Negotiation

‘Jai lost his ability to speak and seemed to have suffered some form of brain damage,’ Bowman said. ‘Left alone, he was unlikely to survive. I visited the village with another officer. We wanted to bring Jai back to the police station. But Zea refused.’ ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘Zea had an older brother who passed away some years ago. I guess she was lonely. She wanted Jai to stay with her.’ ‘She had no right to decide for Kieran,’ I said heatedly. ‘I agree.’ Bowman nodded. ‘But the villagers sided with her. Zea saved him, after all. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant.’ ‘Couldn’t you just bring Kieran out of the village?’ I asked. ‘You are law enforcement. The locals have no valid reason to detain him.’ ‘I know, but it was just the two of us against the entire village. If Zea didn’t want Jai to leave, then we couldn’t do anything about it without resorting to force. But it’s not like we can arrest the whole village.’ Bowman sighed. ‘I’ve visited the village multiple times in the