A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 72. Father (4)

“What, what did you say? No way His Excellency suspects me…!”

However, Bones immediately shook his head.

“His Excellency is suspicious of me. Why would he suspect General Josef?”

“Ah, of course, that makes sense.”

Josef, without realizing it, forced himself to fix his gaze on Bones, which kept drifting towards Haydam, and continued speaking.

“But I never thought His Excellency would suspect you. I mean, you can’t exactly hire yourself to be killed, can you?”

Josef barely managed to respond with anything and hide his expression, then tilted his head as if still puzzled.

“But why on earth would he suspect you? You were the one who almost got killed in this incident…”

“The 2nd Team leader didn’t confess that General Max ordered him to do it.”

“What did you say?”

Josef’s voice momentarily rose in surprise at the unexpected response.

He didn’t confess that General Max ordered it?

Then what was that confession His Excellency, Haydam, and Plato heard?

“So, the confession was all made up?”

“The real confession… no, the real testimony of the 2nd Team leader…”

Haydam, who had been quietly listening until then, suddenly spoke, and Josef looked at him. However, Bones hung his head low, as if he already knew what was coming.

After briefly glancing at Bones, Haydam continued.

“The original story was that Bones and Lucas, while stubbornly trying to make a name for themselves, accidentally killed one of their team members. They killed the others to cover up their mistake. The 2nd Team leader, who was stuck in the crevasse, told me this. He said he fell in while trying to escape.”

At those words, Josef’s eyes widened.

‘So, they said what I told them. Then, the confession His Excellency heard… was fabricated?’

Since Josef had originally instructed the 2nd Team leader on what to say, he naturally thought that the now-spread version—where General Max supposedly ordered the killings—was fabricated. Still, he pretended not to know and asked again.

“Then… what does that make the confession that’s been spread around?”

This time, Bones answered instead of Haydam.

“I only learned this because Lord Haydam told me. His Excellency fabricated the confession to frame General Max as the culprit and observe our reaction.”

‘So…’

The 2nd Team leader had testified as Josef instructed him, accusing Bones of insubordination, and the Commander had fabricated a confession to see if it was true.

That explained why the punishment for General Max had been delayed until now.

“But it’s not me, I swear! The 2nd Team leader, that bastard, told me himself that General Max ordered it! Lucas heard it too! Our seniors died because of what General Max ordered… Isn’t it enough that he tried to kill me? Now he’s trying to pin the blame on me…!”

Though Bones continued to ramble on, Josef barely listened.

‘So to summarize… Bones thinks General Max ordered it, but the dead colonel testified it was Bones’ insubordination. Since the two stories don’t match, His Excellency detained General Max to watch Bones’ reaction. And Lord Haydam, trusting Bones, brought him to see me.’

Either way, in this convoluted situation, the culprit had to be either Max or Bones. As long as Josef wasn’t implicated, he felt relieved.

“If General Max really did orchestrate this, the more I think about it, the more disgraceful it is. But why didn’t you testify earlier?”

“I didn’t testify before because… even though he tried to kill me, he was someone who showed me great kindness, and I genuinely respected him. But now, this is just too unjust. Please help me, General Josef, so I can testify.”

At this, Bones suddenly got off the sofa, knelt on the ground, and placed his forehead to the floor.

“H-Hey.”

“Please, I’m begging you.”

Josef, while pretending to be flustered by Bones’ plea, quickly calculated the situation in his head.

‘What should I do about this…’

It wouldn’t matter much if Bones ended up as the culprit.

But if, after losing the colonel and eight valuable soldiers, General Max escaped unscathed, it would make all this effort for nothing.

In that case, it would be more advantageous for Josef if General Max were framed and punished, rather than Bones.

Moreover, this might be his last chance to earn favor with Haydam, the future successor of the Zone.

When would Haydam ever come to him again, asking for help?

Josef didn’t need to clear Bones’ name himself. He just had to believe in the innocence of a junior officer.

If he could earn Haydam’s trust with just this little effort, it would be worth it.

After finishing his calculations, Josef stood Bones up and grasped his hand firmly.

“Lieutenant Bones, I believe you. I will accompany you when you testify.”

“Thank you so much, General…”

“Lord Haydam.”

Josef turned towards Haydam with a resolute expression.

“Please leave this matter to me. I will ensure that no one distorts Lieutenant Bones’ testimony. This old man will see it through to the end.”

At his words, a faint, mysterious smile appeared on Haydam’s lips.

‘I thought he was a cold, calculating man, but it seems he’s surprisingly protective of his people. Well, thanks to that, my way forward is clear.’

Unaware that the truth was actually that the 2nd Team leader had first reported being chased by Bones and Lucas, and only confessed under Haydam’s pressure that it was General Max who ordered the killings, Josef was merely content with the fact that this could earn him a debt from Haydam.

And the next day, after urgently requesting a council meeting for Bones’ testimony, strange rumors began to spread throughout the Zone.

—

* * *

Josef was as usual buried in work inside his office.

His role was simple: provide a space for Bones to testify and ensure he was able to do so safely.

The one who had to give testimony was Bones; there was nothing Josef really needed to prepare.

‘Lord Haydam didn’t ask for anything more, either.’

However, his aide, who had been fidgeting like a restless dog for some time, was starting to get on his nerves.

Josef finished reviewing the documents in front of him and then spoke to the aide.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

“Ah, no, sir.”

“Don’t ‘no’ me. Do you think I’ve only known you for a day or two? What’s on your mind?”

“Well…”

It seemed there was indeed something the aide wanted to say, as he hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Actually, it’s a bit of a far-fetched story, so I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up.”

“Too much preamble. Just get to the point.”

“There’s a strange rumor going around.”

“A strange rumor?”

“About Colonel Samson. It was said that he committed suicide, right?”

Both Josef and his aide knew that Colonel Samson had been ‘suicided.’

Even though they were the only two in the office, Josef’s aide was being careful, afraid someone might overhear.

“Yes, that’s true. So what about it?”

“There are people claiming to have seen Colonel Samson.”

“What did you say?”

Josef furrowed his brow.

He understood now why his aide had hesitated to report this to him directly.

“Are you saying that damned colonel is wandering around like a ghost?”

“That’s not it.”

The aide shook his head and spoke in a grave tone.

“There’s a rumor going around that Colonel Samson is alive.”

“There’s a rumor that he’s alive? Since when?”

“Several soldiers reported seeing Colonel Samson getting into former General Anton’s vehicle a few days ago.”

“What the hell…”

“That’s why I’m saying…”

The aide stepped closer to Josef, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“Neither you nor I confirmed the colonel’s death ourselves. We only received reports that he died. What if…?”

“You’re suggesting that they didn’t do their job properly?”

‘They’ referred to the soldiers Josef had ordered to stage Colonel Samson’s death as a suicide.

Some of the soldiers who were guarding Samson lured another subordinate outside. The remaining soldiers staged Samson’s death, then claimed they had left and come back to find him hanging.

The aide was implying that the soldiers might have botched the job.

“Those soldiers might’ve been paid off by someone else, not just us. What if former General Anton smuggled Colonel Samson away to clear General Max’s name…?”

‘It’s not impossible.’

Just as Josef had bribed soldiers to kill the colonel, Anton might have bribed others to help Samson escape.

‘But it was officially announced as a suicide… If Anton had smuggled Samson away, there’s no way His Excellency wouldn’t know. Even though I tried to stage it as a suicide, if Samson were alive, His Excellency’s information network would’ve picked up on it. And now there are widespread rumors, even my aide has heard of the sightings.’

As Josef thought about why the Commander hadn’t done anything about this, he came to one conclusion.

‘His Excellency suspects Bones, not General Max.’

He now understood why Haydam had come to him instead of going to His Excellency directly.

“If Colonel Samson really is alive, we’re in trouble. He would testify that Bones is the culprit, and that would put us in a difficult position. You’ve already decided to support Lieutenant Bones.”

Indeed, Colonel Samson would testify that Bones had committed insubordination.

If it were proven that General Max had ordered the murders, Samson would also be punished. But if it were established as Bones’ insubordination, Samson would only be seen as a victim.

“Shouldn’t we cancel the council meeting now?”

“No. First, we need to confirm whether Colonel Samson is actually alive.”

All these assumptions hinged on the premise that Samson was alive, but it was also possible the rumor was nonsense.

“Investigate the soldiers who claimed to see him in Anton’s vehicle. If Anton is harboring Colonel Samson, then even though he’s a retired civilian, we’ll have to hold him accountable for abducting an important witness.”

“Understood.”

“And bring me ‘those soldiers.’ I want to ask them directly how they handled the situation.”

“Yes, General.”

Rumble…

Josef glanced up at the sky again, now filled with thunderclouds.

He had a bad feeling about this.

—

* * *

– General Josef is starting to move. Just as you predicted, Lord Haydam.

“It’s become clear that it’s connected to that dead colonel.”

– But wouldn’t it be better to interrogate the aide instead?

“If we did that, we’d just end up with a second Colonel Samson. Let’s leave it until the council meeting. After all, my goal isn’t to reveal the real culprit.”

– If you’re not trying to reveal the real culprit, then what are you planning…? Anyway, understood. We’ll keep monitoring.

“Good. Thanks for your work.”

After setting down the receiver, I turned around to see Bones nervously shaking his leg, his expression filled with anxiety.

Bones, trembling, asked me, “If we don’t reveal the real culprit, how are we going to prove General Max’s innocence?”

I replied curtly to Bones’ question.

“We’re not going to.”

“W-What?!”