Devolution Read Online Free

sound of sirens emerged from the background as reinforcements approached. “The building is surrounded.”
     
    *
     
    “How did this happen!?” yelled Colonel Levanetz. The broad, daunting soldier dressed in fatigues seethed with anger. “We had them tapped. We should have known this.” He slammed his fist against the heavily armored truck he stood behind.
    “A-A code of some sort,” the specialist sputtered. “They never mentioned this in our surveillance.”
    “This does not happen without planning!” the colonel raged. This failure fell upon his head.
    A young private came sprinting from behind another armored vehicle holding a phone. “Sir, the prime minister!”
    The colonel reluctantly placed the receiver to his ear. “Colonel Levanetz here.”
    “Colonel,” the prime minister said, hiding his irritation well, “how did he get authorization into that building?”
    “We will get this resolved, Mr. Prime Minister.”
    “But now the media is involved,” the PM replied. “What will you tell them?”
    “We will soon release it’s the LAF. There is no reason for them to think otherwise. We will handle the situation then hold a press conference.”
    “You know the press, Colonel,” the prime minister said irritably. “They’re not going to wait long. What happens if they find out?”
    “They won’t,” Levanetz assured him.
    After hearing a click, the colonel paused to gather his composure. He then lowered the phone from his ear and gazed up towards the window where the situation was unfolding.
     
    *
     
    “What do you want?” The distraught member of Parliament sat bound on the floor. His back leaned against a fallen board room table. The other three MPs sat by his side, all tied together, facing the tinted windows that spanned the opposite wall. It happened so quickly they couldn’t even loosen their red ties or take off their navy blue coats. The four men looked like mirror images: pale skin with brown hair and terrified eyes.
    “We only want what is ours,” one of the maskedterrorists, dressed all in black emphatically stated.
    The MP shook his head. “This is not the way to get it.”
    The man’s eyes gleamed a reddish hue. He reached up and ripped off his mask, exposing a marred and disfigured face. The left side bubbled from severe burns. The right side bore deep scars courtesy of a sharp blade. The man eased down toward the MP. The hostage tried to be strong, but his eyes conveyed a rare type of fear. With his mangled face mere inches from the MPs, the man uttered, “Yes, it is.” The heat from his pungent breath lingered on the MPs nervous skin.
    “Captain!” One of his comrades rushed into the room. “The prime minister wants to talk to you.”
    The captain eyed the hostage as he extended his arm for the phone. The MPs were perplexed. The prime minister?
    “You have no idea what’s happening,” the captain said in a near whisper as the phone settled in his waiting hand. “If you knew, you’d be with us.” He clutched the phone in his leather glove and marched out of the room.
    “Mr. Prime Minister, what took so long?” He strode down the hall to an empty office.
    “Captain Brooks, I advise you to reconsider. We will defend ourselves.”
    The captain would not be deterred. “The country will soon know, Mr. Prime Minister. Whether I’m dead or alive, they will all know.”
    “Captain, think about what you’re doing...”
    “I have.”
    The conversation was over.
    Meanwhile, a large, loud, and curious crowd had gathered behind the police tape that surrounded the building. Riot control officers, in full protective gear—masks, shields, body suits and batons—stood firm. “They are here!” The captain stood next to the window with his arms folded across his chest. “The people. The media. The police.” He turned to his second-in-command who had entered the nearly vacant office. “A little bit longer, my friend.”
    “What have we done?” cried out one of the