I Spy, a Lie

Part Eighteen

Now, Rolanz, Central Command

The odds were not in Dusty’s favor, not by a long shot. She had no training with a gun, and no way to know what was inside the General’s office. There was a looming presence of despair, and she could feel it seeping out from the door. She went to knock.

Just before she hit the door his voice rang clear. “Come in. I’ve been expecting you.”

Her eyes grew wide, her hands became clammy. It was beyond a bad idea. More like a bad idea gone crazy. That might describe what Dusty was about to do.

She took the handle and walked in. Dawson sat behind his desk in his “Throne”. Nothing was out of place, not in the room or on him. His hair was slicked back under his commander’s hat, but his face was masked with a serious and sad expression.

Her heart sank; nothing good was coming from him. She could see it in the dark gleam in his eyes. “I have something to tell you. You might want to sit down.” He said nodding to the chair on the other side of his desk.

“I’d rather stand thank you.” She said trying to hide how nervous she was, but her voice broke slightly. “I have to speak with you first though.” She had to be ready to pull the gun from the back of her short any second now. There was no way someone wouldn’t leave in a body bag. “You might want to stop acting like you care, were all alone, now.” She held her hands out to her sides. “I have no recorder anyways.”

His frown turned upside down into and twisted grin. “We’ll now Dusty you want to get through all this? What do you know?” He stood tall, showing no fear. He looked like what a fallen angel would look like. The light that entered the room gave a dark, hazy, golden glow. He stood at least a foot taller than her, making him about six-five.

“I know about the war. About how you ordered those men to shoot the Azanaky peasants and how you made it seem like an accident. You knew they would start a war with Rolanz, so it gave you opportunity, and reason to kill them off. Then once you’d done that you’d take the gold buried under their whole country.” Dusty tried looking just as confident as General Dawson, but he started walking around the desk to her.

His villainous grin only turned darker. “You are a very clever girl, Dusty Byrd.” He stopped short of two feet away from her. “Then again you learned all that from that little reporter didn’t you.”

He hadn’t said it as a question, and he said it so snuggly. That’s when it dawned on her. “You killed her, you killed Viola.” Dusty mumbled.

“You’re little boyfriend came to visit me a little earlier as well.” Dawson’s features grew darker, like he took joy in remembering what he’d done.

She felt her blood run ice cold. He’d killed Landon as well… As quickly as her blood had gone cold, it turned burning hot. Why? Why Landon?

Her hand went for her gun, and Dawson went for her. She heard two pangs, and then it all went black.