The general seemed happy with the situation, although, for some reason, Craig seemed a bit… He was off in the corner, clutching at his arm, hissing curses between ragged breaths. Gerald helpfully informed Kreig that when Craig (confidently) approached him after he defeated the wyrm, Kreig had wasted no time in attacking him, though the punch had missed. Even then, despite missing by several inches, the air force from the blow had been enough to shatter Craig’s arm.

Somehow, Kreig couldn’t muster any pity for him.

General sighs of relief could be heard from both here and there as people relaxed. Not everyone had evacuated, and these few civilians could now be heard laughing and crying, hugging in relief. It was a lovely, human scene of joy, and yet Kreig couldn’t enjoy it. He could remember in his early days as the captain of the royal guard, when defeating a dangerous foe and bringing back its head could rouse such immense emotion in civilians, and he used to enjoy it immensely.

Gratitude. Now, he felt none.

The general spoke widely and openly about how this was good news for the organization, and that it proved this-or-that. Nothing about how it was a good thing the monster was dead, or anything along those lines.

Just another job. He was led back to the helicopter without any further ado, where he was strapped in beside Frank (though Craig had mysteriously disappeared).

Things got strange once they returned to the Other Island. For the first time, Kreig saw Darius in the meagre light of the sun, and not on the other side of the window, either. He stood there, arms folded behind his back, a lab-geek on each of his side. Awaiting Kreig’s return. Until he stepped out of the helicopter, he didn’t know why.

Darius gave a rare, out-of-character smile. “Kreig! General Thunderhead! You return as heroes, do you?” Something felt off, but Kreig couldn’t understand what. Then, Darius’ eyes fell on Gerald where he stood, escorted by soldiers in a pair of cuffs. “What in the-? General, is there a reason for the innocent child to be in cuffs?”

“Huh?” The general’s eyes went wide. “Why shouldn’t he be? He’s a prisoner! To be brought along as a hostage in case-,”

Now it was Darius’ turn to become bewildered. “General, that is… Did you even take the time to read the entire order?! The boy was to be brought along as emotional support in case the battle took a psychological toll on Inmate Wiedemann! On Kreig. Not as some sort of mind-game hostage! What you’ve done has not only been an extreme ignorance of orders, but also a sabotage of our efforts to gain Kreig’s trust!”

“Sir-, doctor Darius, that’s…”

“Don’t you dare. I personally overviewed this hasty order! And nowhere did it so much as mention for such an action to be performed! I would be deeply impressed if you managed to evade the courts. Otherwise,” Darius said, suddenly turning to Gerald, who remained trembling and chained. “Sir Speerhalter. Forgive the general’s unacceptable treatment of you. As of today, we assure you, you are no longer a prisoner.”

Gerald seemed far from happy, more so confused. “M-, me?”

Darius stepped closer to him. “Yes, youth. Worry not, your new life here on Earth will be provided to you generously by OICRO, including housing and education. This is in no way only for you as we aim to extend this courtesy to all otherworlders below the age of 18. The fact that your freedom happens today is a coincidence. Please don’t think too much about it, and if there’s anything you’d like to bring to your new living quarters, please discuss it with the guards on the way there.”

Gerald couldn’t even argue before the cuffs on his hands were removed and he was brought inside, leaving Kreig immensely confused. So confused that he didn’t even know how to react.

Not even when Darius turned to him and gave him that very same nothing-smile could he react. “I’m happy to say that depending on the board’s reaction to this situation, you too may be released within the week. Please look forward to it.”

But he couldn’t. It all happened so suddenly, leaving Kreig needlessly dazed and overstimulated.

And nobody would tell him what the hell was going on.

-----

“-That’s how the sting played out, sir.”

One of the dozen board-members sitting at the long desk nodded, a smirk tugging at his wrinkled lips. “Is that so? Well done, Officer Thunderhead. Trust me, you will be rewarded for your service. Dismissed.”

“Yessir,” Officer Thunderhead replied, respectfully saluting before leaving the room. His part had been played masterfully, from aggravation to ‘reveal’. Nothing about what he had done had been outside his orders.

All members present, each and every one of them being of uppermost rank, turned to one of the three leaders of IOCRO. This man was Sir Reiker. The man who had agreed to the plan two weeks ago when the possibility had first presented itself, the man who trusted Dr Darius Falk when he said it would work. This was the man who now spoke. “-If anybody is still unwisely under the false belief that what we are dealing with is not the most sensitive issue on this green Earth, you may find a pair of stale doughnuts by the door. Chewing on those might make you understand how hard this situation is.

However, with the success of this mission, we can guarantee that emotional blackmail by the use of hostages is effective. Even then, it is unlikely to be as effective in the future, and if we give the impression that his family and friends are, at all times, under threat of death from us, he may choose to rebel, which would likely result in our collective deaths. Thus, discarding the false ‘General Thunderhead’ as the sole cause for his worries will allow him to retain the belief that we are on his side. Unless we can retain our position as his allies and equals, we may lose the greatest weapon humanity has ever seen.”

A man at the edge of the table spoke. “Even then, sir, I retain my belief that unless a monster is above the level of 700, we must abstain from forcing him into combat. The effect it has on his psyche is clearly detrimental and must be avoided,” Dr Darius Falk explained.

Really, he had no place among these men, but as Kreig Wiedemann’s head observer and a qualified psychologist, his presence was widely accepted.

“Of course, there is no doubt of that. Should Kreig Wiedemann’s mental state for any reason degenerate, his status may need to be changed from ‘Dormant Threat Grade X’ to ‘Active Threat Grade X’. Should he so much as mention a wish to personally become a Fighter or do anything of the sort, you will personally shut his endeavours down. This is one of the many reasons we have agreed to your proposition of acting as Kreig Wiedemann’s personal psychotherapist during his release and return to society. Is that clear, Dr Darius Falk?”

“Yessir. I’m grateful, sir,” Darius replied.

“Furthermore, we have also decided that Kreig Wiedemann is to be released in two days, though his isolation will continue for these days. Covertly find reasons to use the speakers when possible. Tomorrow evening, explain his situation and how he will be treated and what benefits he will be granted. Gain his trust and continue to refer to him by his first name,” Sir Reiker said. “You are hereby dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir,” Darius said as he stood up, leaving the room without any wait. He’d gotten what he wanted, and he was ecstatic. Not only had his petition to release Inmate Wiedemann sooner than later been accepted, but his idea of having himself act as Inmate Wiedemann’s personal psychiatrist had also gone through, too!

The reasons he gave for it had been manipulative and selfish in nature. ‘If Kreig Wiedemann can open up to me, I will be able to better understand the state of his mind and what missions he is able to fulfil. I can keep an eye on him at all times. He’ll trust OICRO better.’

But his true intentions were far less focused on the ‘good of the world’, and more so on improving Inmate Wiedemann’s own psychic health. Sure, his new family and Speerhalter (who would otherwise find education and housing in the same city Inmate Wiedemann would live in, funny coincidence) would do plenty and be a great help for his personal improvements, but in the end, they knew next to nothing about how to actually care for him. Darius himself was no wiser, but he at least knew better how to care for a man experiencing PTSD and other trauma-and-stressor related mental disorders.

To him, it was an act of personal kindness to help Inmate Wiedemann. To IOCRO, it was an act of international disaster prevention.

It wasn’t just about making sure Kreig didn’t become an active threat, it was also about preventing any future disasters by using him as a reusable nuke. It was a terribly inhuman reason that treated Inmate Wiedemann like an object rather than a human, but if it saved lives, IOCRO couldn’t care less about the actual damage he took psychologically (so long as it had no effect on the world in turn).

In was a thin line to tread, but they treaded it well.

And now, it was time to prepare Inmate Wiedemann’s release.