Chapter 27: first encounter with the terrorist organization

Clark woke up to see himself in a room with very dim light. The dim light, paired with the silent atmosphere painted the room to look like the interrogation dungeons used in fictional movies.

After waking up, he was very self-conscious, he remembered everything that happened before he was knocked out. He inwardly heaved a huge sigh of relief, as this meant that he was not drugged.

He calmly glanced around, trying to see his surroundings more clearly. Suddenly, the dim light brightened as the door to the room opened. He squinted his eyes, as he frowned while trying to adapt to the change in light intensity.

The man who knocked him out came in, he recognized him mainly because of the vibe he exuded.

This was the first time he saw this guy's face under bright light. He was in a very dangerous situation, as he was already deep behind enemy lines. He felt nervous but tried his best to still act like a regular criminal.

“Why did you lock me in a room when you said you wanted to save me,” he quickly recollected himself as he asked, his tone anxious. “Leave me alone, I’ll go far away, I’ll never come back please,” he pleaded.

The man didn’t bother answering the question, instead, he asked his question. But first, he snapped his fingers.

2 soldiers came into the room, donning dark blue military uniforms with a flaming tigers’ badge on the arm part of the uniform. The 2 soldiers were armed with non-exotic machine guns, they both had a stern look on their faces as they glared at their prospective recruit.

The atmosphere became very tense, Clark gulped unconsciously. This was not an act; he was really intimidated this time, as he felt the aura of war veterans radiating from these 2 soldiers.

He was sure they were not high-grade soldiers as they listened to the orders of the man who brought him, but they had this type of air around them that simply screamed danger at him.

As the silence dragged on, increasing the tense atmosphere, the man finally broke the silence. “What’s your name?” He asked.

Clark couldn’t control himself, he answered immediately, “my name is Clark”. He became alarmed immediately after, “shit, this guy is using psychological pressure on me”. He quickly guarded himself mentally.

“What are you doing in this town?” His interrogator continued.

He answered immediately, as he didn’t want to arouse their suspicion. “I was hungry after coming from the other town, that’s why I went to the restaurant to eat, and I just decided to steal their money when I saw no security around”.

“I asked you what you are doing in this town,” the man emphasized with a raised voice.

“Oh, I traveled here because a lot of people already recognized me in the other town, so I couldn’t steal again to earn a living”. Clark formed an excuse on the spot, his 3 years of training were not wasted after all.

“How and where did you learn to fight and move the way you did, under the cop’s pursuit?”

“I learned to fight after I became homeless, and I trained my instinct for escape after numerous beatings by the people who caught me stealing”.

“Good,” the man finally said with a nod. His captive's answers already convinced him, as some talented hoodlums become strong and gain experience when exposed to such circumstances. Clark was not the first to gain such skills.

“Have you heard of the Persian tiger’s organization,” he finally asked the big question.

Clark nodded fearfully. “I hear people talk about the organization a lot,” he added timidly.

After his captive answered all his questions, the man finally relaxed and smiled, dissipating the tense atmosphere. He was confident that his intimidation method brought out all the truths, in this small talent he found.

“Ok Clark, my name is executioner Elliot. I’m a leader in this Persian tiger’s base, I’m the third in command here. Do you know what high-grade soldiers are?” He asked in a more casual tone.

Clark nodded and suddenly widened his eyes exaggeratedly, while quickly standing up. “You are a high-grade soldier?” He asked in a shocked and slightly fanatical tone. The man smiled, enhancing his mysterious and bossy behavior, as he calmly nodded.

“After noticing you during the police chase, I found out that you have a lot of potentials, so I saved you from those self-righteous cops. I officially invite you to use your skills better here in the Persian tiger’s organization.

You will not steal pettily for food again, and we will provide you with the resources you need to fight back against those who beat you up before”. He finally said in a self-righteous and caring tone. Well, the caring here is not the normal one, this is the one in terms of criminals.

Clark widened his eyes further as he repeatedly said, “thank you, sir, thank you, sir”. He played his part so well to the extent of almost spitting on his interrogator's face, due to the many thank you sirs he said to him.

The man smiled and stood up; “Clark, follow me, let me show you around the base. Oh, I almost forgot, we didn’t find anything in your bag. If you want a bag, we can provide a better one for you, or are you emotionally attached to it?”

Clark nodded as naturally as he could, “it’s something I think of as a battle trophy” He blurted out nonsense.

“I stole it from someone who beat me up as a form of revenge, so I like wearing it as it makes me feel invisible”.

“Ok,” the man simply nodded and made a sign for him to follow.

As they left, the soldiers who stood by the corner finally greeted him with a smile, “welcome brother”. They both said in unison. Clark simply thanked them in response.

“This man really knows how to indoctrinate someone; I would have decided to be their brothers if I was not on a mission”. He thought, as he inwardly sighed in relief.

After going outside, the man [Elliot] brought him to a part of the house that looked like a restaurant, where he gave him a very luxurious meal.

After he stuffed himself full, Elliot told a soldier to bring him a specific gun and dagger. The gun was an ordinary non-exotic automatic pistol. Well, this was simply out of reach to a town thief like the current Clark.

He naturally acted his part, as he thanked him profusely, fawned on him, and even already started worshipping him.

It seems like Elliot was satisfied, as he told him to join his brothers and sisters to train, and that’s what Clark did.

[Thank you for reading this chapter I really appreciate it. Please if there is any problem with the translation quality or there is any wrong spelling or sentence, indicate I'll try to fix it immediately.]