Legionaries

Ed Harsono

October 27th, 2018

At 07.28

From time to time, the physical form of the man has indeed changed a lot, but there is one thing that never changes. From a young age, Peter hardly ever missed his ridiculous sunbathing routine. Until his age had entered the head of six, he was still loyal to his hobby of hunting the morning sun.

Talking about this classic habit, the man who likes a plontos haircut has his own reasons, which are only known by those closest to him. People who do not know him too well may consider it a normal habit considering men his age need to produce a lot of vitamin D to prevent the symptoms of osteoporosis. However, for me, who's been familiar with it for a long time, the routine has a long history that has absolutely nothing to do with health.

It all started in 1965 when Peter was 15 years old. At that time, the communist understanding was aggressively endemic in the country. Entering the final months of the year, there was a very extreme political shift. An uprising by a number of communist party officials has changed the life of the man who is actually ethnic Chinese.

All levels of society, from the intellectuals to the lower classes, encouraged a massive purge of communism. Unfortunately for Peter, the event also affected ethnic Chinese people because the lay people at that time had wrongly accused the Chinese people as the spreader of the communist virus. As a result, the people of the Chinese race were hunted all out.

Peter who felt insecure with his obvious physical condition as a Chinese then tried to disguise his body shape and skin color. And, finally, came up with that ridiculous idea. His sunbathing routine was intended to change the color of his skin to dark. Although not able to eliminate the squinty in his eyes, unique, the unusual idea proved successful.

Unmitigated, the dark color of his skin has successfully tricked the military institutions of this country. In 1972, the oriental-browed man successfully penetrated the Army entrance selection. Even his skill in using long-range firearms once led him to become one of the best snipers among Army soldiers at that time. Unfortunately, the upheaval of leadership in the military scene has made it bounce.

A number of transactional political interests in the Army make it must be willing to be exiled from the military scene. Finally, at the end of 1991, he decided to resign from the Army and chose the steering wheel to become a retail store entrepreneur. With the savings from the military, he also tried to facilitate his sense of social care by opening an orphanage foundation to accommodate street children.

Now, the Old Bangka still hasn't changed. Actually, I've been caught off guard by her stern behavior. In fact, when I was on the top floor of this flats, he was still acting presumptuous, reluctant to welcome me with a familiar greeting like an old friend. In fact, I knew he had known of my arrival since I started climbing the stairs of this flats. His sitting position in his favorite recliner makes it free to monitor the situation on the entire floor of the stacking house.

I tried tapping my index finger on the wooden handle of the stairs. The voice was usually powerful enough to attract his attention, but this time he did not respond at all. Apparently getting older, this old man actually increasingly does not know himself. He thinks I forgot his sensitive ears.

I began to press the nails of my right finger onto the surface of the ladder handle and scratch it so that it makes a squeaky sound that tickles the sense of hearing. That seems to work. The elderly man's head began to twitch. As I continued to scratch the stairs, I went back up the remaining steps to reach the top floor immediately.

"General Edi Harsono, are you trying to play around with my patience?" His loud voice began to break the silence.

"Until when do you want to hang on with that obnoxious attitude of yours? Times have changed, but you still don't understand the importance of communication."

"What do you mean, General? Didn't you know me for a long time?"

"Don't be silly, Peter. What's the point of me buying you so many cell phones if you're still lazy to answer my phone or just reply to my short message?"

"Don't everything go well without me answering your phone?"

"Yes, except for all the recent chaos" my sergeant interjected before my old friend could finish. "I don't have to tell you about last night, do I? Have you prepared the answers to your men's failures?"

Peter did not rush to answer my question. His eyes slowly glanced at me. At first glance, the movement of his head resembled the movement of an owl.

"If I've had the courage to make sure everything goes according to plan, then that's what happens."

For a moment I frowned. "So your men's failure to execute Budiman Rudiantoro was also part of your plan?"

Peter stopped his glare at me. His eyeballs that were as sharp as those sword eyes then glared towards a certain point. It is common knowledge among our military classmates that the slippery-headed man is indeed fond of mysterious movements. His very closed personality made his fellow soldiers of the time always have trouble guessing his mood.

"Sure you remember how this place was built, don't you?" abugn. Instead of answering my question, Peter spoke. "This building is decades old. This building also saved me from the humanitarian crisis that occurred 20 years ago."

"Peter, I really don't have much time to reminisce about the past."

Suddenly, as fast as lightning he turned towards me with a sharp grin. "Where were you at that time?"

"Where were you when my pharmaceutical business went out of business?"

"Peter, why did you suddenly get into that?"

Peter's grin slowly loosened. Even so, the look in his eyes still led to me. "It's really your fate. Just as this bunk house saved me, the intelligence services have also saved your military career when many military officers were crushed to death by the reform regime of that time."

"I'm serious, Trus. We must immediately rearrange the execution plan against Budiman before he opens his mouth. Alvito Karimata, a former personal aide to Rico Priyambodo, has returned from exile. If he finds Budiman first, he'll try to find a way to use it."

Peter did not react. The man who was as old as me was actually busy floating his gaze towards the bottom floor which was filled with silence. There were no signs of life along the floors of the flats because they were left on duty by their occupants, the majority of whom were Peter's foster children when they were children. The 'Dad' had apparently deployed them all over the city to cope with the situation that was currently getting chaotic.

"So that's why you're taking your frying troop everywhere? It's not usual for you to come here with a tight escort of heavily armed troops."

"Only standard security protocol. As a military officer, I have the right to use the facility. Moreover, lately the Vito maneuver is increasingly difficult to guess. I need extra security guarantees."

"Then what about me? You think I don't need security? One of my best men has been a victim in an incident at the K.A.K building last night. Meanwhile, another one escaped because the building was suddenly ambushed by a group of officers."

"You don't have to be afraid. To this day, your name is safe. Looks like Vito has conspired with the police agency to bring me down."

"That means you're the target, not me."

My blood immediately boiled upon hearing Peter's unpleasant response. Luckily, I was able to control my emotions. "Alright, Trus. If you need security, I'll give you a guarantee. As long as you are willing to help me too. Clean up all this mess!" I raised my voice to give the impression of emphasis.

Again, Peter did not say a word. Instead, his gaze grew wildly targeting both of my eyeballs. This time his face looked serious. Like me, Peter certainly also knows the figure of Vito because the military soldier rank Lieutenant Colonel was also a junior in the Army.

Currently, Vito himself has just returned from his wandering in the Eastern region. Although the death of Rico Priyambodo, his former superior, has long since passed, he still seems reluctant to let go of his suspicion for my involvement in the incident. Eleven years ago, it was his suspicions that led me to arrange a transfer of his duties to a remote area of the Eastern state. Peter also took part in pressuring a number of leaders of military institutions at that time to expedite the procedure for the removal of Vito.

"Don't I tell you? Everything went according to plan." With a face that began to sharpen, Peter finally replied to me.

To be honest, I started riding with this old man. In critical moments like this, he just remained steadfast maintaining his stern attitude. It seems I can no longer give up. Once in a while, I did need to rebuke him.

"Fuck your plan!"

"Haha..." Suddenly, Peter's laughter boomed. Kontan, my forehead immediately clustered. "Your face is funny when it's sulking. Ha ha - ha..."

"Your flair isn't funny, Trus!" i say, annoyed.

"Alright, Ed. If I told you everything was still going according to plan, then that's what happened" Peter said, repeating his statement moments ago. "Come in my room. You must be too tired to think about this mess. While waiting for the next development, there is no harm in enjoying a cup of coffee to relieve stress."

I was silent for a moment. My heart really wants to be dislodged by this Old Bangka. He was right, all this time the plan he had prepared had never met with failure. To this day, I still believe it. Nevertheless, the way of making jokes that are not timely it always manages to provoke my feelings of anxiety. I myself wonder why until this old age, I can still be exposed to his deceit.

"You still have stock of your favorite Bird of Paradise stamp?"

"Why? Are you tired of imported coffee in your house?"

Puckered my face, I brushed aside the unfunny Peter.

"Don't talk much. Just make me a cup."