Chapter 221: Princep House

The next day at 8.50 a.m.

The three members from the Intelligence were standing outside the Princep House as they stared at the magnificent structure in front of them. This was the most prominent building in the country. How many people wanted to get in here? Almost everyone. The power, the status and the position it held was above everything. The path to the throne was no less than a battle. It involved dirty politics, backstabbing and betrayal. There were no friends in this field. Everybody had to be wary of the other person. Nobody ever knew when who might turn against them.

From the outside, the white structure looked pure and untainted. But that was not the case. To get to the ultimate seat, people had shed blood. The chair it house was tainted with people's blood; innocent or corrupted, it did not matter, and this was all the result of greed, ambition and selfishness. A man's greed knew no bounds or relationships. 

Valarie, Ryder and Preston were stopped at the entrance door for a security check. They had to give away the guns they had with them as other than the President's guards nobody else was allowed to carry arms or any sort of weapons. The three people knew the protocols. So they did not kick up a fuss and gave their guns to the security in charge. 

They were asked to go inside and wait for the President's assistant. One of the guards escorted them inside. The three people took in its grandeur as the looked at the Princep House while they followed the guard. This was the first time they were entering the President's house and as expected it was magnificent. They had only seen its beauty on the television or just from a far distance. Never had they imagined that someday in the future they would get a chance to admire it this close.

The guard led them led to a small waiting lounge inside. They were about to take their seats when they saw the President's assistant come to them. "Thank you for coming here on such short notice. If the matter was not very important, we wouldn't have troubled you."

"No problem, Sir. We are here to serve the people and it would be an honor if we could be of help to the President." Valarie said, her voice polite and humble.

"The President is waiting for you. Please follow me." The assistant nodded curtly at the guard. Taking it as his cue, he took his leave and went back to his work.

The assistant led the group of three through the long corridors of the Princep House and finally, he stopped in front of a door. He knocked at the door twice and waited for the orders to enter in. When he received the orders, he pushed the door open and entered in with the three people behind him.

"Sir, your guests are here." He informed him.

Valarie noticed that the President, Luis Truman, was seated at the chair behind a desk as he went through the document in his hand. He was dressed impeccably as always. People who were always in the spotlight had to maintain their appearance and dignity and this was one of the reasons Valarie was happy that she was not a celebrity. With power came problems and she already had many on her plate to entertain some more.

"Ah yes." Luis stood up from his seat and walked towards the trio. "Thank you very much for coming here." He shook his hands with all of them. "Please take your seats. What would you like to have, tea or coffee?"

"We are fine, Sir. We just had tea before coming here." Valarie spoke on behalf of her friends and this was the truth. They had been too apprehensive while they were on the way to the Princep House. So, to calm their nerves that had stopped to have some tea before they proceeded to attend the meeting.

"Are you sure? Please don't keep any formalities."

"Thank you, Sir. But we are fine."

"Okay." Luis crossed his leg over the other and leaned back. He removed his spectacles as his eyes fell on the three people who were sitting towards his right. "You must be wondering why I have called you here. Am I right?"

"Yes Sir." Ryder pitched in.

"I have called you here because I have a task for you guys. I can trust no one but you three with it."

"It is an honor, sir. Please tell us what we have to do. We will do anything if we are capable and within limits." Valarie spoke. She was happy that the President had thought about them for his work. But she was not ready to do anything that was against her conscience. 

"I know dear." Luis smiled at the smart woman in front of him. "Don't worry. I am not asking you to do a crime when I am strictly against it myself. This is a task which will help us win the war."

"What do you mean Sir?" Preston, who had been listening intently to the President, questioned in excitement.

"You do know that we are at war, right?" Luis stopped speaking and glanced at the three swiftly. He saw them nod, only then did he continue, "But do you know that we are losing the war slowly?"

"What?" The three people were dumbfounded. Never had they expected that they would on the losing end when they knew how good and efficient their soldiers were. Country P's military was ranked to be one of the best in the world. All the citizens had the utmost confidence they would win the battle against their neighbor.

Since the media had been denied any reports regarding the war from the military or the government, all they heard were the assumptions that had been made merely based on the strengths and weaknesses of the battalion of the two countries. Taking the analysis, many people had predicted that Country P would end up victorious. However, the reality was something else altogether.

"Yes, and do you know why this is happening?"

The three flabbergasted people shook their heads and Luis sighed. "It's because we have traitors in our army."