The tension in Joshua's chest hadn't left him since that night at the market, where the woman had warned him to stay out of Elena's trouble. But everything had gone downhill faster than he could've predicted.
Days passed with no sign of Elena. His phone remained silent, and every attempt to gather information led him to more dead ends. He felt hopeless and lost. He tried to stay low, keep his routine, but paranoia gnawed the fuck out of him. He could feel eyes on him everywhere he went. Then, a week later, it all collapsed.
It happened in the middle of the night.
The loud bang at his door woke him, but before he could react, police officers and a few soldiers stormed in. They moved with practiced precision, overpowering him in seconds. They were swearing, breaking things, yelling at him, gave no reason, but their firm grip and the sharp snap of handcuffs around his wrists, hit him with the gun stock and left no room for questions. Joshua barely had time to think before he was shoved into the back of a military SUV, the world outside disappearing as the door slammed shut.
Inside, his thoughts raced. This is it. They think I have the ledger. They think I'm involved. They took him to an interrogation room in a nearby police station, it is indeed cold, the kind of place you heard about but never wanted to see. The cell they threw him into was dim, the air thick with moisture and the stench smell of piss and shit. No one spoke to him for the first few hours. He had no idea how long it had been when the door finally creaked open.
A man in a dark green uniform stepped in. His face was hard, angular, with eyes that seemed to pierce through Joshua. He carried no clipboard, no tools, just a sense of authority that filled the room like a fog.
"HEY you fuck!!"
Joshua straightened, forcing himself to meet the man's gaze. His throat was dry, his body aching from the rough treatment, but he tried to stay calm.
"I'm Captain Win, and you do what you're told to or we fuck you up got it?" the man said, his voice rough and laced with menace. "You're here because we have reason to believe you've been aiding someone from the KNU. Ring any bells?"
Joshua's pulse quickened. They weren't even trying to be subtle.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Joshua replied, his voice hoarse. "I don't have anything to do with this. I'm Karen, yes but I don't know anything, I'm just here in yangon for work."
Captain Win raised a hand, cutting him off. "You think I care about your version of the story? Do you think we haven't seen this before? You been seen with a foreigner, tangled up with someone way out of their league, playing a game they don't even understand, We wanna know everything, I'm being patient here kiddo, do you want me to send you to Sit Kyaw Yay camp or something??."
Joshua's stomach churned. He had no idea what they knew, but it was clear they weren't buying his ignorance.
"You were found near in that foreigner we detained and that was her last known location," Win continued, circling Joshua like a predator. "She's been moving sensitive materials for dangerous people, We assume this have something to do with the Karens and you're an Karen ethinic born. The kind of people we take very seriously. And now, we have reason to believe you're hiding something."
Joshua shook his head, frustration rising in his chest. "I'm not hiding anything. I haven't seen that girl in days. I don't know where she is."
The captain stopped, staring at him for a long moment. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he pulled a chair from the corner of the room and sat down in front of Joshua, leaning forward.
"Let's cut the bullshit, Joshua," he said, his tone dropping to a menacing whisper. "We know you've been in contact with that chinese woman. We know you were holding drugs and weapons for her."
Joshua feels relived after he realized that they don't really know what is going on, He hadn't told anyone—except that woman at the market. But she had warned him to stay quiet. But still he doesn't understand why the pigs are after him..
"I don't have it anymore," Joshua blurted out. "It's gone. I gave it to someone."
Captain Win's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
Joshua hesitated. If he mentioned Nang Long, it could mean his death—both from the military and from Nang Long himself. But if he lied, they would see right through him.
"I don't know his name," Joshua said carefully. "But he was… connected. Someone powerful."
Win's expression didn't change. He leaned back in the chair, studying Joshua in silence for what felt like an eternity. Then, without warning, he stood up and walked toward the door.
"Lock him up," he ordered over his shoulder. "We'll see if some time in the dark makes him more cooperative."
The next few days were a blur. Joshua lost all sense of time. The cell was windowless, the lights dimmed to a sickly yellow that never seemed to change. He could hear the sounds of other prisoners—men shouting, crying, the occasional scuffle echoing through the hallways. But no one came for him.
It wasn't until a week later that the door finally opened again.
This time, it wasn't Captain Win. It was another officer, younger, with a more serious expression but none of the malice Joshua had seen in Win. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, his face a mask of cold efficiency.
"Joshua," he said curtly. "You're free to go."
Joshua blinked, unsure if he had heard right. His body ached, his mind sluggish from the days of isolation. "What—what do you mean?"
"It's appears that we've made a mistake, both you and your little Chinese whore in the other cell can go." the officer said, not bothering to hide the disdain in his voice, and Joshua could read the room, and he concluded that someone probably bailed him out.
Joshua's heart raced. He was thinking that woman he met at the market had bribed them? How?
The officer unlocked the cuffs around his wrists and motioned for him to follow. They led him out of the holding cell and through a series of narrow, sterile hallways until he found himself outside, blinking in the harsh sunlight.
As he stepped out into the open air, his mind swirled with questions. How had Elena managed to escape the military police? And why had that sketchy woman at the market gone to such lengths to get him released? And he knew damm well how much money was likely spent bailing them out...
He didn't have time to dwell on it for long. Just as he reached the street, he saw her.
Elena was standing near the corner, dressed in a plain shirt and jeans, her face obscured by a large pair of sunglasses. She looked tired, but there was a fire in her eyes—a determination that hadn't been there before.
"Joshua," she said, her voice low but urgent as he approached. "We need to talk. But not here."
Joshua nodded, still in shock. Together, they walked down the street, keeping their distance from the military police compound.
Once they were out of sight, Elena turned to him, her expression grim. "I had to pull every favor I had to get you out. But we're not safe yet. There's something bigger going on, and I need your help."
Joshua's head spun. He had just spent a week in hell, and now Elena was pulling him deeper into the nightmare. But as much as he wanted to walk away, he couldn't.
He was already in too deep in that shit.. and that's what he thought.