As soon as I said those words, Iskoh looked at me with a tinge of concern and puzzlement, and it took me a moment to realize that I was still looking for more blood to spill instead of just simply trying to end the day with enough space for my bloody ledger. It was supposed to be easy as he said earlier but to be completely fair, his officers made a valid point.
What if Malachi's dad actually missed a person or two? And even if their whole operation was shut down, who's to say that they might start something else from under our noses?
Furthermore, even if it was totally unrelated, doing something like demanding a witch hunt after getting their fucked-up loved ones killed was not something people would usually do. They could say that they were just overcome with emotion but there were still a lot of factors to consider.
However, the final decision for their fates was not for me to give.
'This is still his place, not mine. I could tell him my opinions but at the end of the day, one's jurisdiction should be honored… He took a step back when he came to my place too… It's only fair.'
With that said, coming to a decision wasn't easy as it sounded.
We've heard the clock ticking a few times due to the silence and the longer he took, the uglier his face would warp. Iskoh sighed, shook his head, and gave a short pause before looking at everyone in the room. After that, he glanced at me momentarily before turning to the older woman who was speaking for her group but now was looking down in shame.
"Mrs. Aguilar, tonight, before everybody sleeps… You're gonna give a public apology about what you and your group did in this community the short time you were here. You're gonna apologize about acting on emotion, spreading false information, inciting a witch hunt, and wasting everyone's time..."
Everyone let out different expressions but the older lady named Mrs. Aguilar instantly became jubilant. She was almost in tears about Iskoh's decision but her celebration was cut short.
Iskoh frowned as he cut her off, "I'm not done."
The room became deathly quiet and I actually let out a hidden smirk.
'If he's still as soft as before, I would've given him another beating.'
He continued, "After that, we're gonna take custody of all of your children and--"
"W-Wait! Custody?! You're taking them away from us?! We did nothing wrong! Yes, we made a mistake earlier but I'm willing to apologize for it--"
Iskoh just stared her down, "I didn't wish to reveal this to everyone but I hope what I say here stays in these walls. I trust none of you will tell anyone what I'm about to say in this meeting because your secret will come out. With that said, among the victims put down was a survivor--"
I immediately cut Iskoh off, "This isn't what we talked about. Her privacy is--"
He sighed before turning to me, "Please, let me finish first."
I shook my head with disappointment, "Fine. You better make this fucking worth it."
Iskoh nodded assuringly, "I will. Continuing on, she's now in safe and capable hands but it would take a lot of time for her to make something close to a full recovery. She was the 'lucky' one if we could still call it that but the reason I'm saying this is connected with taking custody of all your children..."
As Iskoh was speaking, the parents from Mrs. Aguilar's side couldn't hide their displeasure but everyone else was waiting for what Iskoh was about to say next.
"Listen to me very carefully. The reason I'm taking custody of all your children is to give them the same tests our survivor was given. We have all the test kits available but it would take a few days to receive the proper results. We… We can't prove if you're involved or not but once those results came back and one of them is positive for abuse, none of you are seeing them again."
'Wow.'
As soon as I heard that, I would've given the motherfucker a hug and a platonic kiss but almost everyone from Mrs. Aguilar's side obviously took it as worse as they could. Some of them were reluctant to agree but the majority slammed the table and pointed angrily at Iskoh.
"THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
"YOU CAN'T TAKE MY CHILDREN AWAY FROM ME!"
"WE'RE INNOCENT! WE'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG!"
"THIS IS WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS!"
"I'M LEAVING! WHO WANTS TO--"
One of the parents stood up and tried to leave the premises but he was blocked by the soldiers on our side. Some of them tried to push their way out but there were more soldiers standing guard once they managed to open the door.
They were dragged back to their own seat and Iskoh was just waiting for everything to calm down. However, it took a while because his soldiers only fought back when they were struck. All they could do was push and redirect but as soon as blood was drawn, it was very easy to calm a group of civilians who never fought in the frontlines.
As soon as it did, Iskoh addressed everyone in a voice loud for everyone to hear.
"Had enough? This is your only choice. This is the only way we'll be sure. All of you said you had no idea that your family members were doing such a thing so how can you be sure that they're not already preying on your own? Your kids… you give them baths, you dress them clothes, and everything else in between… I will find it hard to believe if you didn't notice anything off."
One of the parents bellowed, "AND WHAT IF THE TESTS CAME BACK NEGATIVE?! WHAT THEN?!"
"Then I'll apologize and we'll move on. Simple, right?"
"HOW CAN YOU--"
"You're telling me this now? Your group almost started something irreversible and I'm letting you off with an apology… Why can't you do the same thing with me? Huh?! And why are you so afraid of doctors giving your kids tests? Are they gonna find something? If not, isn't that a good thing? Wouldn't it be a relief and a blessing to know those bastards spared yours? That girl… that poor girl was about to be laid off to rest with the others, but she wanted to fucking live just so she could see her mother… Do you know where her mother is now?! Huh?!"
Everyone was fucking silent.
Iskoh suddenly slammed his fists on the table, "SHE'S SIX FEET UNDER THE GROUND BECAUSE SHE FUCKING KILLED HERSELF! SHE KILLED HERSELF BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T TAKE IT THAT HER POOR DAUGHTER IS MISSING SOMEWHERE, NOT SURE IF SHE'S BEING SOLD OFF TO ANOTHER COUNTRY OR ROTTING IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE! AND YOU ENTITLED FUCKS COULDN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYTHING BUT YOURSELVES!"
Iskoh was breathing heavily as veins were popping out of his forehead, and he kept staring down the group of people that couldn't even look at him in the eye. It took a while before he managed to calm himself but once he sat down, he gave Mrs. Aguilar's group his ultimatum.
"This is what's gonna happen… You're gonna address everyone in 15 minutes and after that, we'll keep your kids for the time being. Don't worry, we'll still allow you to see them from time to time but no contact until the tests prove me otherwise. If any of you tried to slip out of this place, trust me, you won't be able to walk 10 meters out. That's just my soldiers but if this kid hunts you down… trust me, you don't wanna know what's gonna happen to you… Don't even try anything funny, I'm done laughing..."
The only thing missing from Iskoh's speech at this time was a mic to drop but we eventually left the premises after leaving several soldiers to watch them. In turn, his officers made the announcement and the preparation for everyone to gather in a much larger venue after 15 minutes, except for the people on guard duty.
Iskoh was still shaking as we were walking side by side but he stopped and leaned on a pillar before putting a cigarette in his mouth. It almost fell a few times but he was patting himself, seemingly looking for a lighter. I was just watching him struggle but his watery eyes eventually landed on me.
Iskoh sighed before holding his cigarette between his fingers, "Do you have a light for this?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "I might... I didn't know you smoke."
"I used to. I-- Hey! Why did you rip it off?! That's just the one--"
"You're gonna have a kid soon… Have some candy or something… I think I got one right--"
"I can't light that. I need something that I can--"
"You got jokes now, eh? But you still don't have a lighter."
"..."
"What?"
"Do you think I made the right choice?"
"I dunno."
"Just answer me--"
"I really do not know. We have different answers to our problems but I didn't expect what you did over there. You know that feeling when someone thought of a great idea and you wished it was yours? That's what I felt. Good shit."
"So, does that mean I made the right choice?"
"Heh. Stop asking me that. You went through with it. It's your right choice whatever happens later. But yeah, I agree with that decision. There are easier ones to make but it's worth it… I think."
"..."
"..."
"So, why are you missing a few members? Who's that other guy again? The one you found in a prison cell?"
"Oh, his name's Ibarra. He's back home."
"Yes, that's the one. Why isn't he here?"
"He broke his dick when--"
"HE BROKE HIS WHAT?! HOW?!"
"Same reaction every time. Heh. Long story, no subtitles."
"Jesus, lemme guess... Tatiana?"
"What? No... Natasha. I doubt you remember--"
"Is that the one with the curly hair?"
"Wavy but yeah, she's the uh… culprit. She's also back home taking care of Ibarra but Tatiana is also on recovery."
"Oh yeah, you mentioned that. What happened?"
"Well..."
I began to tell Iskoh bits of the story but the 15 minutes we have weren't enough. We had to come to the venue to finally end the night by watching a group of people come on stage and apologize profusely for the things they've caused.
It was a relief that they didn't do anything else but part of the reason they did was we technically held their kids against them. We can 'question' them all we want but if we played the devil for the sake of everyone, the results after would almost always be above expectations.
What we did was fucked up but that was the only way to move forward.
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