Legionaries

Priyambodo Rico

September 25, 2007

At 23:03

AT 11pm. It had never crossed my head before that this secret coordination meeting would apparently last until this late. In fact, the agenda of the meeting that was just completed half an hour ago was actually not very complicated. Namely, limited to discussing the determination of the date of the inauguration of the 'Persia' operation (Secret Execution Program). This topic is clearly not as crucial as the agenda of last week's meeting discussing the procedure of carrying out the operation. With the weight of the material as heavy as that, the meeting title last week can be completed at exactly 9 pm.

Although it took place under strict control due to its secrecy, coordination meetings that took place since nine in the morning today were often showered by massive interruptions. Unlike usual, a number of meeting members who attended this time were involved in many arguments and disputes. Debates that occur often lead to deadlock and finally the meeting must be suspended five times. Though—once again—agenda meeting today is very simple, namely the determination of the date.

Since the meeting opened, a number of participants representing the Police Intelligence Agency (BADIK) immediately stormed the leaders of the meeting with a number of proposals on the inauguration of the 'Persia' event'. The members of the State Police institution, the majority of which bear the rank of Commissioner General, urged the inauguration event to be held in the near future. In fact, one of them suggested that the event was held to coincide with the national commemoration of Anti-Communist Day in late September.

Unfortunately, some of the other meeting participants, especially those who carried the banner of BARA (Army Intelligence Agency), actually demanded a review of the planning of the inauguration event. The reason, such events are seen as able to reduce the degree of the State Intelligence Command Agency (BAKIN) as a secret organization. According to them, the event that was supposed to be held like launching a football team was potentially inviting media attention. Departing from some of these reasons, they insist on submitting a cancellation option.

Since then, coordination meetings began to be dominated by verbal disputes and nerve warfare between the two sides. Each one defended his opinion. The impact, the meeting scheduled to end at seven pm had to be delayed for hours because it was too often suspended. Finally, in the name of time efficiency, I had to mediate that long debate by maximizing prerogatives as the Head of the National Intelligence Agency.

With a heavy heart, I decided to postpone the decision making for an indefinite period of time. As a leader, it has become my must to be democratic in order to accommodate the interests of many parties. Moreover, I know very well how hot the relationship between the two conflicting institutions is. If you are not careful in determining the attitude, the potential for chaos can extend beyond the meeting arena.

Tonight was a tough night. After a long day of physical and mental strength, my body began to complain of exhaustion. My head is beating violently. My wrist joints are smothered in pain not a puddle. It doesn't seem like an exaggeration if I expect enough rest for the next few days, or apply for vacation leave to simply refresh my mind. At least I can hang out with my family on the weekends.

With a step that began to get tired, I crossed the lobby of the headquarters building of the State Intelligence Command Agency. As I was about to cross the main door, my ears suddenly heard a crisp slap of footsteps. Reflexes, I looked back. There's no one. My steps stopped for a moment. Ever since leaving the meeting room, I did feel like I was being stalked by someone. I don't know who. Slowly, my mind began to be unsettled by bad premonitions.

"DANNY!!" I gasp. A man's voice sounded from another corner of the lobby. My eyes caught the movement of a well-built man who was running small towards me. "CHINA!!" exclaimed the man again, with the typical call of a soldier on his superior. It didn't take me long to recognize her. He is Lieutenant General. Edi Harsono, Deputy Chief of Counterintelligence.

Edi is one of the confidants who often represent me to face the media. In intelligence circles, he was the most reliable person for the matter of digging up classified information. Amazingly, from the many pieces of information he gathered, none of them had ever missed the estimate.

Edi moved very close to me. From his hasty gesture, I suspect there is a serious problem he wants to convey.

"Not home yet, Ed?"

"Yet, Ndan. I've been looking for you."

"Search me? What's the need?"

"There's important information I have to convey, Ndan."

Instantly my forehead was clustered. I immediately remembered a moment that happened in the meeting arena a few hours ago. During the suspension break, Edi had approached my chair and whispered about one thing. He said he smelled something unnatural. His suspicions were based on a meeting agenda that slurred until late at night. According to him, it is likely that there are some intelligence officers who are deliberately designing the situation.

"What info? Just say it now. After all, there is no one else in this place," I urged, curious.

"I can't talk here, Ndan. Precisely because the situation is deserted, then we must leave this place immediately. Let's talk in the car. How, Ndan?"

I looked at Edi's face. His face seemed to be overshadowed by anxiety. "Is this related to what you said in the meeting room?"

The mouth of my subordinate officer was tightly clenched, but a nod of his head was enough to answer my question.

"OKAY. Please call Parto in the parking lot."

"Well, Ndan."

Edi immediately moved swiftly through the main door to the hallway of the headquarters building. His hand waved at the metallic black Land Rovers car in the parking lot. Not a minute after he waved his hand, the car driven by Parto, my personal driver, drove from the parking area and stopped right in front of the building.

"Come, Ndan. The car is ready." Edi let me in the car first. Then, he caught up with me and sat down with me in the back seat. "Street, sir."

Hearing Edi's heavy voice, Parto immediately stepped on the Land Rovers gas pedal and spurred him towards my residence at the Officers' Dormitory.

"Continue, Ed. What did you find?" I asked, with a curious tinge on my face.

Lt Gen Edi, who was now sitting to my right, threw a momentary glance at the windshield of the car. His eyes coldly glared at the darkness of the night. "Vito betrayed, Ndan."

Edi Harsono nodded. "So morning my staff caught Vito gathering a number of military officers in his room. In fact, several other deputy intelligence staff members were also seen at the meeting, Ndan," Edi said, with an increasingly tense look. "My suspicions peaked as the meeting went on. All the irregularities that happened in the meeting room must have been planned, Ndan."

The man who currently serves as the Deputy Head of Counterintelligence Division was then silent for a few seconds. The scent of uneasiness began to smell from his burly and muscular figure. "You're in danger, Ndan. Better, you immediately flee your wives to evacuate to safety."

Edi's words stunned me for a moment. This time it was the turn of my pair of eyes that were glaring at the darkness. While the contents of my head began to rage in an uncertain direction. I no longer worry about the continuation of the fate of the coordination meeting which turned out to be just a cover. What is on my mind right now is definitely the safety of my family.

Throughout his career in intelligence, Edi was not just a core official who was just crazy for office. His role and dedication in dismantling a series of terrorism action plans in recent years is a valid proof that his intellectual ability cannot be underestimated. Therefore, all the information sourced directly from his mouth deserves extra attention.

And, Lieutenant Colonel Vito? Apparently, my guess all this time was not entirely wrong. Lately, the movements of my former aide in the Army did show unusual behavior. Edi's right. He has been missing a lot lately when I need him. Sometimes I have trouble just meeting and talking to him in a military dormitory. In fact, I have heard information that says that recently he often showed familiarity with a number of staff of the Ministry of Defense, which incidentally are people who want me to resign from the position of head of the intelligence agency.

Perhaps the scenario is more or less so: Vito struck a deal with the ministry's gibberish to get rid of me. He deliberately stalled the meeting until midnight so that after his return from the meeting he could freely finish me. Luckily, Edi manages to smell a series of foul plans that they have put together. Their scenario was apparently not mature enough to outsmart Edi's expertise in intelligence science.

"Then what's your plan, Ndan?" I glanced at the young officer sitting to my right.

"I'm not going to run away. I'll send troops to keep watch at the official house and secure my wives, but I won't stay silent."

Edi's forehead is pursed. He seemed quite surprised to hear my answer. "So, you mean?"

"If Vito really wants to fight against me, then I will be happy to prepare for the battlefield."

Smiling slowly, Edi nodded his head. He was quite mafhum with my battle that did not give up easily. While his eyes were looking forward, I reached into my phone to contact someone.

"Prepare three troop platoons! Bring the full equipment! We met at the house!" my orders were with one of my men across the phone.

I immediately hung up the phone and put my phone back in my pants pocket. While the sound of the car engine roared softly, the three men who were in it were silent. Black Land Rovers continued to advance until entering the area around Kramat Dusk station.

Unlike other stations crowded with hundreds of prospective passengers, Kramat Dusk station building looks very quiet. This building has not been used for a long time by PT. KANAL (National Railway), the SOE that manages the state railway system. The reason is, the previous period regional government wants to launch a monorail development project in this region. Unfortunately, after the change of governor, the project funds suddenly jammed. As a result, the derelict project continued and the station building became abandoned. Luckily, the surrounding railroads are still functioning well and are still often traversed by local trains.

"Sir Parto, before the rail intersection the lights will be turned off, yes. After that, just slow down, sir?" Suddenly, Edi commands Parto who is in the steering chair.

"Well, sir," replied Parto, agreeing. Instantly, a riddle immediately appeared inside my head.

"Slowly walk? What do you mean, Ed? What's wrong?" my sergeant's inching.

"Silence, Ndan. We need to be vigilant when passing through places like this. You know why at night this is so often a traffic accident at a rail intersection like this?" I'm shaking. "Because it wasn't an accident, Ndan. The data I found mentioned that behind a number of random events that happened in a place like this, there was an attempt at manipulation of the murder case. The victim's body was placed in a stopped car just above the railway tracks. Then, as the train passed...."

Edi did not continue his explanation, but I immediately muttered. To the intelligence officers, such things were no longer a surprise. Our work is not only related to confidential information at the international level, but also covers the local area. We also know, manage and maintain the confidentiality of various kinds of domestic confidential info, such as one of them is the attack plan *******. Edi is a very reliable person for managing information in the country. Tonight once again he proved his worth.

Meanwhile, the black Land Rovers under Parto's control began to slow down near railway crossings. Vigilantly, two pairs of eyes of mine and that of Edi ventured into all directions, trying to break through the thick of the night that blocked visibility. Slowly, tension begins to take hold of the air inside the car. The cooling machine that blows the cooling wind as if it is unable to perform its function. Meanwhile, inside my chest cavity, there was a thumping sound that banged many times.

DORR!

Suddenly, the sound of a gun popping appeared and nearly broke my right eardrum. The eruption produced a thrust that sent my head bouncing to the left corner and hitting the windshield. My ears were buzzing for a while. Even with my eyes twitching, I tried hard to restore the focus of my vision. However, the situation that I found at the moment was actually hard to believe.

My heart choked to find Parto already bowed above the steering wheel a large hole gaping at the back of her head. Instantly, I reflexively turned to the right side to find out what happened to Edi, my only mainstay figure in the intelligence agency. However, when I found her figure was fine, I gasped.

Edi was not hurt in the least. His body is fresh fit, his seat is still as firm as usual. But, strangely his body position is slightly leaning forward. Most surprisingly, his right hand knew that he had grasped a 9 mm caliber FN that led to the steering chair. Leads to head Parto!

The gun's mouth was smoky as a result of the projectile's vomit. I had not had time to guess what was going on, but my instinct as a former soldier seemed to give an emergency signal. I immediately realized that my life right now was really in danger. As my heartbeats grew more uncontrollable, cold sweat melted in my temple.

Not yet gone my shock, Edi moved suddenly. Immediately, my confidant shifted the direction of his gun, this time towards my batok.

"What the fuck is this, Ed?"

DOOORR!!!