Earth To Nole: Return of the Prince (17 page)

The hall was filled with applause as soon as he entered. He spent some time shaking hands and talking to his guests till he found Boriri who stood with Moriti and Keele in a corner. He said to Boriri, “I need you with me when I address them. I have an announcement to make.”

Moriti looked at Kevin and knew what that announcement was going to be. She had recommended Boriri’s name for the post of prime minister to Kevin and was looking forward to that announcement tonight from Kevin. Kevin winked at her discretely indicating that he was going to do it tonight.

Kevin finally took the center stage with Boriri on his side and addressed everyone in the hall. He went on to make the announcement which everyone was waiting for eagerly.

Kevin said, “...and now, my dear friends, I give you your prime minister for the next 25 years. Boriri!”. As opposed to a democratic government, the prime minister in a king’s rule simply needed to be nominated by the ruling king.

Boriri was surprised. He never expected to be the prime minister but then realised that he was indeed the best candidate for it. Also, he was the only one whom Kevin could trust completely. He readily accepted the offer and bowed to Kevin showing his respect for the king.

Kevin then invited Igogo on the stage who appeared to be as happy as anyone else in the room. Igogo congratulated both of them. He said to Boriri, “Kevin has made the right decision by appointing you his prime minister. It is only you who could really make a difference here.”

Boriri smiled. Kevin said to Igogo, “Yes, he is critical to our success.”

Igogo said, “I agree.”

And then they all left the stage to mingle with everyone else.

As the evening progressed, Boriri looked satisfied with what he had achieved. The hums were finally out of democracy and the next 25 years were going to be first king’s rule in centuries. Kevin and Boriri kept talking strategies and plans with one group after the other. Once in awhile they would look at each other and smile in recognition of the feat that they had achieved.

All was not well though. Keele looked really concerned and waited impatiently for Kevin and Boriri to break away from their discussions. He was certainly privy to some new information which needed their attention at the earliest. He finally got a chance to pull Kevin out of the discussion.

“We need to talk.”, Keele said to Kevin.

“What is it?”, Kevin asked.

“Igogo is happy. He is genuinely happy.”, Keele replied. He looked really concerned.

“He is a politician. You have said it yourself the last time he was here. He was happy during the gala too.”, Kevin said. He clearly didn’t understand what was new.

“It is different now, Kevin. During the gala, he was the prime minister so I could not analyse his facial expressions, his heartbeat,
etc.
Boriri wanted me to, but it was illegal for me to do it. But now I can. And I know that he is not pretending, he is really, really happy. His heart rate is elevated, as if he is excited about this evening.”, Keele explained.

Kevin tried understanding what he heard. Meanwhile, Boriri joined them. He asked, “What is it?”

“He is genuinely happy.”, Keele replied.

“I knew it!”, Boriri almost shouted with anger. The smile on his face had now disappeared.

Keele suggested that they go to another room to discuss this. They all walked up to Kevin’s bed room and continued talking.

Boriri said, “I knew this was too easy.”

Kevin was still not completely sure if this was a bad news, he asked, “He is happy, so what?”

Boriri replied, “Don’t you see Kevin. If he is happy then this is what he wanted all along. This means we have not defeated him. It was part of his plan.”

“Do you have a theory?”, Keele asked Boriri.

“I think Cabori and Igogo were a team. They…”, Boriri started but Kevin interrupted him.

“That is obvious isn’t it? Cabori did what Igogo asked him to do. Keele has already discovered that in his memory”, Kevin said.

“No, no, no, Kevin. Don’t be naive. It is the other way around. Igogo reported to Cabori. She is the one calling the shots.”, Boriri explained.

“What?”, Keele was shocked now too.

“Yes, Cabori was a Foreng, one of their elites. She had no reasons to act according to Igogo’s will. If they are on the same team then I would put her above Igogo. Igogo was answering to Cabori, not the other way around.”

Kevin understood now, he asked, “But Boriri, Igogo has been ruling here for centuries now. Why would he be reporting to Cabori. Wouldn’t she be the prime minister if she was the leader between the two?”

“You could be right Kevin. Maybe this doesn’t make sense, but she reporting to him also doesn’t make any sense. This leads to the only other possibility.”, Boriri said with fear in his eyes.

“That they both answer to someone else.”, Kevin completed Boriri’s sentence.

“Soboro fell in love with Cabori around the same time when Igogo came to Mone to study. They were both sent by someone else. Someone with an agenda against hums. Oh how foolish of me, how could I miss this.”, Boriri was disappointed.

“Are you sure?”, Keele asked.

“They are both part of the same master plan. Cabori was sent to infiltrate the royal family while Igogo was sent to control the democracy. They were each other’s failsafes. This conspiracy is much bigger than what I imagined.”, Boriri said as he sat down on a nearby chair. He appeared defeated.

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On the other side of the palace, Igogo stood in a dark corner and appeared to be talking to someone on his mobile device.

Igogo: Congratulations to you too.

Female voice on the other end: How long before we make the next move?

Igogo: Soon, let them enjoy for a while now.

Voice: This would be your second attempt.

Igogo: I would have succeeded the last time if I wanted to.

Voice: Do we really need this?

Igogo: I don’t like killing unnecessarily but we really need this. This death is inevitable.

-End of Volume 2-

About The Author

Lomash is a dreamer who lives in Hyderabad, India. “Earth To Nole” is not the first piece of literature that he has written. He wrote a few plays and short stories back when he was in school, but that's about it. A software engineer by education, he enjoys tinkering with technology a lot. And, often dreams of being abducted by tech-savvy aliens who would throw him into their pile of scientific knowledge and technology.

Lomash is a storyteller at heart. He enjoys “making things up” and tries to capture as much detail as possible. He loves fiction of all kinds and is a die-hard fan of the movies. A good story always manages to get his attention.

The author can be reached at:
[email protected]

Other books in the series

1. Earth To Nole: It begins at the end September’15
   
2. Earth To Nole: Return of the prince April’16
   
3. Earth To Nole: The inevitable death To be announced