Chapter 5 fourth quarter

Trevize stayed in a small room at Security Bureau headquarters until midnight before two guards brought him out.It was a luxurious room, he had to admit, but it was locked from the outside, and its real name, after all, was The Cell. During the more than four hours of detention, Trevize spent most of the time pacing up and down in the room, reflecting on everything painfully. Why should I trust CommScope? Why not? He seemed to clearly agree with himself—no, not that.He seemed easily persuaded—no, not that.He looks stupid, easily influenced by others, obviously lacking in thoughts and opinions, so Trevize likes to use him as a docile "sounding board".Trevize was able to constantly revise and improve his theory because of Comm's frequent discussions with him.He was indeed a very useful friend, and there was no particular reason why Trevize trusted him, he just took everything for granted.

But until now, it is too late to reflect on whether we should have a thorough understanding of CommScope first.At the beginning, I should have followed a simple general rule: no one can be trusted. However, can a person really do this in a lifetime? The answer is obviously that it has to be. But who would have thought that Burano would be so bold that he dared to blatantly arrest a congressman in the assembly hall—and no congressman would come forward to protect one of them? Even if these congressmen had no intention of doing so According to Trevize, even if they were willing to use every drop of their blood to bet that Branor was the right side, in principle, in order to protect their noble rights, they should not be so silent.Many people call her "Bronze Burano", she is really ruthless...

Unless, she herself is already under control... No! If you are suspicious like this, you will get paranoid sooner or later! However…… These thoughts swirled and turned in his mind, and when the guards came in, he hadn't been able to shake off the cycle of futile thoughts. "Now you have to go with us, Mr. Congressman." It was the older guard who spoke, his tone was serious and unemotional, and he was a lieutenant as could be seen from the badge.The lieutenant had a small scar on his right cheek, and looked tired. It seemed that he had been doing this job for too long, but he still couldn't do anything. In a world that has maintained peace for more than a century, any soldier would It is inevitable to feel this way.

Trevize remained motionless, but asked, "Lieutenant, what's your name?" "I'm Lieutenant Ewad Sopello, Senator." "You should know that your actions have broken the law, Lieutenant Sopelo, and you have no right to arrest a member of parliament." The lieutenant replied, "We are only following orders, sir." "It doesn't matter. Nobody can order you to arrest a MP. You have to understand that doing so will subject you to court martial." The lieutenant added: "You have not been arrested, Mr. Senator." "Then I don't have to go with you, do I?"

"We were ordered to escort you home." "I know the way myself." "And responsible for protecting you along the way." "Is there any natural disaster? Or is there some man-made disaster?" "There may be a mob gathering and we must keep you safe." "In the middle of the night?" "That's why we didn't come until midnight. Sir, now for your safety, we must ask you to come with us. Let me remind you that the authorities have authorized us to use force if necessary. This is not a threat , just tell the truth." Trevize noticed that they both carried nerve whips, so he got up slowly, maintaining his dignity as much as possible. "Then, take me home—or, in the end, I'll find out that you've taken me to prison."

"We were not ordered to lie to you, sir," said the lieutenant proudly.It was only then that Trevize realized that the other party was a strict professional soldier, and even lying required an order from a superior.What he said now should be the truth, otherwise his expression and tone would not be able to hide the truth from others. So Trevize said, "Please don't mind, Lieutenant, I don't doubt what you say." A car was already waiting outside, and the streets were deserted, with no trace of people, let alone mobs.But the lieutenant didn't lie just now. He didn't mention that there was a mob outside, or that a mob was going to gather. He said "there may be a mob gathering", he just said "maybe".

After coming outside, the lieutenant carefully sandwiched Trevize between the car and him, and it was impossible for Trevize to turn around and run away.As soon as Trevize got into the car, the lieutenant got into the car and sat in the back seat with him. Then the car started moving. Trevize said: "When I get home, I'm sure it will give me my freedom—like, if I need to, I can go out whenever I want." "We have not been ordered to interfere with any of your actions, Mr. Congressman, but we have been ordered to continue to protect you." "Continue to protect me? How do you say that?"

"I have been ordered to inform you that once you have returned home, you must not leave the house. You may be in danger in the streets, and I must be responsible for your safety." "You mean to say that I will be under house arrest at home." "I'm not a lawyer, Mr MP, and I don't know what that means." The lieutenant was looking straight ahead, but his elbow was pressed against Trevize's side.If Trevize moved a little, the lieutenant would definitely notice. The car stopped in front of Trevize's small house on the outskirts of Flexner.At the moment he lacked a female companion—after his election, life became so irregular that Fleurvira left him—so he knew no one would be waiting for him at home.

"Can I go down now?" Trevize asked. "I will get out of the car first, Mr. Congressman, and then we will escort you in." "For my safety?" "Yes, sir." Inside the front door, two other guards were already there.There was a little light from the night lights in the room, but because the window glass was turned opaque, it was impossible to see the inside of the house from the outside. When Trevize found out that someone had invaded his house, his initial reaction was to be furious, but after thinking about it, he had no choice but to admit it.In the council hall today, the entire council can't protect him, and his own home is certainly not a fortress.

Trevize said, "How many of you are in my house altogether? A legion?" "Not so much, Senator," came a stern, steady voice from within the room. "In addition to what you see now, there is only one more, and I have been waiting for you for a long time." Hera Burano, the mayor of Terminus, was standing at the door of the living room. "It's about time we talked, don't you think so?" Trevize glared at her and said, "It took so much trouble, but..." But Burano said in a low and forceful voice: "Be quiet, Senator—you four, get out, get out! You're none of your business here."

The four guards immediately saluted, then turned and left, leaving only Trevize and Burano in the room.