A Twofold Tale

It’s the day of the demonstration and everywhere in the country on Al’bassita the people are in the streets. There are almost a million people in the economic capital Al Madinat Aladwa, another half a million in the capital city Al’Easima, and hundreds of thousands in all of the major cities. The country’s population is less than 4 million, so it’s a turnout that never could have been imagined. The news of Aziz Elbaz’s arrest the night before has sparked a blaze. Everywhere people are chanting “Down with Nizam Mahfoud! Aziz Elbaz for Prime Minister!” Ali hasn’t even announced Aziz’s candidacy, but the people have chosen him. In fact, unlike Ai, Aziz Elbaz was never one to get into politics, and if Ali had not been in his body when he was beaten and arrested at the first protest, he would have just resumed his life as it was before as a rich celebrity. The concert would have been a normal one, and none of the events that led up to this revolution would have happened.

As Ali had forecast, the riot police and the military are there to meet the protestors, but the force of numbers is too much for them to handle. The police and the military start siding with the people. It’s a revolution.

There are a few people who aren’t with the protesters, because they have something more important to do, Yasser Tabet, accompanied by Kabira, Mounir Jafari, and Chimere, has demanded an audience with the king. The king is forever grateful to Mounir for having saved his father’s life, and even if he no longer works in the Royal Palace, he is always welcome. The audience was Kabira’s idea, after Chimere saw the horrible acts that Nizam had committed. She asked Chimere, even if it was heart wrenching, to concentrate again with Nizam’s cigar butt. They discovered that there are dozens of dead, violated, and mutilated corpses of young children buried at Nizam’s villa. Kabira contacted Yasser and asked that Mounir Jaffari request an audience. At first, hearing the accusations, the king is skeptical, which is normal, but agrees to let Chimere hold his turban and tell him in private what she sees. After seeing her powers, he accedes to investigate.

The king’s Special Forces are sent to Nizam’s villa and he is placed under arrest. His grounds are searched and the bodies found, as seen by Chimere.

The king, seeing the uprising which is happening all over the country, announces the arrest and ouster of Nizam Mahfoud. He names Yasser Talbet Premier Minister. He grants royal pardon to both Aziz Elbaz and Dr. Asra Hanadi for all crimes that they are accused of, and in return, they annul their suit for police brutality. The project of the censorship law is abandoned. As for the article 480, it’s still a hot subject. The laws that are in relation to religion are difficult to change.

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Meanwhile, on Al’ard, the same blackguard is still in power. He’s come to the reinforced prison to personally supervise the executions of Ali Elbaz, Fatima Zahra Bellali, and Asra Hanadi. He takes a tour of the prison first, and seeing everything in order, commands that all the prisoners be brought into the courtyard, where he’s set up a firing squad.

The three condemned prisoners are tied up and lined against a wall, 5 soldiers facing them with rifles. Nizam hasn’t even given them the choice of banding their eyes. His face shows extreme happiness and his upturned right upper lip shows all the contempt he has for the people he’s about to murder. He gleefully shouts “Fire!’, and at that precise moment, the soldiers on the firing squad turn their rifles to aim at him. Captain Hassan Fassi steps forward and addresses the man who stripped him of his power.

“Now, Mr. Mahfoud, guess who has the upper hand? All of these men are under my command, and I’m arresting you for treason.”

“You sonofabitch!” He pulls out a 44 magnum pistol and fires one shot before the bullets of 5 rifles all hit him. Normally there is only one rifle loaded with a bullet on a firing squad, but the Captain’s plans weren’t for an execution. The one shot Mahfoud fired was at the object of his most profound hatred, Ali Elbaz. Asra, who is just next to Aziz against the wall, lunges to knock him out of the way as soon as she sees Nizam raising the pistol in his direction, and she takes the bullet that was intended for him. There’s now a gaping hole in her chest. Ali bends down over her as she’s gasping her last breaths. They look at each other lovingly as she dies in his arms. Mas Anazar and Fatma Zahra join them in tears.

An enormous ceremony is held for Asra’s laying to rest among her people, and the entire resistance group from the city attends.

Now that Mahfoud is no longer of this world (even if he’s still in another one), all of the prisoners are set free. The Captain Hassan Fassi demands an audience with the king, who accords it. After listening to his story, he reinstates him as Captain in the NSF. The king offers him Nizam’s former position, but he refuses, wishing just to return to his life as it was before. A warrant is issued for the arrest of Nadim Nurani, who is sentenced to life imprisonment, and the insurgents disband, having no longer any reason to rebel. The National Library and the boulevard in front of it are renamed after Dr. Asra Hanadi.