"I asked you a question, Corporal. What the hell are you doing?" Mayor Mayors asked, looking at Dominic, who had freed Victor from his cell.
"I'm releasing the civilians and giving them the necessary information to keep them informed about everything that's happening out there, Mayor Mayors. Everyone deserves to know the truth." Dominic pretended to be upright and considerate of everyone when this wasn't how he truly felt.
"Shut your damn mouth, Corporal."
"It's not the time to withhold information; everyone wants this."
Mayor Mayors seemed furious and shouted, "Under the military code, you've just committed treason against the high command's orders, and you'll be locked up until further notice. Arrest Corporal Williams."
Dominic laughed upon hearing the sentence given to him.
All the civilians who learned about the sacrifices Dominic had made for them were touched, and many started shouting.
"If you lay a hand on him, we'll all come out, and you'll run out of bullets to kill us all."
"Damn abusers, don't you have any conscience?"
Mayors, seeing that the spark of fury had ignited among all the civilians, furrowed their brows in desperation.
He now felt the urge to shoot Dominic to restore order. Not only had Dominic brought disorder to the base, but he had also revealed private information.
An alarming number of people were now on the verge of coming out of their cells.
"It seems your authority in this place is about to be revoked, Mayor Mayors. I give you the chance to step aside without dying as long as you relinquish your authority without any resistance." Dominic's expression changed suddenly.
That look of nobility and empathy vanished from his eyes; now, he showed a coldness that had always characterized him.
The man who had always been there had not returned to life because he had never died; instead, he now showed it without any fear of judgment at all.
If Mayor Mayors didn't understand what Dominic had told him, then his presence would not be tolerated without compassion, and extreme measures would be taken to kill him.
People's weakness was their trust and fear.
"You're afraid, Mayor. It would be better for you to step down and let someone who knows what's going on take charge." Dominic showed a calm look, but deep in his eyes was a sense of readiness for whatever came.
"What did you say?" Mayors asked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
Everyone fell silent; those who had been defending Dominic couldn't find the words to express how they felt right now.
"Enough of this nonsense; arrest that man." The mayor was getting more nervous by the minute.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Mayors nodded and said, "Of course, boy, you have no idea what awaits you."
The soldiers standing by his side advanced toward Dominic, but halfway there, they stopped and turned around, aiming their assault rifles at Mayors.
Sergeant Castro, who was behind them, took the pistol from Mayors' holster and said, "We're sorry, sir, but your way of leading would eventually get us all killed."
"Surprised? You're now revoked from all jurisdiction within this place. Orders from now on will be issued by me, and I'll make sure to take all these people to a safe place with their families." Dominic ordered the mayors to be arrested, who had a furious expression.
"What the hell does this mean?"
"What you're seeing has been revoked, and now authority is supreme in this place."
"Do you know that everyone here is committing high treason by disobeying orders from the country's top general?" The mayors didn't want to hold anything back and soon began to threaten everyone.
But this didn't matter; Dominic knew that many bases had fallen, and the fall of this one would not matter at all. In fact, if they die now, it would mean nothing.
For Dominic, this was a great game where he had the winning cards.
"Please, come with me." Sergeant Castro wasn't rude to Mayor Mayors, but he was offensive enough to not stop now.
"You're making a big mistake."
"Get him out of here," Dominic said as he watched Mayor Mayors being dragged towards the exit.
Sergeant Castro approached Dominic and asked, "What should we do with him?"
"I don't want him in this place; you can kill him outside the base. Can you do that?" Dominic wanted to test how far Castro's loyalty to him went.
"Dominic, this is the wrong decision." Sergeant Castro couldn't accept something like this, given the current circumstances.
But Dominic wouldn't change his mind and said, "I want him out of this base; tomorrow morning, evacuations will begin, and I don't want an annoying splinter in my finger. Do what I've ordered."
Sergeant Castro clenched his fists and said, "Understood, sir."
Dominic understood his complications; this was a test to see how much he could trust Sergeant Castro and how much he could demand from some soldiers.
"Sir, should I take charge?" Diaz was capable of enforcing Dominic's orders without any problem.
"Just watch him; I want to see what decision he'll make and how far he's willing to go for everyone's future." Dominic began giving orders to classify the sick people from those who were not.