Chapter 264: Truce

The commotion that Tim had created spread far and wide. It caused a huge uproar in the country and everybody was speaking about it within a few hours of its occurrence. Tim was being largely criticized for his odious work and before dusk had even settled, major news outlets were issuing this report. However, Aria was completely oblivious to this. She was focused on her work, not caring about anything. 

Since the day Ethan had started eliminating the traitors, the number of comrades dying or getting injured had reduced drastically. The doctors and medical staff work had lessened, but not completely eradicated. The war still was going strong. But this time, Ethan and his men were having an upper hand. The other country was losing it slowly though they were not showing it openly. Their soldiers had gone berserk seeing the situation overturn and go out of control.

They were trying to prepare new strategies to win the war. But every one of their tactics became a child's play before their enemy. Country P's soldiers could see their ploy easily and defeat them in their own game. They were unable to understand how Country P's soldiers became dominant in this war, taking everything in their power. After a lot of thinking, the only answer they could come up with was their secret plan was no longer a secret. Country P must have known about the traitors in the group and now they were eradicating them completely.

The realization brought a shiver in their spines and they trembled slightly. How could they win against the country whose soldiers were far better and were of superior quality than them? When they had waged a war against Country P the previous four times, they had been unsuccessful. So, they had come up with a plan to infiltrate their army. These people would carry out missions secretly and harm Country P soldiers.

Now that this plan had been unveiled before their enemy, they knew they were bound to lose. They had been fighting for almost a month now and they had lost a lot of soldiers, more than Country P. But to save their faces, they were giving false statistics. If this continued without them taking any countermeasure, they were sure that they would be crushed by their opponent beyond redemption. They were already ridiculed by the world for starting a war for no reason and now they did not want to add to the flames by losing the battle.

The enemy country made a decision after a lot of talking with all the officials and decided to come to a truce with Country P. Before that, they decided to contact the man who was responsible to start the war. It was on his suggestion, more like he threatened them for them to wage a war against Country P. But how many ever times they tried to contact him, they could not reach out to him. It was as though he had vanished into thin air. They had to make a decision fast without consulting him.

On the other side, Ethan could predict how long the war could go on seeing the situation. If this rate continued, then the other country would be crushed to defeat in three days. He was very happy with the way things were turning out. 

Previously, when he had no idea about the traitors, he had been worried about seeing his men losing their lives and slowly the battle too. He feared the outcome of the war and more than anything, he feared the ridicule his country would face after losing. 

But now, he was assured that nobody could stop them from winning the war. The doctors and nurses were doing a great job in helping the injured soldiers. Many of his men had even returned to continue with their work after recuperating. He admired the doctors' ability to work under these conditions where their lives were at stake. He greatly respected them and most importantly, he admired how calmly Ian could supervise over them and make sure everybody under him did their work correctly. 

The medical team had not given him any problems since they started working here. They abided by all the rules imposed on them without protesting. Nobody put up a haughty act or acted arrogantly. 

Though everything was under control, he still did not know how many traitors were left. Ethan also had a hunch that the remaining traitors, who were still alive, might have guessed about him knowing their presence. This might be one of the reasons why nobody was answering the handheld radios. They were neither receiving any messages over it nor was anybody replying to him. So, he too decided to remain low for now while he led his men in the battle. 

Aria had been catering to one of the soldiers when a bomb detonated somewhere. Its effect was so loud that she felt herself shiver. Since the time she had come here, she had been listening to these horrifying gunshots and bomb explosions. But she was unable to get used to it like Ian or Stuart. It had taken Stuart some time and now he was not that affected by it. Ian's situation was completely different altogether.

Ian had been so calm and unresponsive to these spine chilling sounds. It was as though he had spent all his life living at the borders listening to them every day. He was seemingly unfazed by it that even Ethan had been surprised at first.

Ten days had passed already and almost all the soldiers knew who she was while she knew nobody other than Kevin and Ethan. There were so many of them in number. But that was not the case for those soldiers. There were very few women in the army. So, she was quite noticeable among them. 

Aria was pretty and a very capable doctor. Many men had tried hitting on her, but she had politely declined their advances by telling them about her boyfriend. The men had then respected her and had stopped pestering her altogether. Now most of them had become her friends, though she did not their names. She could only recognize them by their faces, embarrassing herself every time when she tried to remember their names.

As she checked the pulse of one of the soldiers who smiling at her, she heard a commotion and looked up to see what was happening. She heard some people speaking about a gunman on the loose. Everybody was discussing it and her interest was piqued.

"You are good to go, Sir. But make sure that you avoid contact with water lest your injury should get infected. So, be careful when you take a bath." 

"Thank you, Doctor." The comrade smiled at her gratefully and put his army shirt. He had been dying to resume his work since a few days and was waiting for the doctor's approval. Now that he had got it, he ran away like he was sprinting in a marathon.

After his departure, Aria went to the recreational room where they had a television. Here, the soldiers would relax when they did not much work, unlike now where they had to fight a battle. The TV was running at full volume and a news reporter was stating all that had happened that day. Since the war had started, the TV was used mainly to keep up the news and other things that were happening in the country.

Aria saw Ian and Stuart along with a few other soldiers whose eyes were glued to the TV and stood beside them. "What happened guys?"

"A man with a gun was found breaking into a house in Orchid Apartment," Stuart answered, not turning to look at her.

"What?" Aria asked perplexed. Her face paled in fear and her heart leaped out of the chest. She immediately prayed for Ivy's safety and hoped she was fine.

"Yes." Stuart continued. "You can watch it yourself."

Aria faced the TV screen with her heart beating like a drum. She heard the reporter relay the news. "An armed man was found breaking into apartment 4B in Orchid Apartment." 

Aria gasped loudly on hearing the words and this gained Ian and Stuart's attention. They could reckon something was not right just by looking at her face. Her face was as white as a sheet and she was even sweating.

"Aria, what happened?" Ian came to hold her immediately while Stuart looked at her in worry.

"Ia-Ian. 4B is my apartment."