The Narrator
After four years of Michael's ascension to the throne, a peaceful reign he had accomplished with Ayer. Peaceful in the eyes of the gods, he and Ayer had executed every task they were given by the organization and had excelled in every metric. If the organization ordered fifteen abductions, they would deliver twenty, adding five more.
This pleased the gods and gave Michael respect among the organization; this included the five kings, Michael being the sixth. Besides the five kings, there were persons within the organization much mightier than the six kings who were recognizing his presence.
Authorities could not detect him, despite them recognizing a large number of abduction cases surging high in South Africa. Nor could his family detect a change, even in the slightest, with his behavior. It was as though he was living two lives; in his first life, he was a ruthless medieval king, bloodthirsty for conquest and expansion for the sake of his kingdom. In his second life, he was a young man working in a corporate space yet still living with his mother and siblings; his problems were merely just being shouted at by his employer.
For some time he weighted all his problems on his own shoulders, and for a time he was succeeding, till he wasn't. One day he and Ayer had discovered that there was a traitor among their ranks. This traitor they did not know, who his name was, where he came from, let alone how he had managed to infiltrate their ranks. And so they named him Scorpion the Stinger.
Scorpion had seen Michael's might firsthand; he had seen his lifeless soldiers killing like mercenaries, and he had seen his operations in action, how well organized and precise his abductions were.
He knew that if he ran, he would not outrun Michael's forces, and he knew that there was no one who could stop them; nowhere was safe. In an act of desperation, Scorpion handed himself over to the police; he pleaded guilty and pleaded that the police lock him up.
Scorpion pleaded guilty to theft, murder, and trafficking, trafficking being a major problem in South Africa at that time, but within the premises of the police station, he did not speak against Michael and the organization. He wanted to speak in front of a judge to expose everything he had seen as he masqueraded as one of Michael's men. Michael knew all of this because he had spies; bribery being so prevalent within the police force, these were people who he paid for information or to turn a blind eye to his abductions.
Scorpion was naïve to believe that corruption was nonexistent even within law enforcement, while he believed that he was safe behind bars. Michael was preparing to annihilate him before he could speak. Scorpion would be taken out from the Cape Town Police Station CBD, where he had surrendered himself to the Cape Town High Court, where he would face trial.
Before he could reach the court premises, Michael needed to execute him before then; should he reach the court, it would make things complicated and hard to kill him.
Scorpion would be transported by three police vans for his safety. The police feared that Scorpion's enemies would attempt an assassination on his life, considering that he was on the verge of exposing intel. And so three vans would accompany him.
Michael had orchestrated a grand plan; he and his men had disguised themselves as policemen, stealing the two police vans that would accompany Scorpion's van. The time came, and, as expected, three vans, including Michael's, accompanied Scorpion to court. Scorpion's van was in the middle, with the remaining two, one leading in front and the second at the back following.
Michael and his men had already occupied the vans; only the middle they did not occupy, which meant there were at least three genuine policemen along with Scorpion as he sat in handcuffs. After some time on the road, going straight to court. Michael changes route, and in disbelief, the three policemen question amongst themselves where they were going, considering they had left the route to Court as they were following the leading van.
One of the officers takes their two-way radio communication device in an attempt to connect with the front vehicle. He speaks and questions, 'Why are they changing route?' In a few seconds there is no reply. Concerned, the police officer calls again, 'This is Officer Khumalo. Where are we going?'. Michael picks "This is Officer Dlamini currently escorting Scorpion to Cape Town High Court. I've had to change route due to traffic caused by an accident up ahead." After receiving the call, the three officers relaxed after being uneasy for a few seconds.
A few minutes later on a not-so-busy road, Michael and his men stopped the van, forcing the other two to stop. The men on the last van came out and started throwing smoke bombs near the middle van and on the street they were on. They did this so no car would interfere or use the road.
After the smoke bombs were thrown, panic struck all three policemen; Scorpion was no exception.
They readied themselves with weapons, but these weapons might've been useless considering the smoke blocking their vision. Nothing was visible at that point but smoke; the silence added to their fears, unable to anticipate what would happen.
After a few seconds of silence, they heard the handles of the back door shifting to open the door. In response, two officers came out of the van, attempting to go and protect the prisoner. With the smoke thick and heavy in that region, the two officers could not do much, nor could they see much. To maneuver, each hand they placed on the van, the other they held a gun.
They started walking towards the back of the van. Before they could reach back, gunshots were fired, with each hitting the policemen. Both policemen were shot in their thighs and in their hands specifically where they held their guns. Each man fell to the ground; one remained inside the van. On hearing the remaining policeman panicked and grabbed his connecting device, attempting to alert the base.
Before he could, Michael came and pointed a gun at his face, which made him stop contacting the base. Michael and his men were not affected by the smoke due to wearing anti-smoke face masks. Michael forced the policeman out of the van so he could tie him using his own handcuffs and laid him on the ground.
After dismantling all three of the policemen, they took Scorpion and fled the scene with one of the police cars, which they later abandoned in a remote area, and traveled with another van they had placed in pre-planning of the event. They went back to the same hotel where Michael's father (Blade) took him to reveal everything; that hotel was called Hunter's Rest to this day.
Upon arriving, they took Scorpion to the underground bunker; in one of the rooms, they tied him to a metal chair.
Michael came to him and removed the blindfold they had dressed him in upon taking him from the police van. After taking off the blindfold, Michael could see dread coming from Scorpion's eyes; it was as if he was seeing a ghost.
Michael smiled and said, "Hey there, you didn't think you could escape me now, did you?" He remained quiet. "What? Are you just going to ignore me after all the noise you have caused?" Even then he remained quiet. Michael decided to use force in order to persuade him to talk. He strangled him and said, "You will talk, you bastard. Here's what we are going to do: you will answer every question I have for you. If you don't, then you will surely die, but if you comply and I am pleased, I might consider letting you go."
Michael stops strangling him. "Now tell me, how did you manage to infiltrate my dominion?" Before answering, he coughed from the strangling he had experienced. I managed to kill one of your men 2 months ago. During one of your abductions, your men abducted someone I loved.
"Mm, I see. And where did that specific abduction happen?" In this very building, my friends and I came here during late hours and booked 3 rooms; we were all drunk that day. There were three girls and three guys, including me. The night was still young, and so we all decided to chill in my room. I don't remember what happened, but one of the girls suggested that all three of them should go and check the other rooms to see which was better for taking pictures.
They left, leaving me and my boys, but after a while I noticed that they were taking too long for just taking merely pictures, and so I decided to go and check up on them. I went and checked on the first room. Upon opening the door, I shouted their names, but no one responded. I went in and checked; no one was indeed there.
I told myself, Surely, they must be on the last one, and when I got there, I opened the door and went in. No one was there. I switched off the lights as I found them, and then I decided to leave. Before reaching the door handle, I heard footsteps and saw shadows walking straight in a line.
I decided to look through the peephole, and I saw men in masks all wearing black clothing. Each was carrying pistols with silencers, and they were walking straight in the direction of my room, so I opened the door slowly so they wouldn't hear me. I peeked as I saw them entering my room and shooting my remaining friends. I knew that they would look for me, so I left the room, and they indeed searched for me, but I was hidden. They searched heavily for me, but I managed to maneuver, outsmarting them, and killed one of them and managed to disguise myself as the one I killed.
"Interesting," Michael said, "and by masquerading as one of my men, you assumed that just maybe you could help your lover?" He nods, "That's so sweet of you, but I'm afraid it's too late. She's long gone, not even I know where she could be by now, but all I can tell you is that where she is right now she has been bought like cattle, beaten possibly bruised, and violated sexually by her new masters, she is now a slave and will forever remain a slave the rest of her days".
Scorpion's eyes at that point were watery. He said in his response, How could you allow this? What kind of a man are you to allow this? Michael stayed silent unless you're not a man, unless you're just a monster! Scorpion stated it to his face.
"You mistake me for someone who cares. I don't care how you see me, and I don't much care about your girlfriend or anyone's girlfriend. So long as I protect those I love, I DO NOT CARE."
I can see that I will die here. What you said earlier about letting me go if I comply was an absolute lie. You won't let me go; you can't, considering how much I know. However, I will say this: Lupus Rex, may the same fate you have caused my beloved to happen to your loved ones ten times over, may you weep all the days of your life, and may pain be your faithful, unwavering friend forever. I may die here, but my brothers will avenge me.
Michael took a pistol from one of his soldiers and pointed it into Scorpion's head. He watched as he closed his eyes and tears started streaming down. Michael then shot him dead. Blood spilled from his head downwards. Michael then told his men to clean up and dispose of the body.
After killing Scorpion, Michael decided to go stay inside the bunker for a while. He sat in the war room contemplating what he had done and the man he had become. Could it be that he had already begun imagining his late father, Blade? He wondered to himself. He sat there for a few hours and decided to leave to go back home to his family.
Michael left the bunker and left the hotel. The time when he left was 17:00; he would reach home 30 minutes later. He arrived home, parked his car, and went inside. All of his family members were there. Nicolas, his brother, was in his room; Jordyn, his sister, was in her room; and Madelyn and Ayer were preparing dinner in the kitchen. He went to the kitchen and greeted both Ayer and Madelyn.
"Oh, you're back," says Madelyn with a smile on her face. "Yes, I'm back, Ma." Michael replies. "Good, you're just in time; dinner is almost ready," she replies. That's great because I'm starving, but first I have to take a shower. "Make it snappy, then," Madelyn says, still preparing. I will. Can I borrow Ayer for a second? Michael asking, "You can, but only for a second because he's busy, as you can clearly see." Thanks, Ma.
Michael walked with Ayer to his room and closed it after they entered. "My king," Ayer said. Tell me something, Ayer: what is this that you have done by orchestrating abductions behind my back? 2 months ago you clearly ordered our men to abduct three women in Hunter's Rest and killed 2 men as collateral.
"Forgive me, Sire, who has told you all of this?" Our friend Scorpion did. I and 4 of our men managed to capture him and brought him to the bunker. He was one of the men you didn't kill that day.
"I see, my grave mistake Sire, truly I apologize for my actions; whatever you do to me now I will accept, as it is your right as my master," Ayer says as he kneels down with both his knees. Arise, Ayer; I will not harm you. Arise, my friend; however, all I want is for you to inform me of everything you do.
Ayer rose and said, "It shall be so, your eminence; however, all I did, I did for your name's sake to please the gods and the organization so that your name be lifted and acknowledged by them all.
During that abduction we almost underperformed, meaning we couldn't reach the target we were given; to change that, I had to act."
I see, I now understand; you did what you thought was right by protecting my image. For that I am grateful. Now go and help Mother with dinner; we are done here. Michael responded.
"Your words are final, your eminence." Ayer left Michael's room, and Michael went into a shower; his bedroom had an en suite.
After he was done, he went to the dining room and sat at the dinner table with all his family members, including Ayer, and they ate.