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Short Stories.
Topic Started: Oct 30 2009, 12:42 PM (97 Views)
Aelius
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Norman Warlord
I'm writing a short story for my Professional Writing class. I'm loosely basing it on my nation in the forum, specifically when the Druidic king was assassinated. It's due on Thursday, but I should be done sometime this weekend. If anyone has any interest in reading it, I'll post it here. Hopefully I can be of some amusement to you. :P

To NH: If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would be able to help me check over my story for grammar and other fail errors once it's done. PM me your e-mail address and I'll send the .doc when I'm done.
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Aelius
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Norman Warlord
Ok, all. The story's done and I've made some grammatical changes. I know the ending may be obvious, but feel free to read it and give me some feedback on the story's content.

THE ASSASSINATION OF GENERAL HAROLD

Victor Feran always thought of his general as a good man for the most part. Percival Harold saved Victor from a life of misery and poverty when he was a young child. Later in life, the general led Victor and an army of rebels against a corrupt, foreign-built government and liberated their country. General Harold was viewed by himself and his followers as a benevolent leader who would lead his nation to glory and power once they were freed of the foreign oppression.

Once the general had reached power, the unsavory business of consolidating power began. It started out smoothly enough; the general was very willing to listen to his peoples' grievances at first and even did his best to fix those problems. He would allow anyone who wished to come into his palace and speak to him personally, treating everyone as an honored guest and offering them refreshments. After a while, however, the people started demanding free elections. It was an understandable desire to demand democracy, but General Harold did not feel that the people could govern themselves and refused to allow elections. Of course, the people did not appreciate this, and protests, civil disobedience and the like transpired sporadically afterward.

The general's responses were moderate at first; he would send Victor, his chief lieutenant, to the protests with palace guards equipped in riot gear to make sure the people did not get too out of control. Eventually though, the protests became violent, resulting in the deaths of three guards and seven civilians as well as injuries to several on both sides including a severe cut on Victor's arm. Enraged, Harold ordered lethal force against any further protestors. Victor, filled with regret, carried out this response to a point, and his men killed twenty-one protestors before the crowd dispersed in panic. Victor ordered his soldiers not to pursue the fleeing civilians, hopeful that General Harold's point was made. He felt horrible in having to carry out such a grim deed, but he tried to convince himself that he did this for the greater good; that it would dissuade any further violent resistance and such an act would never again be necessary.

Unfortunately, Harold became extremely paranoid as a result of the violent protests and decided he would crush any dissidence before it came to the surface. He would send secret police out to capture the leaders of the protests who survived the assault, torture them personally to find out information about other “dissidents” and then the general would order the prisoners' executions (if he didn't slit their throats himself) and ordered their bodies dumped in the sea. For a while, Victor unwillingly tolerated this because he thought it just might be for the greater good of the nation. However, when it became apparent that the general was simply rounding up innocent people at random as a result of his paranoia, Victor would sometimes help victims and their families escape to exile in a foreign land rather than carry out his general's execution order on innocent people.

Such actions continued for several years until one fateful day when it became apparent that everything had to change. Victor and General Harold were in the dungeons below the palace having a conversation while Harold interrogated a prisoner. “General, I don't mean to speak out of turn, but you are killing innocent people who really aren't much of a threat to you.” Victor said, referring to the man helplessly strapped into the rack. “Responding to legitimate threats is one thing, but I don't see how this poor soul could possibly pose any threat to you.”

“Ah, Victor, you're a good soldier and a good man, but you're ultimately just too naive at times.” General Harold twisted the rack as the prisoner cried out in agony. “Perhaps this man himself may not be a threat, but I'd wager he knows the kind of people who would be. There are people out there, several of them, who would seek to destabilize the nation I have built and bring forth chaos.” He turned to the prisoner with a menacing look on his face. “Now, wretch, I suggest you tell me what you know. They threaten to kill me, and you know who they are!”

“Please, I don't know anything!” The poor man pleaded to General Harold, agonized and afraid. “I have done nothing wrong, my general! Please let me return to my family!” Victor shook his head as the general turned the rack again and the prisoner again screamed in pain. “What good does randomly interrogating people do?” Victor asked. “Acting without knowing if there's a real threat only results in needless suffering and would make the people resent your actions if they ever found out. Moderation is best, only act against such behavior if you think it really exists.”

General Harold thought to himself for a moment, leaning on his scepter and contemplating Victor's words, then he spoke. “Human suffering is rarely desirable, but even if these actions don't result in any concrete leads, they may still be useful in scaring any members of the populace away from violent actions against us. You have been a victim of such violence yourself, my friend,” General Harold said, referencing the scar on Victor's arm. “I would think you, of all people, would want to insure that no one else suffers from such strife.” Before Victor could protest any further, the general put a gun up to the prisoner's chin. “Last chance, you piece of shit. Tell me what I need to know or your brains get splattered all over the wall!” The prisoner sobbed hysterically, “I don't know anything! I don't know!” General Harold smiled sadistically and whispered only one final word to the man. “Farewell.”

Victor turned away, disgusted and horrified as a loud crack was heard and the poor wretch's body laid dead, blood coming out of his head and his eyes still wet with tears and a look of panic still on his face. Harold chuckled to himself as he gazed upon the two remaining prisoners cowering in their cell, having witnessed the atrocity that the general had just committed. He turned to Victor and said, “I'll leave it to you and your subordinates to interrogate them. Find out what they know and then dispose of them. After that, go ahead and head home for the night. You should be well rested for my speech tomorrow in the National Plaza at noon. I want you sharp to keep an eye out for anyone who would try to cause a disturbance.” General Harold left the dungeon as two guards walked in to help Victor with the process. After grilling the prisoners and, as he expected, finding no useful information, he ordered the guards out of the room. He then freed the prisoners and escorted them under cover of darkness to the coast, where he put them on a boat and advised them to leave the country and live normal lives. As they sailed out of sight, Victor knew he had done the right thing in saving innocent lives.

On his way back to his house, he stopped at a local pub to have a drink and reflect on the day's events. General Harold always seemed like a good man in the past, he thought. His paranoia is causing the deaths of too many innocents, though. I have no way to get through to him and show him that this way doesn't make sense.

Victor got up to use the restroom. While he was in the stall, he heard a man talking on his cell phone in the next stall. “...So that's the plan, then? We have the explosives already set around the plaza. When Harold starts to walk away from the podium, we blow them all up at once. This way, we know we'll get him. We'll end up taking a lot of other lives in the process, most of them innocent, but it's for the greater good to dispose of a tyrant once and for all. Remember, no one talks to anyone, no one reveals themselves, no one backs out. We get this done no matter what.”

Victor was shocked to find out that General Harold actually had a reason to be paranoid. He needed to follow the assassin and get more information. He followed the assassin out of the bar and when they got into a dark, isolated area, Victor utilized his martial arts skills and knocked out the potential troublemaker. He then called some guards and proceeded to load him into a van and take him back to the palace for some actual productive interrogation.

The assassin awoke strapped in a chair in the dungeon. Unlike General Harold's interrogation techniques, Victor's did not include torture. Violence was not something he generally utilized unless absolutely necessary. That being said, Victor was in a very foul mood at the possibility of both his general and innocent people being slain by this man's notions. He spoke to the assassin, a coldness in his voice that was only reserved for the worst of his anger. “You're planning to kill General Harold, and take hundreds of innocent lives with him. I heard you in that bathroom stall. You're going to tell me how and why and who you're associated with so I can put a stop to this plan.”

“To hell with you! You serve a tyrant and you are my enemy. You shall perish just as all who serve that dog!” “You're starting to annoy me, assassin. You will tell me of this plan immediately,” Victor snarled, his fist clenching. “Fuck you! You and all you serve and all who support you will fall before the might of the people. Tomorrow shall be the greatest day in our land's history, for Harold, you, and the entire lot of rulers and your families shall be slain and we will be free!”

Although normally relatively cool and collected, the idea of Victor's wife and child being killed by this indignant man's plot enraged him. Victor punched the assassin in the face with such force and anger that it knocked the chair over with the assassin still strapped in it. Victor picked the assassin up by his neck, his heart pounding and his blood boiling. “This is the last time I intend to ask! Who do you work with? Where are the explosives?”

The assassin, bleeding and injured, coughed and began laughing. “Pathetic fool. Even if I did know who my co-opters were, do you think I would allow you to stop this plan from happening? They're anonymous, we've all remained anonymous even to one another. I couldn't tell you who they were or where they laid the explosives. I just know that at noon tomorrow, after your general's speech, his body will be blown all over the city, and our fallen family members will finally be avenged.”

Victor became puzzled and alarmed. “Speak clearly, wretch.” The assassin continued on his speech, “Various members of our families have disappeared into the night. We know Harold has been rounding them up and slaughtering them because he thinks they're trying to kill him. In a way, he's created a self-fulfilling prophecy; we, the family members of those who have died will take his life ourselves. We are united only in that way, only in a desire to get our revenge. We know no names, just our plan.”

“But your plan will kill innocents. How can you justify innocent murder with innocent murder?” The assassin sighed. “We have thought long and hard on this. We do regret that this must pass, but it's the only chance we have to get our revenge. We shall always remember the innocents that we must sacrifice, and they shall be memorialized along with our families.”

Disgusted, Victor picked the assassin up and threw him into a jail cell in the dungeon. “Your plan will not come to pass. I will see to it one way or another.” He stormed out of the dungeon and began to contemplate how exactly he would stop the senseless massacre. There's no way I could find all the assassins within a few hours and stop this, he thought. I can't tell the general of this plan, either. If he finds out people actually ARE trying to kill him, he'd probably try to kill off half of the country to keep himself safe. There didn't seem to be any real way to save the general's life without sacrificing hundreds or potentially thousands of innocents. He decided there was only one course of action that could be taken that would keep innocent people from dying...

The next day, people gathered in the National Plaza to hear the general's speech. Somewhere among the crowds below are the men who want to murder General Harold, Victor thought. They won't get the chance to undertake this or any other murder, not today. Eventually, General Percival Harold came onto the balcony, standing next to Lieutenant Victor Feran and several of his other guards. Most of the crowd cheered, although whether they were cheering out of fear or actual admiration was hard to determine. The time to do the right thing is near, no matter the cost.

“Good morning, my citizens!” General Harold's voice boomed over the intercom to the crowd. “I am proud to report that our nation is safer than it ever has been before. Those who would try to destabilize our great land have been neutralized and will continue to be dealt with. I promise you, we shall continue to bring about prosperity and peace!”
As the crowd cheered, Victor slowly inched ever closer to the general. Harold continued to speak, “My men and I are closing in on all who wish to do harm to our great land. We will be safe and secure and stable for as long as this government stands!”

This would end up proving to be a very ironic statement considering the events that were about to unfold. As the crowd continued to cheer, Victor came up behind Harold and whispered sadly, “Forgive me, General.” Before the general could figure out what that cryptic statement meant, he felt a severe, agonizing pain in his back. He then slumped over on the podium, revealing the knife lodged in his back into his heart. The life of Percival Harold was no more. Victor sighed. A remorseful look came across his face as he backed away from the general's body and raised his hands in surrender as the other guards surrounded him. The crowd fled and dispersed in chaos, and Victor at least could take solace in knowing that only one life was lost instead of hundreds.

Victor saw the irony in the fact that he ended up in the jail cell with the assassin who intended to commit the same murder that he indeed committed, although without the death of innocents. The assassin spoke with a puzzled look on his face. “I thought you were loyal to Harold, and yet you killed him. Why?” “I always have been loyal to him. He was a good man, albeit a very disturbed one. But my ultimate loyalty resides with my nation and its people. I could not allow your plan to succeed. The death of one who may have deserved to die is more desirable than the deaths of several innocents.”“I guess you are a good man,” the assassin said. “I would hardly call you perfect, but you are a good man.”
Edited by Aelius, Oct 31 2009, 11:02 AM.
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Tristan da Cunha
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Science and Industry
I thought the ratio of dialogue to other content was a bit high for a short prose story but that's just my opinion and I may be totally off the mark.
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Ulgania
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A better Zarathustra has never rode a horse
I liked it, but it seemed a little forced in places. Not saying I'm better, but meh. It happens.

You had something pretty good going on at the 7th and 8th paragraphs. It's probably just my style, but you could have played with that a lot more.

He followed the assassin out of the bar and when they got into a dark, isolated area, Victor utilized his martial arts skills and knocked out the potential troublemaker. He then called some guards and proceeded to load him into a van and take him back to the palace for some actual productive interrogation.

Again, felt forced. If you extended this scene, it could stand out a lot more. Anything involving action is hard to write without being corny though.

But, okay, critique time. Overall, I like how Victor's character changed. But again, it just felt forced. It's as though the reasons for him to change were just displayed far too easily. Those two paragraphs I mentioned earlier, I would suggest elaborating on those. That scene could show that Harold is much more willing to fight for what he personally believes is the best solution to gain stability. They could have an argument, with the one being executed looking like he's the one at fault, even though his logic is sound. With Harold seeming cool and collected, but espousing something that's evil, Victor could be a little more subtly shaken. At that point, he could be more convinced that Harold's in the right, but having a little bit harder time digesting it and such.

I just like to call that sort of thing 'unsustainable evil' in a story. The antagonist is in a brilliantly powerful position, seems to be in total control of every outcome, but a small pebble hits the pond and creates a ripple.
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Rhadamanthus
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Legitimist

A couple points for now, though I may come back to it:

"The crowd fled and dispersed in chaos, and Victor at least could take solace in knowing that only one life was lost instead of hundreds."

Realistically, wouldn't many more lives likely be lost if the crowd really is dispersing in chaos? Isn't this a stampeded situation? Also, won't this make the surviving leadership even more paranoid?

Also, I don't think having the assassin pronounce moral judgment at the end provides for a very strong ending. I think it would have been more solid if the protagonist himself evaluated his actions in that case, instead of weak validation coming from someone even less morally solid.
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Aelius
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Norman Warlord
There actually isn't supposed to be any surviving leadership, with the General dead and Victor in prison. Those foreign powers from before are supposed to come back into the country for "intervention" purposes. At any rate, I've made some edits. So... "Fixed".



Victor Feran always thought of his general as a good man for the most part. Percival Harold saved Victor from a life of misery and poverty when he was a young child. Later in life, the general led Victor and an army of rebels against a corrupt, foreign-built government and liberated their country. General Harold was viewed by himself and his followers as a benevolent leader who would lead his nation to glory and power once they were freed of the foreign oppression.

“General, I don't mean to speak out of turn, but you are killing innocent people who really aren't much of a threat to you.” Victor said, referring to the prisoner that General Harold had strapped into the rack to interrogate. “Responding to legitimate threats is one thing, but I don't see how this poor soul could possibly pose any threat to you.”

General Harold hadn't always been that paranoid, although he never quite viewed opposition to his rule as reasonable. Things started out smoothly enough; the general was very willing to listen to his peoples' grievances at first and even did his best to fix those problems. He would allow anyone who wished to come into his palace and speak to him personally, treating everyone as an honored guest and offering them refreshments. After a while, however, the people started demanding free elections. It was an understandable desire to demand democracy, but General Harold did not feel that the people could govern themselves and refused to allow elections. Of course, the people did not appreciate this, and protests, civil disobedience and the like transpired sporadically afterward.

“Ah, Victor, you're a good soldier and a good man, but you're ultimately just too naive at times.” General Harold twisted the rack as the prisoner cried out in agony. “Perhaps this man himself may not be a threat, but I'd wager he knows the kind of people who would be. There are people out there, several of them, who would seek to destabilize the nation I have built and bring forth chaos.”

The general's responses were moderate at first; he would send Victor, his chief lieutenant, to the protests with palace guards equipped in riot gear to make sure the people did not get too out of control. Eventually though, the protests became violent, resulting in the deaths of three guards and seven civilians as well as injuries to several on both sides including a severe cut on Victor's arm. Enraged, Harold ordered lethal force against any further protestors. Victor, filled with regret, carried out this response to a point, and his men killed twenty-one protestors before the crowd dispersed in panic. Victor ordered his soldiers not to pursue the fleeing civilians, hopeful that General Harold's point was made. He felt horrible in having to carry out such a grim deed, but he tried to convince himself that he did this for the greater good; that it would dissuade any further violent resistance and such an act would never again be necessary.

Harold turned to the prisoner with a menacing look on his face. “Now, wretch, I suggest you tell me what you know. They threaten to kill me, and you know who they are!”
“Please, I don't know anything!” The poor man pleaded to General Harold, agonized and afraid. “I have done nothing wrong, my general! Please let me return to my family!” Victor shook his head as the general turned the rack again and the prisoner again screamed in pain. “What good does randomly interrogating people do?” Victor asked. “Acting without knowing if there's a real threat only results in needless suffering and would make the people resent your actions if they ever found out. Moderation is best, only act against such behavior if you think it really exists.”

Harold had become extremely paranoid as a result of the violent protests and decided he would crush any dissidence before it came to the surface. He would send secret police out to capture the leaders of the protests who survived the assault, torture them personally to find out information about other “dissidents” and then the general would order the prisoners' executions (if he didn't slit their throats himself) and ordered their bodies dumped in the sea. For a while, Victor went along with it because he thought it might be for the greater good of the nation. However, on occasions that it seemed as if the general was simply rounding up innocent people at random, Victor would sometimes help victims and their families escape to exile in a foreign land rather than carry out an execution order on innocent people.

General Harold thought to himself for a moment, leaning on his scepter and contemplating Victor's words, then he spoke. “Human suffering is rarely desirable, but even if these actions don't result in any concrete leads, they may still be useful in scaring any members of the populace away from violent actions against us. You have been a victim of such violence yourself, my friend,” General Harold said, referencing the scar on Victor's arm. “I would think you, of all people, would want to insure that no one else suffers from such strife.”

Victor was at a loss for words. The general was correct as far as avoiding strife, he thought, but should violence be committed in the interest of preventing more violence? The general put a gun up to the prisoner's chin while Victor contemplated this. “Last chance, you piece of shit. Tell me what I need to know or your brains get splattered all over the wall!” The prisoner sobbed hysterically, “I don't know anything! I don't know!” General Harold smiled sadistically and whispered only one last word to the man. “Farewell.”

A loud crack was heard and the poor wretch's body laid dead, blood coming out of his head and his eyes still wet with tears and a look of panic still on his face. Harold chuckled to himself as he gazed upon the two remaining prisoners cowering in their cell, having witnessed the atrocity that the general had just committed. He turned to Victor and said, “I'll leave it to you and your subordinates to interrogate them. Find out what they know and then dispose of them. After that, go ahead and head home for the night. You should be well rested for my speech tomorrow in the National Plaza at noon. I want you sharp to keep an eye out for anyone who would try to cause a disturbance.”

General Harold left the dungeon as two guards walked in to help Victor with the process. After grilling the prisoners and, as he expected, finding no useful information, he ordered the guards out of the room. He then freed the prisoners and escorted them under cover of darkness to the coast, where he put them on a boat and advised them to leave the country and live normal lives. As they sailed out of sight, Victor knew he had done the right thing in saving innocent lives.

On his way back to his house, he stopped at a local pub to have a drink and reflect on the day's events. General Harold always seemed like a good man, he thought. His paranoia is causing the deaths of too many innocents, though. There must be a way to get through to him and show him it doesn't make sense.

Victor got up to use the restroom. While he was in the stall, he heard a man talking on his cell phone in the next stall. “...So that's the plan, then? We have the explosives already set around the plaza. When Harold starts to walk away from the podium, we blow them all up at once. This way, we know we'll get him. We'll end up taking a lot of other lives in the process, most of them innocent, but it's for the greater good to dispose of a tyrant once and for all. Remember, no one talks to anyone, no one reveals themselves, no one backs out. We get this done no matter what.”

Victor was shocked to find out that General Harold may have actually had a reason to be paranoid. He needed to follow the assassin and get more information. He followed the assassin out of the bar and when they got into a dark, isolated area, Victor confronted the man. The mysterious man then lunged at Victor with a knife. A trained judo expert, Victor evaded the assault, then grabbed the man's arm and slammed him into a brick wall, rendering the aggressor unconscious. He then called some guards and proceeded to load him into a van and take him back to the palace for some actual productive interrogation.

The assassin awoke strapped in a chair in the dungeon. Unlike General Harold's interrogation techniques, Victor's did not include torture. Violence was not something he generally utilized unless absolutely necessary. That being said, Victor was in a very foul mood at the possibility of both his general and innocent people being slain by this man's notions. He spoke to the assassin, a coldness in his voice that was only reserved for the worst of his anger. “You're planning to kill General Harold, and take hundreds of innocent lives with him. I heard you in that bathroom stall. You're going to tell me how and why and who you're associated with so I can put a stop to this plan.”

“To hell with you! You serve a tyrant and you are my enemy. You shall perish just as all who serve that dog!” “You're starting to annoy me, assassin. You will tell me of this plan immediately,” Victor snarled, his fist clenching. “Fuck you! You and all you serve and all who support you will fall before the might of the people. Tomorrow shall be the greatest day in our land's history, for Harold, you, and the entire lot of rulers and your families shall be slain and we will be free!”

Although normally relatively cool and collected, the idea of Victor's wife and child being killed by this indignant man's plot enraged him. Victor punched the assassin in the face with such force and anger that it knocked the chair over with the assassin still strapped in it. Victor picked the assassin up by his neck, his heart pounding and his blood boiling. “This is the last time I intend to ask! Who do you work with? Where are the explosives?”

The assassin, bleeding and injured, coughed and began laughing. “Pathetic fool. Even if I did know who my cohorts were, do you think I would allow you to stop this plan from happening? They're anonymous, we've all remained anonymous even to one another. I couldn't tell you who they were or where they laid the explosives. I just know that at noon tomorrow, after your general's speech, his body will be blown all over the city, and our fallen family members will finally be avenged.”
Victor became puzzled and alarmed. “Speak clearly, wretch.”

The assassin continued on his speech, “Various members of our families have disappeared into the night. We know Harold has been rounding them up and slaughtering them because he thinks they're trying to kill him. In a way, he's created a self-fulfilling prophecy; we, the family members of those who have died will take his life ourselves. We are united only in that way, only in a desire to get our revenge. We know no names, just our plan.”

“But your plan will kill innocents. How can you justify innocent murder with innocent murder?” The assassin sighed. “We have thought long and hard on this. We do regret that this must pass, but it's the only chance we have to get our revenge. We shall always remember the innocents that we must sacrifice, and they shall be memorialized along with our families.” Disgusted, Victor picked the assassin up and threw him into a jail cell in the dungeon. “Your plan will not come to pass. I will see to it one way or another.” He stormed out of the dungeon and began to contemplate how exactly he would stop the senseless massacre...

The next day, people gathered in the National Plaza to hear the general's speech. Eventually, General Percival Harold came onto the balcony, followed closely by Lieutenant Victor Feran and several of his other guards. Most of the crowd cheered, although whether they were cheering out of fear or actual admiration was hard to determine.

“Good morning, my citizens!” General Harold's voice boomed over the intercom to the crowd. “I am proud to report that our nation is safer than it ever has been before. Those who would try to destabilize our great land have been neutralized and will continue to be dealt with. I promise you, we shall continue to bring about prosperity and peace!”
As the crowd cheered, Victor slowly inched ever closer to the general. Harold continued to speak, “My men and I are closing in on all who wish to do harm to our great land. We will be safe and secure and stable for as long as this government stands!”

This would end up proving to be a very ironic statement considering the events that were about to unfold. As the crowd continued to cheer, Victor came up behind Harold and whispered sadly, “Forgive me, General.” Before the general could figure out what that cryptic statement meant, he felt a severe, agonizing pain in his back. He then slumped over on the podium, revealing the knife lodged in his back into his heart. The life of Percival Harold was no more.

Victor sighed. A remorseful look came across his face as he backed away from the general's body and raised his hands in surrender as the other guards surrounded him. At least my family is safe, he thought. I got them off the island last night after I decided to do this. The crowd stood in stunned silence in the plaza below them, having witnessed the fall of their invincible, ruthless leader. Victor was uncertain of their future. The country may simply end up back under the control of the foreign oppressors, but at least they would be able to live to see a possibility of a better day.

Victor saw the irony in the fact that he ended up in the jail cell with the assassin who intended to commit the same murder that he indeed committed. The assassin spoke with a puzzled look on his face. “You spoke of your unending loyalty to Harold, and yet you performed the very act we desired to commit.” “I always have been loyal to the general. He was a good man, albeit a very disturbed one. But my ultimate loyalty resides with my nation and its people. I could not allow several innocents to die for the fate of one man, no matter who that man happens to be.”

“You're no better of a man than I am,” The assassin spoke coldly. “If anything, you are far worse for you are a traitor.” Victor nodded and sighed. “I am not claiming to be a good man. I wish I did not have to kill a mentor and a friend. But if I had not done what I had done, you and your kind would have killed him anyway, along with people who do not deserve such a fate. I have always thought that violence never justifies violence, I've argued this with the general on several occasions. Ultimately, I suppose there is a circumstance when you and he would be right, when the needs of many outweigh the needs of one.”
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