Soldiers can protect the safety of their families and can also be used as part of monitoring them. Without the permission of the editor-in-chief Byron, it would be difficult for Capa to let his wife and children leave Lazerin secretly.
Even the slightest accident would arouse the suspicion of the government and put their family into an impossible situation.
Sitting back in his seat, Capa held the pen in one hand and grabbed his hair with the other hand, thinking hard about how to resolve the trouble.
There are three questions before him now.
First, how to get in touch with the International Equality Alliance and hand over the film to them?
Second, how can you protect your family while pursuing the truth?
Third, what is the government’s purpose in falsely reporting the number of arrests of members of the International Equality Alliance?
If you want to do these three things well, it is very difficult to find out, not to mention that he is obviously responsible for the complicated work in the newspaper office.
But it’s still the same sentence.
He likes his true self, so he likes this feeling.
In the evening, after finishing writing the manuscript, Kapa returned home. After being hungry all day, Kapa doubled his food intake and ate up all the dinner cooked by his wife.
His wife Clementine looked through Capa's hungry appearance and saw something deeper: "What happened?"
"It's okay." Capa wolfed down his food and stiffened for a moment before shaking his head in denial.
"Eat slowly, if there is not enough, I will make more." His wife Clementine got up and took her daughter Dorothy and son Matt, who were playing around after dinner, back to the room.
By the time Capa had eaten until he could no longer hold any more food in his mouth, the gentle Clementine had already coaxed the two children to sleep. She walked out lightly, closed the door, and sat in front of Capa again.
Asked: "What happened?"
They had known each other for ten years. Capa's changes could be hidden from the editor Byron and the deputy warden, but not from his wife.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Capa chose to tell his wife the whole story.
After Clementine heard about Capa's adventures from the streets to photographing the crimes of government troops, to today's attempt to enter the prison to contact members of the International Equality Alliance, as well as the subsequent series of speculations and attempts, she was so frightened that she covered her face and cried bitterly: "You know what you do
With so many things going on, will the children suffer as you do even if there is a little problem?"
Capa was speechless.
He is ashamed of his family.
Pursuing one's lofty ideals while putting the whole family in danger is not what a husband or father should do.
"What do you want to do now? Continue the investigation?" Clementine wiped away her tears and held Capa's hand in her hands.
"I..." Capa didn't dare to look at his wife.
He knew that his wife would not approve of him continuing to do these things. She did not want to see her children harmed, nor did she want to see her husband arrested by the government and subjected to inhuman torture in the future.
Clementine saw that Capa hesitated and obviously wanted to continue. Her tears suddenly started to flow again, and she said with a tearful voice: "So many people have been arrested in the International Equality League. They will be defeated by the government sooner or later. You help them now."
There’s no point in doing this.”
"I said that it is very likely that no one from the International Equality Alliance's action team was arrested at all. This is a false number reported by the government forces." Capa defended.
"Do you have any evidence? Isn't this your guess?"
"So I still need to investigate and verify, and I need to find out the truth." Capa said.
"What if the truth is not what you think? What if you are in danger again during the investigation?" Clementine then asked.
"I……"
Capa was once again speechless.
"I don't need you to think about me, but you have to think about the children. They are still so young and innocent. Can you bear to let them take the risk of failure for you for no reason?" Clementine moved out the children and let them go.
Capa was momentarily out of breath.
"So, so I think... I want you to leave Lezein first..." Capa's voice became smaller and smaller.
"How do we leave? The government people are watching us. If we dare to leave now, they will arrest us." Clementine felt that Capa's idea was becoming more and more absurd and crazy. She raised her voice a little, trying to persuade Capa to
Wake up.
"I know it's hard to leave, so I'm thinking of a way." Capa lowered his head, frowned, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "As long as I can get you out of Lezein, you can go to the International Equality Alliance to receive asylum, and you can also
Give them the evidence I photographed, and let the people from their Lezein Action Team contact me proactively to prepare the next plan together."
Clementine's tone became more determined: "We can't leave, the children and I have to stay. The government will win, and the best choice is for us to work for the government now."
"...Clementine." Capa mustered up the courage to look at his wife, and clasped his other hand tightly with his wife's, wanting her to feel his warmth, heartbeat, and sincerity, "Do you want your child to
What kind of world do we live in?”
"The International Equality Alliance will definitely lose. Don't you know the news about Lelist City? The government troops will attack soon -"
"Do you want Dorothy and Matt to live in a cold world full of oppression, without any humanity, and can only spend their lives pursuing money and power? Or do you want them to live in a world of equality, freedom, unity, and beauty, where they can do whatever they want?
A warm world where I can always be happy?" Capa interrupted his wife's words, his eyes filled with a hint of humble expectation, and he asked in a choked voice.
Clementine said nothing.
Capa held his wife's hand tightly, his eyes sparkling: "You know? The things I did before, helping the government to slander the International Equality Alliance, are all taking the children further and further away from the world they must like.
I want to give them the best. I don’t want them to face such an environment when they grow up, unable to do what they like. A successful life is defined by a single definition, and to achieve such success, they must first abandon it.
Precious humanity, otherwise it will become a stepping stone for others... We have all experienced such pain, and I want them to stop on me."
"But you know better than me what the current situation of the International Equality Alliance is. If you choose them, the most likely possibility is that before we come to that world, the children will be executed with you first." Clementine struggled to maintain her rationality.
.
"If everyone thinks they will not succeed, then they will indeed lose, but I am willing to believe them. I want to do my little bit to change everything with many people who have the same ideas as me." Capa
Crying with Clementine.
"Even if the outcome doesn't change, even if we all become victims?"
"I won't let you and the children stay here to take risks. I will find a way to let you leave. Even if I stay here and die, the world will still be like this, and I think the children will definitely do it for me.
Proud. They will not become walking corpses in the future, they will have living bodies and free souls." When talking about death, Capa could not help but tremble slightly, but his heart was not shaken.
Clementine laughed helplessly: "You ask us to go to the International Equality Alliance's territory, let us help you transport evidence, let us help you get in touch with the International Equality Alliance, and then let them take the initiative to contact you... you
Don’t you think we’re taking risks?”
"Okay, then just leave. Your safety is the most important thing. I will find a way to contact them and hand over the film to them, and then we will investigate the government's secrets together." Capa gave in readily. He was now the most important person.
What I want to do is to get my wife and children out of this dangerous place.
"No matter what, you won't change your decision?" Clementine's eyes flashed.
"...If I do nothing now, it will be like ignoring the truth and being covered up, and I will become an accomplice of hypocrisy. I think that I must not be a qualified husband, father, or the myself I want to be.
"After taking several deep breaths, Capa gave his final reply.
Clementine is visibly older.
She seemed to have encountered the scene when Capa was executed by the government in the future.
Soon, Capa will leave them forever, and she will have to raise her two children alone.
But what could she do? As Capa's wife and the most important person in each other's lives, her dissuasion was ineffective, so she could only provide unconditional support.
"Then just go ahead and do it with peace of mind." Clementine endured endless sadness and said, "I will take good care of Dorothy, Matt."
"Thank you, my dear." Capa hugged Clementine and caressed her back reluctantly, "I will find a way for you to leave safely as soon as possible."
"Where is the film?" Clementine asked.
"Um?"
"Where are the evidences you photographed?"
Capa looked at his wife in disbelief: "You..."
"Is it possible that I really want to take the children and disappear without a trace?" Clementine was still crying, but not so angry. "Now I want you to have a greater hope of succeeding and living, but I can't help you."
Go to Lelist City and hand over the evidence to the International Equality Alliance, and then let their people contact you and provide you with protection?"
Capa burst into tears.
When he felt most unsure and helpless, his wife, whom he had let down, was still trying to support him and give him strength.
"Yes, I'm sorry..."
"Don't say sorry, just live a good life. No matter what you encounter, you must live."
——
late at night
Lezein, Government Army Camp, General Selter's Office
"General, we disguised ourselves very well. No one questioned the number that we arrested hundreds of members of the International Equality Alliance. I even think now that we really arrested hundreds of people and put them in jail for pretending to be members of the International Equality Alliance.
It’s a very unnecessary thing.” The cigar-smoking officer reported to General Selter.
"This is called insurance. Of course we have to prepare for the worst possibility. If we don't have it now, it doesn't mean that no one will be suspicious in the future and go to the prison to confirm whether we have captured so many people." Before General Selt could say anything,
, another glasses officer reminded.
"I know, that's what I said." Officer Cigar smiled, but there was a trace of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
General Selter glanced at his subordinates who were a little excited: "Apart from the previous action team of the International Equality Alliance who took the initiative to assassinate the nobles and we killed six of them on the spot, do we have any new gains during this period?"
All the officers looked at each other.
"I mean real gains," General Selter emphasized.
"Not yet. We have conducted strict investigations in various areas. We have even turned over the beds in every household to check, but there is no trace of them." The glasses officer stretched out his hand and pushed up his glasses.
"Is it possible that they can disappear out of thin air?" General Selt snorted coldly.
Officer Cigar couldn't stand the officer with glasses, but he still chose to agree on this matter: "This is indeed strange. We almost demolished the houses in the areas where assassinations occurred, but we can't find anyone."
.”
"Are those areas closed?" General Selter asked.
"Of course it's sealed. As soon as the assassination happened, the surrounding area was under martial law and no one was allowed in or out, so the people from the International Equality Alliance Action Team must still be inside." Officer Cigar said.
"That's easy. They can't disappear out of thin air. They can only disguise themselves as ordinary people and avoid investigation. From now on, we will focus on arresting people from these areas and identify them all as members of the International Equality Alliance Action Team."
As soon as General Selter finished speaking, the office suddenly became so quiet that not a single sound could be heard.
After a long while, Officer Cigar swallowed his saliva and said: "There are at least several thousand people in those areas combined..."
"Have you forgotten how many figures Mr. President and I reported?" General Selt said.
Some time ago, General Selt told the President that Lezeinli had less than 5,000 members of the International Equality Alliance's action team.
This is very different from the actual data. To fill the gap, they have to arrest nearly the same number of innocent people.
"But you can't just arrest thousands of people from one area, right? That's obviously something wrong." Officer Cigar smiled bitterly.
"It's not like we catch them all at once, take your time."
"Yes." Officer Cigar had no choice but to agree.
"But this is not a solution after all." General Selter looked at all his subordinates, "It's okay to catch civilians to make up for the loss in the short term, but it will definitely cause problems in the long run. The simplest thing is that we can capture five thousand people in the future, but if
If the action team is not injured and they can still fully operate, then this scam will have to be maintained passively."
The spectacled officer was also worried about this: "Yes, only if we secretly wipe out the action team first can we take the initiative in our own hands and continue to maintain this scam, whether it ends with 5,000 people or rises to 5,000 in the future."
Ten thousand people, we have the final say."
"Now that we can't even find anyone, how can we talk about annihilation?"
"Yes, if you want to achieve results, you must first know their whereabouts."
"They are the best at hiding in the dark. They have been like this from the beginning, otherwise they would have been cleaned up a few years ago."
The officers were talking a lot.
"Martyrs Cemetery." General Selter's voice, which was neither high nor low, overshadowed everyone. "I still think that the Martyrs Cemetery is undefended and is a trap deliberately set for us by the International Equality Alliance. But without any ideas,
, we can only forcefully take this road and try to open up the situation."