Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

On hearing the message on the radio, Ethan was stunned. What did he mean by 'three down'? Did he refer to a secret mission or was it the number of targets they had taken down? As soon as he thought that, a chill went down his body and he immediately rushed outside. To his horror, his thoughts had come true. Three more from his squad members had died when a grenade had exploded before them. 

Looking at the martyred soldiers, he gave them a salute for sacrificing their life to save their motherland. While he saluted, he also made a promise to them that he would not let those assholes away who were responsible for their death. He would torture them until they wished that death was better. 

He had to relay this message to the President as early as possible and it had to be sent to him only. So, he rushed to the main building along with his two juniors who had witnessed the traitor's work. The President had given a number where he could call him directly without any hindrance. So, Ethan made the call and waited for a response from the other side.

The President, Luis Truman, at that moment was in a meeting, discussing the matters related to the war. He was facing his ministers who were advising him on the various actions they could take to stop the war and also avoid the deaths of their countrymen. When his assistant notified him about the incoming call from Ethan, he paused the meeting. He knew that Ethan would not call him directly unless it was something extremely urgent and that could not be overlooked. 

He had also told Ethan to call him on this number if he had something to discuss in private. Now that he was getting a call on this number, it had to be attended to at once. "Gentlemen, let's take a break of ten minutes." He said and walked away with his assistant following him closely.

The ministers in the meeting room looked at each other bewildered. This was the first time the President had dismissed the meeting while it was still in progress. Every other time, he would not leave until they had reached a conclusion. However, this time it was different. They wondered what could have popped up for him to leave halfway. Among them, there was one person who looked around coolly. He was not here to find solutions or to give suggestions that could help to win the war or stop it even. He was just there to listen to everything and relay it to someone for whom he worked like a lapdog.

The President went to one of the empty rooms while his assistant closed the door and stood outside watching over the room. He was there to make sure that nobody would barge in unnecessarily when the President was having a confidential talk. 

"Yes, Major. What have you got for me?"

"Sir, I have some bad news for you."

"What happened?"

"Sir, we have traitors in our team." Ethan came to the point directly without wasting any time. They had already lost time as well as men before. They could not delay things any further.

"What do you mean Major?" The President asked bewildered.

"Sir, some of the men in our team are here to create chaos and not to fight the war. Instead of attacking the enemies, they are attacking their own squadron members. This is the reason why we are not able to gain an upper hand over our enemies."

"Major, are you sure about it? This is a serious allegation and we cannot conclude this matter just based on our assumptions." The President said in a serious tone. If what Ethan said was true, then the matter was serious.

"Yes. My two second in commands and I saw it today. One of them threw a grenade at our men and injured them."

"Oh my god. Didn't you notice this before?"

"No Sir. It was my fault for not noticing this before. If I had kept an eye on everything we wouldn't have lost our men."

"No Ethan." The President called out his name startling him. "Though you are slightly at fault, you are not to be blamed completely. How would you know that we would have traitors? They were smart enough to conceal their identities." The President sighed. "What have you thought to do now?"

"Sir, we have thought to keep this matter silent lest we should alert them."

"True. But Ethan, how did these kinds of people join the army?"

"Sir, that was what I wanted to speak to you about next. Is there a possibility that there might be someone helping them from within the system?"

"Are you doubting someone in my ministry?"

"Yes Sir," Ethan answered honestly. He was not doubting the President, but he was not sure that the people who worked for the government were good. He had his doubts and he voiced them out loudly. He was not scared of anybody, not even the President especially when he was right.

"We cannot rule out your assumptions completely. There may be a possibility that somebody is helping them. I'll look into this matter myself and don't worry, I'll keep it confidential. How is it over there?"

"Not good Sir. A lot of our men are getting injured every day."

"Didn't the medical assistance reach there yet?"

"They reached here this morning."

"That's good. At least our soldiers can get good treatment. Major, it is your duty to take care of them. They are civilians and they are doing us a favor. Nothing should happen to them."

"Definitely sir."

"Anything else?"

"No Sir."

"Okay."

The call ended and Luis went into deep thought. He wondered who was the person betraying his own countrymen. Everybody's face flashed before his eyes. But he could not decide who it might be. He sighed loudly. This matter was getting out of hand. He opened the door and met his assistant who was waiting for him outside.

"Is everything alright sir?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's go back first."

The meeting resumed when Luis went back and sat in his chair. Though he was keenly listening to suggestions his ministers were giving and him adding his own words of advice occasionally, he also kept an eye to see if anybody was acting suspicious. However, he found none of them who acted out of place. Everybody behaved normally.

The meeting ended shortly after it resumed again. He was not the first one to leave the room this time and allowed the others to leave before him. While they were walking away, his eyes scrutinized all of them once again. Immediately a second later, he went behind them. While everybody else went to have some food or snacks, only one among them slipped away from the group to make a phone call. His actions were sure doubtful and Luis whispered something to his assistant before he walked away with his team.