"Heh, who would have thought that the parliamentary secretary had such poor eyesight?"
"You know what they say, trust is the mother of carelessness."
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Governor Liam."
A third voice, deep and guttural, as if straight out of hell itself, spoke from the entrance of the room. Liam and Rodas, who were sitting, tensed momentarily. They hadn't had much contact with the Justice Office, but this man's voice was one they had heard before.
"Agent Lubanzi, it's an honor to have you among us…"
Liam stood up along with Rodas. The two looked at each other deeply, and Liam, who was mentioned by Lubanzi, saluted first, followed by Rodas.
"Indeed, you could have told us to go pick you up at the boarding gate."
Lubanzi, with his characteristic expressionless face, took off his sunglasses and looked at them with his deep grey eyes. For a moment, they felt that the one in front of them was a demon sent by the Devil himself. They felt that he had come to judge whether he would take them back with him to the depths of hell.
"It is not necessary, gentlemen. Thanks to that, I was able to remember the past…"
The agents behind Lubanzi tensed momentarily, an act that could be seen by Liam and Rodas, who looked at each other, confused, and remained silent, waiting for Lubanzi to continue.
"But… keep in mind that the Oracle has remained standing until now."
****
"Come on, move it! I don't have all day!"
Bam.
A dull thud echoed in the wide cave. The surroundings were dark, momentarily illuminated by flickering light bulbs. Hundreds of people were dragged into the deepest area, being beaten from time to time by men dressed in black.
"H-Hey, bro, do you know what we are doing here?"
Ting, ting.
The sound of chains echoed as the hundreds of people moved through the dim darkness of the cave. Suddenly, a young boy approached another and asked him in a voice that only the other could hear.
"I don't know, and I'm not your brother."
The boy who was asked, like the other, had chains on his hands and feet. It could be seen that he was a little shorter than the other, despite the poor visibility of the cave.
"Tch, bro, you should be more friendly. From my experience, in these cases, making allies is the norm."
"Experience?"
"Indeed, I am proud to say that this is not the first time I have been kidnapped… although this time it is a little more peculiar."
"You are a strange guy."
"Me the stranger? And you, who seems to have come out to get some fresh air?"
"Everyone stop! Line up facing the stage!"
Before he could respond, a man on the stage yelled for them to stop. Looking around, he could tell there were hundreds of men, women, and children.
Tap, tap…
A gloomy-looking man stepped onto the crudely prepared stage. He was dressed in a burgundy turtleneck, a black trench coat that reached his knees, and black suit pants.
His face was covered by a fedora-style hat, not helped by the spotlight that was strategically placed behind where he was standing.
"You may be wondering why we chained you up and brought you here…"
A squeaky voice escaped from his mouth. It resembled the screeching sound of a train's brakes. His voice and appearance gave him the hint of a gangster from the time of Al Capone.
Everyone fell silent, clearly afraid and confused. The two young men who were talking also stared at him.
"I'll get straight to the point. We are the United Nations Organization…"
Although he spoke calmly, below the stage they were not so calm. Murmurs of despair and confusion echoed through the cave. They knew who these self-proclaimed United Nations Organization members were; to sum it up, terrorists and murderers were the most accurate description.
"Shit, I've been captured by a bunch of crazy people…"
The boy who until now was calm, looked at the man who had not been silent since they entered, and he said nodding.
"It seems that we are out of luck"