Polished concrete walls, dim lighting, a matte-black oval table. Surveillance monitors lined one side of the room, flickering with traffic cams, courtroom feeds, border check-ins, and prison surveillance. The hum of servers filled the air like a low growl beneath the power.
Bruce sat at the head of the table in a tailored charcoal-grey suit, calm and unreadable, swirling a drink slowly. Around him sat his lieutenants—Zondo (intel chief), Lorna (blackmail ops), Tendai (legal analyst and fixer), and Musa (head of field operations). Each had a dossier open in front of them.
Zondo: "Dr. Moyo's full profile. Thirty-seven. Cardiothoracic surgeon. Clean record. Loved by the community. His only known enemy was the wife—due to the divorce—but we've found additional leverage. He's been donating regularly to an unlicensed private hospice. Cash payments. No record. If the Protectorate gets hold of that... they'll tie him to illegal euthanasia or off-the-book surgeries."
Bruce (calmly): "He said thank you today. Thought he was free."
Lorna: "He is—for now. But the evidence we held back gives us complete leverage. Secondary footage from the neighbor's security cam—he lied about when he arrived home. Blood-spattered surgical gloves in the bin—we removed them before the cops arrived. His digital calendar still shows a deleted appointment with his wife the night of the murder."
Tendai: "We've uploaded backups to the vault. Plus—his brother's gambling debt has been cleared. He thinks it was a win at the tables."
Bruce(smirking): "I'm not in the business of winning for free."
Zondo: "Oh, and one more thing—Moyo's late-night call to a burner number two days before the murder. Number belongs to someone in Gweru connected to an illegal sedative distributor. We don't know what was ordered, but it happened."
Bruce:"Build a slow bleed. Let him believe we're out of his life. We'll reel him in the moment he forgets who owns his freedom."
"A possible use for him? We could push him to become the private physician for Minister Mahachi. He's looking for one. We'd have ears on the ministry's inner health records." said Lorna.
*Bruce*: "Do it. Quietly."
Musa slid a tablet forward. "Updates. First, two Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officers were assassinated near Beitbridge. Our rival, Thabo—he's flexing muscle near the southern routes. Trying to disrupt our smuggling lanes."
Bruce without blinking,"Kill his accountant. Make it look like depression. Ruin his books, not just his morale."
"Second—Interpol flagged a Nigerian shipment headed for Harare Port. Weapons labeled as medical equipment. Zack's move?" asked Tendai
Bruce said, "No. Zack's deal only came through today. He wouldn't have contacted me with a ship already a day away. That's someone else. Mark it. If they succeed, we learn. If they fail, we buy the arresting officer."
Lorna then said "Also, gossip from the Bar Association—Micah has arrived. MI6 agent I think, actually noone knows a lot except that he is for hire to governments. They say he's obsessed with destroying underworlds and in this case…"
Bruce paused for the first time, tapping his ring twice against the glass and said, " Then he's coming for me. Send me his profile, will you"
Braden interjected "Already did. Early career marked by discipline. No vices. Doesn't drink. Doesn't womanize. The kind who makes the Protectorate nervous."
*Bruce*: "Let's see how long justice lasts before it learns fear."
He stood up slowly and said to Tendai, "Tell Moyo he's a free man. Then remind him, gently, that freedom is only a loan. And loans have terms."
The war room fell into silence as Bruce exited, the door hissing shut behind him.