"Comrade Verak, the news has been sent out. Later, comrades from nearby areas will come to help Comrade Capa and Comrade Bella. In addition, the main station sent a telegram back. Teacher Keating asked us not to resist. He will find a way to use the government's hostages later.
Exchange us back." Murphy called Verak to the telegraph machine and said.
"What do you think?" Verak didn't quite accept Keating's arrangement in his heart.
He is aware of his importance to the International Equality Alliance, but he is better at looking at things from the perspective of ordinary comrades.
Comrades in the action team had been arrested before, but Keating had no reaction to this.
He was captured, but Keating wanted to use the government's hostages in exchange.
Will they feel inequality and feel chilled?
"If we have government hostages that we can exchange, which means that the captured comrades can go back alive, then I am willing to leave this opportunity to others." Murphy's thoughts are consistent with Verak's.
"Well..." Verak patted Murphy on the shoulder.
"I understand what you're thinking. You don't want to be treated specially like this, right?" Murphy said.
"They should have been aware of us for a while, and they seem quite calm." Holt Ward had been expecting some reaction from the people inside, but unfortunately the warehouse had always been quiet.
Look.
Verak took a deep breath: "Actually, there is still something that bothers me."
"Damn it, where did you find this trash?" After hearing this, Selt almost fainted from anger.
No one spoke, everyone stared at him silently.
As he spoke, he pulled off his clothes, revealing the scars on his body.
Verak frowned and took a deep breath of cigarette: "You should all know that I was once captured in Damans Prison and endured inhuman torture there. I can be sure that the torture I experienced at that time will be worse than that later.
Much harsher."
"...It seems that we have no choice but to go out. Only in this way will we avoid conflict with the government troops and cause the warehouse to be burned. It should also lower their vigilance to some extent and prevent them from searching the warehouse too carefully after we leave."
——
"Do you know why I can survive?" Verak glanced at everyone.
"I know what will happen if you are caught by government troops and refuse to reveal anything. I would rather be here..." Spencer pointed the gun at his temple.
"I understand, torture after arrest is much more painful than death." Verak has experienced it, and he doesn't think it is spineless for a comrade to be afraid of torture.
"Dear Chairman Keating, based on the unanimous decision of all members of the General Liaison Office of the International Equality League's Lazerin War Action Team, we reject your proposal to use hostages in exchange for us. We will stick to the warehouse and never compromise with the government forces."
Verak said word by word, "The following...are the last words I would say as a comrade, as your former prison mate, and as your student."
"I'm not afraid of that. I will persevere like you." Murphy looked directly at Verak and said.
Just when Verak wanted to say something from his heart and say goodbye to Teacher Keating, Spencer, who was guarding the door of the warehouse, yelled.
Not long after, Cyril, Spencer, and Nitzan of the combat team learned of the telegram sent by Chairman Keating, and made the same choice as Murphy, Sherrill, and Connie.
When the time comes, everyone will have to fight against the government troops, how will they be captured alive?
But what he didn't expect was that the officer's threat actually took effect.
Verak rearranged his clothes: "Of course, I also know that it is difficult. It cannot be done by just saying a few words and persevering. Maybe, none of us will survive the revolution.
The day of victory. But just this persistence and this slim hope should be more worth it than giving yourself a shot, right?"
"I can understand this, so I also understand the decision you have to make next." Murphy knew that Verak would refuse Keating's hostage exchange proposal, at least he would refuse on his own behalf.
In his opinion, death is much more pleasant.
Nitzan, Spencer's thoughts were shaken.
"What you mean is that if you refuse, Teacher Keating will not step over you to save others. In this case, everyone will die, and you will feel that you are partly responsible for everyone's death." Murphy asked
.
"You are right." Sheryl was the first to express her stance. "Being arrested does not mean we compromise. By doing this, we can not only protect Comrade Capa and Comrade Bella in the warehouse, but also show our strength to the government forces."
Faith can bring hope to oneself. No one does not want to see the day when the revolution is victorious and does not want to live in the new world we have built with our own hands. We still have room for choice."
"Definitely, we can maximize our advantage by taking advantage of the warehouse's terrain and limiting the number of people who come in." Spencer's plan was very clear.
Murphy quickly sent out half of what Verak had said, then burned the translation book and destroyed the telegraph machine.
"If we stick to the warehouse, Comrade Capa and Comrade Bella will suffer. There is no need for them to die with us who could have been alive." Verak decided to take people out.
In the end, the seven people reached a consensus and decided to leave the warehouse voluntarily, but were arrested by government troops.
Verak stepped forward quickly and looked out through the crack in the warehouse door. He saw a large number of heavily armed government soldiers emerging on the street directly in front of the warehouse. The soldiers were approaching the warehouse in an orderly manner and silently.
Spencer, who was behind the door, was cursing and about to open a crack in the door and shoot the other person dead.
Nizam did not pull the trigger. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at some of the scars exposed by Verak, and couldn't help but feel a chill in his back.
Everyone looked at him.
"But if the government forces capture us, they won't keep us there for nothing. They will definitely try their best to pry useful information out of us. We are not afraid of death. It's just a matter of one shot, but..." Nizam was a little hard to say.
Seeing this, Verak smiled ashamedly: "I'm sorry."
They themselves are not afraid of anything, but if government troops are forced to burn down warehouses due to desperate resistance, what will happen to Comrade Capa and Comrade Bella who are hiding?
"Comrade Verak, what should we do?" Connie asked.
Everything seemed to happen so quickly and urgently that he suspected that he was so calm because he hadn't realized that government troops had surrounded the place.
"Too many comrades were arrested. If everyone had to be rescued, Teacher Keating would not be able to save them. To put it bluntly, it was because of me that Teacher Keating decided to exchange us hostages. If I refused
With this method, there is a high chance that Comrade Connie and the others..." Verak thought of a lot.
"It's not difficult." Sheryl heard the voice and came over, "I support you."
"Yes." Holt Ward caught up with the troops.
It is difficult for anyone to imagine how Verak was treated and how he persisted.
"I won't let them down." Spencer was ready for a big fight.
"Not only here, there are government troops in the north, east, and west." Spencer added, clutching his pistol tightly.
"But I think that although everyone is equal, there must be differences in the power that each person can exert. That is, if only one of two people can survive, rationally speaking, which one can exert greater power
People should live." Murphy added, "And you, in my opinion, and in the eyes of many people, are the one who should live."
"They are probably destroying materials and busy contacting their comrades in other places." Selter analyzed.
Everyone in the warehouse was silent.
"Everyone is ready!" Verak didn't hesitate to say anything. After loading the gun, he immediately turned around and rushed downstairs.
Verak said "Yeah": "If I compromise with Teacher Keating, everyone will have hope to survive. Now it is a bit difficult to give up such a seemingly good choice and let everyone follow me to another dead end.
Decide."
Even if the price is death.
"Understood." Murphy was ready.
"What?"
"Comrade Verak! Government troops are coming!!"
"It's really their fault for starting such a big battle just for a few of us." Verak sneered.
They refuse to be part of a small group of people who receive special treatment.
"Get out? Doesn't that mean you will be arrested by them?" Nizam imagined the torture and all kinds of abuse after being arrested, and felt a little unsure.
"I'm really unwilling." Cyril's eyes were red, "I was caught in such a humiliating way..."
Outside the warehouse, Selt and Holt Ward hid behind the large army and observed the situation in the warehouse with binoculars.
Sheryl and Connie looked at each other and followed.
"There is no point in hiding in the warehouse and resisting! Surrendering to the government is your only choice! Now put down your weapons and come out with your hands up! Otherwise we will burn the warehouse directly!"
"Because I know that only by persisting can I have hope of leaving prison." Verak said, "The same is true now. Death is indeed very easy, but must we do this? Why can't we try to persist?
Even if we are being tortured and tortured, what will happen if we can persist until the day when the revolution is victorious? I think everyone will be like me and extremely grateful for my persistence."
"Murphy, send a telegram back to Teacher Keating." Verak lit a cigarette, stood next to Murphy, and dictated what was most likely the last thing he would say to Teacher Keating.
"Don't worry, listen to what he wants to say." Verak stopped Spencer. Anyway, it wouldn't be too late to kill him after listening.
"I--"
Soon, the large government army stopped fifty meters away from the warehouse. An officer was appointed as a negotiator and approached the warehouse door alone: "Members of the International Equality Alliance Action Team, you have been surrounded!
"
"Comrade Spencer!" Murphy put aside the gun in Spencer's hand.
Verak leaned against the door, finished the last puff of cigarette, and slowly exhaled: "Don't rush to do it yet, wait until they get closer."
When he said this, Verak's mood finally fluctuated a little.
"I can't accept it." Verak shook his head and said with a wry smile, "It feels like they died for me, and I am partly responsible for their death."
He didn't have much doubt about this. Murphy was much tougher than he was back then.
"Okay." Verak patted Spencer, and then settled down with the others, occupying favorable positions, waiting for the government troops to invade.
"I'm not going out." Spencer said coldly.
Verak smiled at Murphy.
"Try it." Nizam wasn't very confident yet, but Verak's mention of persisting until the victory of the revolution still gave him a lot of strength.
Who doesn't know that the people in the International Equality Alliance are very tough, and the more they threaten the other side, the more intense resistance they will incur.
"It's no big deal." Nizam closed his eyes, with a determined look on his face, and pointed the gun at his chest, "I would rather die than surrender, the result is the same."
"Then should we rush in and capture as many people as possible using the information they didn't have time to destroy?"
"Comrade Verak!" Spencer waved to him when he saw Verak leading someone downstairs.
"...Just do as you say." After a while, Spencer agreed with Verak's words.
If he was really tortured, he would not dare to guarantee his willpower.
Outside the warehouse, Selter found Holt Ward angrily, cursed him, and ordered an immediate replacement of officers to re-communicate with the action team members, ensuring that the other party came out and captured them alive in the most peaceful way, and then
No matter what, we have to make sure that Verak is alive.
Selt put down the telescope: "That will only result in their desperate obstruction. If they are all dead, how useful will a bunch of broken documents be. Okay, the distance is almost there, let's send someone over to negotiate with them.
.”
Verak nodded and admitted: "Yes."
Others don't seem to be afraid of torture, but I am hesitant and afraid to face it.
"If we don't feel aggrieved, if we can keep Comrade Capa and Comrade Bella alive, what we have done will be worthwhile. It is much more cost-effective than killing a few government soldiers." Sherrill said.
"I support it too. So many comrades have been arrested. Only we can go back. I don't have the face to face others." Connie also said.
"So I thought, I might as well give myself a good time." Spencer smiled stiffly.
Verak exhaled, scattered the remaining cigarettes one by one, then picked up one and lit it, sat on the stairs and started smoking: "The current situation is nothing more than persisting in resistance. The government forces have already been on guard.
If possible, he will be burned to death in the warehouse, or he will be arrested when he goes out and provide cover for Comrade Capa and Comrade Bella."
But before the officer standing in front could be called back, the door of the warehouse actually opened amid warning threats.
Immediately afterwards, seven comrades from the general liaison office of the action team headed by Verak raised their hands and walked out in a queue.
"What, what's going on?" This scene shocked Holt Ward.
This group of people who have always been unyielding actually did not resist and really surrendered? Could it be that they were really scared out of their wits by talk of burning down the warehouse?
Selt ignored all possibilities and quickly sent people to check. After confirming that none of the seven people were carrying weapons, he handcuffed them one by one without hesitation and took them to the prison.