Chapter 72

Chapter 72
What? You are telling me His Excellency harbors suspicion toward me?

Yet Bones instantly shook his head in denial.

His Excellency suspects me, so why would he ever turn his doubts upon Colonel Yosef?

Ah, indeed, of course.

Shifting his eyes away from Haydam toward which they kept straying independently, Yosef locked his gaze onto Bones and pressed forward.

Still, it never crossed my mind that His Excellency would doubt you. Surely you cannot put out a hit on your own self?

After offering a hollow remark and smoothing out his features, Yosef canted his head as though the entire situation remained entirely nonsensical no matter how he analyzed it.

However, for what conceivable reason would he suspect you? You are the very person who nearly perished within this mess…

The leader of Team 2 never once confessed that General Max commanded the act, Bones stated.

Pardon?

The voice of Yosef jumped sharply in response to the unexpected answer.

He never confessed that General Max directed it?

In that case, what precisely was this confession that His Excellency, Haydam, and Platon purportedly heard?

So are you saying the confession currently making the rounds has been entirely fabricated?

The true confession from the Team 2 leader, or rather, his actual testimony was…

Interrupting suddenly, Haydam stepped in, having maintained his silence until that moment. Yosef glanced toward him, while Bones merely let his head drop downward as if anticipating what was to come.

Casting a quick look at Bones, Haydam proceeded with the explanation.

He stated that the incident began when Bones and Lucas stubbornly chased after merit and accidentally killed one of their own subordinates. To cover up that blunder, they slaughtered the remaining members of the squad to keep them quiet. That was the account we received from the Team 2 leader while he remained trapped inside the crevasse. He asserted that he had fallen in by accident while attempting to flee.

It matched the exact line he had instructed the Team 2 leader to deliver, meaning the circulating version claiming General Max orchestrated the killings had to be the fake one. Even so, Yosef feigned ignorance and posed the question once more.

No, then what on earth is this confession everyone claims to have heard?

Bones responded in place of Haydam.

I only discovered it myself once Haydam informed me. His Excellency grew suspicious of us, so he framed General Max as the culprit to observe how we would react.

In other words…

The Team 2 leader had testified regarding Bones’s mutiny precisely as Yosef had commanded, and the commander had subsequently twisted that testimony to test whether it was genuine. That insight also clarified why the disposition of Max had been delayed for so long.

Yet I swear it was not my doing! That scoundrel from Team 2 told me first that General Max gave the order! Lucas heard it as well! My seniors perished because of commands given by Max, and now not only is he attempting to eliminate me, but he is also trying to pin the entire affair upon me!

Bones ranted angrily, though his words barely registered within Yosef’s awareness.

Let us organize these facts… Bones is convinced Max ordered the action, but the deceased colonel testified that a mutiny by Bones occurred. Because their accounts conflict, His Excellency detained Max initially and observed the reaction from Bones. Meanwhile, Haydam trusted Bones and brought him directly to me.

Either way, the guilty party caught within this complicated web was either Max or Bones. Yosef himself was never even mentioned. He allowed tension to drain from his body.

If Max truly committed this act, the more I ponder it, the more outrageous it becomes. Yet why have you withheld your testimony until the present moment?

I kept silent because, even though he attempted to take my life, he was the individual who showed me kindness and whom I genuinely respected. However, this injustice has gone too far. Please, Colonel Yosef, assist me so that I may offer my testimony.

At that moment, Bones slid off the sofa, dropped straight onto his knees, and pressed his forehead firmly against the floorboards.

N-now see here…

I am begging you.

Feigning awkwardness in the face of the desperate plea from Bones, Yosef calculated the angles in his mind at incredible speed.

How should this be handled…

Better, then, for Max to be branded the culprit and punished rather than Bones.

Furthermore, this might represent his final opportunity to earn favor with Haydam, the apparent heir of the zone.

When else would Haydam approach him seeking assistance?

He did not even need to prove the innocence of Bones, but merely believe the words of the new officer. If such a minor effort secured the trust of Haydam, it represented pure profit.

Having finished his calculation, Yosef pulled Bones upward and shook his hand firmly.

Second Lieutenant Bones, I believe your words. I shall accompany you when you give your testimony.

Thank you, Colonel… truly.

Haydam.

Yosef pivoted toward him wearing an expression of unyielding resolve.

Leave this matter entirely to me. This old man shall maintain watch until the very end to ensure no one twists the testimony of Second Lieutenant Bones.

Upon hearing those remarks, a faint, unreadable smile brushed against the lips of Haydam.

He appears so cold-hearted, yet he looks after his own people with astonishing fierceness. Because of that, a path has opened for me as well.

Completely oblivious to the fact that the colonel had initially accused Bones and Lucas of pursuing him before confessing under the relentless questioning of Haydam that Max had ordered the hit, Yosef simply relished the satisfaction of placing Haydam under a heavy obligation.

Then, on the day following his request for an emergency officers conference regarding the testimony of Bones, a peculiar rumor began spreading across the zone.

Yosef sat buried beneath paperwork inside his office as was customary.

His assigned role merely involved arranging a venue for Bones to testify and ensuring his protection so the proceedings could conclude without disruption. That marked the extent of his duty.

Bones was the one required to speak; Yosef himself had nothing special to prepare.

The thing that truly bothered him was his adjutant fidgeting like a dog needing to relieve itself.

Finishing the document resting before him, Yosef addressed the man.

If you have something on your mind, voice it.

Ah, no, sir.

Spare me that response. Have I known you for merely a day or two? What is happening?

Well…

So an issue genuinely existed after all. The adjutant hesitated for an extra moment before finally opening his mouth.

To speak plainly, the story sounds so unbelievable that I question whether I should report it at all.

Too much preamble. Reach the point.

Strange rumors are currently circulating.

Strange rumors?

Concerning Colonel Samson. Everyone was informed that he took his own life, were they not?

That Samson had been driven to suicide was a fact the adjutant already understood. Even isolated inside the office with only the two of them present, he still guarded his words, behaving true to his cautious nature.

Indeed they were. So what of it?

Certain individuals are claiming they actually caught sight of Colonel Samson.

What?

The brow of Yosef furrowed deeply.

Now he comprehended why the adjutant had hesitated instead of delivering the report immediately.

Are you suggesting that bastard is wandering about as a phantom?

Negative, sir.

The adjutant shook his head, adopting a solemn tone.

The rumor maintains that Colonel Samson remains alive.

That the colonel is living? Since when?

A few days back, soldiers insisted they witnessed Colonel Samson stepping into the automobile of former General Anton.

Which leads me directly to this point.

The adjutant moved a step closer, lowering his tone nearly to a whisper.

Both you and I received only the report confirming his death. Neither of us laid eyes on the corpse. What if…

You are implying those men botched the assignment?

Those men referred to the soldiers Yosef had hired to stage the suicide of Samson. A portion of the watchers had lured others away while the remainder faked the hanging, departed the location, and later claimed they returned to find him suspended.

The adjutant was questioning whether those hired soldiers might have executed the task carelessly.

They could have accepted money from someone else in addition to ours. If former General Anton spirited Colonel Samson away to protect the innocence of Max…

The idea was not entirely devoid of logic.

Just as Yosef had bribed soldiers to eliminate the colonel, Anton could have bribed them to extract him safely.

However, the official bulletin already declared it a suicide… If Anton genuinely absconded with Samson, His Excellency would have caught wind of it. I attempted to disguise the act as a suicide myself, yet a breathing man would have been flagged by the intelligence network of the commander somehow. Furthermore, these sightings have propagated widely enough that even my adjutant has caught word of them.

Why, under those circumstances, would the commander choose to ignore it?

Only one conclusion made sense.

His Excellency believes Bones is the guilty party, not Max.

That realization explained why Haydam had approached him instead of going directly to the commander.

If Colonel Samson truly lives, we face grave trouble. He will testify that Bones committed the murder, placing us in an exceptionally awkward spot. You have already pledged your backing to Second Lieutenant Bones.

Quite true—Samson would testify regarding the mutiny of Bones. Claiming Max gave the order would still leave Samson vulnerable to punishment, whereas framing it as a mutiny by Bones renders Samson nothing more than a victim.

Perhaps we ought to cancel the officers conference while we retain the opportunity…

No. First we must verify whether Samson genuinely breathes.

Every one of those hypotheses depended entirely on Samson remaining alive; baseless gossip could not be accepted blindly.

Begin by questioning the soldiers who assert they saw him enter the car of Anton. If Anton has secured the person of the colonel, then a retired civilian who took it upon himself to hide a crucial witness will need to answer for his actions.

And bring those men before me as well. I wish to inspect for myself precisely how they managed the job.

Understood, Colonel.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Yosef glanced upward at a firmament once more heavy with storm clouds.

He deeply disliked the sensation this situation produced.

Colonel Yosef has begun to move. Exactly as you predicted, Haydam.

It is now evident he was involved with that deceased colonel.

Would it not be wiser to grab the adjutant and interrogate him?

Execute that, and we merely generate a second Colonel Samson. Leave him undisturbed until the officers conference. My objective is not to unmask the actual perpetrator anyway.

If you are not attempting to locate the real culprit, what on earth is your plan? Very well. I shall continue observing.

Excellent. Thank you.

I disconnected the receiver and turned around. Bones sat there bouncing one leg in a nervous rhythm.

Continuing to jiggle his knee, he directed a question toward me.

If you refuse to clear the real culprit, how do we establish the innocence of General Max?

I delivered a brief, flat reply.

I have no intention of doing so.