‘You betrayed his love like a vile, spoilt, little brat,’ chuckled Tiberius as he leaned back in his seat.

‘Who else knew about the brutal murder of the children and their mothers?’ demanded Orcilla.

‘I don’t blame you,’ sighed Tiberius. ‘I didn’t like my father. I thought about killing him on a daily basis. You, on the other hand, went the extra mile. You killed him and a few million other innocents. I suppose you would consider it a form of collateral damage.’

Orcilla grabbed a folder. She spread photographs of the bodies tied to poles in the underground city. ‘Is this what you commanded?’ shouted Orcilla. ‘Is this all your doing?’

Tiberius looked at the photographs and smiled. ‘I’ve done so many beautiful things in this world, but you hold the ultimate accomplishment,’ he chuckled. ‘Your first act in life was to murder your own mother.’

‘You’re a “gone case”,’ shouted Orcilla as she flipped the table to one side. ‘I can do whatever I want to you.’

‘Give birth to my immortal legacy,’ laughed Tiberius as his face filled with excitement. ‘Let my soul possess you.’

Orcilla flicked Tiberius on the forehead with her middle finger. ‘I’ve seen and heard enough,’ she said calmly as she exited the room. Vulay followed her out.

‘Are you okay?’ asked Vulay.

‘I’ve already faced my demons,’ replied Orcilla. ‘And he’s not one of them.’

They could hear the technicians cheering outside the Enforcer Headquarters.

‘What’s going on now?’ Orcilla asked a follower.

The follower shrugged his shoulders.

Henders and two other technicians entered the Enforcer Headquarters together. They were holding plates of cookies.

‘You don’t need to come back here,’ said Orcilla as she looked at Henders.

‘He wants you to have some of his cookies,’ said one of the technicians.

‘That’s really nice of you,’ said Orcilla, smiling.

Henders held out the tray for Orcilla and Vulay to taste one of his cookies.

They both picked up a cookie. Orcilla bit into the cookie. ‘Hmm, this is great,’ said Orcilla. She patted Henders on the shoulder.

Henders’ eyes bulged in delight.

‘How about you join us for dinner tonight?’ said Vulay. ‘We’re going over to Sophie’s apartment. She always makes so much delicious food.’

Henders nodded excitedly.

Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide

Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.

Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:

• Sapien Loop: End of an Era
• Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time
• Sapien Short Stories: Missing Links

All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.

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