Chapter 95: 95. A Single Day
Quickly, in a single day, the radio stations were brought down, and instead of hateful propaganda, songs were broadcasted. After that, Operation Happiness started. The wizards, along with the various members of the Expendables, headed into the country and began to abduct high-ranking military leaders as well as government officials.
After Happy ensured that he was going to take responsibility, the wizards were quick to cast Imperius curses on the abducted men and women. There were over five hundred of them—army, police, administration—none was spared.
Meanwhile, Happy went to the country's capital, Kigali, to make it his base of operation since it was also the center of power. However, he couldn't just go and take any government office. So he simply called Chris to rent out the best hotel in the city—the entire hotel.
Sadly, there were no hotels to be rented out. And why that was the case became quite clear once Happy and his convoy of armored trucks owned by Expendables entered the city.
"I'd suggest you don't look outside," Rambo suggested to him.
"But I have to." Happy, with resolve, stood up at the gunner's opening and poked his head out to look around.
Simple to say he felt like vomiting but kept it in. There were dead bodies littered throughout the street, cut into pieces, stabbed, or shot—there were houses still burning, and some folks danced around the fire with guns in their hands.
Furthermore… There were women, surrounded and their modesty disrespected in the most heinous ways imaginable. Some people were even set on fire and forced to run around—the screams were haunting.
"This is madness." Happy muttered.
"This is the reality," Rambo murmured from inside the cabin. "Such things have been going on since humans learned how to use weapons. Differences lead to anger, and that leads to genocides—third Punic War, Armenians, Bosnian, Guatemala, Holodomor, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Holocaust—Rwanda is just another name on the long list."
Happy understood that much. "But… Why torture? Why make it so painful?"
"That's the goal, boss," Trench added. "Murder is a means to kill a person. And Ra—Sexual assault is the way to kill a mind, a spirit. It's been done in the past, it's being done now, and it'll keep happening in the future."
Happy sighed and returned to sit back in his seat, feeling conflicted. "What about the law? Has the UN ever been able to stop a war or genocide?"
"Haha…" The members of Expendables chuckled.
Rambo shrugged. "Why do you think groups like Expendables exist? The UN is controlled by the Security Council. The organization has Russia and the United States at the same table. Do you think they would ever agree on anything? Even if it's for the good of the world?"
'What a mess.' Happy learned a lot on the road and silently thought about what to do next. The images of the corpses on the streets were haunting. And sadly, their convoy had to run over a few of them since the bodies were purposefully thrown onto the streets to stop any vehicle for an ambush.
Eventually, they arrived at the Hotel des Mille Collines, an upscale hotel in the middle of the city. It was grand enough to act as a base where the supposed peace treaty was soon going to be signed. Besides, there was another reason the hotel was chosen—the UN-assigned Force Commander in Rwanda. Although, according to the official channels, the man was ordered to leave with all UN forces, he decided to defy the order.
"Secure the area, set the cameras, and place the machine guns on the terrace. Keep the non-lethal grenades and loudspeakers ready. Warn any hostile forces trying to enter the premises." Rambo ordered his team around and quickly worked to set up the basic defenses. Barbed wire was deployed, and the armored truck was to remain stationed there—armored and ready.
Meanwhile, Happy entered the building with Trench, the eldest member of the Expendables. He treated the old man as his military advisor for the moment, since he lacked the knowledge.
"The place seems to have turned into a refugee camp," Happy muttered as he noticed the crowds of people occupying the place. From the gardens to the pool, and every inch of the building hall—it was all occupied.
The people didn't seem frightened by their presence at all, but rather seemed elated to see their heavy guns.
"How may I be of help? Are you sent by the UN?" Just then, a Rwandan native appeared in a black suit. "I'm the manager of the hotel."
Happy walked out from behind the Trench. "Well, at this rate, I guess we are the UN. Anyway, where's General Dallaire?"
The manager remained silent for a while, looking at Happy's slightly shorter stature and his youthful face.
Happy coughed. "Should I say it again?"
"Ah… No… please follow me. He's having lunch." The manager led them along. "If you're not the UN, then who are you?"
"Privateers," Trench answered. "And thanks to this young man here, your country might just achieve peace by tomorrow evening."
The manager looked at Happy while walking. "Please to meet you, Sir. I'm Paul Rusesabagina."
Happy nodded and gave a few requests. "Don't worry about food and water. A substantial amount will be delivered here within an hour. Keep your storage clean and ready to be stocked. Furthermore, Rwandan generals and bureaucrats will be coming here tomorrow, so I need you to prepare a conference room."
Paul, the manager, didn't seem very optimistic about it. But he accepted the requests since it was his job as the manager, and the job was something he took very seriously.
"That's the General."
Finally, Trench walked forward and smacked the back of General Dallarie's head. "Kid, you're not going to stand and salute?"
"Who the…"
"..."
The UN, French-Canadian General looked flabbergasted when he saw Trench. The spoon from his grasp fell, and his eyes widened. Then he saluted stiffly. "W-What are you doing here, Sir? I thought you retired."
"From government service, that is." Trench pulled the man to sit and took the whiskey bottle. "Anyway, I'll be needing you to represent the UN tomorrow. A very important meeting will take place here... and it will be broadcasted live."
…
How much can be done in a single day? Perhaps not much by muggle standards, but by wizard standards—a lot. Within a day, the food rations were spread around the country through various human rights groups still active and taking risks.
Some private militias were also hired from neighboring countries just to oversee the food distribution to the people. Sometimes the packages were simply dropped from the sky. The locations with the most riots were placed under charms to make the muggles fall unconscious for a day.
However, it was only the beginning. The news media finally started to show the latest information coming out of Rwanda. The graphic photos and videos were intentionally displayed so that the common people could force their local government representative to address the issue.
"How much did you spend buying the stakes?" Happy talked to Chris over the phone from his little private room.
"I spent nearly ten billion, but I can say with confidence that we have no reason to worry about someone doing a hit job on our company in the future. There's too many eyes on us these days." Chris answered. "And before you worry, Mr. Lestrange, I must inform you that the company has made significant strides in wealthier markets. We're now supplying special potatoes to PepsiCo for their chips. As well as tomatoes for some huge companies to make ketchup, and grains for flour suppliers. We made an effort to refrain from cutting into the private farmers' share, however, as I only focused on companies that wanted to increase their output quickly—we're just occupying a piece of a new pie."
Happy was pleasantly surprised, but he understood he had to hasten his study of grains and make his business muggle style instead of solely relying on magic. After all, unless he actually grew crops, he couldn't go public with the company.
"So, how much am I worth now?" Happy asked.
"Almost two hundred billion… but it's not a permanent evaluation as not all orders are recurring. But as of now—yes, two hundred billion is the number; if we combined your holdings in a plethora of other companies. I even had to hire fifty new people for the company." Chris revealed, so easily, as if he was used to talking about those huge numbers now.
'I'm worth two hundred billion dollars? Then, that means I'm the richest person in the world if we ignore all the royal families… this is crazy!' Happy felt a shiver, but he wanted more for his true goals.
"How is the land-buying work going?" He asked. "As I said before, keep buying more and more, never stop. Start going after African nations also, I'll leverage my land holdings on corrupt governments here later."
"Are you sure? Mr. Lestrange, the governments there rise and fall? What if they simply refuse to acknowledge your rights to the land?" Chris warned him.
Happy shrugged. "Don't worry, just get the land purchase through an internationally reputed law firm. Leave a heavy paper trail of the purchase behind without exposing yourself—oh, and Chris, you're the CEO starting today."
Chris went silent for a few seconds. "Wasn't I already a CEO? I even have it on my business card."
"..."
Happy tried to remember if he had made him the CEO, but couldn't. "Haha… so I'll make it official now. Anyway, keep sending the goods to Rwanda; medicine, food, and clothes. Grandpa must also be on a flight here by now, so get ready for the second phase of the plan."
"Understood, Mr. Lestrange."
With that, Happy ended the call and went to find himself a muggle suit.
…
The following evening arrived.
The reaction from the world was wild. As soon as the photos and videos of the genocide came out in the mainstream media, reactions began pouring in. Quick public marches for support came out, some news stations were silenced by force, and some kept going because of Happy's money.
Thankfully, there was enough pressure to bring the world's attention to the live broadcast on the news channels that just got announced. Officially titled—Rwandan Peace Treaty Signing.
By evening, a lot of heavily armored cars and convoys started to arrive at the lavish hotel. And soon, the live broadcast began on a few news channels where Happy had influence.
It was a room packed with people, looking very civilized. An oval table took center stage, and at the leading position sat Happy's grandpa, Governor Benjamin. The scene was a shock to half of the world, as no one had a clue on why or how he was there. However, Benjamin started speaking to them.
"Being an ex-soldier in wars in the past, I have seen atrocities being committed first hand. This time, I decided not to just sit and watch, while the government displayed a feeble backbone and the institutions set in place to stop these wars and genocides failed to act. I come here not as the Governor of New York, but as a man who values humanity—and hopefully, the treaty signed today shall be honored by the world." Benjamin allowed the UN General to speak afterward.
It was all a ploy to force the world to react and send troops or aid into the country. Soon the various Rwandan Generals, under the Imperius curse, gave their speeches and signed the documents one by one. From rulers of various prefectures to the head of Presidential guards—all showed unity.
Finally, the chosen head of the Rwandan delegation gave his—'Happy's' speech. "I am saddened and devastated by what has become of this nation. Such savagery shown by my fellow citizens is inhumane and unacceptable. But, the truth is that we are ill-equipped to deal with such things. Mr. Governor has come to help. However, even he is but a single man—so I ask the UN and the international community to send help—Help me stop this senseless war and genocide—I humbly request."
And with that, the phase one was completed. The live broadcast ended, and all the so-called leaders were thrown into a cellar, as they too, were to face trial.
"Happy." Benjamin delightfully smiled, seeing Happy enter the conference room. "You did it… it was impeccable, son. I'll hurry back now and start forcing the federal government to take action."
"Thank you, Grandpa. However, the work only starts now."
…
Hogwarts, Headmaster's office.
"Happy did what?!"
"Calm down, Sirius." Dumbledore took a deep, calming breath while stroking his beard. "He informed me about his plans beforehand, so no need to be surprised. But, I'm afraid what's to come next will require your assistance."
Bam!
Sirius jumped to his feet in excitement. "Just say it! You want me to go to Happy and help him kill the mad dogs in human skin?... Ah, wait… that would make me one of t…"
"..."
GOD OF TRASH
New Original Book! Read! Vote!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone