The Burden of A Promise

I held him by the throat and lifted him up high

"I'll ask again , where is the little boy?"

"You won't get anything from me"

"Okay , fair enough"

I let him go and sit back at the chair after adjusting the table to a normal form .

"Sit down" I command him 

"You're toying with me aren't you?"

"Maybe"

he sits down , uneasy
"Can i know why you and your friends kidnapped that little boy?"

"They are not my friends , they are people from the village"

"You just randomly decided to kidnap a little boy?"

"let's give him a name shall we? the boy of the prime minister . the same minister that brought our country into an economic collapse. "

"And his  5 year old son is to blame?"

"No , but he wouldn't listen otherwise , you cannot say people didn't try to make him listen in more humane ways , we did our pacifist revolts and our surveys and letters , but nothing happened"

"And now what are your demands?"

"We just want him to resign , that's it , we want elections"

"Otherwise the boy would die?"
"Correct, i promise he will , but i don't want that"

I hand him a phone 

"What's that?"

"A phone , call your men , and give the order "

"Pardon?"

"The minister doesn't care , i told him of your obvious demands before coming in here. he said he'd replace him , right now i was just making sure"

"You want me to order the kill?"

"You're the leader of the revolution , aren't you Ralph?"
"I am"

"Then do what you promised to do"

Ralph pauses , takes a deep breath , takes the phone , calls a number and orders the kill. he hangs up. he puts his hands on his watery eyes. 

"Good , finally a politician truthful to his promises"

"I just killed a young boy because of this monster"

"You know i have children right ralph?"

"I do"

"I love them very much , you also know that i am the head of the army"

"Of course , however i don't know where you are going with this"

"Before coming here , i killed the prime minister because of what he said. Then i tracked and arrested all your friends very easily. The boy is safe and alive. The friend that answered you is in the next room"

"I don't follow.. why do all this then?"

"Because i wanted to know whether i should kill you or not. You made lots of promises to change this state . I took your word for it , if you didn't order the kill , you would be dead by now. But instead , i will wish you good luck in the elections , with the hopes to see you as our next president" 

i take his handcuffs off , he looks at me with awe.

"Then why did you choke me at first??"

"Always wanted to"

 i leave the room smiling , but tired , waiting the days to come. 

picture credit : 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-man-in-military-uniform-7468260/