Duty is a Four-Letter Word

Duty is a Four Letter Word

Part One: No Place for Heroes.

August 2003: Running Out of Time

The sirens sliced through the damp night air. David ran. Behind him the echoes of Wei’s footsteps matched his own and he knew, without wasting the energy to look back, that his best friend was keeping up. Good. Streetlights flickered weakly, their pale glow barely reaching the slick, rain-soaked pavement. But David didn’t need the light; he knew these streets, every twist, every turn, every narrow gap. Especially the narrow gaps. The wails of the police sirens were growing louder by the second. The mata were closing in fast.

Three days earlier, the letter he’d been dreading had arrived. He’d shoved it in his desk drawer, and focused on the next big deal to take his mind off it. Except tonight, that deal went to shit. Some blur sotong fucked up and the mata swarmed. Though David, always two steps ahead, had escaped unseen and with the cash.

Well, almost escaped.

In the corner of his eye, he caught the flash of red and blue lights reflecting off the wet walls, and a familiar thrill shot through his veins. His heart pounded, but his breathing stayed steady. Focus. He rounded a corner and slipped through a narrow gap between a kopitiam and an old fence, hearing Wei’s feet skid as he followed him in the sharp turn. The rain dripped across his face and down the back of his collar. David grinned, wiping the water from his brow. Too slow suckers! This was his territory. His life. The mata couldn’t catch them. Not here.

They ran down the alley, where the lingering scent of fried food mingered with the smell of garbage and wet concrete. The alley opened up to a wider, more brightly lit road. If they could make it across before the mata circled the block, he’d be home free. It was a race. A race he’d won before.

But not always.

The looming silhouette of a uniformed officer suddenly blocked the light streaming into the alley from the road.

“Oi! You two!” the officer yelled, his voice sharp above the rain, David’s feet skidded on the slick ground as he came to a halt before turning a sharp 180°

“Where to?” Wei asked.

“Plan B.” David pointed back the way they’d come.

They raced back down the alley and took a sharp right-hand turn into an even narrower street. Behind them echoed the sound of heavy boots slapping the wet pavement, but David didn’t waste time looking back. Right now they needed to put as much space between them and the officer as he could. His heart kicked up a notch, but his movements remained steady. Purposeful. This wasn’t fear; this was the game. A game he was used to winning.

Up ahead, on the left, was the low wall which marked the dead-end of another alley. David veered toward it. He grabbed the top with practiced ease, swinging himself over in one fluid motion. On the other side he landed in a crouch, the weight of his wet clothes barely slowing him down. Wei wasn’t far behind him. Their sneakers hit the ground with soft thuds as they continued through the maze of back alleys.

They were almost clear.

Stay calm. Focus.

David ran down the alley, his eyes quickly scanning for his escape route. Up ahead was the gap between two old shophouses. In this part of Bukit Merah, the buildings were so close that you could almost reach out from one side and touch the other.

His hands slapped against the wet brickwork. The buildings were close enough that he could wedge himself between them, climbing upward with quick, practiced movements. The rough surface of the older walls gave him just enough grip, and he moved smoothly, pushing himself upward. Beneath him Wei shot him a look and a muttered curse before copying suit and shimmying up with a little more effort than it took David. David’s breath came in controlled bursts, the sound of the approaching boots echoing louder behind him. The officer wasn’t far now, but David wasn’t worried. He knew exactly what to do. Wei would keep up.

Reaching the first balcony, he grabbed the rusted railing and swung himself onto the platform. He crouched low, eyes scanning the alley below. No sign of the officer yet. Good. He reached down and grabbed Wei’s hand, helping him to pull himself over the railing.

“We’ll be seen here,” Wei whispered.

“Trust me.” David climbed onto the railing of the balcony. The rain dripped down his face, but he barely noticed. His focus was on the next step.

Standing on the balcony railing, he was just able to reach the fancy ironwork of the balcony above him. He stretched out his fingers, gripping the wet metal firmly, and pulled himself up with practiced ease. Another quick glance down showed the coast was still clear, but the footsteps were getting closer.

“Hurry!” He called down to Wei in a coarse whisper. Wei climbed onto the railing and stretched his arms up, but his fingers weren’t quite able to reach the balcony above. There was a skidding sound. His foot slipped. David’s arms shot down through the gaps in the fancy ironwork and he grabbed Wei’s hands.

“Steady!” David said. Wei did steady himself and, again with David’s help, made it up to the next balcony.

“Here?” Wei asked.

“Not quite. Next bit easy though. Just do, don’t think, lah.”

David Climbed up onto the balcony railing and looked across the narrow passage. The balcony of the building opposite was just within reach. With a solid brick raining, it made the perfect hiding place. The gap wasn’t wide, but the drop down…

You’ve done this before. Don’t look down. he reminded himself, before leaping across. He landed safely, as always. He crouched low behind the wall.

Wei landed moments later and stayed low, but whispered, “Steady lah!”

David grinned.

“Did you see where he went?” a voice called out nearby.

“Not this way!” the officer shouted back, frustration lacing his voice.

The voices were closer now, but confused, disoriented. David pressed his back against the wall, listening as the footsteps and the voices faded, swallowed by the sounds of the city—rain tapping against metal roofs, distant traffic, the hum of life continuing while he hid in the shadows. The sirens grew faint. They wouldn’t find him. Not tonight.

David let out a slow breath, the grin still tugging at his lips. Too easy.

His fingers brushed against the envelope tucked in his pocket. Another successful deal, another rush. The cash was good, but the thrill? Even better.

“Good game,” David said, pulling out the envelope.

“Damn close one,” Wei said as David counted the cash.

“But fun, no?” This was his life. Untouchable. Free. Always one step ahead. He passed Wei’s cut over. Wei pocketed it and David put his portion back in the envelope. The envelope wakened a memory of another envelope, one shoved in the drawer of his desk at home, but he pushed the thought aside. “Mata breathing down the back of your neck, one way to feel alive. I could do this forever!” He boasted.

But he couldn’t.

As the rain dripped down the collar of his shirt, his smile faded and the unwanted thought crept back into his mind, cold and persistent.

National Service.

It was coming. The envelope in his desk drawer contained his enlistment letter from MINDEF. He’d glanced at the date: 1 December 2003. That’s all he needed to read. The rest he already knew. Two years of his life, gone. Two years of freedom ripped from his hands, replaced by rules, orders, and a uniform that would force his every move to be dictated by someone else’s rules

David clenched his jaw, pushing the thought away. Not yet. He still had time. Still had deals to make, nights to run. They couldn’t take this from him. Not yet.

“Eh, you right or not, bro?” Wei nudged him, bringing him back to the present.

“Yah,” he muttered. “Come, coast is clear.” David slid out of their hiding spot and dropped back into the alley below, Wei not far behind. The rain was letting up, turning into a soft drizzle. The streets were quieter now, the mata long gone, searching somewhere else.

David walked slowly, Wei beside him, the thrill of the chase fading as the night settled around him. This was his territory. His streets. But soon... soon they wouldn’t be.

The streets still whispered promises of freedom and danger, but in the back of his mind, that date loomed, a countdown he couldn’t ignore.

David lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around him, blending into the damp night air. He stared up at the flickering streetlight above him.

“Got my letter,” he blurted out. “From MINDEF.”

“Ah.” They walked in silence a while longer. Wei was older than David, his two years were already behind him. “When?” he asked.

“December.” It was the first enlistment date after his 18th birthday. Army didn’t spare their time in stealing his.

“Damn. Monsoon season.”

“Any time’s a bad time, when you got a life to live.”

“Two years only, bro. After that, streets still here, money still here. I’ll be here, ready to play same game as always.” Wei patted him on the shoulder.

“Yeah. Just gotta survive the next two years.”

“You’ll do fine! Just don’t slack off, or sergeant will give you hell. Also,” here Wei shot David a grin, “Don’t do too well, or they might put you OCS.” David snorted a laugh in response. OCS. Officer and Cadet School. More work and an extra 6 months service as a reward. A longer sentence? Some reward. His older brother, Peter, had been proud to have been selected for OCS. But not him. He wasn’t stupid.

“Don’t do bad, don’t do good. Got it!” David joked. He wasn’t really worried about how he’d perform. He’d had enough practice during his school years doing just enough to to rank in the middle of a group. Of course, sometimes he’d slipped up, or a sharp-eyed teacher who’d taken genuine interest in him had noticed his potential, but he’d learnt from his mistakes. Besides, what sergeant would take genuine interest in some recruit unless it was going to advance their career? Army didn’t give a fuck about anybody.

“Just keep your head down, lah, serve and fuck off,” Wei said. David took it as a more gentle way of saying the old mantra: Man up, bro, it’s only two years. Everyone else had to do it.

“Yeah. Just tahan.”

“Yeah.” They’d reached a corner, where David would go one way, Wei the other. They said their good-byes. Wei turned to walk away, paused, and turned back.

“Eh, bro, look. It’s harder for you, lah. Other guys, they straight out of school. Go from one place where people tell them what to do and how to live their life, to another place where people tell them what to do and how to live their life. Most of them blur, don’t even know what they wanna do. You’re different. You had two years of freedom. You already got life sorted out. You damn good at… this.” Wei swept his hand over the dark, rain-soaked streets. “Yeah. Army tell you when to wake, what to eat, when to fart—”

David snorted a laugh. “Army tell us what to eat? Better not feed beans and then say don’t fart, lah.”

Wei grinned. “What I’m saying, is boys go into NS. They come out changed. You? You’re not a boy. They can put you in uniform, cut your hair, tell you what to do, how to think. Outside, you’ll follow. Inside, you won’t. When you come out, uniform off, your hair grow back– still you, bro. Remember ah, don’t need to fight every battle. Just make sure your enemy lose theirs. Army wanna change you? No need to fight, lah. Just stay you. They lose.”

There was a moment of silence between the two after Wei’s long speech.

“Yeah. Thanks bro,” David muttered. It was a short sentence that conveyed don’t wanna admit I was worried about that, but you’re right.

Wei nodded, a sign he understood, before turning again and heading home.

David lingered, a gentle breeze blew his cigarette smoke into the depths of alleyways hidden in darkness. The streets whispered promises of freedom, but for how much longer?

“They can put me in a uniform,” he muttered, flicking the cigarette into a puddle, “Make me look the same as everyone else, but I’ll never be the same. I’ll still be me. I’ll still be… different.” He turned towards home and started walking through streets that had always been his. And always would be his. But two years away? Right now it seemed eternity.

He disappeared into the darkness, the streets swallowing him once more. He was still running, still free—but not for long.

Thank you for reading so far. Please let me know your thoughts.