"And now what do we do, sir?"
"We have done what we can for those idiots, Prentiss. Now we're going to do something for us. We're going to my office and we're going to break out that bottle of bourbon the staff gave me for my birthday and we're going to get drunk."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
"Archbishop General, are you still with me?" de Tomas asked. They sat in an anteroom on Mount Temple, minutes before the Convocation of Ecumenical Ministers was to start its momentous session. Archbishop General Lambsblood hesitated. "Are you?" de Tomas repeated, looking coldly at the commander of the Army of the Lord and thinking, The vacillating coward, he thinks he can defy me.
"Archbishop General," de Tomas went on calmly, "let me remind you of some things. Those men in there"—he nodded toward the chamber where what was left of Kingdom's entire religious leadership was already assembling—"betrayed you. It was they who asked those off-worlders," de Tomas spit the words out like an epithet, "to come here, and it was they who agreed, almost without protest, to put Brigadier Sturgeon in command of your forces. Therefore, it is they who are responsible for the slaughter of your army. They let the Marines use your men as cannon fodder. And don't forget the day Sturgeon insulted you in their presence, called you a coward in front of them, and not one voiced an objection!
"I shall not remind you," de Tomas continued, "of what I do to my enemies or of what we agreed to that night at Wayvelsberg. Conversely, I do not need to remind you how generously I treat my friends. Your army is virtually destroyed and it must be rebuilt. Look at this."
He passed a sheet of paper across the table to Lambsblood, who picked it up. On it de Tomas had written a figure. Lambsblood looked at de Tomas questioningly.
"That, my dear Archbishop General, is the current strength of my Special Group. Senior Stormleader Gorman," he nodded at Gorman, who sat to one side of the little room, his legs comfortably crossed, fingers drumming silently on a tabletop, "has been conducting an assiduous recruiting and training program that was started by his predecessor, who died recently of accelerated natural causes. My Special Group is the only viable combat force left on Kingdom. I repeat, your army has been severely depleted and must be rebuilt. I will do that. How would you rather live, taking your orders from those fools," he nodded again to the Great Hall, "or from me, your friend and benefactor?"
Where did he get all those men? Archbishop General Lambsblood wondered. Is he lying? Then he said, "I am with you, Dean de Tomas," and held out his hand.
"I am no longer ‘Dean.’" De Tomas smiled, taking Lambsblood's hand. "You will now call me ‘Leader.’ The Collegium is dissolved."
"Dissolved?" Lambsblood repeated in astonishment. "But there has always been a Collegium."
"Yes, but not after today," de Tomas answered airily. "I will have no time anymore for this religious sectarianism. I am into politics now. One more thing, Archbishop General—read this, it will be announced as one of my first proclamations." He handed Lambsblood a sheet of printed material:
For special political tasks, which can be assigned to the Special Group (SG) by the leader: (a) the SG will form an armed standing military formation consisting of the strength of three regimental equivalents and one intelligence department under the direct command of the leader. There will be no organizational connection to the army of the lord in peacetime. (b) In cases of necessity up to 25,000 men of the SG can be mobilized for the use of the political police. (c) In time of war it is agreed that members of the SG will be placed at the disposal of the army of the lord, but up to 25,000 men will be held back for the purpose of strengthening the political police. (d) In peacetime the members of the SG will be prepared for their war tasks. (e) In both peace and war, the SG and the army of the lord will function under the direct orders of the leader, transmitted to all ranks by the appropriate subordinate commanders.
Lambsblood relaxed. "This is brilliant!" he exclaimed, though not fully grasping what it meant.
De Tomas smiled. It was brilliant. With this proclamation, he would create two independent but competing military bodies, both totally subordinate to the person of the Leader. That would assure that no one in either organization would get any ideas about usurping power for himself. It also left open the door for the eventual takeover of the Army of the Lord by the SG. Finally, it legalized a powerful and vastly expanded police force to search out and eliminate any political opponents who might arise in the future.
"All your men, Archbishop General, like the SG, shall swear their oath of loyalty to me personally, although in day-to-day operations and in the execution of orders they shall be subordinate to you as the army commander."
"Yes, Leader, that is wise," Lambsblood said enthusiastically. "Let me be the first to swear that oath!" He held up his right hand.
"Not at this moment, Archbishop General; we will have a formal ceremony for that purpose later." De Tomas laughed and stood up. "I hear the Convocation gathering. It's time we three went out and took our places. Are the men ready, Senior Stormleader?" Gorman nodded and snapped to attention. De Tomas paused and then laughed again. "We shall now take our places, and then . . . then we shall take their places!"
"Prepare yourself for a huge ration of nonsense," Jayben Spears muttered to Carlisle Prentiss as the two sat in the rear of the Great Hall. "The leaders are going to announce an end to the emergency and no doubt give themselves all the credit for defeating the Skinks."
"No doubt," Prentiss agreed. He nudged Spears. "There's de Tomas, Lambsblood, and that other one, Gorman. Do you think de Tomas is ready to make his move?"
Spears glanced at the seats along one side of the Great Hall that were reserved for ministers and other government functionaries. "Not here, Prentiss. Too public. De Tomas is the kind who strikes in the night. Try not to laugh when old Shammar makes the announcements."
Despite the arrest of many sect leaders, the Great Hall was nearly filled to capacity. Many minor functionaries and community leaders had been invited to hear the special victory announcement. But Spears still smarted over the events of that terrible night when the Special Group had arrested the sect leaders, especially the foolish and self-interested rejection of his warnings afterward by the five men who now sat smiling on the leaders' dais.
Ayatollah Jebel Shammar, the presiding leader of the session, called for order, and instantly the Great Hall was plunged into silence. "Brothers! I thank you for your attendance at this auspicious occasion! Allah has smiled upon us, brothers! We called this convocation to announce officially that the demon invaders have been expelled from our world! The military forces under the command of our dear brother, Archbishop General Lambsblood, with assistance from the Confederation Marines, have broken the back of the invaders and they have fled in confusion. We hereby proclaim a Worldwide Week of Thanksgiving. You may all now repair to your homes, your churches, your mosques, and give thanks to heaven for our salvation! You may now, in the confidence of your faith, proceed with the rebuilding of your lives and cities and the further propagation of your—"
The steady tramp, tramp, tramp of marching boots filled the cavernous hall as two long lines of heavily armed black-uniformed men of the Special Group filed in and took up positions along either wall, forming a cordon around the assembled leaders and their guests. The leaders on the dais sat with their mouths hanging open in astonishment while the guests whispered and gestured among themselves. Some thought the SG a guard of honor, others a special ceremonial formation to honor the veterans of the recently concluded war. None grasped what was about to happen.
Except Jayben Spears. "Good God, Prentiss, I was wrong!" he gasped.
Ayatollah Shammar looked to de Tomas, who rose and strode purposefully to the center of the stage on which the dais stood. A dozen SG men detached themselves from their positions along the side of the hall and marched to stand behind the leaders.
"Fellow citizens!" de Tomas began, addressing the assembly. "While the valiant Archbishop General Lambsblood's Army of
the Lord was fighting the demon invaders, these men," he gestured at the leaders, "were enriching themselves from the spoils of war, diverting vast sums from the public treasury into their own pockets, cheating the faithful members of their sects of their rightful emoluments and perquisites!"
Leader Nirmal Bastar jumped up and began to shout something in protest but was slammed back into his seat by the SG man standing behind him. The audience was too astonished to react.
"I have conducted a full investigation, the details of which will be fully disclosed to the world in the coming days," de Tomas continued. "I hereby arrest these men on the charge of treason and illegal speculation." People in the audience began to shout, some in protest, others in anger. De Tomas allowed them to call out for a few moments and then signaled Senior Stormleader Gorman.
"Be silent!" Gorman ordered. At his command, each SG man roared, "ARRRAH!" and leveled his rifle at the crowd, which instantly subsided into its seats.
"With firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, I am reluctantly assuming, temporarily, the mantle of government," de Tomas went on. "In the coming days, working with your cooperation, we shall establish a council to conduct the affairs of government on our world. Until then I am imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city of Haven. This is necessary because certain lawless elements of our society will no doubt try to take advantage of the current situation. The men of my Special Group shall deal with them. In addition—" He paused dramatically. "—We have reason to believe some of the demon aliens might still be alive and hiding in caves and swamps. Have no fear. Archbishop General Lambsblood and his troops will find them and wipe them out.
"Fellow citizens, friends, Kingdomites!" de Tomas went on, raising his arms. "Leave this hall now in an orderly manner, in peace, as the Great Buddha, the Prophet Mohammed, and your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, would have mankind live and love one another, and in the complete confidence that your lives are safe and your affairs unimpeded in any way! Return to your homes! Tomorrow I shall address the entire world and we shall all march forward, arm in arm, toward peace and reconstruction!"
Reluctantly at first, as if only partly absorbing what de Tomas had just announced, people began to stand. After a few moments, as the true impact of what de Tomas had said sunk in, they began filing in an orderly manner toward the exits.
SG men seized the five leaders and hauled them to their feet. Manacles were placed on their wrists.
"Goddamn hell!" Jayben Spears cursed quietly. He began elbowing his way through the crowd toward de Tomas, who stood on the dais giving his lieutenants orders. "De Tomas!" Spears shouted. "A word! A word!"
"Should I throw him out?" an Overstormer asked.
De Tomas shook his head. "Mr. Ambassador!" He turned and greeted Spears affably. "I thought I saw you sitting way back there." He gestured for two enlisted SG men to help Spears up onto the dais, but Spears shook them off angrily and mounted the stairs on his own.
"De Tomas, I'd like a word with you in private, please," Spears gasped, out of breath not from the exercise, but because of his anger.
De Tomas nodded toward an alcove off to one side. He reached out to take Spears by the elbow, but the ambassador shook off the hand with a snort and stomped off into the alcove. There, he turned and faced de Tomas. "You fuck! You rotten shit! Do you think I don't see what you're doing here!" Spears began.
"My, my, Mr. Ambassador, such language from a diplomat!"
Spears caught his breath, controlling himself. "You are nothing more than a murderer, de Tomas, and you are creating a police state here."
De Tomas only shrugged. "Kingdom has always been a police state, or hadn't you noticed?"
De Tomas's easy cynicism and calm further infuriated Jayben Spears. "You bastard!" Spears hissed, shoving a forefinger into de Tomas's face. "You have gone too far now, and I am going to—owww!" De Tomas reached out and seized Spears's wrist, squeezing it in an iron grip. He easily forced the older man backward and down onto a small settee set in one corner of the alcove.
"Now you listen to me," de Tomas said, letting go of Spears's wrist. "This is an internal affair and you have no authority here. Furthermore, Spears, don't take that high and mighty tone with me. You Confederation government people have always put your interests before those of the member worlds, and you personally, Spears, despised those fools out there, despised everything about this world. If you had your way, you'd have disposed of the leaders a long time ago. Now my advice to you is to get your ass back to Interstellar City and keep it there."
Spears, massaging his wrist, glared up at de Tomas. "I'm filing a report on you," he gasped, "and I'm recommending a police force be sent here to restore order to this place." But even as he said it, Jayben Spears knew his threat was a hollow one. De Tomas was right—he despised the Kingdomites, and what was happening now was a purely internal affair. Even if the Confederation dispatched a fact-finding mission to Kingdom, de Tomas could easily handle their inquiries.
"A report on me?" De Tomas laughed. "Be my guest, Mr. Ambassador! But be assured, I am filing one on you, and you shall be removed subsequently from your post."
"Mr. Ambassador! Mr. Ambassador!" someone shouted. It was Carlisle. Two SG men were restraining him.
"Release him!" de Tomas said, stepping aside to let Spears out. "The Ambassador and I have concluded our discussion." He smiled and bowed at Spears.
"What happened to your wrist?" Prentiss asked Spears as they rode back to Interstellar City.
"Nothing," Spears answered, then hid his bruised hand inside his coat. They drove in silence for a while. "Prentiss, you know what has just happened, don't you?" Prentiss nodded. Spears sighed. "I should never have accepted this assignment. I'm powerless to do anything now but file reports that will be ignored. I think I've reached the end of the line."
"He did that?" Prentiss meant Spears's injured wrist.
"Yeah, I think he broke the goddamned thing," Spears said, taking his hand from his coat. "I'm lucky he didn't haul me off to Wayvelsburg. Be warned: don't shake your finger in de Tomas's face, Prentiss."
Carlisle pulled over and stopped the landcar. All around them, up and down the street, which had been mostly cleared of rubble, people were celebrating. "They don't know what they're in for, do they?" Carlisle asked.
"Oh, they don't care, Prentiss. The lives of ordinary people in a dictatorship are seldom affected by the politics of tyranny, so long as they have their bread and circuses. These people are used to obeying somebody, whether it's their mullahs, their priests, their whatnots. A man like this de Tomas will have them believing he's a god in no time."
"Do you really believe that, sir?"
Spears looked at his station chief. "Nah. That's just the way I'm feeling right now."
"Sir, I want to tell you, you are the bravest and most principled man I've ever served under. I wish you'd stay on here. I really do."
Spears looked at Carlisle. "Well, thank you, Prentiss," he replied, his voice husky. "I—well, let's go back to the embassy and have a couple of drinks and we'll think about it."
Carlisle smiled and moved the car back onto the street.
"Goddamn, Prentiss," Spears said, holding up his wrist, flexing his fingers experimentally. "I guess it's not broken after all. Probably just sprained. Now I really do owe that sonofabitch payback!"
The assembled ministers were slaughtered in the Great Hall where they sat, gunned down by the men of the Special Group, and then the hall was sealed. The five Ecumenical Leaders, however, were taken back to Wayvelsberg and executed slowly in a soundproof chamber, hung from hooks in the ceiling of the room until the life wheezed out of them. The proceedings were filmed as each man struggled for breath at the end. The bodies were burned afterward.
There would be no public trial of the leaders. In the events that were to come on the world known as the Kingdom of Yaweh and His Saints and Their Apostles, no one would ever notice.
Chapter Thirty
"Ar
e we ready, my dear Gorman?" de Tomas asked.
"We are, sir," the Senior Stormleader replied. He had never seen de Tomas in such a jovial mood. The coup had been a total success—surprisingly easy, in fact—but that was not the only reason the new ruler of Kingdom was so excited. He was about to make his first public address. Until then, few Kingdomites had known much about Dominic de Tomas personally, although every child knew what the Collegium stood for and what it did. But all that had changed. He was confident that they would not only come to know him well, but love him.
When de Tomas had announced his intention of making a public announcement of the coup, Herten Gorman had been opposed to the idea. "Do you think that is wise, ah, I mean necessary, sir?" he'd said. The thought of de Tomas going on camera before the entire world struck him as ludicrous, possibly even dangerous to the success of their recent coup. His sallow complexion and saturnine features marked de Tomas for what he really was—an inquisitor and an assassin. Like most such men, he was not photogenic.
"And why, my dear Herten, do you think a public address on this most auspicious occasion would be unwise or unnecessary?" De Tomas smiled sardonically.
"Well . . ."
"I want you to meet someone." At a signal, the door to an outer office opened and a trim young female walked in followed by two more young women. "Senior Stormleader Gorman, meet Gelli Alois and her assistants."
Astonished, Gorman rose, bowed politely, and took the young woman's hand in his. "Charmed, I am sure, miss," he said, brushing his lips lightly over the back of her well-manicured hand. She smiled up at the senior stormleader coquettishly. Gorman, even out of uniform, was a handsome man.
"I am charmed likewise, Senior Stormleader. These are my assistants, Miss Rauber and Miss Madel." The two women bowed.
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