The past few days had been quite hectic for Luis Truman. Being the President of a country was never easy. He had to deal with all kinds of people and all sorts of trouble, attend meetings every day, listen to everybody's suggestions and most important of all try to find solutions to problems so as to keep the citizens safe.
Since the war had started, he had been on tetter hooks thinking about the outcome of it and the possible destruction it brought with it. The opponent country was not ready to come to a truce with them at all. They had become unresponsive, not replying to any of their messages or responses. Seeing their animosity and uncultured approach, the government of Country P had made a decision and they had approached the United Nations to put pressure on their neighbor.
Just as they had expected, with the United Nations' involvement, their neighbor started to panic. The entire world was bashing them for their unruly behavior while they sang praises of Country P. Also, since the last few days, the Country P's army was taking control of the war and it seemed that they were just short of winning it. This had created a state of chaos and immediately the enemy country had sent a request for a pact. They wanted to end the war before any more of their soldiers were killed.
The sudden request came as a surprise to everyone, including the President. He had assumed that the issue would not be solved without a lot of bloodshed. Who knew that would not be the case? Their enemy had come to them seeking a truce to save their asses before it became too late.
When Country P received the request, they immediately arranged for the meeting and the two Presidents met to come up with a solution. After a lot of discussion and arguments, it was decided that their enemy would pull out of the war and Country P would be declared victorious. Also, Country P canceled all its foreign dealings with their neighbor as they were the first once to breach the contract. All in all, it was a win-win situation for Country P while their enemy was the ultimate loser.
Immediately after the meeting ended, the President sent the orders to Ethan to pull back their men only if their opponent surrendered first. He did not trust them even an ounce and did not want to take any risk. No sooner had Ethan received the message, the enemy army surrendered and the war ended officially.
However, a lot of soldiers had died and a lot more had been injured, injuries varying from mild to gruesome. Many of them had even lost their arms and legs and some other their faces were wounded too. Seeing their injured bodies made Ethan's blood to boil. He was angry with their distrustful enemies, but he was more angry with the traitors who killed and injured their own men. If not for them, the number of casualties would have been a lot less.
However, there was something else that was bugging him. He was not sure if he had eliminated all those traitors or were there some remaining in the group. After he had killed some of them, he could not find out any more of them as the traitors had stopped communicating using the handheld radio. So, he had not had a chance to find out more about them. Now, it was highly impossible to find them since the battle had ended.
Now that the war was over, it was time for them to give the salute to their martyrs who have up their lives while trying to protect the motherland. It was a customary salute they gave immediately after the war ended as a respect to the brave men.
Everybody, all the soldiers, even the injured ones who could make it and the doctors and the nurses assembled on the huge ground as the soldiers paid their tribute, followed by a national salute. It was such a sad moment that many soldiers cried as they bid goodbye to their fellow soldiers. Even Aria could not stop crying and seeing her cry Ian and Stuart gave one helpless look before they started comforting her.
An hour passed and Ethan was returning to his quarters after having a brief meeting with Luis on the phone when someone attacked him. He was held in a chokehold, making it very difficult for him to breathe. The man pushed to an empty tent as he pushed his hand further tightening his hold on Ethan's neck.
Ethan tried all he could to get out of his grip, but the man was well planned and the next second, he smacked his gun on Ethan's head. His head spun for a second, before he resumed his attempts to free himself again. After a lot of attempts, he finally freed himself and stood face to face with his attacker who had covered his face with an army mask. Except for his eyes, nothing was visible. So, Ethan could not make out who he was. But he was sure of one thing, the man before him was also a traitor.
The man lunged forward and tried to punch Ethan, but the experienced major had guessed his moves and avoided it swiftly. An intense battle ensued between the two with Ethan trying to unmask the man and man attempting to kill him. During the fight, the medical tray that was lying on the table toppled over and the loud sound echoed outside the tent.
Aria, who was coming to her tent as she was on a break, heard the commotion and rushed to her tent only to see Ethan engulfed in a bout with a masked man. She gasped when she saw them and immediately knew that this was a serious issue. She had to bring help and she had to do it fast. However, before she could even leave the tent, the masked man who had seen her enter in, pushed Ethan and pulled her by her arms hurting her in the process. He held the knife he had picked up from the medical tray at her neck while Ethan stared at them in horror.
Aria too was petrified to the core and she did not know what to do. She tried to wriggle out of his arms, but the man only pushed the knife further and she started bleeding. Aria winced in pain but she did not dare move, not when the man was armed and even had the intention of killing her.
"Don't hurt her. She is innocent." Ethan ordered, his voice came out controlled. But anybody could guess that he was trying to suppress his urge to punch the man. It was fine if he wanted to come at him, but why was an innocent doctor being threatened and for what purpose. However, his threats fell on deaf ears. The man chuckled lightly before he became silent again.
Ethan took a deep breath. He realized that being angry was not going to help him and especially not Aria whose life was in danger. "What do you want?"
However, he did not receive any response. The man only continued to glare at him and in a fit of anger, he pushed the knife a little deeper. Aria sucked in a deep breath due to the pain. Blood started to ooze out of her neck like molten lava and tears formed in her eyes. Ethan saw the state she was in and he knew he had to do something before the man actually killed her. He had promised the safety of the civilians and he would not allow them to get hurt at any cost. But he had visibly failed in his duty with the way Aria was hurt.
Ethan was helpless. If he tried to do anything, Aria would be hurt and if he did not do anything, again Aria would be hurt. Any which was Aria was at the losing end.
Aria saw the dilemma he was in and she was not angry with him for the situation he was in. She had to rely on herself to save her life. The next moment, Aria gave the masked man a back leg kick on his groin and he fell down in pain instantly. He released his hold on her and Aria moved away from him. She secretly thanked Ivy for teaching her the move although she had been hesitant to learn it. The teaching had come useful now and Aria was happy that she had listened to her sister.
Ivy had mastered some of the kicks and moves due to her work and she had taught some of them to Aria. According to Ivy, everybody had to be prepared for the bad times rather than crying over things when it became too late. Aria now realized the meaning in her words and praised her sister for her foresight.
Ethan was momentarily stunned with the little stunt Aria had pulled. But the next moment, he composed himself and went to the man who lying on the floor, groaning in pain. He tried to remove his mask. Realizing his intentions, the man tried to scramble away but he couldn't. Ethan held him tight and forcibly removed the mask, only to go in shock.
Even Aria was shocked on seeing who the man was. The sweet and jovial man who she had first met on the Military Grounds turned out to be a traitor and this sent chills down her spine. She couldn't help but mutter his name, asking him as the questions she had in mind in just one sentence. "Why Kevin?"
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