A Walk to Greater Worlds: Aeriel Trilogy #3

Chapter 77

Ruban slipped out of a side door, escaping the stifling confines of the IAW headquarters. The landscaped lawn beyond was usually airy and open, infused with the mingling fragrances of blooming flowers and freshly-cut grass.

'Usually' being the key word, here.

Today, the ambiance was a bit different.

No sooner had Ruban's boots hit the grass than he was engulfed by a sea of flashing cameras. A chorus of voices clamored for his attention as microphones were thrust into his face.

A pack of reporters – representing news outlets both big and small – swarmed him. Vying for the juiciest soundbites.

"Are you going to sue the Department of Defence for this flagrant miscarriage of justice?" demanded a willowy young woman with striking green eyes. "If anyone's entitled to seek redressal under the law, surely it's you?"

"After everything you went through to capture that Aeriel alive!" A middle-aged man with thick brown hair spluttered his indignation, the distinctive logo of WNN flashing on his lapel. "I can't imagine the betrayal you must be feeling right now." He clicked his tongue. "To have your own government throw you under the bus just to appease Vaan."

The media was incensed. Which was only a reflection of the public outrage that was sweeping through Ragah.

And at the heart of this outrage was Heiqaa.

The Department of Defence, with the IAW's apparent blessing, had decided to release Heiqaa into Vaan's custody.

Needless to say, this unilateral decision had raised more than a few eyebrows.

Ruban's dramatic capture of Heiqaa was still fresh in the public memory. As was his bloody, open brawl with Ashwin over whether to kill or imprison the captured Aeriel.

From the perspective of an outside observer, Ruban was the victim here. He'd risked his own life to capture Heiqaa alive, so she could stand a fair trial and receive just punishment under Vandran law.

Only for the Department of Defence to hand her over to Vaan on a silver platter, completely disregarding Ruban and his sacrifice.

The whole country was enraged by this senseless, autocratic decision. But nowhere did the righteous fury burn hotter than in Ragah.

After all, it was in this city that Ruban had fought the prince of Vaan himself, over Heiqaa's fate.

For some reason, this had instilled in the citizenry a peculiar sense of ownership, both over the incident and over Heiqaa herself.

And they were not going to stand idly by as their prized captive was ripped from their grasp – just so the greedy, out-of-touch elite could kowtow to Vaan for their own profit.

The thing was, Ruban knew something the general public did not.

It wasn't the Department of Defence that'd made the decision to release Heiqaa. It was Dhriti Pathak. And she hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. Not if she wanted her own ass covered, which would always be her first priority.

They'd spent the last few days thoroughly investigating the documents he and Ashwin had retrieved from the HAVA headquarters.

In essence, their investigation revealed that most of HAVA's funding came from a network of shell companies, with a majority being offshore entities linked to Tej Enterprises. Among these were TeleTrax and Zelix. Although Zelix at least was registered domestically, making it slightly easier to investigate.

Another offshore entity associated with Tej Enterprises had been one of the major investors in the abandoned commercial development project that now housed the HAVA headquarters.