His Devious Rule

Bernard was angered. Those guards were appointed to him by the military due to his position. If he was kidnapped by Harper, Harper could demand any request from the government. It was dangerous if he was the president or a different man.

Bernard stood up and scowled, "Harper Johnsons, how dare you threaten a president of the country?" He glared at Harper and scoffed, "Don't you know the consequences of your actions?"

Harper was pissed off to hear Bernard yelling at him. His fingers itched to press the trigger and shove the bullet into his head. That won't give him the information stored on the hard disk. 

"Consequences? You can't even keep your life safe." Harper sniggered without a hint of fear. He had one spy among the security, which slowly increased in the past month just like a virus inflicting the weak. Bernard and his group were outnumbered, so why will he worry about that?

"You are keeping that woman safe and still dare to talk nonsense. Bernard Collins... " He sniggered, "Don't tell me you have a mistress of your daughter's age." He laughed scornfully.

'Slap'

Bernard couldn't control and slapped Harper.

Bernard's chief security didn't waste a second. As soon as Bernard's hand lifted, he lifted his hand and waved it down as he circled Bernard and rolled to the ground. A nearby security officer lowered the table to cover Bernard. 

'Snap' 

'Snap' 

'Snap'

The situation instantly skyrocketed as the lava spluttered out of the volcanic mountain. There were hiss, screams, breaking, and clashing sounds that were unstoppable. The cafe which had caffeine and tobacco in the air was filled with gunpowder and the stench of blood.

Bernard clenched his teeth and didn't move. He knew long back that there was a spy in the security team. He thought 'A spy' but didn't expect more than five. 

When chief security turned down letting him meet Harper, he suggested having another secret force around the cafe. It was kept secret from everyone. Hence when Harper pointed the gun, they patiently waited when they could have shot Harper right there.

Killing him wasn't their plan, if he dies, then the people on the cruise won't return safely either. This meetup was majorly to remove the moles in the security team.

Bernard was glad he canceled the press conference, his own security team would have killed him and the secretariat. Now that the first round of filters is done, they need to make Kyle confess his doing. Then he could bring Anya out. Unless so Anya was an escaped criminal without any evidence of her kidnap.

It took a minute for the cafe to fall gravely silent. Chief security didn't let Bernard move before confirming safety. His main concern was the spy, he wanted them dead, he didn't want such people in his team or even alive. That's the punishment for betraying their job.

From the looks of it, the secret team shot the rogue officers in their head, so those five officers were dead. The remaining officers gave him a signal for the headcount. No one else was injured.

Other than terminating those rogue officers, the security also had to keep the Harper's team distracted and avoid them firing at Bernard. Hence the chief officer's eyes stopped at the circle of the table.

A Harper bodyguard who probably shielded Harper was lying in the pool of blood, still alive. As the plan, they had no plans to kill Harper so the officers hadn't aimed any vital parts of Harper. He was sure the other three were alive.

Before he could give a signal for the officer to cover Bernard closely, he realized Bernard wasn't moving and his eyes were closed. He panicked but stayed calm on the surface. His hands held Bernard's head to check if there was any blood. There wasn't.

Bernard was wearing a bulletproof vest like every day. This time, the officer even double-checked. "Sir… Are you alright?" He asked in a low voice shaking his face. 

Bernard suddenly opened his eyes and inhaled sharply. He was shot in the back, a bulletproof vest had saved him but the effects of the short-range made him unconscious briefly. 

The chief officer knew the reactions so he guessed Bernard was shot somewhere on the jacket and didn't realize it before. "Are you alright? Could you stand?" He asked in a low voice signaling the team to come closer.

The five officers stood behind Harper and his two men while Bernard was covered on all sides when he stood up without showing any pain. Instead, he looked angry. They couldn't report this attack to the public, it would cause commotions and affect the country's development. Internationally, the country Narnia would appear weak if they get to know the President was attacked.

"Harper Johnson, your men kidnapped my assistant-general secretaries." He pinned the blame on Harper pointing out both Kyle and Anya.

Kyle, being an informant of Harper, knew Anya was unconscious and she couldn't have escaped on her own. In Kyle, those three kidnappers, and the officers' view, Anya was kidnapped again. Harper should know it by now as one of the rogue officers had gone to bring Anya.

Harper knew they wouldn't kill him hence there was no fear when he stood face to face. Harper gritted his teeth hearing Bernard blame him. He was cent percent sure Bernard was keeping her safe with the hard disk. Unlike him, Bernard hated to sacrifice his people.

He started clapping, "Our President knows to act so well." He took a step closer and smiled cunningly, "Keep her and her family safe, I will send you gifts daily." He laughed aloud as he walked out of the cafe.

Bernard clenched his teeth watching his back. He understood Harper was going to kill a person daily on the ship. 'A person,' it could be more.

Once Harper disappeared, he got into the business while walking towards his car, "How is the discussion going on with the Naval officer?"

The chief officer reported as he made sure none one was around, other than them, "Sir, Naval Officer has fetched some details about the cruise ship. They couldn't predict where the ship would be the next day. If we ask the nearest country, the ship might be in different country waters. Our efforts will go in vain. We can't attack the ship, it could put the passengers in danger. So they are still trying to find a solution."

'Damn..' Bernard cussed in his mind.

If they fail to find a way out, so many people will die. Bernard didn't want to let people like Harper live a luxurious life, eating the public money. However, in exchange for the people's lives, he might hand over the hard disk to Harper if they don't find a solution quickly.

Henceforth, Bernard lost sleep again, trying to find the solution in nonstop meetings with other officers. Unfortunately, they hadn't invited cyber security for the meeting considering it wasn't data theft.

-------

At Oasis mansion,

Though the bed was soft and comfortable, Anya woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep whatsoever due to the new place and her mind was bugging at the possibility of her parents and son falling into danger.

Changing into sportswear, she went out of the mansion in search of a gym around four at dawn. She felt her head spin after going in a circle on the upper floor and ground floor. She didn't want to open the wrong room so she was judging before trying to open any door. 

After some time, she sensed eyes on her. It didn't stop when she purposefully went in circles. This couldn't be Alvin, he wouldn't try to scare her. So she started running towards 'her' room and the footsteps became loud and quick behind her. 

Anya recalled Alvin mentioning that the maid who helped her, could be dangerous for her.. She didn't want to get slaughtered by a maid.