Meanwhile, in the city of St. Petersburg, Gabriel ran down the street, trying to get away from his pursuers, the police.

“Stop right there!” One of the cops yelled while the others blew their whistles.action

He could see them out of the corner of his eye, but they were too far behind to make a run for it, so he made a sharp turn down an alleyway, and then another, hoping that it would be enough to lose them. But of course, he had underestimated how long these guys knew how to search a person. He was already halfway down the alley when a group of police finally caught up with him, who appeared at the end of the alleyway, blocking his escape.

Gabriel clicked his tongue as he turned around but to his surprise, there is also a police their with their rifle trained at him.

“Give it up!” The policeman said angrily, “Now put your hands where we can see them.”

Gabriel tried to keep calm but his heartbeat was pounding like crazy. This is bad, this is really bad, he thought, he’s going to get caught at this rate.

He tried to think of another way, putting his mind to work, formulating an escape plan. But it’s just impossible to think of one. After all, he was entirely surrounded. There’s no escaping here. It’s either he makes a run for it but risks getting shot or stands there and risk getting caught.

There was a policy in Black Hand about this scenario. When one is cornered, there’s only one thing to do…

Gabriel slumped his shoulder, giving up on the idea of running away. But instead of showing a remorseful expression, he smirked confidently, accepting his fate.

“Ah…what a shame…I got caught,” Gabriel flippantly said.-.

The policemen looked surprised by what Gabriel had said, but soon their faces twisted in rage. This man shot their emperor, their head of state, the ruler that they have longed for. And then this man in front of them appeared, trying to ruin the progress the young prince has built with his deplorable act.

“Don’t move! If you move, we will not hesitate to shoot!” One of the policemen threatened as the rest walked slowly toward Gabriel with their rifles aimed at him.

Gabriel scoffed. “I don’t really care if my life ends here but before I depart, I want to tell you something you ignorant fools…” he paused dramatically and spoke. “You’ve all been lied to!”

The policeman stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded at Gabriel’s declaration.

“Why bother serving the royal family that has robbed us for centuries? Did you forget about the atrocity that the royal family has done to our comrades? If we spoke against them, they’ll send us to Gulag, if we didn’t do what the Emperor told us to do, they’ll oppress us. So why are you angry at me? I’m doing you all here a favor.”

“You’re the one who is blind!” One of the policemen countered. “Didn’t you even see how the Emperor is issuing decrees, laws, and reforms for the betterment of the people? Have you thought about that huh?!”“Correct! You terrorists are the real cancer of this country…You don’t deserve to live…but we have orders to take you alive so cooperate with us if you don’t want your life here to end,”

“Damn right, acting all mighty when they are the ones creating chaos in the country…”

“True.”

Hearing that, Gabriel laughed maniacally. “Ha ha ha ha ha, you all are really stupid aren’t you? Do you still fall for those sweet words from that good-for-nothing prince? He’s controlled by the elites in the government, he might not be the one who had come up with all of those ideas, you ignorant fools…”

“SHUT UP!!!” The policeman roared. They raised their gun and aimed them at him with murderous intent. But were able to control themselves of snapping out.

Gabriel can see in their faces how exasperated and angry they are with him, which made him pity them.

They’ve been lied to by the Romanoff Family, they think the prince is doing the best he can to lift up Ruthenia out of misery but they are wrong. The prince is merely using those ploys to keep the power in the Royal Family. So even after the constitutional reform, the prince still holds more power.

Those proclamations that the prince had enacted, assuming he’s the one who came up with them before the existence of the Imperial Council, are just made to appease the people’s anger towards the Royal Family.

And when the new laws have passed in the Imperial Council, it seems as though the people have forgotten the dark history. That’s why he pities them, they are victims, and the Black Hand intends to free them of that. Freeing the people from the rule of the greedy monarch and government elites that have exploited this country for centuries.

“Get down on your knees!” The policeman yelled but Gabriel kept looking at them, smiling coldly.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that,” Gabriel said.

“Get down on your knees now! I will not repeat again,” the policeman repeated.

“We have strict rules to follow in Black Hand…” Gabriel said, his hand reaching to his concealed pistol in his waist slowly. “Do you think that I will give up names after you arrest me? Or force me to spill their location out if you torture me? No…no, that’s where you got it wrong.”

“‘Run away if your cover is blown and die if you get caught'” Gabriel quoted, pulling out a pistol that he had hidden under his jacket. The police officers reflexively took a step back.

Gabriel continued. “Looks like I’m going to choose the latter,” he smiled, and just as he was about to aim the barrel to his chin, a deafening roar resounded in the alleyway.

Gabriel’s eyes widened in shock…”What?!”

His pistol flew out of his hand and dropped to the ground beside him. Blood began flowing down his hand from the wound that he received. A bullet had just grazed his hand. The rifle of the police officer in front of him has tendrils of smoke billowing out of the muzzle.

“You won’t get away from this easily,” the police officer said and motioned for the other police officers to subdue him.

They moved forward, grabbing both of Gabriel’s wrists tightly. They used force to pull him down.“No…no, wait!!” Gabriel yelled in panic, struggling to break free. However, the police officers held him firmly, and he couldn’t even budge.

After several seconds of struggling, Gabriel realized that there was nothing he could do. He sighed sadly, knowing what would happen once he got captured by the police. Still, his loyalty is to the Black Hand, he won’t rat them out and is willing to take a beating if that is what it takes.

…

Back in the hospital, Alexander looked at Sergei, who was panting heavily.

“You okay? Sorry if I called you back all of a sudden,” Alexander said.

“No, it’s okay Your Majesty…” Sergei assured, catching his breath. “What is that you want to ask me about?”

“Sergei, It looks like I’ll have to go into surgery after all. I’ll be under general anesthetic for at least three hours. Is there a protocol for that?”

Sergei looked down somberly and replied. “Well, sir, if you’re unconscious, that means you’ll be incapable to discharge your duties as the empire’s head of state. So you’ll have to enact a decree where you will select a temporary regent that will act as the head of state of the Empire while you’re gone.”

“Okay, how do we do that?”

“We’ll notify the Imperial Council through a signed and written statement that you’ll be temporarily vacating the office to the person you had chosen,” Sergei answered.

Alexander nodded understandingly. “Alright, let’s do it then,”

Sergei cocked his head to the side, “Do you have a person in mind sir?”

“I do…please get Sophie and Christina here as soon as possible,”

“Sir, may I remind you that choosing a regent who is not a Ruthenian citizen is prohibited according to the law,” Sergei reminded.

Alexander understood what he meant. Even though Sophie is his fiancé, and his future wife, they are not married yet, thus not a Ruthenian citizen, therefore she can’t be the temporary regent of the empire.

“I am aware of the law prime minister. It’s not Sophie I’m going to choose…”

“Sir…don’t tell me…” Sergei realized.

“Yes…I’ll choose Christina Romanoff as the temporary head of state of the Ruthenia Empire. She’s eligible in terms of age and will work in the best interest of the country…”

“But sir…you have a cousin! Why don’t you just choose him instead?” Sergei asked.

“Are you questioning my decision here, prime minister?” Alexander asked sharply.

Sergei shut up instantly, feeling ashamed. “No…sorry, Your Majesty…I apologize…if it came out rude…”

Alexander relaxed and smiled softly, “I have never failed the country ever since I took this position and I don’t intend to fail this time either. Besides, I haven’t even seen my cousin for months nor even heard from him…I can’t just trust him…so hurry up…get them here now.” Alexander ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Sergei bowed to him and headed out immediately.