The Quandary — Part VI
The elegant man stormed into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Both prisoners were startled by his sudden entrance and leaned slightly back on their chairs. The elegant man sat down on his chair and dropped the notebook on the desk between the three of them. He opened the notebook to the same page the greyhair captain showed him and lifted his eyes to stare at the prisoners.
“Gentlemen, it is over” he said lifting his shoulders drawing a smirk on his face. He let a small chuckle out before covering his mouth. “We have deciphered your notes,” he continued, “we have no use for you anymore.” He let those last words hang in the air for a while to make his point. “Our good Captain, who you both know well now, has just given me the best of news. Our military branch in the east have successfully acted on our intelligence, which you have kindly provided in these notes, and have intercepted your imperialist, antidemocratic and foolish movements in Esquipulas today.”
The elegant man slowly reached down his pocket for a cigarette in order to create an uncomfortable moment of silence in the room. He looked straight down as he lighted up the cigarette as to avoid direct eye contact with the prisoners, while still keeping focus on them through his peripheral vision. All three of them kept silence as he took a long drag, blowing the smoke out on top of their heads. Oh how much easier this is with leverage on my side, thought the elegant man as he saw the smoke raise, the asymmetry of information is the grander of all kinds of leverage.
“We have captured all of the rogue military men still in their barracks this early morning, and taking advantage of our position a groups of our owned posed as the rogue team. They lead the insurgents to to what they thought was your coordinated plan, but what was actually our hands. They are currently being making an example of for the rest of the region, and as proof to the country and the international community that we are several steps ahead of your government!” The elegant man was surprised how well he was doing on his feet, all that work in politics was paying off now. He put his cigarette in his mouth and stared at the silent men. Maybe I can pull this after all, if I can convince them, I can use them instead of neutralizing them.
“Your silence is loud gentlement!” he yelled out with his cigarette in mouth, putting his arms up in the air and opening his eyes wide. He stared at the men while keeping himself still, until he could not hold it. He stood up and laughed like a mad man, coughing over the desk and the notebook without even making an effort to cover his mouth. “I’m sorry, I just did not really expect this to end so well and so quickly,” he leaned on the table, content on the quality of the show he was putting.
“Alright, alright,” said the older prisoner, the one that went by as a professor, “what do you wish to know?”
