"Grandfather, how did this happen?" Ray asked.
The old man, with a defeated look on his face, invited Ray inside. "Everything started a month ago when two people ca to our village," he began, his expression stern.
"They visited each house with the sa motive. They wanted us to sell our lands."
Ray found this suspicious. "What do they even need these lands for?" he asked.
The old man shook his head. "I have no idea why they need our land. The only thing we know is that the governnt is also on their side."
"Who are they? You must know that, right?" Ray questioned again, finding it too strange that even the governnt was involved.
The old man tried to rember. "They said they are the Dunkens, yes, the Dunkens..."
Ray flinched when he heard the na. This na had been revolving around him like a shadow. "Are you sure about them?" he asked, and the old man nodded in agreent.
Ray’s mind raced, connecting the dots one by one.
’The forced evictions on Mall Street, Uncle Wush’s plight, and now Rohan’s village—all at the hands of the Dunkens.’
He had heard whispers of their ruthless tactics in the city, but to see their reach extend to remote villages, with the apparent backing of the authorities, was deeply unsettling.
"Grandfather," Ray began, his voice low and serious, "Ahana said they took Rohan and Uncle Vic to prison. What exactly happened?"
The color drained from the old man’s face when he heard Ray ntion his son and grandson.
He sighed, "Seems I have to sell these lands; only then can I see them."
He didn’t answer directly, making Ray even more worried. The old man continued, "One month ago, we were visited by those people. Two weeks later, we got a notice from them and local authorities."
"Three days after that, we were visited by them once again with so governnt officials and the village head, and just a week after that, we decided to protest against the governnt officials and the company."
"But in return, my son, my grandson, and many other villagers were imprisoned for disrupting law and other unlawful activities."
"This!" Ray muttered, clearly seeing that the officials and the company were all mixed up.
He then asked, "Where are they? I should go and see them." He was asking about the prison where the villagers were held.
Ahana spoke up, "They can’t hold up that many people in the village prison, so they took the majority of them to the town 100 miles from here."
"I presu that Rohan and Uncle must be in that town, right?" Ray asked.
Ahana nodded. "Yes, they took them."
"Okay then, I should go and check things myself." He wasn’t sure what he could do, but he wouldn’t back off without trying.
The old man, seeing Ray’s resolve, spoke up. "Ray, wait. Rohan has his scooter parked here. It’s not much, but it’s better than waiting for the bus, and it will get you to town sooner too."
Ray looked at the old man, a flicker of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Grandfather. That would be a great help."
He took the keys, gave Ahana a reassuring nod, and with a determined glint in his eye, he left for the town to et Rohan and Rohan’s father.
He rode the scooter for four hours until he reached the town.
He went straight to the Police Headquarters, where he believed Rohan and the others were being held.
Ray walked up to the front desk. "Excuse , I’m here to see so from the village who were brought in from... "
The officer at the desk, a burly man with a bored expression, cut him off. "Hold on, buddy. Who are you, and what’s your business here?"
"My na is Ray, and I’m a friend of Rohan. I want to see him and understand why they’ve been imprisoned."
The officer leaned back, a smirk on his face. "Sorry, no visitors for those folks. They’re being held for disrupting the peace and other unlawful activities."
"Unlawful activities?" Ray’s voice hardened.
"I’m aware of my rights and their rights. You can’t just deny access without a valid legal reason. If you continue to obstruct , I’ll have to consider legal action." Ray warned.
The officer burst out laughing, a loud, derisive sound that echoed in the quiet lobby.
"Legal action? Listen, kid, you’re in a small town. Things work differently here. You can threaten all you want; it won’t change a thing."
Just then, a door opened, and another man stepped into the lobby. He was older, dressed in a crisper uniform, and carried an air of authority.
"What’s all this commotion, Officer?" he asked, his gaze sweeping over Ray.
"Just a young man, sir, trying to see so of the villagers we brought in," the first officer replied, still chuckling softly.
The higher-ranking man turned to Ray. "And what is your affiliation with these villagers?"
"I’m a friend of one of them," Ray stated, holding his ground. "I believe they’ve been wrongfully arrested."
The man’s expression remained impassive. "My advice to you, young man, is to go back to the city. Cut your ties with these people. This isn’t your fight, and you don’t want to get involved."
This only made Ray more suspicious about all of this. He asked, "You know this is unlawful. Aren’t you afraid that your affiliation with the private company and wrongly arresting people would be exposed?"
Hearing this, the officer shook his head. "I won’t repeat myself, leave this place for your own good."
He added, "You can go to anyone from court to the politicians, but no one is going to help you. So, better behave, or you might regret it later."
Ray could see the man’s tone was genuine. He wasn’t threatening him, but giving him an early warning to stay away from all of this.
Then, in front of his eyes, the higher-up turned and re-entered the room he ca from.
The officer from before sneered. "You got your answers, right? Now leave."
Ray had no choice but to leave; if he caused any drama, they might arrest him too, and he couldn’t afford that. Instead, he decided to look into the matter more deeply.
’Let’s return to the village and start from there,’ he thought.
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