Dec 2013
"Brechtefeld Kalani, president of the republic of Kiribati and the First Gentleman, Aaron Salaza sent their condolences to the governor of Baleria on the sudden demise of his family in a terrible accident. Her Excellency had deemed the incident as a national tragedy and there would be a day holiday to honour the dead and to commiserate with the governor for his tireless commitment to the country. The terrible incident happened yesterday, the 13th of Dec. 2013 when the plane that carried the family of the governor blasted amidst flight claiming the life of the executive family, their pilot and attendants. We at ACN networks gr….."
Jordan switched off the television set in anger.
On and on it went. He thought bitterly. Condolences would be sent. Sweet words will be spoken. Courageous speeches would be spouted. At the end of the day, nothing would be changed.
Those bastards would walk free. They would get more cocky day by day believing that they are mightier than the government. Believing that they own the land.
Jodan almost growled in his frustration as he thought of how true that was.
The streets of Baleria had been taken over by these people. The crime rings. Different facets of them. The drug lords. The kidnappers rejoiced in keeping their victims hostage while they extort exorbitant amounts of money from their families before releasing them. If they did release them.
After collecting the money most times, they end up killing the victims.
The gun-dealing merchants who had gotten so bold that they don't do their businesses under the cloak of the night like before anymore.
Honest traders in Baleria couldn't ply their trade without fear anymore. They have to pay for "protection" to avoid being harassed by those who had turned themselves into the second law enforcer.
The crime rate was like a vermin in Baleria and it was eating through the legacy of the city so fast that it was dizzying.
Worst of the issue was that most kids, youths of Baleria had been subjected to what Bassie foresaw before sending Alarick off to Rova. Little kids are being incorporated daily into the rings. Cartels are sprouting up increasingly.
Gunfights had become a thing of the norm on the street. Cartels with a vendetta against each other might start their fight in broad daylight on the road. The worst part about their fights was that they care not about who could get hit.
In their mad chase atimes, they would hit the innocent. Alarick had been so enraged the other day when he had passed an area in the aftermath of their fights and he saw people gathered around a woman in a pool of her blood on the floor.
Even as people called 211, they knew that it would be too late. When Alarick got there and tried to calm the panicked woman down to administer some first aid till the paramedics would get there, he knew he was late as well but he refused to stand around doing nothing so he started assuring the woman.
By the time the siren of the ambulance sounded, the woman had been long gone. She was heavily pregnant. The outrage he felt that day was more than any other he could remember, not since Eric's death had he felt that useless.
He almost told the paramedics that he would find out about the woman's family and divulge the news to them before he remembered that he no longer have what could give him that right again.
A badge.
He had been in a sour mood throughout that day. Chione who had always been so perceptive had picked on his mood and asked if it had to do with the woman that died on the street, gurgling on her blood.
"How had you known that?" he snapped at her.
"Chill out, tiger. I am not the enemy here" she raised her hand in defence before showing him the clip on the phone.
There he was, perfectly captured as he held the woman's hands and whispered assurances to her.
He had not been so sure then but he could see now that the woman's initial panic subsided and she had some modicum of peace on her face. Right until she breathed her last.
Jordan slammed his fist on his desk that had most of his stationary jumping but Chione hadn't even flinched.
"Calm down, Dan. You cannot blame yourself for this too, you know, you tried your best. Look at the difference. She was freaking out before you got there. At least with you there, she had some peace. Well, about as much peace as she could have before death claimed her" she completed sheepishly.
"Lies!" Jordan said heatedly "That was what I was feeding her. 'Don't worry you will be fine. Your baby will be fine too' that was what I said to him while I could practically see her life ebb out of her. She looked straight into my eyes as if to ask if I was sure and I nodded and continued saying all sorts of things, Chi"
Jordan's anguish increased as he remembered one other person he had given assurances like that a few years back. Assurances that had turned out to be nothing but lies as well.
Eric
"She believed you and you gave her something to hold on to apart from her fear. That is what you need to remember" she insisted. Then narrowed her eyes at him "And don't even try to connect this to what is not. That would be nothing but bullshit, Dan. Your friend's death was not your fault and neither is this"
"Who said anything about…" she folded her arms and gave him a levelling look.
Jordan shook his head and wondered how the little girl of yesterday had turned out to be such an intelligent lady.
"Well, I wasn't," he said finally. Just because.
"Right. And this is planet Jupiter" she rolled her eyes and thumped him on the shoulder.
The girl was more like a buddy to him than his little cousin.