04-06-2021, 05:42 AM
Culhuaca, southern Xiomera
April 4th
"And that was when the police came in and arrested him?" The woman nodded in response, almost as if she was afraid to say the words out loud.
Antoine Broussard smiled gently to try to reassure the Xiomeran woman. The DTNS reporter nodded, taking a set of quick notes. "The police that entered the church and arrested the priest, they were wearing Imperial Police uniforms, you said?"
"Yes," another voice interrupted. "Just like the one I am wearing."
Broussard turned around, startled. An Imperial Police sergeant was standing behind him; two other officers were on either side of him, while three more had quietly come around to the other side of the woman Broussard was interviewing. "You should not have talked to a reporter, Necahual. We warned you," the sergeant told the woman.
"She is not to blame, please let her go." Broussard stood in front of the woman, unobtrusively trying to focus the attention of the policemen on him rather than her. "I am a reporter with the Democratic Times News Service, a member of the international press corps."
"It doesn't matter why she spoke with you. It also doesn't matter who you are," the sergeant replied. With one hand, he took a tazer from his belt. With the other hand, he grabbed a pair of handcuffs. Broussard's confidence slipped. Even in Xiomera, foreign reporters had always been off limits for the punishment of the regime. Broussard realized, too late, that things had changed.
The jolt of the tazer brought Broussard to his knees; he felt his wrists being roughly grabbed and the handcuffs locking into place. Through the sudden pain, he heard Necahual screaming as the other officers took her as well. A black bag slipped over his head, and he passed out.
---
Several hours later, Broussard woke up to find himself in a dark room. He was cuffed by one wrist to his bed; his notes and his belongings had been taken. He had never seen the inside of a Xiomeran jail cell, but he knew exactly where he was.
"Merde," he muttered under his breath.
---
DTNS International Media Center, Democracity, several hours after Broussard's arrest
"Yes, I know Antoine's been arrested, you're not telling me anything I don't know already. Where the hell are the Xiomerans holding him? Is he okay? What have they charged him with? That's what I need to know!" The person holding the phone grimaced at the response. "Well, find out and call me back when you do know something!" With another grimace, she slammed the phone down.
Katelyn Thomas, editor-in-chief of the Democratic Times News Service, was both furious and scared. She was angry that the Xiomerans had detained one of her journalists, and hadn't bothered to tell anyone why. She was also worried for Broussard - with the Xiomerans clearly cracking down under their new regime, his fate was anything but certain.
The door to her office burst open, and a tall man with a shock of mussed black hair walked in at a hurried pace. "Katelyn, what's happening in Xiomera? I just heard that Antoine Broussard has been detained!' Peter Delgado, the chairman of the DTNS Board of Directors, sat down in front of Thomas' desk.
"I don't know any more than you do, Peter. All we know so far is that Antoine was doing an interview with locals in a town called Culhuaca, following up on that lead about a priest who was arrested that I told you about, when the Imperial Police arrested him. No one has seen him since and the Xiomerans haven't said a word. They will not reply to us either. They won't even tell our lawyers where Antoine is being held, or why, or if he is okay. They threatened to arrest one of our lawyers if he didn't leave the police station in Culhuaca and stop 'bothering them,' in fact."
"They've never done this before. Even in the 1970s, when they cracked down under Xolotl, they never touched our reporters. This is a severe escalation. The Xiomerans have never dared to threaten foreign reporters before - they care too much about their precious trade." Delgado shook his head. "We need to figure out what the Xiomerans want."
"I don't care what they want. I only care about what they've done. They have one of our people in their custody. And if the Xiomerans hurt Antoine, I will make them regret it." The tone of Thomas' voice matched her fiery red hair.
Delgado laughed. "How are we going to do that? Not like we have an army or anything."
"We have something far better. We have a voice. A voice heard around the world," Thomas replied. "That voice can tell the nations of the world what is happening in Xiomera, and shove a nice big bomb in the regime's attempt to make itself look acceptable to the world."
"We're journalists. We're supposed to be neutral," Delgado reminded her.
"Like hell. Not when they arrest one of us. The Xiomerans just targeted us directly. If Calhualyana and her regime want to make this personal, I am more than willing to go there. They can't get away with this. If they hurt Antoine, I will make them pay for it." Thomas picked up a phone to call the Nerve Center of the DTNS HQ, to change the lineup of stories about to run.
April 4th
"And that was when the police came in and arrested him?" The woman nodded in response, almost as if she was afraid to say the words out loud.
Antoine Broussard smiled gently to try to reassure the Xiomeran woman. The DTNS reporter nodded, taking a set of quick notes. "The police that entered the church and arrested the priest, they were wearing Imperial Police uniforms, you said?"
"Yes," another voice interrupted. "Just like the one I am wearing."
Broussard turned around, startled. An Imperial Police sergeant was standing behind him; two other officers were on either side of him, while three more had quietly come around to the other side of the woman Broussard was interviewing. "You should not have talked to a reporter, Necahual. We warned you," the sergeant told the woman.
"She is not to blame, please let her go." Broussard stood in front of the woman, unobtrusively trying to focus the attention of the policemen on him rather than her. "I am a reporter with the Democratic Times News Service, a member of the international press corps."
"It doesn't matter why she spoke with you. It also doesn't matter who you are," the sergeant replied. With one hand, he took a tazer from his belt. With the other hand, he grabbed a pair of handcuffs. Broussard's confidence slipped. Even in Xiomera, foreign reporters had always been off limits for the punishment of the regime. Broussard realized, too late, that things had changed.
The jolt of the tazer brought Broussard to his knees; he felt his wrists being roughly grabbed and the handcuffs locking into place. Through the sudden pain, he heard Necahual screaming as the other officers took her as well. A black bag slipped over his head, and he passed out.
---
Several hours later, Broussard woke up to find himself in a dark room. He was cuffed by one wrist to his bed; his notes and his belongings had been taken. He had never seen the inside of a Xiomeran jail cell, but he knew exactly where he was.
"Merde," he muttered under his breath.
---
DTNS International Media Center, Democracity, several hours after Broussard's arrest
"Yes, I know Antoine's been arrested, you're not telling me anything I don't know already. Where the hell are the Xiomerans holding him? Is he okay? What have they charged him with? That's what I need to know!" The person holding the phone grimaced at the response. "Well, find out and call me back when you do know something!" With another grimace, she slammed the phone down.
Katelyn Thomas, editor-in-chief of the Democratic Times News Service, was both furious and scared. She was angry that the Xiomerans had detained one of her journalists, and hadn't bothered to tell anyone why. She was also worried for Broussard - with the Xiomerans clearly cracking down under their new regime, his fate was anything but certain.
The door to her office burst open, and a tall man with a shock of mussed black hair walked in at a hurried pace. "Katelyn, what's happening in Xiomera? I just heard that Antoine Broussard has been detained!' Peter Delgado, the chairman of the DTNS Board of Directors, sat down in front of Thomas' desk.
"I don't know any more than you do, Peter. All we know so far is that Antoine was doing an interview with locals in a town called Culhuaca, following up on that lead about a priest who was arrested that I told you about, when the Imperial Police arrested him. No one has seen him since and the Xiomerans haven't said a word. They will not reply to us either. They won't even tell our lawyers where Antoine is being held, or why, or if he is okay. They threatened to arrest one of our lawyers if he didn't leave the police station in Culhuaca and stop 'bothering them,' in fact."
"They've never done this before. Even in the 1970s, when they cracked down under Xolotl, they never touched our reporters. This is a severe escalation. The Xiomerans have never dared to threaten foreign reporters before - they care too much about their precious trade." Delgado shook his head. "We need to figure out what the Xiomerans want."
"I don't care what they want. I only care about what they've done. They have one of our people in their custody. And if the Xiomerans hurt Antoine, I will make them regret it." The tone of Thomas' voice matched her fiery red hair.
Delgado laughed. "How are we going to do that? Not like we have an army or anything."
"We have something far better. We have a voice. A voice heard around the world," Thomas replied. "That voice can tell the nations of the world what is happening in Xiomera, and shove a nice big bomb in the regime's attempt to make itself look acceptable to the world."
"We're journalists. We're supposed to be neutral," Delgado reminded her.
"Like hell. Not when they arrest one of us. The Xiomerans just targeted us directly. If Calhualyana and her regime want to make this personal, I am more than willing to go there. They can't get away with this. If they hurt Antoine, I will make them pay for it." Thomas picked up a phone to call the Nerve Center of the DTNS HQ, to change the lineup of stories about to run.
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