A Trojan Horse

As soon as daybreak came, Thari was up, eager to get to his living quarters. He set off.?It was sort of an isolated camp on one edge of the island, and he was certain he would likely not find anyone around. But as he neared the camp, he heard some movement. He was instantly alert.

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Suddenly Rocky, the hunting dog, popped up from around a corner. Rocky was a German Shepherd with the build of a wolf. Always playful and energetic. With his pointy ears and expressive eyes, he was a magnificent beast. As Thari got reacquainted with Rocky, someone appeared from one of the quarters.

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‘Thari?’

‘Rimon, so good to see you! I heard you all went to avenge me,’ Thari said.

‘How is this possible? Are you alright?’ Rimon inquired, disbelief written all over his face.

‘Yes I am.’

‘Regret has been eating me up. I fell ill and was unable to join the rest.’

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‘It's good that you are here. A familiar face is welcome in these times. In fact, your name came in handy too. It was my default persona in interrogation…I kid you not, at some point I was a fisherman called Rimon,’ replied Thari, lightening the mood.

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‘Really? You’ve had quite the adventure…Oh! Before, I forget, the Pigeon Master had a message for you and she couldn't decipher it,’ Rimon said.

‘OK, I'll freshen up then we can go.’

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After freshening up, Thari got his bike and gave it to Rimon to ride out and inform his folks that he was alright. He handed him the memory chip from his robot companion to be dropped at the librarian for decryption and analysis. As they parted ways, they set their radio calls on the same frequency for easy communication. Thari took Rocky and headed to the Pigeon Master whose residence was in town.

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On the way, Thari could not help but think how the 21st century technology was said to have made communication easy. Consequently, negative and positive information could spread like wildfire on dry grass.

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He chose a secluded route on the edge of the island. He preferred it as it was more scenic. Tall trees and thick foliage created a canopy overhead that blocked out most of the sunlight. You could hear the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves as you made your way along the path.

He reached a clearing. There was a picturesque waterfall cascading down some rocky edges with a tranquil pool at its base. The water was crystal clear and inviting and you could see fish darting around in the pool.

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He continued on with Rocky following playfully, sometimes going ahead of him. At some point, his ears caught a familiar tune emanating from the bush. As the sound got louder, he could hear people conversing as well. He veered off his path just to satisfy his curiosity. It was just a group of young people finding a reason to down some liquor and dance. Rocky behaved and didn't announce his presence.

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He quickly got back to his mission. He was almost in town now. He finally got to the building, and it was just his luck that the elevator was out of service. All the same, a ten storey staircase was light workout for him.

However, by the eighth floor, he realised that he was slightly out of shape. He could feel the pressure on his knees. His steps became slow and laboured. Tired and out of breath with a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead, he could only go on. Clutching on the hand rail for support he went up, taking short shallow breaths trying to conserve his energy as he climbed.

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His heart was racing and he could feel the strain on his chest. As he neared the top, his determination kicked in. Taking on the final deep breath, he pushed himself to finish the climb.

‘Damn! I'm out of shape. I need to get back to the basics’, he thought.

Rocky on the other hand was hardly feeling the heat of the climb.

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There was someone at the entrance.

‘Hello Thari, she's been looking for you. Come in. She's on the rooftop feeding the pigeons. Go through here,’ the concierge directed. .

‘Thari, I didn't expect to see you again,’ said the pigeon master with some excitement in her voice.

‘I know, I know. What's my message?’

‘Right to it, then. I think someone has an admirer. The carrier pigeon simply brought a red ribbon.’

?From the shock expression on Thari’s face, she knew this wasn’t a romantic gesture.

‘I don't know what to make of it. Danger? Blood?’ she tried to inquire.

‘Damn! Something is coming. I have to go. If I signal you, light up the warning lantern,’ Thari said as he left in a hurry.

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As he went down the staircase, he kept pressing the button on the radio call trying to reach Rimon.Thankfully, the descent was a breeze. The adrenaline also had something to do with that.?When he got to the lobby, he changed the frequency to that of the island security.

‘Hello, this is Thari. Can anyone hear me? Agent code 40-5. There is a security threat imminent. Drop the bridges and be on high alert- Thari Out.’

He didn't get a response but the message was in the air. He switched back to Rimon's signal.

‘Hey, I was out of range. Everyone is okay. They are glad to know that you are back, over.’

‘Rimon, where are you?-Over’

‘I am ten minutes out- Over.’

Okay. Get here now- Over.’

‘On it, out.’

He then ran to the nearest bridge to warn them to drop it. When he got there, they were already dismantling it. He switched back to the security channel signal.

‘Hello,Thari, good to hear from you. This is the commanding officer. We've heeded to your warning. Is the information credible? Over.’

‘Yes it absolutely is. I don't know the time but something is coming- Over.’

‘Okay but we cannot stop movement on the main bridge completely. The main bridge will remain operational. There is a peace convoy on the way. -Over.’

‘Noted- Out.’ replied Thari.

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‘Hey wait!’ called out Thari, speaking to the officers dismantling the bridge.

He could see a cyclist from a distance. The bicycle was moving at a dangerously high speed, its solar powered motor engine probably pushed to its limits.

‘Let him through first.’

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They waited for Rimon to crossover before dropping it.

‘Hey, what's going on?’ Rimon wondered.?

‘Let's get to the main bridge. An attack is imminent. From when the message got to the Pigeon Master, I am surprised it hasn’t happened yet.’

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When they got to the main bridge, movement was almost at a stand still. Security was on high alert awaiting the last bus of the peace arbitrators before shutting the bridge down, thus paralysing movement in and out of the island. The last bus got to the bridge and was checked off and the bridge was completely shut down.

Rimon breathed a sigh of relief, ‘At least now we are safe.’

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Thari on the other hand, couldn't bring himself to calm down. Something was troubling him and he could feel it in his gut. His heart kept racing, his mind still playing different scenarios. Rocky was restless as well.

‘Hey, you two seem to be in a hurry,’ Kubachu said as he approached them.

A small crowd that had gathered to witness the arrival of the arbitrators had scattered, some following the bus.

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‘Unfortunately you missed the first two buses that seemed important,’ continued Kubachu.

‘Why?’ Thari asked.

‘Well they were full and a bit heavier too, maybe from all the peace equipment,’ Kubachu said while laughing.

‘Why would you think they were heavier?’

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Kubachu was getting irritated by the constant questions but the expression on Thari's face looked ominous.

‘Well from my observation, if all the buses can carry the same weight, the second bus had a lower suspension and a more pronounced sway as it moved.

‘Oh no! It's a trojan horse,’ Thari exclaimed as he hurriedly ran to the security checkpoint to inform the officers.

Both he and Rimon got armed before heading in the direction the buses took. Rocky followed them closely.

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They had hardly moved when they heard gunshots. Now they were sprinting. In the periphery they could see several people running away from where the gunshots had sounded. Two assailants were behind them. On noticing the presence of the two, they redirected their focus and it turned into a gun fight- both teams shooting and ducking for cover. They could hear gunshots and explosives from a distance. This clearly wasn't the only group of assailants.

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Thari signaled Rimon to take Rocky and head towards the other gunshot sounds. He took a stone and smashed a window of the building across causing a distraction for one of the assailants to expose themselves. He took the shot. His target was down, one to go.

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The other being more cautious and aggressive at the same time had him completely pinned. Any movement from his cover was met with flying bullets. When the bullets seemed to have gone quiet for a few seconds, he peeked only to be met with a blow from the assailant. Out of bullets, he had decided to move in.

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They were both on the ground, Thari's gun knocked away by the impact. They traded blows,each trying to gain the upper hand. The assailant removed a knife and slashed Thari's hand. It caught him off guard. He in turn landed a solid punch to his assailant’s gut. He grunted in pain but didn't back down, his knife slashing in the air.

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Thari backed up trying to keep his distance and then quickly swung a kick, sending the assailant to the ground. He took the opportunity and went for his gun. He had him.

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Suddenly from the shadows another assailant appeared, a lady. Thari pointed the gun and pulled the trigger but there was only a click. The gun was empty. The other fighter seized his chance, and lunging forward, knocked the gun out of Thari's hands.

He grabbed his knife from the ground and plunged it into Thari's thigh. Thari stumbled back before falling to his knees while clutching at the wound. As the two assailants stood over him, the lady pulled out a gun and pointed it to his head, execution style.

Outgunned, outnumbered.

‘It's over. Any last words?’ she said smugly.

Time seemed to have come to a halt, his whole life flashing before him. He remembered some words from a book by Paulo Coelho he had read long ago. Apparently, seconds before death, each of us understands the real reason for our existence and at that moment heaven or hell is born.

Hell is when we look back during that fraction of a second and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of life. Paradise is being able to say at that moment, I made some mistakes but I wasn't a coward. I lived my life and did what I had to do.

Bang bang!

Gunshots.?